Chapter 51 League Championship
The first match of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in the 2014-2015 season was held at the Juventus Arena. The home team Juventus faced the defending champion Real Madrid.
Since Juventus won the league championship in Serie A early, their physical condition is significantly better than Real Madrid, and they play at home. Even if their overall strength is not as good as Real Madrid, they are still favored by many media.
Of course, this is directly related to recent media rumors that Tang Zheng is injured and will miss the Champions League semi-finals.
Some clues can be seen from the official starting lineup submitted by both sides to UEFA one hour before the game. Except for Tang Zheng, Real Madrid did not appear in the starting lineup, and the other main players played.
Goalkeeper Casillas, defenders Marcelo, Pepe, Ramos and Carvajal, midfielders James Rodriguez, Toni Kroos, Modric and Isco, forward Christie Arno Ronaldo and Benzema.
The home team Juventus captain Buffon is led by defenders Evra, Chiellini, Bonucci and Lichtsteiner, midfielders Spiello, Pogba, Marchisio and Vidal, and the forward is Real Madrid Former Spanish international Morata partners with Tevez.
Originally, the visiting team Real Madrid had a greater chance of winning, but Tang Zheng, the core of offense and defense, was injured and missed the starting lineup, so the chance of winning was biased towards Juventus.
Because Juventus has remained unbeaten in the Champions League home games in the past two seasons, with seven wins and five draws in twelve games.
Of course, Real Madrid's away record in the Champions League is very good. It has also remained unbeaten in the past two seasons. Real Madrid also drew a draw at the Juventus Arena in the Champions League group stage last season.
However, Tang Zheng was the starter in that game, and there is no Tang Zheng in this game.
Although he is on the bench, the possibility of coming off the bench is not very high, so many Real Madrid fans are worried.
Besides, the Champions League semi-finals are not comparable to the Champions League group stage, especially the attention paid to the game and the concentration of the players.
This match between Juventus and Real Madrid at home can be called a battle for records. Will Real Madrid be able to maintain their unbeaten record in the Champions League in the past two seasons, or Juventus can defend their unbeaten home record in the Champions League in the past two seasons? , can only be decided by the two sides in the next ninety minutes of the game.
Of course, everyone is happy if the two sides draw.
However, Juventus, who are sitting at home, do not want a draw, because it is rare for Real Madrid to not have Tang Zheng in the middle. Waiting for the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals is very risky. Instead of pinning their hopes on the second leg, it is better to try to resolve the game at home.
As a guest, Real Madrid really wanted to get a draw at the Juventus Arena. Real Madrid without Tang Zheng cannot be said to be Real Madrid, but there will be big problems on both ends of the offense and defense, and this problem can only be made up for by Tang Zheng...
In the blink of an eye, the first leg of the 2014-2015 Champions League semi-finals at the Juventus Arena kicked off.
Less than a minute into the game, Marchisio received a diagonal pass from Pirlo and sent a direct pass. Vidal was knocked to the ground on the right rib of the penalty area by Pepe, who was defending. There was a burst of exclamation above the Juventus Arena. Voice.
However, the referee Bruchy blocked the pass without any expression, indicating that Pepe had not committed a foul.
Tang Zheng, who was sitting on the bench, could see clearly that Pepe was suspected of fouling, but the German referee did not blow the whistle.
Perhaps, in a focus battle like the Champions League semi-finals, the referee is also under tremendous pressure and does not dare to award penalty kicks easily.
No one expected that the visiting team Real Madrid, which should have taken the initiative in attack, would defend with all their strength.
The midfield line composed of Pirlo, Pogba, Vidal and Marchisio perfectly suppressed Real Madrid's midfield line.
The CC5 commentator couldn't help but sigh: "If Tang Zheng is here, I think Real Madrid, the guest team, will have an advantage, because his ball-taking, ball-distribution and defense can directly relieve Real Madrid's pressure on both offense and defense."
In the first five minutes of the game, Juventus basically controlled the initiative and created an offensive that continuously threatened Casillas' goal.
Just when Ancelotti breathed a sigh of relief, Juventus broke the deadlock on the field.
In the eighth minute, Pirlo crossed into the ribs, and Tevez made a slight adjustment to complete a powerful and heavy low shot.
