Chapter 236: Long Shot
The second leg of the 2011-2012 Champions League quarter-finals was played in Germany, at the Westphalen Stadium in Borussia Dortmund and the Allianz Arena in Munich. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. biqUgE。 info
Bundesliga Dortmund vs Serie A AC Milan, Bundesliga Bayern Munich vs Swiss Super League Basel.
Both games are equally suspenseful, but Bayern Munich's home game is much less suspenseful, because of the disparity in strength between the two, even if Basel once used the home advantage to beat Bayern Munich by one goal.
Borussia Dortmund's home game against AC Milan was in suspense.
Although Borussia Dortmund beat AC Milan 2-1 in the first leg at the San Siro, there is no certainty that they will advance.
As AC Milan's big driver Robinho said, AC Milan has more experience in the Champions League, especially in this relatively close qualifying situation, AC Milan, which has more game experience, does have some advantages.
Thankfully, Borussia Dortmund are at home at the Westphalia Stadium.
They have not lost at this stadium since the first round of the 2009-2010 season, and this unbeaten run in all competitions continued until this game.
Perhaps fearing that Dortmund are unbeaten at home in all competitions, the AC Milan players have been talking about the most important thing before the game to emphasise that records are used to break them, hoping to put more pressure on the home team's players.
Indeed, Borussia Dortmund have been unbeaten for more than two seasons and the players' subconscious fears of losing.
This subconscious mind is beyond human control, and may even increase due to the implementation of time.
On the night of the game, the 80,000-seat Westphalic Lun Stadium was packed.
The vast majority of these places are occupied by Dortmund fans from all over the country and even across Europe, with only 3,000 AC Milan fans on the spot.
The Westphalia Lun Stadium has always been known as the home stadium of the first devil in Europe, and before the game even started, the home fans gave the away AC Milan players a dismount.
When the live announcer announced the away players, they booed like a tsunami without a name.
Conversely, every time a home player sounds, the stadium erupts with deafening chanting.
Especially when the live announcer reported Tang Zheng's name, the whole stadium was like a slight earthquake.
The starting line-ups of both sides have been adjusted in individual positions compared to the first leg.
AC Milan saw the faster Algeria international Mesba replace Antonini and El Shaarawy replace K. Boateng, with the rest of the position remaining unchanged.
Borussia Dortmund made three changes in the starting line-up, with Kouba replacing Reus, Gundogan replacing the injured Andrea Pirlo and captain Kyle returning to the starting line-up in place of Sven Bender.
At 8:45 p.m. local time in Europe, the second leg of the 2011-2012 Champions League 1/8 finals officially kicked off at the Westphafa Lun Stadium in Dortmund with the whistle of Slovenian referee Damian Scomina.
"Whew-"
The atmosphere at Westphalun is frenetic, with the home fans making more amazing noise than the San Siro Stadium, which can accommodate the same number of fans.
The AC Milan players, who had been patiently organising the attack, were very impatient in the frenzied atmosphere, and after a few successive passes, the football reached the feet of the Dortmund players.
After two or three more passes, the football came to Tang Zheng.
The midfielder of Nocerino, Van Bommel and Emmanulsen did not dare to step forward, and Robinho, who played in the midfield, sighed and retreated into the half.
Before the game, head coach Allegri talked about playing honestly and conscientiously away from home, and not to be impatient.
Borussia Dortmund had the advantage of home advantage, but the AC Milan players were vigilant in the early stages of the game, keeping their positions in a reasonable position with each other and not giving the home side much of a chance.
Of course, this is directly related to the fact that Tang Zheng has received a lot of attention.
Gundogan replaced the injured Pirlo, but his ability has always been behind Pirlo, and the same is true for adapting to and controlling the rhythm of the Champions League game.
Götze is now anchored on the left flank, which Klopp considers to be able to burst through, but this time he has met an opponent.
Abate's speed, physique and game experience are better than Gotze's, who simply don't take advantage of anything, and it's understandable why Borussia Dortmund's attacks pose a threat to AC Milan's goal.
It is worth mentioning that the home team did not forget to defend while the attack was weak, and the visiting AC Milan mainly played defensive counter-attacks, and Shaarawy replaced K. Boateng to play counter-attacks.
Van Bommel and Emmanuelsen played good passes to El Shaarawy and Robinho respectively, but it was the concentration of Kele, Hummels and Piszczek that prevented AC Milan from finding an effective counter-attack on the road.
