Chapter 256 Double kill Barcelona and advance to the semi-finals!

In the visiting team's locker room, Barcelona's physical therapist was massaging Messi and others to relax, while head coach Martino was holding his tactical board and emotionally explaining the tactics for the second half.

"In the second half, we continued to increase our control of the ball, reduce mistakes, and did not give Manchester City a chance to counterattack. As long as we can find an opportunity to give Manchester City a fatal blow, then the ticket to advance to the Champions League semi-finals will be ours!"

Barcelona is only one goal away from the semi-finals of the Champions League. Seeing victory right in front of them, the players are also very nervous and excited at this time.

As Barcelona's strength declines, their path to qualifying for the Champions League has been quite difficult in recent years.

Last year, they met another team similar to Manchester City-Paris Saint-Germain.

Barcelona also had an extremely difficult time in those two knockout matches. They took the lead at the beginning in the away game, but were tied by their opponents when the game entered the final stage.

In the last minute of the regular season, Xavi's goal once gave Barcelona a glimmer of victory.

But their opponent's victory in stoppage time put their victory in vain.

Back at home, Paris scored first, putting Barcelona on the verge of elimination.

In the end, it was Pedro's goal that allowed Barcelona to break into the semi-finals with the advantage of away goals.

Then they were swept by Bayern 7:0 in the semi-finals...

This season, revenge against Bayern has become the biggest wish of Barcelona players.

"According to the news I just received, Bayern leads Manchester United 2-0 at home, and they have basically locked in a ticket to the semi-finals!

As long as we eliminate Manchester City here, then we have great hope of revenge against Bayern. Tell me, do you want to revenge against Bayern? "

When the name of Bayern is mentioned, the eyes of Barcelona players immediately turn red!

Since the Dream III Dynasty, Barcelona has never had such a humiliating Champions League record.

They all dream of revenge against Bayern!

"Very well, in that case, let's go!"

"Kill Manchester City and take revenge on Bayern!"

"Tell the world that the greatest team in the universe is back!"

Martino's words made the players excited and morale high. They wanted to rush onto the court immediately and tear into pieces the Manchester City that stood in their way of revenge.

…

In the home team's locker room, Pellegrini did not encourage the players like Martino did.

He calmly explained his tactics for the second half, and then found David Silva, Negredo and Lin Quan.

"David, Alvaro, Lin, how much physical strength do you have left? Can you support the second half of the game?"

Except for Lin Quan, Silva and Negredo shook their heads honestly.

In the first half, they attacked Barcelona's goal again and again. This kind of sprint consumes a lot of physical energy. If they continue to maintain the intensity of the first half, their physical energy can only last for 60 minutes at most!

This was the result after a 15-minute intermission. If there had been no intermission, they would have run out of energy in fifty minutes!

"Very good, I understand. After 60 minutes, I will replace you and rest, but before that, I need you to use up all your remaining physical energy!"

The two looked at each other and nodded heavily.

Then Pellegrini looked at Lin Quan: "Lin, I need you to appear in this position in the second half..."

…

The intermission ended quickly and the second half of the game officially began.

There were no substitutions on either side, and they still continued the lineup from the first half.

In terms of playing style, nothing seems to have changed.

Barcelona continued to control the ball, and Manchester City continued to wait for opportunities to counterattack.

Everything continues the same rhythm as before.

This made Real Madrid assistant coach Clement a little confused. Didn't Carlo say that the decisive battle between the two sides would be in the second half?

Why does it feel like there is no flavor of a decisive battle?

So he turned to look at Ancelotti beside him, wanting to see what An Pang had to say.

"Don't worry!"

Feeling Clement's gaze, Ancelotti still had the same calm attitude.

"When Manchester City makes substitutions, the decisive battle begins!"

"Really? When will they replace them?"

"If it were me, I would make a substitution in the 65th minute!"

Clement remembered this moment: "Okay, let me see what Manchester City will do!"

Manchester City's substitution time was earlier than Ancelotti expected. In the 60th minute, Manchester City began to make substitution adjustments.

David Silva and Negredo were substituted, Aguero and Navas came on.

coming!

Clement cheered up, and Manchester City indeed made a substitution.

But the time seems to be earlier than Carlo predicted?

Ancelotti also noticed this. He frowned and seemed to be thinking about something.

On the sidelines, Barcelona also saw Manchester City's substitution adjustments.

The assistant coach looked at Martino worriedly:

"Coach, Manchester City has made adjustments to the forward line. Should we also make substitutions?"

Martino glanced at Barcelona's bench and shook his head: "Let's take a look first and then talk!"

