Chapter 24: The Champions League for Civilians
Blackburn Rovers defeated their rival Arsenal 2-0 over two legs and advanced to the semi-finals of this season's Champions League, creating the club's best Champions League result in history!
As the quarterfinals of the Champions League in the past two seasons and last year, Blackburn's entry into the quarterfinals of this season's Champions League does not give the outside world too abrupt feeling, but the remaining three outside the quarterfinals of this season's Champions League have all exploded a series of shocking colds!
The first upset should belong to the "Super Laco" that created a shocking reversal!
In the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals at the Stadio Riazor, Deportivo La Coruna humiliated AC Milan 4-0 at home after falling behind 1-4 in the first leg to reach the semi-finals with an aggregate score of 5-4, staging one of the greatest and most dramatic comebacks in the history of the Champions League. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info
In the first half, Pandiani, Belleron and Luque each scored a goal. In the second half, Forlan, who came off the bench, added another point and completely sealed the win!
On the European stage, Deportivo La Coruna has staged a miracle of reversal. In March 2001, they were 3-0 down to PSG, but eventually came back 4-3, albeit in a single game.
In this game, AC Milan and Deportivo La Coruna both played with their main forces, and in the forward line, the in-form Tomasson and Pandiani replaced Inzaghi and Tristan respectively. Irueta brought on two veteran full-backs, Pablo and Romero, to replace Scaloni and Capdevilla. Luke came back from injury in time.
In the 6th minute, Laco passed diagonally from the left, Pandiani stopped the ball with his right foot, Maldini pounced too hard and lost his position, and the Uruguayan turned around and fired a low left-footed shot into the lower right corner from 17 meters in front of the goal, and Deportivo led 1:0.
In the 19th minute, AC Milan was in danger again in front of the goal, Luke's cross was blocked by Nesta, Victor's corner kick from the left was cleared, Laco passed the ball into the left side of the penalty area, Andrade's header from 9 meters in front of the goal was caught by Dida, AC Milan got a great chance to counterattack, Kaka waded past Naibet and burst into the right side of the penalty area, trying to get rid of Molina with a dummy shake, but the latter was not completely deceived, and Kaka slid in front of the goal with a low shot from a small angle with his right foot under interference.
AC Milan lost ground in midfield and the situation was very passive.
In the 35th minute, Luque passed a curling ball from the left, Dida hit the left hand but did not hit the ball, Belleron easily headed into the empty goal from 3 meters in front of the goal, Laco led 2:0, the big score became 4:3, and Deportivo La held an away goal, AC Milan's situation became a little bad.
In the 44th minute, Pirlo's free kick from the left side crossed diagonally into the penalty area, and Shevchenko was offside again. Immediately, Deportivo quickly sent a set-piece, the left rib passed the high ball to the front of the penalty area, Nesta cleared with his right foot but did not hook the ball, Luke took the ball forward, Dida did not pull behind him, Luke calmly pushed his left foot into the upper left corner 9 meters in front of the goal, 3:0!
If the scoreline is maintained until the end, AC Milan will be out of the tournament due to a lack of away goals, and the Serie A giants have been cornered, and they need to score at least one goal in Riazo!
Ancelotti made no substitutions after the break, which became another option for him to be slammed after the game.
After the start of the second half, the AC Milan players seemed to have lost some patience, Kaka and others broke through in the front court and often fell into the opponent's circle, and could only spread their hands to express their helplessness.
After seeing the passive situation of the players on the field, Ancelotti finally began to make personnel changes, replacing Pirlo with Serginho, Seedorf to the right and Gattuso to the middle. He then replaced Tomasson with Inzaghi.
After Ancelotti changed two people in a row, the situation of AC Milan did not change in the slightest, but Deportivo La Coruna's small cooperation became more and more handy, making the AC Milan players tired.
In the 76th minute, Deportivo passed back to the back post on the right side of the bottom line, Fran **** stopped the ball and dodged Gattuso, who slipped and fell to the ground, and volleyed with his left foot at a small angle 10 meters in front of the goal, the ball touched Cafu's abdomen and refracted into the near corner, and Deportivo led 4:0.
Judging from the state on the field, there is no suspense in the game. Costa replaces Pancarlo.
In the 89th minute, AC Milan got the best chance to enter the extended period, Gattuso forced a left-footed direct pass in the middle, Da Inzaghi stopped the ball between the two central defenders and turned around, and turned with his right foot 11 meters in front of the goal, but his low left-footed shot was weak, and Molina easily got it.
