Chapter 48: Dream Team 2 Getting Back on Track (Part )

In the 43rd minute, Malaga got a chance to counterattack quickly. Malaga midfielder Edgar went over the ball and made a cross near the right bottom line. The cross was very threatening and just went over the head of Barcelona's central defender!

Fortunately, Li Qi returned to defense in time and made a crucial volley clearance at the far point before the opponent's forward Conago.

Less than a minute later, Malaga made a comeback and almost took the lead in the 1th minute!

This time it was Li Qi's defense area. Malaga's left midfielder Gerardo resisted Li Qi's close defense and forced a cross from the left. The cross was touched by Li Qi's toes, but it drew a strange parabola, and fell rapidly at the back point before and after passing the goal!

This time Edgar got the ball in front of the goal and got the ball at the far post, but his header at the half-empty goal unfortunately went wide - it might be because the ball had a strong rotation due to the changed trajectory, making it difficult to head the ball.

In the end, both sides drew 0-0 at halftime.

During the half-time break, Rijkaard directly replaced Marcos with Iniesta, strengthening the midfield's control and attack, still trying to score the first goal.

After Iniesta came on, Barcelona's central attack improved slightly, and the connection and penetration in the middle became smoother.

In the 48th minute, Iniesta received a pass from Xavi in ​​the middle and suddenly accelerated. He broke into the edge of the penalty area and took a low shot with his left foot, but it was blocked by Arna and went out of the baseline.

Ronaldinho then took a corner kick from the right side, but did not pass it directly into the penalty area. Instead, he passed it to Iniesta outside the penalty area. The latter stopped the ball lightly and sent the ball to the empty space on the left side of the penalty area again. Van Bommel, who was lurking in the penalty area, made a shovel shot from 8 yards in front of the goal, but unfortunately it was blocked by Arna in the near corner.

In the 57th minute, Giuly's cross from the right was blocked, but Iniesta intercepted the ball in the middle and then took a powerful shot from 28 yards. However, the angle of this low shot was too straight and was saved by Arna.

It was Van Bommel who followed up in time and dribbled past the fallen goalkeeper in front of the small penalty area, but his final turn shot was blocked in front of the goal line by defender Sands who came to defend quickly because the angle was too small.

Then in the 62nd minute of the game, Rijkaard replaced Giuly with Messi, and in the 70th minute, he replaced Eto'o with Larsson to continue to strengthen the offensive!

However, Barcelona, ​​which had been attacking wildly for almost the entire match, finally broke the deadlock in the 81st minute: Ronaldinho's father dribbled into the penalty area on the left side and was tackled by Juan Rodriguez, and the referee decisively awarded a penalty!

The big cat who was unreliable in penalty kicks had already left the field, so Ronaldinho’s father who was always reliable in penalty kicks took the penalty kick, and the result was that the ball went into the net in one go!

Sure enough, when the attack fails for a long time, they have to rely on penalty kicks, oh no, it’s Ronaldinho’s father!

However, once the situation was opened, Barcelona, ​​with more than 20 shots in the game, quickly changed the score.

Barcelona extended the lead in the 88th minute: Ronaldinho's father dribbled the ball forward on the left and passed it straight. Malaga defender Navas made a mistake in defending Larsson and was easily knocked off balance by Larsson's shoulder feint. The Swede who passed Navas calmly lobbed the ball into the empty goal in the left side of the penalty area facing the attacking Arna!

最终巴萨在主场2比0力克马拉加，也在积分榜上超过了本轮以1比3的比分输给超级拉科的皇家马德里，离榜首也只有1场球的距离了。

Although Li Qi did not score any goals or assists in this game, his outstanding performance in clearing the ball in front of the goal was still noticed by the head coach. Coupled with his solid defense and almost error-free passing, Rijkaard was also very satisfied with Li Qi's performance in this game.

