Malaga arrived in Barcelona three days before the race.

They were hospitably entertained by Barcelona's arch-rivals, RCD Espanyol.

To be honest, the relationship between RCD Espanyol and Malaga is not good.

But the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

The last thing you want to see Barcelona advance to the final is.

Except for the party Málaga.

I'm afraid it's Real Madrid and Espanyol.

After all, it is a mortal enemy.

This Champions League match between Malaga and Barcelona was played on April 25.

The other game, Bayern Munich's home match against Real Madrid, was played on April 26.

So in fact, before the game, the question of what schedule Real Madrid operated was really just "I don't take advantage of it, I suffer".

Malaga played the match against Real Madrid and only had three days off.

One day less than both Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Before the game, some media pointed out that this may be the root cause of Malaga's elimination.

Compared to Malaga's two consecutive tough battles.

Barcelona's opponent in the 33rd round of the league is Racing Santander, which has run out of desire this season.

So they have a big rotation in this round of the league.

This will ensure that they have the fitness of all the players to cope with the second leg of the semi-finals.

Barcelona are at home and ready to work.

Málaga's side is a series of fierce battles, and there is no room for rotation at all.

In the pre-match preview.

The media in various countries think.

Barcelona, who are at home to the next level, have a better chance of qualifying, and of course, it will also be a test for Malaga.

They have now survived the first hurdle – beating Real Madrid.

If they can knock Barcelona out of the Champions League final.

That's a huge morale boost for Malaga, and it's also quite good for them in the league.

After all, for Malaga.

They still have a crucial battle ahead of them and Barcelona: a direct meeting between the two sides in the 37th round of the league.

This game is the one that may directly determine the championship!!

Of course.

Before that.

Neither side has yet to focus on that game.

For Manuel Pellegrini.

There is no giving up in the Champions League semi-finals, and he must send his strongest squad to try to knock out his opponents.

But let's be honest.

For every manager, how to beat Barcelona is a head-scratching question.

The first leg between the two sides, in fact, Malaga is quite dangerous, if it is not for Yelo's breakthrough that caused Mascherano to be sent off for a foul, then the outcome of this game is really unpredictable.

Now the information about the adversary is also true and false.

The first thing that is certain is that Mascherano will definitely not be available.

And before the big war, there were Catalan media reports.

Xavi was injured in training and could miss the game, while the other player suspected to be injured was Puyol, who was substituted midway through the league and limped out of the pitch, and it is not known if it was a smoke bomb from Barcelona.

As for the Malaga side.

Isco will definitely not be able to play – he will have at least two weeks to rest.

Luckily, the rest of the players didn't have much of a problem.

So for Pellegrini.

Of course, he hopes that neither Xavi nor Puyol will be available for this game.

Although Barcelona have Cesc Fabregas in midfield to replace Xavi, there are also Fontas and Abidal in the back line who can play as central defenders.

But Cesc Fabregas clearly cannot fully replace Xavi's role.

Neither Fontas nor Abidal can match Puyol or Mascherano at centre-back.

So if Xavi and Puyol are really injured, it's really good news for Malaga.

However, Pellegrini could not guarantee that this was not a smoke bomb from Barcelona.

Therefore, he still has to be prepared that Barcelona is the whole main force can play.

In the case of Isco's injury.

Manuel Pellegrini decided to play a solid counter-attack at Camp Nou.

After all, now the aggregate score is 2-1, and it is Barcelona who are behind, and they should be anxious.

Leave Ye Luo alone in the front court, and then garrison the backcourt, and look for Ye Luo if there is a ball.

Give full play to Ye Luo's personal abilities!

Anyway, whether it is a high-altitude ball or a ground ball, Ye Luo can be used as a very reliable front-court ball holding point and offensive point, he can be a bridgehead, a battering ram, and a sharp blade!

As a result, as long as they don't concede a goal in the first half, Málaga's chances of progressing to the final will be greatly increased.

Therefore.

In the past few days, Malaga has been training mainly on defense, and the attack is mainly practicing some counterattack routines - in this game, Malaga has to deploy troops in the midfield, so Vanny van Nistelrooy and Baptista are sitting on the bench, and the counterattack will be pushed by Yelo and Joaquín and Cazorla.

On the afternoon of April 25, the entire Malaga team boarded the bus and headed to the Camp Nou.

At this moment.

The atmosphere of the Champions League semi-finals is already very strong.

