Volume 2 The Miracle of Huo Village Chapter 368 A Difficult Moment
"Lee! Plum! Lee scored his 14th Champions League goal! Equalling the Champions League single-season scoring record held by Italian Milan striker Altafini in 47 years, Lee has at least one more chance to play, and setting a new record is no longer a dream, Lee is so great, he is the embodiment of a miracle......
It took more than 20 minutes to score, and the Hoffenheim players and fans jumped up with a shout as if they had encountered a rain storm after many years of drought, and the original bustle of the bustle was swallowed up by the sea blue, and under the illumination of the lights, the Rheinneckar Arena was like a rough sea, undulating with the tsunami-like cheers, which was spectacular.
Rangnick couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart, rushed from the coach's bench to the sidelines, two assistant coaches rushed out with him, and the three coaches shouted loudly towards the court, venting that the heart that was about to become dead showed signs of resurrection.
Compared with Rangnick's excitement, Ferguson showed his world-class coach's composure, after Li Huan scored, the old man just leaned back slightly, showing the fluctuation in his heart, and then sneered and watched Rangnick and Hoffenheim's fans and players celebrate together, Ferguson admitted that Li Huan's goal was beautiful, and also admitted that maybe this goal would give Hoffenheim a little hope, but for Manchester United, a draw is enough, as long as Hoffenheim does not score again in the later time, Manchester United will win.
Hoffenheim's players also knew that the current score was far from enough, and their celebration did not last long, and they immediately returned to half-time, ready to strike while the iron was hot and overtake the score.
After Manchester United kicked off in the center circle, they continued to shrink their defense, leaving only Ronaldo in the front court to counterattack, Li Huan's goal did not let them attack, but made Manchester United's players more determined to defend.
Hoffenheim pressed all the way, the back line was mentioned near the center circle, and goalkeeper Hildebrand also went outside the penalty area and acted as a defender, although it was very dangerous to be counterattacked by players like Ronaldo and Rooney, but it was able to intercept the ball cleared by Manchester United to the maximum extent and launch a second wave of attacks, Hoffenheim urgently needed to score, and they had to take risks.
In such a frenzied siege and dense defense, it is more about luck than individual technical ability to decide the goal, and it is very important to have a flash of inspiration from a star, but it is too difficult to have a flash of inspiration when the strength of the two sides is almost the same and the concentration is high.
In the 32nd minute, Baker's cross from the left side of the penalty area was grabbed by Ruud van Nistelrooy, but it was pushed into Van der Sar's arms.
In the 34th minute, Demba Ba shot from inside the penalty area, and the ball hit Vidic's arm, but the referee decided that Vidic's arm did not expand Vidic's defensive area and refused to award a penalty.
In the 38th minute, Li Huan was brought down by Evra on the right side of the penalty area, and then Li Huan's free kick hit the post.
In the 40th minute, Ronaldo finally grabbed the landing point of Manchester United's long pass, quickly broke through Hoffenheim's defense, Simunic's tackle tripped Ronaldo to the ground, and Cristiano Ronaldo rolled on the ground, but Larsson thought that Ronaldo faked a fall, showed Ronaldo a yellow card warning, and made Ferguson so angry that he ran to the sidelines and scolded the referee.
The game is already heating up, Hoffenheim's attack is getting more and more fierce, and the Red Devils Manchester United are like a small boat in a stormy sea, which could be drowned by the waves at any moment.
But just as Hoffenheim was about to launch the final attack, Eduardo fell to the ground and slid to intercept Tevez's breakthrough, and the ball was shoveled off the touchline, but Eduardo fell to the ground due to a thigh muscle strain. Hoffenheim have already used up three substitutions at the moment and can only play with 10 men.
Hoffenheim's morale was hit hard by Eduardo's injury, Eduardo's injury also caused Hoffenheim's attack to suffer a certain loss, although Hoffenheim did not give up in the last minutes, but in the end it was still unable to overtake the score, and was drawn by Manchester United at home with a score of 2:2, and the road to promotion became slim.
