Chapter 697: The Defending Champion Who Was Underestimated
Liverpool's 17-game winning streak has been plagued by gossip off the pitch, while his Champions League opponents, reigning Serie A champions Fiorentina, have been tormented both on and off the pitch.
Counting the 30th round by Atalan** draw, Fiorentina has drawn three times in a row, losing six points in three rounds, and the originally stable Champions League seat is now suddenly in crisis.
Inter Milan has been unbeaten in 3o games this round, their lead has reached the point, Fiorentina has long had no hope of defending the title, in front of Fiorentina, there are three more points than Fiorentina, but behind Fiorentina, Lazio, AC Milan and Fiorentina have a point gap of 4 points and 5 points respectively, all within two games, and behind Fiorentina and Lazio, AC Milan will also have a direct dialogue, if Fiorentina loses, they are likely to be eliminated by Lazio, AC Milan out of the semi-finals.
Outside the field, Fiorentina once again encountered the crisis of being poached by the star of the house, when Chen Yu was still there, all eyes were focused on Chen Yu, everyone wanted to dig Chen Yu, after Chen Yu left, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Bayern, Juventus, Real Madrid, these giants have their eyes on Toney, if Fiorentina can get the Champions League this season, it is possible to keep Tony, if he is unexpectedly blocked outside the top four, Tony will definitely leave.
The Fiorentina coach did not shy away from this, he once told the newspaper "Sport", "Toney is undoubtedly our most important player, but Toney is different from Chen Yu, we can't put all the responsibility on him, Paccini has grown up, I think he will become a great striker like Toni."
When AC Milan wanted to poach Toni, Prandelli once said: "Gilardino and Mutu will be the best combination in Serie A. β
Considering that Mutu is now Fiorentina's second goalscorer, Prandelli's remarks will inevitably make other clubs think of it.
Bayern president Rummenigge publicly confirmed in an interview with Sport that they want Toney: "Toney is a striker I admire a lot, I think he is very useful for us and can make Bayern better. There is no doubt that we are looking for a way to bring him to Munich. β
In order to attract Toney to join, Bayern offered quite generous conditions. In addition to his annual salary of 5oo million euros, Bayern also promised Tony that he could bring his friends to Munich for a weekend before deciding whether to play in Germany. There, Tony can not only stay in the most luxurious hotels, but also enjoy the most authentic Italian cuisine. All in all, Tony could live a landlord-like life in Munich for a few days as long as he wanted to go.
Obviously, at the critical time of the decisive battle with the powerful Liverpool, whether it is Tony, Prandelli or De La Valle, they must eliminate the estrangement and unite as one, so that they can reach the final four, otherwise, it is impossible to beat Liverpool in their current state.
The day before the match against Liverpool, Toni implicitly rejected Bayern's invitation, saying: "In the 4o years of the Bundesliga, you can't find the name of any Italian player. Although Bavaria has some of the tastiest beer in the world, there are simply too many rules in Germany. You can't cross the street at a red light, and you have to cover your yawn with your hands, which is too difficult for romantic, lazy Italians to get used to. β
And the chairman de la Valle also said, "Toney is indispensable, he is the most comprehensive striker, can head the ball, shoot from a distance, break through and pass, with him, Fiorentina has the capital to compete with the major giants, with Chen's lessonδΈ¨ this time we will not let him go no matter what, even if you move a mountain of gold in front of me, I will not be moved." β
At the moment of the big enemy, Fiorentina has finally united, but the outside media is still not optimistic about their elimination of Liverpool.
"Milan Sports Newspaper" said: "Counting on Fiorentina to eliminate Liverpool, it is better to count on AC Milan to beat Bayern Munich is more reliable, this season's Fiorentina sold the core of the midfield last season Fiore, but the introduction of Liverani is more creative than him, let go of the temperament and strength of Bodinov, bought a faster goal and more breakthrough Mutu, Pacini has also matured for a year, but these can not make up for the loss caused by Chen Yu's departure, Chen Yu is in, Fiorentina is the favorite to win the championship, Whether it is the league or the Champions League, Chen Yu is not there, Fiorentina can only compete for a place in the Champions League in the league, and the Champions League is the quarterfinals. What's even more tragic is that Chen Yu happened to be in the team of Fiorentina's opponent, for Fiorentina, this is the relationship between them minus one and the opponent plus one, and it is extremely difficult to advance, and it is already a success to be able to get a victory. β
Divided into a half with Liverpool and Fiorentina are Chelsea and Valencia, so in addition to paying attention to Valencia's game, the Spanish media is also paying attention to the game between Liverpool and Fiorentina.
"Daily Sports" believes that with Fiorentina's form this season, reaching the quarterfinals is a success, after all, the previous defending champion Liverpool did not even enter the quarterfinals, and now Fiorentina meets Liverpool, even if it is eliminated, it is not a shame.
