Chloe sometimes feels that the country has a strangely irrational fanaticism about football. One of the reasons is that no matter what level of players or manager the current England squad is, the media and fans will expect a lot from them before the World Cup or the European Championship – and even think they should aim for the title. That has been a joke for decades. However, this year, it may really be different. She glanced at the pretty men who were walking this way, they hadn't seen each other in a long time. Of course, the champion? or still far away. Chloe finds it difficult for him to convince himself that Sam Allardyce will be the manager who will help England win the World Cup.

Patrick said a brief hello to Chloe, a little absent-minded.

Chloe watched him, wondering if he had always been like this or because of something. She thought about it, and there was indeed a piece of news about him today, and that was that another of his mansions in Surrey had been exposed. A number of media outlets have followed up with speculation that he will return to England after the summer, but may not continue to play for QPR.

There was almost no small talk, and the interview began straight away. The interview is not long, the content is similar, and after cutting, it will only be played for a few minutes.

Patrick didn't laugh much the whole time. He thanked Chloe and the rest of the Sky Sports staff as he prepared to return to training.

The producer then remembered something and told Chloe that there were a few questions left unasked. Chloe called out to Patrick.

A hint of annoyance flashed between Patrick's brow, but he returned and politely finished answering the last few questions.

"Barcelona is good, I can't talk about the future right now. Of course I hope to score in the national derby, it must feel good. As for England possibly meeting Argentina in the knockout rounds of the World Cup,......" he barely smiled, "I think we should figure out how to play well in the group stage first, and the goal is of course to qualify first in the group." ”

Very official answer. Chloe thought.

After Patrick finished speaking, he asked, "Any more questions?"

The producer shook her head at Chloe, who said, "No problem." Thank you, Patrick. ”

The pretty man nodded, ready to turn around.

Chloe let out a "hey" behind him.

Patrick turned his head again in confusion.

Chloe glanced at a few of her colleagues, lowered her voice and asked, "I guess the gossip in The Sun is all fake, right?"

Patrick's expression changed, unusually serious and alert, and he looked into Chloe's eyes, "Why do you ask?"

Chloe shrugged, "I don't know, I always felt that Kristen wouldn't joke about her career, she's a talented coach...... I mean, if you're together, it's not a good thing for her, and you know that, don't you?"

Patrick couldn't remember how he answered Chloe, he probably didn't say anything, and ran straight to the training ground.

Teammates are warming up and talking about the opponents in the group stage of the World Cup. Three months have passed since the group draw, but this discussion has only become more frequent.

At the beginning of December last year, when he sat on the sofa with Tina to watch the draw, Tina commented on England's opponents endlessly: "The Netherlands seems to be the strongest opponent in this group, but with the decline of the Dutch youth in recent years, in fact, the national team is not very strong now, but you have to face Timothy (Mensa) directly, I am very interested in taking a look...... I'm more worried about Ecuador, this team has a South American style of casual play, so don't let them go crazy. As for Saudi Arabia, I don't know much about it, but Asian football as a whole is going downhill......"

England's two friendly opponents, Colombia and Belgium, were selected based on this grouping.

After a few seconds, Patrick returned to his teammate's conversation. Now that the conversation has turned to the woman, he hears Dilly Ali boasting about his recent affair again.

England's first friendly was against Colombia at Wembley, with England and Colombia drawing 2-2 with Patrick at half-time. They will then fly to Brussels to face Belgium.

When Patrick got on the plane, he sent her a text message:

Tina, we're on our way to Brussels. Hopefully the weather is a little better there than it is here. x】

He received a response quickly.

Good luck, monster. Actually, I think it's stupid for the FA to choose Belgium to simulate the Netherlands, how can the two teams be similar. 】

Patrick glanced at the phone screen, but didn't reply. He turned it off.

The plane roared up.

****

Nicholas was anxious throughout the international break. He knew exactly what he was anxious about, but his assistant Juan didn't.

Juan speculated for two reasons. One is because Barcelona was drawn in the Champions League draw, and the other is because there is still a lot of pressure in the league.

