Chapter 258: The Great Enemy, Oh No, It’s the Roman Legion Attacking!

2007年10月1日晚上9时50分，07/08赛季英格兰足球超级联赛第8轮的最后一场比赛终于落下帷幕，而全场球迷也响起了雷鸣般的掌声，电视机前的观众也是久久不能平复鸡冻的心情。

In this game between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa at home, the two sides ended in an epic 4-4 draw!

Before this game, Tottenham Hotspur had won 5 and drawn 2 of the last 3 games between the two teams, and remained unbeaten in the last 7 home games against Villa, winning 4 and drawing 3, which was an absolute advantage. Therefore, Tottenham Hotspur even held a celebration event to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the founding of the team before the game...

Although in the 20th minute of the game, Huddlestone took a corner kick to assist Berbatov to score a powerful header, helping the home team to open the scoring; but according to the law of conservation of character, Tottenham was destined not to have a smooth game.

于是从第22分钟开始，客队维拉在第22分钟、第33分钟、第40分和第59分钟连入4球。比赛还没满一小时，阿斯顿维拉就由加德纳的任意球直接破门将比分反超成了4比1。

However, Tottenham, who are playing at home and celebrating the team's anniversary, will never allow themselves to be nailed to the pillar of shame in history.

In the last 30 minutes of the game, the home team fought back and attacked desperately. First, in the 79th minute, Chimbonda scored a goal from a small angle. Then in the 82nd minute, Robbie Keane's penalty kick narrowed the gap again.

Finally, in the last minute of extra time, Defoe assisted Kaboul to score the final equalizing goal, locking the score at 4-4!

Although Tottenham coach Jol felt very upset after three draws in four rounds, fans of both teams and even the whole world were very happy. Eight different goals and an equalizer were really exciting.

However, such a thrilling match was not enough to grab the front-page headlines of the Premier League this weekend, and another more shocking match made it feel the same as Wang Feng.

7 to 4! The Pompey Legion Portsmouth beat the visiting team Reading with such a magical score at home.

Although the home team took advantage of the visiting team's mistake to break the deadlock in the 7th minute, the score of 2-1 in the first half was still normal.

The second half was a sudden change. The visiting team equalized the score in the third minute after the second half, and then both teams scored a goal every five minutes on average. Including the extra time, the two sides scored a record-breaking 3 goals in 5 minutes - the same number of goals scored by Tottenham in that game...

单场出现11个进球也创造了英超的单场比分新纪录。此前的单场比分记录是保持了12年之久的单场9球，分别是1995年曼联9比0血洗伊普斯维奇以及1998年布莱克本7比2锤爆谢周三。

然而本周末除了英超出现了令球迷振奋的大比分记录之外，德甲也由一场载入史册的比赛：云达不来梅在主场8比1屠杀了比勒费尔德，追平1983年11月26日创造的俱乐部主场最大胜利，当年不来梅击败的对手是奥芬巴赫踢球者；而这也是2000年3月18日勒沃库森客场9比1击败乌尔姆以来德甲的最悬殊比分场次。

The series of high-scoring matches over the weekend seemed to be a prelude to the second round of the 07/08 UEFA Champions League group stage which will be held in the middle of the week, especially (Roma fans please skip this chapter...) the highlight of this round of 16 group stage matches - the Red Devils Manchester United will once again face the challenge of the Italian Red Wolves Roma at Old Trafford!

Originally, there wasn't much of a story between Manchester United and Roma. After all, the two teams were not in the same league and had played against each other only a few times. But! All the variables, origins, entanglements of love and hate, ties, and coincidences with historical destiny all started from that game half a year ago...

时间回到半年前，2007年4月11日，06/07赛季欧冠1/4决赛次回合，曼联坐镇老特拉福德球场迎战罗马，双方首回合比赛中曼联作客1比2告负；所以外界一致认为这场比赛将会是一场势均力敌天雷勾地火的焦灼大战！

Unexpectedly, Carrick, Smith, Rooney and Ronaldo scored four goals for Manchester United in the first half and secured the victory.

In the second half, Manchester United, with high morale, did not play negatively at home. Ronaldo and Carrick scored a goal respectively to complete their double, and Evra added the icing on the cake with a low shot in the 82nd minute, locking the score at a staggering 7 to 1!

Although Roma lost by a net of 6 goals, fortunately, Roma's old prince Totti assisted Roma's young prince De Rossi to score a face-saving goal, so that they did not lose goals; otherwise, they would have lost face and been counted constantly, and people would have composed a poem to commemorate them: There are friends all over the world, my God, it was six to zero!

However, the score of 7 to 1 has also forged an indissoluble bond with Roma. If history remains unchanged, many years later, the Red Wolves will have to experience this tragic score again, but only the opponent will change.

Of course, the story of Roma and Manchester United has not ended. Many years have passed since the second 7-1 defeat. If history remains unchanged, the Red Devils will face Roma again on the same field and commit another bloody crime.

However, the Red Wolves made some progress this time. They struggled a little more, but still allowed Manchester United to score six or more goals in a single European game for the second time. As for when was the first time? Please read two paragraphs ago...

