Chapter 088: The Aggrieved National Derby
In the world, this is often the case, a trivial hour often turns into an irreparable contradiction.
No one could have imagined that a free-kick dispute in the Champions League semi-finals at the end of last season would lead to a rupture between Real Madrid's two superstars, Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo, and thus a poor start to the new 2015-2016 season.
It was not easy to get out of the haze in the month and a half that Cristiano Ronaldo was absent due to injury, winning all competitions and defending the Club World Cup, but with the comeback of Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid's results can even be described as plummeting.
A wave of three rounds of winless almost led to Real Madrid's early withdrawal from the league title race.
Before the Champions League quarter-finals, Real Madrid ushered in a wave of devil-like fixtures, if it can usher in a clearance, there is still a certain possibility of this season's league title competition, if it encounters a setback, it will mean losing the league title.
Real Madrid, who challenged Las Palmas, won 2-0 with a strong overall strength, and six days later, Real Madrid hosted Sevilla.
Sevilla are fifth in the league and just two points clear of fourth-placed Villarreal, who had earlier extended the gap to three points after a 2-2 draw at home to Barcelona, but they would need to beat a turbulent Real Madrid away to level them on points.
Based on their win-loss advantage, Sevilla FC could finish fourth in the league.
No matter how bad it is, a draw with Real Madrid can maintain the pressure on Villarreal, and it is very possible to wait until four rounds later to play at home and reverse the points and rankings in one fell swoop.
Real Madrid have two crucial games against Sevilla, at the Camp Nou and Volkswagen Athletic to take on Barcelona and Wolfsburg.
Perhaps it was a distraction from the main game at Camp Nou, with Real Madrid playing at home from the start of the game, while Sevilla did not have the same worries as Real Madrid, who were eliminated from the Copa del Rey and only the league and Europa League knockout rounds.
However, there is still a week and a half left in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals, and the league hosts Real Sociedad next weekend, so Sevilla are the main opponents.
Banega, who played on behalf of Sevilla, was in full form, and he had conflicts with Tang Zheng when he was still in Boca Juniors, although it has faded over time in recent years, he still wants to prove that his ability is not worse than Tang Zheng!
Just three minutes into the game, Banega tested Navas with a long-range shot.
In the seventh minute, he deflected the ball to the top of the car vajal with a seemingly random kick, Reyes swept into the box, drew Ramos out and swept the ball in front of the small penalty area, Gameiro scrambled to complete a shot before Pepe blocked, and the ball flew into the net.
No one expected that Sevilla would open the scoring at the Bernabeu!
However, the home team quickly equalized, Tang Zheng unexpectedly used the outside of his right foot to cross at 45 degrees on the left side, the football went around the back of the goal, Carvajal with a try mentality made up for it, and kicked the ball into the upper corner of the near end of the goal with a strong volley after stopping the ball!
1:1
In the ensuing game, the two sides attacked and defended each other, but neither side scored until the end of the first half, and the two sides entered the dressing room with a score of 1:1.
The fifteen-minute half-time break passed quickly, and in the second half, Real Madrid, who had to win all three points at home, stepped up the attack, Sevilla coach Unai Emery decisively waved his arm and signaled the players to retreat to the half to play a defensive counterattack.
The minutes were ticking, the home team Real Madrid had not overtaken the score for a long time, and there were already sporadic boos from Real Madrid fans in the stands.
Among them, the two biggest boos from fans are the two leading stars, Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Since the start of the 2015-2016 season, this stalemate has been too frequent, and the root cause is the lack of linkage between Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo, which has led to the team's attack being too complicated.
A lot of times, you can obviously create a chance for the opponent with a pass, but you have to go through a third person.
The opportunity of a football match is often fleeting, and once it is missed, it has to be started again.
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"Beep~Beep~Beep~~"
With the referee on duty blowing the final whistle of two short and one long, the 31st round of the 2015-2016 La Liga season came to an end at the Bernabeu Stadium, and Real Madrid finally drew 1:1 with Sevilla.
