Chapter 425: Messi in Poor Form (89/134)
At half-time, there was silence in Barcelona's dressing room.
It was a real first half for the proud Barcelona players.
It was also a very heavy blow to their morale.
Before this match, they never expected to be beaten like this in the final.
Lazio are very strong, they also have confidence in themselves, thinking that they can play Lazio in the final.
But the cruel reality gave them a blow in the face.
This contrast left many of Barcelona's players silent after returning to the dressing room.
Pep Guardiola wanted to boost the morale of his team, but he didn't know how to say it.
Tell them the first half was just an accident?
That's insulting the players' IQ.
Even fools can see that the situation in the first half was definitely not an accident.
However, Lazio only led by two goals, which was a surprise.
Pep Guardiola doesn't know what to tell them.
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Unlike the silent atmosphere in Barcelona, in Lazio's dressing room, the atmosphere is much more lively.
But Chang Sheng is pouring cold water on them.
"Don't rejoice too soon, guys. It was only the first half and we were only two goals ahead. It's not the end of the world for a team like Barcelona to be two goals down, and they have the ability to equalise. In fact, as soon as they pull a ball back, the tide will turn. So don't be in a hurry to celebrate, if you get too carried away at half-time and lose the game in the second half, we Lazio will be the laughing stock of the whole world! β
In this time and space, there is no Liverpool's Istanbul miracle, but Chang Win will not dare to forget it for a moment.
He definitely didn't want his team to be the object of a miracle.
Miracles can only be created by Lazio.
'The reason why we were able to play with ease in the first half was because we prepared well and we were serious. In the second half we are going to keep that and then destroy them without mercy! You can score as many goals as you can, you're welcome! We're going to knock Barcelona down so they can kneel when they see us in the future! β
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Pep Guardiola ended up with a few unscatheless morale-boosting words, but those words didn't have any effect.
Pep Guardiola himself knows that when he sees the reaction of his players, he knows that his words are not working.
But whether it works or not, he must also say that he doesn't want to give the players the feeling that the manager himself has given up.
He thought that as long as he didn't give up, even for his own sake, these players wouldn't give up so easily.
As long as you don't give up early, there's always a chance.
Maybe in the second half Lady Luck favored them and scored instead of a chance?
As long as Barcelona can score, even if it's just one goal, it won't be the same.
Barcelona will have the strength to take advantage of this goal and they can take advantage of the win.
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At half-time, the live broadcasts of various TV stations were analysing the first half of the game while looking ahead to the second half of the game.
Lazio's strength is the most discussed topic.
The first half of this game really caught a lot of people by surprise.
Not only the Barcelona players, but also many neutrals were surprised.
I didn't expect Lazio to be able to suppress Barcelona so easily.
"Before the game we all thought it was a close game. Now it seems...... We all guessed wrong. It turns out that Lazio is already so strong......"
"In front of Lazio, Barcelona is like a relegation team...... When have we seen Barcelona so embarrassed? No, never. Barcelona have always been in front of us with a glamorous appearance, they play with ease in the game, passing back and forth, leaving the opponent helpless ......"
"Lazio's multi-core tactics have developed to this point, and they have a reason for winning all this season. Before, we all said that there was a lot of luck in their victory, but now it seems that there is an element of luck, but it is more dependent on their own strength......"
"Lazio killed the suspense in the first half, although they only led by two goals, but I can say that there was no suspense in the second half. Lazio will definitely win against Barcelona, there's no doubt about it. β
"Lazio have already won the Champions League this season, they have already managed to defend the treble!"
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During the intermission, the guests, commentators and hosts all swore by this.
No one is optimistic about Barcelona at all.
Even the Catalan media, at this time, had to admit their defeat.
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At the start of the second half, there were no substitutions for either side.
There was no reason for Lazio to make substitutions, and Barcelona made substitutions in vain.
Barcelona have sent their strongest squad, and if they make substitutions, the people who come up are not as good as the people who are in the starting lineup now, so what's the use?
For Barcelona fans, this second half was even more desperate.
They watched the second half with a desperate mentality.
