Chapter 88 Champions League Quarter-Finals Second Leg

In the second half, the boss assigned Li Qi the task of protecting the defense line, because Li Qi's chasing speed was relatively fast and his judgment of points was relatively accurate, unlike a certain central defender who was a big ball-misser... So Li Qi was equivalent to switching positions with Oleg.

But in the second half, Barcelona was able to steal and control the ball without any mistakes, which left Real Madrid with no chance to touch the ball, let alone create any threat in the second half. So Li Qi and Puyol could only pass the ball back and forth.

The captain was able to take part in the midfield and frontcourt activities, but Li Qi, as a restless young man, was repeatedly told by the head coach to take a good position on the defensive line...

In the 46th minute, Larsson retreated to receive the ball and passed it with his back. Ronaldinho shot from 24 yards on the right but missed the near corner.

In the 48th minute, Ronaldinho broke through the middle and passed the ball. It was Eto'o's turn to shoot low from 24 yards on the left, but the shot went wide of the near corner.

In the 53rd minute, Casillas made a save but the ball slipped out of his hands. Fortunately, Bravo got the ball before Larsson…

Barcelona formed a siege on the visiting team in front of the penalty area. All Real Madrid players were on defense, and even Ronaldo appeared at the left back position to participate in the defense.

However, Rijkaard was not satisfied with a draw. In the 57th minute, the Black Swan arranged for Giuly to replace Van Bommel. Ronaldinho retreated to the attacking midfielder, and in front of him were three forwards: Larsson, Eto'o and Giuly. Barcelona continued to strengthen its attack.

In the 60th minute, Larsson passed the ball back in front of the penalty area, and Ronaldinho's powerful shot from 22 yards in the middle went wide.

In the 63rd minute, Messi fouled Iniesta in front of the penalty area. When Real Madrid players were preparing to form a human wall, Ronaldinho quickly shot a direct free kick from 25 yards on the right, and the ball went slightly wide of the far corner.

In the 64th minute, Ronaldinho made a cross from the left, and Puyol suddenly made a forward run and successfully scored from the far post, but unfortunately his header from a small angle went wide.

Barcelona got another chance to score in the 66th minute. Ronaldinho made a straight pass, Larsson successfully made an offside and broke into the left side of the penalty area, but his shot from 16 yards was blocked by Casillas and went out of the baseline.

Seeing that the team continued to fail to score after a long attack, Rijkaard made another personnel adjustment. This time, he replaced Deco with Thiago Motta in the 70th minute. First, he wanted Deco to save his energy for the next Champions League game. Second, Ronaldinho's role would overlap with Deco's after he retreated to the front midfielder position, so Iniesta would be enough to connect in the midfield. Third, he wanted to use Thiago Motta's high point to impact Real Madrid's defense...

However, after Motta came on the pitch, he pushed into the opponent's penalty area, and now the already crowded Real Madrid penalty area became even more crowded...

So when striker Giuly, who was supposed to be looking for an opportunity in the penalty area but was squeezed out of the penalty area, shot high from 25 yards on the right, Rijkaard quickly corrected his deployment and replaced captain Puyol with Belletti in the 80th minute of the game. Because Puyol happened to be slightly injured in the previous fight, he took the initiative to ask to leave the field; Ronaldinho took over the captain's armband.

So Oleguer returned to the center and once again partnered with Li Qi to form what the media described as a young and unreliable central defender combination.

Real Madrid also replaced Zidane with Gravesen to strengthen the defense in the middle of the midfield.

But then, Barcelona also launched a general attack!

In the 81st minute, Ronaldinho took a corner kick from the right side, and Van Bronckhorst shot from 12 yards away, but was blocked by Ramos and went out of bounds.

In the 82nd minute, Giulya made a cross from the right, and Larsson's header from 12 yards hit Casillas' heart.

In the 85th minute, Baptista tripped Motta in front of the penalty area, and Ronaldinho took a direct free kick from 24 yards on the left. The ball hit the wall for the fourth time and went out of bounds. Then a tactical corner kick was taken, and Iniesta's powerful shot from 4 yards on the right went wide of the far corner.

In the 87th minute, Iniesta's curved shot from 25 yards on the left was headed out of the bottom line by Bravo.

In the 88th minute, Motta's long shot from 28 yards in the middle was saved by Casillas, and Bravo cleared the ball immediately.

Just before injury time, Ronaldinho dribbled the ball in the middle and suddenly passed the ball to the right. Belletti followed up on the wing, accelerated and broke through Bravo. He chose to shoot at a small angle on the right side of the penalty area, but Casillas, who had no problem with his positioning, blocked the ball steadily out of the baseline.

