Chapter 72: The Days When Big Cat Is Away (Part )

After the evening training, Ricardo went to the airport to pick up Chiara. Ricardo was very depressed these days. The competition was stopped, the training was stopped, and there was a sexy girl living at home...

Today Chiara wore her work clothes, a dark blue slim straight women's suit, with a mulberry silk purple women's shirt with a ribbon bow inside, a long black down jacket on the outside, and a pair of black pointed stilettos with red bottoms, 10 cm high heels on her feet, and dark blue creases were faintly visible on her feet!

“Who is the beautiful snake trying to seduce with this blue and black outfit? Really… Ouch…” Ricardo quickly adjusted the position of his tight crotch when no one was paying attention, “Stay calm at the airport… Take a deep breath… No! We have to go home quickly!”

He took the suitcase, hugged the slender waist of the beautiful woman in the suit, and drove home quickly...

As soon as she entered the house, she found the newly decorated guest room and the newly bought big bed. Chiara looked unhappy and was obviously jealous...

But a stinky face also has its own beauty. Ricardo couldn't bear it, and he quickly proved to the beautiful snake that he had been keeping himself pure and chaste for the past few days. Oh no, it was the result...

After outputting less than half of the amount, Chiara came to her senses. Oh, no, she figured it out. That's right, they should sleep in separate rooms and beds... Her sullen face suddenly turned into a charming and lovely one with a lewd smile. Oh, that's wrong again, she was smiling brightly.

Ricardo was confused for a moment. How could his expression change so quickly? He was just punishing the tsundere female office worker, but how did he suddenly become a perverted female boss? This role-playing acting is good, seamless switching... Regardless, this style is also interesting...

(For the sake of love and peace, thousands of words are omitted here...)

Chiara's arrival and the resumption of training made the days pass quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was this week's match day - Sunday.

In the morning, Ricardo naturally wanted to do some morning exercises with Chiara as usual... But for the first time, Chiara refused! The reason was that Chiara knew the reason for Ricardo's injury last week and the advice of the medical team. She knew that Ricardo had a game tonight, so she couldn't do it again and overdraw her body...

In the end, the scumbag succeeded with a series of lies that were hard to tell true from false... Ricardo told Chiara that although he had just returned from injury and was included in the squad tonight, he would most likely not play in the game. If he really had a game, it would be next week, and next week was Chiara's period...

I was so busy that it was almost noon before I sent Chiara to the airport. Because I had warm-up training and practice in the afternoon, and I had to sit on the bench in the evening, I didn't have time to send Chiara, so this time I booked a flight for Chiara in the early afternoon.

……

西班牙当地时间2006年2月5日19时，西班牙足球甲级联赛第22轮展开焦点战争夺，巴塞罗那坐镇主场面对马德里竞技。

This round's opponent, Atletico Madrid, nicknamed the Colchoneros, is not only the only team to beat Barcelona in the league this season, but also the last team to win at the Camp Nou.

In the past two seasons, Atletico Madrid has not lost to Barcelona; historically, the Colchoneros have also had experience in how to break into the Camp Nou: in various competitions, Atletico Madrid has visited the Camp Nou 65 times, with a record of 15 wins, 19 draws and 31 losses. Like Real Madrid, they are the team with the most wins at the Camp Nou.

Last season, Torres scored two goals to help Atletico beat Barcelona away. Atletico's new coach Murcia is also looking forward to this game: "We can maintain the level of the last four games. The team is in good shape and we will not give up the desire to win... Don't forget that we still have Torres. He can score at least one goal for Barcelona on Sunday. I am sure of this."

Barcelona only needs one more win, that is, a win in this round, to tie the 1960-game winning streak in the league set by Real Madrid in the 61-15 season, but the situation is not optimistic. Atletico Madrid has the upper hand in the last seven encounters between the two sides with 7 wins, 3 draws and 3 loss, not to mention that Barcelona is short of players in this game...

Due to the shortage of players, the old and young players who can play in the starting lineup are too old, and Ricardo, who has just recovered from injury, can only relearn the game on the bench...

Rijkaard rarely changed the formation to a more balanced 4-4-2:

The goalkeeper is No. 1 Valdés who is resting in the King's Cup;

The back line from right to left is: No. 18 Gabriel, No. 23 Oleguer, No. 5 Puyol, No. 16 Sylvinho as the guest right back;

The double defensive midfielders in the midfield are No. 4 Marcos and No. 17 Van Bommel, who passed the pre-match physical examination. The right midfielder is No. 20 Deco, and the left midfielder is No. 24 Iniesta.

The forward duo is young player No. 19 Messi and veteran player No. 7 Larsson.

Barcelona is indeed attacking with a depleted team...

On the other hand, Atletico Madrid knew that Barcelona's lineup was not complete, but they took advantage of the situation to attack. All five attackers in the midfield and frontcourt started the game, including No. 5 Galletti, No. 7 Ibagaza, No. 8 Petrov, No. 17 Maxi Rodriguez and No. 11 Golden Boy Torres.

