Chapter 276 On the Brink of Elimination

Dortmund's players may think they can beat Barcelona at home after going through special training.

But when the game started, they soon discovered that they were wishful thinking.

The powerful Barcelona used their ability to pass and control the ball to firmly control the situation on the field, while using tireless running and attacking to cut off the connection between Zhou Yi and other Dortmund players.

Dortmund fell into trouble five minutes into the game.

They originally wanted to beat Barcelona at home, but now they find that the most important problem is not winning, but not conceding...

Therefore, under the pressure of Barcelona, ​​Dortmund had to switch from offense to defense, trying not to concede goals first.

However, this did not surprise the audience. Because in their opinion, this game should be like this.

Even if it is Dortmund's home court, with the huge strength gap between the two teams, it is impossible for Dortmund to gain the upper hand at home.

If they are lucky, they may be able to win a victory at home with a sneak attack. But the chances of such good luck are really low.

With normal luck, Dortmund will lose this game without any doubt.

If you have bad luck, the first round may end all the suspense of the two-round match.

At the end of the first half, the score was 0:0. Dortmund did not concede a goal, but they also did not score a goal.

However, this result can already make many Dortmund supporters breathe a sigh of relief.

At least Dortmund didn't fall behind in the first half.

This is already a very good result.

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In the second half, the two sides changed sides and fought again. Klopp also realized through the performance of both sides in the first half that it would be very difficult to deal with Barcelona by insisting on Dortmund's style of play at home.

If they continue to play like this, Dortmund is likely to lose the game at home.

This is not the result Klopp wanted.

A game can have three outcomes: win, draw, or lose.

Losing at home is the worst result of all.

He also made adjustments during the halftime break, allowing the team to focus more on defense.

The players had no objection to this. After the first half, they also realized the huge gap between themselves and Barcelona.

Although they used footbonauts for special training, how long did they only train? Not even two weeks.

And how long have Barcelona been practicing passing and controlling the ball? Twenty years.

Can this huge gap be bridged by just two weeks of special training?

Obviously not.

At times like this, it's more important to be realistic.

For Dortmund, who plays at home first, if they can win at their home court, it will of course be better to win. But what if the opponent is too strong and cannot win? Don't lose. A draw is also a very realistic consideration, but the important thing is that the draw must not be 1:1 or 2:2. It has to be 0:0, and it can only be 0:0.

In the two-leg knockout format, home and away, away goals are crucial. No matter what, the opponent cannot be allowed to score an away goal.

Klopp reiterated this to his players at halftime - if you can score, great. But if you can't score, don't let the other team score.

So in the second half, Dortmund was obviously different from the first half.

They spend more time defending in the backcourt.

Commentators also had mixed reviews about his adjustments.

"Klopp made adjustments during the halftime break. Dortmund paid more attention to defense in the second half. But I don't think this was the right choice. Because Dortmund itself is not the kind of team that is good at defending the penalty area. Against Barcelona in the way they are good at, it will be difficult for them to hold on until the end of the game. Dortmund, which has given up attacking, will be unable to counterattack once they lose the ball in the game..."

"Dortmund made the right choice to shrink their defense. If they continue to attack Barcelona in the midfield, they will concede goals sooner or later. It is obvious that Dortmund's midfielder is not as good as Barcelona's midfielder. With Xavi, Igne Barcelona's midfield with Star, Messi, Keita, Busquets, and Sanchez is better than Dortmund's midfield..."

Both of these statements are accepted by some and both are reasonable.

But players on the court must choose one and abandon the other, because thinking too much is scarier than choosing the wrong thing.

Dortmund's choice surprised Barcelona. They analyzed Dortmund's performance before the game and believed that Dortmund could not play too conservatively at their home court. Moreover, Dortmund's players appeared confident in interviews before the game and were not afraid of Barcelona.

The same was true in the first half, with Dortmund actively fighting Barcelona in the midfield.

Why did they give up after halftime?

Unexpectedly, Barcelona took advantage of the situation and launched a fierce offensive against Dortmund.

It was so violent that the palms of the Dortmund fans in the stands and in front of the TV became sweaty...

In these fierce offensives, Messi is naturally the one who steals the show. Whether he is dribbling or shooting, he can always bring a great threat to the goal guarded by Weidenfeller.

