Chelsea's consistent league wins have certainly put City under pressure.

But even with a shorter break after the knockout stages of the Champions League, Manchester City were on the heels of Chelsea in a strong win over West Bromwich Albion in the 33rd round of the Premier League.

With one game in hand, Manchester City are still level on points with Chelsea, but they are second in the Premier League on goal difference.

They still have a good chance of winning the league.

In the next round of the Premier League, Manchester City will travel to Chelsea in what is the second direct meeting between Manchester City and Chelsea this season.

Win, Manchester City can take the initiative back into their own hands, and then sit and watch the make-up match between Chelsea and Arsenal.

But if it fails again, City's efforts this season will be largely in vain.

With a game in hand, they are three points behind Chelsea and there are only four games left in the league.

In such circumstances, even the most optimistic Manchester City fans may not be able to imagine how they can overturn Chelsea's dominance of the Premier League.

So the next round of the league is almost the end of the season for Manchester City.

Win or break in one move, win against Chelsea they have one last chance to redeem, lose the game, then they will lose everything!

For Chelsea, their margin for error is much higher than that of Manchester City.

You don't even have to fight Manchester City in the next round of the league.

They just need to consolidate their defence to get a draw and then wait for the replay to take on an easier Arsenal side and take all three points.

It would be somewhat disrespectful to Arsenal to say that, but it is true, and Chelsea's chances of winning against Arsenal are simply not too high.

Even if the replay is played at the Emirates Stadium, there will not be much pressure on the whole Chelsea team.

Mentally, Chelsea's main players are certainly more relaxed than Manchester City's main players right now.

However, regardless of the views and visions of the players of both teams for the next round of the Premier League, their main focus now must be put back into the Champions League.

After the 33rd round of the Premier League, the Champions League quickly rekindled.

Chelsea, who had previously made their debut on stage, will be playing later, with Manchester City taking the lead in a do-or-die battle with Real Madrid in the second leg of their quarter-knockout tie on the evening of April 13.

They will be joined by Juventus and Benfica in the final match.

In the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, Chelsea won 2-0 away at Bayern, Barcelona won 0-0 at home to Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid drew 2-2 at home with Manchester City, and Juventus beat Benfica 3-0 away.

Overall, only Chelsea and Juventus were the first to qualify in this knockout round.

Barcelona's failure to beat Atletico at home was a bit of a disadvantage, and Atletico, like Chelsea, have never lost at home this season.

Real Madrid were similar, failing to win at home to Manchester City and having been robbed of two away goals, and they were in a bad situation in the second leg.

However, the pre-match public opinion environment was just a matter of the media seeing the wind and steering the rudder, Barcelona and Real Madrid failed to win the first leg, but they didn't lose anyway.

It's hard to say what the final result of the two-legged knockout will be.

Leon told his team-mates before the game that he was more optimistic about Real Madrid advancing tonight.

It's not that he blindly believes in his old club or doesn't like Manchester City.

As far as the facts are concerned, in the Champions League, especially in the quarter-finals, experience is more important than the strength of the team.

Manchester City have been strong this season and their transformation has been witnessed by many fans.

However, they have never reached the last four of the Champions League since they came together, and they face Real Madrid, the champions of the Champions League who have defended their Champions League title in previous seasons.

Even if Real Madrid have not been able to win the Champions League in recent seasons, they have too much experience in reaching the last four of the Champions League.

It can be said that this group of Real Madrid players has encountered everything in the Champions League knockout round.

In contrast, there are still too few players in the Manchester City squad with this experience.

When it comes to the battle of life and death, not to mention other aspects, the mentality of the whole Real Madrid team is definitely more calm.

If Manchester City have reached the last four of the Champions League in the first two seasons, then now neutral fans will have more confidence in them.

It's a pity they didn't do it.

Chelsea's success in the Champions League last year looked great, but they also suffered a semi-final defeat last season.

After reaching the semi-finals, having the experience of playing life-and-death battles with the top teams in Europe, and trying to overcome the pain of falling in the final stage, it can be regarded as laying a solid foundation for reaching the Champions League.

