Chapter 418: Double victory over Barcelona! The awakening of the twin stars, the strongest support officially returns
Seeing that Lewandowski was at risk of injury, Xavi replaced him with Fati.
In the last 10 minutes of the game, Ten Hag replaced Kwa with Luke Thomas and let him play as a left wingback in front of Luke Shaw.
It was the first time that Luke and Luke played at the same time and guarded the left side tightly.
Manchester United gave up the front court, which caused Barcelona's ball possession rate to soar, but the airtight defense meant that they had only ball possession and could only end the attack with long shots.
But the fans at Camp Nou did not get a goal to close the score until the final whistle.
1 to 3
The loss at home means that Barcelona's Champions League journey this season is almost over. It's not just the score, but the process of the game that made their fans feel powerless.
At such times, they will miss Xavi, who was at the peak of his passing and controlling skills, the selfless and hardworking Pedro and Alves, the iron-blooded Puyol and Mascherano, and the Messi who could break through all defenses.
After the game, Chen Xiaoliang, who was booed the loudest by the home fans at Camp Nou, exchanged jerseys with Messi during the post-match greetings.
The two covered their mouths and spoke briefly, with Messi trying not to show his expression.
At this time, whatever you say will easily be captured and amplified by the Spanish media, and once anything inappropriate is found, it will be criticized.
Originally, they had arranged through their agents before the game that Xavi would host the day after the game, with Messi accompanying them, and invited Ten Hag and Chen Xiaoliang to join them. The four of them would chat about football and future activities, but the event had to be cancelled.
Because no one expected Barcelona to play so passively at home, and because of the conflict between Lewandowski and Chen Xiaoliang, as well as his final injury, it triggered a war of words between fans of both sides and the media behind them.
If they meet again at this time and are photographed by paparazzi, at best they will be accused of committing a crime in defiance of the law, and at worst they will be labeled as shameless traitors of the club.
The entire Manchester United team returned to Manchester the next day for a week of rest.
Originally they were going to visit Anfield on Sunday, but because Liverpool were still stuck in Lens, the game was postponed, giving the team ample opportunity to prepare.
Next Thursday, they will face Barcelona again at home, while Barcelona will play the second national derby of the season against Real Madrid on Sunday night.
After Zidane's third visit, Real Madrid's performance improved slightly, and they were no longer distracted by the Champions League, so they were able to rest and wait in the league.
The good news for Barcelona fans is that Lewandowski is not injured and will start with Messi in the national derby at the weekend.
But the bad news is that everyone knows that it is impossible for 35-year-old and 37-year-old players to maintain good physical levels and conditions after such a series of battles when they travel to England to face Manchester United next Thursday night.
In this game, Chen Xiaoliang scored 1 goal and made 2 assists. He was undoubtedly the best player of the game and received 14 skill points (93→107).
Originally, Chen Xiaoliang wanted to unlock the skill [Excellent at dribbling on the left] so that he could unlock the advancing skills on the left, center and right, but the recent FIFA test report made him change his mind.
Last summer, FIFA, the governing body of football, and the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body responsible for revising the rules, jointly approved the implementation of new regulations on the offside rule.
Body hair offside will no longer occur. An attacking player will only be judged offside if his entire body passes the second-to-last defensive player.
This rule has been piloted for nearly a season in low-level competitions in Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands, such as the Swedish U21 men's and U19 women's football matches. FIFA and IFAB believe that the effect is good and has achieved the expected increase in offensive scenes. It has been determined that it will be fully implemented in national team matches after the European Cup and the Olympics in the summer of 2024.
In order to adapt to the new regulations, football associations of various countries have also announced that they will implement the new regulations in the next season's league.
UEFA is no exception. The Champions League, Europa League and European Championship will all use the new rules.
In view of this, since there are not many cup games left this season, it may not be possible to accumulate 100 points again, so Chen Xiaoliang unlocked the skill [Excellent Offside]
Skill value 107 → 7
Whether he is playing as a right winger, being pushed at the front in a strikerless formation, or attacking from a set piece in the penalty area, this skill will enable him to adapt to the implementation of the new rules as quickly as possible.
And even if the new rules have not been implemented this season, this skill still has its unique role.
As for the [Big Club Mission] to defeat Barcelona, Chen Xiaoliang drew the free kick winning attribute card of Dutch star Ronald Koeman.
