Chapter 052: The Edge of the Cliff
With the referee on duty blowing the full-time whistle, the key battle between Real Madrid and Valencia ended 2:2, with each side taking one point.
Even if Barcelona wins this round and narrows the difference to six points, Real Madrid has an absolute advantage in home and away results, which means that even if Real Madrid loses all the last two rounds and Barcelona wins, Real Madrid can win the league championship two rounds in advance by virtue of the advantage of home and away records.
Although the best result in the minds of many Real Madrid fans is to win at home and then reach 99 points, which is one step closer to La Liga's single-season points record, it is also acceptable to win the league title with a point at home, after all...... With no defeat and just four points away from setting a new single-season points record, it's entirely possible with two league games remaining.
In fact, there is no suspense about the La Liga championship for a long time, and only a few media who support Barcelona believe that Barcelona may reverse Real Madrid to win the league championship, but these media know in their hearts that it is impossible to reverse Real Madrid to win the league championship, so Real Madrid does not have any suspense when it comes to winning the championship.
The only suspense is how many points Real Madrid can get this season and whether they can set a new La Liga single-season points record.
In addition, Tang Zheng will not be able to play in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final at the Bernabeu Stadium in the middle of next week.
Judging from the away game against Juventus, Real Madrid, which lacked Tang Zheng, had a significant decline in midfield control, and was even suppressed by Juventus for a long time, so that it was difficult to organize an effective attack, and then had to rely on Cristiano Ronaldo's outstanding individual ability.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has received much attention, gradually has the meaning of being alone, and slowly falls into a slump.
If Tang Zheng can't come back in time for the second leg, then Real Madrid's attack is likely to fall into relying on Cristiano Ronaldo's individual ability again.
It is undeniable that football matches can often change the outcome of a game with the individual brilliance of a star, but the second leg of the Champions League semi-final is so important that Juventus cannot afford to give a player of Cristiano Ronaldo's caliber too many chances.
If Tang Zheng can return in time, Cristiano Ronaldo's attention will definitely plummet, because everyone knows that Tang Zheng is the source of Real Madrid's attack, and as long as Tang Zheng is limited, Real Madrid's offensive threat will be reduced by at least half.
It can be seen how important Tang Zheng's attack on Real Madrid is.
The second leg of the Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Juventus takes place at 8.45pm local European time on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 36th round of the 2014-2015 La Liga season is over, and Real Madrid's Champions League preparations are the focus of attention of sports media around the world, because they want to know if Tang Zheng can catch the second leg of the Champions League semifinals.
Juventus coach Allegri can be said to be the person in the world who is most concerned about whether Tang Zheng can come back in time, before it is rumored that Tang Zheng is injured in front of him, Allegri thinks that it is difficult for Juventus to go further in Real Madrid, but with Tang Zheng missing the first leg of the Champions League semifinals, Allegri's confidence has been greatly increased.
In his opinion, Real Madrid without Tang Zheng is nothing to fear!
Valdebebas training base gathered a large number of media reporters, many of whom wanted to see Tang Zheng appear at the first-team training ground, at least with the ball, otherwise he would not be able to catch up with the second leg of Real Madrid's Champions League semi-finals.
It's a pity that Tang Zheng didn't show up at the first-team training ground.
Journalists from China were particularly disappointed, as if they had seen Tang Zheng miss the second leg of the Champions League semi-final at the Bernabeu Stadium three days later.
At the same time, Tang Zheng was conducting various advanced instrument tests in the medical room of the Valdebebas training base, and the team doctor Olmer was watching the dense data chart next to him, monitoring the force of Tang Zheng's injured right thigh muscle.
Tang Zheng could feel the pain in his right thigh, but it didn't feel very painful, and he had reached the basic conditions for a comeback.
After many tests by advanced instruments, and then according to various analyses, the answer given by team doctor Olmo is that Tang Zheng's current physical condition can only play half a game at most, which means that Tang Zheng can play in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals.
Ancelotti clenched his fists and exhaled a long breath as soon as he learned the news.
However, Olmer also warned Ancelotti that Tang Zheng has only reached the basic conditions for a comeback at present, and has not yet reached the point of a complete comeback, so he can only play 45 minutes, and Olmer's suggestion is that Tang Zheng come off the bench in the second half.
