Chapter 300: After the derby, where will Chen Xiaoliang rank in the Golden Ball Awards?
1 goal, 1 assist, 1 penalty, 1 own goal, 7 interceptions, 5 steals, and 3 successful headers.
Unsurprisingly, Chen Xiaoliang once again won the UEFA Champions League Best Player of the Game award.
Sky Sports, The Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, even these sports media or comprehensive media that are considered conservative in the UK, regardless of their left or right stance, gave Chen Xiaoliang full marks in their sports pages.
"Anfield has become a holy place where a generation of superstars are baptized"
The next person to dominate European football will come from here
"France Football" even gave a shocking headline - Red Cardinal. The picture below was a snapshot of Chen Xiaoliang dribbling the ball forward after he passed Salah in the game.
What's important is not that he is dribbling the ball, but that Salah, Van Dijk, Milner, Tsimikas and others around him are looking at him with surprise.
In addition, the Vatican in Rome is where the Pope resides, and Roma's home jersey is red, so the title "Cardinal" quickly spread around the world.
The fact that France Football chose to release such a post-match press release at this time was also seen by many media as a publicity stunt for the 2022 Ballon d'Or ceremony to be held in four days.
When Benzema was almost unanimously recognized by all European media as the sure winner of the Ballon d'Or, what kind of ranking would be achieved by famous superstars such as Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe, Lewandowski, De Bruyne, and the emerging new generation such as Haaland, Chen Xiaoliang, Bellingham, etc. in the selection became a hot topic.
In this game, the basic skill value was 14 points, Liverpool's reputation doubled, and finally 28 points of skill and training value were obtained.
Training value 62→90
Skill value 46 → 74
He first spent 80 training points to increase the burst from 16 to 17, and then used 50 skill points, plus the skill package that he had kept before that could replace the 50-point skill value of [Good at long-distance passing], to unlock this skill.
Training value 90→10
Skill value 74 → 24
Now, he has three skills: [Good at long-distance passing], [Good at through balls], and [Good at passing the ball from one side of the court to the other]. In addition to his own crossing and passing attributes of 18, as well as 17 burst and 20 speed, he is simply Pirlo and Beckham with wings.
Although he couldn't help showing off a little in his heart, Chen Xiaoliang still reminded himself to keep a low profile. A large number of 15 attributes still meant that he could only be considered excellent in many aspects, but not the best.
In addition, there is the [Superstar Mission] for Salah. Although it has stopped at 3/5 of the progress, the mission has not disappeared, which means there may be a chance to compete this season.
The team left Liverpool the next afternoon and flew back to Rome.
In the Champions League Group A, the team ended up with 5 wins, 1 draw and 16 points, especially the home and away double wins over Liverpool, which were both thrilling victories, attracting thousands of Roma fans to the airport to pick them up.
The score of 16 points ranks second among all groups, second only to Bayern Munich in Group C, which won all six group matches.
Another night passed, and after all the group matches were completed, the final list of qualifiers was announced.
Roma, Porto, Bayern Munich, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Benfica finished first in their groups;
Liverpool, Bruges, Inter Milan, Frankfurt, AC Milan, RB Leipzig, Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain finished second in the group.
Teams such as Barcelona, Juventus, Sevilla, Ajax and others ranked third and moved to the Europa League play-offs.
Because the rules stipulate that teams from the same group and country will not meet in the round of 16 knockout draw, the only teams Roma is likely to meet are Brugge, Frankfurt, RB Leipzig, Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.
Looking at the name of Paris Saint-Germain, Mourinho and Chen Xiaoliang were both a little confused. They didn't understand for a moment how they managed to give the first place in the group to Benfica when they also had 14 points, 4 wins, 2 draws, 16 goals scored and 7 goals conceded?
Looking at the rules again, this can truly be considered the first time since the Champions League was restructured.
Not only do the two teams have exactly the same points, wins and losses, goals scored and conceded, and goal difference data, but the two-round records between them are also tied at 1-1.
In the Champions League rules, in the case of the same points, the ranking will be determined according to the following conditions:
1. Compete with each other;
2. Goal difference in the match;
3. Compete and score goals against each other;
4. Total goal difference;
5. Total goals;
Up until this point, both teams were identical, with no clear winner, but in the end, the winner was determined based on the rule of the 6th pick.
6. Total away goals scored.
Paris Saint-Germain has 6 and Benfica has 9.
Some Paris Saint-Germain fans blamed Benfica for inflating their statistics by winning 1-6 against the underdog Maccabi Haifa in the last round away from home, but the Paris Saint-Germain coach himself admitted that if they had scored one more goal in the previous games, such a situation would not have happened in the end.
The UEFA Champions League group stage has come to an end, and world football is about to usher in a top event held every four years, the Qatar World Cup, which will kick off on November 20.