[Effect: In the second half or overtime of any finals when you are not leading, the single free kick and long shot attributes become 20, and you gain the skills of being good at powerful free kicks and being good at long-distance free kicks]
Ronald Koeman, the current head coach of the Netherlands national team, is the defender with the most goals in Barcelona's history. With his powerful shooting, he is known as the first generation "gun guard".
In the first Champions League final after the reform in 1992, Barcelona played against Sampdoria. The score was 0-0 in regular time. In the 112th minute of extra time, it was Ronald Koeman, with the cooperation of his teammates' free kick, who blasted open the door guarded by the legendary Italian goalkeeper Pagliuca with a heavy shot.
Well, this card is good, Chen Xiaoliang accepted it.
After returning to Manchester, Ten Hag gave the starting lineup a day off. Now for the team, maintaining sufficient physical strength is an important reliance for the end of the season.
In other groups of matches, Manchester City tied with Arsenal 2-2. Arsenal, who had an unstable performance at the beginning of the season, has been in great form in the second half of the season. They have played against Manchester City 4 times, 1 at home and 3 away, all of which ended in a draw. The winner between them will face the winner between Manchester United and Barcelona.
Paris Saint-Germain defeated Atletico Madrid 3-0 at home. Mbappe scored one goal and assisted twice, and Dybala scored with a long shot. They have one foot in the semi-finals.
Newcastle drew 1-1 with Benfica away from home.
Chen Xiaoliang watched all the recordings of these games in full, especially the match between Arsenal and Manchester City. The group of guys were like drunk chicken blood, playing fast against slow. Rice and Odegaard teamed up with Havertz to make De Bruyne and B Silva lose focus in defense and be caught off guard.
Arteta's thinking is the same as when he played against Manchester United. Since he cannot guarantee that he can defend, he will use offense as defense. Only by dragging down and exhausting the opponent can the pressure on defense be reduced.
As it turned out, he was successful, but not completely successful, because he did not lose, but he also did not win the game.
During a tactical meeting within the team, Ten Hag asked the players who they hoped to meet in the Champions League semi-finals.
Most of the players chose Arsenal, which is in excellent form but relatively weaker. However, some players like Kwa and Lima chose Manchester City, saying they wanted to completely conquer this city neighbor that has won the Premier League five times in the past six years.
Chen Xiaoliang also chose Manchester City, but his reason was - he hoped that Manchester City's first defeat of the season would come from Manchester United, just like the group of Manchester United players that ended Arsenal's 49-game unbeaten league streak.
In this round of the league where Manchester United and Liverpool had a bye, Guardiola sent out a semi-rotated lineup. Neither Haaland nor De Bruyne played. Alvarez started. The team defeated Leeds 2-0 at home, accumulating 78 points, overtaking Manchester United, who had two games less, and returning to the top of the standings.
Newcastle was defeated by Havertz's last-gasp goal away from home, losing the crucial battle for the top four 0-1. Currently, Arsenal, who has one game less, is only 2 points behind Chelsea and ranks 6th, while Newcastle ranks 5th.
Three days later, after a total of five days of training (training value 14→34), Manchester United, well-rested, faced Barcelona.
In the national derby, Barcelona was dramatically defeated by Vinicius at the Bernabeu. Not only did Xavi's team narrow the league points gap with their arch-rivals to just 1 point, but they also paid the painful price of injuries to Lewandowski and Dembele.
The injury is minor and he will be able to return in a few weeks, but the missed key games can never be made up.
On the Manchester United side, apart from Timberwolves and Casemiro starting as defensive midfielders, there was almost no rotation, and Chen Xiaoliang returned to the central midfielder position.
The only difference between this game and the previous one is that it was Manchester United that was seeking control, while Barcelona was the one that was anxious to score a goal.
Benzema watched Chen Xiaoliang and his team's post-match training for a long time before the game. When he took a shower in the locker room and was about to go home, he suggested that Kvart should cut inside more often when facing strong and fast full-backs like Araujo and Kyle Walker.
He was not just talking nonsense, but cited the example of Grealish.
The purpose of cutting inside is not to get rid of the opponent's defense, but to disrupt the opponent's defensive formation. Once the opponent's full-back moves inward with the winger, it gives our own full-back or midfielder the opportunity to move to the side.
And when there is no ball, you can also actively retract.
The formation is dead, but people are alive. If you can't beat the full-back, can't you vent your anger on the defensive midfielder?
