Chapter 493 Manchester City VS Atletico Madrid, the strongest spear VS the strongest shield!

Winning three consecutive league titles is a shot in the arm for Manchester City, who are about to embark on the Champions League battlefield.

After winning the league title in advance, Manchester City no longer needs to be distracted by the league and can concentrate on preparing for the European war.

But their opponent Atletico Madrid is not so lucky!

La Liga's current championship situation is very complicated. After the 35th round of the league, the two teams at the top of the league have exactly the same points, both 82 points.

Real Madrid, ranked third, also has 78 points, only 4 points behind the team at the top. With three rounds left in the league, Real Madrid still has a theoretical possibility of winning the championship.

Although Atletico Madrid has the same points as Barcelona, ​​they are ranked second due to their goal difference. What's worse is that Barcelona has already been eliminated by them in the Champions League. This allows Barcelona to focus on competing for the league championship this season. .

Atletico Madrid, who advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League, had to focus on the Champions League semi-finals, especially when they had to face a super team like Manchester City.

Therefore, although the two teams have the same points, the outside world is more optimistic about Barcelona.

Although Atletico Madrid's league opponents in the last three rounds are not strong, they have great hope of winning three consecutive games.

But similarly, Barcelona's opponents are also very weak, and they are also likely to win three consecutive games.

With everyone winning three consecutive games, Barcelona holds a 30-goal difference advantage, which is enough to ensure that they win the La Liga championship trophy this season.

Therefore, Atletico Madrid coach Simeone is actually very pessimistic about competing for the league championship this season.

If they want to counterattack, their only hope lies in Barcelona's own mistakes.

If Barcelona doesn't make mistakes and securely wins the last three games, they won't have the slightest chance.

In this case, Atletico Madrid can only take one step at a time and play well in the Champions League first while taking into account the league.

The last time they lost in the finals, this time they made a comeback and they must not let such a thing happen again!

So, after finishing the league, Atletico rushed to Manchester non-stop to prepare for the upcoming first semi-final.

The game between Manchester City and Atletico Madrid is one day earlier than the other half, so the game has already attracted unprecedented attention from the outside world before it has even started.

There are more and more fans on the streets of Manchester City. Among them are Manchester City fans from all over the world, and there are also some Atletico Madrid fans who are traveling with the team.

British football hooligans are very famous. With so many fans gathering together, fights and troubles are inevitable.

As a result, the security situation in Manchester has declined a lot, although it was not good to begin with.

Guardiola attaches great importance to Atletico Madrid, who came from afar. He rarely conducted closed training without allowing fans and reporters to watch outside the training ground.

This approach aroused the curiosity of the outside world. Is Guardiola holding back a big move for the semifinals?

Atletico Madrid coach Simeone is also very curious, but he is not idle either. Atletico Madrid is also preparing strange moves for Manchester City.

At the pre-match press conference, when reporters asked Guardiola about his preparations for facing Atletico Madrid, Guardiola said with a mysterious smile:

"Believe me, this will be a surprise, but I can't tell you yet, otherwise, the fun of being a surprise will be lost!"

The more Guardiola sells off, the more curious the outside world becomes.

Guardiola's tendency to liven things up during competitions and even finals has long been known to the outside world, so everyone is speculating whether Guardiola has any new tricks up his sleeve this time?

"I bet 50 cents that Guardiola will definitely have to make a living!"

"Let me guess, is it a defensive midfielder? Three central defenders, or something else?"

"No one knows what Guardiola wants to do before he plays his cards, so we'd better wait patiently!"

Guardiola's words at the press conference and the vigorous discussion outside aroused Simeone's vigilance.

He was a little worried. Did Guardiola, a master tactician, really find a tactic to break Atletico Madrid's defensive system, or did he think of some very strange novel tactic that he had never thought of?

In terms of defense, Simeone is confident that he will not lose to anyone, but in terms of offensive and tactical innovation capabilities, he does not have such confidence.

Geniuses like Guardiola are leaders in this area.

However, he has full confidence in Atletico Madrid under his command. In recent years, under his training, Atletico Madrid's strength has steadily improved.