No one was left to chance, thinking that Lazio, after leading by two goals, would be proud to underestimate the opponent and then give Barcelona a chance.
This is not Lazio's style, with a winning man as the manager, Lazio is absolutely impossible to do such a thing.
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Sure enough, as everyone analyzed at halftime, at the beginning of the second half, Lazio took over the rhythm of the game.
Under their control, the game was in a fast-paced situation, and Barcelona could only be exhausted.
Messi finally got the ball in the midfield and was about to turn around and break through, but as soon as he started, Ledesma tackled the ground fiercely, and the ball was naturally lost.
What makes Barcelona fans desperate is that Ledesma's tackle is not a foul!
The referee said nothing about Messi's downfall.
Messi, who was lying on the ground holding his ankle with a painful face, jumped up from the ground suddenly, and then waved his hands to protest to the referee.
"How can this not be a foul? He shoveled my feet! β
The referee ignored him, turned and ran away with the football.
Messi continued to swing his fists in the back.
Barcelona fans also booed.
The Italian commentator mercilessly ridiculed: "Well, now I bet those Barcelona fans must have breathed a sigh of relief by now - they have finally found an excuse to lose, Barcelona lost to Lazio, it must be because of the referee's unfairness!" β
In fact, the referee's decision in Lazio's favor was just that.
And judging from the slow-motion replay, Ledesma's tackle was indeed not fouled, he tackled the football very cleanly first, and then brought down Messi.
So Messi said that Ledesma fouled him, which is untenable.
Of course, if this is a game between Barcelona and other swimming, such as Real Madrid and Chelsea, the referee will give a foul in ten cases.
But Barcelona and Lazio are both UEFA's godsons, so the referee is naturally impartial.
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Messi's state in this game is really not good, because he doesn't have many opportunities to get the ball, and he can't win many goals in a game, so what kind of form can he have?
Messi is the main weapon of Barcelona's attack, and on many occasions, when Barcelona's tiki-taka can't open the game, it is necessary to use Messi's individual skills to break the deadlock.
That's why Barcelona is so powerful: they have the whole and they have the individual. When the whole doesn't work, I use my super personal ability. And when the individual body is not good, there is a strong whole.
Most of the time, that's enough.
But today, their entirety is limited by Lazio. Messi is personal, and he is not in good shape.
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Barcelona were somewhat sleepwalking around Lazio for more than ten minutes before their goal was lost for the third time in the game.
This time, Lazio used a standard tiki-taka.
A succession of passes, completely tearing apart Barcelona's defense, and then Klose received a through ball from Modric in the penalty area, he did not stop the ball, but turned and volleyed directly!
The ball slipped past the attacking ValdΓ©s and into the goal!
"Klose - !!" The commentators on German television were particularly excited. "Klose!! His 11th Champions League goal of the season! In the Champions League scorer list, he has already equaled Messi! Just one more goal! He can surpass Messi and become the top scorer in the Champions League! β
"It's unbelievable! Klose is about to turn 33 years old, and he still has a chance to win the top scorer in the Champions League! β
"When he left Bayern Munich, many people thought he was self-exiled and he certainly didn't get much of a chance to play in the highly competitive Lazio team...... Who would have thought that Cavani's injury would completely liberate Klose! Not only is he a regular player, he is also able to compete for the top scorer in the Champions League! β
"Before the game, it was also said that this game was a match between Messi and Klose for the top scorer. Now it seems that Messi is in a slump, and Klose is in hot form! If Messi can't come up with any more reasonable performances, then the honor of the top scorer in the Champions League will belong to the German veteran Klose! β
The narrators were very excited.
Klose was also excited.
The top scorer in the Champions League, Klose has never touched.
Unexpectedly, when he arrived at Lazio, he would have the opportunity to compete for this honor.
Instead of running to celebrate, he rushed into the goal, picked up the football, and ran back with a fist.
In fact, even if he doesn't score after that, with this goal, he can become the top scorer in the Champions League with Messi.
However, Lazio's players share the same temper as their manager.
That is, never share honors and records with others!
So Klose also hopes that he can dominate and squeeze Messi into second place.
As a Lazio player, you have to have such ambition!
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