Juan reflected on how Everton had recently snapped out of a three-game draw run with two straight wins, but are still just three points ahead of QPR and Manchester United in the table. Although they have a make-up game in hand, it is not reassuring because it is an away game against Arsenal.

There are still seven league games to go, with Everton still having eight league games to play, with a two-legged clash against Barcelona in between.

Oh, Barça.

Juan pondered, thanking God that the talented who had left the QPR was not eligible to compete, and Suarez did not return from injury, so Everton may have a good chance. Juan hasn't discussed much about that game with Nicolás. He looked at the manager again. The gloom on Nick's face faded somewhat, or maybe it was just hidden.

****

The international break is over, and there is bad news for QPR.

Glenn Mitchell got a call-up to the national team, which would have been a good thing. But the Yorkshire boy suffered a thigh muscle injury against Belgium. This is Glenn's second injury in recent memory. He has undergone a thorough investigation on his return to the club and, according to the scan, will be out for three weeks. The defender should be able to make the crucial game against Manchester City at the end of April if he recovers as quickly as possible, but will miss previous games against Chelsea, West Ham, Villa and Liverpool.

If it was just this one injury, Lu Ling wouldn't feel such a headache.

But Timothy Fosu Mensah was also injured in a friendly match for the Dutch national team. He has an ankle injury and will be out for half a month, so Lu Ling's plan to let Mensah partner Mario has also come to naught.

This means that the long-lost captain Nedham will be the main force in the next three games.

To Lu Ling's irony, Dutch coach Danny Blind also called her specifically and asked her not to let Mensah come back in a hurry. Of course, Lu Ling could understand his thoughts. Mensah has already become a regular in the Dutch national team, and now there are more than two months to go before the World Cup, and the head coach of the national team has also entered a period of high sensitivity of nerves. She promised not to let Mensah play until he was fully recovered.

****

The 32nd round of the Premier League has arrived.

By the time the QPR players stepped onto the turf at New Queen's Park, they had already learned the result of the previous match. Everton, Arsenal and Liverpool all won yesterday, while Manchester United beat Manchester City 1-0 in the just-concluded Manchester derby, with the Red Devils temporarily moving up to second place in the table, overtaking QPR.

As a result, if this QPR can't win Chelsea, it won't be possible to regain second place. And the point gap behind the top Everton will also widen.

Due to two unexpected injuries, Lu Ling sent on Nedham Onuoha to partner Mario Fernandez as a centre-back pairing. The good news is that Dzyuba did not play for the national team and stayed at the club to recover, and has now recovered from his previous injury.

At the same time, León Ferreira, who has just returned from the Uruguayan team, is also on the bench, his jet lag has not yet reversed, and he is very hard in the national team game. Despite being a friendly, León has become Uruguay's main centre-forward due to Luis Suarez's injury, and he doesn't plan to give up that position easily.

The start of the game was unexpectedly smooth.

The starting Joey Freeman was a blistering performer today, with the British-Jamaican star pushing hard to break through and run around the pitch, and in the fifth minute he played past two on the left before sending a half-high shot for Djuba.

The Russian center slammed the ball into the door.

The audience was boiling.

Lu Ling also clenched his fist on the sidelines.

In the first half, the QPR maintained a 1-0 lead.

But as soon as the second half came up, Conte changed the formation and made two adjustments directly. Batshuayi and Moses appeared. The purpose of these two adjustments is precisely to target Nedham's increasingly clumsy footwork and sliding bounce ability.

Just ten minutes into the second half, the score was reversed. Michy Batshuayi and Eden Hazard scored one each.

Chelsea lead QPR 2-1 away.

Lu Ling immediately made substitution adjustments, going down Jacob and going up to Leon.

and shouted at Yu Zixiang and John O'Connor, asking them to go ribs and cooperate with Leon.

Chelsea switched to a back five defensive mode.

Antonio Conte is a manager who is absolutely strict defensively, and the QPR attack looks impenetrable at first, with all the personnel piled up in the middle.

But this is one of Lu Ling's countermeasures. She shouted John's name in the 75th minute to get him to start walking the perimeter.

Chelsea's defence is currently focused on the build-up of personnel in the middle, which has allowed some space to open up on the perimeter.

