It's been an hour since Barcelona's match against Atletico Madrid, and Patrick knows that the other side of the game against Everton has also been over for a long time. He called her, didn't answer, and sent a message.

Maybe she's still talking to the players, or she's dealing with the reporters. Patrick thought to himself.

At Camp Nou, Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 1-0, a decisive victory that narrowed the gap between them and leaders Real Madrid to one point.

It was an extremely tough game, as has always been the case against Atletico. In particular, in the previous midweek match, most of Barca's players battled hard against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, and finally played 1-1, eliminating Pep Guardiola's side 3-2 on aggregate. Patrick, who was not eligible to compete, was watching at home, so his fitness was the best in the Barcelona team.

Atletico have always had a physical advantage, but they battled 120 minutes against United in midweek before winning extra-time to progress, so they were out of breath in the second half.

The decisive moment came in the 69th minute of the second half, when Patrick won the ball on the right flank. Since Patrick joined Barcelona, Enrique has gradually put him on the right side, Messi on the pseudo-center position, and Neymar on the left.

Patrick cut inside and Atletico's defence was very sticky, but he got past the opposition midfielder Saul and then dodged the opposing veteran centre-back Godin. Against another centre-back, Savic, he wore through the crotch and was ready to connect the shots, but Savic pushed him and he fell into the box.

Messi stood in front of the penalty spot and made it in one fell swoop.

At that moment, he thought of that snowy night three months ago, when he had missed a penalty, only to score the first barbed goal of his career, take off his shirt and run to the touchline, where he was sent off by the referee......

At this time, Messi, who was sitting next to him, patted him and asked him if he would be interested in going to his house to play FIFA for a while.

They have played against each other a few times before, Messi with Barcelona and he with QPR. They both like to manipulate themselves all the way to the penalty area to shoot (Patrick was still in the QPR when FIFA 2018 came out), but in the game, he is not as good as Messi. Patrick blames several of those losses to Messi as the reason.

Patrick put away his phone and said to Messi in extremely fluency Spanish mixed with English words: "I'd love to." But if you take a penalty, you don't have to peek at my handle! You did that last time, so I didn't score. After he finished speaking, he was about to realize that although his Spanish was still poor, at least his sense of humor was still there, but he saw Messi's confused expression. Patrick then understood that Messi didn't understand what he had just said.

Pique's laughter rang out, and Patrick and Messi turned their heads together.

Peake, wearing his socks, translated in full Spanish what Patrick had just said. Messi suddenly realized, and he smiled and muttered in Spanish as he pushed Patrick's shoulder.

"I didn't peek at all!

Patrick shrugged. In fact, his hearing has improved a lot, but he really doesn't speak very well, and he glanced at Peake again, probably because this guy talks in his ear every day, but doesn't let him interject.

Later, they chatted as they walked outside the locker room. During this time, Patrick glanced at his phone again, and there was a new message from Ross Barkley.

[Our boss just went to have a drink with Christine...... Guess what happened? When he got back to the locker room, he was spilled with wine. 】

Patrick couldn't get any other sound in his ears after reading this message, and he had to work hard to understand their conversation.

That night, at Messi's house, the FIFA match between the two superstars, Patrick lost badly. He was ridiculed by the Argentines all night, he was depressed, but more anxious.

When he was about to go home, he received a message from her.

[I just finished a long meeting, and there are some things, I'll call you when I go home.] 】

****

"We had a big fight. She said in the video.

Patrick wiped his chin with a towel, he had received a call from her halfway through shaving, he was afraid of missing it, and even accidentally left a small hole in the side of his face, which was the first time he had such an accident since he was seventeen.

She said, "Why do you shave at night?"

"I was bored, and then, you called......" He put down the towel and pretended to be relaxed and asked, "So you spilled him all over the red wine?"

"Oh, do you already know? Did a reporter see it?"

"Rose told me. Lo and behold, my eyeliner is all in Everton. He made a joke.

She laughed when she heard it.

In fact, Patrick sometimes doesn't quite understand Rose's psychology. Obviously, Ross has a lot of respect for Flores, but Ross is also a good friend of his. Perhaps, in many things, Ross would have thought more of him than the Spaniard.

"That's another unpleasantness. She said.

Patrick walked out of the bathroom, "So why are you arguing? Because of the draw?"

She hesitated, but said, "No." Because of the topic we almost got into an argument that day. Also, he said something very excessive. Seriously, Pat, I don't really want to talk about that. ”

"He thinks you're doing something stupid, right?"

Tim thought so, too. ”

"And Zixiang. He laughed helplessly, "So, almost everyone around us thinks so." ”

"And that's what you're thinking now?" she asked.

As if he hadn't heard her question, he frowned and said, "I forgot, and Nate." He was the first to warn us. ”

Lu Ling didn't speak, and among all of them, the most crucial person was Nathan Neal Lawrence. If she was going to do that, all she needed was his support, and if he wasn't on her side — then, Nick was right, she was ruining her career.

But why is Nate on her side? Yes, she took a promoted team to fifth place last season, and yes, she has kept the team in second place in the standings this season, keeping the title of title contention alive, even though not many companies are actually optimistic about them. In a sense, she has laid some foundation for this team – but if she leaves, she will be just Claudio Ranieri from his Chelsea days, and Nate could well go to Jose Mourinho, who belongs to the QPR.