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Ten minutes before the first half passed in a blink of an eye, and the scope of the struggle between the two sides of the game basically revolved around the midfield, and the attacks that threatened each other's goals were never played, and even the shots contributed by both sides were only two feet.
Jurgen Klopp and Allegri did not sit in the dugout in this frenetic scoreline, but stood on the sidelines and played side by side with the players on the field.
At the same time, it can also make the fastest and most accurate changes at any time according to the changes on the field.
Tang Zheng fully appreciated the strength of the Italian defense in the first ten minutes, so he is now involved in AC Milan's central defense through frequent runs to make room for his teammates to attack.
It's just that Gundogan's offensive pressure has not been large, so that no one has followed up with the space.
In fact, it is understandable to think about it, Gundogan finally took advantage of Pirlo's injury to get the starting position, and he is now not seeking merit but no fault.
German Sky commentator Marcel Leif was not happy with the scene: "It always felt like Dortmund's attack was not as sharp as it used to be, or rather...... The range of the attack was insufficient, the troops involved in the attack were insufficient, and Ilkay Gundogan, who had a certain offensive ability, was unable to press and participate in the attack, and Tang looked difficult to support himself in the frontcourt......
The game entered 20 minutes, and the atmosphere was still frenzied.
Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp stood on the sidelines pacing back and forth, but was slow to signal Gundogan to boldly participate in the attack.
The 2-1 win away made him a bit conservative.
But taking advantage of Van Bommel's long pass to Ibrahimovic, the football flew out of the bottom line, and Tang Zheng grabbed Gundogan's arm when he ran to the middle circle: "Ilkay, I'll hit your position, you are a little forward, OK?"
Seeing that Weidenfeller was still retreating, Gundogan pointed to Klopp in the coach's command area: "Is this good......? Coach?"
"It's okay, I'll take care of the problem. Tang Zheng's right hand slapped Gundogan's left shoulder.
In this case, Gundogan could only nod his head in agreement.
Who made Tang Zheng the number one star in the team?
Klopp was the first to notice that Tang Zheng and Gundogan's positions had changed, and frowned.
Soon, his brow furrowed.
Because Tang Zheng retreated to play defensive midfield, Gundogan moved forward to play central midfield, which was one of Tang Zheng's favorite ways to play before Pirlo came to Dortmund!
It's no secret that attacking players who get closer to the opposing goal get more attention.
Tang Zheng, as the brightest star of Dortmund's offensive line, naturally receives the most attention from AC Milan defenders, and now his smart position retreat will make AC Milan players temporarily in a confused stage.
Sure enough!
Van Bommel and Nocerino, who were in the main defence, didn't know what to do.
Allegri told them before the game to limit Tang Zheng's running, especially the first time Tang Zheng got the ball, he must stick it.
Secondly, pay attention to cutting off the connection between Tang Zheng and his teammates.
This is one of the reasons why AC Milan have been able to compete with Borussia Dortmund in midfield during this time.
Allegri, who was standing in the coach's command area of the visiting team, wanted to remind the players on the pitch by gesticulating, but the atmosphere was very frenetic, and the attention of the players on the pitch was all focused on the game, so he could only stand on the sidelines and do his job.
Gundogan moved forward and he didn't fit in, but the team's overall attack improved somewhat.
Tang Zheng's passing accuracy and game reading ability are better than Gundogan's, unlike Gundogan, who needs to be observed after receiving the ball, and often thinks about what to do after receiving the ball before receiving it.
As a result, Dortmund's attacking approach became fluid.
Borussia Dortmund's frontcourt players kept passing in the 35-metre area of AC Milan's defense, and the small area of the local play was very beautiful, and the AC Milan defenders could only run too much to think about defensive counterattacks.
Through a series of passes, when Tang Zheng came to the forty-meter area on the right side of the attack, the football was passed to his feet.
Shaarawy and Robinho ran left and right, pressing.
Thinking of Tang Zheng's past few passes, they all kicked the ball out, and their pressure was more like a show.
But Tang Zheng's vision and ability to read the game were strong, and he realized that Shaarawy and Robinho were slacking.
This...... It's a great opportunity!
In the past, his sudden acceleration in the game was precisely the observation of the laxity of the opposing defenders.