After the game, the disappointed Hoffenheim fans still applauded the thankful players, Hoffenheim showed tenacity and courage in this game, but it was not lucky, otherwise it was very likely to complete the reversal.
Sina's commentator Huang Jianxiang said in the summary after the game: "Hoffenheim did not achieve an ideal result, the score of 2:2 made their probability of promotion very small, but in this game they performed more like the defending champions, they finally played offensive football that began to be questioned by fans, and Manchester United played obviously a little conservatively, but Hoffenheim was not lucky, Li Huan hit a post, and injured a player, otherwise the final reversal should be very possible, Luo and Li Huan scored a goal each, They all played an important role, and they deserved to be the first and second places in the world Footballer of the Year, but the game is not over yet, and the struggle between them is not over, so let's wait for a week to see you at Old Trafford. After the game, the reporter thought that the frustrated Hoffenheim players would not accept their interviews, but they didn't expect Li Huan to accept it very happily.
"Can you talk about your feelings?" A British reporter asked with some malice.
Li Huan twisted the sweat on his shirt with his hand, and said very calmly: "I'm still satisfied with the game, it's much better to equalize after falling behind than to be equalized when leading." ”
"You're doing well, just unlucky, don't you think?" British journalist said.
"The result is the most important thing, and now no one thinks about the things that are performed. Of course, journalists who say we won't attack can now shut up. Li Huan inadvertently ridiculed the British reporter.
"Can you tell us about Cristiano Ronaldo's performance? He scored a goal and also indirectly assisted Wayne Rooney. The British journalist said.
"It's up to you to comment, I don't count." Li Huan said lightly.
At this time, another British reporter rushed over and said: "Do you think Hoffenheim still has any hope of qualifying?" ”
Li Huan glanced at the reporter and said, "Don't you know how Manchester United qualified?" ”
At this time, a German reporter from the newspaper Bild asked: "Lee, what do you think is the reason why you didn't win this competition?" ”
Li Huan said: "You should ask the coach this question." I am the one who executes tactics, not the one who formulates tactics and studies them. ”
The Bild reporter said: "You mean the responsibility of the manager? ”
Li Huan was angry and asked loudly: "The responsibility of the head coach?" What do you mean? Did we lose? Are we much better than the defending champions? Do we have to win? Is the German League one stronger than the Premier League? ”
After Li Huan finished speaking, he ignored the reporters and left.
At the press conference, Rangnick was also reprimanded by reporters, but Rangnick did not have Li Huan's desperate temper, he admitted that he made a mistake in the tactical arrangement before the game, and underestimated the style of play and lineup adopted by Manchester United, but Rangnick believes that luck determines the score to a certain extent, Hoffenheim is not lucky today, and he hopes that in the next round of the competition, Hoffenheim can get God's favor. Finally, Rangnick also revealed to reporters Eduardo's injury, and he is likely to be unable to participate in the next round, but if Hoffenheim can reach the final, Eduardo will definitely be able to catch up.
Ferguson was naturally in high spirits, and he was very satisfied with the 2-2 scoreline, Ferguson said: "There is a better scoreline than this, but I am already satisfied. Hoffenheim are a strong team that no one can ignore, Li Huan has the quality to break any team's goal, and it is not an exaggeration to take a defensive approach to such a team. It's not over, 2-2 just gives us a little bit of an advantage and there's a big battle back at Old Trafford and we'll show the fans our football. ”
The Champions League semi-finals that millions of fans are looking forward to, with Chelsea and Barcelona playing 0:0 and Hoffenheim and Manchester United 2:2, such a score is not unexpected, and the teams that can reach the last four are either strong or in excellent form, and no matter how strong the team is, it is impossible to win in one round. Comparatively, Manchester United are in the best position, followed by Chelsea and Hoffenheim the worst.
Journalists in the UK hailed the excellent performances of the two Premier League teams, ignoring the very conservative tactics and ugly spectacle of Manchester United and Chelsea on the road, and only talked about the outcome of the game and the probability of qualifying.