The flags of the Champions League and both teams were hung on the lamp poles on both sides of the road leading to the stadium.

Everywhere on the road, Barcelona fans wearing red and blue jerseys came from all over the place, converging into a huge flow of people.

Many of them are organized fan groups.

These are the main forces that create the atmosphere on the pitch.

They sang songs in unison and walked towards the court together.

Seeing these crowds, a player on the bus said: "Now I guess the whole of Barcelona is our enemy."

Yelo said: "Our opponents are just Barcelona players on the pitch, and they can only make some noise at most. ”

"I don't believe they can rush down from the stands and help the Barcelona players kick the ball into the goal"

The players laughed.

The tension became a little more lively.

But when the players actually came to Camp Nou.

They know.

It wasn't a lot of noise, and the horror of more than 90,000 fans shook the stadium, and many players felt their chests shake.

This kind of pressure is not something that ordinary people can bear.

But for the players in Malaga.

The temptation to reach the Champions League final is just too great, too great!

Yes, we're just a small team!

But we . Huge dreams too!

And who prescribes.

Winning the Champions League, which giants only belong to?

Princes and generals, would you rather have a kind?

Barcelona are certainly ready to press aggressively at home.

And Malaga's defensive counterattack was actually expected by Guardiola.

He didn't dare to expect Malaga to press out and take on Barcelona in this stadium.

Because Málaga's defense is actually not very good, they lined up a 451 formation in this game, and when the starting list came out, Guardiola knew Málaga's strategy for this game.

So far this season, there is no secret for either side.

Manuel Pellegrini also knew before the game, with Xavi and Puyol both starting – and sure enough, the alleged injuries were nothing more than smoke screens.

After the start of the game, Barcelona's side did not attack too fiercely, because everyone knows how strong Yelo's individual ability is, and once he gets the opportunity to score a goal, then Barcelona will be really in trouble.

So in the first half, Barcelona were not in a hurry, they only needed one goal anyway to eliminate Malaga by away goals.

Now the two teams have their own fears, and they are competing with each other to be patient.

Málaga's side were not fooled by Barcelona's seduction at the back, and they were also very calm.

Isn't it just patience?

If the situation of the game does not change, it will be Barcelona who is in a hurry!

In fact, this is the kind of situation that Pellegrini wants to see.

Because in such a calm situation, the team's defensive pressure is small, and the possibility of conceding goals is also small.

He was okay with being 0-0 – and if the first half had ended 0-0, it would have been good for Malaga.

So.

In the first half, both sides broke the tacit understanding and did not attack aggressively, and the two teams played a first half that made many fans sleepy.

'In the first half, both sides suppressed their desire to attack, and maybe that had something to do with the importance of the game, both sides played conservatively, which made the first half very dull. After all, it's a game about who can reach the Champions League final, and neither side wants to open their hole cards first, which is understandable, but it's a little unfriendly to the fans of the Dragon Kingdom who got up in the middle of the night to watch the game, and to be honest, I was a little sleepy to watch this game. ”

Duan Xuan complained when the whistle blew at the end of the first half.

In the press gallery.

Quite a few reporters even yawned.

"It's boring."

'Barcelona shouldn't have been like that, they wasted time in the first half, they were the side behind.

"Indeed"

As a matter of fact.

Pep Guardiola also sensed that the Malaga game was really about killing time with Barcelona.

Now there are only 45 minutes left in the game, and in the second half, Barcelona have not much to retreat from, they have to attack.

Manuel Pellegrini was well aware of this, so he stressed to his players at half-time that they should pay attention to Barcelona's attacking play in the second half.

'Forty-five minutes left, boys, you played well in the first half, we didn't concede a goal, so the initiative is still on our side, but the second half was not so easy, in the second half they will definitely attack, our defence will be under a lot more pressure than in the first half!'

Pellegrini's face was solemn.

This made the players in Malaga look very serious.

Everyone knows the magnitude of the problem.

Before everyone was about to return to the pitch, Yelo, as the captain, stood up and said: "Brothers, Barcelona think that it only takes one goal to kill us!" But don't forget, we only need one goal to make them fall into the abyss!! Remember, we only need a ball too! It only takes one ball to break them! ”

Yelo's words boosted the confidence of the players in Málaga again.

Yes.

All it takes is a ball!

Whether it's Barcelona.

Or Malaga.

(End of chapter)