Chapter 87 The Real Devil’s Schedule
In the past 24 rounds of La Liga in the 2015-2016 season, Barcelona has scored 17 wins, three draws and two losses, ranking first in the league with 54 points. Atletico Madrid has scored 16 wins, five draws and one loss, ranking second in the league with 53 points.
With the return of Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid's league results have dropped significantly. They currently rank third in the league with 46 points with 14 wins, four draws, and four losses, only three points ahead of fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao.
There are still ten days left for the first leg of the Champions League 1/8 finals, adding to the intensity of the double-match week in La Liga, which has shortened the European Cup schedule in France.
Real Madrid itself added two make-up games in the second half because of the Club World Cup. It was already a double match in a row. After finally completing the two make-up games, it has now started a high-intensity schedule.
Villarreal is currently ranked fifth in the league, six points behind Real Madrid, and only three points away from the Champions League. Even if they are a guest at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Villarreal is full of confidence. After all, Real Madrid has just played in the new San Mamés Stadium. After losing, the conflict between Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo intensified. This was the best moment to take all three points.
Having just lost to Athletic Bilbao, the media added fuel to the fire. The entire Real Madrid team felt tremendous pressure, especially Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, just because Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo became the direct targets of criticism by the media, their teammates were ignored by the media, so the pressure they shouldered was not so great. First, Real Madrid relied on Benzema and Ismail in the league match at the Bernabeu Stadium Coe's goal defeated the inevitable Villarreal 2:0 at home.
It is worth mentioning that both goals came from direct assists from Tang Zheng and had nothing to do with Cristiano Ronaldo.
I don’t know if it was influenced by Tang Zheng’s good performance. During the weekend, Cristiano Ronaldo, who had been in a sluggish performance at the Alfonso Pérez Stadium, exploded under the criticism of all media. He scored a hat trick with a head kick and a kick. , helping Real Madrid beat Getafe 4-0 as a guest.
Before the first leg of the Champions League 1/8 finals, Real Madrid had won two consecutive victories. Coach Ancelotti did not feel that the familiar Real Madrid was back, but was worried.
Cristiano Ronaldo's hat trick has little to do with Tang Zheng. It is at best an offensive plan. All three assists came from crosses from the wing. Marcelo contributed two assists and Carvajal contributed one assist.
Ancelotti tried to get Zidane to do some ideological work, but to no avail, and even caused a significant decline in the relationship between Tang Zheng, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zidane.
Of course, for Ancelotti, Real Madrid's two consecutive victories have reduced a lot of pressure, and he can concentrate on preparing for the first leg of the Champions League 1/8 finals.
Rome Olympic Stadium,
The stadium was full, the home fans were very enthusiastic, and the Roma players at home performed extremely well. At the beginning, they even continued to threaten Navas' goal.
In the fanatical home atmosphere, Real Madrid, which had the overall advantage, did not gain a score advantage, and the first half ended with 0:0.
In the second half, the side changed sides and the game started again. Roma played relatively conservatively at the beginning, but after several tentative attacks by Real Madrid, they stepped up their offensive again.
Egypt international Salah even hit the crossbar with a shot, causing the home fans to burst into loud lamentations.
After this threat, Real Madrid became cautious in transitioning between offense and defense. Tang Zheng retreated slightly and organized the team's transition from defense to offense through long passes.
In the 57th minute, Tang Zheng switched from defense to attack and got the ball. He first pulled the ball with his feet and passed Pjanic and Nainggolan, and then made a long pass to find Jese who came in at high speed. The latter stopped and passed directly to overtake. Ten meters away from the bottom line, he swept the pass into the middle of the penalty area. Benzema rushed in front of Manolas and completed a stab shot. The ball penetrated into the net from the left armpit of the fallen Szczesny...
Real Madrid as a guest took a 1:0 lead!
Five minutes later, Real Madrid extended their lead.
Eager to equalize the score, Roma increased their offensive, but there was a huge problem in switching from offense to defense. Tang Zheng dribbled the ball all the way through the middle, ignoring Cristiano Ronaldo who was waving for the ball from the left, and saw the opportunity for Jese to intervene and pass the ball. Very precise through ball with his feet.
Hesse caught up with the ball, and faced Szczesny who abandoned the goal and easily completed a push shot. The ball flew from between Szczesny's legs and into the net.
