Mister Legend

Chapter 536
In fact, not only is the competition between the two top players so fierce that it is suffocating, but the competition for the remaining two Champions League seats has also shown hell-level cruelty.Tottenham, which was originally in the No.3 position, did very well. Due to player injury suspensions and schedule problems, they only achieved two draws in the last two rounds. In addition, the fourth Liverpool just lost. , In an instant, the team behind him saw the opportunity to overtake.

As of the seventh round of No.20, the biggest difference between Tottenham, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United is only five points. It's hard to say who will win in the end.So Pochettino, Klopp, Sarri and Scholes, the four world-renowned coaches (the last one's popularity is naturally mainly from the player era) also issued the sprint order in advance. Almost every team Started to shift the focus back to the country.

The side effect of this state is that it is difficult for other teams in the Premier League to get points from the above six strong teams. Even teams with inferior strength like West Ham United and Newcastle can only hope to get points. A draw is fine, which also makes the polarization of strength and weakness in this season's Premier League standings more obvious.

However, because they pay too much attention to the gains and losses in the league, the investment of "Big6" in other competitions will inevitably be weakened, resulting in a certain decline in their output in the European war.

Since the UEFA Champions League knockout round is less than that of the European League, the former's quarter-finals are divided into four weeks. In the same period of time, the latter will have two consecutive rounds, and finally decide in the same cycle. respective quarterfinals.Therefore, judging from the schedule, teams participating in the Champions League will have an easier time than those playing in the European League.

But for the English teams, the difference is not as big as other countries. Because of the random entry of the FA Cup and League Cup finals, the schedules of several strong teams have been messed up. It is really not easy. easy.

No, both Tottenham and Manchester United, who played in the Champions League in the middle of February, failed to gain any advantage in the first round. The former lost 1 to 3 in the away game at the feet of Bayern, and they can only hope for two weeks The last home game played well; the latter was even worse. Real Madrid, which lost 1 to 2 at home to Guti and whose performance has steadily improved since Guti took over, can almost be declared out in advance.

In the Europa League round of 2, which kicked off on Thursday, the two remaining Premier League teams did not perform too well.Among them, the Gunners, who are in a good promotion situation, sent a large number of rotation players at their home court, but they almost lost their game. In the first half, they conceded two goals in a row and were equalized by Zurich FC.Fortunately, Li Moody's adjustment was very timely, and the players also adjusted their mentality quickly. After the exchanging battle, they also scored two goals, ended the game with a 2-5 draw, and won the final 3-[-]. The score advanced to the second knockout round without any risk.

As for Chelsea's performance, it was even worse. They lost a goal to Spartak Moscow in the away game, and had to play an extra overtime when the total score of the two rounds was the same.Fortunately, the overall strength of the Blues still has the upper hand, and the players have more experience. They survived the difficult conditions in Russia, which was still very cold in February, and scored two consecutive goals. The total score was 3 to 1. Also successfully advanced to the top sixteen.

Subsequently, the draw for the second round of the knockout round of the European League was freshly released. Arsenal were unlucky to encounter Hoffenheim, a strong opponent in the five major leagues, and the schedule was also unfavorable.As for Chelsea, it seems that whether they are extremely lucky, they have drawn Romania's Steaua Bucharest, and their prospects are much better than their rivals in the same city.

But that's a matter of having the energy to prepare at that time. The Gunners and the Blues who have completed this stage of the European war will soon start the next round of the league in two days, in order to make way for Sunday's League Cup final , except for Manchester City, Liverpool and their respective opponents, which will be rescheduled, the remaining eight duels will be played on Saturday, which is a huge challenge to the physical condition of some teams.

Fortunately, Arsenal's opponent in this round is Norwich, who has basically locked in a relegation spot. Although it is an away game, the distance is not too far. This extra consumption can be ignored in the face of the huge gap in strength between the two sides. Never mind.And since most of the team's main players did not participate in the midweek European game, there is still no need to worry too much.

However, considering that there will be two more league matches next week, Li Moody still made a reserved starting list, allowing bench players such as Iwobi and Calum Chambers who rarely played time to get continuous First mover.The team's formation has also changed to 4-3-3, so that while maintaining sufficient offensive firepower, the core players can also play half of the game in several key positions to adjust their status for the next few fierce battles.

The result is such a nondescript gunner, and Norwich, the deputy squad leader of the league, can handle it. After 10 minutes, the visiting team easily returned home with a 2-0 victory, leaving the Carrow Road Stadium sad. .

A day later, in the Carabao Cup final held at the new Wembley Stadium, Manchester City relied on their steady performance in the penalty shoot-out to defeat Liverpool and once again climbed to the top of this least-watched domestic cup after a lapse of a season. Won the seventh League Cup trophy in club history.

The Red Army unfortunately missed their first championship honor after 2012, and they are still empty-handed for eight and a half years. This is difficult for them who claim to have returned to the top after Klopp's coaching.The pressure on Uncle Zha is naturally not small. After all, the strength of the team's lineup on paper is not inferior to other European giants. In the five and a half years since he took over Anfield, various runners-up have won five or six. It's too late, but there is always a lack of luck to take the last step. Whether the American owner behind the club will continue to maintain the previous trust in him, at least for now, it seems to be unknown.

Not to mention Blue Moon's very restrained celebrations, Arsenal's performance throughout February is actually commendable. Although they were eliminated in the FA Cup, their European journey was relatively smooth.More importantly, their winning streak in the league is very fierce. After defeating Norwich, they have achieved five consecutive victories, and it is very likely that this number will continue to expand in the future.

At the same time, rival Manchester City lost one game, which temporarily brought the point difference between the two sides to seven points, making the Gunners' prospect of winning the league look more optimistic.

