Chapter 401: The hand of fate in the Champions League leads to a fight between master and disciple!
He played in two of the previous three games. He was not even included in the FA Cup match and stayed in Carrington to shoot a commercial. Chen Xiaoliang obtained 5 and 12 training points respectively. Benzema was named the man of the match against Brighton, while Chen Xiaoliang won the man of the match with one assist and one shot against Brentford.
Adding the 44 points from 11 days of training, Chen Xiaoliang gained a total of 61 training points (19→80)
Exactly 80 points, he added to balance (15→16), training value (80→0)
The balance attribute mainly affects the body's ability to self-regulate when it is unable to rely entirely on the lower limbs to maintain balance, such as in high-speed running or jumping.
And the coordination ability when the body is in abnormal postures such as volley shooting, volley clearance, and stride blocking.
For example, in a header competition, burst determines how fast you jump, bounce determines how high you jump, strength determines whether you can knock others away, and balance affects whether you land vertically or sideways after being hit .
In this aspect of football, Ibrahimovic can be called a master as he is good at volleying, scorpion kicks, overhead kicks and elbowing opponents in headers.
After clicking on the attributes, the next step is to adjust the breakthrough points.
However, the situation has changed. After winning the World Footballer of the Year, the achievement given is not like the Ballon d'Or, which can improve attributes, but is related to the [Football King Competition] system:
【World Footballer of the Year achievement has been achieved】
[Achievement Reward: Beyond Peak Mode Upgraded to Level 2]
Chen Xiaoliang was stunned at the time. It turns out that this thing can be upgraded?
Looking at the upgraded content, nothing else has changed. The game is still ended with a scoreless win, but the reward for each goal or assist has increased from 1 point to 2 points!
Moreover, the progress bar of [Football King Competition] has increased from around 25% to around 30% due to the acquisition of the World Footballer of the Year.
In 2008 and 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi won these two individual awards respectively. Then, they started an era of rapid progress and swept all major offensive records and individual awards in football.
Chen Xiaoliang couldn't help but wonder, could it be that these two people also have a mode of surpassing the peak... Every time they win a big prize they can evolve again, until they can no longer withstand the power of time.
This is of course just a thought, but the rewards after evolution are real.
The goal and pass against Brentford really increased the breakthrough points from 2 to 4 (55→59)
However, Chen Xiaoliang also wondered why it was the World Footballer of the Year that would affect the [Football King Competition] system.
This question is actually obvious. If you want to be the king of football, you will ultimately be inseparable from FIFA and the highest event hosted by FIFA.
On the afternoon of the next day, the players were training. Luke Shaw, who was almost recovered from his injury and was doing personal rehabilitation training, came to the training ground from the gym with his mobile phone. He said something to Ten Hag who was observing the training situation on the side with great joy.
The players thought that the team doctor told him that he was ready to play, but they didn't expect that Manchester City was tied 2-2 by Arsenal, who has been in great form recently, at their home ground, Etihad Stadium in the just-concluded league. Haaland scored his 31st league goal of the season, but failed to bring 3 points.
This was the third consecutive game that the Blues were tied with Arsenal after drawing with them both at home and away in the League Cup semi-finals.
Guardiola rarely expressed dissatisfaction with the players after the game, believing that the players lacked hunger and desire to win.
At the same time, Aston Villa also drew with third-placed Liverpool at home, while fourth-placed Chelsea and fifth-placed Newcastle both won.
As a result, Manchester United returned to the top of the standings with a 2-point lead over Manchester City, and opened up an 8-point gap with Liverpool in third place.
Another day passed, on January 31, and each club made its final transfer transactions.
A deal made by Manchester United has made this season's Manchester derby battle even more intense.
Manchester United released two official announcements:
Greenwood is on loan to Roma for half a season, and the player is eligible to play in cup and European competitions on behalf of the loan club.
This did not cause much waves. Although Ten Hag wanted to use this young player with his main left foot, due to the complicated public opinion in the UK and the protests of feminist groups, the club decided to let him go abroad to "hide from the limelight" while also allowing him to participate in competitions steadily to regain his form.
But another official announcement is very interesting.
"The club announces that it has reached an agreement with Scottish Premier League club Celtic to loan former England goalkeeper Joe Hart until the end of all competitions this season."
As soon as this news came out, it caused controversy no less than when Liverpool's former golden boy Michael Owen joined Manchester United on a free transfer.
Joe Hart was a key player in Manchester City's first two Premier League titles, and survived three managers, Mark Hughes, Roberto Mancini and Pellegrini, winning three Golden Gloves until Guardiola came and demoted him to a bench and then fired him.
