Chapter 450: Reaching the semi-finals

Poor Rossoneri defeated at White Hart Lane, gorgeous Tottenham won perfectly and advanced to the final!

Genius Fabregas made a world-class shot to win the best player of the game, and defeated his predecessor Pirlo!

Ye Qiu's magical use of troops revealed Milan's scars, and a complete defeat was already destined before the game!

The perfect trident ended Milan's dream of defending the title. How can the fifth place in Serie A enter the Champions League semi-finals?

On the second day, major European media focused on Tottenham Hotspur's 3:0 victory over AC Milan at home. If AC Milan could fight Tottenham Hotspur 0:0 at San Siro in the first round, then at White Hart Lane, AC Milan completely collapsed under Tottenham Hotspur's attack.

Even the Italian media Gazzetta dello Sport said in the comment that AC Milan was lucky to lose only three goals. They even regarded this game as a collapse worse than the 0:4 loss to Deportivo La Coruna that year.

"If Fabregas's shot didn't hit the crossbar, if Van Persie was pulled down by Maldini and was awarded a penalty, if Messi's arc shot didn't hit the post, if..."

"There really aren't that many ifs in this world, because none of these have happened, but this has forced us to think deeply about what exactly caused AC Milan to lack the fighting power at White Hart Lane? This is not the performance that a Champions League defending team should have."

"Before the game, the English media called AC Milan the grandfather team and Tottenham the grandson team. This is not a humiliation, but a way of telling everyone that AC Milan is so lacking in fighting power at White Hart Lane. ... a humiliation, but a way of telling everyone that AC Milan is so lacking in fighting power at White Hart Lane. This is not a humiliation, but a way of telling everyone that AC Milan is so lacking in fighting power at White Hart Lane. This is not a humiliation, but a way of telling everyone that AC Milan is so lacking in fighting power at White Hart Lane. This is not a humiliation, but a way of telling everyone that AC Milan is so lacking in fighting power at White Hart Lane. Some fans think that the average age of AC Milan is so old, while Tottenham is so young. "

"In fact, before the game, many people thought that the younger and more energetic Tottenham would defeat AC Milan and advance smoothly. This is not because of Nesta's injury. I believe that even if Nesta was not injured, he could not prevent Milan's defeat. This is more of a comprehensive consideration from many aspects. "

"In fact, more than two months ago, when the reporter communicated with Stifano, the deputy editor-in-chief of the Milan team magazine, he had already felt the internal atmosphere of Milan. Their attitude towards the team this season is the same as the age of the players. , so old that he doesn't even show a little bit of vigor and vitality. "

"Galliani said that this season Milan still hopes to focus the team's energy on adjusting the young structure. This is a repetitive topic, and it can also be said to be an excuse for the Milan management's inaction, because the aging of the team is not reflected until now. Did they know that Maldini is 38 years old this year? "

"What really affects Milan's performance is the management's style, especially after the team won the Champions League last season. They are even more complacent and think that even relying on this group of veterans, they are enough to continue to sweep the Europa League, but the reality is It was so cruel. Tottenham Hotspur used a bloody 3:0 to tell them that this was delusion! "

"Ranked fifth in Serie A this season, whether it can enter the Champions League next season is still an unknown. Now it has been humiliatingly eliminated from the Champions League. This may re-inspire the fighting spirit of Milan's management and give them some courage to adjust the team's lineup. "

In the end, Gazzetta dello Sport also gave some positive factors for AC Milan's elimination, that is, losing the Champions League may allow AC Milan to start concentrating on the fourth place in the league and ensure that the team continues to participate in the Champions League next season.

Compared to the comments of Gazzetta dello Sport, Corriere della Sera not only pointed the finger at the team's aging structure, but also accused Ancelotti of using troops in the game and his poor substitutions.

"On-the-spot command has always been Ancelotti's weak point, so many times we can only hope that Ancelotti's team can create a favorable ball from the beginning, but in this game we saw a conservative Ancelotti."

"Why is it Ambrosini, not Seedorf? Why can't Emerson be trusted? Even at the critical moment, our midfield was completely passive, why not strengthen the midfield?"

"Relatively speaking, Tottenham's strategy and tactics are clearer and more obvious. Ye Qiu wanted to play fast from the beginning. He made this very clear in the pre-match press conference, using the fast-paced Premier League model to drag down AC Milan, but after the start, Tottenham's performance was not ideal, mainly reflected in their midfield taking Can't hold the ball. "

"Pirlo's position is relatively far back. If Ye Qiu lets Fabregas play as a front midfielder to suppress Pirlo who plays as a back midfielder, Modric alone cannot be competent for the task of organizing the core in the midfield, so Tottenham Hotspur lost the initiative when fighting for possession of the ball, and after the opening, AC Milan played a sharp attack as they wished. "

"This is a good phenomenon, isn't it?"