He still doesn't know how Manchester City will play after replacing these two players. This seems to be a counter substitution. The two previous Manchester City players seem to have declined in physical fitness and cannot continue to persist.

Therefore, nothing can be seen from the substitutions alone.

However, some people at Barcelona don't see it that way.

Seeing his friend Aguero on the field, Messi immediately sensed danger.

Messi knows Aguero's strength on the front line all too well.

"Manchester City is going to step up their attack, everyone be vigilant!"

Messi quickly told his teammates what he was thinking and cheered them up.

Barcelona's players still attach great importance to Messi's words, but even if they are mentally prepared at this time, their physical fitness may not be able to support them.

After the substitution, Manchester City's tactics quickly changed.

Their pressing became more fierce, and the targets of the pressing expanded from Barcelona's midfield and frontcourt to the entire Barcelona team.

Especially Aguero and Navas, who have just been replaced, have not seen their offensive effect for the time being, but they worked extremely hard when forcing the Barcelona defenders to play the ball.

Seeing this scene, Martino's eyes widened.

Are Manchester City crazy?

For a team like Barcelona that plays pass-and-control football, their defenders are not afraid of the opponent's forwards.

There are only a few players in the frontcourt who can threaten Barcelona's defenders, and they have too many options for passing the ball, whether it is a cross pass to teammates on the back line, a forward pass to the midfielder, or a backward pass to the goalkeeper. Easily resolved Manchester City's press.

In a game with Real Madrid, Real Madrid's star player Cristiano Ronaldo tried to do this, and then he was walked like a dog by Barcelona's defenders...

A GIF of an angry Ronaldo roaring angrily and throwing his hands away on the court was widely circulated on the Internet, making many people laugh.

So at the beginning, Barcelona's defenders didn't care much.

But soon, they were frightened by Manchester City's pressing.

They are naturally not afraid of a striker's interception, but Manchester City's interception is not the personal behavior of a certain person.

It is a premeditated and organized targeted tactic!

They have a clear division of labor. Some are responsible for blocking the passing line of the ball holder, some are responsible for pressing, and others are ready to counterattack after a successful interception.

In this process, Lin Quan, the person most familiar with Barcelona's tactical play, acted as the frontcourt commander, responsible for directing his teammates to intercept.

Aguero and Navas became his younger brothers, following the command of their elder brother and rushing towards Barcelona's defenders time and time again without any hesitation.

This systematic high-position press immediately made Barcelona's defenders a little unable to hold the ball.

In the first half, they and Manchester City's forwards competed for speed and consumption, and the consequences appeared.

The physical fitness of Barcelona's defenders began to be a little unsustainable after the game entered the 60-minute time point.

The people pressing them on the opposite side were freshmen who had just been replaced. They were full of energy and high in fighting spirit. They were completely incomparable to the Barcelona defenders who had consumed most of the game.

In the 67th minute, Manchester City's pressing was effective.

When Mascherano was holding the ball, Aguero quickly rushed towards his national team teammate.

Seeing that Aguero was approaching fiercely, Marco didn't dare to stick to the ball too much, so he immediately chose to pass the ball out.

Before passing the ball, he observed the positioning of several teammates.

Bartra was accompanied by Manchester City's No. 10 Lin Quan. Although the opponent was not the player who was replaced in the second half, he felt that he was a capable player. He played for more than 60 minutes and showed no signs of fatigue.

If the ball was passed to Bartra, it might be intercepted by the opponent.

The forward passing line was cut off by Yaya Toure, who had been closely guarding Xavi's side. Passing the ball to Xavi would very likely result in the ball being lost.

As for Busquets, he was entangled by Manchester City's attacking midfielder De Bruyne and was not a good passing option.

Thinking of this, Mascherano planned to pass the ball back to goalkeeper Pinto to resolve Manchester City's pressing first.

However, just when he was about to do so, he saw Xiaofa retreating to ask for the ball.

With no one marking Cesc Fabregas, this is a safe passing point.

And once Xiaofa gets the ball, without being marked, he may be able to send a pass to the players in the frontcourt to help Barcelona create an opportunity.

Thinking of this, Mascherano quickly passed the ball to Fabregas.

This choice was correct, but Lin Quan had an insight into his passing intention in advance.

He abandoned Bartra, moved ahead, and blocked the ball as Mascherano passed the ball.

broken!

Passing the ball to Mascherano and Cesc Fabregas, who was about to receive the ball, saw the football falling at Lin Quan's feet and both secretly screamed something bad.

