359. The Red Army with confidence
As soon as the draw results came out, the media of various countries were reporting on the Champions League draw, and everyone's first thought was that this thing was too coincidental, and they really didn't believe it if it wasn't UEFA operating in the dark.
Inter Milan have drawn Chelsea, Jose Mourinho 61 is set to return to Stamford Bridge, and Carlo Ancelotti 61 is also set to return to Milan. Before the game, both men said they didn't want to draw each other, and even the players of both teams said they didn't want to draw their opponents, but it was such a coincidence.
Before the draw, David 61 Beckham, who is now a player of the AC Milan team, said in an interview that he very much wanted to return to Old Trafford, and this turned out to be like this, satisfying David 61 Beckham's wish.
Then there is the Liverpool team that drew Real Madrid, Benitez said before the game that he was not willing to draw Real Madrid, while Qiu Ze and the Liverpool players said that they were very willing to draw Real Madrid. Real Madrid's Cristiano 61 Ronaldo and others also wanted to draw the Liverpool team and teach the Liverpool team a good lesson, and this time their dream came true.
Look at this, would this have been like this if it hadn't been arranged in advance?
Of course, in addition to lamenting this, the media are also predicting who will advance to the quarterfinals of this season's UEFA Champions League. At the same time, there is a lot of anticipation for the upcoming Champions League quarter-finals, because the games are really interesting.
And the Italian media exclaimed: "UEFA is playing conspiracy!" "Because of this draw, Italy's luck is really bad, Inter Milan meets Chelsea, AC Milan meets Manchester United, this is the rhythm of UEFA to get rid of the Italian team.
Of course, the Italian media also supports it, and UEFA is obviously trying to make Italian teams and Premier League teams stumble, and then let La Liga and Ligue 1 teams sit safely.
In recent years, La Liga and Ligue 1 have done well, with Premier League and Italian teams dominating the Champions League, and now it is Austria looking for a so-called balance. In addition, Barcelona and Real Madrid have been very popular recently, and they have a lot of stars in their team, which is a magic weapon to attract attention, and it is necessary for these teams to continue to survive.
Therefore, the Italian media have exclaimed that it is a UEFA conspiracy, which makes them very unconvinced, and they criticize UEFA.
The English media also felt the same way, and the fate of the English team this year is generally not very good. Maybe it's because the Champions League has almost become the Premier League in recent years, and UEFA can't stand it anymore, so it's starting to yin the Premier League team.
If you look at this season's UEFA Champions League, the opponents of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool in the Premier League are very strong, only Arsenal's opponents are slightly weaker.
At this time, the Spanish media is celebrating, they believe that Barcelona, Sevilla and Real Madrid have basically successfully qualified, among these teams, that is, Real Madrid's game is a little more difficult, a little suspenseful, but the possibility of La Liga three and three advancing to the quarterfinals at the same time is very high, this is a La Liga victory.
The German media also believes that the outlook is not optimistic, and Stuttgart's confrontation with Barcelona is basically over. Bayern Munich is against the Lyon team, the strength of the Lyon team is still there, Beckenbauer said that the Lyon team is definitely not worse than the strength of Inter Milan, and the Bayern Munich team must make 100% efforts if they want to advance.
The French media thought that the draw result was average and normal. Bordeaux were lucky, Lyon was slightly unlucky. In fact, the French media hopes that Bordeaux can change opponents with Lyon, so that both teams in Ligue 1 can advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Because Bordeaux was so good in the group stage, they eliminated Bayern Munich in the group stage. In the knockout rounds, Bordeaux certainly does. Lyon will certainly win against Olympiacos. However, it is also good for now.
Therefore, the most unlucky results of this draw are the Serie A teams and the Premier League teams, especially the Premier League. This season, the Premier League wants to continue the previous seasons of the Premier League four to reach the quarterfinals, and the Premier League top three to advance to the top four, but it will be difficult.
After the draw, Benitez and Qiu Ze flew back to Liverpool, they didn't dare to stay here for long, and now they have to go back to prepare for the next game. At the weekend, Liverpool will take on Arsenal in their own arc.
