Volume 6 Chapter 29 The Sprint Begins
Early the next morning, almost all the mainstream media newspapers in Europe reported on the game at length, and the Champions League semi-finals were also emerging, because Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona was the last game of the first round.
Benfica 0:1 Chelsea, AC Milan 0:0 Real Madrid, Marseille 0:2 Bayern, Atletico Madrid 2:0 Barcelona.
The Times: Mark has been back in strong form since returning to the knockout stages of the Champions League, scoring six goals in three games, and last night he led upstart Atletico Madrid to a home win over Barcelona.
Kicker: In one of the most talked-about matches of the first round of the Champions League quarter-finals last night, Atletico took two chances and Barcelona didn't, and that's the result, although it wasn't as one-sided as the result, but that's football.
France Football: Zinedine Zidane believes that this season's Champions League title is likely to be won by Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, because no other team can compete with the existence of the top superstars in these three teams.
Marca: This year could be a big event, with Madrid reaching the final and the Madrid derby again at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany!
As: Mark defended his position as the top scorer in the Champions League last night, and after scoring this goal, he has already equalled Lionel Messi and is joint with the Champions League scorer with 10 goals, and he is a veritable Champions League knockout killer.
Being able to win 2-0 at home against Barcelona can be said to be a result that many fans and media did not expect, not surprised that they were able to win, but surprised that Barcelona did not score.
The Catalan media harshly criticized Villa after the game, believing that Barcelona now relies too much on Messi, and Villa's presence last night was almost none.
He has the same problem as Fernando Torres, who suffered an injury before the World Cup in South Africa and then suffered a plummeting form that he suffered in the first half of the season.
Daily Sport: Pep Guardiola needs to find a solution up front, it's clear that Villa hasn't been able to get back to his best form, and Messi can't beat the whole Atletico team alone!
Barcelona, who have been questioned and criticized, are naturally under a lot of pressure, from Pep Guardiola to every player, after all, they were so brilliant last season that they won the five crowns if you count the Club World Cup.
Well, Real Madrid snatched the Copa del Rey and Atletico Madrid snatched the UEFA Super Cup.
But even if it's not a seven-time title, the five-time title is a remarkable achievement, the most important being that they have won both the league and the Champions League.
"Last night was just the beginning, we can't say anything, we still have a chance to correct our mistakes......", Messi responded to the media's doubts on his social media.
After all, as a superstar who scored almost 60 goals in a season, if he didn't get anything in the end, it would be a bit too black humorous, Ronaldo was only more than 40 goals against the sky, and Mackqin, uh, less than 40.
But to be honest, with so many attackers around him, Mackin is no longer simply pursuing the number of goals, which will affect the chemistry of the entire team.
What he wants is to maintain a high level of performance and chase more team titles. After all, he is not a pure shooter and does not want to be one.
It can be seen from the data of other players in Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid, Messi's teammates, Ronaldo, and Ibrahimovic's teammates, most of the data are falling off a cliff.
Although there is a gap between several people in Atletico Madrid's frontcourt, the gap is not so big, and in the case of the total number of goals of the three teams, Atletico Madrid is the closest to equal distribution.
It's a testament to their teamwork.
……
Three days are in the blink of an eye, it's 8:30 p.m. again, it's Calderón again, the 30th round of La Liga, Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona, the opening match of April.
Before the game, the coaches of both teams, Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola, set off smoke bombs, and they talked about how important the league title is and how fundamental it is for the team to be interviewed in interviews over the past two days.
Then when the starting lineup for this game was released, the two coincidentally rotated most of the main forces, and the only ones who didn't dare to rotate were Mackin and Messi.
As the leader of both teams, if you don't let them play, and the team loses in the end, then the head coach really wants to point fingers, Alexander.
"Pep Guardiola has given up on the league", Maria concluded, "and it could be the result of his trade-offs, after all, the Champions League is too dangerous for them"
"It will give Real Madrid a chance", Morrison replied, "Obviously Carlo Ancelotti also strategically gave up this game, now they are two points ahead of Real Madrid, as long as they don't lose, relying on the win-lose, they are still at the top of the league table"
Real Madrid will play AC Milan at home in the next round of the Champions League, which is relatively much more relaxed, although Mourinho has also rotated some players, but their opponent in this round of La Liga is Osasuna, and finally won a 5:1.
The galloping horse opened and scored a hat-trick, and it seems that he has been scolded by Mourinho recently.
It is said that Benzema has been a cosmic-level organizational center since his debut, a natural striker, Mourinho can't look down on him, and insists on training him as a single-soldier center, otherwise he will not buy Ibrahimovic.
However, until Mourinho left, Benzema could not turn back from his lost path, but won the appreciation of the next two coaches.
Therefore, Mackin seriously doubts that Mourinho will only have a set of tactical templates, find the right players to win, and if you carry a point, you will stop immediately.
Real Madrid, who have taken all three points, have already overtaken Atletico Madrid in the real-time standings, so they can't at least lose this game.
In the first half, both teams did not play very well, partly because of the rotation of more than half of the main forces, resulting in the overall tactical play was greatly affected, and the physical fitness of the core players was also somewhat limited.
Mainly Mackin and Messi.