Then Barcelona lost its last chance in the 92nd minute of stoppage time. Belletti made a cross from the right, and Larsson headed the ball from 7 yards in front of the far post, but it missed the far corner.

Pablo Garcia then replaced Guti and used up the last bit of stoppage time.

In the end, the two sides drew 1-1.

巴塞罗那全场的控球率接近70%，射门次数比高达35比3，但是比分却是1比1；有点可惜。不过皇马在付出了7张黄牌与1张红牌的代价，成功在客场带走1分。

So in the post-match press conference, Real Madrid coach Carlo was a little relieved to have survived the disaster, praising the dedication of the whole team, especially when the team was one man short, overcoming difficulties and achieving tactical success: "The whole team worked very united, we controlled the game with defense, although we invested very little in offense. I also admit that Barcelona had more ball possession, but our defense was also well organized."

However, Rijkaard did not have time to regret the missed opportunities in this game. He has already begun to look forward to the second leg against Benfica next Wednesday: "I think it is fate, but I am not worried. We still have very important games to play this season. I believe that if we continue to maintain our form, the goals will come. Creating so many scoring opportunities is a good sign... We will face Benfica with the greatest confidence."

However, the Black Swan has to face a new team injury. Motta, who came on as a substitute in the second half, strained the muscle on the back of his left thigh when shooting a long shot at the last moment. According to experience, muscle strains like this usually take at least two weeks to recover, so it is basically certain that Motta will miss the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Benfica at home next week.

However, what made Rijkaard feel a little relieved was that Puyol, who collided with Ramos in the final stage of the competition for a corner kick and was then replaced because of feeling a little dizzy, was not seriously injured and would basically not affect his appearance in the Champions League match in the middle of the week.

In addition to the two of them, Sylvinho and Edmilson are in similar conditions and will be able to return as early as next weekend's league match against Racing Santander.

As for Marcos and Messi, although both of them have resumed ball training in the past two days, it is not enough for them to participate in official games immediately. It will take at least one to two weeks for them to officially return.

……

After the battle, Rijkaard also gave the team a day off on Sunday. After all, it is necessary to combine work and rest. Especially several core players in the team who continue to fight, such as Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Deco and others, also need some rest to avoid new injuries.

So, Ricardo let go of the curse and spent a shameless day with Chiara on Sunday...

(If you ask about the specific process, I will omit thousands of words for the sake of love and harmony...)

After bidding farewell to the beautiful snake Chiara with wasp waist and ant buttocks, Ricardo, dressed in fresh clothes, started a week of training and courses, preparing to welcome the arrival of Benfica team and Sarafina later. A double room, oh no, a candlelight dinner has been arranged!

It just so happens that next weekend is Chiara's aunt's day off, so there is no need to worry about a car accident! Ricardo couldn't help but sigh, this is the chosen one! The aura of a male protagonist!

……

But on the other hand, after the training session on Monday, Ricardo learned that although he was included in the match roster for the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final in the middle of the week, he was not in the starting lineup.

Barcelona's 4-3-3 formation remains unchanged, and there are no extra options in the midfield and frontcourt, so the starting lineup in the midfield and frontcourt is exactly the same as the starting lineup in the national derby two days ago. However, Rijkaard still uses the regular central defenders (Puyol and Oleguer) and full-backs (Belleti and Van Bronckhorst) in the back line, and the temporary guest Li Qi is still on the bench...

It seems that although he is successful in love, things are not going so smoothly on the court...

……

在巴萨的比赛开打的前一天，在4月4日晚间，05/06赛季欧冠1/4决赛第二回合先决出两场比赛的胜负。

其中一场比赛是AC米兰在主场3比1击败里昂，以3比1的总比分率先打进4强，里昂则是连续3个赛季被阻挡在半决赛以外。

Inzaghi scored the first goal, then Lyon equalized with a set-piece and led AC Milan by half a body length through an away goal. Fortunately, Inzaghi and Shevchenko scored two goals in a row 3 minutes before the end of the game to seal the victory.

In another match, Inter Milan lost 0-1 to Villarreal away. The two sides tied 2-2 in total, but Villarreal advanced to the semi-finals with a key away goal.

In the 58th minute of the second half, Riquelme assisted captain Aruabarena, who was suspended in the previous game, to score the winning goal with a header.

……

很快时间就来到了2006年4月5日晚上的20时45分，巴塞罗那在主场迎战本菲卡的欧洲冠军联赛1/4决赛次回合再燃战火；他们之间的胜者将在半决赛对阵AC米兰。

As the referee blew the whistle, Ricardo returned to his familiar bench to start the game...

