Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

Time comes and the world has the same force, and it is not free to transport heroes.

Barcelona's head coach, Pep Guardiola, is now deeply understanding the true meaning of this ancient saying from the East.

On February 25, in an away game against Lyon, Barcelona squandered a good opportunity, conceding a 1-0 lead only to be tied by their opponents in the final moments.

This draw has amplified the doubts surrounding Barcelona, ​​whose biggest criticism in the past has been that their record is unreliable.

Almost all of their victories were achieved against ordinary or even weak teams in La Liga. Their only major match against Real Madrid ended in a draw despite dominating the game, which has prevented them from silencing the doubts from the outside world.

The ongoing Champions League knockout stage was supposed to be a perfect stage for Barcelona to prove themselves, but they were held to a draw in their first match by Lyon, a team far weaker than them.

Lyon just lost their top scorer Benzema during the winter break, and they haven't made any big moves in the transfer market in recent years, so their strength has declined considerably compared to the Lyon team of previous years.

Even so, Barcelona still failed to defeat their opponent.

Their prized, dazzling attacking style was completely ineffective against Lyon.

This is Lyon, a team that isn't considered one of the top European clubs.

If Barcelona were to face a stronger powerhouse than Lyon in the knockout stages, could they really advance given their current form?

Actually, a draw away from home isn't unacceptable for Barcelona; at least they managed to score an away goal.

Once they return to their home ground, as long as they don't suffer a shock defeat, Barcelona will most likely advance in the end!
The reason why this result is so far from the expectations of the fans is that the outside world is pessimistic.

In this round of Champions League matches, the performances of other La Liga teams were also mediocre.

Atletico Madrid, playing at home, took the lead twice thanks to goals from Aguero and Forlán, but Porto fought back to equalize both times.

Atletico Madrid's chances of advancing have become very slim after failing to defeat their opponents at home and conceding two goals. If they cannot win their next match at the Estádio do Dragão, they will most likely be eliminated.

Villarreal, also playing at home, didn't perform well either. Facing Panathinaikos, who were considered the weakest team in the round of 16 before the match, the Yellow Submarine was surprisingly dominated by their opponents at home.

If the opponent hadn't wasted so many excellent opportunities, the outcome of this match would definitely not have been a draw.

But a 1-1 scoreline isn't good news for Villarreal either. Like Atletico Madrid, they are trailing on away goals, just not by as much!
With the other three teams failing to secure a victory, the hopes of the entire La Liga once again rested on Real Madrid's shoulders.

However, it's unclear whether it's because the last league match was too close to the Champions League game, and the players haven't fully recovered from the fatigue of that match.

Real Madrid, who had won eight consecutive league matches, had a somewhat lackluster performance in the Champions League knockout stage.

Real Madrid faced a tough battle at home against Premier League giants Liverpool.

Benitez, who suffered a humiliating defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League last year, seems to have learned his lesson this time.

Playing away from home, they weren't aiming for victory; instead, they focused a lot of their energy on strengthening their defense.

This tactic was very effective, severely limiting Real Madrid's attack. Whether it was linking up play in the midfield and forward areas or coordinating play on the wings and in the middle, they were unable to achieve any results due to the opponent's countermeasures.

On the contrary, Liverpool's defensive midfielder Xabi Alonso made Real Madrid fans nervous with several precise long passes.

The opponent's crosses are too accurate. If they were paired with a fast and individually strong striker, like Torres, Real Madrid would probably be completely overwhelmed!

Lin Feng was closely marked by Liverpool players during this match, and he was constantly being followed by Liverpool players.

Even Liverpool's captain Gerrard would occasionally come over to double-team him, foul him, and so on, all in an effort to disrupt his rhythm and prevent him from calmly organizing attacks and creating opportunities for his teammates to pass threatening balls.

This tactic was quite effective; for at least the first 75 minutes of the match, Lin Feng's side was relatively quiet.

However, this move has a drawback: it takes a lot of energy out of the defending player.

Anyone who has watched Lin Feng play knows that he is a physical monster.

Trying to outlast him in terms of physical strength and endurance is a mistake.

For the first 70 minutes, Liverpool's midfielders were able to hold on, but after seventy minutes, their stamina gradually began to give out.

This is where the benefits of Real Madrid snatching Mascherano from Liverpool became apparent. If Mascherano were still at Liverpool, Benitez could have used a rotation strategy against Lin Feng.

