Chapter 76 Chelsea, first leg
Seeing Del Horno's offensive foul, not only did the Barcelona substitutes stand on the sidelines to denounce the opponent's lethal foul, but the Barcelona players on the field also surrounded him instantly, expressing their strong dissatisfaction with his rough foul. Moreover, there had been a kick just a few minutes ago, which soon caused a dispute between the players of both sides...
This time, the referee Hauge did not tolerate the evil, probably because he was afraid that if he did not give a card, the situation might get out of control... However, what Hauge took out from his pocket was not the yellow sapphire card that Ricardo guessed, but the ruby card that sent Del Horno into the shower room...
Ricardo sat back on the bench and nodded slightly. Del Horno obviously couldn't keep up with the pace of the game. In order to make up for his shortcomings in technology and awareness, he could only frequently use his body to create fouls and kill. However, in such a high-level game, the brain is prone to lack of oxygen and heat. If he fails to control his movements or forgets that he has just made excessive actions under the referee's nose, he will easily get into trouble...
Even if the referee gave a yellow card, I guess Del Horno would still get a red card soon. Because Del Horno is obviously the weakest link in Chelsea's defense. I don't know if it's because he just recovered from injury or because his level is not good enough. If he keeps pressing forward, he will be beaten by Messi who is a little too strong today sooner or later...
In this way, Chelsea had to face the situation of playing with one less player with nearly an hour of game time left; although they were at home, their opponent was Barcelona, which was in great form!
The Magic Birds then quickly replaced Joe Cole with Geremi to keep the back line intact. Ferreira switched to the left side, and all players retreated to the half court to stabilize the situation.
Before the end of the first half, Barcelona kept trying to break through Chelsea's iron defense and also found opportunities in injury time.
Deco's long shot from 22 yards in the middle was blocked by Terry again, and the ball deflected out of the bottom line, a corner kick. Then Ronaldinho's father took a corner kick from the left, Marcos calmly stopped the ball with his chest at the edge of the penalty area, and then volleyed sideways!
The ball clearly hit Geremi's outstretched arms and bounced out of the baseline, but unfortunately the referee did not give a penalty this time and the game went into halftime...
Before the second half, Mourinho came out of the locker room in advance and signed autographs for the young fans outside the stadium. Chelsea also made another personnel adjustment, with Drogba replacing Crespo.
In the second half, Chelsea, after adjustments in the midfield, also gained some offensive advantages through counterattacks at the beginning of the second half.
In the 47th minute, Drogba was fouled while protecting the ball with his back in a counterattack. Lampard's free kick from the left was like a pass or a shot, but was blocked by the defender on the small penalty area line.
In the 48th minute, Drogba again received a long pass from the backcourt and successfully protected the ball with his back, and passed the ball to the left. Robben, who was running at high speed, broke through Oleg on the left side of the penalty area and shot with his left foot at a small angle... The ball slipped out of the goal.
In the 51st minute, Drogba once again received a long pass from the backcourt and successfully protected the ball with his back, then passed it to Ferreira who was following up. The latter took a long shot from 30 yards out on the left, but the ball was caught in the near corner by the focused Valdes.
Ricardo in the stands couldn't help but secretly applaud: "This monster's physical fitness is really amazing. Just by using long passes to counterattack him, Chelsea has repeatedly got chances to score when they are one man down..."
However, the routine of repeatedly transitioning through Drogba was soon broken, and being surrounded by the fulcrum was also very energy-consuming and physically demanding. After 10 minutes, the Beast's physical strength began to decline, and Barcelona once again restricted Chelsea's counterattack.
In the 52nd minute, Messi dribbled inside and shot from 25 yards on the right with his left foot, but it was caught by Cech... After the appearance of the Ruby Card, Messi was booed by the home team fans every time he got the ball; but it was of no use...
In the 55th minute, Barcelona played a wonderful combination. Ronaldinho, Motta and Deco passed the ball continuously. Finally, Ronaldinho passed it directly to Eto'o. The cheetah found a good opportunity 16 yards from the right side of the penalty area and shot hard, but unfortunately Ferreira flew to block it and the ball went out of the baseline.
However, not long after Barcelona began to besiege Chelsea, Chelsea was lucky enough to take the lead in the 59th minute...
This time, it was Robben who won a set-piece in the counterattack. Lampard made a free kick from the left, and Thiago Motta collided with goalkeeper Valdes when competing with Terry for the header. The ball happened to hit the Brazilian's thigh, which he didn't have time to retract, and bounced into the empty goal.