The two immediately rushed towards Lin Quan, trying to get the ball back.

But Lin Quan was faster. He passed the ball to Navas on the wing and quickly drove towards Barcelona's half.

After Navas received the ball, he quickly passed the ball back to Lin Quan, and the two completed a one-two match.

After Lin Quan got rid of Mascherano, he dribbled the ball straight towards Barcelona's goal and killed it.

At this time, there was only one defender in front of him, and that was Bartra who was trailing behind.

But Manchester City is now shooting with three arrows. There are two players, Lin Quan and Aguero, in the middle alone. The question before Bartra is:

Who is he guarding against?

Abandoning Aguero to defend Lin Quan?

If he does this, Lin Quan will most likely pass the ball directly.

Choose to continue to defend Aguero and ignore Lin Quan?

If he did this, Lin Quan would probably dribble the ball all the way to Barcelona's penalty area and then send the ball into the goal!

what to do?

How to choose?

Bartra gritted his teeth, abandoned Aguero, and went to Lin Quan.

In his subconscious, it was obvious that Lin Quan was a greater threat.

And once he moves forward, Aguero will be in an offside position. At this time, Lin Quan cannot pass the ball to him.

This choice can be said to be the best choice he can make!

Seeing Baltra move, Lin Quan immediately judged the other party's intention.

The other party's plan is pretty good, but who gave you the courage?

Did it give you the confidence to stop me in a one-on-one duel?

Lin Quan also acted quickly when Baltra pounced on him.

He moved the ball to the right, and Bartra hurriedly adjusted his body's direction, trying hard to keep up with Lin Quan's rhythm.

However, before his action was completed, Lin Quan handed the ball to the left again.

The connection between these two actions was too fast. Even though Bartra tried his best and managed to overcome the inertia of his body and turn around, he had already lost his position. Lin Quan had already taken the lead and entered the Barcelona penalty area!

All the Manchester City fans at the scene stood up excitedly, stretched their necks and looked towards the court.

Lin's single-handed ball!

Barcelona's goalkeeper strikes!

Can this goal be scored?

Although Lin Quan's one-on-one success rate is very high, Blue Moon fans couldn't help but feel a little worried when they saw the opponent's goalkeeper rushing out aggressively.

This goal is really important for Manchester City. If this goal is scored, the total score will become 4:3 and Manchester City will regain the lead.

And because they are leading on away goals, if Barcelona wants to advance, they need to score at least 2 goals!

Barcelona fans are more worried than Manchester City fans. If this goal is scored, their hope of advancing will be very slim.

At this moment, the eyes of tens of thousands of fans in the audience all fell on Lin Quan and the Barcelona goalkeeper.

This goal will determine the life or death of both teams!

Facing the attacking Pinto, Lin Quan did not rush to take a shot. He calmly moved the ball laterally and avoided Pinto's interception. After getting rid of the opponent, he sent the ball into the empty goal!

boom!

The moment Lin Quan scored, the Etihad Stadium erupted!

"Forest!"

Amid the cheers of the fans, Lin Quan opened his arms and flew along the bottom line of the court, like a soaring eagle!

In the stands, Manchester City fans were extremely excited.

The fans closest to him rushed to the billboard, ruffling his hair and slapping his chest. One brave girl even secretly kissed Lin Quan while he was not prepared.

Lin Quan was startled and quickly left the place. The big screen at the scene just captured this scene. Seeing Lin Quan's frightened look, the Manchester City fans couldn't help laughing.

"Lin, that's great!"

"Lin, great job!"

At this time, his teammates also rushed over, each one surrounding Lin Quan in the middle, raising and lowering their hands, hugging him, or stroking his hair.

Lin Quan's goal made Manchester City's situation very optimistic.

"Keep up the good work and hit them one more time!"

After the celebration, Lin Quan glanced at the dejected Barcelona players, clenched his fists and said fiercely.

"Okay, one more!"

The teammates' morale was at its peak at this time, and they all nodded after hearing Lin Quan's words.

If 4:3 is not safe, then score another one to completely defeat Barcelona's fighting spirit and make them give up completely!

In the stands, after Ancelotti saw Lin Quan sending the ball into Barcelona's goal, he took advantage of the home fans' celebration to stand up and said to his assistant coach Clement:

"Let's go, the game is over, there's no need to watch the rest!"

"ah?!"

Clement glanced at the game time. It was only the 68th minute, and there were still more than 20 minutes before the end of the game. How could it be over?

"Haha, do you think Barcelona can make a comeback?"

Ancelotti asked with a smile.