So it's not that Leon looks down on Manchester City, but Manchester City is indeed far behind in this regard.

After the official start of the game that night, Manchester City, who were playing at home, quickly grasped the offensive initiative and launched a ferocious attack on Real Madrid, which was the first to defend obscenely.

Judging from the scene, Manchester City formed a strong pressure on Real Madrid at the beginning of the game, and many fans also expressed their optimism about Manchester City's promotion on the Internet.

But throughout the first half of the game, Real Madrid kept the central and defensive line compact and intact.

Manchester City played a lively attack, but never got a good start in the Real Madrid penalty area.

So it seems that Manchester City played better and more actively throughout the first half, but in Leon's view, this half-time draw has already revealed Manchester City's decline.

Real Madrid seemed to play passively, but the obscene tactics of the half showed Ancelotti's wisdom.

Playing away, first test Manchester City's offensive firepower, wear down the physical fitness of Manchester City's attacking players in the first half, and then make a final blow in the second half!

This style of play has also been used many times before when Mourinho was in charge of Real Madrid, first letting Ronaldo and Di Maria preserve physical energy in the first half to warm up, and then break out in the second half to harvest the game, the effect is simply not too good.

Now that Real Madrid is without Di Maria, the right side has been upgraded to Bale, who specializes in tough battles, and the counter-attacking effect in the second half will only be more prominent.

Leon was more optimistic about Real Madrid's performance in the second half, and that was indeed the case.

As soon as the second half of the game started, Real Madrid swept away the "decline" and fought for control of the game with Manchester City in the middle very decisively.

The Manchester City midfielders, who played more aggressively in the first half and consumed more physical energy, seemed to be a little weak at this time.

As the game progresses, Real Madrid's advantage in the midfield is getting bigger and bigger, and after having more balls, Ronaldo and Bale, who are counterattacking in front, naturally have more offensive opportunities.

At this time, Manchester City did not choose an appropriate shrinking formation to consolidate the defense first, but chose to continue to play against Real Madrid.

Pep Guardiola's tactical choices remained true to his tactical philosophy after all.

But the game doesn't lie, and Guardiola's choice has paid the price for his team.

In the 73rd minute of the second half of the game, Bale received Benzema's transfer ball and forcibly overtook on the side, and got rid of Kolarov, who was not fast in defense.

And this time, almost the entire defense line of Manchester City has been declared lost!

No one can stop the Welsh winger king who is racing wildly.

Bale calmly hit the bottom of a wide line, and his subsequent precise cross also allowed Ronaldo to deliver the fatal blow at the back of the Manchester City goal!

Otamendi looked at Ronaldo, who almost "took off" in his head, and the whole person was stupid!

Bravo's lack of long reach was also a fatal flaw at the moment, as he failed to save Cristiano Ronaldo's ball into the far corner of the Manchester City goal.

And this goal also plunged Manchester City into the abyss of panic!

Pep Guardiola began to deploy his troops, and he replaced attacking players one after another, but in the face of Real Madrid, who resolutely shrunk the formation, the dwindling game time at the moment has become a talisman for the whole Manchester City team.

Carlo Ancelotti used the most practical tactics to contain Manchester City's throat, and Real Madrid finally won the dawn of victory with a united defense!

1-0, a score that is not secure enough no matter how you look at it, but for Real Madrid, a one-goal lead at the moment is completely enough.

Manchester City fought desperately until the end, but until the referee blew the whistle for the end of the game, they could not successfully knock on Real Madrid's goal.

The more experienced Real Madrid had the last laugh in this life-and-death battle.

Cristiano Ronaldo also used his 13th Champions League goal of the season to successfully send Real Madrid to the last four of the Champions League.

Only the Manchester City fans, who wept at home, were saddened.

And before the game, the British media who kept boasting that Manchester City was about to kill Real Madrid and enter the semifinals of this season's Champions League were too late to be sad at this time.

They were very decisive in placing their so-called last hope on Chelsea, the only seed in the Premier League.

So much so that the other Champions League 1/4 knockout match that night did not make much of a splash on the English side.