John O'Connor was the standout player in the QPR midfield and his curling ball found the top of Dzyuba's head perfectly.

But Courtois' miraculous save kept the header out of the net.

But immediately, the elusive Leon pounced on the second drop point and smashed the ball into the bottom of the net with a flying tackle.

Amid the cheers of the audience, Leon rushed to the ball, quickly picked it up, and ran towards the center circle.

A draw is not enough for QPR.

But until the moment the whistle blew, the new Queen's Park couldn't wait for a third goal.

Three consecutive draws.

Lu Ling looked at the turf under her feet, the green grass seemed to shake, and then it was uprooted, driving the soil below, and a huge crack appeared under her feet, and she seemed to be falling down.

It may just be a half-second hallucination. Lu Ling quickly raised his head and walked towards the Chelsea manager. Conte won't be in a better mood than she is, they will need a win more than her.

After staggering with the Italian, she walked to the sidelines as usual and applauded the fans to thank them for their support. The fans at the new Queen's Park stadium still applauded in return, and she could hear some words of encouragement.

But in any case, QPR fell to third in the Premier League standings.

****

Having been eliminated in all cup competitions, Harrington had a week of quiet training.

During that time, the Premier League played two midweek matches, with Everton beating Arsenal 1-0 away to make it four wins in a row, while Liverpool and Manchester City played 1-1.

In the standings, Everton are six points ahead of second-placed Manchester United and eight points ahead of QPR.

With six rounds of league games remaining, the championship dream that QPR once came so close to is gradually moving away from them as the weather begins to warm up.

Lu Ling and Tim stood in the training ground, constantly giving instructions. Both of them had the same question on their minds.

The most realistic problem for the team now has changed from competing for the title to retaining the top four.

Liverpool are just one point away from them, while Manchester City, despite their recent poor record, are just three points behind them with a game in hand. This April, the QPR will play these two teams directly. If the QPR continues their current form, they may fall out of the top four after two or three rounds.

The Sun's prediction, which seemed like a gimmick at the time, suddenly turned into a reality that could happen.

On Friday morning, Lu Ling had a fever. She had already gotten into the car, and she still got out of the car, and she knew very well that even if she went to Harrington, it wouldn't be very efficient. She needs to rest and needs to get better within 24 hours.

She called Tim to help with training sessions and press conferences. Tomorrow against West Ham, the opponent is very difficult, so Lu Ling has already studied some countermeasures with Tim before.

She went back to bed, groggy. The mind is still replaying West Ham's recent games. The East London squad has a good overall athleticism and a skilled playmaker, Payet, who will inevitably have to limit him......

She seems to be asleep and doesn't. But her mind must have wandered.

The last time she had a fever was in Manchester. She and the guy spent a sweet few days in the hotel, as well as recording matchoftheday. At the end of the show, what did she say?

"Oh, I know everybody wants it to be true, because maybe that's normal news for female coaches. But I'm afraid to disappoint you, I'm definitely not going to date my own players. I've taken a lot of first places and I don't want to be the first manager to date my own players. ”

How could she be so sure then?

What else?

That's right, Nick.

It's been a long time, and all she can remember clearly is the heat of her body.

She finally fell into a deep sleep.

In the dream, the bed beneath her body also began to crack, and her house was collapsing, along with the villa opposite. The rift eventually joined together, and she fell back into it. It's like a bottomless abyss. But she saw the light, the warm Catalan afternoon sun, and the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona jutted sharply into the sky, as if to make some mournful chirp. The Camp Nou sparkled in the sunlight, and she could still seem to hear the distant sound of the waves.

The scene before her was reorganized, and she suddenly realized that this was actually Chantilly in France, and she was drunkenly walking through the streets, always with a figure by her side. She tried to open her mouth, but the boy gagged her. They kissed passionately, and the world whirled.

Alice's voice suddenly sounded in the air, and she couldn't really hear what she said. It seemed like Nick's voice, Tim's voice, Nate's voice, even her father's and mother's voices.

The face of The Sun reporter David King suddenly appeared in front of her, she was disgusted, but when she turned her head and saw the Twitter account again, the number of folloers changed from 0 to hundreds of thousands, then millions, and then continued to beat rapidly, and finally exceeded a billion, and counting......