As the final whistle blew for Meyer, the Stadio Riazor went into a frenzy and some Deportivo players took off their shirts and threw them into the stands.
"Super Laco" created the first upset in the quarterfinals of this season's Champions League!
The second upset can only be regarded as a small cold, which belongs to the French overlord Lyon!
In the second leg of the same UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, after losing 2-0 away in the first leg, Lyon returned home to beat Porto 3-0 and advanced 3-2 on aggregate over the two legs, where they will face Deportivo La Coruna in the semi-finals.
Lyon returned to the starting line-up from Júniol's injury in mid-game, France international Govu was sidelined with a thigh injury, Kacapa and Carrière were also on the injury list for a long time, and defender Dedermer was on the bench.
Porto welcomed back captain Roger Costa, who had been absent from the squad due to injury, and Porto had all but sealed the Portuguese Super League title ahead of schedule, so they were able to field their squad for this game.
Lyon opened the scoring in the 4th minute soon after the opening, Maruda broke through on the left side of the penalty area and passed back to the goal, Luindura calmly stopped the ball and stabbed the goal from 6 yards in front of the goal, 1:0!
However, after Porto tightened up their defence, Lyon did not have a good chance to open the scoring in the first half.
Just before half-time, McCarthy broke through and shot high and Alberto's shot was blocked.
At the beginning of the second half, Lyon won a free kick in front, and Juninho's left-footed free kick drew a wonderful arc and hung directly in the upper left corner of the goal, 2:0, the aggregate score was 2:2, and the two sides stood on the same running line.
After the equaliser, both sides began to become cautious, each retracting their defences, so the scene became extremely dull.
But in the injury period, Lyon suddenly launched a thunderous blow.
Maruda's cross from the left was easily slotted home by Elbo from 10 yards unguarded. The goal killed the score and destroyed Porto's hopes of qualifying.
So far, the French hegemon Lyon has made the smallest upset in the quarterfinals of the Champions League this season!
The third upset should belong to Monaco, which is also from Ligue 1!
In the second leg of the quarterfinals of the Champions League, another match with Blackburn, La Liga giants Real Madrid lost 1:3 to French powerhouse Monaco away, and the two sides drew 5:5 on aggregate, and Monaco advanced more with away goals.
This is the first time in six years that Monaco has reached the last four of the Champions League, while Real Madrid have missed out on the last four for the first time in five years.
Real Madrid won 4-2 at home to Monaco in the first leg, with striker Morientes, who has been on loan from Real Madrid to Monaco, scoring a late goal to keep Ligue 1 giants alive and reach the last four for the first time since 1998.
In the second leg, Monaco's previously scorer Scolasi was sidelined due to injury, with Ibarra starting in place. Midfielder Bernardi is out from the game and midfielder Kikos is also out due to injury, with Czech international Prasil starting.
For Real Madrid, Figo and Elguela are back from injury, Roberto Carlos is back from suspension, and Borja replaces the suspended David Beckham.
After the opening kick-off, Real Madrid quickly dominated the ball with skilful passing, and Monaco was forced to shrink their backfield defense with little access to the ball, with Roberto Carlos particularly active on the left flank, and Monaco could only try to clear the ball.
It was only in the ninth minute that the home side launched their first attack, when Poolau played a low pass down the left to Eva in the box, who fired wildly wide in front of goal.
Monaco came close to conceding in the 16th minute when Cisse's pass from the back was cut off by Zinedine Zidane and the Frenchman fired a left-footed shot from the edge of the box into a beautiful arc into the back corner of the goal, before goalkeeper Roma flew to save the ball with one hand.
After the opening 20 minutes, the slightly nervous Frenchman slowly slowed down, improved the quality of their passes and began to organise their attacks more.
But the experienced Real Madrid still broke the deadlock in the 36th minute, Ronaldo broke through with the ball from 25 yards out on the left side and passed straight to the middle, Guti leaked the ball, and Raul scored with his left foot from 14 yards in front of the goal, 1:0!
The goal put Monaco on the back burnt as they had to chase three goals to turn the tables around, with almost everyone expecting Blackburn to face Real Madrid in the next round.
But Monaco didn't give up, Morientes didn't give up.
In first-half stoppage time, Eva's cross from the left flank was headed back by Morientes on the right side of the box, and Poolau fired a diagonal shot into the far corner from 22 yards out on the right to equalise the score.
Monaco's goal reinvigorated the hopes of the home team and fans, and the second half was even more intense.
