The three consecutive league championships are tantamount to a shot in the arm for Manchester City, which is about to embark on the Champions League.

With the league title in place, Manchester City will no longer need to be distracted by the league and can concentrate on preparing for European competition.

But their opponents Atletico Madrid were not so lucky!

La Liga's current championship situation is very complicated, after the 35th round of the league, the top two teams have exactly the same points, both with 82 points.

Third-placed Real Madrid also have 78 points, just four points behind the top team, and with three rounds of league games remaining, Real Madrid still have a theoretical chance of winning the title.

Although Atletico have the same number of points as Barcelona, they are second on goal difference and, to make matters worse, they have already been eliminated from the Champions League, which allows Barca to compete for the league title this season.

Atletico Madrid, who advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League, had to be distracted in the Champions League semi-finals, especially since they still had to face a super team like Manchester City.

Therefore, although the points of the two teams are the same, the outside world is more optimistic about Barcelona.

Although Atletico's opponents in the last three rounds of the league are not strong, there is a great hope of winning three in a row.

But equally, Barcelona's opponents are also weak, and they are also likely to win three in a row.

With everyone on a three-game winning streak, Barcelona have a goal difference of as much as 30 to ensure they lift the La Liga trophy this season.

Therefore, Atletico Madrid coach Simeone is actually very pessimistic about the fight for the league title this season.

If they want to fight back, the only hope lies in the premise that Barcelona makes mistakes themselves.

If Barcelona don't make mistakes and win the last three games safely, then they won't have a chance.

In this case, Atletico Madrid can only take one step at a time, and play the Champions League game well while taking care of the league.

The last time they lost in the final, this time they made a comeback, and they can't let it happen again!

So, after playing in the league, Atletico Madrid rushed to Manchester non-stop to prepare for the upcoming first semi-final.

Manchester City and Atletico Madrid played a day earlier than the other half, so the game had even started before it received unprecedented attention from the outside world.

The number of fans on the streets of Manchester City began to increase, including Manchester City fans from all over the world, as well as some Atletico Madrid fans who traveled with the team.

Football hooligans in England are famous, with so many fans coming together, and it's not uncommon to get into fights and the like.

Even with it, the security in Manchester has dropped a lot, although it was not good in the first place.

Pep Guardiola has taken Atletico Madrid very seriously, and he has made a rare closed training session, without fans and journalists watching from outside the training ground.

This approach has aroused the curiosity of the outside world, is Guardiola holding back a big move for the semi-finals?

Atletico Madrid coach Simeone is also curious, but he is not idle, Atletico Madrid is also preparing a surprise move for Manchester City.

At the press conference before the game, when reporters asked Guardiola about the preparations he had made for Atletico Madrid, Guardiola said with a mysterious smile:

"Believe me, this will be a surprise, but I can't tell you just yet, otherwise I will lose the fun of being a surprise!"

The more Pep Guardiola sells, the more curious the outside world becomes.

Guardiola's penchant for playing in competitions and even finals has long been well known to the outside world, so everyone is speculating whether Guardiola has any new tricks this time?

"I'm betting five cents, and Guardiola will definitely live!"

"I guess it's the full-back? Three central defenders, or something else? ”

"No one knows what Pep Guardiola wants to do until he plays his cards, so let's be patient!"

Pep Guardiola's words at the press conference, as well as the vigorous discussion from the outside world, caused Simeone to be wary.

He was a little worried, did Guardiola, a master tactician, really find a tactic to break Atletico Madrid's defensive system, or did he think of something very strange and novel that he had never thought of?

Defensively, Simeone is confident that he is not inferior to anyone, but when it comes to offensive and tactical innovation, he does not have that confidence.

A geek like Pep Guardiola is the best at this.

However, he is full of confidence in the Atletico team under his command, and in recent years, under his tutelage, Atletico Madrid's strength has steadily improved.

In La Liga, after being tested by two super teams, Barcelona and Real Madrid, he has become confident that his team can defend against any team's attack, even against Manchester City.

The only thing to be wary of is probably the other party's number ten.