Seeing Motta's expression that was about to cry, Ricardo on the sidelines also felt the same helplessness as him: "... This... is powerful, but this is too unlucky, isn't it?"
Barcelona, who were behind, could only strengthen their offensive! Rijkaard first replaced Motta, who had made a big mistake and had affected his game mentality, with Larsson in the 65th minute, and let Ronaldinho retreat to play as a front midfielder.
Then in the 68th minute, Li Qi, one of the few tall players on the bench, was sent on to replace Oleg, one of the few tall players on the field, to play as a right back, to increase the speed and offensiveness of the wing and to support the defense in the middle.
Li Qi was extremely excited to get a chance to play in such an important match... But as soon as he came on the court, the captain Puyol seemed to have noticed it, so Puyol approached and pressed Li Qi's shoulder hard and said in a deep voice: "Ricardo, don't be nervous, don't be too excited, just treat it as a normal practice, remember to stay calm! You must stay calm!"
Feeling the pressure on his shoulders and listening to the calm instructions of the old captain, Li Qi immediately restrained his expression and calmed down: "Yes, in such a high-level competition, the key is not to make mistakes. The key is to patiently cooperate with the big brothers to find opportunities... Otherwise, it will be embarrassing to make another mistake like Brother Mengjiang. I don't want to be counted..."
As soon as Li Qifu, who was fearless like a newborn calf, came on the court, he really helped Barcelona's attack to be more sharp. Several of his passes were extremely brilliant, and not only did he make no mistakes but he also did not drag his feet at all.
Unfortunately, Larsson's header from 8 yards in front of the goal on the left side of the penalty area went over the crossbar, and Messi's shot from the right side of the penalty area was blocked by Ferreira again...
However, Chelsea almost extended the lead in the 70th minute. Geremi threw the ball out of bounds on the right side with great force. Veteran Marcos, who had been performing well in this game, headed the ball at the edge of the penalty area... Fortunately, Drogba stopped the ball with his chest and volleyed the ball from 10 yards on the right side of the penalty area, just above the crossbar.
However, Chelsea had to suffer the consequences after missing the opportunity, as Barcelona equalized the score in the 72nd minute.
Carvalho fouled Larsson outside the penalty area. Ronaldinho's father took a free kick from 25 yards on the left and it was like a pass or a shot into the small penalty area. Terry in the crowd hurriedly tried to head the ball away, but accidentally rubbed the ball into the far corner of the goal...
This meant that Chelsea returned an own goal to Barcelona, and Barcelona was lucky to equalize the score; however, this own goal was more or less related to Barcelona's continued pressure in the frontcourt, otherwise it would be rare for a defensive stalwart like Terry to make a mistake in a hurry...
Uh, another tough guy. Okay, he has scored own goals before, but they are rare...
Barcelona's morale was boosted after equalizing the score, and they launched an even more brutal attack wave! However, Li Qi was very calm. As a young and fast player, he honestly stayed in his position to support and counterattack, and cooperated with Marcos and Puyol to fight against the monster and Peter Pan...
In the 73rd minute, Larsson made a cross pass to the right, and Messi shot with his left foot from 25 yards. The ball drew a beautiful arc, bypassing the fingertips of the defender and the goalkeeper, but unfortunately the ball hit the angle between the crossbar and the post in the far corner and bounced out.
In the 74th minute, Barcelona had a golden opportunity! Ronaldinho's father dribbled and suddenly passed the ball to the middle of the penalty area. Carvalho, who was returning to defense, and Cech, who was attacking, had a misunderstanding in defense. The two collided and missed the ball... Unfortunately, Larsson, who was facing the empty goal, did not have time to shoot, and the ball was cleared by Terry 3 yards in front of the goal.
In the 76th minute, Barcelona had another golden opportunity. Ronaldinho's father attracted the defense again and passed the ball directly to the right side of the penalty area. Messi followed up and shot directly, but the ball was blocked by Carvalho in time...
But after grabbing the rebounded ball, Ronaldinho calmly sent a penetrating pass again. Eto'o received the ball in the penalty area and got rid of Geremi and Carvalho, then broke into the left side of the penalty area. There was no angle, but after luring goalkeeper Cech out, he suddenly passed back in a triangle...
Ronaldinho's father inserted from the back row and calmly pushed the ball from the edge of the penalty area. Unfortunately, such a good opportunity was blocked by Terry's shovel in front of the empty goal!
In the 78th minute, the Magic Birds used up their last substitution quota, replacing Robben who was trying his best with Wright-Phillips. This time, Barcelona's defensive pressure was greatly reduced, and Li Qi also began to make sudden moves to assist from the wing.