In La Liga, after enduring repeated tests from the two super strong teams of Barcelona and Real Madrid, he is already confident that his team can defend against any team's attack, even if the opponent is Manchester City.

The only thing you need to be wary of is probably the opponent's number ten.

After all, how to restrict Lin Quan is a headache for the entire football world.

…

The time finally came on April 27, and large numbers of fans began to gather towards the Etihad Stadium.

The players from the two teams also took their respective team buses and headed towards the stadium.

Manchester City's blue bus received a warm welcome from fans as it passed through the streets.

A large number of fans chased the bus, shouted the players' names, and cheered them on.

On the bus, some Manchester City players could not resist the enthusiasm of the fans on the street and waved to the fans.

Some have their eyes closed, as if they are recuperating and preparing for the upcoming competition.

As for Manchester City's captain Lin Quan, he sat next to head coach Guardiola and discussed something with him.

"Are you sure you want to do this? If something goes wrong in the first half, your plan may go bankrupt early!"

Guardiola nodded heavily: "Sure, let's do it. Since we already know the opponent's weaknesses, we must take advantage of this opportunity and seize the opponent's weaknesses!"

"Well, since you said so, let me go crazy with you once!"

Lin Quan was a little helpless. Guardiola, this guy, must work hard every time it comes to important games, as if he has a disease that makes him uncomfortable if he doesn't work hard.

But there is some truth in what he said. Although Guardiola's new tactics involve considerable risks, they are indeed feasible.

And there is an advantage to doing this, that is, it will not give the opponent too many opportunities. As long as there are no big changes, such as red cards, injuries and other major events, Atletico Madrid wants to break Manchester City's goal in this game. It will be very difficult.

After the team bus arrived at the stadium, Manchester City players were about to get off the bus.

Coincidentally, Atletico Madrid's bus also happened to arrive.

As a result, the players from the two teams were involuntarily attracted to each other. When their eyes met, sparks seemed to be flickering in the air.

Lin Quan didn't go to see anyone from Atletico Madrid, but he felt someone was staring at him, so he turned around and glanced. What he saw was a young man about 1.75 meters tall and wearing Atletico Madrid's No. 7 jersey. players.

The moment he saw the opponent, Lin Quan recognized the opponent's identity - Atletico Madrid winger Griezmann!

Griezmann looked at Lin Quan with eyes full of respect and a hint of eagerness to fight!

Lin Quan nodded slightly to him and then withdrew his gaze.

Griezmann has become famous in La Liga in the past two seasons and is a rising young star in La Liga.

Not only was he reused by Simeone, serving as the core of the Atletico Madrid team, but he also began to be reused by Deschamps in the national team.

In the future, he will even become the core of the French team, and together with Kanter and others, he will lead the French team to win the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

In terms of strength, Griezmann is very strong and has high potential in the future.

But unfortunately, Manchester City will not give him much room to play in this game. It will be extremely difficult for him and his teammates to win a victory at the Etihad Stadium!

Famous is not as good as meeting. Griezmann still admires Lin Quan, but it was not until today that he finally met him.

Although the other party is 4 years younger than himself, he does not dare to look down on him at all.

Lin Quan's fame has already been achieved through two Champions Leagues and a World Cup.

Nowadays, in the entire football world, there are very few people who can match him, let alone catch up with him?

Griezmann has a clear understanding of his own strength. He does not think that he can surpass the opponent. On the contrary, he has always regarded Lin Quan as the object of his study and reference, drawing nutrients from the opponent to improve himself!

I learned this trick from Benzema, the big brother of the national team!

It is said that Benzema's goal scoring efficiency has improved significantly since he learned Lin Quan's shooting method. In the past two years, no one has gradually mentioned the title of Benzema anymore. When it comes to Benzema, everyone will Think of the BBC combination in the Real Madrid team.

And being able to be ranked alongside a super giant like Ronaldo shows the recognition of him from the outside world.

…

"CCTV, CCTV!"

"Dear viewers, this is the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals between Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in the 2015-2016 season being broadcast live for you."

"I am the commentator Xu Yang!"

"I'm Duan Xuan!"