But with Mascherano being lured away by Real Madrid, he doesn't have as many cards to play anymore.

After the stamina of their key players was depleted, Liverpool found themselves with no one available to play.

Just as Benitez was frowning and thinking about who to substitute for the starter, Lin Feng took advantage of the opponent's defender's declining stamina and made a beautiful acceleration to get rid of the Liverpool player who had been sticking to him.

Lin Feng's breakthrough caused turmoil in Liverpool's defense, forcing the center-backs to step up and cover. However, Lin Feng seized the brief opening in Liverpool's defense after Lin Feng's departure and delivered a clever through ball to Raul's feet.

Raul didn't waste Lin Feng's assist, dodging the goalkeeper's challenge and easily slotting the ball into the empty net.

The score became 1-0, and Real Madrid finally broke the deadlock on the field.

On the sidelines, Mourinho breathed a long sigh of relief when he saw his team finally score.

Because they finished second in their group, Real Madrid's schedule was not very favorable.

The home-and-away schedule means they have little room for error; if they can't beat their opponent at home, they'll be in a very passive position when they play the away leg in the next round.

Although Real Madrid thrashed their opponents at Liverpool's home ground last year.

But that doesn't mean Liverpool is an easy target for Real Madrid to dominate.

There are many reasons for the huge score difference last year. Even if the Real Madrid and Liverpool teams from that time were to play again, they might not be able to achieve such a huge score difference.

Therefore, we cannot pin our hopes on away games; we must defeat our opponents at home and establish a sufficient advantage.

This way, they can take the initiative when they play the away game next time.

So one goal isn't enough; we need to hurry and score more goals.

But for Mourinho's team, once the deadlock is broken and the opponent is forced to abandon defensive tactics and take the initiative to attack, the game becomes much simpler.

Real Madrid's greatest strength is counter-attacking, but the opponent had been holed up in their own half and hadn't given Real Madrid that opportunity. Now that Liverpool is behind, they'll probably choose to attack, right?

If they dare to attack, well, Real Madrid will have to teach them a lesson.

To Mourinho's surprise, Liverpool did not choose to attack when they were behind, but instead continued to defend tightly.

He couldn't help but glare fiercely at Benitez next door. Wasn't this guy supposed to be a tactical mastermind?
How come all you've learned now is to play the tortoise and set up an impenetrable wall?
Benitez stood on the sidelines, arms crossed, frowning as he watched the situation on the field. He was, in fact, pondering whether to change tactics.

But after glancing at the time, he felt there was no need to take the risk.

The game is about to end, and they don't have much time left.

If Liverpool's attack fails to score and they concede another goal, their situation will be dire.

Moreover, his tactics for this match were defensive, and he didn't deploy many offensive players.

At this point, it was too late to adjust tactics; the players' physical strength was too depleted, making it difficult to achieve the desired tactical effect.

Losing to Real Madrid away from home is normal, and losing by only one goal is a barely acceptable result!

After a grueling ninety-minute battle, the final score was 1-0.

La Liga fans and Spanish media can finally breathe a sigh of relief, as Real Madrid's victory prevented an embarrassing situation where all four teams in La Liga would go winless.

Although Real Madrid won, the victory was not by much, and there are still considerable risks in the next game, so much so that the media are hesitant to praise Real Madrid.

Moreover, Barcelona's three-game winless streak was obviously a bigger news story, leading to almost all Spanish media outlets reporting on Barcelona's form after the end of this round of Champions League knockout matches.

Given Barcelona's current slump, many people are even starting to think that Barcelona won't be able to beat Atletico Madrid!
On November 1, the 25th round of La Liga kicked off.

The highlight of this round is undoubtedly Barcelona's away game against Atletico Madrid.

Although Barcelona currently leads by six points, if they fail to beat Atletico Madrid, that gap will quickly shrink to four or even three points.

In another match held earlier, Real Madrid, playing away, easily defeated Espanyol 2-0.

Espanyol, who had broken Barcelona's unbeaten streak in the previous round, seemed to lose their magic after facing Real Madrid. They not only couldn't break through Real Madrid's defense, but Real Madrid also scored a goal in each half with their fast counter-attacks, leaving Espanyol helpless.

Despite Barcelona fans' furious accusations that Espanyol and Real Madrid were fixing the match, they could not find any concrete evidence.

Given the clear difference in strength between the two teams, it's normal for Espanyol to lose to Real Madrid.

