Young Football Player

The game against Leverkusen was successfully won, and then Schalke is going to prepare for the Champions League round of 16.

In the first week of the Champions League round of 16, the first four groups of matches are Leverkusen vs. Paris at home, Manchester City vs. Schalke at home, Arsenal vs. Bayern at home, and AC Milan vs. Atletico Madrid at home.

Of the four confrontations, only the one between the pharmaceutical factory and Paris was considered to have a relatively large gap. It is generally believed that it will be difficult for Leverkusen to stop Paris, while the other three groups of matches are all strong duels, and no one can guarantee advancement.

In particular, the two British and German wars were originally the most concerned.

In the current Bundesliga standings, Bayern ranks first and Schalke ranks second. They are currently the two teams with the best chance of winning the Bundesliga.

In the Premier League standings, Arsenal ranks second and Manchester City ranks third, but they are only one point and two points behind the top Chelsea, both of which are also championship teams.

Therefore, these two groups of British and German battles are still the current battle between the Premier League championship team and the Bundesliga championship team.

On February 17th, two teams, Schalke and Bayern, set off from Germany and flew to England.

But Bayern's destination is London, while Schalke's destination is Manchester.

Coming out of Manchester Airport, the Schalke team was immediately "warmly welcomed" by Manchester City fans.

"Damn Germans, you're dead!"

"German bastard, you just wait to die."

"Blue Moon will beat you to nothing."

Although Manchester City was acquired by an Arab local tycoon in 2008, it has since transformed into an upstart in European football.

But Manchester City's previous two Champions League trips, they both died in the group stage. Now this is the first time in their team history that they have reached the Champions League knockout round, and they have drawn Schalke 04, a player they think has a good chance to beat opponent.

Although Schalke 04 reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, the general impression of many people is that this is just an ordinary Bundesliga team, which is not too big compared to teams like Leverkusen and Borussia. the difference.

So when Schalke visited today, many Manchester City fans came to the airport and decided to give Schalke a blow first.

Schalke is also a team that has been playing European games for a long time, and has long been accustomed to facing this situation.

Soon under the escort of the airport security, the entire Schalke team boarded the bus and headed for downtown Manchester.

※※※

Get settled in the scheduled hotel first, and then Schalke will proceed step by step to prepare for tomorrow's game.

This time in Manchester, Schalke is temporarily borrowing Manchester United's training ground.

When the Schalke team arrived outside Manchester United's training ground, there were fans and journalists waiting for them.

"Bruce, as long as you can get rid of Manchester City tomorrow night, you are the hero of Manchester United."

"Manchester United welcome you, Super Blues."

Fans are basically coming for Jackie Lee.

As soon as Ferguson retired, Manchester United fell severely.

At present, the Premier League has played 26 rounds, and Manchester United is only ranked 8th. Let alone the championship, even the fourth place may be difficult.

So the current Manchester United fans are basically a little confused. Last season, the team that easily won the Premier League championship couldn't compete for the top four this year.

In fact, they still don't know that there will be even greater confusion waiting for them in the future.

Not only the fans, but even the reporters are mainly here for Jackie Lee.

"Bruce, what do you think of Demichelis saying he will guard you in the game?"

"Really? There are many people who have said such things. I don't care. Another person will replace him in a few days."

"But he also said that if he can't guard you, he will let you go off the court early to rest."

"I don't think that's something a professional player should say, so I don't want to respond to such stupid things."

In those important games, the players did say some harsh words among themselves, even saying that they wanted to hurt each other on purpose, but they were basically spat out on the court as trash talk. It is indeed very stupid to say that you want to hurt the other party.

Not only will this not have a deterrent effect, but it will also put you in shackles. If the opponent is really injured during the game, the first one who speaks harshly will become the key target of rectification, and some of them will be suspended or something waiting for you.

That's pretty much the correct explanation for making a fuss without eating mutton.

※※※

At 8:45 p.m. on February 18th, UK time, Schalke challenged Manchester City in the first round of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, which officially started at the Etihad Stadium.

In the stands of the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City fans put together a huge jigsaw puzzle - to reproduce the glory.

At this time, commentators from various countries are doing pre-match analysis.

"Currently both Manchester City and Schalke 04 are in good form. Schalke has won a series of six consecutive victories in the Bundesliga, which has tied their record for the longest winning streak in team history."

"As for Manchester City, they are currently advancing on all four fronts. They still have a chance to win the Premier League and the Champions League. In the FA Cup, they have just eliminated Chelsea and reached the quarter-finals. The League Cup has reached the final. Manchester City is currently the Premier League. The only team in the league that still has a chance of winning the quadruple."

"In terms of the lineup of the two teams, Manchester City is missing Aguero due to injury. This is their biggest hidden danger. Aguero has scored five goals in the Champions League this season, the most among Premier League players. There is Milner suspended for accumulating yellow cards."

"However, Schalke 04 is also troubled by injuries. Their team's Hewedes and Draxler are still recovering from their injuries. One is the core of the defense and the other is an important player in the midfield. The impact on Schalke is also great. Certainly not small."

"This time the confrontation between Manchester City and Schalke is the first time the two teams have met in the history of the Champions League, but if you count all the European games, it is the second time the two teams have met."

"In the European Cup Winners' Cup this season, Manchester City and Schalke 04 met in the semi-finals, and the situation at that time was also Manchester City's first host and then away. The final result of the game was that Manchester City won 5:1 at home and lost 0:1 away. , eliminated the opponent with a total score of 5:2 to enter the final, and finally won the European Cup Winners' Cup that year, which is also the only European championship in their team history."

"So this time they met Schalke again. Many Manchester City fans felt that this was their call to reach the top of Europe again, so they played a banner puzzle to reproduce their glory at home."

While talking, the two teams have already set up their positions on the court, and the battle is about to begin.

Schalke is still the 442 lineup commonly used this season,

Goalkeeper: Keylor Navas;

Defenders: Kolasinac, Matip, Santana, Uchida Atsuto;

Midfielders: Neustadter, Kante, Goretzka, Kevin Boateng;

Forwards: Jackie Lee, Huntelaar.

Kolasinac has been performing better and better recently, and has begun to squeeze out Fox to occupy the main position.

The home team Manchester City arranged a 451 formation, or a 4411 formation, because they put four players in the midfielder position.

Goalkeeper: Joe Hart;

Defenders: Clichy, Demichelis, Kompany, Zabaleta;

Defenders: Kolarov, Yaya Toure, Fernandinho, Jesús Navas;

Forward: David Silva;

Forward: Negredo.

Aguero's injury still made Pellegrini a little lacking in confidence. The formation he arranged was obviously to be conservative at home and try not to lose. Chance.

The opponent was a bit timid in terms of formation arrangement, so after the opening, Schalke directly opened and closed the attack.

In the 3rd minute, Li Chenglong took the ball at the top of the penalty area in the frontcourt. He faked Yaya Toure and shot a low shot.

In the 7th minute, Kanter dispatched the attack in the center and distributed the ball to Kolasinac on the left. up.

(//)

:. :