Neither of these two people is particularly physical, from this point of view, Ronaldo wants to throw them a few streets, and the premise that they can fight continuously is that both of them will "rest" on the field
There is a decisive battle three days later, and the two of them did not speed up with a tacit understanding, but pressed the rhythm to a level similar to the Chinese Super League, mainly letting those substitutes who started today to impact.
At half-time, the two teams exchanged scores, and in the second half, Atletico were more aggressive, after all, they wanted to win, and Barcelona's plan was to steal one while you attacked.
Falcao, Turan, Koke, Raul Garcia, these games that did not play in the Champions League showed great enthusiasm, and often relied on individual ability to create threats.
But it was Barcelona who scored first.
In the 56th minute of the second half, Messi may have suddenly woken up and made a three-man run on the right flank, and substitutes Cáceres and Miranda were unable to block him in the box.
A typical Messi-esque goal.
Mark Qin quit, what about the tacit understanding ball, dare to shake me? Well, it's just speculation, the reality is that Atletico were too aggressive in the second half and were attacked.
However, since they were behind, there was no reason to keep it any longer, and in the last 30 minutes, Mackin boosted his strength and led the team to launch a fierce attack on Barcelona's penalty area.
Finally, in the 73rd minute, Falcao smashed a header from Raul Garcia into the Barcelona goal to equalize for Atletico.
At the 75th minute, the coaches of the two teams may have reached a tacit understanding, and at the same time Messi and Mack Qin were brought off the field, and it seemed that they both accepted the draw.
To be honest, neither team has the strength to fight again.
But Isco, who replaced Mackin on the pitch, gave Turan a lethal through ball towards the end of the game, which almost made Pep Guardiola late again.
If it weren't for Tulan's desire for angle and a kick on the post, Atletico might have won another economical victory against Barcelona's substitute line-up.
In the end, the score of 1:1 remained until the end.
"Oh, Jose Mourinho might be going to be snickering at home", Maria said with a smile after the game, "and they tied Atletico Madrid's points"
"Now both teams are seven points ahead of Barcelona and with nine rounds to go, I can basically declare that Barcelona are out of the title race"
Morrison nodded, "Suffice it to say, this season, the Madrid duo finally teamed up to overturn Barcelona's domination of La Liga, and it's really exciting who the two of them can have the last laugh in the end."
After the game, Real Madrid's Ramos and Ronaldo immediately sneered at the two teams in Mark Qinjian's group, and it will not be too difficult for them to beat Milan three days later, but Atletico Madrid and Barcelona still have to play a final bloody battle of life and death, and one of them will inevitably be eliminated.
In the end, Iniesta and Mackin sent a picture of a goal almost at the same time, but Barcelona won Real Madrid away, while Atletico Madrid won Real Madrid at home.
"The bet I said is still ......valid," he said, adding, "If you think you can overtake us in the end, take the plunge."
"Captain mighty", Martinez sent a laughing emoji.
It can be said that as long as Atletico Madrid does not drop points in the last 9 rounds and is tied at the Bernabeu, no matter how many goals Real Madrid scores in the end, according to the relationship between wins and losses, the championship is still Atletico Madrid.
La Liga's ranking rules are so magical, so they still have some advantages at the moment, and these advantages can guarantee their psychological initiative at the Bernabeu after two rounds.
"It's true that we didn't play well, but Barcelona didn't get much better," Mackin said in the final interview in the interview area, looking a little tired on his face, as it was at the end of the season.
"Always maintain the desire for the championship on three lines, not to mention my teammates, even I have not experienced it, it is really mentally tired, but we need to grit our teeth again, I believe that Barcelona and Real Madrid are no less tired than us, now it is a competition of mental willpower"
"If you look at athletics, you know that the sprint before the finish line is the most dangerous, there will be several competitors with similar results, and the final result will be a millimeter difference."
"Now, it's time for us to sprint......"
……
Almost non-stop, in a short period of 2 days in Mahada Onda, the whole team of Atletico Madrid got on the bus and drove to Barcelona.
At the beginning of April, Spain's national highways and highways are already in full bloom with greenery, revealing the warm smell of spring everywhere, but once you enter Catalonia, the fans there treat them almost as cold as winter.
First, he chased and intercepted them all the way, holding signs and wandering around their bus, but fortunately, Mackin couldn't read Spanish, he could only speak, and he was not interested in asking his teammates what was written on it.
It's definitely not a good thing to say.
Since it was still an evening game, they came in the morning and arrived before 12 noon, but the Barcelona fans had already blocked their hotel.
While you're eating, the gongs and drums are beating outside, you want to take a nap at noon, you're shouting outside, and finally Ancelotti gets the organizers to get the police.
But this is Catalonia, and the police are also Barcelona fans, so they dealt with it hastily.
Mack Qin was drinking a sports drink by the window of the room, and looking through the window at the Barcelona fans downstairs who would rather not eat at noon than have a fight with them to the end, he knew that this game was not easy to play.
In the case of the league out, Barcelona only has the Champions League left to go, and the Copa del Rey is just a chicken rib, the icing on the cake, and it is far from being able to send charcoal in the snow.
"It's so tiring to be a fan", he muttered, put on the earbuds directly, lay on the bed and fell asleep......