At the end of October, the third game of the UEFA Champions League group stage is quietly approaching, and the media pays attention to this game because Chelsea's opponent is Barcelona, Chelsea and Barcelona are old 'enemies', for two consecutive seasons, they have collided directly in the Champions League, the first time Chelsea eliminated Barcelona, the second time Barcelona eliminated Chelsea, two European competitions collided twice, making the clash between the two teams a world-renowned game.

Both teams are among the strongest teams in the world, and some people even say that the strongest ones are Chelsea and Barcelona now, which cannot be regarded as one of them, and under the luxurious lineups and crazy tables of the two teams, the other European giants are relatively poor.

For example, Chelsea, in the Premier League can be described as a sweep, so far they have been on a winning streak, while Barcelona in the domestic arena, suppressed Real Madrid did not even have the power to resist, the Catalans in the last two years, in the past two years, in the real horse to achieve a complete advantage.

In the Champions League in the past two years, Chelsea and Barcelona are the favorites, and this season the media believes that the championship can only emerge from these two teams, so the collision of the two teams is even more eye-catching.

However, Chelsea boss Grant spoke to the group stage clash with Barcelona and suggested that the game could 'lack the tension of previous meetings between the two teams'.

Chelsea have met Barcelona once each over the past two seasons, and red cards, controversial decisions, penalties and war of words have been in the spotlight to keep the two teams clash beyond the game.

However, with the last two encounters in the knockout rounds and this one in the group stage, the tension may not be as high as in previous years.

Grant said of the game. "There may be a slight difference between this year's game and last year's game because we're talking about the group stage now. This gives people the opportunity to watch better football, calmer football. Both teams have a better chance of showcasing themselves because they are not in the knockout stage and they don't have to worry about the result. Perhaps after six group games, either Barcelona or Chelsea could be eliminated. But not after this game. ”

There is still a Carabao Cup game to play before the game against Barcelona.

Chelsea's opponents were Reading, who had just won against them, and it was a game that no one cared about, as they were completely defenseless against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The Carabao Cup game is played at Reading's home stadium, the Midejeski Stadium.

In order to prepare for the Champions League group stage with Barcelona, Grant rotated the starting line-up again, Zhang Tiehan, Makelele and captain Terry did not play, and the forward line combination was Shepchenko and Kalou.

I have to mention Shepchenko, who is really questioned now. So far, the Ukrainian has still not been able to break his goal drought, on the front line, Drogba's goals are second only to Lampard, Kalou has also scored three goals, and Shepchenko has not scored a goal so far, you can imagine how much pressure the 50 million goalscorer is on. Although it was only a League Cup, Shepchenko said before the game that he hoped he could break the goal drought.

'I hope to score. The first goal is important, I don't have to prove myself in the big tournaments, it's okay in the Carabao Cup, and I'm sure as long as there is the first goal, there will be more goals in the future," Shepchenko said.

But in the end, Shepchenko still didn't get his way.

This match, perhaps affected by the noisy atmosphere of the Midejeski Stadium. Chelsea's overall form was not very good, with the only goal for both sides coming from Reading's own goal at the back, and it was with this own goal that Chelsea eliminated Reading.

But that's not the main thing.

Qualification for the Carabao Cup is not a big deal for Chelsea. What's more, the opposing players collided with the Chelsea goalkeeper twice on the pitch -

Once, Cech was off, and the other was Cudicini.

Less than a minute into the game, Cech went down to save and Reading's no.10 Hunt reached out and kicked Cech in the head when he couldn't reach the ball. After five minutes of emergency treatment, the Czech was taken on a stretcher and taken to a local hospital for treatment, where he even fainted.

Unexpectedly, the same scene was repeated in the case of substitute goalkeeper Cudicini.

In the 91st minute, Reading's defender Sonko elbowed the Italian after a corner kick and the team doctor gave him emergency treatment for about eight minutes, lifting him off the pitch and taking him to hospital after immobilizing him in the neck.

After the game, no one at Chelsea was in the mood to celebrate.

It was only on the evening after returning to London that Chelsea FC confirmed that Cudicini had been discharged from hospital, and after a diagnosis, doctors concluded that he was in good condition and not in much danger, and now it appears that his condition has stabilized.