……

After the opening, both sides played fast and fiercely. Barcelona wanted to control the midfield as quickly as possible and suppress the opponent. After all, it was not easy to retreat and play defense at home. Atletico knew that Barcelona was at its weakest and had a chance to fight hard. On the contrary, if Barcelona could gain a foothold, the technical advantage would still be on the opponent...

In the 4th minute, Deco took a corner kick from the left side, Puyol headed the ball to the front point, and Messi, who was unguarded, failed to touch the ball at the far post and missed the chance - maybe his neck was two centimeters shorter, or his head was a little bigger...

In the 14th minute, Torres, who was offside, made a high-speed run forward on the right side of the penalty area, received a long pass over the top and shot with his left foot. The ball went into the net, but the referee ruled that he was offside first.

In the 20th minute, Iniesta passed the ball from the left to the left side of the penalty area. Larsson got the ball and got rid of Perea and Pablo Ibanez in a brilliant succession. Then he shot from a small angle 7 yards from the left side of the penalty area, but unfortunately it missed the target...

In the 21st minute, Torres made a cross from the right, and this time it was Petrov's turn to dribble past Gabri and Oleg, then lay in the penalty area ready to shoot, but Marcos made a key tackle and cleared the ball.

In the 30th minute, Marcos' clearance near the bottom line of the penalty area was blocked. Torres got the ball 16 yards from the right side of the penalty area and shot hard, but unfortunately it was slightly off the near corner.

In the 31st minute, Messi, unwilling to be lonely, made a wonderful dribbling breakthrough from the right, passed several people and shot with his left foot from 25 yards in the middle. Unfortunately, the angle was too straight and the ball was confiscated by goalkeeper Franco.

In the first 30 minutes of the game, both sides were punching and kicking each other, but unfortunately neither hit the other's vital points...

It was not until the 33rd minute that Atletico Madrid, who were more powerful, finally broke the deadlock. Ibagaza made a cross from the right, Maxi Rodriguez managed to head the ball in from the far post, Torres quickly followed up and shot with his left foot from 11 yards in the middle. At such a close distance, the ball went straight to the top corner of the goal like a cannonball, and Valdés had no way to stop it...

This was Toni's sixth league goal of the season, helping Atletico Madrid lead Barcelona 6-1.

Barcelona fought back after falling behind, trying to equalize the score as soon as possible! However, Atletico Madrid, who had already played in good form, was even more relentless and did not give Barcelona any chances at all. They suppressed Barcelona again through more fierce pressing and faster speed...

Before the end of the first half, Barcelona was unable to change the situation, let alone equalize the score; Atletico Madrid smoothly entered the halftime break with a score of 1-0.

Barcelona made personnel adjustments in the midfield, with No. 14 Esquero and No. 8 Giuly replacing Van Bommel and Messi respectively; it seemed that both of them were injured in the fight before the end of the first half.

As an insider, Ricardo has first-hand information: "If the two can hold on, the more conservative Rijkaard will not make such a hasty substitution. After all, the boss still wants to win... It seems that the team will have two more sick players..."

In addition, based on these two substitutions, Ricardo also understood that as he had just returned from injury, he would most likely not play in this game, but he would have a good chance in the next game, and even play the whole game!

However, not long after the second half kicked off, Barcelona, ​​which had just made personnel adjustments, suffered another heavy blow...

Atletico Madrid extended their lead in the 47th minute. Torres attracted the defense on the left side of the frontcourt and passed the ball directly. Petrov used his speed to shake off Oleger and broke into the penalty area. He made a strong low cross from the left side of the small penalty area! Valdés made a mistake in intercepting the ball and slapped it. He slowed it down but blocked it towards the middle of the goal... So Maxi Rodriguez easily pushed the ball into the empty net. This was his 7th league goal this season.

Atletico Madrid leads 2-0...

Barcelona, ​​which was two goals behind, naturally launched a frantic counterattack, while Atletico Madrid, which was leading, also slightly retracted its formation, so Barcelona got a lot of chances.

In the 50th minute, Deco made a cross from the free kick on the right, Puyol headed the ball from 7 yards in front of the goal, but it was saved by Franco.

In the 54th minute, Deco took a corner kick. Larsson accurately judged the spot and headed the ball, but it went slightly wide...

Atletico also got some chances through counterattacks, but the best chance came in the 61st minute when Ibagaza made a straight pass and Maxi Rodriguez made a diagonal run, but the linesman made a wrong offside call and ruined this wonderful one-on-one opportunity.

Barcelona finally pulled one back in the 65th minute. Deco made a cross from the middle to the left side of the penalty area. Iniesta chested the ball and broke through to the edge of the small penalty area and made a low cross. It was similar to the second goal Valdés lost - Franco made a mistake in his attack and the ball slipped through and rolled to the middle. Larsson easily blocked the ball into the far corner from 8 yards in front of the goal. This was the Swede's fourth league goal this season, and Barcelona narrowed the score to 4-1.