"But we have to admire Ye Qiu's on-the-spot command. After he realized this problem, he immediately pulled Messi back instead of Fabregas, because he knew very well that Fabregas suppressed Pirlo, which was the most important local confrontation in this game and could not be moved. I believe that in order to do this, he has conducted rigorous training before the game. "

"Messi is back, the midfield ball control has been strengthened, Tottenham Hotspur successfully dominated the game, the whole process lasted for nearly 20 minutes, Tottenham Hotspur completed the first goal, and Throughout the whole process, Ancelotti seemed to be doing nothing. He seemed unable to see that Tottenham was constantly taking over the game and constantly taking control."

"When Tottenham Hotspur broke through AC Milan's goal, Milan's defense gave Tottenham Hotspur's trident at least three very obvious loopholes. This was difficult to happen in Milan before. At this time, Ancelotti should have made adjustments as soon as possible, but he did not, which directly led to conceding the ball again at the end of the first half.”

"Two goals behind, Milan was already very passive in the second half, and Ancelotti did not make substitutions. The reason he gave after the game was that he did not have suitable substitutions, and Tottenham Hotspur went smoothly in the second half. He took over the game and successfully accelerated the tempo, constantly attacking AC Milan’s goal.”

"Thank God, they missed at least three must-goal opportunities, but Messi's goal in the 72nd minute completely destroyed AC Milan's confidence. Afterwards, Ancelotti made substitutions, but it has lost its meaning. Without strong support and passes from behind, Kaká’s performance was sluggish and very passive throughout the game.”

"There is another very interesting phenomenon in the last twenty minutes of the game, that is, Tottenham Hotspur, who fought very hard, in the last ten minutes, especially the last ten minutes, it was obvious that their physical fitness could no longer keep up. , this was supposed to be AC ​​Milan’s opportunity, but Milan seemed to be worse than them.”

"On the whole, Tottenham Hotspur completed an almost perfect sniper game in this game. The favorable advantages in the schedule and the physical advantages of the players are all very good to Tottenham Hotspur. "

"Of course, we should also give Ancelotti some sympathy, because AC Milan is fighting on multiple fronts this season and the player structure is aging. This is not Ancelotti's responsibility, but he must be responsible for the loss of this game. They are responsible for the tactical failure, but we all hope that they can get over their frustration as soon as possible, because they must play well in Serie A and strive to regain their qualification for the Champions League next season. This is Milan's next priority. !”

While the Italian media generally favored AC Milan as the protagonist, the English media all gave Tottenham Hotspur high praise and appreciation, believing that this was a nearly perfect victory in both process and result.

"Tottenham Hotspur destroyed Milan with the beauty that AC Milan is best at!"

The Times columnist Martin Samuel did not hesitate to praise Tottenham Hotspur. He believed that the victory of this game had been determined before the game. From the perspective of the process, Tottenham Hotspur showed great performance. It proves that it has the strength to compete with the top teams in Europe.

"Possession of the ball has always been the essence of AC Milan's style of play since Pirlo retreated. When they came to the Premier League last season, AC Milan relied on their aggressive ball control to defeat the Red Devils and Manchester United, and successfully defeated Manchester United. Being eliminated from the Champions League, especially the almost devastating half hour after the start, attracted countless Milan fans to talk about it. "

"But this season, also in the Champions League, Tottenham Hotspur, the little brother of the Premier League, avenged the big brother Manchester United very well. What makes the Italians even more ashamed is that they used the way Milan is best at, controlling the ball. Come and beat Milan!”

"Looking at the entire game, Pirlo's passing success rate was less than 70%. This is obviously a very bad value for a player who is the core organizer of the team, because as Pirlo's passing success rate declines, As a result, AC Milan's passing efficiency was curbed, so throughout the game, AC Milan's passing success rate was very low, and they even used long passes instead of the ground penetration that they are familiar with and good at. "

"If we simply look at the game process, we can easily come to the illusion that Tottenham Hotspur is the AC Milan of Serie A, but AC Milan is more like a traditional Premier League team, because Tottenham Hotspur is the AC Milan of Serie A. By putting pressure on Pirlo, Tenham Hotspur forced AC Milan to be unable to play the ball effectively. After the front and backcourts were disconnected, they had to frequently change to inefficient long passes. "

"We can also see from this game that Tottenham Hotspur does not lose to AC Milan in terms of ball control, but they also did not participate in the slow ball control similar to AC Milan's past. , but playing faster, more direct and more threatening.”

"If you look purely at the time of possession, the gap between the two teams is not very big. Tottenham Hotspur is 53%, while AC Milan is 47%. This is definitely not visible on the field, because everyone watching the game Fans will not believe that Milan’s ball possession rate is so high, because their ball possession has no quality at all.”

"Once, I met Ye Qiu at the Premier League Coaches Summit, and I asked him, what kind of technical football does Tottenham Hotspur want? Because I think, Tottenham Hotspur's The ball control is obviously not like Arsenal or Barcelona, ​​because they are faster, more direct and more threatening!"

"Ye Qiu told me that if Tottenham Hotspur's possession of the ball exceeds 60%, he will feel very headache, because that means that a lot of the possession is useless, and if it is less than 50%, he will feel very sad, because that means the team is passive on the field, so he thinks that the most reasonable possession time should be between 55% and 60%."

