Volume 1: Heroes Appear, People Pay Attention Chapter 327: Back-Up Match

In the Champions League match in midweek, Liverpool played first as home and then as guest, while Barcelona played first as guest before home.

The schedule is more favorable to Barcelona - visiting first and then home is a favorable schedule, everyone knows this.

Liverpool, which faced Dortmund at home, fielded its strongest lineup. The team's goal was not only to win, but also to win big. Only by winning a few more goals in the home game can the road trip in the second leg become easier.

If you can't win at home, then the away games will probably be even more mysterious.

So Martin O'Neill sent out the strongest lineup.

Gotze will also start this game. This is the first time he faces his old club after leaving Dortmund.

As for Barcelona, ​​even though it was an away game, Barcelona did not send all its main players.

PSV is so weak that it was a complete fluke that they entered the quarter-finals because their opponents in the quarter-finals were even weaker than them.

PSV eliminated Sofia Levski from Bulgaria.

And the reason why Sofia Levski was able to appear in the top 16 was just a fluke...

In short, the two weakest teams in the top 16 were drawn together. With a slight advantage in strength, richer experience, and some background as a Dutch giant, PSV eliminated Sofia Levski and appeared in In the quarterfinals.

Look at the other seven teams. They are Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United, and Juventus. They are all well-known giants, and PSV is indeed a bit of a "make-up".

Many people felt that if PSV had any sense of shame, they should commit suicide rather than wait for Barcelona to ravage them to pieces.

Since the opponent is so weak, Barcelona has no reason to go all out on such a team.

Guardiola sent many young players and substitute players, and he focused on the revenge battle against Liverpool.

He has absolute confidence in his team, and it will not be a problem to eliminate one PSV. At the same time, he also believes that Liverpool will not capsize here in Dortmund.

So in the end, the two teams must come together.

You should prepare yourself early. We can't wait until it's close before considering how to deal with Liverpool. Then it will be too late. In addition, the team also needs to conduct targeted training, which takes time.

In fact, after the draw results came out, Guardiola began to add training content specific to Liverpool in the training to let the players adapt little by little.

As for Eindhoven? He just watched the opponent's game videos a few times and understood the opponent's status and strength level, and he knew it in his heart.

It doesn't take much effort to eliminate this team. The less effort Barcelona needs to expend in the quarterfinals, the greater its advantage in the semifinals.

You must know that Liverpool's quarter-final schedule is home first and then away. This schedule is not good for them. They will definitely be in big trouble in the last away game. Dortmund's home stadium, the Westfalenstadion, is a well-known hell stadium in European football. Dortmund's fans are known for their wildness and loyalty.

Guardiola believes Liverpool will be stubbornly blocked by the Dortmund team and fans at this home ground.

And my second round was at the Nou Camp, so I didn’t have to travel and travel, and my physical strength was guaranteed. In addition, maybe PSV has been defeated in the first round, and the second round becomes a formality?

All in all, the situation is more favorable for Barcelona.

Guardiola must take advantage of this favorable situation.

※ ※ ※

The two quarter-finals in the top half kick off at the same time.

Liverpool welcomed last season's Bundesliga runner-up Borussia Dortmund at home, while Barcelona challenged the weak PSV Eindhoven away.

"The warm-up match for the much-anticipated semi-finals has officially begun!"

Even the commentator said this, which shows where everyone's thoughts are.

Liverpool launched a fierce offensive against visiting Dortmund from the beginning of the game. This also meets their tactical requirements.

Dortmund has such a fierce offensive against Liverpool. It seemed that they were well prepared. They did not press out to attack at all, but retreated to the penalty area from the beginning of the game. He put his head in his hands and squatted in the corner, looking like he was being beaten.

They expect to hold on tight to secure a result that is good for them.

Even if we lose the game in the end, it will be fine as long as we concede two fewer goals.

For example, if they lose 0:1, they still have hope when they return to their home court.

We are only one step away from reaching the semi-finals, and no one wants to give up.

Leverkusen's performance against Barcelona before. The Bundesliga has become the laughingstock of the entire European football world. Teams from the five major leagues were so groveling in front of Barcelona. Within the Bundesliga, everyone was disdainful of Leverkusen's performance.

If we had known that they were acting that way, we might as well have let us go!

——This is the sentiment of many teams.

Therefore, even if Dortmund faces Liverpool, they have no intention of surrendering in advance.

※ ※ ※

This is what Guardiola wants to see most, the two teams fighting to the death. Then he reaps the benefits.

At this time, he was sitting on the visiting team's coaching bench at the Philips Stadium, Eindhoven's home ground, tapping his legs, really looking like a fisherman waiting to make a profit.