Atletico Madrid coach Murcia saw that it was not enough to retreat, so he gave some space and Barcelona came alive again. It was the typical case that they would be brilliant if given a little sunshine and flooded if given a little rain... No, they had to push out to grab the duck!

So Atletico Madrid scrambled and regained the initiative on the field, and expanded the score again in the 75th minute...

This seems to be a main tactic of Atletico Madrid: Galletti made a cross from the wing, Maxi Rodriguez made a forward run again and headed the ball back to the middle, Torres accelerated and left Gabri and Oleguer behind, then easily pushed the ball into the goal from 10 yards in front of the goal, scoring his second goal!

This was Golden Boy's seventh league goal of the season, helping Atletico Madrid to beat Barcelona twice again.

Before the restart, Rijkaard replaced the injured Marcos with Van Bronckhorst... In fact, Barcelona had basically announced that the game was over early.

In the later matches, both teams still played lively, but there were not many threatening attacks...

In the last 10 minutes of the game, Esquero, Iniesta and Larsson threatened Atletico's goal with headers and kicks, but unfortunately they were unable to close the gap again...

In the last minute of injury time, Giuly's left-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area hit the post and went out of bounds, and the referee blew the final whistle...

In the end, Barcelona lost at home for the first time this season, and their 14-game winning streak in the league was brought to an end.

……

Just like last season, Atletico Madrid defeated Barcelona, ​​which has been in hot form in the past two seasons, at Camp Nou again. Whether in terms of the scene or the data, Atletico Madrid beat Barcelona speechlessly...

Actually, it is not the case. There are still many things to say, such as injuries. However, it is not only the previous injuries and the end of the winning streak that are frustrating. After the game, it was learned that Ronaldinho’s appeal against the red card was unsuccessful and he will continue to be suspended for the next round (because this game is a suspension for accumulated yellow cards, and the next game is a red card suspension for the King's Cup). In addition, after this game, Messi and Marcos were also confirmed to have knee injuries and will be out for more than 10 days...

In the next round, Barcelona will face Valencia, a strong rival that has remained unbeaten in the league for 11 games. It will be extremely difficult for Barcelona!

For Barcelona, ​​perhaps the only good news is that after losing this round, they are still 10 points ahead of Real Madrid and 9 points ahead of second-placed Valencia, and their position at the top of the standings is firmly unshakable.

However, Rijkaard remained a gentleman at the press conference. He did not use the team's injuries and suspensions to find any excuses for himself: "We don't need to make any excuses. The poor performance in the game means that there are still areas in our training that need further improvement. I bear the main responsibility for the loss of the game."

Specifically in the game, Rijkaard also admitted that Barcelona was not in good shape tonight, especially the lack of a strong counterattack when falling behind. Today did not belong to Barcelona.

But Black Swan does not think that the defeat will affect Barcelona's next game. "I still have full confidence in my players. Losing to Atletico Madrid is just a simple defeat. I don't think it will have any chain effects."

However, before the start of the second half, Messi left the field due to injury, which made Rijkaard say with some concern: "Messi's injury may leave the field for 10 days, which makes it impossible for me to implement other plans."

In addition, Rijkaard was very polite and highly praised the opponent's striker Torres' amazing performance in this game: "Against Barcelona, ​​Torres can always fully demonstrate his talent."

……

Ronaldinho was in the stands and watched the entire fierce battle of Barcelona's home defeat to Atletico Madrid as a spectator. Because he received his fifth yellow card of the season in the last round of the league away game against Mallorca, the Brazilian was automatically suspended this round, which became one of the important reasons for Barcelona's poor offensive performance in this game.

However, Ronaldinho is still worried about more than that. He received a red card in last week's 2-2 draw with Zaragoza at home in the Copa del Rey, and is now almost certain to miss the next round of the league's away game against second-placed Valencia. This also means that before the Champions League's life-and-death duel with Chelsea, Ronaldinho may only have one more chance to play - at home against Real Betis in the 24th round of the league.

In fact, Barcelona appealed to the Competition Committee on February 2rd, requesting the cancellation of Ronaldinho's red card in the King's Cup. In the appeal materials, Barcelona specially provided a DVD with Ronaldinho's foul footage, hoping to convince the Competition Committee that the red card was too heavy... But after research, the Competition Committee announced that it would maintain the original decision and suspend Ronaldinho for one league game.

However, it’s not completely without good news. In addition to the standings advantage mentioned above, Barcelona has also received other strong reinforcements!

That’s right! On the night of February 2, the day before this round of matches, Cameroon was eliminated by Cote d’Ivoire in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations and failed to advance to the semi-finals. The Cameroon Cheetahs were in a bad mood and were going to return home in advance with a lot of resentment and anger!

……

Ricardo was very calm: "In times of crisis, one's true hero character is revealed! Watch me in the next round, I will be ordered to help the needy and turn the tide... Hehe, from now on, I will be at the peak of my life, oh no, from now on, I will be in the main lineup!"

……