Chapter 568 Wenger announces his retirement, Barcelona is on the road of no return

A draw is also difficult for Manchester City to accept. After Liverpool won, the Red Army's points have already surpassed Manchester City.

This means that Manchester City's Champions League seat is also a bit unsafe.

Arsenal on the opposite side is their direct competitor for the Champions League spot.

Therefore, as long as there is a chance, we must win this game resolutely!

After realizing that the focus of the opponent's defensive midfielder's interception was the person who took the ball to advance when Manchester City switched from defense to offense, Lin Quan took the initiative to take over this task.

Seeing Lin Quan reaching for the ball, Gundogan quickly passed the ball to him.

In fact, Arsenal's defense not only targets Manchester City's ball-handlers, but also their ball-players in the midfield and backfield.

Gundogan has obviously received the attention of the other party, so for him, football is like a hot potato. If it is spread out early, he can relax a little bit.

Seeing Lin Quan get the ball, Xhaka rushed over without thinking.

Lin Quan saw that the opponent was rushing very fast, so he flicked the ball to the left, avoiding Xhaka in front of him, and accelerated towards the side instantly.

Xhaka had nothing to do with Lin Quan's treatment. Lin Quan had gotten rid of his defense and could only rely on his teammates now.

"Beautiful, Lin's handling is very smart. There is an open space in front of him and he can pass the ball!"

In the commentary box, the two guest commentators couldn't help but praise Lin Quan when they saw Lin Quan successfully getting rid of the opponent's interception.

When switching from defense to offense, speed is crucial. Many times the counterattack speed cannot be increased because it cannot pass the interception level of the opponent in the midfield.

As long as the ball can be passed out smoothly or taken out by oneself, the opponent's defensive players will not have time to get into position.

In this way, the offense is not facing a complete defense line, and it will be much easier to score.

At this time, Lin Quan had advanced with the ball to a position close to the top of the penalty area. Every Arsenal fan in the stands was so nervous that they could not breathe.

The two Arsenal defenders who had just returned to the penalty area were almost all in the middle of the penalty area. They blocked Lin Quan's breakthrough route.

Lin Quan saw the opponent's defender's position and passed the ball without hesitation.

David Silva, who followed up from the right, volleyed the ball directly into the goal.

Manchester City once again overtook the score, and the score became 2:3. Arsenal was only one step away from falling into the abyss.

There is still some time before the end of the game, and Arsenal must seize this last opportunity to equalize the score.

This idea is very good, but unfortunately it is destined to be impossible to realize.

After David Silva scored, Manchester City began to make substitutions.

Fernandinho comes on, replacing forward Aguero.

Obviously, Guardiola wants to strengthen his defense and not give the Arsenal people a chance.

Although Manchester City seems to have replaced a forward, the offensive power has been weakened a lot.

But after Fernandinho came on, Manchester City's double midfielders were extremely solid, which greatly liberated Gundogan, allowing him to devote all his energy to offense.

In the 72nd minute, Manchester City played a fast break. Gundogan sent a wonderful pass and penetrated Arsenal's defense. Unfortunately, the opponent's goalkeeper attacked in time and destroyed the ball before the Manchester City players outflanked it.

In the 77th minute, Lin Quan used his personal strength to complete a breakthrough near the top of the arc. Mustafi had to commit a tactical foul and pulled him to the ground, giving Manchester City a well-positioned free kick opportunity. He himself received a yellow card for this.

Seeing Lin Quan standing in front of the ball and preparing to take a free kick, everyone in Arsenal was extremely nervous.

This position is too dangerous, and it is easy for a free kick master to score a goal, and Lin Quan is such a master.

Arsenal's goalkeeper directed his teammates to form a wall, blocking the right side of the goal, while he stood slightly closer to the left.

In fact, you can roughly judge which position they will play from the position of the free throw shooter. After all, if you stand on the left side of the ball, you will most likely use your right foot to take the penalty, and if you stand on the right side, you will naturally use your left foot.

For those players whose dominant foot is clear, this does not even need to be guessed. But Lin Quan does not have an inverse foot and can shoot both left and right, so he has to judge by his position.

Lin Quan was standing on the left side of the ball at this time, so he had to take the penalty with his right foot and send the ball to the left.