于是3天后10月30日晚上19时的联赛第10轮，巴塞罗那在主场对阵皇家社会的比赛，里杰卡尔德又一次将李奇排进了首发。

Barcelona's 4-3-3 starting lineup is as follows:

The goalkeeper is No. 1 Valdés;

The back line from left to right is No. 16 Sylvinho, No. 15 Edmilson, No. 5 Puyol, No. 66 Li Qi;

The iron triangle in the midfield is No. 17 Van Bommel, No. 6 Xavi and No. 24 Iniesta;

The forward trident is No. 8 Giuly, No. 9 Eto'o and No. 10 Ronaldinho.

Before the game, Marcos asked for leave to go back to Mexico to handle personal matters...

After the start of the game, Barcelona put strong pressure on Real Sociedad with the momentum of two consecutive league victories.

But it was Barcelona's defense that made the first mistake...

In the 4th minute of the game, Edmilson hurriedly passed the ball back under the pressure of the opponent's forward Nihat. However, the ball was not only weak in power but also had a bad line. It was a dangerous ball!

Real Sociedad striker Uhlanga almost intercepted the ball, but fortunately Valdes acted in time and cleared the ball with a long kick!

However, it was Barcelona who scored the first goal.

Barcelona took the lead in the 18th minute: Ronaldinho's father broke through on the left and made a lob pass into the penalty area. Van Bommel advanced to the middle of the penalty area 14 yards away and shot the ball directly in the air with his right foot without stopping the ball. Although he did not exert his full strength, the ball was a bounce, which bounced off the ground, avoided the goalkeeper's save, and jumped into the lower right corner of the goal!

This was the Dutchman's second league goal of the season, helping Barcelona to a 2-1 lead!

Real Sociedad suffered two consecutive injuries in the 17th and 27th minutes and was forced to make two substitutions due to injuries in the first half. These two substitutions seemed to completely disrupt the rhythm of Real Sociedad.

Barcelona scored the first goal after the first substitution due to injury, and shortly after the second substitution due to injury, Barcelona changed the score again.

Barcelona extended the lead in the 36th minute: this time it was Van Bommel who returned the favor. After Van Bommel and Ronaldinho's father played a series of wall-kicks in the middle, Van Bommel made a final straight pass to the front of the penalty area. Ronaldinho's father took advantage of the situation and took a low shot with his right foot from 22 yards at the edge of the penalty area. The ball went through the crotch of the defender and went into the net in the lower left corner.

It seems that the two consecutive league victories plus three consecutive home games have stimulated the form of the entire Barcelona team; as a result of the decline in the team's performance, Barcelona suppressed Real Sociedad in all aspects and had friction in the first half.

Although they did not expand their lead again in the final period of the first half, they continued to threaten Real Sociedad's goal, forcing the opponent's goalkeeper Resgo to make many wonderful saves (it was really tiring...).

In the second half, Barcelona continued to beat Real Sociedad in the half...

In the 60th minute, Barcelona extended the lead again: Real Sociedad defender Jarregui fouled Ronaldinho's father who was making continuous breakthroughs at the front of the penalty area. The Brazilian took a free kick 25 yards slightly to the left of the center and shot directly. The ball drew a wonderful arc and passed the wall before falling into the dead corner of the goal...

The angle was too tricky, and the goalkeeper could only watch the ball go into the net. This was Ronaldinho's sixth league goal of the season.

Soon after Ronaldinho scored, Rijkaard made some substitutions and replaced some of the main players to save their energy for the Champions League group match three days later: Thiago Motta replaced Xavi in ​​the 3rd minute, and Esquero replaced Ronaldinho in the 63nd minute.

However, shortly after the second substitution, Barcelona scored again.

In the 75th minute, Sylvinho took a corner kick from the right. This time, Puyol, who was not very tall, accurately judged the ball's landing point in the crowd, jumped high and headed the ball into the near corner of the goal! This was Puyol's first goal of the season.

In the 80th minute, when the score was already 4-0, Rijkaard played his third card and replaced Eto'o with Larsson. Larsson had just come on the pitch when he had a good chance to score!

In the 86th minute, Li Qi made a rare forward attack in this game. He received the pass from Giuly and then went to the side. He quickly went down the right side, shook off the opponent's defender and made a half-high cross...