However, the story of Manchester United and Roma ends here. Based on the above information and data, please calculate the psychological shadow area of ​​Roma fans...

Anyway, as a top student in science, Ricardo can't figure out the answer to this question, nor does he plan to. He will sympathize with them, but he will still try to beat the shit out of them when facing Roma; after all, Roma has a lot of acquaintances, so he must not lose face, otherwise all the boasting will become a bullet shot at him when he dies socially!

The starting striker of Roma is Totti, the big brother who often teases him in the national team. The midfielder includes De Rossi, his long-term roommate in the national team, Aquilani, his new brother in the Italian national youth team, Perrotta who was squeezed onto the national team bench by himself, and Giuly, his former teammate in Barcelona. In addition, the goalkeeper position also includes Kurci, his previous brother from many years ago.

Ricardo firmly believes that the best way to show respect to old friends and good brothers is to go all out and beat them down without mercy, and continue to establish his authority and status among his brothers, younger brothers, and the Italian national team: I'm sorry, brothers, I have to borrow your shoulders and heads to step on...

At 2007:10 on the evening of October 2, 19, local time in the UK, the second round of the group stage of the 45/07 UEFA Champions League Group F began. As fate would have it, the Roma Legion once again invaded Old Trafford to challenge the Red Devils Manchester United. Was it revenge or another bloodbath? Fans all over the world opened the elevator early and were looking forward to it!

曼联此前冠军杯主场6连胜，且已连续9个主场不败，最近一次失利是2005年2月0比1不敌AC米兰。

In the starting lineup, Kuszczak still replaced Van der Sar. He did not concede a goal in five games in his 14th game for Manchester United; O'Shea replaced the injured Brown as right back, new signing Li Qi started as left midfielder, and Giggs unexpectedly started on the bench.

Sir Alex Ferguson fielded a standard 4-4-2 parallel starting lineup:

Goalkeeper: No. 29 Kuszczak;

The back line from right to left is: No. 22 O'Shea, No. 15 Vidic, No. 5 Ferdinand and No. 3 Evra;

The central midfielders lined up from right to left are: No. 7 Cristiano Ronaldo, No. 16 Carrick, No. 18 Scholes and No. 17 Li Qi;

The two strikers are No. 10 Rooney and No. 9 Saha;

On the bench were youth team goalkeeper No. 19 Heaton, No. 25 Pique, No. 33 Simpson, No. 11 Iglesias, No. 8 Giggs, No. 32 Anderson and No. Tevez.

However, Dong Yuanchao, who was missed by Chinese fans, was absent from the roster this time...

Roma was not favored by the outside world before the game. On the one hand, they lost an unforgettable 1-7 at this stadium last season. On the other hand, Roma's recent form is quite different from the English Premier League defending champion Manchester United, which has won consecutive games in the league, got on the right track, and got rid of the three-game losing streak at the beginning of the season. They have not been in good shape recently. They have been fighting against strong teams in the league, and suffered their first defeat of the season last weekend, losing 1-4 to Inter Milan, breaking their unbeaten record at home since May last year.

In addition, in terms of personnel, although Prince Totti returned from injury, he is far from his best condition; in addition, Roma's number one goalkeeper Doni was absent due to illness and was replaced by Curci, and several main players such as Taddei, Panucci and Cassetti were also absent due to injuries.

However, before the game, Totti still said in a high-profile manner: "We want a great and wonderful revenge battle. We have never forgotten the disastrous defeat at Old Trafford last season. It was a disaster for us..."

This time, Roma's starting lineup was very careful and cautious. The bald coach Spalletti, who had learned a painful lesson, arranged a pragmatic double defensive midfielder 4-2-3-1 formation:

The goalkeeper is No. 1 Kurci;

The back line from right to left is No. 3 Cicinho, No. 5 Mex, No. 4 Juan, No. 22 Tonetto;

The double defensive midfielders are No. 16 De Rossi and No. 8 Aquilani;

The three midfielders are No. 14 Giuly, No. 20 Perrotta and No. 30 Mancini;

The single arrow is No. 10 Totti.

All of Li Qi's brothers in Rome started, especially in the midfield and frontcourt. Except for one young Mancini was not familiar with, they were basically good friends who had taken a shower together and knew each other well.

When they were warming up before the game, everyone gathered together and chatted for a while, and they all made a grand vow that if they didn't knock the other party down, they would call him daddy...

After the game started, the home team Manchester United was obviously a little bit arrogant and wanted to replicate last season's miracle to defeat the opponent in one go. As a result, Ronaldo and Rooney were too impatient in handling the ball several times and their attacks failed.

On the contrary, Roma played very cowardly, oh no, it was mean, oh no, it was pragmatic, they played defensively and counterattacked steadily. As the bridgehead, Totti was not like Ronaldo and Rooney, but calmly protected the ball with his back and made the transition, which made Roma's counterattack more colorful.