There are still three league games to be played from November 7 to November 13. In view of the current good league results, Mourinho has also made special training and game arrangements for the players who are about to go to the World Cup, and decided how to rotate them based on the strength of the opponents.
Before the match against Lazio on November 7, in addition to the media's one-sided prediction that Roma would win easily, an "interesting" thing happened that was no longer important.
Tuttosport held their annual awards ceremony before France Sport.
However, what caused the most doubts from the outside world was that they awarded the 2022 Golden Boy Award to Barcelona's 18-year-old young player Gavi.
It's not that Gavi played badly, but Chen Xiaoliang was really too dazzling. When he defeated Pedri in the Copa Trophy last year, there might have been some fans who like La Liga who spoke up for Pedri. But at this moment, Chen Xiaoliang, in terms of his explosive data and team performance this season, is no longer comparable to his peers.
In response to this, Portman explained to the outside world on behalf of Turin Sports Daily and gave a very high-sounding reason, saying that Chen Xiaoliang's performance had been included in their own Golden Globe Award selection range and he no longer needed to compete with players under the age of 21.
Not only did they exclude Chen Xiaoliang from the Golden Boy Award, they also gave the award to Juventus' Mireti in the Italian Golden Boy Award.
This decision made Juventus' own fans feel that the protection of their own players was a bit too much.
However, on the eve of the Golden Globe ceremony, most fans no longer care about the behavior of Turin Sports Daily.
On November 7, the Rome derby officially kicked off at the Olympic Stadium in Rome.
Lazio, who currently has 24 points, is ranked 5th in the league, ahead of Inter Milan and Juventus. It's a pity that they are missing the team's midfield core Milinkovic-Savic tonight. Strictly speaking, he has no obvious injuries, but because of discomfort in his legs and the World Cup is about to start, coach Sarri still excluded him from the game roster.
Lazio starting lineup:
Goalkeeper Proudwell;
The back four from left to right are Marusic, Romagnoli, Cassale and Lazari;
The three midfielders Luis Alberto, captain Cataldi and Becino who replaced Milinkovic-Savic in the starting lineup;
The three forwards are Zacani, Felipe Anderson and veteran Pedro.
Mourinho made a major rotation :
goalkeeper Patricio;
The three central defenders are Mancini, Smalling and Ibanez;
Right wingback Binya, left wingback Spinazzola;
Double defensive midfielders Matic and Cristante;
Central midfielders Chen Xiaoliang and Pellegrini;
Forward Abraham is the lone striker.
This is also a return to the three-center-back system commonly used last season, with almost all the players in the main lineup who did not play in the World Cup being sent to the field.
The old smoker Sarri also made some special arrangements for this game.
He watched the Champions League match between Liverpool and Roma. Although he also thought that Bajić's performance was already very good, after losing Milinkovic, it was unrealistic and useless to want to copy Klopp's tactics and find a player to restrict Chen Xiaoliang throughout the game.
So he lined up three midfielders in front of the penalty area, like a dam, trying to block Roma's frontal attacks and passes as much as possible. As for the flanks, they defended as much as possible. In the absence of Cesco, Abraham's ability to compete for headers in the penalty area did not put any pressure on Sarri.
Just like that, both sides started the game with a very open mindset and played very unrestrainedly. As a fan, the back-and-forth game was very exciting to watch.
In the 5th minute, Chen Xiaoliang took a long shot with the outside of his right foot from 33 meters away from the goal. The ball flew to the left and then spun back to the middle, but Lazio goalkeeper Prodwell jumped up and blocked it.
This goal reminded Lazio fans once again of Chen Xiaoliang's super long-range shot that equalized the game in the opening match of last season. Sarri also shouted to the three midfielders on the sidelines to pay attention to block Chen Xiaoliang's long-range shot.
In the 20th minute, Zacani made a quick cross from the left, and Felipe Anderson tried to score in the middle, but was blocked by Smalling and the ball slowed down and was hugged by Patricio.
Then, Patricio tried to kick the ball on the ground and passed it to Ibanez who retreated to the edge of the small penalty area.
I don't know if it's because he hasn't played much recently or has been away from battle for a long time, but Ibanez didn't pass the ball immediately after receiving it. Instead, he tried to move forward and was pressed by the Spanish veteran Pedro.
Ibanez's brain suddenly short-circuited. He flicked the ball with his left foot and stepped with his right foot, trying to shake Pedro off by changing direction and accelerating.
Although Pedro is indeed old at the age of 35, when he won all the championships with Barcelona and Spain, he was a master of small-area pressing in the frontcourt.
Just by anticipating and stretching his legs, he destroyed the ball.
