The attention paid to this match by the Chinese media is unprecedentedly high, far exceeding the original match between Zhang Shujie and Li Mu. At that time, there were only two Chinese players, and neither Zhang Shujie nor Li Mu were as famous as they are now. Now it's different, Zhang Shujie is Mr. Golden Ball, Chen Zihua and Xu Ziyi are one of the best midfielders in Europe, Yan Tao and Liang Xiran have long proven themselves to be today's top defenders, Ma Junqiang has also been voted the best goalkeeper in the Premier League, and has also entered the top three in Europe. What's more, they've all been nominated for a Golden Globe!

To sum up the above reasons, it is reasonable for the Chinese media to attach more importance to this Champions League Chinese derby.

Some media have conducted a comprehensive analysis of AC Milan and Manchester City's lineup, first of all, the goalkeeper, in this position, AC Milan's Donnarumma is the most potential star today, there is no one, it is rumored that Real Madrid wants to bring him in at a high price, but this news has not been confirmed by both sides, it is difficult to distinguish between true and false, but it can be favored by Real Madrid, and Donnarumma's strength can also be reflected from the side.

However, Donnarumma is still too young, and in the goalkeeper position, he generally does not need to consume too much physical strength, so often the older the goalkeeper, the more popular and experienced enough, and Donnarumma, who is only nineteen years old, is obviously not experienced enough.

As one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League and even Europe, Ma Junqiang has not had scandals with other teams, including Barcelona, Manchester United, Real Madrid and other giants, but Ma Junqiang has always chosen to stay in Manchester City. With the age of Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure and David Silva, and frequent injuries to players such as Sergio Aguero, Pep Guardiola is keen to captain the team, and in fact in the second half of the season, Ma Junqiang has worn the captain's armband for Manchester City in several games.

This season's Manchester City is the team that conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League, as the team's No. 1 goalkeeper Ma Junqiang is indispensable, when Guardiola brought Bravo from Barcelona, many Chinese fans are worried that Guardiola will not use Bravo cronyism and idle Ma Junqiang, and later it turned out that Ma Junqiang is the most reassuring person for Manchester City's teammates and fans, and the Chinese goalkeeper will not become a "regent (shoot dead)" like Bravo.

In the comparison of goalkeepers, Ma Junqiang wins!

At the back, AC Milan's Yan Tao is undoubtedly the most comprehensive defender in Europe and one of the best, and the 26-year-old has stepped into the pinnacle of a defender. He can play in the middle, he can play on the wing, he can attack, he can defend. An Rong once said: "Yan Tao's only weakness is that he is sometimes too impulsive. Indeed, Yan Tao's technical characteristics are outstanding, and any striker must be careful and careful when facing him, even Li Mu admits that Yan Tao's defensive pressure on him is the biggest one among the defenders he has faced so far!

Romagnoli is a young man, born in 1995 at just 22 years old this year, far from his prime, but he can already be a regular in this AC Milan team. He has learned a lot by Yan Tao's side in the past two years, and he himself admits that Yan Tao has helped him a lot, although sometimes he inevitably makes some mistakes, but fortunately, his teammates and the head coach understand him. A young defender of twenty-two years old who can't be too demanding.

The quality of other defenders is not much different, Abate was once seen as Milan's hope for the future, but at the age of 31, he has not lived up to expectations, and his age will not improve much. Desiglio has basically been removed from the main team by Inzaghi and replaced by Antonelli. Although these players are not top superstars, Inzaghi is pleased that they can strictly implement their own tactics and can assist Yan Tao.

Looking at Manchester City, Kompany was the guarantee of Manchester City's backline in the past, but he has been injured too much this season, only playing eleven league games, fortunately there is Liang Xiran, the 24-year-old Chinese defender has become an indispensable member of Manchester City's backline, without him, Ma Junqiang has one less barrier in front of him. In the past three years at Manchester City, Liang Xiran's defensive ability has grown steadily, improving every year, and his attacking ability has also improved, he once almost never participated in the attack, and often stepped forward to compete for the top at set-pieces, and he has scored four goals this season, two in the league, one in the Champions League and one in the cup, all of which were headers from set-pieces.

The rest of the Manchester City defenders are like the sky and the moon, cloudy and sunny, Klich, Otamendi and others, when they are in good shape, no one can get by, and when they are in bad form, they are simply a colander, so people also call them "defensive groups". What is now certain is that Kompany will definitely be available in the Champions League final, and then City's backline will be further strengthened, and on paper the overall strength of the Manchester City defensive line is slightly stronger than AC Milan.

The midfield comparison, this is more obvious, Manchester City is stronger than Milan, Chen Zihua and Xu Ziyi have a draw, De Bruyne, Silva, Yaya Toure and other players are definitely stronger than Bonaventura, Locatelli, Montolivo. Chen Zihua is the only AC Milan midfielder with strong breakthrough and organisational skills, and his 60-metre long ball against Real Madrid in the second leg of the semi-final is bound to become a permanent classic in the Champions League.

In terms of midfield defense, Chen Zihua is also the best one in the whole Milan team, and no one is better than him. The same is true for Manchester City's Xu Ziyi, who are both 'B2B' midfielders in terms of their style of play, but they don't look like pure 'B2B' in terms of technical characteristics. Their technique is so delicate that few 'B2B' midfielders can control the ball as easily as they do.

Compared with Xu Ziyi, Chen Zihua will work harder in the final, and there is no superstar like De Bruyne around him to help, but maybe this will be more able to arouse all of Chen Zihua's skills!

On the forward line, AC Milan won completely! Not for anything else, but because of Zhang Shujie's existence! This is Guardiola's biggest headache, and the game will start tomorrow, but he hasn't thought of what method to use to restrain Zhang Shujie. The 26-year-old Chinese striker is one of the best players today, tied with Messi Ronaldo, and there is no need to say too much, just by that you know how strong he is! Manchester City has Aguero, but Aguero has proven to be a soft-footed shrimp in the competition, and he is not as reliable as newcomers Jesus or Sane at critical moments. Aguero has a hand, but unfortunately this is the Champions League final.

Zhang Shujie on the front line is not alone, he is also assisted by Deulofeu and Suso, two strong generals, the two are young, energetic, and perform very well in the league, they are two reliable players of Inzaghi, with their existence, Zhang Shujie is like a tiger!

On the whole, the overall strength of AC Milan is slightly stronger than Manchester City, but in some positions, Milan will not be very strong, and the strength on paper is just a reference, even if it is Real Madrid Barcelona, it is not dare to say that it will win Manchester City. Tomorrow's game, the performance of the players on both sides will be crucial.

(End of chapter)