Besides, anyone who watched the game knows that the Spanish team has a strong desire to win. Even against a strong opponent like Real Madrid, they still dared to take the initiative to attack. They don't look like the kind of team that would tank and give up.

While it's true that you shouldn't attack so aggressively against a counter-attacking team like Real Madrid, Espanyol is playing at home and just beat Barcelona in the last round. Why not attack a bit more and try to get a double victory against the two Spanish giants?
If you lose, it's because you're not as skilled as the other team. How can you say they fixed the game?

Barcelona fans were helpless against the Espanyol fans' explanations.

All they could do was curse Espanyol and Real Madrid while nervously watching Barcelona's away game.

Guardiola was clearly under immense pressure; the team, already winless in three rounds, couldn't afford to lose any more games.

Therefore, he arranged for almost all the key players who could play in this game to be included in the starting lineup.

After the match started, Atletico Madrid, taking advantage of their home field, launched a series of fierce attacks on Barcelona.

In the first fifteen minutes, Forlán and Aguero each took two shots, and although they failed to break through Barcelona's goal, they had already built up momentum.

However, Barcelona played very calmly in the face of the opponent's fierce attack.

In the 18th minute of the first half, Alves made a long pass down the right wing, and Henry controlled the ball on the edge of the penalty area before cleverly flicking it behind him with his heel.

Eto'o understood perfectly and passed the ball back, allowing Henry to get rid of his guard and unleash a powerful shot with the inside of his right foot from the top left corner of the penalty area.

The ball arced beautifully into the top right corner of the goal, making the score 1-0!

Barcelona are in the lead away from home!
Henry, who scored in this crucial match, replicated his classic sliding celebration at Highbury Stadium, a move he had performed countless times before.

This scene left many Arsenal fans feeling heartbroken, as the former Arsenal king could no longer wear the Arsenal jersey and fight for Arsenal.

Henry's goal seemed to unlock Barcelona's full potential, allowing them to rediscover the dominance they displayed in the first half of the season.

In the 30th minute of the first half, Henry cut inside from the left and passed the ball across to Messi, who broke through the three defenders on the left side of the penalty area and scored with a low shot.

The score became 2-0, and Barcelona, ​​playing away, seemed poised to dominate the game.

However, Atletico Madrid's two star strikers were clearly unwilling to accept this outcome.

In the 31st minute, just one minute after Barcelona scored.

Diego Forlán unleashed a powerful left-footed shot from outside the penalty area, the ball sailing over Valdes' head before plummeting into the net.

The score is now 1-2, Atletico Madrid has pulled one back!
Forlán's goal boosted Atlético Madrid's morale. In the 35th minute, Sylvinho made a clearance error, and Simão received the ball outside the penalty area and unleashed a powerful shot.

The ball was too powerful, and Valdes's save attempt faltered, but fortunately he reacted quickly and caught the ball, preventing Atletico Madrid players from getting a chance to follow up.

In the 36th minute, Ujfalusi made a long pass from midfield, and Aguero unleashed a powerful left-footed shot from the left side of the penalty area, which Valdes narrowly tipped over the bar with his fingertips.

Atletico Madrid took a corner kick, and Raul Garcia's long-range shot from outside the penalty area hit the crossbar.

One minute later, Aguero crossed from the left, and Maxi's volley from the right side of the penalty area went wide...

In those few minutes, Atletico Madrid's attack swept in like a tidal wave, causing huge trouble for Barcelona's defense.

Barcelona hasn't been this passive in a long time; even their last match against Real Madrid wasn't this badly dominated.

It has to be said that Atletico Madrid's two forwards are truly supermodels.

Although their overall strength is not as good as Barcelona's, their powerful attacking line still put Barcelona under tremendous pressure.

Neither side made any substitutions at the start of the second half, and Atletico Madrid continued their fierce attack.

In the 55th minute, seeing that most of Barcelona's players were still in their own half after completing their attack, Atletico Madrid's goalkeeper seized the opportunity and launched a long ball forward.

Raul Garcia fought hard for the header and headed the ball across the box, but Aguero got to it before the Barcelona defender could reach it. He then broke into the right side of the penalty area and scored with a low shot.

The score is now 2-2, Atletico Madrid has equalized!

After Aguero scored, the smiles on the faces of the Barcelona fans vanished completely.

Instead, a deep sense of fear replaced it! (End of Chapter)