Goalkeeper Casillas made a defensive save and also pounced on the football, but his hands came before the football was fully opened, so he only blocked the football but did not completely clear the ball.
Real Madrid's old player Morata, who was lurking in the penalty area, took a smart shot and kicked the ball into the empty goal...
"Ouch-ouch——"
The Juventus fans in the stands made a deafening roar.
However, Morata, who scored the goal, had no intention of celebrating, because he was trained by Real Madrid and only left to seek more opportunities to play.
※※※
Morata did not celebrate the goal because Real Madrid was against the team that cultivated him, but other Juventus players did not have this psychological burden, and they created waves of huge chants under the chants of the fans in the stands.
Feeling the enthusiastic home atmosphere, Tang Zheng, who was sitting on the bench, shook his head and sighed.
If he were on the court, he would definitely stand on the connecting route between Pirlo and Tevez, which means that Morata's supplementary shot no longer exists.
It's a pity that there is no if in the world.
Fortunately, after conceding the goal, Real Madrid focused a lot on the defensive end, and Juventus, who had taken the lead, had some defenses on the offensive side. Apparently they were worried that Real Madrid, which invested more in offense, would break their goal and get priceless goals. Away goals.
For nearly 20 minutes after Juventus scored, the game was relatively stalemate. The focus was on fighting for the midfield, so both sides contributed very few shots.
Until the 30th minute of the game, the visiting Real Madrid relied on Cristiano Ronaldo who was in hot form.
This goal is not a reflection of Real Madrid's overall strength, but a reflection of the player's personal ability.
James Rodriguez faked a dunk on the right side of the attack past veteran Evra, and then passed the ball to the center of the penalty area from an angle.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who was ambushing in the back post, overwhelmed Bonucci and Chiellini to complete a header so powerful that Buffon, ranked among the top three in the world, could not react and could only wait. The ball sighed.
Cristiano Ronaldo looked very excited after scoring the goal. After completing his trademark personal celebration, he made a body movement of pressing down with both palms towards the visiting team's bench.
Tang Zheng smiled, knowing that this was his good friend Cristiano Ronaldo telling him to calm down and trust him.
It is undeniable that Cristiano Ronaldo's personal ability is super strong, but Juventus's defensive system is very solid. This conceding can be said to be an accident, so Cristiano Ronaldo wants to defend against the revitalized Juventus. The probability of scoring a goal in the system is close to zero.
The next game seemed to go as Tang Zheng expected. Cristiano Ronaldo did not get a single chance in the remaining game of the first half.
The fifteen-minute intermission passed quickly, and the two sides changed sides to fight again. The scene of Tang Zheng coming off the bench that Real Madrid fans hoped to see did not appear.
As a guest, Real Madrid's game strategy in the second half was very simple, which was to seize counterattack opportunities while defending well.
It is a pity that Juventus, who is at home, does an excellent job offensively, with wave after wave of attacks.
Pogba has talent and ability, and he is assisted by veteran players like Pirlo, Marchisio and Vidal, and his abilities are quite amazing.
In the 58th minute, Pogba suddenly accelerated past Modric in the middle. After attracting the defensive attention of Toni Kroos, he decisively handed the ball to Tevez. The latter entered the penalty area and turned around to defend. Vahar made a mistake in the rush and kicked down Tevez, who had kicked the ball out early.
"Beep~"
This time the German referee Bruchy blew his whistle and pointed to the penalty spot.
Even though Carvajal tried his best to explain, the referee Bruchy made a very firm decision and gave Carvajal a yellow card.
Immediately, the on-site director gave a slow-motion playback.
Carvajal did hit Tevez, so there was no problem with the penalty.
Tevez, who took the penalty kick, hit it himself, helping Juventus regain the lead over visiting team Real Madrid 2:1 at home.
Trailing by two goals in the away game, Ancelotti tried to solve the problems on both ends of the offense and defense through substitutions and adjustments, but the effect was not obvious, especially on the offensive end, which relied too much on the performance of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Not long after, the on-site director gave a close-up shot of the visiting team coach's command area.
Through the broadcast, you can see Tang Zheng communicating with Ancelotti. Next to him, team doctor Olmo frowned and shook his head.