The Times said: "Manchester United and Chelsea both got the scoreline they were happy with before the game, and when they returned home, they were more than capable of reaching out to the final and winning the Champions League again.
Chelsea haven't scored, but Barcelona haven't been able to find the back of the net at home, so will they have a chance to win the game at Stamford Bridge?
Manchester United jumped to the top favourites after the game, with a 2-2 scoreline that Hoffenheim had to attack at Old Trafford, and the scheming Sir Alex Ferguson naturally did not let go of the first to hold on. "Manchester City Evening News" said: "In the contest between Li Huan and Ronaldo, the two sides seem to be evenly matched, but in fact, Ronaldo won the battle, and after drawing Hoffenheim away, Manchester United is very likely to advance to the final because of Ronaldo's goal."
The selection of World Footballer of the Year cannot be said to be unfair, but there is nothing wrong with Cristiano Ronaldo winning the award. The Spanish media criticized the referee after the game, and "World Sports" sarcastically said: The biggest reason for the failure of Barcelona's beast is because the referee Stark has become the 12th beast on the field.
"This is a scandal, the referee tolerated too many fouls. With Stark's connivance, Chelsea have become more and more unscrupulous. Drogba and Alves got on the hook, with the Monster slapping the Brazilian in the face on a run off the ball before bringing Alves down in the second half with a backtackle. Of course, Stark would never show him a yellow card. Frank Lampard tackled Andres Iniesta from behind, and Branislav Ivanovic also played a takedown with Thierry Henry, and Stark naturally didn't think it was serious enough to be out of the game. Perhaps it was decided that his compatriots would not send him off, and Ballack was simply possessed by a demon god in this game, and the German giant punched and kicked the Barcelona players. ”
Real Madrid's mouthpiece, As, also sympathized with Barcelona, saying: "The referee's performance today is shameful and the result of the game is absolutely unfair. UEFA can field a fair judge in the second leg. ”
At a time when the British media was a villain and the Spanish media was like a resentful woman, the German media expressed calmness, in their opinion, Hoffenheim was able to reach the semi-finals and had completed its historical mission, and with Hoffenheim's strength, it was very difficult to enter the finals. The general dark horses are the top four. The finals are still dominated by traditional strong teams.
Bild commented after the game: 2:2 is a normal result. Compared to yesterday's dull draw between Barcelona and Chelsea, today's game is much better, and four goals should meet the expectations of the fans.
Hoffenheim bombarded the Red Devils for most of the game, but in the end only won a draw, and gave Manchester United two away goals, so that Hoffenheim lost the opportunity on the way to promotion, don't look at Manchester United can turn the tables at the Dragon Stadium, that is, the strength of Porto and Manchester United is too different, but Manchester United's strength is still above Hoffenheim, and the difficulty of turning the tables is very difficult to imagine.
The headline of "Kicker" is "Hoffenheim incarnate as the Blue Devils, the defending champions get away with a draw", "In the second semi-final, Hoffenheim played attacking football at home, and the defending champions lost control of the game after ten minutes of attacking in the opening game, and were beaten like a relegation team for a while. Hoffenheim, however, had average luck and ended up with a draw.
Hoffenheim's crazy performance in the game has dazzled the fans, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they are the Blue Devils. However, the 2-2 scoreline leaves little hope of progression, and they will need to play at a higher level if they are to progress at Old Trafford. ”
The reporter of the "Rheinneckar" said: "2:2 is not the end, Hoffenheim's fighting power and strength show that they can compete with the best teams in the world, they are not relying on luck and form to reach the semi-finals, Manchester United can successfully slay the dragon at the Dragon Stadium in Portugal and break the curse, Hoffenheim at Old Trafford may not be able to defeat the demons and reach the final in Rome."
Of course, Rangnick must make good adjustments to his tactics, the key is to use Li Huan well and give full play to Li Huan's full power, remember that Li Huan is the patron saint of Hoffenheim and the god who creates miracles. ”
(To be continued)