Of course, the huge disparity between Juventus and Benfica is unlikely to interest the media and neutral fans.

Leon only glanced at the post-match news after watching the match between Real Madrid and Manchester City, and he didn't pay much attention after seeing Juventus' 2-0 win over Benfica in the second leg.

Juve's crisp two-legged victory was only well deserved, and who made them the only big package in this year's Champions League quarter-finals?

So far, two places have been confirmed for this season's Champions League semi-finals.

On the evening of April 14, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona all took the stage.

At home, Chelsea fielded an all-out starting line-up.

Bayern Munich will also face their final knockout round at Stamford Bridge.

The tone of the game was predestined from the start, with Chelsea in no hurry to attack with a two-goal lead.

With the advantage of sitting on the home field, Chelsea put on a posture of fighting to the death from the beginning of the game.

With no way out, Bayern also had no other choice but to put their last hope on attack.

So a brutal and fierce offensive and defensive battle started directly at Stamford Bridge.

Bayern tonight, like Manchester City last night, attacked with all their might from the beginning of the game, leaving no possibility for themselves to be conservative at all.

However, Chelsea are not just beaten defensively, they are just as sharp on the counter-attack, and they are always looking for the best opportunity to kill Bayern in defence.

This makes Bayern's attack look more and more like a double-edged sword.

The tactics that Mourinho laid out today are a dignified conspiracy, that is, to bully Bayern and can only go to the end on the offensive road.

The whole Bayern squad knew Chelsea were going to fight back, but did they have a solution?

It can't be helped.

The hole of being two goals down at home in the first leg was too big and Bayern had to score at least two goals at Stamford Bridge if they wanted to advance today.

Once that precondition has been fulfilled, they must not concede a goal in order to secure extra-time against Chelsea.

Under these conditions, Bayern's players don't have much pressure to play.

And the more anxious Bayern played, the more calm Chelsea's players naturally became.

Playing defensive and counter-attacking tactics is the least stressful thing for a Chelsea player right now.

In what they do best, there is no team in football that can hold them down.

Bayern had worked hard enough in attack, but the entire first half of Chelsea's triple defence strangled all of Bayern's attacking attempts outside the box!

Leon was very excited today, and he spared no expense in his physical sweep and run to help the Chelsea defenders take the pressure off their defence.

While this has resulted in him having few opportunities to play in attack, the role he plays in defence is something Mourinho would prefer to see.

And with the score still remaining 0-0 at the end of the half, there is less and less hope in the hearts of countless Bayern fans.

After the start of the second half, Chelsea's tactical approach finally changed slightly.

While the game was still on the counter-attack in general, Chelsea were more focused on the struggle for control of midfield in the second half.

To put it bluntly, Chelsea are about expanding their defence so that Bayern can focus more on competing with them in midfield.

Bayern is naturally unwilling, and really let Chelsea push the defense out, so aren't all their previous offensive efforts in vain?

One side wants to push the defense line outward, and the other side wants to push the offensive line inside, and neither side retreats, and the confrontation near the midfield can be described as extremely fierce for a while.

However, after the 60th minute of the second half, Chelsea adjusted their tactics again, gave up fighting with Bayern for control of the midfield, and decisively contracted the formation and began to crouch.

Bayern's players are not in the mood to think about why Chelsea are changing tactics in this way, they are just eager to recapture the lost line.

However, after they subconsciously pressed forward and focused more on attack, their defensive line in the midfield and back line became more and more porous.

In the 67th minute of the second half, Leon assisted Nemanja Matic to defend Thomas Muller.

Muller had no choice but to protect the ball and cross, but Kroos, who made the correct defensive prediction, stopped the ball one step ahead of Ribery!

After a little observation, Kroos went straight to Suarez, who had retreated from the front court to receive the ball.

Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne tacitly tacitly accelerated forward on both wings.

But Suarez didn't turn around and dribble the ball in a hurry at this time, but waited for a while with his back to protect the ball, and then knocked the ball back to Leang, who was inserted in front!

Suarez's passing choices are a complete indication of his high ball intelligence at this moment.