Because each other was physically energetic in the first half, Tang Zheng, who was injured, would not have much advantage, but it was possible to take care of the injured right thigh and not dare to exert too much force, which would lead to poor performance.
In the second half of the game, the physical fitness of Juventus players decreased a little, which was conducive to Tang Zheng's performance.
There is also a 1:2 loss for Real Madrid, once Juventus scores an away goal in the second leg, Real Madrid must score two goals at home, and when Real Madrid wins 2:1 at home, the game will go to extra time......
Considering various factors, team doctor Olmo finally suggested that Tang Zheng play in the second half.
Regarding Olmo's suggestion, Ancelotti agrees with the view, Tang Zheng has just reached the comeback standard and is placed in the starting lineup, which is not good for the team and Tang Zheng, so ...... In Carlo Ancelotti's tactical play, it was the second half that decided the place in the final!
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The first match of the second leg of the 2014-2015 Champions League semi-finals was played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, with Bayern Munich hosting Barcelona.
Bayern Munich, who lost 0:3 away in the first leg, has no choice but to score when they return home!
And the sooner you enter, the better!
In the seventh minute of the game, Bayern Munich, sitting at the Allianz Arena, scored first to break the deadlock.
Xavi Alonso whipped in a corner from the right and centre-back Benatia leaped high to push Pique into the bottom right-hand corner.
The Bayern fans at the Allianz Arena were in a frenzy of misery as they watched their side beat Barcelona after 90 minutes to advance to this season's Champions League final.
However, by the end of the 30-minute mark, the Allianz Arena was silent.
Neymar's two goals in 10 minutes put Barcelona in the lead, 5-1 on aggregate, which means that Bayern Munich will have to keep a clean sheet for the rest of the game and score five more goals if they want to reverse Barcelona to qualify for this season's Champions League final......
Barcelona is not a soft persimmon to be picked up casually.
Even if the goals of Muller and Robben helped Bayern Munich to overtake the score 3:2, it could not solve the root problem, and finally Barcelona advanced to this season's Champions League final with an aggregate score of 5:3.
The other place in the final will be between Real Madrid and Juventus.
On the day of the game, with more than half a day before kick-off time, a large number of Real Madrid fans wearing white jerseys had gathered in the square around the Bernabeu Stadium.
They were in high spirits, singing the team anthem and confident in Real Madrid's prospects of reaching the Champions League final for the third consecutive season.
Of course, this has something to do with Tang Zheng's possibility of catching up with the second leg of the Champions League semifinals.
Real Madrid has not tasted victory in the past three games, one draw and two losses, which is directly related to Tang Zheng, because Tang Zheng, who is injured, cannot play.
Although Tang Zheng may play in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals, according to the speculation of various media, Tang Zheng is very likely to come off the bench.
After all, he has just come back, and it is impossible to play the whole game.
However, there are no absolutes in everything, if Tang Zheng's recovery is better than imagined, he can play for 90 minutes.
In the blink of an eye, the second leg of the 2014-2015 Champions League semi-finals between Real Madrid and Juventus is about to kick off at the Bernabeu Stadium.
The 81,000-capacity Bernabeu Stadium is packed, with Real Madrid fans in white jerseys taking up 90 percent of the seats.
As the time of the game slowly passed, the game officially began, and the two sides sent their strongest lineups, and the referee who officiated the game was Atkinson from England.
Compared to the first leg, Real Madrid made two changes in midfield, one from the centre-back and the other from the midfield.
Raphael Varane replaces the injured Pepe and the more defensively capable Khedira replaces Isco.
Juventus' line-up for the first offender is exactly the same as the line-up for the first leg at the Juventus Arena, and it is not difficult to see that Allegri is hoping that the good luck of the first leg will be carried over to the second leg to qualify for this season's Champions League final!
Real Madrid and Juventus have met 17 times in the three major European cups, both teams are 8 wins, 1 draw and 8 losses, Real Madrid scored 17 goals and conceded 20 goals, but at home, Real Madrid has a clear advantage of 6 wins and 2 losses against Juventus 8 times.
It is worth mentioning that this game was the 150th Champions League match of Real Madrid captain Casillas' career, tying Barcelona captain Xavi and tying for the first place in history.
