Chapter 487 The Devil’s home court, Manchester City at home is unbeatable!
In the other four games, Bayern defeated Benfica 1:0 at home despite the lack of many main players.
Barcelona narrowly defeated ten-man Atletico Madrid 2:1 at home.
This game is the focus of this round of the Champions League, second only to the games between Manchester City and Paris.
The two teams are very close in strength and have played against each other many times in the league. It can be said that they know each other well.
In the first half, Torres took the lead to score, but because of his uncool behavior, the referee showed him two yellow cards within six minutes, and he received a red card early and was sent off.
When Torres was sent off, there were huge boos from Camp Nou. Nearly 100,000 Barcelona fans spat at him, abused and attacked him.
Atletico Madrid's head coach Simeone argued with the fourth official. He believed that the referee's decision was biased.
It's only the 35th minute of the first half, and our main forward has been sent off. How can we still play?
No wonder people say that Barcelona has a godfather in UEFA. He didn't believe it before, but this time he really believes it!
Simeone's words were very violent. After the fourth official informed the referee, the latter immediately came over and showed him a yellow card as a warning.
Simeone resisted the urge to spit at the referee and stood on the sidelines with his hands on his hips, thinking about the next tactics.
Fortunately, it was a forward who was sent off, which had little impact on Atletico Madrid's defense. However, after losing the fulcrum on the forward line, Atletico Madrid's counterattack may not be effective.
I just hope that these disciples on the field can persevere and maintain the lead until the end!
However, Barcelona obviously would not miss such a good opportunity. Under the leadership of Messi and Suarez, they launched a fierce attack on Atletico Madrid.
In the 63rd minute of the second half, Alves made a pass from the right wing, Alba volleyed from the back, and Suarez padded the ball into the goal, 1-1.
Barcelona equalized the score!
This was not a good signal for Atletico Madrid. Barcelona, whose morale was boosted, became more and more courageous in the subsequent time.
In the 74th minute, it was Alves again. He sent a cross from the wing and assisted Suarez to score another goal, completing the double score.
In the end, with Suarez's two goals, Barcelona won a difficult victory at home.
But for Atletico Madrid, although this result is not ideal, it is not that desperate.
Although they lost, they didn't lose much, and they also had an away goal.
More importantly, they only lost after being sent off. Before Torres was sent off, the initiative on the field was actually in Atletico Madrid's hands.
It's just that Atletico Madrid's fierce defense and aggressive fighting tactics suffered a lot when they met Barcelona. The number of cards they received was astonishing. In this game, Atletico Madrid received a total of 8 yellow cards and 1 red card.
In the five recent games they played against Barcelona, they received a total of five red cards, averaging one per game. The card rate is astonishingly high!
Of course, this is also related to Barcelona's style of play. After all, who doesn't know the famous name of La Masia Film and Television Academy?
From the moment Torres fouled Busquets, it is difficult to say that Busquets did not perform.
After the game, all Atletico players, including Simeone, were very unconvinced by the result. Simeone even said harsh words that they would teach Barcelona a harsh lesson at the Calderon Stadium!
The loser eats the dust. As the winner, Barcelona will naturally not take the harsh words of its defeated general to heart.
They have even begun to consider their opponents in the semi-finals!
Compared with Barcelona's success, Real Madrid, another Spanish Super League team, is much unlucky.
Real Madrid, who thought they had won a great draw, rushed to the away game with confidence, but ended up being beaten 2:0 by Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena!
Real Madrid not only lost zero points, but also gave the opponent two goal differentials!
At this moment, Real Madrid's promotion situation immediately became dangerous.
Since they did not score away goals, they returned to home in the next round and had to score three goals to advance without allowing their opponents to score.
Once Wolfsburg scores at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid can take it away directly!
The situation has taken a turn for the worse, making the outside world very unfavorable to this Real Madrid team.
Even the disastrous defeat to Wolfsburg led to some rumors that Real Madrid would fire Zidane.
These rumors spread like wildfire, and they really frightened many fans, and even some Real Madrid fans themselves believed them.