After seeing Lin Quan's position, Arsenal's goalkeeper was full of confidence and he was ready to make a save.

However, after seeing the goalkeeper's position, Lin Quan made a move that surprised everyone.

He did take the free throw with his right foot, but he did not touch the ball with the inside of his foot, but volleyed with the outside instep!

Arsenal's goalkeeper really didn't expect Lin Quanyou to be so good, but it doesn't matter, he still has teammates!

Arsenal's wall was on the right. When Lin Quan shot, they all jumped high, trying to block the football coming from the air.

However, the angle of Lin Quan's kick was too tricky, and the ball almost missed the ear of the outermost player and flew past (refer to Afif's kick in the Asian Cup final).

Arsenal's human wall stopped the loneliness!

However, the ball went over the wall, wouldn't it be too high or too far?

However, seeing the arc of the football in the air, the faces of Arsenal fans suddenly changed.

No, this ball is dangerous!

Uh-huh!

Almost as soon as they had this idea, they heard a swish sound and the ball hit the net.

The score became 2:4!

If there was still a glimmer of hope at 2:3, now that the point difference has further widened, the Arsenal people's mood is really cool.

But Manchester City seemed to be playing crazy and couldn't stop scoring goals.

In the 85th minute, Manchester City won a corner kick.

After the corner kick was taken, a chaotic battle broke out in the penalty area. The ball was pushed out by the opponent in the chaos, and it happened to fall at the feet of Kanter.

Kanter raised his foot and shot, and it hit the opponent's player and was refracted.

The Arsenal goalkeeper was taken aback, made a hasty save, and shot the ball away in a thrilling manner.

But the crisis was not over. The flying ball hit the Arsenal defender again and landed in the small penalty area.

Just when Arsenal's defender wanted to use his big foot to clear the ball, someone was one step faster than him, stretched out his foot and poked the ball into the goal.

The score became 2:5, Arsenal was bloodbathed by Manchester City at home!

…

When the referee blew the whistle to end the game, every Arsenal player on the field seemed to have lost their souls.

Some people even fell to their knees, covering their faces and crying.

Not only the players, but also the Arsenal fans in the stands were really sad.

This game was really sad for them. At such a critical juncture, in such an important game, Arsenal collapsed.

After losing this game, they trailed Liverpool by 3 points.

Is it possible that Arsenal can't guarantee a fourth place finish this season?

Although people's sorrows and joys are not the same, Lin Quan was still a little sad to see Arsenal's players so frustrated and Wenger so lonely on the sidelines.

If history does not change, then today next year, Wenger will announce his retirement.

It's hard to say whether his retirement is because Arsenal failed to continue the tradition and successfully secure a fourth place finish.

After all, after many years without a trophy, their continued and stable entry into the Champions League is, for Arsenal, the last bottom line for them to maintain their status as a giant.

But now, even this final bottom line has fallen below. For an old man who is nearly 70 years old, it is so desperate and cruel.

In fact, Wenger is really thinking about retirement at this time.

The team's performance is declining year by year, and there is no hope of improvement.

The pattern of the Premier League is undergoing drastic changes, becoming more cruel and intense, which makes him, an old guy, a little confused and unable to keep up.

In this case, then stop being stubborn and take the initiative to leave!

This may be a good thing for yourself and the team, and it can also bring dignity to both parties.

Therefore, at the post-match press conference, Wenger announced in public that he would step down as Arsenal head coach after the end of this season.

The reporters at the scene were all stunned as if they were struck by lightning.

Wenger is a veteran of the Premier League and the only remaining football manager. His retirement means that the old era will come to an end!

There was no surprise. After the game, the news swept the entire UK and even the entire European football world with lightning speed.

Together with Barcelona, ​​which almost created a miracle at home a few days ago, but ultimately lost unfortunately, it has become a hot topic in football these days.

Lin Quan learned the news on the bus back to Manchester. He was somewhat surprised to learn that Wenger actually chose to retire this season.

This time point was moved a full year ahead of schedule, and it is hard to say that it was not influenced by his butterfly.

As for Barcelona's regretful defeat and being eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain, Lin Quan had heard about it before.