As for the game in front of him...

It seems that it is not intense, and PSV does not show strong fighting spirit just because it is at its home court. And Barcelona still seems a little raw because they have fielded too many young players.

But this is not important. In Guardiola's view, if you wait a little longer and wait for your players to gradually adapt to the rhythm of the game, PSV will be dead.

He only cares about the result of another game now.

His assistant coach Vilanova sat next to him. He briefly served as the team's head coach for one season, but he was blown away by Mourinho's Real Madrid and even lost his underwear. As a last resort, Cruyff personally invited Guardiola out. Vilanova's positioning was accurate. When Guardiola came out, he took the initiative to step aside and start assisting Guardiola again.

Vilanova now has headphones in his ears, connected to a pocket radio, and is listening to a live broadcast of another game.

Any thing over there. All may have an impact on Barcelona's strategy and tactics.

So Guardiola asked as long as there were any changes in the game there. Vilanova must tell him immediately.

※ ※ ※

Dortmund's defense is very thorough, but in the past two seasons, Liverpool's players have seen many teams that defend themselves. As Liverpool's reputation grew, most of their opponents chose to hold on. For these teams, it would be good to get a draw against Liverpool.

Winning or whatever...don't even think about it!

Because of this, Liverpool has accumulated a wealth of experience in dealing with these defensive tactics.

Especially since they have Chen Yingxiong, the most powerful siege weapon in the world. Even if the opponent closes the city gates and defends it, they can still blast open the opponent's solid walls and gates!

Like now...

The game only started for eleven minutes, and Liverpool was under continuous bombardment. The walls and gates of Dortmund's castle were shaking constantly, as if they might twist and collapse at any time.

Huge psychological pressure lay on everyone's mind, leaving them secretly shocked.

This is their first time playing against Liverpool. I didn’t expect Liverpool to be so strong! It seems that what the media said is not an exaggerated stunt, but a fact...

Facing such a powerful Liverpool, some Dortmund players have begun to doubt whether they can complete the tasks assigned by the head coach before the game...

Finally in the 12th minute, Liverpool suddenly increased their strength after continuous attacks. Here comes an all-out attack!

Under Liverpool's offensive. Dortmund's walls collapsed!

A gap appears!

Chen Yingxiong appeared in the gap holding Liverpool's red flag high.

The football was sent over by Gotze.

Facing his old club, Gotze was merciless! This direct pass is precise and concealed.

When Chen Yingxiong received the ball, Dortmund's players reacted!

But now it's too late to stop him!

Chen Yingxiong entered the penalty area so easily, and then shot low with his left foot!

The football flew past the Dortmund goalkeeper and into the lower right corner of the goal!

ball!

In! !

※ ※ ※

Vilanova was listening to the radio intently, because there was some noise in the Philips Stadium at this time. The fans were so loud that he had to lower his head, cross his eyes, and try to focus on his ears. Listening to the enemy's movements is a task assigned to him by Guardiola. He also knows the importance of this task, so he does not dare to neglect it. Just even with headphones on. The sound was not very clear either. Because it's too noisy outside...

He frowned and muttered: "Damn it, why did it suddenly become so noisy!"

He buried his head lower...

But next to him, Guardiola was the opposite. He was raising his head, and then raising it again, even his body was thrown forward, and his hands were unconsciously clenched tighter and tighter.

His whole body was straining now.

His eyes didn't dare leave the court for even a second, so he didn't even blink.

The football had already flown to the goal. There was chaos in front of the goal and the situation looked critical.

But the ball didn't fly to Eindhoven's goal, but... flew to Barcelona's goal!

Yes, PSV's attack caused chaos in front of Barcelona's goal!

And then, in this chaos.

I don’t know who touched the football. Guardiola’s position was really not good. He couldn’t see clearly. He didn’t want to watch the TV broadcast and the close-ups.

In short, this question is not important anymore. The football was touched by someone, and then... flew into Barcelona's goal!

At that moment, Guardiola thought he had made a mistake. The football did not actually fly into the goal, but missed the goal post and the side netting and flew out of the bottom line...

But the huge cheers at Philips Stadium shattered his luck.

Barcelona lost the ball!

At the same time, Vilanova beside him suddenly stood up from his seat, startling him as well.

"Pep!" Vilanova's voice was anxious.

He raised his head to report the latest situation to Guardiola, but suddenly saw Guardiola's livid face.

Only then did he notice something strange around him - the cheers in the stadium stands had increased significantly, while the people around him were silent and seemed depressed.

"Uh...what's going on?" (To be continued)