0:2
The live director's close-up shot showed Jese who scored the goal, but did not notice that Cristiano Ronaldo's face was very ugly. He thought that if Tang Zheng could pass the ball just now, he could help the team expand the score with his outstanding ability. .
So the more he thought about it, the more unhappy he became. He walked towards Tang Zheng: "Why don't you pass the ball to me?"
Tang Zheng originally didn't want to pay attention to Cristiano Ronaldo, but thinking that the recent rumors were not good for the team, he said: "Your position has been criticized to death. Jese is the best anti-offside receiver."
But Cristiano Ronaldo didn't think so. He said with a straight face: "You did it on purpose, right?"
"whatever you think."
Tang Zheng was too lazy to make any further remarks. Ramos realized that something was wrong and quickly pushed Cristiano Ronaldo away.
This scene was captured by the broadcast. Central 5 commentator He Wei was worried: "I think the Real Madrid fans sitting in front of the TV are worried about this, right? Me too. Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo are the three winners of Real Madrid's three-pointer last season." The biggest contributor to the championship, this season..."
Having said this, he couldn't help but sigh.
He Wei had a very good relationship with Tang Zheng in private. Before attending the wedding of Tang Zheng and Zhao Lina, he jokingly asked. Although Tang Zheng did not directly express his views on Cristiano Ronaldo, He Wei, who had rich life experience, could understand Tang Zheng. The implication.
There is no room for two tigers in one mountain, and a breakup is imminent!
In other words, it has broken up!
There are many commentators with the same comment. Even if Real Madrid can finally defeat Roma, it is very likely that it will be difficult to move forward after entering the quarterfinals.
After ninety minutes, Real Madrid finally defeated Roma 2:0 in the away game with the help of Jese's pass and shot. While reaping a victory, they scored two away goals, which basically meant that they had half a foot in the game. Quarterfinals of the Champions League this season.
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Real Madrid, who defeated Roma as a guest, returned to Madrid the next day. Although they easily defeated the home team Roma, the public opinion after the game was very fierce, surrounding the two protagonists-Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Many mainstream media in Europe are not optimistic about Real Madrid's results this season. Even the three major European betting companies have greatly increased Real Madrid's odds in La Liga and the Champions League this season.
It is not difficult to see from this that the relationship between Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo on and off the field has dropped to a freezing point.
The Spanish media "AS" invited lip reading experts to study the conversation between Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo and successfully deciphered it.
As the 2015-2016 season enters the second half, Real Madrid can only focus on the league and the Champions League after being helplessly eliminated from the Copa del Rey. As the two people who once guaranteed Real Madrid's performance, there is an irreconcilable conflict, which makes Real Madrid fans Uneasy.
Before the second leg of the Champions League 1/8 finals, Real Madrid has four league games, all of which are to squeeze the schedule of this year's European Cup in France, with double matches a week.
The four league games are a guest challenge against Malaga, a home game against Atletico Madrid, a guest challenge against Levante and a home game against Celta Vigo.
However, it is an acceptable schedule for Real Madrid. They are eliminated from the Copa del Rey early, so there is no need to worry. They can temporarily focus on the league after basically entering the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
But... in four league games, Real Madrid's results were disappointing.
One win, two draws and one loss.
Among them, the 0:1 home defeat to Atletico Madrid in the 26th round of the league pushed the entire Real Madrid team to the forefront again. The local media in Catalonia fished in troubled waters and deliberately made a fuss about the contradiction between Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo. , which also led to Real Madrid playing poorly in the next game against Levante, tying the home team and winning three games...
Even though Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 7-1 before the second leg of the Champions League 1/8 finals, the media did not reduce their criticism of Real Madrid.
Of course, the media's criticism was extremely targeted, focusing on the two major stars-Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo have been continuously criticized by the media, but generally speaking, Cristiano Ronaldo has been criticized the most because Tang Zheng's competitive state is relatively stable, while Cristiano Ronaldo is different. He seems more like a role that disrupts the team's offensive rhythm, and even shoots wildly in many cases, causing the team's hard-working offensive organization to come to nothing.
The criticism of Tang Zheng is more about his offensive organization direction, which never considers where Cristiano Ronaldo is on the wing, but goes all the way to the dark side and gives the ball to the opposite direction of Cristiano Ronaldo.