The ball left the control of the two players and rolled towards the penalty spot. Felipe Anderson at the back couldn't believe his eyes as he hurried forward to grab the ball.
He took a few steps and shot directly at the ball. Patricio had no way to save it and the ball went into the net.
0-1, Roma fell behind first at home.
After the mistake, Ibanez kept raising his hands to apologize to his teammates.
From this moment on, the game truly entered the derby moment.
Roma, who wanted to reverse the situation and win, increased their pressing and confrontation, while Lazio, who wanted to keep the victory, also used toughness to counter toughness.
Players from both sides kept getting into physical clashes, and the game became increasingly tense.
The first to bear the brunt was naturally Chen Xiaoliang, who swept the entire midfield.
In the 27th minute, he caught up with Lazio captain Cataldi who was dribbling the ball in the midfield.
Since there was no outlet on the right side, Cataldi had to find a way to protect the ball and then try to turn and pass the ball to the left.
Chen Xiaoliang first put his hands on his shoulders, then leaned forward and used various small moves in [Good at Close Defense] to interfere with his dribbling and body balance.
Just as Cataldi staggered after turning around, Chen Xiaoliang made a direct tackle and intercepted the ball under his feet.
Seeing that he had lost the ball, Cataldi was unwilling to give up and grabbed Chen Xiaoliang's jersey with one hand to prevent him from passing.
As a result, Chen Xiaoliang fell directly on him after being pulled hard. So he decided to go all the way and sat on his face.
Cataldi was so angry that he reached out and pushed Chen Xiaoliang away while still lying on the ground.
"Beep, beep, beep!" The referee blew the whistle rapidly and the players from both teams gathered around. Luis Alberto rushed over and wanted to push Chen Xiaoliang, but was pushed away by Pellegrini.
Suddenly, the field was in chaos, and the diehard fans of both teams in the stands began to shout.
Lazio fans mocked Roma fans for being poor losers, while Roma fans mocked Lazio that the next champion in a hundred years will definitely be Serie B.
In the end, Cataldi and Pellegrini each received a yellow card and the matter was over.
In the 36th minute, Pedro's inverted triangle pass in the frontcourt was intercepted by Chen Xiaoliang who returned to the penalty area. Then he adjusted the position of the ball, exerted force with his right leg, and kicked the ball directly to the frontcourt.
How can I not make good use of the new skill [Good at long-distance passing]?
The ball was flying all the way, and on the grass Abraham was competing with Romagnoli for speed.
Obviously, letting Abraham rely on his physical strength may be his weakness, but when it comes to direct running ability, most central defenders in Serie A really can't do anything to him.
The ball seemed to have eyes. It first fell about 10 meters outside the top of the Lazio penalty area, then bounced on the ground, flew forward a few meters and fell again. At this time, Abraham just ran there and caught the ball.
So sexy! So sexy!
When Forti, who was sitting on the bench, saw the ball, he couldn't help but stand up. He didn't know whether it was because of the hot weather, the intense atmosphere of the game, the excitement, or some other reason, but he felt wet anyway.
A long pass penetrated all the high defenses, resulting in Abraham's super one-on-one opportunity!
Facing the attacking Proudwell, Abraham chose to lob the ball!
He lightly kicked the ball with his right foot!
"Oh my god!"
Countless Red Country fans in front of the screen couldn't help but curse.
Countless comments appeared on the screen: [You took off your pants, and this is all I see?! ]
Abraham's lob shot was like a pass back to the goalkeeper, it had neither height nor speed.
Fortunately, Prodwell bent his legs and lowered his center of gravity, so he couldn't hold the ball directly. Otherwise, Abraham would definitely be ranked first in the "Five Awkward Balls" tomorrow night.
Proudwell blocked the ball with his right palm and it bounced to the right, and Romagnoli and Carlos immediately chased after the ball.
Unexpectedly, another person suddenly appeared from the side, No. 37 Spinazzola!
Even after Abraham received the ball, he did not slow down, but continued to rush forward with all his strength!
God helps those who work hard, and the ball really rolled in front of him by accident.
The great Italian left-back pushed the ball towards the empty goal with his left foot. Although Romagnoli slid over, he was still a beat too late.
1-1, Roma equalized the score!
Although the ball went in, the one-on-one chance was lost and the almost wasted opportunity made everyone in the Roma team feel like they had survived a disaster.
Forti couldn't help but complain to Mourinho: "If I were Southgate, I wouldn't take him either."
After congratulating Spinazzola, Chen Xiaoliang also went over to cheer Abraham up:
"Be more confident, you can lob higher, or just pass the goalkeeper and shoot! I'll pass the ball to you later, make sure you seize it!"
Abraham nodded, but said something that almost made Chen Xiaoliang faint:
"Okay, Captain, I'll try to push to the far corner next time."
