Chapter 91 Preparing for the Champions League Semi-Finals

A match in the rain, especially one caused by heavy rain and water accumulation, will not completely wipe out Barcelona's technical advantage, but it will greatly narrow the gap between the two sides, because rain and water accumulation not only have an adverse effect on passing and cutting, but also create more uncertainty.

So Santander Racing also took advantage of the rain to equalize the score in the 22nd minute. Santander launched a long pass from the backcourt, but it was obviously too long. The ball was about to fly out of the baseline after bouncing off the ground. Barcelona's defense, including Valdes, all stopped...

However, unexpectedly, there was a pool of water near the baseline, which directly helped to absorb Santander's long pass from the backcourt. Instead of bouncing out of the baseline again, the ball rolled a few times and stopped within the boundary!

Santander striker Serrano, who had successfully escaped offside, got a great gift. He did not slow down and stole the ball before cutting directly into the middle of the penalty area. Although Li Qi quickly returned to defense and tried to block it, Serrano still calmly shot low into the far corner from 10 yards in front of the goal.

Racing Santander was also lucky to tie the score at 1-1. The entire Santander team celebrated passionately, hoping to take advantage of the rain to snatch points from the leader.

However, Barcelona was lucky enough to surpass the score again in the rain in the 33rd minute. Deco finally got rid of the entanglement of the Santander Racing midfielder in the middle, and then passed the ball to Giuly near the bottom line on the right side of the penalty area...

Santander defender Ayoze returned to defense immediately, but the grass near the right bottom line of the penalty area was too slippery, and Ayoze, who had a slightly higher center of gravity, slipped and sat on his butt. However, the French winger, who had a very low center of gravity, was not affected. He cleverly stopped the ball, changed direction, dribbled past the slipping Ayoze, and then made a reverse triangle pass.

Cameroonian cheetah Eto'o shot low into the far corner from 12 yards on the right side of the penalty area. This was Eto'o's 23rd league goal this season, helping Barcelona to lead 2-1.

However, right after this goal, it was obvious that Barcelona's midfielders and frontcourt players were losing strength too quickly due to the heavy rain and the accumulation of water. At the same time, their passing and cutting coordination was seriously affected. They began to be gradually restricted by Santander Racing, especially Deco, Iniesta, Giuly and other agile and technical players who were at a disadvantage due to their physique.

Therefore, in the second half of the first half, Barcelona's defense was under greater defensive pressure; as a result, Belletti, Sylvinho and Puyol all received yellow cards for fouls, leaving only Li Qi innocent.

As Deco's powerful shot with the outside of his right foot from 25 yards in the middle hit the upper right corner of the goal frame and went wide, the referee ended the first half of the match between the two teams. Both sides went into halftime and Barcelona's defense was able to catch their breath.

Soon the two sides resumed the battle in the second half, but the heavy rain still showed no sign of stopping. Both sides began to make long passes and played more directly, using speed and body to directly attack the opponent's defense.

In the 56th minute, Gabri replaced Belletti who seemed to have sprained his ankle in the rain. Although Barcelona continued to have the majority of the ball, the role of Deco and Iniesta was limited by the rain and the opponent's fierce defense. Not only did Barcelona lack threat in attack, but the midfield organization also began to fall into chaos.

Li Qi made several key clearances and tackles; originally, Li Qi did not like to make tackles that would cause him to lose control of his center of gravity and body when defending. However, in a rainy game, it was impossible to accurately predict the speed of the football, which might be too fast or too slow, or even the path of the ball might change. Therefore, making a tackle to expand the defensive area was the most effective solution.

However, tackles will naturally increase the probability of fouls. So the unfortunate thing happened in the 72nd minute. Puyol made a tackle in the backcourt to block Melo's foul and was shown the second yellow gem card by the referee. The Barcelona captain accumulated two yellow cards and was sent off...

Although the whole team pleaded with the referee, believing that it was an accidental tackle caused by the slippery field due to rain, and that Melo was not touched, the referee still insisted on the penalty, and Barcelona had to play with one less player in the last 20 minutes of the game.

In the 75th minute, Rijkaard quickly sent on the only central defender on the bench, Rodri, to replace Larsson and complete the defense. At the same time, he replaced the exhausted Giuly with Maxi Lopez to make the counterattack as simple as possible.

In the 78th minute, Gabriel Gabri made a tackle and scored a half goal. Li Qi quickly passed the ball to the frontcourt to find a center forward before the opponent's forward. Maxi Lopez retreated and stopped the ball with his back near the center circle, then made a wall-to-wall cooperation with Eto'o, broke through Santander's defense, broke into the right side of the penalty area, and his low shot into the far corner was blocked by Pinillos.

In the 81st minute, Santander made another long pass and sent the ball into Barcelona's penalty area. Melo got stuck in the middle and wanted to protect the ball and turn around, but fell under Gabriel Gabri's close defense... However, the referee Rubinos Perez refused to award a penalty and Barcelona escaped.