Larsson, who had just come on as a substitute, seemed to have a telepathic connection. He changed his pace and suddenly rushed forward to the front point. He headed the ball, which bounced off the ground and hit the near corner of the goal!

This was Barcelona's fifth goal in this game, and this goal also completely secured the victory: Barcelona defeated Real Sociedad with a score of 5-5!

Li Qi also assisted big brother Larsson in the final period of the game, which improved his statistics; but the man of the match was undoubtedly Ronaldinho's father, who made many foul-style passes and scored twice!

Rijkaard was very satisfied with the team's performance. He gave the whole team a day off the next day. They only concentrated on training again on the third day, preparing to face the challenge of Panathinaikos at home on the evening of November 11!

Barcelona has won consecutive home games recently, and the whole team is in high spirits and has a strong desire to fight; but in the Champions League, Rijkaard still trusts players with more game experience, of course, except Messi...

Therefore, in the Champions League group match against Panathinaikos, Li Qi was put back on the bench.

However, Li Qi was not in a hurry. If they won this match, Barcelona might be able to secure the top spot two rounds in advance, and they still had plenty of chances in the remaining two group matches...

In this game, Rijkaard used a 4-3-3 formation as usual:

The goalkeeper is No. 1 Valdés;

The back line from left to right is No. 12 Van Bronckhorst, No. 15 Edmilson, No. 5 Puyol, No. 23 Oleguer;

The iron triangle in the midfield is No. 17 Van Bommel, No. 24 Iniesta and No. 6 Xavi;

The forward trident is No. 30 Messi, No. 9 Eto'o and Ronaldinho.

However, before the game, some media openly questioned Cameroon Cheetah Eto'o...

"Eto'o hasn't scored in the Champions League? In my opinion this is not a problem. Samuel (Eto'o) has the ability to score goals and he doesn't have to prove anything anymore." Before the game, Rijkaard was not impressed by Eto'o's zero-goal record in the European Championship.

But Li Qi knew that Eto'o took it to heart... Panathinaikos, you guys better wish for the best...

Li Qi knew that according to Barcelona's recent state and morale, beating the opponent at home was almost a foregone conclusion, but Li Qi still underestimated how smooth the game would be.

Barcelona scored on the first attack of the game: after the kick-off, seeing that the visiting team's defense was collectively pressed too far forward, Iniesta got the ball on the center line and made an accurate over-the-top pass... Van Bommel understood what he meant and made a timely intervention.

Panathinaikos goalkeeper Galinovic saw that Van Bommel had a one-on-one chance after stopping the ball, so he had no choice but to attack; but Van Bommel was also very straightforward. He didn't stop the ball and directly volleyed the ball with his right foot on the penalty area line. The ball went directly over the attacking goalkeeper and flew into the empty goal...

Barcelona scored the first goal, 1-0! It was only 40 seconds after the kick-off, and Barcelona got off to a dream start!

Although Barcelona took the lead in the first minute, they had no intention of stopping there.

Under the baton and coordination of Iniesta and Xavi, Eto'o and Messi took turns to attack the opponent, frequently disrupting the opponent's defense... The Greeks simply could not keep up with the rhythm and had to frequently use foul tactics; but Barcelona still got consecutive chances!

In the 4th minute, Ronaldinho received Iniesta's straight pass and had a one-on-one opportunity, but his diagonal shot near the penalty area line was saved by Galinovich, and then Messi's follow-up shot was also blocked by the defender.

In the 6th minute, it was Eto'o's turn to receive Xavi's through ball and use his speed advantage to break through the opponent's last defender, but unfortunately he shot the ball directly into the opponent's goalkeeper's arms.

In the 12th minute, Messi's shot in the melee in the penalty area was again saved by Galinovich... But it was obvious to the naked eye that Barcelona was only a thin layer of window paper away from scoring again, which was easily broken!

Sure enough, in the 14th minute, Barcelona extended their lead.

Iniesta passed the ball from the middle to the wing, and Ronaldinho's low cross from the left was blocked out of the penalty area; Iniesta followed up in time, got the ball on the left rib, and then passed it over the top into the penalty area...