After all, how to limit Lin Quan is a headache for the entire football world.

……

The time finally came on April 27, and a large number of fans began to converge on the Etihad Stadium.

The players of the two teams also took the buses of their respective teams and drove towards the stadium.

Manchester City's blue buses were warmly welcomed by the fans as they crossed the streets.

Crowds of fans chased the buses, chanting the names of the players and cheering them on.

On the bus, some of the Manchester City players could not resist the enthusiasm of the fans on the street and waved to the fans.

Others closed their eyes, as if they were closing their eyes to prepare for the upcoming match.

As for Manchester City's captain Lin Quan, he sat next to manager Pep Guardiola and discussed something with him.

"Are you sure you want to do this? If something happens in the first half, your plan could go bankrupt early! ”

Guardiola nodded heavily: "It's confirmed, just do it, since you already know the opponent's weakness, you must take advantage of this opportunity to catch the opponent's weakness!" ”

"Well, since you said so, then I'll go crazy with you once!"

Lin Quan is a little helpless, Guardiola, every time he has an important game, he must live, as if he has an uncomfortable disease.

However, there is some truth in what he said, and Guardiola's new tactics, although there are considerable risks, are indeed feasible.

And this has the advantage of not giving the opponent too many chances, as long as there are no big changes, such as red cards, injuries and other big events, it will be very difficult for Atletico Madrid to break through Manchester City's goal in this game.

The Manchester City players were about to get off the bus as they arrived at the stadium.

Coincidentally, Atletico's bus also arrived.

As a result, the players of the two teams couldn't help but be attracted to each other, and when they met each other's eyes, a spark seemed to flicker in the air.

Lin Quan didn't go to see anyone from Atletico Madrid, but he felt that someone was staring at him, so he glanced back, and what caught his eye was a young player who was about 1.75 meters tall and wearing Atletico Madrid's No. 7 jersey.

The moment he saw the other party, Lin Quan recognized the identity of the other party - Atletico Madrid's winger Griezmann!

Griezmann's eyes as he looked at Lin Quan were full of respect and a hint of eager to fight!

Lin Quan nodded slightly at him and withdrew his gaze.

Antoine Griezmann has made a name for himself in La Liga in the past two seasons and is a rising young star in La Liga.

Not only was he heavily used by Simeone, playing a central role in the Atletico Madrid team, but he also began to be reused by Didier Deschamps in the national team.

In the future, he will even be the core of the French team, leading the French team to the 2018 World Cup in Russia along with Kante and others.

In terms of strength, Griezmann is strong and has high potential for the future.

Unfortunately, City won't give him much room to play in this game, and it will be extremely difficult for him and his team-mates to take a win at the Etihad Stadium!

It's better to be famous than to meet, Griezmann still admires Lin Quan, but he finally saw each other until today.

Although the other party's age is 4 years younger than himself, he doesn't dare to despise the other party at all.

Lin Quan's prestige has already been broken out with two Champions Leagues and one World Cup.

Nowadays, in the entire football world, there are very few people who can match him, let alone catch up with him?

Griezmann has a clear understanding of his own strength, he doesn't think that he can surpass the other party, on the contrary, he has always regarded Lin Quan as his own learning and reference object, and draws nutrients from the other party to improve himself!

This trick was learned from Benzema, the big brother of the national team!

It is said that Benzema brother has learned Lin Quan's shooting method since the goal has been significantly improved, in the past two years, the title of Benzema has gradually been mentioned again, when it comes to Benzema, everyone will think of the BBC combination in the Real Madrid team.

And being able to be tied with a supergiant of Ronaldo's level shows the recognition of him by the outside world.

……

"CCTV, CCTV!"

"Dear viewers, this is the first leg of the 2015-2016 Champions League semi-final between Manchester City and Atletico Madrid that is being broadcast live for you."

"I'm the narrator Xu Yang!"

"I'm Duan Xuan!"

"First of all, let's introduce the starting line-ups of both sides......"

In the studio of CCTV, after introducing the starting lineups of the two teams.