The beating numbers turned into human faces, looking at her coldly.

She woke up. The pillow was already soaking wet. She looked outside, and it was already dark.

She sat up and grabbed her phone. There were two calls and text messages from Tim on it, nothing else.

Perhaps she's been too busy lately, and it wasn't until this moment that she suddenly remembered that Pat hadn't contacted her in a long time. She remembered something else. Anna called her out of the blue and asked if she wanted to see Zoe, and she said she didn't have time, so it was only a few minutes.

****

The game against West Ham was a tough one.

QPR led twice, but was twice equalized by the tenacious Hammers. León Ferreira, who scored two goals, also looked a little frustrated.

The new Queen's Park has entered a state of extreme agitation and near-collapse, with fans watching the manager walk around the pitch and even crouch on the sidelines, like her predecessor Bielsa.

She may have completely forgotten that there were still cameras, the fans thought.

It wasn't until the 89th minute that QPR's bad luck seemed to have finally come to an end.

Yu Zixiang's cross, Ian Parker's header goes to the bottom of the net!

Everyone was relieved.

The red-haired Scot high-fived every team-mate on the pitch and went to the sidelines to give him a hug to his manager. Then, he ran back to the field. He is well aware that there is still a lot of defensive work to be done. There must be no more surprises with the three points in hand.

Ian looked back again, he didn't know what Pat would have thought if he was still around, he only knew that when he looked at Christine at some point earlier, he realized that she was just a normal girl of twenty-nine.

Five minutes later, QPR finally got a win.

The other games that will follow will be the most interesting for the top spot, Everton against Manchester United.

And the one who had the last laugh was actually Jose Mourinho.

Everton are not in good form this game and Romelu Lukaku is still not back. But they lost in the end, and it had a lot to do with luck. The shot to goal ratio was 20 to 2. United's only two shots on goal resulted in a goal. In the final stages, Dembele was a little too anxious and made some irrational attempts on goal, which also disrupted some of Nicolas's last-minute tactical deployments.

Manchester United became the only team to beat Everton at Goodison Park so far this season, while Jose completed a double against Nick. This good form has a lot to do with Manchester United's early exit from the Champions League, and their injuries are the fewest among the top four teams so far.

Interestingly, both the Spaniard and the Portuguese were dismissive of each other in their post-match press conferences.

"We're still at the top of the table, even if Jose steals six points from me, oh, maybe it's not Jose, it's luck. ”

"I don't know why Nick was so angry after the game, aren't they still at the top of the table? ”

Tim repeated the words of the two men in Lu Ling's office, and Lu Ling wanted to laugh, but she found that she couldn't laugh.

"You see, one is saying, 'I'm at the top of the list, double kill, double kill,' and the other is saying, 'What about you at the top of the list, or did you lose me twice,' Christine, don't you think these two guys are naïve?"

Lu Ling smiled forcefully and said of course.

Tim was embarrassed, he just wanted to lighten up the atmosphere, after all, he finally won.

Manchester United are three points away from the top of the table after back-to-back victories over Manchester City and Everton. The QPR is also a beneficiary to some extent, and the difference between the score and the top of the list has narrowed to 5 points. However, Liverpool defeated West Brom 1-0 away, while Manchester City slaughtered Aston Villa, who were almost certain for relegation, 7-0 at home, and Brazilian Gabriel Jesus completed his senior four.

The competition for the Premier League title and even the top four has never been so fierce. But for Lu Ling, winning West Ham can give her a temporary breather. The games behind the QPR are all played once a week, and in terms of other strong teams, Everton and Chelsea are about to play the quarter-finals of the Champions League, while Arsenal and Liverpool are about to play the quarter-finals of the Europa League, and Manchester City is facing the semi-finals of the FA Cup, so these teams will inevitably play two games a week. Only Manchester United, like QPR, now only needs to focus on the league.

****

Later that night, later in the evening, Sky Sports livestreamed another game that fans had been waiting for.

Spanish National Derby.

At Camp Nou, which can accommodate nearly 100,000 people, two super giants with a one-point difference will fight for the La Liga title this season.