"First, let us introduce the starting lineups of both sides..."

In the CCTV studio, after the starting lineups of the two teams were introduced.

Xu Yang asked: "Duan Xuan, who do you like more in today's game?"

Duan Xuan smiled and replied: "I think both teams have a chance. Manchester City's offensive strength is strong and with the support of the home court, they should be able to exert their strength on the offensive end. Atletico Madrid's defensive counterattack ability is good. Once caught, Opportunities may also create goals. In short, who can win depends on who performs better."

Duan Xuan's answer was watertight, no one could be offended, and no one could find fault.

However, such correct nonsense caused fans to complain:

"Listening to your words is like listening to your words!"

"Good guy, you're here and here!"

"Although it is all nonsense that everyone knows, it is not wrong. This game can be called the strongest spear versus the strongest shield!"

"But I still think Manchester City has a better chance of winning. After all, Manchester City has a lot of stars, and there is a giant like Lin Huang in the team. Atletico Madrid's lineup is a lot less starry, although there are also Torres and Griezmann. I’m waiting for a star, but I can’t compare with Manchester City!”

"Indeed, judging from the value of the two teams, Manchester City is worth more than 700 million euros, which is at least twice that of Atletico Madrid!"

"Haha, I think Guang Linhuang alone can surpass the entire Atletico Madrid team, right?"

Because of Lin Quan, Manchester City has a large number of domestic fans, far more than the Shenzhen Legion.

However, Atletico Madrid is also a powerhouse in La Liga after all, and is only one Champions League champion away from the giants.

What's more, compared to other teams that spend a lot of money, Atletico Madrid, a relatively down-to-earth civilian team, is more likely to win the favor of fans.

Therefore, Atletico Madrid also has a large domestic audience.

At this time, seeing the triumphant looks of Manchester City fans, these Atletico Madrid fans immediately retorted:

"It's useless to have a high value. Haven't Real Madrid lost too many games in recent years? If we really judge heroes based on their value, then there is no need to kick them and just award the awards to Barcelona and Real Madrid!"

"That is, in the past few seasons, a lot of giants have been defeated by Atletico Madrid. Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​​​Bayern. Which one is not worth more than Atletico Madrid and will not fail when encountering Atletico Madrid?"

Since Simeone coached Atletico Madrid, Atletico Madrid has been called a giant killer.

Many giants have been defeated by them, and they have defeated almost all the giants in the five major leagues.

Such a brilliant record has given Atletico Madrid fans enough confidence to not be afraid of Manchester City's illustrious reputation.

"Having a high price tag is useful, otherwise, the last time the winner at the Stadium of Light was Atletico Madrid instead of Manchester City!"

Faced with the counterattack from Atletico Madrid fans, Manchester City fans did not hesitate. They directly showed the results of the only meeting between the two teams and poked the lungs of Atletico Madrid fans mercilessly.

As soon as this example came out, Atletico Madrid fans suddenly stopped talking.

It's not that I'm convinced, but I'm so angry that I can't speak.

Atletico Madrid has not won the Champions League so far, and the closest they came to winning was the 2013-2014 season.

That time they reached the final, but unfortunately, they were completely defeated by Manchester City in the final and missed the Big Ears Cup.

At that time, most of the players in the Manchester City team that defeated them were still in Manchester City, which made Atletico people somewhat fearful.

They had personally experienced each other's strength on the court. They knew better than anyone else how strong the Manchester City stars were.

The fans' quarrels had no impact on the situation of the game. The players who were warming up on the court obviously couldn't hear their quarrels.

During the warm-up before the game, Simeone noticed that there seemed to be many midfielders in the opponent's roster.

Manchester City's four major midfielders have all been included in the 18-man roster this time, not to mention the classic combination of Kante and Kroos.

It is not surprising that Fernandinho, a frequent player, appears on the roster, but Fernando, who has not played for Manchester City for a long time, is also on the roster.

This makes Simeone confused!

What is Guardiola doing?

With so many troops accumulated in the midfield and backfield, is it possible that they plan to fight us in hand-to-hand combat?

Or is he planning to arrange for three midfielders to play?