After all, Real Madrid has done this kind of thing before. There are countless head coaches who have been fired by Real Madrid for various reasons, including some top coaches.
Zidane is just a rookie in the coaching world. He has never shown his talent in coaching before and cannot be called a famous coach at all.
Although the rumors from the outside world are rumors, they are not based on rumors.
After Real Madrid's defeat in the away game, Real Madrid Chairman Florentino's trust in Zidane was indeed shaken.
It would be fine if Real Madrid lost to a top team like Manchester City or Barcelona or Bayern, but they lost to Wolfsburg, which was recognized as an underdog before the game.
As a result, Real Madrid lost so miserably. There is really no way to explain this to the fans!
However, the number of head coaches who have been fired by Real Madrid in the past few years is really too many. If the coach is changed again and the team continues to be turbulent, it may be difficult for Real Madrid to realize its dream of ten Champions League titles.
Therefore, Florentino can only resist the pressure and continue to support Zidane, hoping that he can deliver a satisfactory answer in the second round!
Real Madrid's unexpected loss and Bayern's poor form have caused the winning odds of Manchester City and Barcelona to soar in this round.
Manchester City's odds have soared to the top of the list and are significantly ahead of second-placed Barcelona.
After Manchester City and Barcelona, the rankings of winning odds are Bayern, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Wolfsburg and Benfica.
Although Wolfsburg defeated Real Madrid, the outside world is still not optimistic about them, and even their defeated opponent Real Madrid has a winning odds ahead of them.
It may seem strange, but in fact it is not. After all, there is a huge gap in hard power between the two teams. Even if Wolfsburg passes Real Madrid, it will be difficult to pass the next round.
And if Real Madrid can reverse and advance at home, they will still be the favorites to win the championship.
…
Just look at the odds of winning the championship. If this thing is useful, there is no need to fight for it game by game.
So after the victory, Guardiola told the players to guard against arrogance and impetuosity, not to be careless and underestimate the enemy, to maintain a good mentality and wait for the second round next week.
But having said that, after winning the first round, the second round will be much easier for Manchester City.
It's just that the team has many injured players. I wonder if these people can come back in the second round?
On April 10, the 33rd round of the Premier League started.
Manchester City faces West Bromwich Albion at home. The opponent is not strong, so this game is not difficult for Manchester City.
For this reason, Guardiola specially put Aguero into the starting lineup after returning from injury, hoping to examine his status before the next round of the Champions League.
After the start, Aguero played more reservedly. This was also the players' instinctive reaction to protect themselves after injury.
As long as you can overcome the psychological barriers, there will be no problem.
In order to help Aguero defeat his inner demons, Lin Quan took the initiative to give up a penalty kick of his own making in the first half and gave the penalty kick opportunity to Aguero.
Aguero did not waste Lin Quan's good intentions, and made a solid penalty in one fell swoop!
After scoring this goal, Aguero's mentality improved a lot and he played more confidently and calmly.
In the 66th minute of the second half, Lin Quan once again provided an assist for Aguero, helping him score twice and sealing the victory for Manchester City.
After scoring the goal, Aguero rushed towards Lin Quan, put Lin Quan's foot passing to him on his knee, knelt down on one knee to clean his shoes.
"Thank you, Lin. I'm so lucky to have a teammate like you!"
Aguero's move shocked the fans at the scene. In terms of seniority in the Manchester City team, Aguero is actually older than Lin Quan. Not only has he played for the team for five years, he was also a Manchester City player. The biggest contributor to the first Premier League championship.
Such a meritorious veteran, who can even be called a Manchester City legend, actually respects Lin Quan so much, which shows Lin Quan's prestige and influence in the Manchester City team.
"Haha, me too, I'm lucky to be teammates with you!"
Lin Quan pulled Aguero up and hugged De Bruyne and others who came to celebrate!
On the sidelines, Guardiola showed a satisfied smile on his face. After the players on the field finished celebrating, he quickly made substitution adjustments and took Lin Quan off the field to let him rest.