Barcelona lined up the trident of Neymar, Messi and Patrick Amber, while Real Madrid had an attacking combination of Ronaldo, Bale and Morata.

At this point in the season, both teams are fighting on three fronts, so they are extremely tired.

But the two world's best teams were in a dizzying attacking duel, with the score at 2-2 in the first half, with Lionel Messi and Neymar scoring twice, but Bale and Sergio Ramos equalised.

At halftime, Patrick drank a lot of water. He sat in front of the locker closet, which he was still not fully familiar with.

He was well aware that his performance in the first half wasn't bad – but it wasn't the best either. It was his first national derby and he didn't want to leave anything behind.

On Friday night, he wanted to call her, but something prevented him from pressing the dial button. That night, he stared at his phone until it ran out of battery. The next day he learned from the newspaper that she was sick and that the assistant coach was doing it for Friday's pre-game press conference.

He knew what he was thinking. He knew, maybe it was bothering her too. Or maybe she's thinking more about playing West Ham. She should have been.

He is now in Barcelona. QPR because of his departure, the record has declined. And if he can't help her, at least he shouldn't be an obstacle to her.

Not anymore.

National derby, 74 minutes of second half.

Patrick suddenly started and cut off the ball at the feet of opposition midfielder Tony Kroos.

The Englishman took the ball and started in the centre circle and shuttled towards the opponent's penalty area. He's done it countless times this season. Real Madrid's defence appeared before his eyes and was then crushed.

Messi is beckoning to him, and the Argentine is in a better position. But he decided to come on his own.

He wants to score.

He pulled his foot from the penalty line, and the heavy shot drilled into the corner of the goal.

Barca's teammates jumped and the crowd at Camp Nou went crazy.

He did the first celebration since 20 June 2016, when England were in the final group stage of that European Championship.

His sleeves cover most of the tattoos, but the camera still sweeps over the thorn roses on the underside of his sleeves and freezes on his hands. His arm was eventually drowned by his Barcelona teammates who pounced on him again.

In this national derby, Barcelona finally defeated Real Madrid 3:2, surpassing Real Madrid by 2 points and reaching the top of the La Liga standings.

****

That night, Patrick abruptly returned to London.

Lu Ling spent a wonderful evening with him, and the next day he returned to Barcelona.

Two days later, Lu Ling saw the news in the "World Sports" that Patrick had brought his dog to Spain, and he didn't even tell her about it. However, she was not surprised, Anna had already hinted at her.

Everything was so peaceful and peaceful.

His calls and messages began to dwindle, and they didn't even contact him for a whole week.

When she made that call, she had some hunch.

"How's Zoe?" she asked.

"She's fine. ”

She paused, "sothisisit?"

It was a long silence, and she almost thought he was going to remain so silent forever, when she heard him say:

“…… Tina, we're still friends. ”

This time, it was she who started a longer silence.

“hing.”

“.. ss.”

Her voice was so hoarse, it was like crying, but he knew her, she couldn't cry at all. She might just have a cold and didn't get better, he thought. He should have said something more, but he didn't even have the courage to ask, "Are you okay?" like that morning, when he stood by the door and looked at her, she was lying on the bed as if she was sleeping very soundly, and he wanted to go back and kiss her, and look at the king of spades and then look at the narcissus, but he just closed the door.

By the time that image flashed, she had already hung up the phone on the other end.

The balcony door was open and the breeze came in.

It was really like Siri, the tone of her last sentence.

Patrick put down his phone and walked to the balcony to look at the city. Brightly lit.

If you look at it from the plane, she is composed of red boxy grid after square. He remembers that the coastline was beautiful. The deep green mountains and azure bays surrounding the city enclose this beautiful city.

Later, when he drove through the city, he realized that the boxy lattice created the octagonal shape of every street corner, and the Catalan flag everywhere and the imaginative architecture of Gaudí made the city seem so unique and stubborn.

ly.

I love Barcelona, it's a city just like you, full of paranoia and idealism. It was passionate, but I didn't want it to be pathetic.

ss.

Patrick clasped his left arm with his right hand and muttered the phrase. 166 Reading Network