However, Cech was left in the hospital and needed to be observed overnight to determine the situation and treatment options.

A statement from Chelsea's official website said: 'Pete Cech will remain in hospital all night on Saturday for observation. Cudicini was previously taken to the hospital and has now been discharged after examination. ”

Chelsea said in a statement that we confirmed that Cech was taken to Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford last night with the best neurosurgeons and that surgery would repair his sunken skull. Chelsea won yesterday's game but they paid the price for injuries to two goalkeepers, with Cudicini coming off the bench after Cech was injured and was taken to hospital after colliding with defender Sonko in the 90th minute, but was discharged from hospital that night, compared to Petr's condition, which was much harsh and required a long period of recuperation after surgery to fully recover.

To add insult to injury, Cudicini is likely to be unavailable for Barcelona, despite being discharged from hospital on the night of the game after treatment.

'Cech's surgery was a success, but it's too early to assess his condition accurately.'

'The whole squad wishes Cech and Cudicini a speedy recovery from their injuries.'

This is stated in a statement on Chelsea's official website.

Chelsea boss Grant was furious by Reading's behaviour in an interview, claiming he was still laughing after causing Petr Cech to go down injured.

'I wouldn't be surprised whatever Petr's injury is, it's a blessing he's alive.' Grant said after the game that he also compared Hunt's behaviour to Manchester City defender Margaret Thatcher's infamous elbow knocking Portsmouth player Mendes, who was later suspended for eight games and asked the FA to investigate Hunt's behaviour as precedent.

Chelsea Football Club has expressed support for Grant's views. In an official statement, Chelsea said: 'Chelsea have reviewed footage of the game when both goalkeepers were injured and we support Grant's stern post-match comments about the incidents. Chelsea will submit our report to the FA at a later date. ”

'I'm not surprised by the behaviour that happened to Cech,' said Grant, 'and that's what the opponent wanted to do. I was worried that Cech was alive and that he was lucky. ”

"It's one thing to break a leg or an arm, but it's another thing to break a head, and in sports, these kinds of injuries are the most frightening. I watched the accident twice through the video and they were of a different nature. The second time (against Cudicini) was a violent air collision that should have been a penalty foul, but it wasn't intentional. But the first time was different. The ball was far away from the player, the goalkeeper came out, grabbed the ball, and then the man came over and kicked it, and he obviously lost his mind. ”

"It was an unbelievable offense and professional players should respect each other. If Cech hadn't broken his skull, he was a lucky boy. It was a terrible violation and Petr Cech completely fainted in the dressing room. He was taken to the hospital. ”

"I'm not saying that the opponent deliberately put my goalkeeper in hospital, but it was a very stupid violation. You can usually see players jumping up to avoid the goalkeeper, but the man's knee went straight at Petr Cech in the face and he didn't want to avoid it. After that, he turned and ran back, smiling in front of us, and it seemed like he wasn't worried at all. ”

"I'm now waiting to hear what the critics and experts in the media have to say. I want to wait because when Essien played Hamann last season, the media was so loud that it was nothing compared to what happened today. Only Thatcher's fight against Mendes can be compared. ”

Grant said he now has to wait for a doctor's report. 'Anger doesn't help, I'll just wait for their injury report and what the FA plans to do.'

Grant has always given the media and fans a very 'Sven' feeling outside, he is like a gentleman, very polite to everyone, every time he is interviewed, he has a smile on his face, and he speaks very calmly.

That's really a bit of a fearless meaning, and it can be seen that this 'honest man' is really angry.

After all, Cech's kick was indeed very terrible, and his skull was injured, and if he was a little more ruthless, it was estimated that it was possible to die on the spot.

The whole Chelsea squad was furious.

Zhang Tiehan immediately said, "Next time they play with us, they have to be careful." He fiddled with his legs, which reminded him of his powerful legs, which was very dangerous.

However, some media immediately criticized Zhang Tiehan, this kind of thing is not something that public figures can say, Zhang Tiehan shrugged indifferently, and then got a warning from the FA.

In this regard, Zhang Tiehan doesn't care anymore.

