Chapter 222: Unanimous
After the draw for the quarterfinals came out, there were many more Chinese reporters outside the Paris Saint-Germain training base, and He Ying was surrounded by Chinese compatriots as soon as he finished training.
Everyone wants to hear what he thinks about the results of this draw.
"No matter who we meet, we're going to go all out and win. He Ying's answer was very standardized.
A reporter asked what special thoughts he would have for a showdown with Zhou Yi, and He Ying replied: "This is the first time I have met him in a match, right? ”
Another reporter asked: "For Paris Saint-Germain, is it good news that they were drawn with Dortmund at this time?"
He Ying didn't understand the logic of this question, and he showed a puzzled expression.
'Borussia Dortmund haven't been in a good season because they have a number of players injured in the squad and they should be given a look at their quality first. So Paris Saint-Germain meets Borussia Dortmund at this time, does it have a chance to reach the semi-finals?" explained the journalist.
He Ying figured out the logic behind this, and looking at the reporter's chattering explanation, he thought of what Zhou Yi said in the group last night.
"What if we win another double?"
At that time, as soon as Zhou Yi's words came out, a topic ended, and everyone turned to Hei Guo to be angry.
Zhou Yi did not continue to speak on this topic.
I don't know if he's joking, or if he's serious.
But this sentence was firmly imprinted in He Ying's mind. At this time, it jumped out again.
He shook his head and said to the reporter who asked him: "I don't think so, and I don't think my teammates will think so." We were playing against the defending champions and it wasn't easy to play against. All we can do is give it our all to win. ”
Yan Min's answer made reporters think that he was just unwilling to express his true thoughts in public, perhaps in order to give his good friend a little face, so he would not say it so desperately. After all, He Ying is not a big mouth like Sun Pan.
No one knew what He Ying really thought in his heart.
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The draw for the Champions League quarter-finals is out, but the first quarter-final will not start until the evening of April 1.
Before that, there are three more rounds of the league.
Because of the World Cup this summer, the league schedule must be compressed, otherwise when the season ends normally, the national team will have no time to train.
In addition to the league, there are also Champions League matches, which leads to a very dense schedule for the team.
Take, for example, the next three games.
The 26th round of the Bundesliga will start on the night of March 21 and will be played until the night of March 23.
The first match of the 27th round started on the evening of 25 March, just one day after the end of the previous round of the league. The last match of the 27th round of the league was on the evening of March 26.
The first game of the 28th round of the league kicks off on the evening of March 28, two days after the previous round of the league. The last match was on the afternoon of March 30.
Then on the evening of April 1, Bayern Munich will travel to Manchester United to take on Manchester United. On the evening of April 2, Borussia Dortmund played Paris Saint-Germain away.
The schedule is so dense that it can no longer be described as "two games a week", but "three games a week".
In these three league rounds, Dortmund picked Hannover 96 away, Schalke 04 at home, and Stuttgart away.
Bayern Munich will play Mainz away, Hertha Berlin away and Hoffenheim at home.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Dortmund's opponents are stronger than Bayern Munich's, especially with a Ruhr derby in between.
It was a crucial game.
Schalke 04 are now desperate for a top-four finish in the league and a win over Borussia Dortmund away from home would be a strong reinforcement for their league standings.
On the other hand, if Dortmund make a slight mistake at home and lose to Schalke 04, they will basically lose hope of competing for the league title.
Therefore, some media said that the next week is a very critical week for Dortmund, and there is no room for error.
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In the twenty-sixth round of the league, the matches between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich started at the same time.
The media joked before the game that the timing was a coincidence, of course, but after the last round of the league, Pep Guardiola can rest assured that his players will not be in the centre of their own game by watching the opponent's game in the dressing room.
Hannover 96 have suspensions and injured players missing on their side. On the Dortmund side, in addition to the players who were on the injury list before, there are no new sick numbers, so their squad can be regarded as the strongest in recent times.
Borussia Dortmund have now been without any new injuries for several games. I wonder if this means that their luck is starting to improve......
Despite playing away from home, Dortmund did not play conservatively and were attacking from the very beginning of the game.
Less than two minutes into the game, central defender Papastathopoulos made a long diagonal pass to the left side of the front field in the backfield, Yan Min received the ball and dribbled into the penalty area, and then fired a low shot from a tight angle, and the ball was saved by Hannover 96's goalkeeper Ziller.
And Hannover 96, the home stadium, is naturally not willing to be dominated by the opponent in its home stadium.
After 25 rounds of league matches, Hannover 96 accumulated 29 points and ranked 11th in the league, which is a midstream ranking, but the season is not over, so it does not mean that Hannover 96 can finally get such a desireless ranking.
They are only seven points ahead of third-from-bottom Freiburg and with nine league games remaining, which is definitely not a safe margin of points.
In order to be able to successfully relegate, from now on, one point counts as one point, and of course we must strive to get them all.
Playing Dortmund at home, they still have a home advantage.
In the face of Dortmund's aggressive attack after the opening, Hannover 96 opted for a defensive counterattack, which was obviously well prepared, and their counter-attack was very efficient.
In the twelfth minute, Hannover 96 broke the ball and counterattacked, Stindl crossed from the right and fired a right-footed shot from almost 14 meters in the center of the Bidangu penalty area, but the ball deflected off the left post.
Two minutes later, Hannover 96 won a free-kick in front. Justi crossed a free-kick from the left, and Mark, who had retreated to the box, nodded the ball behind him, but there was a mistake and he didn't hit the ball!
"Mark on the top!"