After moving to Turin, West Ham, Burnley, Tottenham and finally to Celtic, he is about to turn 37 years old, experienced and still capable of fighting, and is an excellent candidate for a short-term loan as a second goalkeeper.
At the same time, Brendan Rodgers, who returned to coach Celtic for the second time, is also willing to use a younger goalkeeper.
Therefore, the two parties hit it off and the lease was a natural outcome.
Historically, due to the large difference in the competitive levels of the two clubs at the time, there have been many examples of mutual joining. For example, Denis Law, who won the Golden Ball at Manchester United in 1964, was once a member of Manchester City. After leaving Manchester United, he returned to Manchester City until his retirement.
Schmeichel, the former Manchester United goalkeeper, also joined Manchester City before retiring. At that time, he was refused a handshake by Manchester United captain Gary Neville in a derby match.
However, the most shocking deal in the winter window was that Bayern intercepted Paris Saint-Germain for 60 million euros and snatched Harry Kane, who had only six months left on his contract but Tottenham had a mandatory one-year contract renewal clause.
Just when the outside world was full of expectations for the major giants after the winter transfer window, the draw for the Champions League round of 16 knockout stage came with another explosion.
London's Wembley Stadium, the same scene and the same process every year, the only changes are the draw location and the guests who draw the lots.
As representatives of the host country of this season's final, the fat and bearded Rooney and Spanish legend Villa went on stage as guests to draw lots.
The first draw shocked everyone. Rooney drew the ball containing Manchester City, which was ranked first in Group C, while Villa directly drew Real Madrid, which was ranked second in Group E.
This pair has met in the Champions League knockout stage for three consecutive years!
However, unlike last year and the year before, when Real Madrid fans saw this result, they were wailing in their hearts.
The second draw was between Paris Saint-Germain, the No. 1 team in Group E, and Leipzig, the No. 2 team in Group A. Paris Saint-Germain fans were very happy at this time, as they not only eliminated a 25% chance of drawing Manchester United, but also drew the weakest team among all the second-placed teams in the group.
In the third draw, Bayern, who ranked first in Group D, drew Barcelona, who ranked second in Group H. The fans of the two teams had different feelings, but Arsenal fans cheered loudly.
Oh, Heaven and Earth, after so many years, it is finally your turn to fight each other again.
Afterwards, Rooney's Arsenal, who were ranked first in Group H, drew Real Sociedad, who were ranked second in Group F, which was a very good draw.
Then it's Newcastle vs. Inter Milan, Benfica vs. Juventus, and Napoli vs. Atletico Madrid.
When the draw came to this, Rooney was stunned for a moment. Many people in the audience had already started whispering and laughing, but Villa didn't realize what was going to happen until he turned around and glanced at the big screen on the stage, only to find that the last two teams that had not been drawn had formed the final group matchup.
After the training, Chen Xiaoliang returned home to watch TV and shook his head helplessly, not knowing whether to smile happily or bitterly...
Manchester United vs. Roma! Roma plays away first and then at home!
On the other side, Gerrard was already very depressed. Before the start of the season, he led his team to defeat Sevilla and won a European Super Cup. Later, he drew a good lot and finally led the team into the Champions League knockout stage. The team is temporarily ranked third in the league. It seems that everything is going well, but he didn't expect to draw the opponent he least wanted to draw.
However, it was not Gerrard's turn to be depressed. Greenwood, who was just officially announced to be loaned to Roma the day before, sent a long string of ellipsis in the Manchester United players' group.
“…”
He had just been loaned there and the contract allowed him to play in the Champions League, but he didn't expect to be drawn against the club.
The terms for loaned players include avoidance clauses for the parent team, so after all this time, he is unable to participate in these two rounds of knockout matches, and there is a high probability that he will not have the opportunity to participate this season.
Chen Xiaoliang still sent a text message to Gerald: "Hahaha, boss, what do you think we should do?"
Gerrard quickly responded: "What? Don't forget I'm from Liverpool!"
Van der Sar represented the team in the draw this time, but Chen Xiaoliang did not represent the team in the event like he did in Rome because there was a third round FA Cup match against Cambridge United at home the next day.
Chen Xiaoliang actually didn't have to play. Cambridge United was a lower-tier team in the fourth-tier English League Two. Being drawn to play at Old Trafford was simply a jackpot for them.
But Manchester United held a presentation ceremony for the World Footballer of the Year trophy for Chen Xiaoliang and invited the famous players from Class 92 to the scene to present him with a souvenir.
There was nothing much to say about the game itself. Chen Xiaoliang played for 20 minutes, scored a curved ball from the penalty area line and scored the first goal, but was replaced by Ten Hag. The opponent was too weak and Joe Hart also made his debut.