From the perspective of offensive organization, it is reducing simplification to complexity, which affects the overall offensive efficiency.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has a headache. The team has been 13 points behind Barcelona, 11 points behind Atletico Madrid, and basically misses the league championship with 1/3 of the league remaining.
He doesn't know what to do next, whether to continue fighting on two fronts or focus all his attention on the Champions League.
Logically speaking, Real Madrid should seize the time to chase points in the league with more than half of their feet in the quarterfinals. However, the problems of Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo were infinitely magnified, resulting in a three-game losing streak in the league. Not only did they fail to reduce the points , but it is getting further and further away from the top spot.
In the blink of an eye, the second leg of the 1/8 finals of the 2015-2016 Champions League kicked off at the Bernabeu Stadium. Roma, which lost two goals at home in the first leg, had no choice. From the first second of the game, they blasted Real Madrid's defensive half. Indiscriminate bombing.
However, Ancelotti's team was obviously well prepared and did not underestimate Roma, a giant from the Apennine Peninsula, just because they were playing at home.
The midfielders headed by Tang Zheng completed the task of dividing Roma's midfield organization very well in the first ten minutes. After ten minutes of the game, Real Madrid finally showed its level as a top European team, and Roma had to retreat to half time. defense.
Although Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo are still out of the league during the game, they can form effective connections with other teammates by working independently, but they often complicate simple things.
Roma is considered a strong team in Serie A, but when looking at the whole of Europe, it is a bit under-ranked. Real Madrid was the Champions League champion in the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 seasons. The players have both ability and experience, and they are more than flexible enough to adapt to the rhythm of the game.
Realizing that something was wrong, Roma coach Luciano Spalletti quickly signaled the team to shrink their defense and wait for opportunities.
Facing Real Madrid, which has two away goals, the first thing to do is not concede a goal, and then we can pursue away goals.
There is plenty of time for the game and there is no rush.
With a two-goal lead in the total score and two away goals in hand, Real Madrid are in no hurry.
Forty-five minutes into the first half, the two sides were tied at 0:0.
In the second half, Roma became anxious. Time passed by second by second. If they didn't strengthen their offense, they would really miss the quarterfinals.
However, Roma, who stepped up their offensive, still failed to create a good opportunity. Instead, Nainggolan received his second yellow card of the game for a reckless foul.
Two yellows turn one red!
Two minutes later, Tang Zheng received a direct free kick from Modric on the right and scored with a header, helping Real Madrid take the lead. The total score became 3:0.
This is even worse for Rome as a guest.
Roma, who had no way out, could only continue to strengthen their attack, but a corner kick in the 67th minute helped the home team Real Madrid expand the score, which also meant that Roma basically lost the possibility of equalizing.
There are twenty-three minutes left in the game. If Roma wants to reverse the situation and advance, they must score four goals in a row without conceding...
Besides, there is one less person to fight.
Therefore, Roma basically gave up the game when they conceded the second goal. Real Madrid, which had a four-goal lead in total, also chose to slow down its offensive pace considering the consecutive double matches in a week.
As a result, the two teams played the remaining game time in "tacit understanding".
As the referee on duty blew the final whistle of the game, the on-site director gave Cristiano Ronaldo a meaningful close-up shot.
Real Madrid won the game at home, and there was not much to do with Cristiano Ronaldo, so his face was ugly. As soon as the whistle sounded at the end of the game, he turned and walked towards the tunnel.
Two days later, the Champions League quarter-final draw ceremony was held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon.
Real Madrid was lucky enough to draw the weaker Wolfsburg, two La Liga teams Barcelona and Atletico Madrid were drawn together, Bayern Munich was drawn Benfica, and Paris Saint-Germain was drawn together with Manchester City.
Before the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Real Madrid has three league games. In addition to Las Palmas, one of the favorites for relegation, the remaining opponents are Sevilla and Barcelona.
Especially Barcelona, if they want to maintain their impact on the league championship, defeating Barcelona is what must be done.
but……
After playing Barcelona, it's time for the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, where they will challenge Wolfsburg as a guest.
Two key battles will determine whether Real Madrid can achieve all four goals this season...
For Real Madrid, the three games against Sevilla, Barcelona and Wolfsburg are tantamount to a devilish schedule leading to success.