However, the person behind Messi who continues to support him is Xavi, who does not seem to be so popular.

It is he who organizes Barcelona's midfield in an orderly manner. If Barcelona's offensive is like a tide, wave after wave, then Xavi is the magnetic field and the cause of the tide.

The Catalan commentator naturally praised Xavi's performance and thought it was funny that the media compared Zhou Yi to "Xavi's successor" before the game.

"...We can see clearly in this game the gap between Zhou Yi and Xavi. Yes, Zhou Yi is a very talented player. Over time, he will become a very good midfield organizer. , but now, he is not even the slightest bit different from Xavi, especially in controlling the rhythm, controlling teammates, and controlling the team. He is much worse than Xavi. This is why Dortmund was firmly suppressed by Barcelona in this game. reason……"

"I think there is no need for the media to hype the topic of 'Xavi's successor' now. Harvey is only 32 years old now. With his playing style, it is absolutely impossible for him to retire at the age of 34. He can maintain a high level for many years, and I think at least in the next four years, we don’t need to find a successor for him..."

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However, despite Barcelona's fierce offensive, Dortmund never missed the goal.

Because many people have overlooked one thing, that is, Dortmund's defense is actually not weak. You must know that they were the team that conceded the fewest goals in the Bundesliga last season. The center back combination of Subotic and Hummels is the most successful defender partnership in the Bundesliga.

And it’s not just the two central defenders who are partnered together. You must know that last season only conceded 22 goals. It cannot be just the work of the two central defenders. Defense has never been the job of one or two people. What is needed is the whole team. tacit cooperation and sacrifice.

So Dortmund's defense will not be as bad as some people think.

With ten minutes left in the game, the score was still 0:0, which was a bit surprising and unexpected.

I didn’t expect Dortmund to be so tenacious.

At this time, the situation underwent some subtle changes.

Barcelona are aware that they need to take some high risks if they want to beat Dortmund away from home. Because it has been eighty minutes, Zhou Yi has not been replaced by Klopp. Everyone knows that Zhou Yi has very accurate passing and he has the ability to initiate quick counterattacks.

Everyone knows Klopp's intention of keeping Zhou Yi on the court.

It was nothing more than trying to sneak in a sneak attack while Barcelona was pressing forward.

Originally, Barcelona saw that Dortmund's defense was so tenacious, so they had the idea of ​​withdrawing their troops. In addition, Zhou Yi stayed on the court and harassed their defense with long passes from time to time. Barcelona could not afford to concede a goal at the last moment for an away goal.

Anyway, the final 0:0 result is not unacceptable to them. The next round will be their home court - this is the advantage of playing away first and then home in the field arrangement. If Dortmund's home court is the devil's home court, then Barcelona's home court is the home court of hell!

They are confident of knocking out Dortmund when they return home.

Under such circumstances, if they lose the away game in the first round, it will increase Barcelona's workload in the second round, which is not worthwhile.

Under the guidance of such thoughts, the Barcelona players on the court also slowed down. When they are in possession of the ball, they will no longer rush to pass the ball forward. Instead, they will pass more back and forth in the midfield, increasing their possession rate while also preventing Dortmund from counterattacking.

When the referee blew the full-time whistle, the score was fixed at 0:0.

Dortmund had nothing to do against Barcelona at home and could only choose to keep a draw. Barcelona also obviously left some room and did not go all out.

This result may be an acceptable result for both parties.

But although they are all acceptable, the mentality of different teams is still different.

For Dortmund, a draw is the result that Dortmund has no choice but to accept - it's better than losing, right?

It doesn’t matter to Barcelona——

"A draw? Oh, okay, whatever, it doesn't matter. Anyway, this game is not important..." He made a hand gesture.

At the end of the game, the TV broadcast showed some shots of the Dortmund fans in the stands. In the shots, some of the Dortmund fans held their heads in their hands, while others frowned with regret.

Obviously they all know that for Dortmund, failing to win Barcelona at home means that most of them have been eliminated.

Marcel Leif also said: "Although I hate to say it, we have to face the reality. Dortmund is very likely to stop in the Champions League quarter-finals for two consecutive seasons - although this is already very good for them. No one thought that this young team could achieve such results for two consecutive years in the most competitive and highest-level competition... It's also good that Dortmund can concentrate on the league now. I think this There is no suspense about the league championship this season!” (To be continued.)