He just vented his anger, but if the other party really did it on purpose, he didn't mind 'avenging' Cech, and in private he had a very good relationship with Cech, and that kind of personal friendship was established for a long time - Zhang Tiehan and Cech met Cech when he played for Wigan Athletic, of course, they met on the pitch, when Zhang Tiehan poured in three goals for Cech, and Cech was very impressed by him.

often meet on the playing field, and the more times they are impressed by each other, they are naturally familiar, not to mention, the two are still teammates now, and they are good friends in private.

Captain John Terry described the victory as a hard-won battle: "We were very worried that they [Petr Cech and Cudicini] were knocked down and hit hard, and we hope they will recover next Wednesday. It's a battle, and sometimes you have to do it. ”

Frank Lampard agreed: 'It's like a fight, the opponent has a clear position, but we got through. ”

Reading, for their part, defended their actions.

Head coach Koper said: "I'm 100 per cent sure Hunt didn't mean it, the referee was in a good position and saw the accident. He was only 10 yards away and didn't pull out the cards. Grant said something to Hunter, but if Hunter laughed, it was definitely not a laugh. ”

Hunt also denied that he intended to, "I went 100 per cent to get the ball and I hope Cech wasn't hurt by Yanzhòng. I wish him a recovery. ”

Reading's defence doesn't matter whatever, the important thing is that this is a crisis for Chelsea, with neither Cech nor Cudicini out of action in this week's Champions League, and they have been forced to use third goalkeeper Hilario, who will celebrate his 31st birthday next Saturday and has yet to feature from the Portuguese Premiership's Nationals as a free agent this summer.

The only one who benefited from the injuries of the two was the third goalkeeper.

Compared to two teammates. Hilario is much less famous, making zero appearances this season and just three substitute appearances (Community Shield and the first two Premier League games), and that's just before Cech recovers from shoulder surgery at the start of the season.

Hilario will be at least 31 years old, 193cm tall, and belongs to the tall goalkeeper.

In the 94-95 season, the 19-year-old Hilario entered the first team of Porto and made his debut against the team Navar. In 1995 he was loaned by Porto to Akademica for training. After returning to Porto in the 96-97 season, Hilario began to be entrusted with important tasks.

5 March 1997. Hilario, who is considered the "successor of Beyer", suffered the biggest blow of his career, Porto met the rising Red Devils Manchester United in the first leg of the knockout round of the Champions League, only for Hilario's goal to be breached four times, David May, Cantona, Ryan Giggs and Cole became a nightmare for the Portuguese goalkeepers, especially Cantona, whose two passes and one shot gave United a perfect night.

Porto had early hope of qualifying. Since then, Hilario has been beaten into the cold palace and has made fewer and fewer appearances.

In the 02-03 season, Porto under Jose Mourinho reached the top, winning the UEFA Cup, the Portuguese Super League and the Champions Cup, and Hilario was also a member of the championship team. However, he has very few appearances and is not the main contributor.

In 2004, Hilario joined the Portuguese national team on loan and helped the team finish fifth in the league and qualify for the UEFA Cup, and on Christmas 2005, he received a call from Mourinho at the end of his contract with the national, but he was still under contract at the time, but he decided to come to Chelsea anyway, but when he signed with Chelsea in the summer, Mourinho had already left Stamford Bridge, but he became a member of the Chelsea team anyway.

Although Hilario and Mourinho have only crossed paths for a short season, the madmen have a high opinion of him.

'He's a good goalkeeper, with a lot of quality and ability.' That's what Mourinho said in an interview in Milan when he learned of Hilario's signing for Chelsea: 'It's a shame he didn't make it to my team, but I'm sure he will be a great addition to the Chelsea squad. ”

In fact, Hilario played in Chelsea's first competitive game of the new season, but not many people know about it because the game was played in the United States (Chelsea and the American All-Stars vs. the United States) and it was only a warm-up game.

Hilario is aware of his future at Chelsea: 'Everyone here celebrates, you have to be ready to play at your best, I'm here to play and to be successful. ”

Hilario made his debut in the Carabao Cup third round before Cech and Cudicini were injured, but the two team-mates fell in quick succession, making it possible for the Portuguese to make his wish come true early against reigning Champions League champions Barcelona.