The ball flew over his head and behind him, Hannover 96 defender Andre Hoffmann stopped the ball with his chest and fired a right-footed volley from twelve meters from the goal!
At that time, whether it was Dortmund's defender or goalkeeper Weidenfeller, there was almost nothing to do in the face of this close shot.
But Andre Hoffman's volley hit the near post!
"Ahh "Andre Hoffmann! He almost opened the scoring! But the post at the HDI Arena in Hannover ruthlessly denied his shot! At this moment, the fans of Hannover 96 must be wondering whose home stadium this is!"
Marcel Leif is of course joking, the reality is that this is the home of Hannover 96, the first threatening shot of the game came from Hannover 96, and at present, Hannover 96 also leads Dortmund 2:1 in the number of shots on goal.
Although Dortmund's attack looked more aggressive, possession also prevailed.
But the more threatening offensive was made by Hanover 96.
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Coincidentally, on the other side, Bayern Munich, who are away to Mainz, are also in a bit of trouble.
Pep Guardiola has made some changes to his starting line-up in anti-Champions League knockout tie next week, with Gotze and Robert Lewandowski both on the bench.
And the Mainz side does not have to think about the problem of two-front operations at all. They are currently fifth in the league after a good season, with a strong chance of qualifying for next season's Champions League.
Therefore, before the game, Mainz coach Tuchel shouted "send Bayern Munich to the first defeat": "We are full of courage, it looks like Bayern Munich is unbeatable, we and our opponents are not at the same level. But we couldn't have a better chance of beating Bayern Munich, and if it wasn't this weekend, I don't know when! I'm confident in my players and we'll do everything we can to beat them! We want to beat Bayern Munich!"
After the start of the game, Mainz, who was playing at home, was not afraid of the powerful Bayern Munich, but bravely fought against Bayern Munich. In just eight minutes of the opening period, Mainz had a stunner of several turns. South Korea's Koo Ji-cheol had a good chance to play a one-on-one shot from an offside position on the left, but he opted to cross the bottom instead of breaking through, and the ball was cleared by Bayern Munich defender Boateng in front of the Mainz striker.
In the twelfth minute, Mainz had another chance. Nikola Muller launched a quick counter-attack down the right and his shot from the edge of the ball was cleared away by Neuer after he shook off Alaba.
Compared with Mainz, in these 20 minutes, Bayern Munich's performance seemed very ordinary, and there were no bright spots. It even gives the impression that they are being suppressed by Mainz......
The two teams competing for the title were both held back by their opponents at the same time, and it is not known if it is the impact of the Champions League in the middle of next week......
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In the HDI Arena in Hannover, the game between the two sides is still going on in a situation of attacking and defending each other, and the scene is very close, and everyone has a chance.
In the 24th minute, after receiving a throw-in from Schmelzer on the left side, Yan Min used a beautiful turn to get rid of Hannover 96 defender Andre Hoffmann, who was defending him, and then broke through directly into the penalty area!
"Yan Min is here again! He is very active in this game!"
In the shouts of Marcel Leif, Yan Min, who entered the penalty area, pushed from a small angle, and the football was blocked by Ziler again.
"It's the last corner...... A little bit under-considered, would it have been better if it had been crossed?' Marcel Leif analysed.
A few minutes later, Hannover 96 also had a good chance - Justi picked up a cross from the right rib and Stindl took the ball and took it to the edge of the box with a right-footed volley!
The ball is saved by Weidenfeller at the near post.
"It's so dangerous! Hannover 96 almost scored! Now it seems that although the two sides are attacking and defending each other, it is still Hannover 96's attack that is more threatening! If you continue to play like this, it will be Hannover 96 who will score first...... "Marcel Leif said.
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On Mainz's side, in the 23rd minute, Mainz's Moritz came with a lob shot, but the ball only went slightly over the crossbar.
It scared the fans of Bayern Munich a lot, and also made the atmosphere at Mainz's home stadium more and more enthusiastic.
It was only in the 30th minute that Bayern Munich finally launched a dangerous attack, Robben and Thomas Muller combined to break into the box, but his shot was blocked.
Then, Mainz's overhead cross went past the entire Bayern Munich backline, and Neuer had to rush out of the box again to destroy the ball with his feet.
Although Mainz's attack did not result in a shot on goal, the Mainz fans in the stands still erupted in huge cheers, cheering for their team's every attack and every attempt, which in itself can put pressure on the Bayern Munich players.
Tuchel had said before the game that he had been studying the footage of Bayern Munich and had prepared three targeted tactics to take on Bayern Munich...... Judging by the 20-odd minutes of the game, Tuchel is not bragging, he really did......" said the commentator of the game.
'Tuchel's tactics were very good in this game. They took advantage of their home advantage to play against Bayern Munich, and I bet it will surprise Pep Guardiola, who would never have imagined a team that would dare to play against Bayern Munich...... But Mainz did, and their quick counter-attacks were very sharp, with Shinji Okazaki, Choupo-Moting, and Nicola Muller all using their speed to create anti-offside opportunities, and they were successful after hitting many times, which forced Neuer to often abandon the goal and clear the ball - although Neuer is quite good at it, it also made him a little embarrassed......"
"Of course, on the other hand, it was fortunate that Bayern Munich was guarded by Manuel Neuer, who has always had a lot of range, and if it were a goalkeeper who didn't like to rush out of the box, Mainz might have taken the lead by now......"
The two games kicking off at the same time seemed to go into the same rhythm – both teams playing at home had the upper hand, while both title contenders were in trouble.
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