It's the final stages of the league and the Champions League, and Lin Quan, the mainstay, must not be injured.
The lessons from Aguero, David Silva and others being injured one after another forced Guardiola to be extra vigilant.
If Manchester City hurts Lin Quan at this time, the Big Ears Cup will be on the line!
Although he did not score a goal, Lin Quan still received a standing ovation and cheers from the fans when he came off the field.
Lin Quan also smiled and waved to the fans and walked off the field in a leisurely manner.
The West Bromwich Albion players on the side had no intention of urging him, and even wished he wasted more time. After all, it felt uncomfortable to be beaten by Manchester City.
After Lin Quan came off the field, Aguero was quickly replaced.
He has just recovered from his injury and has not fully recovered yet. Guardiola does not dare to overuse it to avoid causing new injuries to the old injuries.
Good news came one after another in April. After Manchester City defeated their opponents at home and scored 3 points to maintain their lead in the standings, the other two injured players also returned one after another and resumed training.
David Silva's return has further enhanced Manchester City's offensive capabilities in the frontcourt and enriched their tactical options.
The return of defense general Van Dijk gave Guardiola a reassurance.
Since Van Dijk was missing from the defense, he has been worried about Manchester City's defense.
The combination of Demichelis and Rudiger is far inferior to the combination of Van Dijk and Kompany in terms of strength. What's more, Demichelis is older and his condition has declined seriously. It may be okay to play in the league. .
If it really comes to a high-intensity game like the Champions League semi-finals or even the final, his condition and physical fitness may not be able to withstand it.
Therefore, Van Dijk's timely comeback solved Manchester City's urgent need.
Good news for Manchester City, totally bad news for Paris Saint-Germain.
In the first round, they were able to score two goals. In addition to their own outstanding performance, it also had a lot to do with the improvised defense of Manchester City.
But in this round, Van Dijk's comeback greatly strengthened Manchester City's defense and made their offense more difficult.
In this game, Paris deployed a 352 formation in the away game.
This formation exposed their inner timidity, they were scared!
When Guardiola saw his opponent's formation, he immediately felt confident.
So he waved his hand to signal the entire Manchester City team to press forward and launch a pressing attack.
David Silva's comeback has given Manchester City an additional organization and passing point in the midfield and frontcourt, allowing them to play more comfortable passing and controlling football.
And Van Dijk's comeback has given Manchester City an excellent sweeper in the back. Even if it encounters an opponent's counterattack, it is not easy to lose the ball.
After the game started, Manchester City's offensive was overwhelming. They no longer bothered to launch an opening attack, because from the first second of the game, they had already increased the intensity of their offense to the highest level!
The players in Paris felt tremendous pressure, like a small boat floating on the vast ocean, teetering under the raging storm, and in danger of capsizing at any time.
In the first 20 minutes, Manchester City had already completed 8 shots, 4 of which were on target, and their ball possession rate reached an astonishing 82%!
The game has completely shown a one-sided trend. Paris is like a frail child, trembling under the fierce attack of the giant Manchester City.
It’s so scary. Is this really the Manchester City we’ve encountered before?
Why did it suddenly become so powerful?
The players of Paris were beaten to the point where they began to doubt their lives. In the last game at their home court, they felt that they could still compete with Manchester City.
Why is it that now that we are on the road, we are beaten so hard that we can't fight back? It's as if the two teams are not of the same level at all.
Not only the PSG players were shocked, but also the scouts from other teams who came to the scene were shocked:
The confident temperament exuded by this Manchester City team, as well as their strong dominance at home, make people feel heart-stopped!
In this state of theirs, let alone Paris Saint-Germain, even if they switch to their own home team, they will still get beaten when they come here!
No wonder people all over the world say that the Etihad Stadium is the home ground of the Devils. Now that I see it, it is indeed well-deserved!
Although the fans here are not fanatical and can even be called gentle, the team here is so terrifying that it makes people want to bend their knees!
At this moment, a consensus emerged in everyone's mind: Manchester City at home is unbeatable!