Although Ten Hag strongly requires the two wings to be stretched to create space in the middle, it would be more effective if he inserted a few attacks inwards.
It is quite interesting to think that a former Real Madrid player taught his current Manchester United teammates how to play against Barcelona before the game.
It’s not that Kva hasn’t thought about this, but he is not the kind of player who would arbitrarily change the coach’s arrangements for the sake of personal performance.
After all, he is a player from a small football country like Georgia, and he cherishes opportunities more than most people.
This suggestion was also supported by other bigwigs in the locker room, including Chen Xiaoliang.
So, with someone's support, Kva really started to experiment with Barcelona in the game.
The subject of the experiment is Ten Hag's former favorite and current wife - Frenkie de Jong.
After playing for 10 minutes, Kvaratskhelia felt for the first time that playing against a strong team in the Champions League was so easy.
Most of the midfielders in this world have one characteristic: they have top-notch skills but weak physiques, such as Xavi, Pirlo, and Riquelme; they also have top-notch physiques but not top-notch skills, such as Kante, Makelele, and Essien.
People like Yaya Toure and Vieira, who have both good physical skills, are really rare and hard to come by.
Therefore, in most cases, the technically oriented midfielder is in the front, with a popular waist behind him, such as the three midfielders in the ceremony.
But even if they are the three ceremonial midfielders, we can only say that Modric and Kroos' skills are greater than their own physical fitness, but it cannot be said that their physical fitness is poor.
Since the classic attacking midfielder was eliminated, the requirements for midfielders have become more and more versatile.
Manchester City's Rodri and Stones, who changed from a central defender to a waist defender, are the best examples.
At this moment, Frankie de Jong was really in tears when he met Kva, who had been studying how to dribble past opponents since he started playing football.
Follow, can't keep up; break, can't break; stick, even if I stick, I can't suppress Kva's resistance.
Kounde, who played as a right-back on the wing, did not dare to come over to defend because of Luke Shaw's hesitation. Similarly, the defensive midfielder Gündogan on the other side did not dare to let Chen Xiaoliang go to defend Kvart when facing the wandering Chen Xiaoliang.
In the end, Messi suffered a lot. He had to retreat again and again to help Frenkie de Jong to double-team him, and used his limited physical energy on defense.
Ten Hag frowned on the sidelines, looking at his former favorite student, cursing in his heart: "A talented player who can pass the ball is being used as an engineer."
Harvey was helpless as the things he could afford were not useful and the things that were useful he really couldn't afford.
Nowadays, let’s not talk about Chen Xiaoliang, just look at the prices of young all-round defensive midfielders such as Bellingham, Joao Ameni and Rice. Without a small target, don’t even think about asking.
AC Milan's board of directors, which had a similar short circuit in their brains, sold Tonali for only 70 million euros, which is a bargain in the Premier League. Barcelona couldn't even ask for the price.
There is no leverage left. If you try to leverage it anymore, you will punch through the earth.
In the 23rd minute, Messi was knocked down by Casemiro while dribbling the ball, and Barcelona took a long free kick in the frontcourt.
Messi took the penalty himself and sent the ball into the penalty area, but neither Kounde nor Araujo could defeat Chen Xiaoliang who was lurking in the penalty area to defend.
Manchester United quickly counterattacked, Chen Xiaoliang lifted the ball out of the penalty area, and players from both sides immediately rushed towards Barcelona's half like a tide.
Tinbell received the ball, pushed it forward and passed it to Kwa who simply wandered from the left to the right half of the field.
Kva and Cesco are two bachelors. One of them really has no girlfriend, while the other's girlfriend is studying for a master's degree in Georgia. After moving from Rome to Manchester, they rented two villas next to each other. When Chen Xiaoliang has something to do, they go out together to buy daily necessities or play games at home.
According to Mr. Guo, the tacit understanding between these two people is almost to the point where they can smell whether someone has eaten leeks just by their fart.
Kva received the ball just before the center line and pushed it directly to Cesco who was following behind him with his right heel.
After passing the ball, Kwa ran forward and took away Gavi who was guarding behind.
After receiving the ball, Cesco separated from Kva and started dribbling diagonally to the left front. Frenkie de Jong turned around and started following him.
One was running and the other was chasing. Cesco's speed was not very fast, but Frenkie de Jong still couldn't catch up.
Sesco brought the ball to 5 meters away from the top of the arc. Gavi retreated to look at Kva. Seeing that Frankie de Jong could not catch up with Sesco, he turned around and was about to pounce on him, but Sesco pushed the ball to the right and passed it back to Kva.
