On April 7, in the thirtieth round of La Liga, Atletico Madrid hosted Real Sociedad, Gao Zheng still started this game, and played the whole game, he scored a goal and assisted a goal in the game, helping Atletico Madrid defeat Real Sociedad 2:0 and continue to maintain pressure on Barcelona.

Barcelona responded by beating Almeria cleanly 4-0 at home in the league on the second day.

As for Real Madrid, they also won this round of the league, beating Rayo Vallecano 2-0 away, but no one cares about them anymore.

As for the stalemate between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, analysts generally believe that this situation will disappear when the Champions League resumes, because the Champions League will definitely affect the performance of both teams in the league, but the depth of the impact will be somewhat different.

Barcelona, with thicker benches, is likely to be less affected, while Atletico Madrid will be a little bigger.

On April 11, in the 31st round of the league, Atletico Madrid will take on Malaga away, and three days later, on April 14, it will be the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, and they will host their rivals Real Madrid.

Normally, when a match like the Champions League quarter-finals comes on, the pre-match league is sacrificed and the manager rotates the line-up.

But Diego Simeone did not do this, and in the away game against Malaga, Simeone sent the strongest lineup, including Gao Zheng, Griezmann, etc.

It also ensured that Atletico Madrid ended up beating Malaga 3-2 away.

Although they won, anyone who watched the game could see that Atletico Madrid was still affected by the quarterfinals of the Champions League, and it was difficult to win, and everyone's attention did not seem to be very focused.

If it weren't for Gao Zheng's brace, this game would probably not have been won.

Gao Zheng scored his thirtieth and thirty-first goals of the season in this game, so that he has scored more than 30 league goals in three consecutive seasons.

If he stays in Serie A, that number of goals will be enough for him to win the league's Golden Boot early, as Icardi, who is by far the top scorer in Serie A, has only scored sixteen goals.

But in La Liga, this number of goals can only be ranked third - the second place is Messi, who has scored thirty-three goals, and the first place Cristiano Ronaldo is terrifying, he has already scored forty-one goals!

Real Madrid's 9-1 thrashing of Granada did little to help in the title race, but Ronaldo cemented his position as the league's top scorer with five goals in that game.

It can be said that although there are still seven rounds left in the league, I am afraid that it will be difficult for either Messi or Gao Zheng to shake the Portuguese advantage in the scorer list......

※※※

After playing the league against Malaga and the next Champions League quarter-final with Real Madrid, Simeone did not make changes to the lineup, and the starting lineup that lasted for several rounds of the league was not changed.

It's the strongest squad Atletico Madrid can come up with.

However, their performance in the Champions League quarter-finals was not satisfactory, perhaps because the race for the league title took so much of their energy. The quarter-finals of the Champions League were obviously their home stadium, but they played very hard.

In the end, it was thanks to the outstanding performance of goalkeeper Oblak that he drew 0:0 with Real Madrid at home.

Real Madrid had eleven shots on goal in this game, while Atletico Madrid had four. Eight of Real Madrid's eleven shots hit the woodwork, and Atletico Madrid would have lost at home had it not been for Oblak's eight high and low saves.

At the same time, a whopping 19 fouls also helped Atletico Madrid hold on to the draw.

It's just that in the two-legged home-and-away Champions League knockout round, there is no difference between a 0:0 home game and a loss......

After a season of being held down by Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid seem to be finally getting back on the pitch in the Champions League.

They have no hope of winning the league title, and they really need to put all their energy into the Champions League.

The Champions League has become Ancelotti's last straw.

If he can't lead the team to the Champions League, he is likely to be sacked.

The award-winning coach, who led Real Madrid to a historic 10 Champions League victories just a season ago, is on the brink of stepping on one foot after a season.

I have to say that the position of Real Madrid coach is very difficult to sit in......

And now, the 0-0 draw away from Atletico Madrid has successfully renewed Ancelotti's life.

※※※

The Champions League quarter-finals were not played well, and the entire Atletico Madrid team was criticized, even Gao Zheng was no exception, because as the team's top scorer, he failed to score and help the team win at home. ‘

However, Diego Simeone told the players as soon as the game ended: "To hell with this game!" We don't have time to feel sorry for ourselves! Then there's the league, and we can't afford to lose any game! ”

Simeone knew very well in his heart that he should not think about the game that had already been played, and if he wanted to play it many times, no matter how much he lingered, he could not let this game be repeated.

It's better to look forward and play the next game.

The Champions League is important, but it's the league that is the foundation of it.

So far this season, his team has been neat and tidy, biting Barcelona to the core, and he can't do it in such a situation to let him give up the league and focus on the Champions League.

That's why he played Malaga before the Champions League quarter-finals against Real Madrid, just to make sure he could get all three points.

He is mentally prepared for the performance of the home team.

※※※

On 18 April, Barcelona beat Valencia 2-0 at home to continue to lead the standings.

The media described Barcelona as the first penalty kick in the penalty shootout with Atletico Madrid, and the pressure came to Atletico Madrid.

I have to say that this description is still very vivid.

In a penalty shootout, the first team to kick in has no pressure, and the pressure is transferred to the next team, and the penalty taker is under a lot of pressure and can easily play out of style.

Atletico Madrid's away game against Deportivo La Coruna kicked off half an hour after the Barcelona game, and it was a tight rhythm that was also like a penalty shootout.

Under tremendous pressure, the Atletico Madrid players stepped onto the Riazor Stadium.

However, in just five minutes of the opening game, Gao Zheng relieved the pressure on Atletico Madrid fans by half.

“GAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL！！！” With José Maria's roar, Gao Zheng and his teammates were celebrating the goal.

Only five minutes into the opening game, Gao Zheng scored a goal!

In the 22nd minute, Gao Zheng scored twice to extend the team's lead.

Gao Zheng on behalf of Atletico Madrid firmly kicked the penalty into the goal! Now in the penalty shoot-out with Barcelona, the two sides are drawn again! ”

Although Rieira pulled a goal back for Deportivo La Coruna in the 78th minute, it could not change the outcome of the game.

Atletico Madrid beat Deportivo La Coruna 2-1 away from home under intense pressure.