After the kick-off, Benfica seemed very restrained at the start of the game at Camp Nou, and Barcelona completely controlled the situation at home.

Barcelona had a good chance to score in the 5th minute. Van Bommel made a cross from the right side of the penalty area, but the ball was touched by Petit, and the Slovak referee Michel decisively awarded a penalty!

Ronaldinho's father, Barcelona's first penalty taker, personally took the penalty... With devilish steps, Ronaldinho's father shot hard to the left side of the goal! Moretto predicted in advance and flew out, unexpectedly saving the penalty that Ronaldinho was sure to score!

Ten minutes into the game, Benfica gradually got into the game. They were more confident in blocking in the midfield, and their back line was able to easily clear several attacks from Barcelona.

However, Barcelona took the lead in the 19th minute. First, Benfica gained confidence and was a little slow in passing the ball from the midfield. Luiz's pass was actively intercepted by Larsson in the frontcourt. The latter quickly passed the ball to Eto'o, and the Cameroon cheetah directly broke through Anderson with his speed...

Eto'o broke into the right side of the penalty area and made a triangle pass. Ronaldinho's father made up for his mistake and followed up smartly and easily pushed the ball into the near corner from 12 yards far away. Rocha, who was guarding him, was unable to block it.

This was the Brazilian's seventh goal in the Champions League this season, helping Barcelona to lead their opponents 7-1 in this game and in both legs.

After Barcelona took the lead, their morale was boosted and they began to besiege Benfica, who seemed to have lost confidence due to conceding the goal.

In the 23rd minute, Ronaldinho's father made a successful breakthrough on the left and passed the ball to Luisão, who committed a handball foul at the edge of the penalty area. Fortunately, the foul was committed outside the penalty area, and Ronaldinho's father took the free kick he created himself; however, Ronaldinho's direct free kick was slightly off the near corner.

In the 26th minute, Valdes kicked the ball directly to the front of the penalty area and gave it to Eto'o. The latter cleverly turned the ball and shot at the edge of the penalty area before midfielder Beto could make a defense. Unfortunately, the ball was slightly higher than the crossbar.

In the 40th minute, Iniesta made a diagonal pass from the left, Leo made a clearance error, and Van Bommel broke into the penalty area from the left rib and shot with his left foot from 10 yards, but was miraculously blocked by Moreto.

In the 45th minute, it was Deco's turn to make a diagonal pass from the left, and Larsson headed the ball from 6 yards far away, but was disturbed and deflected.

Benfica's first shot came in injury time in the first half. Simao made a cross from the free kick on the right, and Luison's shot from the far post went wide.

After that, both sides returned to the locker room and entered the half-time break. Barcelona temporarily led 1-0, but if Benfica could get an away goal, the situation would be completely different.

Therefore, in the second half, Barcelona did not take it lightly, but continued to attack the visiting team with high pressure, hoping to score more goals, expand their lead and ensure victory.

However, Benfica took the lead in the 61st minute. After intercepting the ball in the backcourt, Benfica got a chance to counterattack and made a long pass to Miccoli. Miccoli passed the ball to the Barcelona defenders on the right. Simao, who had successfully escaped the offside trap, made a diagonal run to the left side of the penalty area and shot at the near corner against Valdes from 8 yards in front of the goal. Unfortunately, the ball hit the post and went out of the bottom line.

Barcelona then threatened Benfica's goal several times, but whether it was Ronaldinho's father's free kick from 24 yards in the middle, Eto'o's hook shot from 12 yards in front of the goal, or Van Bommel's shot in front of the goal, they were unable to break the opponent's goal again.

So when the game came to the 75th minute, Rijkaard decided to replace Belletti with Li Qi, replacing him with a spirited young man to attack the opponent's wing and add a high point to see if he could pick up a loophole during a corner kick or set piece...

In fact, Benfica has been suppressed by Barcelona in the half. Although the Portuguese powerhouse has been looking for an opportunity to steal a goal to achieve an away goal, Barcelona is also ignoring this point and hardly giving Benfica too many opportunities to counterattack.

So facing the visiting team's compressed defensive formation, Li Qi's wing attack after he went up was actually not much better than Belletti's. After all, the opponent's defense area was densely packed with people. Even Ronaldinho's father couldn't solve the problem, so Li Qi's rush in was useless...

But coming back to the topic of the high point, Li Qi really got an advantage in the set-piece attack.

In the 83rd minute of the game, Anderson was given a yellow card for fouling Eto'o. Barcelona won a set-piece on the right side of the front court, and Ronaldinho's father took the penalty...