The game began at the whistle of England referee Atkinson, and Real Madrid, who had the advantage of the kick-off, quickly organized a wave of dangerous attacks, and finally Cristiano Ronaldo completed a high-quality shot to force Buffon to make a crucial save.
Luka Modric headed in a corner and it was Cristiano Ronaldo who headed past Giorgio Chiellini and Alvaro Morata.
This time, however, he couldn't find the crosshairs and the ball went wide of the post.
Tang Zheng, who was sitting on the bench, was surprised by Cristiano Ronaldo's excellent form, and if Cristiano Ronaldo's form can be maintained, it is very likely to help Real Madrid break the deadlock at home.
Real Madrid scored an away goal in the first leg at Juventus Arena, which means that Real Madrid only needs to beat Juventus 1-0 at home to qualify for this season's Champions League final with the advantage of more away goals.
Maybe 1:0 is ugly, but modern football is all about results, not process.
In fact, Cristiano Ronaldo's excellent form has a lot to do with the pressure on him, Real Madrid have not tasted victory in the past three games, and Cristiano Ronaldo, as the number one star, bears the brunt.
He wants to prove that the team can win without Tang Zheng!
In addition, if Cristiano Ronaldo can score in this game, his total Champions League goals will equal Messi's total at 77, and he could also become the first player in the history of the Champions League to be involved in 100 goals.
Previously, Cristiano Ronaldo scored 76 goals and 23 assists for Manchester United and Real Madrid.
Therefore, Cristiano Ronaldo hopes to directly help Real Madrid qualify for this season's Champions League final through his own efforts.
Juventus were clearly prepared for Real Madrid's tidal attack, and they were extremely good at defending passively, one link after another.
Although Real Madrid seem to be in full swing, there are very few attacks that actually threaten Gianluigi Buffon's goal.
Ten minutes into the game, the score was still 0:0, Yang 5 commentator He Wei couldn't help but say: "There is a world of difference between the game with Tang Zheng and without Tang Zheng, it is undeniable that Modric and Kroos are the top midfield organizers in world football today, but they still have a certain gap with Tang Zheng, especially in terms of opportunity creation and grasping opportunities......
A large number of Chinese fans sitting in front of the TV subconsciously tapped their heads and agreed with He Wei's view.
In fact, it is easy to see some clues in the game, and the fluency of the game with Tang Zheng is more obvious.
"Whoa—"
Although Real Madrid have yet to create a goal, the Real Madrid fans in the stands are full of confidence in the team they support, and the cheers created are wave after wave.
Perhaps it was the frenzied atmosphere that drove the players on the pitch, and in the 22nd minute, referee Atkinson awarded a penalty when James Rodriguez, who had recently been criticised by the media, broke through in the box and caused a foul on Chiellini.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who took the penalty, withstood the pressure and scored the ball.
1:0
If the match ends with the current scoreline, then Real Madrid can qualify for this season's Champions League final with the advantage of more away goals!
When the Real Madrid players celebrated their goals, the on-site director deliberately gave Tang Zheng who was sitting on the bench a close-up.
Tang Zheng in the broadcast screen was very excited and hugged his teammates to celebrate.
Yang 5 commentator He Wei's voice turned: "This shot is meaningful, Real Madrid takes the lead at home, Ancelotti's Real Madrid has a lot of room for adjustment, Tang Zheng is injured, if the game goes well enough, I think Ancelotti can not send Tang Zheng on the field and give Tang Zheng a longer recovery time." ”
But...... A minute later, Juventus equalised.
Pirlo's free-kick was hoisted into the box, Casillas punched it out, Evra on the edge of the box stopped the ball and passed the ball to the box again, Pogba pressed Varane to complete the header, Morata stabbed his left foot in the chaos, the ball rolled through the gap to the bottom left corner of the goal, goalkeeper Casillas was disturbed by his vision, and it was too late for him to react.
1:1
For Real Madrid, the home team must not be drawn, otherwise it will ...... will face elimination.
In other words, Real Madrid came to the edge of the cliff, but no one thought that the cliff had not really come.
Just before half-time, Alvaro Morata received Andrea Pirlo's cross and scored again.
1:2