However, just when Li Qi, who had just received a yellow card to save the defense, felt that victory was in sight, Santander Racing equalized the score again in the 89th minute in the chaos of the rain.

This time Serrano pulled to the left and broke through the bottom line, and then where Ayoze slipped in the first half, Sylvinho who was defending him also slipped... So Serrano stabilized his body and easily aimed the cross, and then the young central defender Rodri who came on as a substitute in the middle made a mistake in marking, and Li Qi was unable to make up for the position in time. Santander's substitute striker Antonito, who came on in the second half, stopped the ball at the edge of the small penalty area in front, turned around and shot in the near corner.

Faced with the shot at close range, Valdes was helpless. The ball hit the goal post, splashed with raindrops, and went into the net!

This was Antonito's sixth league goal of the season, and it also helped Racing Santander equalize the score in the final moments of the game! The crowd was boiling, and they evened the league leader in the final moments of the game.

In the end, the two sides drew 2-2. When the home team was celebrating in the rain, the entire Barcelona team unfortunately but without any delay hurried back to Barcelona to prepare for the next round of the game.

……

Barcelona was tied 2-2 by Santander Racing in an away game. Although it has a small brake on the road to the championship, it does not affect the overall situation of winning the championship, because Real Madrid, ranked second in the league, was tied 1-1 by Real Sociedad at home. Barcelona still maintains a huge lead of 11 points in the league, so Barcelona only needs to win 6 games in the remaining 3 league games to ensure the championship.

Although Rijkaard did not mention the possibility of Barcelona winning the championship in advance in the press conference after the game, some news media still made bold predictions. Mundo Deportivo believes that Barcelona is expected to win the championship after defeating Sevilla away on April 4. The theoretical basis of the newspaper is that given the current poor form of Valencia and Real Madrid, it is unlikely that they will win consecutive games in the next two rounds of the league, which means that Barcelona actually only needs to get another 22 points.

However, Marca insists that the champion will not be decided in April because, in their opinion, Barcelona's current form is as unsatisfactory as Real Madrid and may continue to lose points.

But no matter what, Ricardo, who returned to Barcelona, ​​temporarily slowed down the pace of the game. Because of the away game and the return trip in the middle of the night, according to convention, the entire Barcelona team will have a day off the next day.

Therefore, Ricardo spent a good day with the little princess on Monday. Although one of them was tasting the forbidden fruit for the first time and the other was returning from an away game in the rain, their young bodies were full of energy.

Sarafina changed into several sets of uniforms and underwear of different styles and colors that day, satisfying Ricardo's various fantasies. Of course, Ricardo also carefully taught the little princess to unlock new skills and postures...

(The details of the two people's lingering love were naturally omitted for thousands of words for the sake of love and harmony...)

In addition, a certain scumbag had completely forgotten that April 4 was Chiara's birthday. It was only after Pimenta reminded him that the scumbag knew that his agent assistant had already arranged everything, including flowers, cakes, birthday gifts, etc. He couldn't just say nothing, so he quickly went to the toilet and pretended to squat to send Chiara a blessing text message behind Sarafina's back and arranged a birthday consolation fund of 10 euros.

Chiara, who had only received gifts, still had some resentment, but as soon as the condolence money arrived, she said, "Well, sir, what other service do you need?" and immediately settled her insignificant little resentment.

On Tuesday afternoon, Ricardo reluctantly said goodbye to Sarafina, a high school girl who had regained her pure and ladylike style, at the airport. He couldn't help smacking his lips and saying, "The contrast between her in front of people and behind people is too... tempting! It turns out that I trained her myself. Oh no, I raised her from childhood. Awesome!"

Patting his cheek, Ricardo couldn't help but remind himself: "Okay, it's time to let off some steam. Sarafina has helped me to the utmost. What's left is the final stage of the league and the sprint to the Champions League semi-finals. I have to be in good shape..."

In order to allow the two La Liga teams to fully participate in the Champions League next week, the Spanish Football Association specially arranged that the 33rd round of the Spanish Football League match between Barcelona and Villarreal at home will be played in advance on Friday night.

……

The day before the game, Ricardo met with his agent Raiola and his assistant Pimenta who flew over from Italy.

The meeting was brief and efficient. The general content was that there were still six rounds of the league left and the Champions League had entered the knockout stage. Ricciardo needed to strive for more performances. It was expected that the Italian national team would announce the roster in a month.

Pimenta has recently been collating and compiling statistics on Ricardo's performance this season. At the same time, Raiola will also start to work on it in the near future, but it will also require some funds and good media connections to create momentum to ensure that Ricardo can squeeze into the Italian national team's roster for the World Cup.

Ricardo authorized the use of funds, and all the income from endorsement contracts could be put into it. It was only a few million euros anyway, and Ricardo didn't care about this small amount of money. After all, Ricardo knew that winning the World Cup was an opportunity that could not be sought after.