Central 5 commentator He Wei changed his voice and said: "I think Tang Zheng took the initiative when he saw Real Madrid's offensive problems and hoped to be able to play. However, the outside world has been making a lot of noise about Tang Zheng's injury in the past few days. Judging from his absence from Real Madrid's training to prepare for the Champions League semi-finals, it seems that he is really injured. Perhaps Tang Zheng, who is injured, can solve Real Madrid's problems on both ends of the offense and defense. However, Tang Zheng, who is injured, has a question mark on his performance. Personally, I hope Ancelotti can handle it calmly. After all, the place to advance to the final is decided in two rounds... Besides, Real Madrid also has an away goal, so there is no need to take risks..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Zheng returned to the bench helplessly.
British Sky commentator Andy Gray said solemnly: "The recent media reports have focused on whether Don is injured. According to observations, he is likely to be injured because he did not participate in the Real Madrid game. In preparation for the previous Champions League semi-finals, Carlo Ancelotti's refusal to play Tang is worthy of recognition, because the Champions League semi-finals are two-legged matches, and Real Madrid as a guest had another away goal, so losing 1:2 is okay. Accepted.”
Tang Zheng wanted to participate in the game, but team doctor Olmo did not support it, and coach Ancelotti was even less likely to agree, so he did not get a chance to play until the end of the game.
Of course, Tang Zheng already knew about this possibility before the game.
Just watching the team lose in the away game made him feel a little uncomfortable.
※※※
In the end, Real Madrid lost to Juventus 1:2 in the away game, but they had an away goal in hand. As long as they win 1:0 in the second round at home, they can advance to the Champions League finals this season with the advantage of more away goals. .
In theory, this is the result, but whether the final result of the game will be like this will have to wait until the start of the second round.
Because Juventus wins at home, they can advance to the Champions League final as long as they don't lose on the road.
Compared with Real Madrid winning at home, Juventus is more likely to draw away from home.
At the regular press conference after the game, the media's biggest concern was whether Tang Zheng was injured.
At this time, Ancelotti knew that there was no point in hiding it anymore, so he simply told Tang Zheng that he had strained his thigh.
But whether he can catch up with the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals depends on his recovery...
Ancelotti was somewhat ambiguous in his expression, giving the impression that Tang Zheng might be able to catch up with the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals, or he might not be able to.
Count it as a kind of psychological warfare to bring some pressure to the opponent Juventus.
However, for Juventus, whether Tang Zheng can make it to the second round of the Champions League semi-finals has little impact on them. Anyway, if they win at home, Juventus as a guest will 90% pursue a draw.
Before the start of the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, Allegri made targeted adjustments for Real Madrid with Tang Zheng. He was confident that even if Tang Zheng caught up with the second leg, he could suppress Real Madrid's offense and lead to a draw at the Bernabeu Stadium. !
At noon the next day, the Real Madrid team returned to Madrid. Tang Zheng was immediately examined by instruments. His thigh muscles were healing well, but it remains to be seen whether he can make it to the second round of the Champions League semifinals.
If Tang Zheng can take the initiative to report his injury in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals against Atletico Madrid at home, he will definitely be able to participate in the Champions League semi-finals.
However, his choice led to the strain becoming more serious in the league game against Almeria, so that he had to spend more time recovering.
Minor injuries in the calf and knee may be able to persist, but the semitendinosus muscle on the back of the thigh is different. Every power movement will exert force through here. This is also the fundamental reason why Tang Zheng's strain became more serious due to excessive force. .
At the weekend when Real Madrid faced Valencia at home in the 36th round of the 2014-2015 La Liga season, Tang Zheng was still not included in the match roster, so many media and fans couldn't help but think that Tang Zheng... might really miss the Champions League semi-finals. round.
I don’t know if Real Madrid was affected by their two consecutive losses in all competitions. They played very passively in the home game against Valencia. If it weren’t for the goals of Cristiano Ronaldo and Hernandez, Real Madrid would probably have suffered. For the first time this season, La Liga has lost two consecutive games.
Although Barcelona defeated Real Sociedad 2:0 at home and reached 91 points, six points away from Real Madrid, Real Madrid defeated Barcelona at home and away, and the outcome was dominant. With two rounds left in the league, it meant that Real Madrid was ahead of schedule. Won the 2014-2015 league championship!
"Ouch-ouch——"
Real Madrid failed to get all three points at home as they wished. The Real Madrid fans in the stands were not disappointed. Instead, they vented their excitement to win the championship in advance.