This was a classic wall pass, but knowing this, Gavi had to turn around and defend Kwa again.
Because he didn't turn around and hit the wall, Kva took the ball and went straight in, creating a one-on-one opportunity.
Sure enough, as soon as Gavi turned around, Kva immediately pushed the ball to the middle again in front of Cesco.
Frenkie de Jong still couldn't catch up... Gundogan on the other side chased all the way but couldn't catch up... not to mention Balde who was further away.
When the ball rolled to Cesco again, he was already one meter behind the penalty spot.
Without stopping the ball or adjusting, the young center forward, who had scored a super left-footed volley at Camp Nou in the previous game, this time directly used his foot and the arch of his foot to steadily push the ball into the lower right corner of the goal.
Ter Stegen moved forward to the small penalty area line and made a desperate save by falling to the left, but facing a one-on-one shot from such a distance and such an angle, it was of no avail.
Zhan Jun: "The game was only in the 24th minute and Manchester United scored a goal!"
"The tacit cooperation between Cesco and Kvaratskhelia broke through the Barcelona's four-man defense through counterattacks."
"Manchester United 1-0, total score 4-1!"
"If nothing miraculous happens, Manchester United has almost secured a ticket to the semi-finals."
Zhang Lu: "There are no miracles. Miracles don't happen that easily."
The commentators in the Penguin Sports live broadcast room for this game were only Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu, and Guan Zeyuan was not there.
In the end, Zhang Lu’s words were indeed confirmed.
Barcelona, which was overturned by Roma, Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain, failed to score even a single goal at Old Trafford.
Xavi is not Guardiola, and Gundogan did not feel like a fish in water when he came here as he did in Manchester City.
Pedri, Gavi and Frenkie de Jong are not Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets. They have completely different playing styles and ways of thinking. Messi will never get as much support behind him.
Lewandowski is not Villa. He is the World Footballer of the Year. He will not constantly pull to the side, involve, and run for his teammates and be content to be a supporting role. Ousmane Dembélé is not Pedro.
Everything is over, and the lost years can never be returned.
In the second half, Frenkie de Jong, who was annoyed by Kvart's shaking, tripped the No. 77 Manchester United winger on the penalty area line and was awarded a penalty by the German referee Deniz Aytekin.
Chen Xiaoliang passed the ball to Cesco who was in hot form, but he didn't expect that he used too much force and the ball flew over the crossbar.
Even so, the total score of 4 to 1 did not change.
After the game, Kva took away the last Champions League jersey of Messi's career, but Gavi still refused to shake hands with Chen Xiaoliang.
Similarly, such a score prevented Messi from saying much in public. He and Chen Xiaoliang agreed to find time to meet again during the summer offseason, then he hurried back to the locker room, and soon got on the bus and disappeared into the night of Manchester.
Kwa was named the best player of the match for his 7 dribbles and 1 assist. Chen Xiaoliang, who rarely scored a goal or made an assist, gained 5 skill points (7→12)
But he was not unhappy at all. The important thing was that the team advanced. Now, apart from preparing for the weekend league, all he had to do was wait and watch the second round of the Champions League match between Arsenal and Manchester City at home the next night.
Moreover, an article in Newcastle legend Alan Shearer's personal column was widely forwarded by the outside world, and also pointed out the reason why Chen Xiaoliang was happy.
"Compared to Chen who was fully adapted to the Premier League on the first day, his two former Roma teammates Kvaratskhelia and Cesco took a lot of time to adapt to the completely unfamiliar league style and football culture."
"I had expected that it might take one or two seasons for the two to fully adapt and return to the form and ability they showed in Italy."
"Then Manchester United brought in Benzema, seemingly to prevent Cesco from being in poor form, and I felt at the time that my prediction was confirmed."
“But now it seems that the two games against Barcelona have become the catalyst for these two to become Chen’s right-hand men.”
"Just think about how great it is to be able to present myself at the Camp Nou, in front of the whole world and especially in front of Messi."
"They both did it, and they also woke up."
"The three of them have scored 66 goals this season, although Chen accounts for two-thirds of them."
"But judging by the current form, we have reason to expect that Manchester United's attack will become even stronger in the remaining two months of the schedule."
"The Reds have a saying called 'adding wings to a tiger'. We can also say that the wings on Chen's tiger have been fully spread out."