Fortunately, Villarreal drew 2-2 at home to Barcelona in the earlier league game, and the difference between the two teams is still 12 points, 10 points away from Atletico Madrid, who are second in the league.
However, with seven rounds of the league remaining, Real Madrid's chances of reversing Barcelona to win the league title are slim.
The on-site director gave a close-up of the Real Madrid superstar for the first time, and none of them appeared on the broadcast screen with a smile.
Consider last season's La Liga points record, and this season in the 31st round of the season, they will be a full 12 points behind the top team Barcelona.
Compared to last season, the starting lineup of this Real Madrid team has not changed in any other ten positions except for Navas.
The huge contrast has put more and more pressure on Real Madrid fans.
Barcelona are as many as 12 points ahead of Real Madrid despite a draw, but they cannot afford to lose the national derby at stake if they want to win the league title, as league rivals Atletico Madrid face Espanyol, who are largely relegated and hopeless.
Once you lose points, you are likely to be overtaken by Atletico Madrid.
In addition, Barcelona will visit the Calderón Stadium after playing Real Madrid and play the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals with Atletico Madrid.
From a crucial point of view, the two games against Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are about whether Barcelona can save face this season.
The local media in Catalonia took the initiative to stir up public opinion after Real Madrid's draw with Sevilla, and there were some things related to Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo.
A lot of fans are innocent, and they simply don't know if what is reported in the media is true or not.
Concern is chaos, describing the current worried Real Madrid fans.
Sevilla FC failed to win their home games and the odds of winning away to Barcelona were slim, even if Real Madrid beat Barcelona 5-0 at home in their first national derby of the season.
The Catalan media "Le Monde Sport" did not criticize Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo at the same time, but simply targeted Cristiano Ronaldo, as the Real Madrid player who has scored the most Barcelona in the history of the national derby, Cristiano Ronaldo's threat does not need to be said.
However, this season's Cristiano Ronaldo's competitive form in many games has been disappointing, and Real Madrid's performance has even dropped greatly because of his presence, while Real Madrid's performance has greatly improved during the time he has been absent due to injury, winning all competitions!
The obvious goal of "World Sports" is to push Cristiano Ronaldo to the forefront and make him the target of public criticism, and the state of the game will definitely be greatly affected by the time.
Indeed, as the second leg of the 2015-2016 Spanish national derby draws closer, Cristiano Ronaldo is feeling the pressure.
He has been giving himself psychological hints not to pay too much attention to media opinion, but many times the more he avoids it, the deeper he falls.
Tang Zheng, who was preparing for the first leg of the national derby and the Champions League quarter-finals at the Valdebebas training base, was very well adjusted in mentality and condition, or rather, he was completely ready, both physically and mentally.
Although the chances of defending the league title are very low, he has to play well in the national derby!
……
In the blink of an eye, the 32nd round of the 2015-2016 La Liga season is coming, and the eyes of the world are focused on Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia.
With more than 150 countries and regions around the world broadcasting the game live, and more than a billion fans waiting for the game, players on both sides are under pressure.
However, for teams of the calibre of Barcelona and Real Madrid, the ability of players to withstand pressure is certainly extraordinary.
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With more than half a day to go before Barcelona host Real Madrid's national derby, the outer square of the Camp Nou is already crowded with Barcelona fans in red and blue striped shirts, shoulder to shoulder, singing the team anthem, creating a frenetic home atmosphere.
Despite the five-goal humiliation in the national derby at the start of the season, Barcelona fans were completely unaffected because they knew that Real Madrid had been in trouble this season and that the big loss in the first leg of the national derby was nothing more than an accident.
At Camp Nou, Barcelona are confident of beating any team.
Real Madrid fans who traveled with the team were somewhat pessimistic after arriving in Barcelona, and according to Real Madrid's record this season, Real Madrid's winning percentage in games with Cristiano Ronaldo was much lower than in Cristiano Ronaldo's absence.
The point is that as long as Cristiano Ronaldo is fit, he will start.
Sure enough!
Cristiano Ronaldo was in the official starting line-up an hour before the game!