Xu Yang opened his mouth and asked, "Duan Xuan, who are you more optimistic about in today's game?" ”

Duan Xuan replied with a smile: "I think both teams have a chance, Manchester City's offensive strength is strong, and with the blessing of the home team, they should be able to exert their strength on the offensive end, and Atletico Madrid's defensive counterattack ability is good, once they seize the opportunity, they may also create goals, in short, who can win, it depends on who plays better." ”

Duan Xuan's answer is not leaky, no one can be offended, and people can't find fault with it.

However, such correct nonsense has caused fans to complain:

"Listening to your words is like listening to your words!"

"Good fellow, you put this and this!"

"Although it's nonsense that everyone knows, it's not wrong, this game can be called the strongest spear against the strongest shield!"

"But I still think Manchester City has a better chance of winning, after all, Manchester City is star-studded, and there are supergiants like Lin Huang in the team, and Atletico Madrid's squad has a lot of star-studded flavor, although there are also stars such as Torres and Griezmann, but it is still not comparable to Manchester City!"

"Indeed, in terms of the value of the two teams, Manchester City is worth more than 700 million euros, which is at least more than double that of Atletico Madrid!"

"Hehe, I think the Emperor of Light alone may surpass the entire Atletico Madrid team, right?"

Because of Lin Quan, Manchester City has a large number of fans in China, far more than the Sheets Army.

However, Atletico Madrid is also a La Liga powerhouse after all, and they are only one Champions League title away from the giants.

What's more, compared with other teams that spend a lot of money, Atletico Madrid, a relatively down-to-earth civilian team, is more likely to win the favor of fans.

Therefore, Atletico also has a large audience in the country.

At this time, seeing the smug look of Manchester City fans, these Atletico Madrid fans immediately ridiculed each other:

"It's useless to be worth a lot, has Real Madrid lost fewer games over the years? If you really judge heroes according to their value, then you don't need to kick it, just award the award to Barcelona and Real Madrid! ”

"That is, in the past few seasons, the giants who have lost under Atletico Madrid have grabbed a lot of them, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, which one is not worth more than Atletico Madrid, and it is not a mistake to meet Atletico Madrid?"

Since Simeone took charge of Atletico, Atletico have been a killer.

There are many giants who have lost under them, and they have beaten almost all of the giants in the five major leagues.

Such a brilliant record has given Atletico Madrid fans enough confidence to not be afraid of Manchester City's prestige.

"It's still a bit useful to be worth a lot, otherwise, the last time it was not Manchester City but Atletico Madrid who won the cup at the Stadium of Light!"

In the face of the counterattack of Atletico Madrid fans, Manchester City fans were not ambiguous, and directly put the record of the only meeting between the two teams, and mercilessly poked the lungs of Atletico Madrid fans.

As soon as this example came out, Atletico Madrid fans immediately stopped talking.

It's not that I'm convinced, but I'm speechless in anger.

Atletico have yet to win the Champions League, with the closest they have come to winning the Champions League was in the 2013-2014 season.

They reached the final on that occasion, but unfortunately they were beaten by Manchester City in the final and missed out on the Big Ears Cup.

At that time, most of the players in the Manchester City team that defeated them were still in Manchester City, which made Atletico Madrid a little jealous.

They had personally experienced the strength of each other on the pitch back then, and they knew better than anyone what the strength of Manchester City's stars was.

The fan quarrel had no effect on the situation of the game, and the players who were warming up on the pitch clearly did not hear their quarrels.

During the pre-match warm-up, Simeone noticed that there seemed to be a lot of midfielders in the opponent's squad.

Manchester City's four central midfielders have all been placed in the 18-man squad this time, and it goes without saying that the classic combination of N'Golo Kante and Kroos is not to mention.

It's not surprising that Fernandinho, a frequent actor, is in the squad, but Fernando, who hasn't played for Manchester City for a long time, is also in the squad.

This left Simone confused!

What is Pep Guardiola doing?

With so many troops hoarded in the midfield and backfield, could it be that they are planning to fight us hand-to-hand?

Or is he going to play with a back three?

(End of chapter)