It's a very important game for Liverpool and it's a game that can't be lost. Liverpool are now third in the Premier League, just one point ahead of Arsenal behind them.
At this time, Liverpool not only cannot afford to lose, but must win. They don't want to be pulled too far by Chelsea and Manchester United, and Liverpool are also aiming for the league title, so they don't want to be left behind at this time.
The importance of this game can be imagined, and the Liverpool team will have to prepare for this game with all their heart. Back at Liverpool, their preparation time was running out because the next day, the game was about to start.
Arsenal manager Arsène 61 Arsene Wenger also went to Nyon, Switzerland, and he also went to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw ceremony, this time he got a good sign, and he signed it. Arsene Wenger was very happy.
It can be said that Arsene Wenger is the happiest of the four teams in the Premier League, and Arsenal's opponent this time is not strong, and he was almost guaranteed to the quarterfinals, which naturally makes the other top three managers envious.
Arsenal's advantage can make the whole situation of the Arsenal team better, their opponents in the Champions League are not strong, they don't need to be involved in the Champions League too much, they can be fully involved in the league.
In some time, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United will certainly be affected by the Champions League, and Arsenal will be able to take advantage of the momentum and catch up with the other Premier League top three.
Liverpool's manager Rafael Benitez naturally knows this, so in the current situation, Liverpool must beat Arsenal and try to get as many points as possible to leave Arsenal far behind.
After returning to Liverpool, Benitez made a request to the Liverpool players, that is, they must beat Arsenal and not give Arsenal any chance.
Before the game, Liverpool's local media also said that this game is a game that Liverpool cannot afford to lose, and they must win against Arsenal, otherwise, Liverpool will have no hope of winning the Premier League this season.
Liverpool fans also attach great importance to this game, and before the game, they also called on the Liverpool players to perform well and win this game.
Liverpool's players naturally didn't want to lose this game, and in an interview with the media before the game, the Liverpool captain said: "First of all, congratulations to Arsenal for drawing a good draw in the Champions League. But I would say that the win in this game must belong to our Liverpool team, Arsenal have been doing well recently, but they have lost all the games when they have a strong team. β
Yes, before that, Arsenal played against Manchester United and Chelsea, but they both lost, and none of the games were won, which shows that Arsenal lack the ability to play hard, and Gerrard firmly believes that Arsenal will not be able to play against Liverpool.
And Liverpool and Arsenal have already met once this season, with Liverpool beating Arsenal in the Carabao Cup. Liverpool eliminated Arsenal to reach the last four of the League Cup.
So at this time, Gerrard is of course very confident, he firmly believes that Liverpool will win.
Liverpool's vice-captain Carragher also accepted an interview with media reporters, he said in an interview with media reporters: "The strength of the Arsenal team is good, but in recent years they have been sending talents out, and they have almost no introduction, their strength is decreasing year by year, and we are replenishing fresh blood every year, our strength is constantly strengthening, so the victory of this game has actually been decided." β
The captain and vice-captain of the Liverpool team are very confident at this time, and the other players of the Liverpool team are of course also very confident. Liverpool striker Huntelaar has also given interviews to the media and the Dutchman is also very confident.
In an interview with the media, Huntelaar said: "For this game, we in the Liverpool team are very well prepared. In midweek, we had just played Fiorentina and it was a physical drain on us. However, it also allowed us to find a rhythm that we and Arsenal were still in this game. β
Huntelaar thought for a moment and then said: "Before the manager left, he left us with a new tactical intent, and we have been preparing for this now, and now we are executing very well and I am convinced that we will surprise Arsenal in this game. β
German player Khedira also stood up for an interview this time, this guy is very low-key after joining the Liverpool team, and rarely stands in front of the media. However, this guy's career is very high-profile at this time, and Khedira has been selected for Loew's German national team with his excellent performance in the Liverpool team, and is expected to participate in next year's Shijie Cup in South Africa.
Speaking to the media, Khedira said: "Lehmann, a senior team-mate in the national team, has told me about Arsenal and we have played Arsenal once this season. Last time we won, and this time, of course, we're not going to let it slip away. β