Chapter 415: The Battle of the Kings! Will the old king defend his title, or will the new king ascend the throne?

Europe has been in a state of chaos these days, and the sports world is no exception.
Huge riots broke out again in France, starting from Paris and spreading to many cities.
Because the Europa League has entered the knockout stage, there is one more round of knockout play-offs than the Champions League, with the third place in each group of the Champions League and the second place in each group of the Europa League. The winning teams can participate in the round of 16. Therefore, the round of 16 of the Champions League has been completed, but the Europa League has just begun.
It was also bad luck that Liverpool, who went to the northern French city of Lens to participate in the first round of the Europa League round of 16 knockout match and challenge Lens away, not only failed to play the game but were also trapped in the hotel because of frequent violent incidents such as looting and smashing.
The local police force was insufficient and could only protect the hotel. They had to wait for a few days for the situation to calm down before they could send a convoy to escort Liverpool away.
In addition, this summer Europe will have two major sporting events: the European Cup in Germany, originally scheduled for June 14, and the Paris Olympics, originally scheduled for July 26, which will play a very important role in revitalizing the sluggish European economy.
In order to allow France to return to normal as soon as possible, cooperate with the decree to cancel all large-scale events, and ensure that the Olympic Games can be held smoothly as scheduled, the European Union, UEFA, and the French government have jointly mediated and coordinated to move forward the Champions League final originally scheduled for June 2 and all previous schedules, and canceled all home games of Ligue 1 teams participating in the European war. The games will be held at a neutral venue in Germany, the host city of the European Cup, to avoid as much as possible the impact of the French riots on the normal holding of the Champions League, Europa League, and European Games.
At the same time, the French Ligue 1 will be suspended for two weeks to allow the French police to completely calm the situation. Whether the game will be resumed later depends on how the situation develops.
This decision was not opposed by any country's football association, because finishing the Champions League and the league early and maintaining a stable situation will help national teams of various countries to achieve good results in the European Cup.
The German Football Association and the English Football Association are also very supportive, but for different reasons.
The former is of course for the smooth hosting of the European Cup, and the latter is due to an inexplicable sense of morality. The more Anglo-Saxon bandits they are, the more they want to claim to be British gentlemen. Moreover, the schedule is tight and everyone is busy. The English Football Association also hopes that the game will end early so that the national team can have enough rest and prepare well.
Only the board of directors of Barcelona expressed opposition, for the simple reason that they would have to face Manchester United, which is in top form, in advance, and also have the national derby against Real Madrid at the weekend, turning it into a terrifying schedule of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Manchester United.
But in the face of major issues, this kind of protest is of no use at all. What's more, Real Madrid has been eliminated from the Champions League, and when they see Barcelona in trouble, they immediately raise their hands in support.
Compared with the Barcelona board of directors, the players are much calmer. After all, they are tired, and they are tired together. The players have been complaining about being tired for a long time, and they have not received any support from anyone.
The league said that these were the only games I had and they hadn’t added any;
The Football Association said playing for the country is a noble mission for players;
UEFA and FIFA say that national team matches are already very rare, and the European Cup and the World Cup are held every four years. Could it be that they will be held every eight years?
The fans also spoke up, you players get paid so much, and you still feel tired just playing a few games?
However, Chen Xiaoliang's arrival still set off a wave of enthusiasm among the fan community. Messi's fans will of course defend the supreme status of the king of football to the death. As for the player wearing Manchester United's No. 7 jersey, no matter who he is, he has the shadow of "Aveiro", and he must be the target of "stepping on ten thousand feet and making him never turn over."
Cristiano Ronaldo's fans naturally placed their hopes of scoring a goal on Chen Xiaoliang.
Coupled with the hype from unscrupulous media and self-media, even though Messi and Chen Xiaoliang successively attended the press conference with the head coach and praised each other greatly, one said that Messi was a legend standing at the top of football history, and the other said that Chen Xiaoliang was a great figure who would change the way football was played. Both told reporters that they had a good personal relationship and had a small gathering after the Golden Ball Award for two consecutive years, it still could not reduce the keyboard players' desire to fight.
Life needs to be vented, and football is a good channel.