In the 8th minute, Roma completed the first shot on target of the game, with Totti completing a powerful volley from the edge of the penalty area. Unfortunately, the ball was shot too straight and was caught by Kuszczak.

Then in the 10th and 12th minutes, Totti completed two consecutive shots near the penalty area; although neither resulted in a goal, it was indeed a dangerous signal. After all, if Totti was in his peak form, two of these three shots would probably have gone in!

So Li Qi followed Birmingham's thinking in the previous game and took the initiative to change. He no longer stayed on the wing waiting for opportunities to attack, but retreated actively to participate in the back-pass and control in the midfield. He also consciously asked for more balls and kept the ball in the midfield and backcourt for back-passing, slowing down the tempo of the game. This was also to help Rooney and Ronaldo cool down their hot heads. Oh no, that's not right.

However, whenever Li Qi got the ball, those bastards from Roma started to behave like humans, frequently kicking, pushing and bumping him from behind, either trying to drain the ball or knock Li Qi down. They all knew how much of a threat Li Qi was when he calmly got the ball and turned around.

But Li Qi felt a little aggrieved: Damn it, I haven't even thought about turning around and speeding up! It's just a normal backcourt transition! Can I still play football properly? !

However, after slowing down the tempo, Manchester United began to control the situation. After all, Roma's lineup was clearly biased towards half-court defense, and it would definitely not work to press the midfield and frontcourt led by Totti throughout the game. And Manchester United, which reduced its passing errors, were gradually able to create some threatening attacks.

In the 19th minute, Li Qi turned around the moment he received the ball and dodged Aquilani who was closely guarding him. He then dribbled forward at high speed and was knocked down from behind by Perrotta at the edge of the defensive third zone.

Then Ronaldo's free kick from 27 meters on the left hit the wall and bounced off the bottom line...

In the 23rd minute, Li Qi pretended to repeat his old trick to turn the ball around, but he used the outside of his foot to break through from the other side, causing Aquilani to stagger again, and also deceived the feelings of Giuly who originally wanted to be the one to score.

This time, Li Qi chose to play a wall match with Rooney, avoiding Perrotta's pursuit route and inserting diagonally into the corner of the penalty area. Then, facing the double-teaming of De Rossi and Juan, Li Qi sent a half-high cross from the edge of the penalty area, hitting Juan's loose arm! However, the referee Mejuto was unmoved and refused to award a penalty.

As Manchester United gradually opened up the situation and the passing and cutting coordination became more and more comfortable, Li Qi gradually returned to the wing, intending to speed up and make a move from the left wing.

In the 27th minute, Li Qi received a pass from Scholes on the left wing, pretended to go inside, shook off Cicinho's center of gravity, dribbled the ball along the left side, and used Cicinho's positioning to block De Rossi's backup defense. It seemed like a fake move to get past two Roma defensive teammates.

Then, before the ball was about to be brought into a dead end, Li Qi dribbled the ball and kicked it quickly, turning around and kicking the ball directly from under the crotch of De Rossi who was flying in the tackle to the feet of Carrick who was following up in the middle, and then jumped lightly to avoid the friendly greeting from his good friend's studs.

After Carrick received the ball in the middle, De Rossi went to defend the wing, so he had a certain open space in the middle to handle the ball calmly and send a precise through ball. Unfortunately, although Saha's turn shot after receiving Carrick's pass caused Kurchi to lose his grip, Rooney's supplementary shot was blocked by Mex, half a beat slower, and the ball was saved by Roma's young goalkeeper Kurchi for the second time.

Then Ronaldo's pressing caused Tonetto's back pass to be wrong, but Rooney was half a beat slow again and failed to grab the ball, and was cleared by Mexheim.

In the 31st minute, Manchester United had the best chance since the start of the match. Cristiano Ronaldo's free kick from 28 meters away was caught by Kurchi, who then tried to throw the ball to Totti near the center circle to launch a quick counterattack, but Li Qi had already judged the ball's trajectory and waited for it.

Right in front of big brother Totti, Li Qi jumped into the air and snatched the ball from Kurci's hand with his chest, then launched an attack along the right. A change of rhythm and a fake eye move tricked Mancini, who was about to counter-steal, towards Scholes in the middle.

Then Li Qi performed a wall-like cooperation with C Ronaldo who had just taken a free kick in the middle, and once again dodged Perrotta who came to defend. While the two midfielders De Rossi and Aquilani were still near the penalty area, Li Qi used his speed to break through Tonetto, went down the edge of the penalty area, and sent a powerful low cross!

However, Li Qi did not kick the ball well. He was pushed by Tonetto during his high-speed advance, and he only thought about exerting force without finding a good contact point for the kick, so the ball became a half-high ball, and it slightly spun in the opposite direction of the goal.

However, this also avoided Kurchi's interception in front of the goal. The latter had already guessed that Li Qi was going to send a low pass! Huh? Not a low cross in front of the goal? Damn! Half a palm away, can't hit it!

Kurchi, who failed to touch the ball, fell to the ground and looked back in horror at the far end of the goal!

There was a red-shirted player lying in ambush, ready to strike...

……