In addition, after the meeting, Ricardo also called his uncle Charles and cousin Francis, asking for help from sponsors and media friends; the two of them decisively said that they would take care of it! Yes, they are his nephews, who else could he help if not Ricardo?

……

So before waiting for media feedback, Ricardo ushered in another round of league and another start.

2006年4月12日晚上20时30分，巴塞罗那主场对阵比利亚雷亚尔的比赛正式开打。

Puyol received a red card in the last round of rainy match and his appeal was unsuccessful. He is suspended for this round. Edmilson, who just returned from injury, will replace him as the central defender. The other central defender is Oleguer, while Liqi and Van Bronckhorst are on the two wings.

Due to the shortage of personnel in the midfield and frontcourt, the situation is exactly the same as in the last round of the league.

Although Ronaldinho has recovered from his injury, he continues to be kept on the bench by Rijkaard in preparation for the Champions League semi-final next week.

Messi, who was supposed to have recovered from his injury ahead of schedule, strained his thigh muscle again in yesterday's training session. Not only will he be unable to participate in this weekend's league match against Villarreal, but even his original plan to appear in next week's Champions League match against AC Milan has been forced to be delayed.

The only good news comes from Xavi, who has joined the team's training. If everything goes well, Xavi is expected to return at the end of this month or early next month.

However, Barcelona is not too worried about this game. First, they are playing at home, and second, the visiting Villarreal has also kept two absolute main players, Riquelme and Forlan, on the bench for the European war.

At the beginning of the game, Barcelona took the initiative on the field, especially Li Qi who wanted to show his performance, running very actively, maybe because of the nourishment of love? Or maybe it was the desire for the World Cup.

In the 3rd minute, Li Qi and Van Bommel made a wall-like cooperation and broke through at high speed. They made a cross from the bottom right. Larsson headed the ball from 8 yards in front of the far goal, but it missed the near corner.

In the 5th minute, Larsson moved to the right, Li Qi jumped high on the wing and headed the ball to Eto'o who was waiting on the side. The latter turned and passed the ball to Van Bommel, who stopped the ball too far in the middle and could only shoot from a small angle near the right bottom line of the penalty area, but the ball was blocked by defender Gangalo and went out of the bottom line.

In the 8th minute, Deco made another long pass to the right, and Li Qi made another forward run and stopped the ball steadily in the air. Facing two opponents scrambling for the ball, he turned around and sent a secret pass with his heel. Giuly, who successfully beat the offside, shot from a small angle from 12 yards on the right side of the penalty area, but goalkeeper Barbosa bravely saved it.

However, just when Li Qi was enjoying the attack, veteran Larson was injured.

In the 10th minute of the game, Rijkaard had to replace the Swedish veteran who had a left thigh strain with Esquillo.

However, the next minute after the substitution, Barcelona broke the deadlock.

It was still Li Qi who created the threat on the right, and with a dazzling pass from Deco and Iniesta, he almost broke through the defense. However, just as the Yellow Submarine's defense leaned to the left to block Li Qi who was about to pass the ball...

Li Qi, who triggered the breaking point, suddenly took a step back, then made a powerful over-the-top pass directly to the right side of Villarreal's defense line!

Chiara had just gotten off the plane and hurriedly took a taxi to Ricardo's apartment. She opened the door and turned on the TV before taking off her shoes. Then she lifted her skirt and prepared to take off her stockings and panties. She rushed into the toilet to urinate. She only heard a hearty sound of water mixed with the commentator's explanation on the TV broadcast:

"Li Qi intercepted Villarreal's long pass and passed it to Iniesta..."

"Back to Ricky...nice pass...Deco."

"Deco passed the ball to Iniesta again... and then passed it to the side, and Li Qi received it..."

"Wall-to-wall cooperation, Li Qi came to the corner of the penalty area..."

"A wonderful triangle pass and cut, Deco, Iniesta and Li Qi fooled the opponent's defense on the right!"

“1、2、3、4、5，比利亚雷亚尔在左路囤积了重兵围抢！”

"Li Qi is going to force his way down the field! Fake! Turn around and make a long pass!"

"Yellow Qian's right side is empty! All attention has been drawn to Li Qi's side..."

"Eto'o! Nice stop! Peña comes over to make up for it..."

"Beautiful! Frequent fake moves to dribble past the opponent! There's an opening! An opportunity!"

"Great shot! Blind spot!"

"Ah! Gooooaaal! Gooooaaal! Go!"

"Eto'o easily received Li Qi's long pass in the upper left corner of the penalty area, and with a shoulder fake move, he got rid of Peña who hurried over to defend, and then shot low into the near corner from 18 yards on the left side of the penalty area. Barcelona led 1-0 at home!"

"This is the Cameroonian striker's 24th league goal of the season, continuing to top the scorer charts."

When Eto'o celebrated his goal, Ricardo also waved his fist excitedly: "Yes! The fifth assist in the league!"

……