Real Madrid fans were a little more worried about Cristiano Ronaldo's presence in the starting line-up, while Barcelona fans cheered as if they had won the game.
When referee Lahoz blew the whistle at the end of the first half, the scoreboard showed the score at 2:0.
The home team is in the front, the away team is in the back.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who appeared on the broadcast screen, had a rather ugly face, and both of Barcelona's goals were directly related to him.
Messi's first goal was that Cristiano Ronaldo was too sticky to the ball, and after being broken by Busquets and Alves, he quickly launched a wave of rapid counterattacks, and it was too late for Tang Zheng to make up for it......
Real Madrid's second goal was conceded by Cristiano Ronaldo, who tripped an inverted Neymar in front of the penalty area, who headed straight home from a free-kick.
In the second half, Cristiano Ronaldo, who had a huge relationship with the goals conceded by the team, tried to help the team narrow the score with his individual ability and then overtake, I have to say that his idea is very good, but many times it ...... Haste makes waste.
Tang Zheng was very aggrieved, wanted to attack but had the strength to do so, the two-goal lead Barcelona was like a rainbow, the offensive wave after wave, Cristiano Ronaldo played very poisonous, and many times before he could participate in the offensive organization The control of football changed hands.
In the 63rd minute, Messi's cross after accelerating on the right side of the attack broke through the defense of Real Madrid's right side on the left side, and Alba understood that he would go from between Carvajal and Pepe to the left side of the penalty area.
Alba, who won the ball, and Suarez, who followed up in the middle, attracted most of the attention of the Real Madrid defenders, so much so that Iniesta, who cut in behind, was unmarked.
Alba looked at Suarez, only to pass to an unmarked Iniesta.
Although Tang Zheng has a strong sense of defense, it is still a little slow compared to the speed of the football, and he can only watch as Iniesta completes a left-footed push, and the football rolls past the tip of the outstretched right finger of the fallen Navas and crashes into the snow-white net......
With half an hour left in injury time, Real Madrid, who were three goals behind, had no choice but to press out and attack.
But Tang Zheng kept an eye on it, and there was no big position premise, because he realized that there was a problem with the mentality of his teammates, and the team was playing away again, and playing the imposing Barcelona had to be based on defensive problems.
Barcelona, who are leading by three goals, look like they are in a solid position, but they are actually hiding a killer motive.
The 0:5 defeat in the first leg of the national derby gave the Barcelona players great embarrassment, and the game was an hour into a three-goal lead, and they must have thought of finding an opportunity to exchange for a 5:0.
Tang Zheng was right to keep an eye on it, and Cristiano Ronaldo's long-range shot bounced off Pique and was collected by Busquets.
Barcelona switched from defense to attack very quickly, passing the midfield in a blink of an eye, and seeing that it was about to reach the feet of Messi, Tang Zheng fell to the ground in time to destroy the ball and resolve the danger.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti breathed a sigh of relief.
If Barcelona scores another goal, the game is really over.
But...... Now this result is also very unfavorable for Real Madrid.
Ancelotti was very torn and didn't know whether to continue to strengthen the attack or do a good job of defending first.
With the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals coming up next midweek, is it time to give up the league altogether?
Compared with the illusory league champions, we will do our best to protect the Champions League...... Maybe that's the best way to go.
When his eyes saw Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo, he couldn't help but shake his head, the contradiction between these two superstars is the root of Real Madrid's sluggish form this season.
However, Ancelotti gradually found himself in a diminished grip on the team, with players in execution greatly declining, especially with Cristiano Ronaldo.
He now cuts inside whenever he gets the ball and rarely finds team-mates after he has the ball, which is why Real Madrid can't pose a threat to Bravo's goal.
Most of the players were greatly motivated when they were three goals behind, but Tang Zheng was as desperate as ever to keep the central defender safe.
It was also Tang Zheng's efforts that Barcelona did not expand the score to four goals, but because they were too focused on defense, the frontcourt attack lacked layers.
In the end, Real Madrid lost 3-0 at Camp Nou, and the gap between the two sides widened to 15 points, which means that 99% of the league titles are missing out on six league games remaining.