"I asked him how he got this range?"

"He shook his head and said it was a kind of experience, because now the defense is getting tighter and more integrated. If you control the ball too much, it often means that the opponent's defense is tighter, because they have no possession and can only defend, so you have to give them possession, give them hope, and let them have the courage to press out and play."

"He told me that in the 5,000-year-old culture of his motherland, there is a kind of thought that fits his view of football very well. Understanding, playing hard to get, means that when you want to get something, you often have to learn to give up something first, and this kind of giving up is not blind, but purposeful and tactical. "

"I think that the game against AC Milan is a manifestation of Ye Qiu's tactical thinking. He gave up some unnecessary ball control, but adopted a faster and more direct style of play, using the team's physical advantage to drag down AC Milan. This is not only a complete victory in terms of the scene and the result, but also a complete victory in terms of tactics. "

Not only the Times, but also the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Sun and other major newspapers and media in England have given overwhelming praise and affirmation to Tottenham's victory. The momentum is as if Tottenham has won the European Championship in advance.

In such a momentum, Manchester United's 3:0 aggregate victory over Roma seems to be a little unnoticed, because the surprising 7:1 last season is obviously more interesting than the current 3:0 in two rounds, and from the beginning, almost everyone feels that Manchester United's victory over Roma is not a big problem.

In another match, Barcelona also defeated Schalke 04 with two 1:0s and then 2:0 in total, successfully advancing to the Champions League semi-finals, and their opponent in the semi-finals will be Manchester United.

In another match with Tottenham Hotspur in the upper half, Liverpool was tied 1:1 at home by Chelsea. When visiting Stamford Bridge, the two teams tied 1:1 again. In overtime, with Lampard's controversial penalty and Drogba's goal, Chelsea finally defeated Liverpool and successfully advanced to the semi-finals.

As a result, the semi-finals of the Champions League are also freshly released. Tottenham Hotspurs meet their mortal enemy Chelsea, and Manchester United meets Barcelona. Once again, three strong teams from the Premier League have reached the semi-finals, especially Tottenham Hotspurs, which is participating in the Champions League for the first time in decades. Being able to reach the semi-finals is already a victory in itself.

When the semi-final matchup table was freshly released, the outside world's optimism about Tottenham Hotspurs suddenly soared, because if you want to talk about being familiar with Chelsea, no one can compare to Ye Qiu, because this Chelsea was created by Ye Qiu from the bottom of his heart, and he is more familiar with everything about Chelsea than anyone else.

Moreover, since Mourinho stepped down, Ye Qiu has won two consecutive games against Chelsea. Grant's coaching ability has always been questioned. Relatively speaking, Tottenham Hotspurs' morale is high after defeating AC Milan, so many people are optimistic that Tottenham Hotspurs can defeat Chelsea and successfully enter the Champions League final.

Among the top four teams, Tottenham Hotspur's odds of winning the championship ranked third, because both Manchester United and Barcelona are obviously stronger than Tottenham Hotspur, especially Manchester United, which has defeated Tottenham Hotspur twice this season, and can be said to be the team that Ye Qiu is most worried about.

But many people also think that Ye Qiu has always been known for creating miracles. Whether he led Ajax or Chelsea, he performed well in the cup competitions, for which he was also awarded the title of King of Cups. So if he eventually led Tottenham Hotspur to win the championship by surprise, it is not impossible.

The London derby appeared in the Champions League semi-finals, which also attracted worldwide attention to the city of London. The happiest people were the London City Government and the Olympic Committee. They even called Ye Qiu personally, hoping that Tottenham Hotspur could continue to work hard.

For London, which is about to host the Olympics, the best and most ideal thing is of course to have a London derby in every season of the Champions League semi-finals and even the finals. That is definitely the most ideal warm-up show for the London Olympics.

However, there are pros and cons. After Tottenham Hotspur defeated AC Milan in the Champions League and successfully entered the semi-finals, the team immediately defeated Middlesbrough 2:1 at home in the 34th round of the Premier League.

Because Tottenham Hotspur played the FA Cup semi-finals in the 33rd round of the league, the game between Tottenham Hotspur and Blackburn was postponed to the midweek of the 34th and 35th rounds, which happened to be when there were no Champions League games.

As a result, Tottenham Hotspur lost to Blackburn 0:1 away.

No one was surprised that Tottenham Hotspur lost away, because in the past period of time, there was a big battle almost every three days. Even if Tottenham Hotspur's rotation was good, it would definitely affect the team's results, especially after playing AC Milan, the team kept facing big battles.

At the weekend, in the 35th round of the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur tied Wigan 1:1 again away from home. Although Manchester United's performance has declined in recent rounds, with one win and two draws in the last three rounds, Tottenham Hotspur's points have been expanded to three points.

With three rounds left in the league, falling behind by three points is indeed not an insurmountable gap, because in the next two rounds of the Champions League semi-finals, Manchester United will face Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspur will face Liverpool.

There is no doubt that this will be a decisive battle that affects the ownership of the championship!