Chapter 624 Opponents in the Quarter-Finals

With the result of reaching the top 8 of the Champions League, QPR is no longer an upstart in the media.

Speaking of upstarts, the first choice that comes to everyone's mind is Manchester City.

First, in July 2007, former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra acquired Manchester City, ushering in Manchester City's golden-dollar football era. The team spent a lot of money buying people, but Manchester City gained nothing that season.

In 2008, Thaksin left Manchester City due to political issues, and the Abu Dhabi Group moved in again.

The wealthy people of the United Arab Emirates spend hundreds of millions of pounds every year to buy people for Manchester City. However, Manchester City only ranked 10th in the league in the 2008-09 season and fifth in the league in the 2009-10 season.

After continuous investment in four transfer windows, Manchester City finally achieved some results in the 10-11 season. They won the FA Cup and a Champions League seat, and were barely able to compete with the rich boss.

In the 11-12 and 12-13 seasons, Manchester City was eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League for two consecutive seasons.

The above are all summed up by the media in one sentence: nouveau riche, no background.

QPR was also dubbed the "upstart" at first, but last season's double championship of the league and FA Cup has made everyone look at QPR with admiration.

And reaching the top 8 in the Champions League this season has made everyone fully understand that QPR may have suddenly become rich, or it may not have a glorious history. But QPR is by no means a superficial upstart, but a fighting and cohesive team.

After the Champions League, QPR will soon face the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. Their opponent is Manchester City.

After comprehensive consideration, Ricardo instructed Simeone to abandon the game.

QPR, whose entire youth team played, lost to Manchester City 3:5 in an away game. The game was heart-stirring. QPR led three times and tied three times, and even briefly saw the hope of victory. It was only inexperience and bad luck that led to his defeat in the end.

The tridents Coutinho, Icardi and Sterling scored goals for the team respectively, making QPR fans full of hope for the future of the team.

On March 17, in the 30th round of the Premier League, QPR challenged Aston Villa away from home. The two sides battled 1:1 in the first half. After entering the second half, QPR began to exert force. Modric, who returned from injury, instigated two attacks to help the team defeat the opponent 3:1.

Manchester United defeated Reading 1:0, QPR still leads by 2 points, and in terms of goal difference, the two teams are already the same.

On March 18, the draw ceremony for the Champions League quarter-finals and semi-finals was held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon.

UEFA Secretary General Infantino and Competition Director Marchetti presided over the draw, and Ambassador McManaman of the final organizer served as a guest.

Manchester United has been eliminated by Real Madrid. As the only one left in the Champions League in the Premier League, QPR's draw has attracted the attention of the entire British media. Everyone hopes that QPR can draw a weaker opponent.

If there is no top four team in the Premier League, it will inevitably affect the Premier League’s Champions League points and lead to a reduction in the Premier League’s Champions League seats in the future.

In addition to QPR, the remaining eight teams are Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid and Malaga from La Liga, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund from the Bundesliga, Juventus from Serie A and Paris Saint-Germain from Ligue 1.

The draw for the quarter-finals will be random, with no seeding and teams from the same league will not be avoided.

The British media hopes that QPR can draw the weakest Malaga, and Paris Saint-Germain is also good. If it doesn't work, Dortmund, which has set off a youth storm, will give up.

With the attention of fans all over the world, one team after another was brought together.

Bayern Munich met Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain met Real Madrid. The weakest Malaga was lucky enough to be drawn by Dortmund.

And QPR's opponent is...

Barcelona!

Cosmos Barcelona!

QPR plays host first and then guest. On April 2, QPR players will welcome Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and other superstars at Loftus Road Stadium.

British media practitioners are like mourning their heirs,

It is believed that QPR's promotion hope is infinitely close to zero.

Although Ricardo is a little better than Messi, Barcelona's overall strength is more than a little higher than QPR's overall strength...

Moreover, Barcelona has been a favorite in the Champions League every year. This is the first time QPR has participated in the Champions League and played in the Champions League knockout rounds for the first time.

In terms of game experience, QPR was also completely defeated.

Even if QPR is lucky enough to pass Barcelona, ​​they will still have to face the winner between Bayern Munich and Juventus.

But Simeone does not think his signing is bad. "Drawing Barcelona is something we dream of. I didn't expect the team to reach the finals or win the championship for the first time in the Champions League. Being able to meet a strong team like Barcelona allows us to learn from our opponents. , which is very beneficial to the future development of the team.”

Modric also said: "I have been looking forward to this day for a long time. It was my childhood dream to reach the Champions League and meet a team like Barcelona."

Handanovic claimed: "Actually, there are no underdogs in the top eight of the Champions League. We are just new players in the Champions League. Whoever is drawn will be a huge test for us."

The only one who expressed a different voice was Ricardo.

In an interview, Ricardo sneered: "The game hasn't even started yet, I don't know why you think we are going to lose. Is QPR not as good as Barcelona? Let's see during the game. I don't think I will definitely lose." To Messi."

Barcelona players also shouted from a distance. Messi said: "I respect Ricardo very much, but Barcelona cannot tolerate failure. QPR may create some trouble for us, but I believe the final winner will be us."

Iniesta said: "La Liga has become a lot lonely without Ricardo. Although Cristiano is also a very powerful star, his game lacks the feeling of burning passion. I still like to watch The duel between Messi and Ricardo. Regardless of the final outcome, I believe these will be two very interesting games."

After two weeks of national team matches, QRP challenged local rival Fulham away from home on March 30.

The previous national team games made QPR players a little breathless, and the injuries of Modric, Klose, Fernandinho and other players in the national team games also cast a shadow on QPR's prospects. Although Simeone has made a certain degree of rotation, the problem has not been fundamentally solved.

In the first half, QPR led the opponent 2:1 thanks to goals from Liccardo and De Bruyne.

But after entering the second half, in order to save energy for the Champions League match, Simeone replaced Liccardo, which became the turning point of the game.

Fulham continued to exert force and finally scored two goals in the 81st and 87th minutes to achieve a reversal.

This is also the first time QPR has been reversed by an opponent this season.

QPR, who suffered a miserable defeat, were once again overtaken by Manchester United. Manchester United defeated Sunderland and now has 77 points. QPR ranked second with 76 points, and the goal difference between the two teams reached 2 goals.

And Cosmos Barcelona are already on the plane.