In the 48th minute, Eva crossed from the left again, and Morientes beat Messia's header from 10 yards in front of the goal, and the ball was hoisted into the far corner, 2:1, Monaco was only one goal away from qualifying.
Monaco then went on the offensive even more, with Cisse and Prahill effectively containing Real Madrid's attacks in the midfield position, Argentine centre-back Ibarra often breaking into the right flank, and Roten being unbeatable on the left.
Monaco boss Didier Deschamps then stepped up the attack with Single, with last season's Ligue 1 top scorer coming on after September after being sidelined by injury.
In the 66th minute, Ibarra, who assisted the forward, crossed diagonally to the middle of the penalty area on the right side, and Poolau leaned on Elgra 6 yards in front of the goal and scored with a juggling heel bounce, 3:1!
At this time, Monaco had the upper hand with away goals, and Real Madrid continued to strengthen their attack to save the defeat, but the football superstars were tired by this time.
However, Monaco did not give up conservatively after taking the lead, and in the 80th minute, Roten took a corner kick from the left, and Round, eight yards in front of the goal, hit the ball with an unguarded header in the penalty area, and the ball bounced off the neutral post.
Didier Deschamps then replaced Pulshaw and Morientes and left them alone to the applause of the audience.
In the last minute of injury time, five minutes of stoppage time, Real Madrid launched a desperate attack, leaving only 3-4 men at the back.
The extremely tired Zidane has been unable to use skillful ball control in the front court to direct the attack, and Ronaldo, who has frequently returned to the defense, has also been exhausted, but Real Madrid still ushered in the last chance in the 94th minute - Zidane made a long pass to the left side of the penalty area, Raul rushed to the small angle and tackled the empty goal, but the ball was deflected.
In the end, Monaco won 3-1 at home to Real Madrid, and Real Madrid, the favorite team in this season's Champions League, was eliminated after a miserable loss.
At this point, all the traditional giants in this season's Champions Cup have been eliminated. La Liga's Deportivo La Coruna, Premier League's Blackburn, Ligue 1's Lyon and Monaco share four semi-final spots.
However, Arthur's ambitions will not be limited to this Champions League semi-final.
Now that the Premier League has been abandoned, Arthur will ask for more!
"Then the next opponent is...... Compared to 'history', Monaco without Giuli? ”
To be honest, Arthur didn't expect Monaco to get past Real Madrid, and he was ready to face Real Madrid in the next leg.
After all, Gyuli, the biggest contributor to helping Monaco eliminate Real Madrid in the previous life, is now in the Blackburn team, and it is unthinkable that without the captain of the team, Monaco can still overthrow the most powerful opponent in the Champions League.
Seeing Monaco in the next round, Arthur had to sigh at the powerful corrective power of "history".
"The previous Jose led Porto was able to beat Monaco 3-0 in the final, and now this Monaco team lacks the long-term team, and we have more Gyuli who is familiar with Monaco's tactics and style, and the two-legged victory should be nine out of ten." Arthur silently calculated Blackburn's chances of winning the Champions League semi-finals.
"Monaco is the final after that, so Lyon is the only variable." Arthur thought for a moment and shook his head slightly, "Whether it's Deportivo or Lyon, there is a big gap between us in terms of strength, coupled with Jose's always conservative tactics, we still have the biggest hope of winning the championship." ”
Not only does Arthur think Blackburn Rovers are the most likely to win the title, but most other football insiders are also optimistic about Blackburn winning the Champions League for the first time.
With the end of the two matches after the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, the top four teams of this season are all produced, and the famous European bookmaker Bwin immediately opened the odds for the team to advance to the semi-finals, Arthur's Blackburn Rovers are the most favored, Deportivo La Coruna is close behind, Lyon's journey to the title seems to be considered difficult to flat, and Monaco, the weakest overall strength, can only be at the bottom.
Facing Arsenal over two legs, the devastating victory made Blackburn Rovers favored by the bookies, leading the way at odds of 2.25 to 1 to win the trophy, and were the favourites to lift this season's Big Ears Cup.
It was followed by Deportivo La Coruna, who was priced at 2.85 to 1 to beat AC Milan in a shocking two-legged comeback.
Relatively speaking, the prospects of the two Ligue 1 teams to win the championship do not seem to be optimistic, the French team Lyon is only 1 to 5.25, Monaco is at the bottom of the championship odds list with 1 to 7, facing Blackburn, who mainly play defensive counter-attacking tactics, it is self-evident that it will be difficult for them to go further.
Can Arthur's Blackburn Rovers finally win the Champions League for the first time in the club's history?
Only time will tell. (To be continued.) )