He is no stranger to the European scene, leaving Porto and playing every weekend for Hilario, having played twice in the UEFA Cup and in the Champions Cup.

Should Cudicini not recover immediately, Hilario will appear at Stamford Bridge wearing the number 40 shirt to be tested by the likes of Ronaldinho and Gudjanssen.

'Hilario is not a kid anymore, he's 30 years old, he's played a lot in the top flight, he's played in the Champions League. He's calm, he's well prepared, and he's going to have his time. ”

'It was only on Saturday that Hilario found out that he could play because of injuries to two goalkeepers, and he has been busy preparing ever since. Do the homework that a goalkeeper should do. He came here knowing that he was the third choice, that the third goalkeeper doesn't usually play, and if you ask me about the third goalkeeper for Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United or Arsenal, I probably can't answer that. They are usually obscure, but now Hilario has a good chance. You can play against the champions of Europe. He will enter the game with mixed feelings, on the one hand he will be excited, and at the same time sad, for the absence of his two good friends. ”

In addition to Hilario, Chelsea's fourth-choice goalkeeper, young Kalambbe, is also actively preparing and has been told he is ready to contribute to the team, with the 20-year-old Belgian who has now been promoted to the first team by Chelsea and will be used as a replacement for Hilario.

"The manager told me that I had to be ready. He will choose between me and Hilario. My advantage is that I played all the games in the reserves, so I hope to have a chance. ”

Kalambbe joined Chelsea at the age of 17 and has been playing in the youth team since he was a teenager and could now see a turnaround.

For these fringe players, starting in Europe against Barcelona is very tempting indeed, and no one knew who Chelsea's third and fourth goalkeepers were before, but now everyone knows. They were reported by various media, and their materials were interpreted in detail. It's all because they're likely to start against Barcelona.

The eye-catching figure for Barcelona is, of course, Ronaldinho, and Grant believes Ronaldo could find his best form against Chelsea.

"Barcelona are a good team, they have great players, I haven't watched Ronaldinho play a lot this season, but even if it's only 70 or 80 per cent. He's already better than a lot of players in the world. Even if he's not 100 per cent at the moment, playing in the Champions Cup will give him motivation, especially against Chelsea. ”

That's pre-match for Chelsea and Barcelona.

But as Grant said, the two teams weren't really hot before the game, perhaps because it was just a Champions League group stage. Although the outcome of the match can determine the first and second place in Group A of the Champions League, in fact, there are two teams in the group that can qualify, and the shape of Group A is very clear, Chelsea and Barcelona are too far ahead of Werder Bremen, not to mention, the Bulgarian team Sofia Liwski, who has been poured twelve goals in two games, this team really has no chance of qualifying in Group A.

That being the case, Chelsea and Barcelona are now less passionate.

However, the game is still very important for both sides, for both teams, winning the game means a bigger advantage in the group, and the next group stage will be much easier, and for the players of both sides, this kind of big battle is also an opportunity to show themselves in front of European and international fans.

For Zhang Tiehan, this is a fight against a strong team.

It's a challenge!

Barcelona is quite strong this season, many media believe that Barcelona is the strongest team in the world now, and there are many Chelsea stars, but it is still worse than Barcelona, even Zhang Tiehan can only be compared with Ronaldinho.

Both are the best players in the world and two different types of players.

Zhang Tiehan is a player who can score goals, he scores quite a lot, and his technical type is also biased towards playing in front of goal, while Ronaldinho is a player who focuses on the whole, he is the core of Barcelona, organizing attacks, creating opportunities for teammates, and the motivation for the whole team to attack.

When it comes to technology, Ronaldinho is better, and when it comes to goals, Zhang Tiehan is obviously more outstanding.

In short, this will be a head-on collision between Zhang Tiehan and Ronaldonho.

The two have also played each other before, this time it was Zhang Tiehan who won, and more importantly, Liverpool defeated Barcelona last season, and the two teams won or lost, which means that the two of them have won or lost, not to mention, Zhang Tiehan played very well in the game.

Now the two have a chance to face each other again.

The pre-match coverage of the two is the main theme of the media, they are looking forward to a collision between Mars and Earth, and for fans, the battle between the two is also the biggest attraction of the game. (To be continued......)