Barcelona, ​​which was massacred 4-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the away game, almost performed a miracle after returning home.

Suarez scored a lightning goal first, igniting the passion of the Barcelona players.

Then the opponent made a mistake and gave them an own goal, allowing Barcelona to turn the total score into 2:4, and they were still two goals behind.

In the second half, Barcelona scored another lightning goal, bringing the total score to 3:4, only one goal behind.

However, just when Barcelona saw hope of equalizing or even reversing, Paris forward Cavani also scored.

The total score became 3:5, and the opponent still had away goals. Barcelona must score 3 more goals to win. This is an almost impossible task.

Barcelona, ​​whose momentum was frustrated, struggled to score in the subsequent minutes. It was not until the 88th minute that the game dragged on, and Iniesta's goal once again ignited the almost extinct hope.

A minute later, Suarez dived in the penalty area. He had already received a yellow card for a poor diving performance in the first half.

So the referee hesitated and made a decision that surprised everyone - a penalty kick and gave Marquinhos a yellow card.

This penalty was outrageous because he failed to award many penalties on both sides that should have been awarded. As a result, at such a critical moment, he was given a yellow card for such a diving that was not a foul.

After the penalty kick was scored, the score became 5:5. The two sides had equalized the score, and Barcelona was still one away goal behind.

As long as they score one more goal, they can win this game!

Barcelona, ​​who were playing crazy, really scored quickly.

Roberto, who came off the bench, scored the go-ahead goal in stoppage time, making the entire Camp Nou boil.

A miracle really happened!

However, just as the Barcelona people were rejoicing, on the other side of Paris, watching Neymar's former teammates cheering and celebrating, his eyes gradually became determined.

In the final stage of stoppage time, Neymar's magic came from heaven. After receiving Di Maria's pass, he passed his very familiar former teammate, entered the penalty area, and calmly pushed the shot to score, rewriting the score to 6:2. The total score immediately became 6:6.

Neymar's goal directly kicked away the miracle created by the Barcelona people, making this night a sad night for all Barcelona people.

The process of this game was ups and downs, thrilling, and there were also dramas such as roommates fighting against each other and turning against the old boss.

Therefore, it became a hot topic, and after the game, it was hailed by countless fans as the most exciting Champions League game they had seen this season.

Many people even felt sorry for Barcelona because they were so close to setting a record.

It’s a pity that we fell at the last step!

If Neymar had not left, but stayed with the team to fight alongside his teammates, would Barcelona have a greater chance of winning?

In fact, this game had a great impact on Barcelona. In addition to losing the game and stopping in the top 16, their coach Enrique announced after the game that he would resign as Barcelona coach after the end of the season.

There are rumors that Enrique's departure is closely related to Messi.

According to Catalan tabloid media, Messi set a hard condition for the contract extension: Enrique must leave!

Although this kind of gossip may not be reliable, the conflict between Enrique and Messi is obvious.

So when Enrique announced his resignation, there were also some voices criticizing Messi from the outside world.

Some people think that he is too tied to Barcelona, ​​or that Barcelona relies too much on Messi.

If Enrique really leaves in this way, then the new coach will probably have to look at Messi's face.

In this case, who dares to come to Barcelona to coach?

But with Messi's status in Barcelona, ​​Barcelona has no good solution.

Between Enrique and Messi, they can only choose Messi.

Even in order to appease Messi, Barcelona will also significantly increase his salary in the new contract extension with Messi, so that Messi's annual salary will be comparable to Manchester City's Lin Quan.

This is consistent with his status in the team!

However, Barcelona is now facing a serious problem of aging lineup, and they need to spend money and time to introduce and train new players.

But once Messi is given a substantial salary increase, it will inevitably compress the salary space for other positions in the team. This is not conducive to their introduction of big-name players, and it is not conducive to the financial health of the team!

Therefore, Barcelona's current situation obviously violates the laws of the market.

When Messi gets old or leaves, Barcelona will inevitably be in ruins.

And in this state, Barcelona may still be able to compete in the league in the next few seasons, but in the Champions League, their competitiveness will definitely become weaker and weaker.

If we want to regain the glory of Team Cosmos, we are afraid that it will be a long time coming.