Eto'o, who was lurking in the penalty area, headed the ball from close range 9 meters in front of the goal, and the ball hit the right post and fell into the net, 2-0. This is also the first goal of Cameroon Cheetah in the Champions League this season!

Barcelona, ​​which was leading by two goals, did not shrink its defense, but continued to press forward and attack. This is Barcelona's football style!

In the 19th minute, Ronaldinho's father deceived the opponent's defensive player with a fake move on the left, cut into the middle, and took a long shot from the edge of the penalty area. Unfortunately, the ball hit the far post and went out of the bottom line.

Then, Messi and Eto'o collided and won a free kick. Ronaldinho took the penalty from 20 meters in front of the goal. His right-footed arc ball passed the wall, but unfortunately it was blocked by goalkeeper Galinovich who flew to the right bravely...

Then Barcelona's attack wave was not over yet. Iniesta broke through the left side of the penalty area and made a cross. Messi, who was not tall, cleverly got the ball in the crowd and headed it, but his header was not good enough and the ball went high and floated...

However, Eto'o still tried to shoot through the golden bicycle in the middle of the penalty area, but it was blocked by the defender and then cleared. Barcelona's attack wave was over.

Panathinaikos then tried to slow down the pace of the game, but Barcelona was hungry for goals and continued to launch a wave of attacks.

In the 22nd minute, Barcelona launched a classic triangle attack. First, Ronaldinho made a straight pass to penetrate the defense line, Eto'o passed the ball back in the penalty area, and Messi followed up and shot the ball in the middle of the penalty area, but unfortunately the shot hit the defender and bounced out.

In the 24th minute, Messi received a pass from Iniesta and dribbled into the left side of the penalty area. He pushed the ball into the net with his left foot from 10 meters in front of the goal, but unfortunately it was a fake draw and was judged to be offside.

In the 25th minute, Ronaldinho also played a lob shot from the edge of the penalty area, but this time the speed and angle of the lob were not good enough, and goalkeeper Galinovich turned around and caught the ball.

In the 34th minute, after a long attack by Barcelona, ​​Panathinaikos finally made a mistake in a hurry and Barcelona once again seized the opportunity to score!

First, Messi dribbled the ball at high speed on the right and then cut inside. In front of the top of the penalty area, Messi was surrounded by four defensive players and wanted to pass the ball with the outside of his left foot, but the opponent's central defender judged it and intercepted Messi's pass.

However, Eto'o and Messi immediately counterattacked on the spot, and the opponent's defender was panicked and could not clear or pick the ball out. Instead, the ball bounced into the air after being hit...

Former Liverpool player Biscan wanted to head the ball back to the goalkeeper, but unfortunately his posture was wrong and the force of the header was too weak, so the ball returned to Messi's feet. The young Argentine player cleverly lifted the ball with his left foot in the right corner of the small penalty area, and then poked the ball into the top of the goal!

Barcelona led 3-0, which was also Messi's first European goal.

The score was already 3-0. Maybe the Barcelona players had watched last year's Champions League final: 3-0 lead at halftime? It was still too dangerous... so they kept on attacking and charging!

In the 40th minute, Barcelona launched a counterattack with a direct pass. Messi dribbled the ball diagonally from the right at high speed, attracting the opponent's double-team again; but this time Messi learned his lesson and flicked the ball to the top of the penalty area in advance...

Ronaldinho and Eto'o in the middle fired together and followed up; Ronaldinho's father, who was closer to the center, received the ball from Messi, faked a shot and passed it to the opponent's last defensive player before shaking off the center of gravity and passing it to Eto'o who was following up on the left...

Eto'o, who was not offside, had a high success rate in shooting at this distance, so he took a step with his right foot and immediately shot with his left foot into the near corner from 12 meters in front of the goal, scoring his second goal, 4-0!

The outcome of the game was already in doubt in the first half...

Barcelona's terrifying overall strength and wave after wave of attacks left Panathinaikos with no power to fight back and no chance to breathe.

The Dream Team II finally showed its sharp fangs to the world!

……