Lu Ling opened her mouth again to change the topic, and she was about to ask him about his situation in Barcelona and fell asleep. Now is not the time to think about that, the season is at a critical juncture, maybe everything is at the end of the season, or even the end of the World Cup.

****

In Turin on Thursday evening, the weather was already a little warmer, and the climate on the Mediterranean coast was much better than in London.

Lu Ling stood near the sideline of the Juventus Stadium and watched the situation on the field. It was already the 85th minute, and she had used up all three substitutions, but the score was still 1:1.

In this case, the aggregate score is 3:3, but Juventus score more away goals. QPR has to score one more goal to reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

On the bus to the stadium today, she heard Zixiang and Ian talking about last night's Champions League game. She didn't look, she didn't have time. Ian said Everton played extremely hard, with the game going on until the shoot-out. Everton's luck was good, as PSG conceded their first two penalties and made it to the quarter-finals when Lucas's fourth penalty flew high into the stands.

Now, she needs a bit of luck too.

León is not in good form and he looks tired in his recent back-to-back fights, but he is still one of the hardest working players on the pitch. This time, the Uruguayan boy tried desperately to intercept Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci's pass in front of the pitch and then slotted it through.

Campbell slotted into the box at high speed, but his feet slipped and the ball was confiscated by Buffon.

In the next few minutes, the QPR still didn't wait for good luck. Perhaps, it is because they have not created a situation with enough advantages. After all, the opponent in front of him is a team that is on par with Everton in the Champions League group stage.

The final whistle blows.

QPR was eliminated from the Europa League due to a lack of away goals.

The moment Lu Ling blew the whistle, he didn't have much emotion. This is the end of her first European tour, but she still has a lot to think about.

She patted the players who passed by her in turn. But when Vargas passed by her, the Chileans seemed reluctant to accept her encouragement.

This image was also captured by photographers.

****

Three days after the Europa League exit, QPR is on the verge of facing the 31st round of the Premier League.

The news that Vargas may be at odds with the QPR manager, and the London Evening Standard claim that Tottenham and Arsenal are interested in bringing in Chilean strikers have made the QPR look dangerous before leaving for Birmingham.

In this away game against West Bromwich Albion, Lu Ling continued to press Vargas to the bench, using her new 4222 system. She has already explained to Vargas the role of Dzyuba and Campbell in the system and the need for him to contribute to the team as a substitute. But the Chileans were just silent.

Vargas may not have imagined that Patrick's departure would bring him more minutes less minutes than more bench time. Lu Ling didn't expect it at first.

Tim asked Lu Ling if he had hesitated to abandon Vargas. She said no.

The Chilean has helped the team countless times over the past season or so. He was also her favorite and trusted by her. But the relationship between players and coaches can't be honeymoon forever. She has to decide which players to start based on the situation of the team, the situation of the game. It may be cold for the players themselves and for the fans who love them, but for the team and the manager, it's inevitable.

The QPR of this game is still not going well.

In the first half, Artem Dzyuba fell in the box under the defense of the opposing Evans, and although he was awarded a penalty, Dzyuba was injured.

Although Leon then converted the penalty, Lu Ling had to face the choice of who to replace Djuba. Eventually, she chose to trust the Chileans.

Frankly, Vargas is playing well, but still not at the top of his game. West Bromwich Albion didn't seem to want to add to the attack to salvage the situation after conceding the goal – and Tony Pulis may think it's acceptable to lose one, given the second-place team in the league.

The QPR players on the field then fell into a state of sleepwalking. At one point, QPR had 80 per cent possession but created very few absolute chances.

In the 82nd minute, when West Brom won a free kick in front, Vargas and John looked a little lazy to come back to defend. As soon as Ian's shouts reached their ears, West Brom quickly whipped in the free-kick.

Morrison's pass went to the head of central defender Dawson, and a broken line flew into the door behind Hans. Dawson was unguarded and too close for the Germans to save in time.

After the score became 1:1, the players of the QPR woke up from a dream, but there was little time left.

Lu Ling felt like he was crazy on the sidelines. Bielsa's remark from a few months ago flashed through her mind that her team didn't have Nick's team.

Not really.

Maybe it's because of her thunderous outburst, or maybe it's because her command on the sidelines plays a role. QPR won three good chances in the last ten minutes. But bad luck continues. León's shot hit the post once and was saved once by West Brom goalkeeper Forster. Vargas had a better chance to grab the penalty from close range, but it was actually in the side-netting.

QPR has drawn two in a row in the league.

In fact, they have managed just one win in their last five league rounds.

And after this round, the real crisis of QPR appeared.

Lu Ling looked at the standings on the iPad:

Everton 22-6-272 60:23 [1 game less]

qpr20-9-269 69:19

Manchester United 21-6-469 mins 54:25

Manchester City 20-6-366 69:25 [2 games less]

Liverpool 20-5-565 points 53:31 [1 less game]

Chelsea 18-9-263 53:31 [1 game less]

Arsenal 16-8-456 points 48:28 [2 games less]

Most of the big teams won this round of the league, including Everton, who ended a three-game draw streak with a big win. In the second half of the season, Manchester United, who were exceptionally brave, have already equaled the QPR in points. Manchester City are more threatening, trailing QPR by just three points with two games in hand. Liverpool, on the other hand, are only four points behind with a game in hand.

The QPR is still only three points behind Everton at the top of the table, but the Spaniard has a make-up game in hand.

There are seven rounds left in the league. 166 Reading Network