After a long period of attack, Barcelona finally reversed the score in the 80th minute!
Raiola, who is far away in Italy, is also following Li Qi's performance through TV broadcasts. He is preparing to discuss loaning him to several potential target teams for next season. He only hears the excited Latin American football commentator explaining:
"Terry intercepted the cross... kicked it upfield to Drogba..."
"Drogba was entangled by Marcos, Puyol jumped up first and headed the ball away..."
"The ball was headed to Li Qi on the wing... Li Qi dribbled the ball forward..."
"Li Qi keeps moving forward and is about to pass the ball! He's about to be surrounded!"
"Timely pass! Ronaldinho in the middle! Pass straight!"
"Larson has entered the penalty area! Pass it to the side again..."
"It's Li Qi again. Chelsea's defense has been attracted by Ronaldinho and Larsson!"
"Cross!"
"Eto'o! Ditch oh oh oh! Ditch oh oh oh! Ditch!!"
"Barcelona has taken the lead in the game! Wonderful cooperation on the wing! Li Qi took advantage of the team's cover and easily made a wonderful half-high cross from the edge of the penalty area, accurately finding the cheetah lying in ambush in the small penalty area!"
"Let's replay this wonderful goal in slow motion!"
Marcos and Puyol worked together to intercept the long pass to Drogba, and then passed the ball to Li Qi; the latter advanced forward at high speed and penetrated deep into Chelsea's defense, then did not seek credit and handed it over to Ronaldinho in the middle.
Ronaldinho's father also passed the ball directly to the right side of the penalty area without stopping. Larsson protected the ball with his back and then passed it to Li Qi who made a high-speed run.
Then Li Qi made an accurate cross, but actually Li Qi missed the ball, as he wanted to pass a high-speed low ball, but his footwork was not good enough, and he passed a half-high ball... But mistakes have their merits, as this half-high cross bypassed Ferreira's tackle, and Eto'o was waiting on the right side of the small penalty area. It was an easy header from 5 yards in front of the goal, but at such a close distance, Cech had no way to deal with it, and the ball hit the net!
The goal scored by Eto'o was exactly Barcelona's 200th goal in the Champions League (including its predecessor, the Champions League)!
This was also Li Qi's first offensive data in the Champions League, assists +1. This connection with Ronaldinho, Larsson and Eto'o also helped Barcelona overtake the score 2-1.
Barcelona then began to slow down the pace of attack and defense, focusing more on controlling the game; in the 85th minute, Rijkaard also used up his last substitution and replaced Deco with Iniesta.
In the final period of the game, Eto'o and Ronaldinho had several chances to score, but unfortunately they were unable to penetrate Chelsea's iron defense.
And with the referee's offside misjudgment in the last minute, which ruined Chelsea's last chance to attack, the first leg of the Champions League round of 1 officially ended with the referee's long whistle.
In the end, Barcelona took away an important victory and two important away goals, which gave them the upper hand in the two-round final and laid a key foundation for their advancement to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
……
At the press conference after the game, Rijkaard, who had successfully taken revenge, was obviously very happy, so he never mentioned revenge, nor the vegetable field, let alone the red card which was the controversial focus of the game. Instead, he praised the whole team one by one, even Motta who scored an own goal.
The Magic Bird was reviewing the red card: "That was not a red card, of course not... I am not angry with Del Horno, he just went up to make up for the defense, his tackle was aimed at the ball, he didn't touch the ball but hit the boy (Messi)..." He comforted and motivated the whole team, "I will tell my players: the game must last at least 180 minutes. I don't think Barcelona is the favorite just because they are at home. It's better to say this: if the second round goes into overtime, we have an extra 30 minutes to score an away goal, and this will be the key."
Although Ricardo felt that it was a bit Ah Q spirit after listening to it, it was not without reason...
……
When he returned to Barcelona the next day, as the media coverage of the game continued, his family and friends finally noticed that Ricardo had come on as a substitute in the Champions League knockout round and even had an assist!
So, boom boom boom, Ricardo received congratulatory text messages from his parents, brother, Sarafina, Julian, Raiola, Pimenta, and a bunch of bad friends. The content was still the same seemingly copy-pasted routine, such as "good luck, good fortune, chosen son, luck bursting, good luck falling from the sky, shit pouring down on you"...
As always...Chiara's MMS congratulations are the most interesting!
This time it was a selfie in a purple nightgown with a large backless look… Looking at the deep V back and sexy shoulder blades, Ricardo, who already knew every inch of the other person's skin and had carefully tasted the taste repeatedly, still swallowed his saliva unconvincingly…
Looking forward to the weekend...