The temporary schedule adjustment made the Manchester United team train in Barcelona for only one day, which allowed Chen Xiaoliang to gain 4 training points (90→94)
Considering that the next midfielder's defensive target will be Messi, he used the points on man-marking (15→16), and the training value (94→14)
In the last tough match against West Ham, apart from winning the man of the match, 14 skill points (79→93), and 4 breakthrough points (10→14), there were three pieces of bad news:
Bruno Fernandes suffered a back muscle strain and will be out for 4 weeks;
Rashford sprained knee ligament and will be out for 6 weeks;
Eriksson's old ankle injury recurred while running without the ball, which will cost him the rest of the season and will most likely force him to retire.
However, as if God was joking, just when the Paris riots, the early start of the Champions League, all the chaos and unexpected factors made the drama of Chen Xiaoliang and Messi's early meeting reach an unprecedented climax, on the morning of March 22 local time, the Saudi team Riyadh Victory issued a press release that the Saudi League's top scorer this season, 39 years and 45 days old Cristiano Ronaldo, was injured in training and will not be able to play the remaining games this season.
Ronaldo's sister Catalina Aveiro later posted a personal update, saying that Ronaldo might retire.
As soon as these two pieces of news came out, the huge storm caused by the confrontation between Messi and Chen Xiaoliang was instantly blown into a tsunami that engulfed the continent.
In the eyes of countless Ronaldo's die-hard fans, Chen Xiaoliang has become Ronaldo's "reincarnation". Some even say that one is pinyined as CL, XXL when he was called Little Ronaldo in Manchester United, and the other is CXL. This is God's arrangement.
When Manchester United's bus drove into Camp Nou in the evening, passing through the three layers of fans inside and outside, some of them were there to protest on behalf of Barcelona, ​​while others were there to cheer for Manchester United and Chen Xiaoliang. When the reporter who was stopped outside the safety line was waiting for Chen Xiaoliang to get off the bus, he held out the recorder again and shouted loudly:
"Do you feel that tonight's game is defending Ronaldo's football status? You are wearing the jersey he once wore!"
Chen Xiaoliang has long been accustomed to this kind of behavior of looking for trouble.
His response was not to respond, just a fleeting smile of caring for a retard, without saying a word.
Soon, the lists of both sides were released.
Home team Barcelona 4-3-3:
goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen;
The back four is Araujo, Kounde, Frenkie de Jong and Balde;
The three midfielders are Pedri, Gavi and Gundogan;
The three forwards are Messi, Lewandowski and Güler.
Away team Manchester United 4-1-2-3:
goalkeeper Livakovic;
The back four: Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Lima and Luke Shaw;
Single defensive midfielder Chen Xiaoliang, double central midfielders Milinkovic-Savic and Casemiro;
The three forwards are Kwa, Cesco, and Anthony;
When the starting lineups of the two teams were announced, fans of both sides cried out that they couldn't understand it, and they all mocked the two head coaches Xavi and Ten Hag for being together, saying that the two "Haha"s were playing a prank. But in fact, the two of them had planned a lot of tricks in the lineup for this game.
The official UEFA Champions League cameraman waited outside the locker room door until the starting players of both teams came out.
At the end of the passage, Barcelona, ​​who came out later, walked up under the leadership of Messi. Chen Xiaoliang turned around and stretched out his right hand to Messi with a smile. Messi also returned a gratified smile. At the same time, the two shook their right hands behind their backs, hugged each other, and patted each other's backs with their left hands holding the team flags.
The two teams walked into the Nou Camp accompanied by the Champions League theme song, and immediately cheers and boos burst out!
Some fans held up signs that read "Chen, the future is yours, but today still belongs to Messi", expressing their love for both the new and old generations of stars in a friendly manner. Others held up slogans that read "Those who wear No. 7 are never worthy of carrying the shoes of the king of football", a double entendre that included both this No. 7 and that No. 7.
This match, which set a record for viewership, once again required UEFA to dispatch its ace referee, Polish referee Marciniak, to ensure that the match could be conducted in an exciting manner and push the golden signboard of the Champions League to a new peak.
After the start of the game, both sides did present high-quality offensive and defensive confrontations, especially Barcelona. Playing at home, under the coaching of Xavi, the brain of the Dream Team III midfield, their ability to control the ball was quite similar to that of the peak cosmic team back then.
Soon, those senior commentators discovered that the starting lineups given by both sides were completely different from the actual positions on the field, and they also presented different plans in offense and defense.