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"AC Milan's defensive work is quite good, and Tang Zheng's space is infinitely compressed, so much so that he has to retreat to the center circle near the arc to receive the ball and organize the attack...... Football came to Tang Zheng's feet again......" He Wei returned to Tang Zheng again according to the transfer of football: "He will speed up ......"
Before the words fell, Tang Zheng, who was standing on the spot and stretching out his feet to make the ball, suddenly made a rhythm change, his right foot faced the football, and at the same time, the toes of his left foot kicked hard to the ground, accelerating!
It was too late for Shaarawy and Robinho to stretch out their feet to break the ball, and Tang Zheng rushed to get the ball out first.
Emmanuelsen wanted to go up to defend Gundogan, who was in a receiving stance, but Tang Zheng did not pass the ball, but drove the ball up personally.
Instinctively, Emmanuelsen caught up.
Tang Zheng flicked the outside of his left foot, and the football reached the feet of Gundogan, who opened up the space, and then stopped sharply on the spot and ran to the left, that is, close to the middle.
Emmanuelsen had to make a sharp stop to change direction to defend Gundogan.
In addition, Van Bommel and Nocerino looked at each other as if they were facing a great enemy.
Gundogan did not stop the ball, but stopped the ball back on the outside of his right foot, just stopping at Tang Zheng's running route, which is equivalent to him making a wall for Tang Zheng.
"Whew-"
The visual impact of the relay was extremely strong, and the home fans in the stands erupted in loud cheers.
Gundogan, who finished the wall, did not move, and he acted as a blocker for basketball by the way, blocking the necessary place for Emmanuelsen to rush to Tang Zheng.
Nocerino, who was relatively in a relatively forward position, had no choice, and in the face of Tang Zheng's forward ball, he chose to take small steps and fight and retreat.
And because of the adduction of Gotze and Kuba, not only Nocerino did not dare to step forward, but also Van Bommel.
In this way, Tang Zheng dribbled the ball into the 30-meter area.
Nocerino also realized that he could no longer let Tang Zheng move forward, so he decisively stopped in place, waiting for Tang Zheng's next move, so as to respond to all changes without change!
Tang Zheng gently flicked the ball to the right with the outside of his right foot during the run, looked up slightly at the position of goalkeeper Abbiati, and then picked up the thick right foot without too much adjustment.
Long shot!
Nocerino was shocked in his heart, he was more than two meters away from Tang Zheng's position, and all he could do was subconsciously stretch his legs to block the shooting route.
Van Bommel closed at the top of the arc of the big penalty area, four or five meters away from Tang Zheng, and it was too late.
"Shoot-"
Marcel Leif jerked up his voice.
The AC Milan back line is very successful in front of the penalty area, it is difficult to penetrate it if you want to rely on the middle to penetrate, and it is difficult to create a threat to Gotze or Kuba who pass to the two ribs, and Tang Zheng noticed that Nocerino's defensive position was too far, so he immediately chose to shoot from a distance!
“Boom~”
Tang Zheng's right foot kicked the middle and lower part of the football with the instep of his right foot, and the two broke out with a crisp sound when they touched each other, and due to the excessive force, the whole person was thrown out with his right foot.
Nocerino defended too far and the block was slow, and the ball grazed the hair on the top of his head towards the goal.
The football did not rotate in mid-air, obviously Tang Zheng's contact part was eaten very accurately, and the football with the five-star logo of the Champions League was captured by the high-definition camera.
The Dortmund fans who stood behind the goal watched the football come and excitedly raised their arms and clenched into fists, opening their mouths in surprise......
A goalkeeper Abbiati hurriedly moved from the middle of the goal to the right according to the flight trajectory of the football, that is, Tang Zheng moved to the left post facing the goal.
However, the 35-year-old Abbiati's explosiveness has declined severely.
When he first moved to the second step, the football had already flown near the penalty spot, and according to the keen insight brought by years of professional training, he kicked the tip of his right foot hard, and the whole person rose into the air, raised his right arm, and at the same time straightened his waist and abdomen, trying to save the football.
However, the soccer ball flies very fast, like a cannonball, and Abbiati, who is extremely stretched out in the fight, spreads his right arm and does not bring any additional attributes.
The soccer ball grazed the tip of his right middle finger and continued to fly towards the goal until the snow-white net behind him tightly bound it......
“Gooooooooooooooooooooal――”
Marcel Leif's voice was an octave higher, hysterically elongated.
"Whew-"
At the same time, more than 70,000 Dortmund fans jumped to the ground, raised their arms and chanted.