The newspaper said: "Fiorentina has little hope of qualifying, but as a Spaniard, I would prefer Fiorentina to cause an upset, so that Valencia can still hope to reach the final if they eliminate Chelsea." β
After Liverpool eliminated the last runner-up Barcelona, the English media looked down on Fiorentina, the champion who lost Chen Yu, and believed that Liverpool would definitely eliminate Fiorentina.
England's The Times pre-match analysis said: "Prandley is known for his varied formations, but the style of play around Toney in the middle, supplemented by wide support, will not change. He controls the ball in front of him, makes the ball, and waits for the midfielder to press and pass the attack; In attack, it was Mutu and Pachini on the wings who assisted Toney, who was often able to contain the opposing two defenders, scoring goals himself and creating openings for his teammates on the perimeter. In addition, left-back Pasquier is an "invisible attacker", he is excellent in degree, dribbling, defending, and has a first-class cross. However, Liverpool is not afraid of tall forwards, even Chelsea's monster Drogba is difficult to break through Liverpool's defense, and Toni can only look at Liverpool's goal and sigh. In the midfield competition, Fiorentina's Liverani is excellent, Santana is good at crossing, Donadale has both offense and defense, Fiorentina's lineup currently has two defects, one is that the midfield hardness is not enough, the other is the lack of impact and long-range shooting ability, and Liverpool's three backs can attack and defend well, full of impact, in comparison, Fiorentina is a grade worse. In the position of goalkeeper and backline, Frei and Reina are not far behind, and on the back line, Aag and Carragher are obviously more dominant than Kroldrup and Gambellini, the comparison of the three lines, Liverpool is stronger than Fiorentina, coupled with Chen Yu's terrifying goal efficiency, even at home, Fiorentina has little hope of winning, unless Chen Yu faces the old master will be merciful. β
Although the "Daily Mail" believes that Liverpool's promotion is bright, but it warned Liverpool not to be careless, "Although Fiorentina played magically last season and became the double champion of Serie A and the Champions League, but their core Chen Yu came to Liverpool, and now the strength is incomparable with Liverpool, and the state is far less than Liverpool, but Liverpool can't be careless, after all, Fiorentina knows Chen Yu too well, if Chen Yu is seen to death, or is not in good shape, it is not so easy for Liverpool to qualify." β
"The Guardian" said: "The biggest attraction of this game is not who will win the game, but Chen Yu facing his old club, Chen Yu has become the best player in the world, what kind of swing he will face in the face of his old master, how Fiorentina fans will treat him, this is something that fans all over the world are very concerned about, however, as a professional player, Chen Yu will definitely not be emotional, but with Chen Yu's character, he will not kill on the court with his four years of combat effectiveness, It is estimated that Liverpool will draw or win away from home in the first leg. β
In the face of unanimous optimism from the outside world, Liverpool's head coach Benitez was a little flattered, after all, the opponent was the defending champion, and he gave his players a precautionary shot before the game: "Don't take the reporter's words too seriously, no opponent is easy to play, Eindhoven didn't eliminate Arsenal, Valencia didn't beat Inter Milan who were unbeaten in 3o games, our opponent was the last Champions League champion, but the media regarded them as a second-rate team, even if Chen Yu was great, but you can't belittle Fiorentina so much, We have to be cautious and give it our all away so that we can get a good result. β
Chen Yu was also disturbed by the media's low opinion of Fiorentina before the game, "I believe that the reporters who said that Liverpool could easily beat Fiorentina have not seriously watched Fiorentina's game, they are by no means a team that can be beaten lightly, Coach Prandelli is very good, even if it is an ordinary team, he can also build a strong team, and the Italians' defensive awareness is infiltrated into the blood, even if you are stronger than them, you may not be able to beat them, If you look at last year's World Cup, you can see how terrible the Italian team were, and I think it's going to be a tough battle at the Frankie Stadium, with a win, a draw or a loss. β
After winning the Double last season, Fiorentina is back to the top of 40 years ago, and it has also galvanized the hearts of players and fans, who see themselves as the same giants as Milan, and now the media has stimulated the morale of Fiorentina generals and fans.
Prandley said before the game: "Liverpool is stronger than us, but we also have a chance, we have played against strong teams many times in recent seasons, we have accumulated a lot of experience, we know how to deal with them, home and away is a bit of a disadvantage, but nothing is impossible, I believe we have at least 50 per cent hope of qualifying." β
Fiorentina's core Toni said: "I know the outside world is not optimistic about us, but you can only know who is better after playing, Liverpool have Chen Yu, which will cause great problems for our backline, but I believe we can prevent him." β
The core of the defense Gambellini is full of anticipation for the game, "It's not a good sign to draw Liverpool, but it's also an opportunity, we have been teammates with Chen Yu before, and now my teammates and I can finally compete with the best strikers in the world." β
The game is about to start, the media and the remarks of the two team coaches have also greatly aroused the feelings of fans on both sides, on the Internet, fans on both sides have also launched a fierce war of words, in reality, the tickets for this game have long been sold out, an ordinary seat on the black market has been fried to 5oo euros, after the match between Milan and Bayern, it can be seen that fans are looking forward to this big battle.
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