Barcelona nominally formed a 4-3-3 formation, but in defense it was a 4-3-2-1 formation. Messi and Turkish genius Güler moved inwards, and together with the midfield line that did not retreat, they quickly formed a double-team on Manchester United's ball holders. Once the midfield was penetrated, the midfield line quickly moved backwards, and during the game Messi could even be seen running back to the top of his own penalty area to participate in the pressing.
In offense, the formation is 3-2-3-1-1.
Frenkie de Jong is in the front and forms a defensive midfielder with Pedri, Gavi and Güler occupy the two sides as wingers, Gundogan organizes the midfield, Messi moves freely in the attacking midfielder, and Lewandowski is in the front and runs looking for opportunities.
This lineup is simply a replica of Guardiola's offensive style at Manchester City. Frenkie de Jong is the "waist defender" Stones, Gavi and Guler on the two wings clearly play the roles of B Silva and Grealish, while Messi's positioning is similar to De Bruyne, and Lewandowski plays the role of Haaland.
For Manchester United, the biggest change is that Chen Xiaoliang was placed in the position of single defensive midfielder.
But in defense, people found that Milinkovic-Savic and Casemiro were still responsible for defense in the back position, one on the right and one on the left, which was no different from when they played as double defensive midfielders.
Anthony and Kwa moved back deep and were more like wingbacks than wingers.
However, Chen Xiaoliang didn't play like a defensive midfielder at all, but like a position that has long been lost in the world - a free man.
He used his running and covering abilities in defense. He ran to almost wherever Barcelona's short passes went and wherever Messi's attack focused on. He seemed to be completely independent of his teammates in other fixed positions, but he was able to establish defensive connections with each teammate.
During the attack, Manchester United changed their formation to 4-1-4-1. Chen Xiaoliang still played the role of the organizing core not far in front of the two central defenders. Casemiro and Milinkovic-Savic formed the front line with the two wingers. Once the ball was lost and the two of them had no time to retreat, Chen Xiaoliang would stay behind to ensure the stability of the defense to the greatest extent.
Chen Xiaoliang's kicking style made Zhan Jun and Henry, who were commentating on the game in two countries thousands of miles apart, exclaim at the same time:
“I thought tonight would be a combination of Beckham and Ronaldo versus Messi, but I didn’t expect it to be Beckenbauer reborn at Camp Nou .”
The extremely complex and careful tactical arrangements of both sides all reflect the mentality of the two teams today - Barcelona must strive for a complete home victory by controlling the game, and Manchester United must achieve an unbeaten away game by maintaining stability.
Both sides have grasped the other's lifeline.
On the Barcelona side, whether it is the 35-year-old Lewandowski or the Messi who will be 37 in three months, they no longer have enough running and pressing ability to squeeze and press Chen Xiaoliang who was lagging behind and had stable control of the ball and graceful passing in the Manchester United backcourt.
Even if we add the Turkish genius Güler who was bought from Fenerbahce for 17.5 million euros and triggered the buyout clause, it will not be of much use.
Güler, who has excellent skills and passing control but extremely average physical and defensive abilities, was only able to give Chen Xiaoliang the chance to dribble past him even when he rushed over to steal the ball.
On the Manchester United side, without Rashford, the only right winger is Anthony, a lame compass with one foot. His right foot is almost disabled and he has no ability to pass the ball from the bottom. This means that even if Frankie de Jong fails to get into position in time in defense, he can still help left-back Balde in the defensive midfielder position to easily deal with Anthony who can only cut inside.
As for Kva, on the left, although he is very good at dribbling past opponents, he is the worst at facing players like Araujo who are strong, capable of confrontation, a main center back, a guest full-back, and have excellent one-on-one defensive abilities.
He couldn't overtake, he couldn't squeeze out when he got close, and there was no guarantee of success in dribbling past the opponent. Moreover, if he failed to dribble past the opponent and once he lost the ball, the whole team had to retreat significantly to defend, which was very tiring and made Kva even more afraid to break through easily.
In order to avoid direct contact with Araujo, Kova had to keep moving inwards or pulling to the side to create space, but as a breakthrough winger, the further away from the penalty area he was, the lower the accuracy of his crosses and the smaller the threat to the goal.
With both wings of Manchester United being useless, or the power of the flanks being greatly reduced, Barcelona only needs to target Milinkovic-Savic and Casemiro in the midfield, and force Chen Xiaoliang not to press forward easily through the interaction between Messi and Lewandowski, so as to curb Manchester United's attack.
The two head coaches and their coaching staff really worked hard for this game.