In the end, Manchester United defeated their opponents 7-0, with Anthony's hat-trick, Eriksen's penalty, young player Hannibal's header from a corner kick, and Cesco, who came on in the 80th minute, scoring the icing on the cake.
Two days later, the team won 3-0 at home against Bournemouth, who were on the verge of relegation. Chen Xiaoliang made two assists for Cesco and B Fee in the first and second half. Finally, Casemiro scored in the penalty area melee caused by a free kick attack to seal the score.
In this round's focus match, Chelsea lost 1-2 to Manchester City at home at Stamford Bridge, but Kovacic, who was just sold in the winter window, scored a last-minute goal. Manchester City is still 2 points behind Manchester United.
However, seven days later, the points of both sides changed again. Manchester United, playing away at the London Stadium, was tied 2-2 by West Ham United coached by Moyes, which not only ended their six-game winning streak in the league, but also broke their five-game streak of not conceding a goal.
After introducing Kovacic from Chelsea and Gabriel Vega, a young player from Celta Vigo, Manchester City sold Kevin Phillips, who was unable to adapt to Guardiola's football philosophy, to West Ham at a discount of £40 million.
Although the former Leeds United star could not adapt to Guardiola's embroidery work, he has taken to the Hammers like a duck in water since joining them.
Moyes may not be enthusiastic about beating others, but when he sees Manchester United, which has "wronged" him for many years, he often racks his brains and uses all his efforts to clear his name.
This team, the champion of last season's Europa League, is third in the group of this season's Europa League and is about to return to the familiar Europa League knockout stage. In this game, they used every possible means and, at the cost of 8 yellow cards, they shattered Manchester United's offensive organization.
According to Premier League regulations, a team that receives six yellow cards in a single game will be fined 25,000 pounds, but Moyes is clearly intoxicated by the chance to draw with Manchester United at home.
In the 65th minute of the game, West Ham striker Antonio took advantage of Wan Bissaka's loss of position and received a pass from Bowen at the far post to break through the goal guarded by Livakovic.
Then in the 69th minute, Manchester United attacked with a corner kick. Luke Thomas made a 45-degree cross into the penalty area, and Cesco overpowered the opponent's defender Zouma and scored a goal.
Then in the 79th minute, Wan Bissaka's cross was not aimed correctly and was hit by West Ham's left-back Emerson's head. He tried to head the ball out of the penalty area, but it went in and out of the penalty area and landed at the feet of Chen Xiaoliang on the right side of the penalty area.
Chen Xiaoliang kicked the ball directly with the outside of his right foot, shooting an outward-spinning arc straight to the left side of the goal, reversing the score to 1-2.
However, the defense, which was in poor form in this game, made another mistake. The usually calm Varane blocked the opponent's left winger Benrahma's inverted triangle cross and blocked the ball into his own goal...
In the end, despite Manchester United's 18 shots, the score was still 2-2.
On the other side, Manchester City, after a week of rest, won 5-0 at home against newly promoted Sheffield United. Haaland scored a hat-trick, helping the team to tie points with Manchester United again and return to the top of the table with a 2-goal advantage.
Although they failed to win, their unbeaten record of 20 wins and 4 draws can no longer be described as the best start in history like the one at the beginning of the season.
This is an unprecedented record that terrifies all media and commentators.
But such a record was achieved by two teams from the same city, which made Klopp, the head coach of Liverpool, who ranked third, say several times in the press conference:
"In any previous season, our results this year would have ranked first, so I told the players not to be discouraged, you have done very well. Facing these two teams is lucky for football and unfortunate for other coaches. All we can do is to do our best and wait quietly."
"In the first half of the season I thought they would definitely make mistakes, but now I think they might still make mistakes."
Faced with such praise, Chen Xiaoliang and his teammates did not feel much.
Because the Roma team has come to Manchester.
Compared with the fierce competition and rapid progress with Manchester City in the league, Manchester United's performance in the Champions League this season can only be described as average.
In the group stage, the team had 3 wins and 3 draws, and only scored 10 goals in 6 games, which was far less efficient than the league.
Chen Xiaoliang, who created an average of 1.7 goals per game in 24 league games, only scored 3 goals and assisted 1 time in 6 Champions League games, averaging 0.67 goals per game, less than halving his efficiency.
Facing Roma, whose main players have left and whose overall strength is not very strong in the Champions League, Manchester United has an overall advantage, but Roma has an advantage that no other team has.
The players there know Chen Xiaoliang better than anyone else.
Perhaps in terms of football skills, Chen Xiaoliang has made great progress, but on the psychological level, compared to the triple crown winner, he has not changed much now, although he is wearing a yellow robe and a crown.