Clement wanted to nod, because this team is Barcelona, ​​one of the top clubs in Europe!

Scoring two goals in 20 minutes is difficult, but for Barcelona with Messi, it does not seem to be an impossible task!

"It's hopeless. Manchester City is about to strangle Barcelona's midfield. Not only will Barcelona fail to score, they will even concede!"

After Ancelotti came to his conclusion, he did not stay at the Etihad Stadium.

The club helped him collect videotapes of the game and so on. He had achieved the purpose of his trip.

No need to continue wasting time!

When Clement saw An Pang leaving as soon as he said he was leaving, he hesitated for a moment and then followed suit.

On the field, the game went as Ancelotti expected.

After Lin Quan scored, Manchester City's pressing became even crazier.

While they were pressing wildly in the frontcourt, Manchester City's midfielder also increased its stranglehold on Barcelona's midfielder.

Harvey, who was already very uncomfortable playing football, became even more uncomfortable at this time.

When the game time came to 70 minutes, his physical fitness had already declined seriously, and his opponents took turns taking care of him at this time, which was a bit overwhelming for him.

In just a few minutes, Harvey was violated several times.

On one occasion, Lin Quan even withdrew from the frontcourt and Yaya Toure double-teamed him. This kind of targeting and care made it extremely difficult for Xavi to play the ball.

Seeing that Xavi was being pressed, Martino had to let Fabio share his organizational work to reduce the pressure on Xavi.

Seeing Xiaofa joining the battle, Lin Quan immediately retreated to the midfield and participated in the midfield scramble.

Manchester City formed a numerical advantage in the midfield, with Lin Quan, De Bruyne, Kroos, and Yaya Toure closing in on three Barcelona players.

The numerical advantage, coupled with the fact that they are younger and more physically capable, has caused Barcelona's midfield to fall into a disadvantage and gradually lose control of the midfield.

After losing control of the midfield, players such as Neymar and Messi received no support in the frontcourt and were completely unable to play their role.

On the other hand, Manchester City's offense has begun to increase.

In the 79th minute, Yaya Toure immediately made a long pass to find Navas on the wing after stealing the ball.

This is almost the same as the long pass in the first half, but at this time, Barcelona's defenders could not run, and the midfielder was unable to interfere with the Manchester City player's pass, making Yaya Toure's long pass more The half-court is more accurate and more deadly!

After receiving the ball, Navas played a two-on-one with Aguero, passing Barcelona's full-back Alba.

Navas, who was full of energy, quickly cut inside after receiving the ball and headed towards Barcelona's goal.

Busquets, Mascherano, Bartra and others are desperately trying to defend, but they have played for 80 minutes and their physical fitness has long been unable to keep up. Navas has only played for 20 minutes and his physical fitness is still the same. abundant.

He rushed into the penalty area before the Barcelona defender, took a look at the goalkeeper's position and chose to hit the goal directly.

Not everyone has Lin Quan's extraordinary ability. He is not sure of getting past the opponent's goalkeeper, and he doesn't dare to waste time adjusting, so directly shooting is the safest option!

Pinto secretly cursed and was stunned. The opponent's kick was hasty, and he was also hasty in the save.

The leaping Barcelona goalkeeper failed to pounce on the ball, and the football failed to fly into the goal.

With a bang, the football focused on the crossbar and bounced back.

As luck would have it, the ball bounced back and hit Mascherano who was returning to defense.

The Argentinian had no time to brake, and the football bounced back into the goal after hitting him.

Pinto had just fallen from the air onto the lawn at this time. He had no time to react and could only watch the football hit the net.

2:1!

Manchester City reversed Barcelona at home, and the total score came to 5:3!

With 10 minutes left in the game, Barcelona needs to score 2 goals to equalize the score and score 3 goals to advance to the final!

This is almost an impossible task!

At the last moment, Martino replaced Pedro and Sanchez and planned to fight to the death.

But their midfield and backfield have long been out of control, and piling up offensive players in the frontcourt has no effect at all.

On the contrary, Manchester City frequently launched threatening counterattacks in the final stages of the game.

In the 89th minute of the game, Lin Quan assisted Aguero and scored another goal. Manchester City rewritten the score to 3:1, and the total score came to 6:3!

Now, Barcelona is completely hopeless!

In the last few minutes of the game, Barcelona's players finally gave up their resistance and allowed Manchester City's players to run away with time.

At the end of injury time, the referee blew the whistle to end the game.

Manchester City came back to defeat Barcelona 3:1 at home, beating their opponents home and away.

Reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in team history!