Unlike Ten Hag, who shaved his head a long time ago due to baldness, Xavi, who has thick hair, also feels that his hair is falling out in clumps when he wakes up in the morning recently... His wife also said that he seems to be in poor health recently.
Alas, the pain of a middle-aged man, who can understand it...
Standing on the sidelines, when Ten Hag turned his eyes to Frenkie de Jong, he still hoped that the former Ajax player could appear at Old Trafford.
Xavi, who was also standing on the sidelines directing the game, watched Chen Xiaoliang make accurate diagonal passes of over 40 meters that he himself might not have been able to make in his prime, and asked God in frustration: Why is it that the club has become so poor when it is my turn to coach... If this red Chinese was in the team, wouldn't winning six championships be a piece of cake?
However, if some people think that the two teams restrained each other in targeted tactics and personnel arrangements, and it seemed that neither side had the upper hand, when Barcelona, ​​with 61% of the ball possession, was on par with Manchester United in offensive effectiveness, a person who changed their destiny emerged.
In the field of football, there is a role called "superstar".
In terms of historical status, personal and team honors, understanding of the game, accumulation of experience and application of skills, Messi is the man standing at the pinnacle of superstardom.
In the 17th minute, when the attacks of both sides had not yet created a fatal wave, the Polish referee Marciniak awarded Barcelona a free kick on the right flank, about 10 meters away from the penalty area line, after Casemiro tripped Pedri who was advancing.
Messi stood there.
Generally speaking, Messi never kicks the kind of elevator ball or S-shaped trajectory ball that is directly pulled and pushed with the instep or the inner instep. When he takes a free kick, whether it is a pass or a shot, it is an arc ball with the inner instep of his left foot.
32 meters away from the door, it seemed out of his range.
But a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, let alone the football king who still completed 15+15 in all competitions this season?
A human wall of five Manchester United players stood on the penalty area line, and the rest of the players were scattered nearby to defend. Even Cesco came back to form a human wall. This highest level of defensive arrangement gave Messi the greatest respect and serious treatment.
“Beep!”
Marciniak blew the whistle and the Camp Nou fell silent.
Messi has made it clear several times that he will definitely not be loaned back to Barcelona from Miami International at the end of this season. He will go to the United States to start a new life with his family and enjoy the last short time of his career.
I hope that in this final season, I can fulfill my dream again for the team I love since I joined at the age of 14, and also fulfill my own dream.
At present, their lead in the league is in turmoil, but they are 4 points ahead of their arch-rivals Real Madrid, who are preparing to spend big in the summer window. They have also reached the semi-finals of the King's Cup and have met Manchester United, a strong opponent in the Champions League whose odds of winning the title are second only to Manchester City.
All three lines have hope, but also challenges.
But the diehard fans of Camp Nou and Messi fans all over the world firmly believe that as long as he is there, there is a chance to create glory!
Messi took a simple run-up step, then suddenly pulled back his left leg, like swinging a full swing of a golf driver, and hit the ball with all his strength. There was a dull "bang" sound at the moment of hitting the ball!
What happened next was simple. The ball drew an inward-spinning arc in the air, first flying towards the penalty spot, and then spinning to the right side of the goal.
The ball had a strong arc, and it was difficult for the goalkeeper to judge its landing point at the first sight, whether it would continue to fly to the left side of the goal, or turn around and fly to the right side of the goal.
Livakovic judged the position correctly after the ball flew one-third of the way, took two steps to his left, adjusted his center of gravity, and suddenly flew out to save the ball!
However, by the time he jumped and stretched out his left hand to save the ball, the ball had already flown to the edge of his fingertips.
Another 0.1 second later, it hit the net behind him.
At that moment, countless South American commentators issued their iconic "GOAL~~~~" celebration that dragged on for nearly a minute. Countless fans, like the Barcelona fans at the Camp Nou, cheered excitedly, jumped, and even knelt in front of the TV to worship the king of football's magical skills.
Chen Xiaoliang, who was standing on the left side of the human wall and playing mobile defense, witnessed the whole process. He couldn't help but say two words in his native language in his heart - awesome.
However, although the entire Manchester United team felt helpless about this goal, they were not discouraged.
Including countless fans of Manchester United and Chen Xiaoliang.
Because in today's football world, everyone knows that in addition to Messi, there is another superstar tonight, the man who has the greatest hope of becoming the next generation of football king.
And his show may just be beginning!
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