And just after the attention of a large number of Bayern defenders was attracted by Suarez's return pass, Li Ang, who received the ball, directly sent a long pass without stopping the ball!

The ball made a smooth trajectory in the air and landed precisely at the feet of De Bruyne, who was cutting forward.

Hazard also raised his arms high at the moment and slotted diagonally into the Bayern penalty area from the wing.

De Bruyne sent in a cross almost as soon as Hazard slashed in and out of position!

Boateng subconsciously followed Hazard and quickly retreated into the box, but he soon regretted it.

Because the cross sent by De Bruyne was not towards Hazard, but passed to the top of the Bayern penalty area with a slight twist against the turf!

De Bruyne deceived all the Bayern defenders at the moment with his pass.

And after Leon restrained the defensive attention of Javi Martinez, he also lowered the pace of continuing to step forward at this moment.

Because Suarez, who was faster than him in advance, had already taken the ball and burst into the Bayern penalty area at this time!

The Uruguayan striker adjusted his pace and was about to shoot, but Alaba bravely stepped up and made a block.

But in the next moment, Suarez landed on the ball and directly cleaned up Alaba!

The delicate technique of the South American striker is on full display in him at this moment.

Neuer went out of the way, and Suarez didn't panic at all, he had already aimed at the angle, and finally chose to push.

The ball clung to the turf and skimmed the palm of Neuer's save at a very tricky angle, and finally got headlong into the far corner of the Bayern goal!

Leon raised his arms and shouted at this moment!

The entire Stamford Bridge stadium also erupted in deafening cheers at this moment!

This is the end of this round of elimination!

Bayern Munich will not have the slightest chance of being a stumbling block for Chelsea to defend their Champions League title this year!

Exhausted, Ram was standing outside his forbidden area at the moment, covering his forehead in pain.

Muller stood in the middle of the field a little dazed, and his partner Thiago still had an anxious look in his eyes.

The Chelsea celebration didn't last long, and the game soon resumed, but now the anxious Bayern players are getting worse and less in shape.

The mentality of the thousands of Bayern fans at the scene was even more cracked.

But Mourinho chose to continue to rub salt in their wounds.

After a substitution, Lao Mu directly replaced Gary Cahill and Van Ginkel, and strengthened the defense in the midfield at the same time.

The dismissals of Kroos and Kevin De Bruyne showed the defensive determination of the Chelsea coaching staff at the moment.

Chasing three goals in a row in the last 20 minutes of play was an almost impossible task for Bayern.

But Bayern's players on the pitch had no choice at the moment, and they launched an offensive attack that bordered on desperate grounds.

Luis Suarez and Eden Hazard have moved into midfield, with a full five defenders and three midfielders behind them!

Chelsea's luxury buses reappeared, and neutral fans who saw the scene cast sympathetic glances at Bayern.

The game also ended with Chelsea's tough defence.

Two wins, two clean sheets, 3-0 on aggregate over two legs!

Chelsea have reached the last four of this season's Champions League with an impeccable landslide!

And the other key showdown of the night also ended almost at the same time.

Atletico Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-1 at home to secure their last semi-final spot in this season's Champions League.

At this point, this season's Champions League semi-finals have just been released, and the next round of more brutal battles is already waiting for all the top teams to break into the top four.

After the game was officially over, it was only natural that the whole Chelsea squad began to celebrate at home.

However, after a brief hug and celebration with his teammates, Leon approached assistant coach Holland and asked about the results of Atletico Madrid and Barcelona on the other side.

"Atletico won? 1-0？ ”

When he learned that Barcelona lost and was out of the Champions League, Li Ang subconsciously thought that Atletico Madrid had suffocated Barcelona 1-0.

Holland explained to him, telling him that it was Barcelona's first goal in this round, and Atletico scored twice in the second half to complete the comeback.

Li Ang also shook his head again and again after hearing this.

Barcelona were reversed, and that sounds reasonable......

But Leon still felt a little regretful.

After all, compared to other teams, Leon still prefers to play Barcelona in the Champions League.

(End of chapter)