******

After the away game against Deportivo La Coruna, head coach Flores and assistant coach Paolo were once again divided into two ways, Paulo, who had been staying in Barcelona, returned to the team to lead the team through daily training, while Flores went to Barcelona to watch Barcelona's home game against Atletico Madrid up close.

Barcelona made several changes for the game, with Valdés, Gabri, Silvenho and Van Bommel starting in place of Holkrera, Edmilson, Van Brondhorst and Giuli respectively, while Ronaldinho was suspended due to accumulated yellow cards and Larsson started in place of the Brazilian and Lionel Messi up front.

The five attackers in the midfield of Atletico Madrid, who played away from home, all started the game.

After the opening, the game of the two sides entered very quickly, and the scramble was relatively intense, but the attack that threatened each other's goals was still a little bit worse.

It wasn't until the 33rd minute that the deadlock on the pitch was broken, but it was Atletico Madrid who took the lead!

Here's how it happened: Atletico Madrid launched a quick counter-attack, the ball was quickly shifted to the right, and then Ibargasa crossed from the right, Maxi Rodriguez headed it over, and Torres fired a powerful left-footed shot into the net from 11 yards out for his sixth league goal of the season.

And when Torres scored this goal, Iro, who watched the game, immediately raised his arms and shouted, if Barcelona lost this game, then ...... The next round of the competition will be even more meaningful!

When the time comes to beat Barcelona again at home, then...... The difference between the two sides will widen again!

It's exciting to think about!

The tempo of the game suddenly increased, because Barcelona, who were playing at home, knew that if this game was lost, the next game against Valencia would be meaningless!

Taking 10,000 steps back, even if Valencia is defeated in the next round at Mestalla, the difference between the two sides will still be seven points, what is the point?

So after falling behind, Rijkaard began to sit still, frequently walking back and forth in the open space in front of the home team's coaching box, and his impatience was also infected by the players on the field.

After all, in order to prepare for the Copa del Rey in midweek and the focus of the next week, it is normal for this game to be reserved, and personnel adjustments have also been made in multiple positions, this squad is at best Barcelona's semi-main lineup, and Ronaldinho also took the initiative to apply for a yellow card in the last round against Mallorca because of avoiding the absence of Valencia in this game, and his attack power has been greatly reduced again.

At the start of the second half, Barcelona quickly made changes to the personnel on the field.

However, the scene on the field was still not big, but in the 47th minute, Atletico Madrid widened the score on the field.

Torres made a direct pass from the left, Petrov used his speed to shake off Oleg and burst into the left side of the penalty area to cross, Valdés made a fatal mistake! Maxi Rodriguez shoots into the empty net.

What everyone didn't expect was that in the following time, it turned out to be Messi's personal performance time, and he scored two goals in five minutes to tie the score on the field!

Messi's sudden outburst surprised Iro, who was watching the live broadcast, ...... The state is too tiger, right?

At the same time, Flores in the stands also felt a headache for Messi, who suddenly broke out, and Leo Messi was not in his plan.

But with Messi's current form, Rijkaard will certainly not turn a blind eye! When the time comes...... It's really hard to predict!

Seeing such an excellent Messi, Rijkaard also has a headache, you must know that there is a reason for Messi to replace the main right winger Gyuli in this game, and that is to prepare for the next round of the focus battle, so the rotation was made.

But Messi, who is in excellent form, cannot be ignored, because Rijkaard knows the reason why Messi is so good, because he desperately wants to press back in the rookie competition with Iro, which is Messi's fighting spirit!

At the same time, Rijkaard also experienced the troubles of happiness for the first time!

And the final result of this game was also fixed at 2-2.

After the game, Messi's play was also well received by the public.

But this did not make Messi happy, because he knew that the game did not impress Rijkaard, and it is impossible to give too many opportunities to a young player like him in such a big club.

If the team hadn't been playing Valencia in the next round, they wouldn't have been able to start in this game.

After this game, everyone focused on the comparison of players in the next round of the game.

Among them, it is not the equally young Messi who compares with Elo, but Ronaldinho, who is currently the best in Barcelona's table.

This comparison made Messi feel quite frustrated.

What is it for training so hard every day?

Isn't it to win the comparison with that Chinese?

But...... Compared to him, it is Ronaldinho, the big brother in the team!

Actually, what he didn't know was that there was a reason for such a comparison.

