Chapter 221: Champions League Knockout Round
With the end of the 27th round of La Liga, although Real Madrid lost to Mallorca, but Deportivo La Coruna, which ranked second in the league standings, also lost, which made Real Madrid still maintain a six-point lead in the standings, and there are eleven games left in the next league, and a six-point lead can be said to be a relatively safe score for Real Madrid. Pen | fun | pavilion www. biquge。 info
On the last day of March 2001, Real Madrid ushered in the 28th round of the league after a break of nearly ten days, and the first round of the Copa del Rey deprived Real Madrid of the chance to win the treble, but at the same time, Real Madrid's schedule at the end of the league was not so tight.
Perhaps it was the long break or the habit of Real Madrid's players starting to get proud, and the overall form of Real Madrid in the 28th round of the league against fourth-to-bottom Numancia did not look very good, which is obviously not good news for Real Madrid, who are about to usher in the knockout stage of the Champions League after entering April.
Although Numancia is not in the relegation zone, but in order to deal with Real Madrid, which has been very strong before, the Numancia team still wisely adopted conservative tactics, Real Madrid besieged the opponent from the beginning of the game, but Numancia blocked Real Madrid's attack again and again with a human jungle.
The Real Madrid players, who had been unable to attack for a long time, began to become impatient, the team's tactical execution was no longer harmonious, and the players were more individual to seek opportunities to force breakthroughs or shoots.
Liu Han started with Morientes in this game, but their positions overlapped slightly, and Bosque's overprotective adjustment made the team's attack out of order. Real Madrid got nothing in the first half.
Entering the second half, Liu Han took the initiative to pull to the side, he is not a stubborn player, for the victory of the team, there is nothing wrong with Liu Han to make appropriate sacrifices.
Liu Han's actions allowed Real Madrid's attack to finally score ten minutes before the end of the game, Figo straight to Morentes to pose a big threat in front of the Numancia goal, and Liu Han took advantage of the chaos to score the goal, Morientes' shot was saved by the Numancia goalkeeper.
In the end, Real Madrid relied on Liu Han's only goal to secure a hard-fought victory, while maintaining their six-point lead in the table.
After 28 rounds of league play, the Real Madrid players are packing their bags and heading to Istanbul, Turkey, where they will take on Champions League quarter-final rivals Galatasaray.
This year's Champions League quarterfinals have a few more new faces than in previous years, Serie A has opened a sinking mode, and no team has entered the quarterfinals, and Ligue 1 has completely lost its competitiveness, with three teams each in La Liga and the Premier League entering the quarterfinals, which can be said to be the biggest winner. The Bundesliga is still dominated by Bayern Munich, but Galatasaray unexpectedly reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League this year.
In addition to Manchester United and Arsenal in the Premier League this year, Leeds United's promotion can be said to be a big breakthrough, and the Youth Guards rely on a group of young people to play here is already a big breakthrough.
On the side of La Liga, Deportivo La Coruna also made its first appearance in the quarterfinals of the Champions League this year, Valencia continued the good trend of last season, but Barcelona was unexpectedly eliminated in the second group stage and caused a big upset.
The eight-to-four matches are played according to the ranking of each group, with the first in Group A versus the second in Group C, and the first in Group B versus the second in Group D, so that Real Madrid will compete with Galatasaray, the second in Group B, for a place in the semi-finals.
Galatasaray is one of Istanbul's famous teams, and although Turkish football has not been well known in European football, it is indeed a Turkish giant.
Before the Real Madrid players who came to Istanbul had time to experience the charm of this ancient city, the fans here sent them a deep "death wish".
Situated at the crossroads of Asia, Europe and Africa, Turkey is located in a region that has long been a battleground for warlike soldiers, with people who have inherited ancient traditions and are warlike and fearless.
Galatasaray's home Ali? The Samiyan Stadium, which has a capacity of 40,000 spectators, is known as "hell" by Galatasaray fans, a testament to the fanaticism of the fans and their attitude towards their enemies.
Real Madrid's players have been in trouble since they arrived, from the lack of hot water in the hotel, to the noise outside the hotel at night, and even the police raids, which made the Real Madrid players feel like they were playing against a city.
On April 3, 2001, the competition was officially held in Ali? The Samyan Stadium started.
Liu Han felt very uncomfortable since the kickoff, the noise made by the fans here was louder than he had heard in any stadium before, all kinds of huge flags and huge signs with insulting slogans were not seen in the Premier League and La Liga, playing here, he felt a murderous aura, indeed murderous, Liu Han even felt that if the fans had guns in their hands now, then he and his teammates would definitely become the first target of the fans.
But even in this situation, Liu Han did not have the slightest fear, and he was even more looking forward to victory than ever.
But the game didn't go as smoothly as he thought, with a few other Real Madrid players who seemed to be intimidated by the atmosphere and didn't show the form they should have, with the exception of him and a few more consistent players.
What made it even more difficult for Real Madrid's players to accept was that when Figo went to the sideline to throw a throw-in, he was hit in the head by fireworks set off by fans on the sidelines, which made Figo fall to the ground.
Captain Hierro immediately protested to the referee, such a game environment is really not suitable for continuing the game, they are here to play, not to fight.
However, Hierro's protest did not help, although the armed police on the sidelines of the stadium provided some protection measures when the Real Madrid players took throw-ins or corners, but this caused the Real Madrid players' form to decline quickly.
Galatasaray's players took advantage of Real Madrid's nervousness to quickly open up the situation, their tactics and style of play are not outstanding, but they are tough and fierce enough, and even Liu Han feels that this is better than the Premier League's defense, after all, the Premier League at least plays within the rules, and here, it seems that there are no rules.
In the eighteenth minute of the game, Galatasaray took advantage of a corner kick and was scored by their top scorer Isu (who really can't find it, it's apocryphal).
Ten minutes later, the Galatasaray player fell in the Real Madrid penalty area and the referee awarded a penalty, with Issu once again breaking through the goal of Casillas.
At the end of the first half, the Real Madrid players rushed back to the dressing room with a little panic, and they were indeed scared by "hell". (To be continued.) )