soccer king

831 Battle of Anfield!

On the day they won the Copa del Rey, Real Madrid once again hung the championship scarf on the Harvest Goddess Statue to show the glory of Real Madrid's championship to the whole city.

The Real Madrid fans in the city couldn't sleep with excitement, and the carnival continued until the early morning.

But Real Madrid's players are going to rest, because a week later, their last battle of the season, the Champions League, will start.

On the weekend, Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey. In the 33rd round of the league, the substitute team defeated Santander 2-0 away.

In the second half of the season, the playing time of substitute players increased, and Real Madrid's record gradually stabilized.

In particular, the performance of striker Higuain began to be recognized by the outside world, and this Argentine smoker was finally included in the ranks of Real Madrid's future striker successors.

Two days later, Real Madrid airborne Liverpool!

The big headline in the "Times" pre-match preview report is: After Real Madrid swept the defending champion and the champion two years ago, can Liverpool, the champion three years ago, compete with Real Madrid?

Looking back on Real Madrid's road to the Champions League this season, the group stage did go smoothly, with no strong opponents appearing.

But since entering the knockout round, the difficulty seems to have increased several times at once, and it has exploded!

First the Champions League in 2006 and then the Champions League in 2007.

Now, Liverpool, the 2005 Champions League champion and the 2007 Champions League runner-up, are standing in front of Real Madrid again!

This first of all means that Real Madrid does not have any luck or luck in the knockout process. It is well-deserved to win, and it is very convincing after the promotion!

Real Madrid calmly prepare for the first leg of the Champions League semi-final after arriving at Liverpool.

On the day before the game, Bosque attended the press conference, and he took Qin Xiong with him.

A reporter asked: "After eliminating Arsenal and AC Milan, Real Madrid met Liverpool again. Does this mean that Real Madrid's luck is a bit bad? After all, these three opponents happen to be the Champions League champions in the past three years!"

Bosque shook his head slightly.He said lightly: "This has nothing to do with luck. The game is not a gamble. We can't hope that the opponents we meet will be weaker teams. In fact, only by defeating strong opponents can we hope to go further. After all, we have arrived The quarter-finals of the Champions League. The semi-finals, no opponent is a weak team."

The reporters turned their questions to Qin Xiong.

"You have played against Liverpool several times when you played for Arsenal, and you have left wonderful memories at Anfield. You should have full confidence in tomorrow's game and you can win it easily, right?"

Qin Xiong shook his head, and said calmly: "I have heard this saying countless times. And in the news, there are always similar content, but in fact? History is history, now is now, last year's royal Madrid, can it be the same as Real Madrid today? A team’s combat effectiveness may change dramatically in the span of a month, let alone a year. Two years? Especially in the semi-finals of the Champions League, what will happen to Liverpool We don’t know the combat effectiveness of the team, but we must know that the final is just around the corner. Liverpool will definitely not give away the victory easily, and my teammates and I need to pay attention to this, and we must not underestimate the enemy in the slightest.”

......

Liverpool coach Benitez expressed his respect for Bosque before the game.

"I'm excited to play against Real Madrid. Del Bosque's Real Madrid have played like never before. They always score goals, a lot of goals, and win a lot of games. So far this season, Real Madrid have not lost a game. , This will bring us some psychological pressure, but I also hope that Liverpool can create huge pressure on Real Madrid at Anfield. Because this is Anfield!"

The coaches of the two teams did not talk about techniques and tactics, and it seemed unnecessary.

The media hailed this match as: Master-Apprentice Battle!

It is different from the master-apprentice relationship between Capello and Flores last season between "coach and player".

Bosque and Benitez are mentors and apprentices in the true sense of "coach and coach".

When Benitez was still working at Real Madrid.The head coach he assisted was Bosque. When Bosque went to the first team to fight the fire, it was Benitez who served as Bosque's assistant coach.

It's just that everyone has their own ambitions, and Benitez quickly chose to fly solo, but he learned a lot from Bosque.

On the evening of April 4rd, the city of Liverpool was brightly lit, and Anfield was full of hustle and bustle!

When Real Madrid and Liverpool players walked into the stadium, the stadium was still echoing with Liverpool fans singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" in unison!

The entire stadium stand seemed to be dyed red, especially the scene where the Red Army fans held up their scarves and sang the team song was spectacular.

This will naturally put some mental pressure on the Real Madrid players.

It was like stepping into an unusual battlefield.

Qin Xiong raised a smile at the corner of his mouth.

In fact, he appreciates and loves the distinctive fan culture in England.

Because it is a tradition, it is also a unique culture.

It is difficult to see in other parts of Europe, and England's fan culture is also popular and will be emulated by many fans around the world.

"Welcome to Anfield! The first leg of the 2007-2008 Champions League semi-final is about to start here.

The Premier League giants Liverpool sit at home against Real Madrid, which has already won the Spanish double crown!

In terms of preparation pressure, Real Madrid is definitely easier than Liverpool.

Liverpool has no hope of winning the Premier League, but they still have to keep the top four seats in the league to ensure that they can enter the UEFA Champions League next season.

Benitez's big rotation policy in the Premier League this season has failed. It is completely unworkable. In fact, referring to the rotation strategies implemented by the Premier League champions in the past few years, Benitez should have foreseen that Arsenal and Manchester United, the two biggest winners of the Premier League, will not make big rotations a norm during the season, maybe they will be implemented once in a while, but if this is the case for a long time, the team's record will definitely be greatly affected.

Real Madrid has already won the La Liga title and the Copa del Rey title, so they can concentrate on preparing for this game and even the next round.

Can a refreshed Real Madrid make waves at Anfield?We'll find out right away.

Liverpool started today at 4231.

Goalkeeper: Reina.

Defenders: Arbeloa, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise.

Midfield: Dirk, Alonso, Gerrard, Mascherano, Benayoun.

Forward: Torres.

Real Madrid starting 442.

Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas.

Defenders: Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, Heinze.

Midfield: Robben, Diarra, Guti, Sneijder.

Forwards: Qin Xiong, Raul.

The battle at Anfield begins now! "(To be continued.)