The first is that Iello and Ronaldinho are both the best players in the team at the moment.

The second is because both men are left wingers, so there is this contrast.

******

Barcelona have widened their gap to leaders Valencia by nine points after being held to a draw at home to Atletico Madrid, and if they fail to win the next round, then this season's title will be in Valencia's bag if nothing else.

So the next round is a must-win game for Barcelona!

After the end of the match with Atletico Madrid, Rijkaard suffered a lot of public pressure, Barcelona broke the points record last season to win the championship, and this season the league was less than two-thirds of the way to the point was stretched by Valencia to nine points, such a result is completely inconsistent with Barcelona's identity.

Similarly, after returning to Valencia from Barcelona, Flores began preparations for the next round of La Liga, and the Copa del Rey quarter-finals to be played in midweek were also put on hold for the time being.

Although the next game is Valladolid's home game, it is not certain that the La Liga side will be able to lead La Liga with four goals at home, and it is only a matter of time before they advance.

The next day, the mainstream media in Europe began to pay attention to the battle for the top spot in La Liga next week, because Valencia this season is too fierce, you must know that Barcelona won the championship last season and only scored 84 points, and so far only 22 rounds have been played, Valencia has scored 59 points, which is the best result in the top five European leagues, and even the Chelsea led by Mourinho, who has always been known for its stability, has only 52 points now.

Therefore, this round of Valencia's home match against Barcelona has attracted the attention of the mainstream media throughout Europe, because this game is likely to affect the championship of this season!

If the home team wins, it will be a big blow.

If the away team wins, they will keep their hopes alive and can also put Valencia under great pressure in the future league, and a super comeback is not impossible!

So after the home draw with Atletico Madrid, Barcelona's mouthpiece "World Sports" listed the famous super reversal in Barcelona's history, "Great Barcelona! The spirit of never giving up!! And let's not forget the glory of the early nineties! In the 90-91 and 91-92 seasons, we were six points behind Real Madrid at the halfway point, but at the end of the season it was Barcelona who won the championship! Also, in the 92-93 season, we also reversed Deportivo La Coruna to win the league title, we have a tradition of reversal! So, we can't give up! ”

After the best-selling newspaper of the day, many Barcelona fans began to gather and cheer for the team every day near the training ground of the first team.

However, they still have a Copa del Rey quarter-final to play before this league game, but who cares about this game at this time? If you lose, you lose, and you know that the league title is the most important thing.

I don't know if it was this relaxed mentality that allowed the semi-main squad of Zaragoza to defeat the home team 2-0 away and advance to the semi-finals first.

Messi played well again in this game, first using his individual ability to win a penalty, and then assisting Andres Iniesta to extend the score.

The victory in this game also indirectly boosted the morale of the whole Barcelona team.

Various media outlets have also begun to praise the 18-year-old Argentinian youngster.

"To qualify for the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, the Argentine youngster Lionel Messi has done an excellent job, assisting Samuel Eto'o and Andres Iniesta to score goals respectively, and his excellent form will definitely lead the whole Barcelona before the crucial 23rd round, I believe! Rijkaard will certainly not turn a blind eye, and Messi, who was second only to Ai in the World Youth Championship in the Netherlands last year, is also not bad! ”

"From today onwards, Leo Messi will enter the eyes of Barcelona fans, and compared to Giuli, this young player from La Masia is more talented and more valuable to develop, after all, this is a player who has been cultivated by himself, and there is no situation that needs to be adapted to Barcelona's attacking system."

"Oh my God, in the new year, he broke out! This is undoubtedly very good news for Barcelona! ”

Rijkaard looked at the newspaper praising Messi in his hand, and subconsciously shook his head, as long as Jiuli was not injured, it was impossible for him to put Messi in the main position, this is not a traditional problem, but a cost problem.

A day later, Rijkaard finally made up his mind to put Messi in the main lineup, because Gyuli strained his calf muscles during training and rested for two weeks.

******

Barcelona beat Zaragoza away in the quarter-finals, while Valencia, who travel to Castile, also qualified for the last four, drawing away at Valladolid with a semi-main line-up.

"We must win this game!"

Messi clenched his fists and muttered as he looked at this issue of World Sports.

Iniesta patted Messi on the shoulder as a sign of encouragement, "In this game, let's work together!" ”

The head coach had already announced his starting line-up ahead of Valencia, with Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta replacing the injured Giuli and Deco respectively.