It was under such a positive external environment that Li Moody and his team defeated the same city’s little brother Fulham at home in the No.3 nine-round league on March 3, and continued to consolidate their position in the standings. leading position.

However, the good mood of the gun fans finally ended on the day before the March 30 Women's Day. In the No.27 league round on this Sunday, the Premier League leaders visited Elland Road Stadium and faced a much weaker team than themselves. Leeds United, however, seemed to be sleepwalking throughout the game. The shooting efficiency of 6 out of 801 made it rare for Li Mudi to fire twice in a row after the half-time break and the end of the game, but it didn't have any effect. If it wasn't for Golovin's cross in the No. The opponent's central defender Matthew Pennington's own goal, the Gunners are likely to be defeated at the feet of this newly promoted team.

However, the score of 1 to 1 obviously cannot satisfy Arsenal and its supporters. With Manchester City's winning streak still not stopping, Li Moody's team only leads the latter by five points in the case of one more game , After that, Blue Moon can win in the make-up match in the middle of next week, and the distance between the two teams is at the level where a victory or defeat can produce a reversal.

The crisis reported by the media is by no means alarmist. Although the Gunners coach once again issued a ban on all players and coaches of the team not to accept any form of interviews for the time being, the outside world still managed to secretly capture it through the paparazzi The photo shows that the training atmosphere in the Arsenal team is still somewhat depressing.The few forwards who wasted opportunities several times in the last game often had dark faces, causing outsiders to have infinite reverie, and some tabloids began to make up false news such as internal strife, which aroused the anger of many people who eat melons focus on.

However, this trend did not last long and dissipated immediately, because in the supplementary match of the Premier League on March 3, which was called the focus of global football, Manchester United reversed their rivals in the same city 10-2 at home. While qualifying for the Champions League is getting closer, it also helped another mortal enemy, Arsenal, resolve the crisis they just encountered.

Li Moody, who was in a good mood, also liked his former colleague Paul Scholes on his personal social media, which was imitated by many gun fans. So in the next few days, a decades-old phenomenon appeared in the British football circle. A rare and strange phenomenon, that is, Arsenal fans are thanking Manchester United for their selfless help, which makes many old fans who have experienced the era of the Gunners feel dumbfounded.

And Arsenal, who had relaxed their minds again, quickly recovered their state. They first used their home momentum to defeat the Bundesliga powerhouse Hoffenheim in the first round of the Europa League quarter-finals on the 11th. Although the score of 2 to 0 is not very good, it can be regarded as a relatively safe lead. Judging from the adjusted odds of the bookmaker, the Gunners' promotion situation is obviously more optimistic.

The following weekend, the Premier League leaders won another crucial battle that could boost morale. They beat their biggest rival Tottenham Hotspur with a small goal at home and completed a double play against the latter during the season. , Detonated the entire city of North London.

Although there was only one goal in this game, the process was far more exciting than the performance of the two sides in the opening game last year. This is from the fact that the referee on duty, Joe Boronson, showed a total of 11 yellow cards and 2 red cards. It can be seen from the behavior.

Bellerin and Danny Rose clashed violently in the second half over a scramble and ended up being sent off for their erratic behaviour.In addition, the two teams also formed two other gunpowder-flavored confrontations during the game, but fortunately they were brought under control in time.

At this time, it showed that Arsenal had the advantage of playing at home. With the cheers of nearly [-] fans on the scene, at least in terms of momentum, the Gunners had the absolute upper hand.Even though Tottenham has many active England internationals, Harry Kane is still the captain and the first core of the Three Lions. It was surrounded by huge boos.

At the last moment, Ali and Ramsey also retired due to injuries and could not continue, adding a strong footnote to this extremely fierce derby battle.

Fortunately, the two generals of their respective teams had too much misfortune. Ali's knee ligament strain only needs about two weeks of rest to recover, and the Welshman's muscle injury is not too serious, and it only takes 20 days at most. Although the recovery period has an impact on the team's preparations, it can be barely overcome.

Four days later, Li Moody led his team to Germany. In the second leg of the Europa League round of 1, they lost 2 to 3 to Hoffenheim, but finally advanced to the quarterfinals with a total score of 2 to [-].And in this away trip, Arsenal still has some reservations about the lineup. This systematic rotation mechanism makes the players' physical fitness and competitive state the best among the top six Premier League teams. The final sprint provided a great boost.

The results of the draw for the next stage of the European War will be released soon. The Gunners will meet the dark horse of this competition, Solna AIK in the Swedish League. The luck seems to be very good.What is even more surprising is that Li Moody also found a reliable column center for Arsenal in the two matches against this opponent-the Spaniard Chuma (nickname, full name is Laura) born in 1997. Phil Gonzalez Rodriguez).

This high school forward who debuted in Serlia was considered to be an infinite brilliance in the future, but because of his own laziness and so-called personality, all his aura faded after he became an adult, and he even fell to the point where he had no ball to play for half a year. It's embarrassing.Fortunately, he woke up in time and went abroad to find a new way out, and finally gained a firm foothold in Solna AIK.

Although the potential should not be too high, the existing attributes are allocated extremely reasonably. With a little adjustment, he may become the next big Giroud.Moreover, there are not too many teams competing at present, and the price will be relatively low. This kind of opportunity to miss is too rare, and the Gunners coach is so happy that he has been in a good mood for a whole week.

After secret bargaining, Arsenal finally booked the former future star in advance for a transfer fee of less than 320 million pounds at the end of April. At that time, few people could have predicted that this would be Li Moody One of the best evidences of "diamond eyesight" in the transfer market.

(End of this chapter)