Atletico Madrid, who won 12 consecutive games, is in second place, but it is no less concerned than Barcelona, after three seasons, Atletico Madrid really has a chance to hit the championship again, not the same as in previous seasons, nominally a triwizard, in fact, Atletico Madrid is the most powerful spoiler, in a sense of the champion judge.

Real Madrid have gradually fallen behind this season, and it is Atletico's mission to keep the title in Madrid. In addition to the die-hard Real Madrid fans, most Madrid fans are still happy with the result.

Atletico and Real Madrid fans are naturally unabiding, but when it comes to the fight against Barcelona, there is a rare consistency between the two sides.

The twenty-third round of La Liga is over, and most teams can get a brief respite. But for the top teams in La Liga, there is a more difficult task of knocking out the Champions League. Compared to Real Madrid's last-16 opponent Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona's opponent Porto (note: there is a difference between this and the actual situation, Atletico Madrid qualified, Chelsea has been eliminated), Atletico Madrid obviously has the lowest difficulty coefficient. Simeone has long studied Basel very closely, although he told everyone in training that this is a knockout game at the top level and must be 100 per cent. But as you can see from his usual actions, this is definitely the most relaxed mentality he has before facing the knockout rounds of the Champions League.

With only four days between the league and the Champions League, and a trip to Switzerland, Simeone gave the team a day of freedom, and with three days to go, Atletico left for the away game.

When Atletico Madrid arrived, many local media were waiting at the airport, and the cameras were focused on the Atletico players walking by one by one, and hundreds of fans wearing Basel jerseys, waving the Basel flag and booing the visitors.

From the airport to the venue, on the way to the hotel, Wen Zhihao saw a lot of promotional posters for the game, at least it can be seen that Basel attaches great importance to this game. Being able to enter the round of 16 of the Champions League for the second time has equaled the best record in the team's history. Atletico feel at ease with them and they are stress-free. It doesn't matter if you win or lose, teams in small leagues like this will have a focus on the league late in the season. Basel are currently two points behind Bern Juniors in the Swiss Superliga standings, with a worrying prospect of defending their title. The Madrid media are quite optimistic, Atletico Madrid is completely running into a point machine, Basel should only symbolically resist, and it should not be difficult to win away by a big score.

For Basel fans, a defeat to Atletico Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League should be acceptable, but the failure to defend the league title is absolutely unforgivable, and any manager knows what to do.

It's human nature, and most media have this idea.

On the other hand, Basel's preparation atmosphere is loose on the outside and tight on the inside, and the young coach Vikki, who has just turned 40 this year, took the initiative to compliment Atletico Madrid as a Champions League champion-level team, and the two sides are not in the same order of magnitude at all, and the team will treat the two-legged match with Atletico Madrid as a friendly match.

On the surface, it sounds like a low-profile study, but some of the fanciful local media keenly capture the mystery behind it.

Treated like a friendlie?

On the other hand, on the positive side, there is another meaning behind this.

Win or lose is bearish, and if you don't accept it, you can do it!

The home team's statement quickly reached Atletico Madrid's ears, and Wen Zhihao faced an interview with a Chinese reporter and gave everyone a reassurance: "Everyone else has said so, friendly matches, friendship first and second games, of course, you can't be too faceless, and it's okay to win three or four." ”

The Chinese reporters were all smiling, but the Swiss reporters next to them were black lines.

Winning three or four is still considered to be face-saving, is it okay to be so-so?

Nima! How much more are you going to win?

……

In the dressing room before the game, Basel coach Vicky encouraged everyone: "Although they are strong, this is our home field!" They will not be allowed to wreak havoc in front of our fans. ”

Fan Xiaowolf watched the head coach draw two circles on Wen Zhihao's name and explained to everyone: "This Chinese is the core of their organization in the midfield. The midfielder prioritizes guarding him! ”

When he heard this, he felt even more indescribable in his heart. He would love to be able to compete with Wen Zhihao in such a match, but he also understands his dilemma. Halfway through the season, the manager doesn't trust himself as much as he did at the beginning, and even in the league, the striker three doesn't have a place of his own. It's even less likely to want to play in a game like this.

It's only been more than half a year, and he's already the core of Atletico's midfield! It was even more amazing than I had estimated at the beginning. Look at yourself again, he was also from the Eredivisie championship team, and he was more eye-catching than Wen Zhihao in terms of data at that time, but now, Wen Zhihao has made him difficult to beat.

……

Basel's home stadium, St. Jakob's Park, has been expanded to accommodate up to 40,000 spectators. The game was packed, and if it weren't for security needs, it is expected that more local fans would have entered the stadium, even if they were standing, to watch the whole game.

The vast majority are fans of the home team, with great enthusiasm and fantasies about miracles happening. There is also a group of neutral fans who come to see the stars of Atletico. Sit in the away team's fan zone with the Atletico flag in hand. This is the appeal of the giants, even on the opponent's turf, it is not difficult to find supporters of the team.

In the neutral area of the stands, in fact, there is a group of low-key fans, they hold the five-star red flag in their hands, local Chinese students, although studying abroad, the economic conditions are not well-off, but for the first time there are Chinese players here to compete in the Champions League knockout round, they expressed their attitude with practical actions.

At 9 p.m. Western European Time, Dutch referee Kebers officially blew the opening whistle for the game, and the home fans cheered for the game with huge cheers.

No one expected Basel to form a 4-3-3 formation. The midfield trio stood in parallel, more like a back three, and were clearly prepared for Atletico Madrid's midfield. At the beginning, Basel took advantage of the opportunity to take the lead in controlling the ball, and made a long pass directly to the Atletico penalty area from the backfield.

Basel's strategy is clear. Minimize midfield transitions, rely on wingers on both sides, and focus on attacking efficiency.

CCTV He Wei commented: "Basel showed courage in the face of strong teams, but it was a good thing for Atletico Madrid, the opponent dared to attack, and the game became simpler." ”

Basel did not put a bucket in front of the penalty area to defend intensively, but dared to take the initiative to attack. For Atletico, this is a good thing that cannot be desired.