golden ball prince

Chapter 151 Underestimate the enemy?

The quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League are coming as scheduled, and Paris Saint-Germain will sit at the Parc des Princes in the first round against the Athletic Greek club from afar.

Paris Saint-Germain is more than a little bit bigger than APOEL in terms of strength on paper and reputation. From this aspect alone, except for APOEL fans, I am afraid no one else will think that Paris Saint-Germain will lose to this club from Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus.

"Hello everyone,……."

As French television cameras cut to the studio, Patrick Guillot repeated his opening words, which he has said countless times.

After a brief opening remark, Patrick Gillo and Yoan Lu went straight to the theme of the game and began the pre-match analysis.

"Before analyzing this game, I think it is still necessary to introduce the APOEL club to everyone, because many fans and friends may think that this is a Greek team just from the club's name, but in fact it is not, it's just called APOEL."

"The whole course of APOEL is called Nicosia APOEL Football Club. They do not come from the Greek Super League, but from the clubs of the Cyprus Football League A. The Cyprus Football League is the highest level in the Cyprus football league system. The first competition was held in 1934. There are currently 12 teams participating. The league champion can directly qualify for the UEFA Champions League qualification."

"APOEL was the champion of the Cyprus Football League last season, and then went all the way to the main stage of the UEFA Champions League through the qualifying rounds. Now it has miraculously escaped from the group stage and stood out to reach the [-]/[-] knockout round. APOEL is undoubtedly the biggest dark horse in the UEFA Champions League this season."

"In Cyprus's national league, APOEL is the flagship team and the most successful club in the history of the Cyprus Football League. As of last season, this giant of the Cyprus Football League has won a total of 21 Serie A championships and [-] Cyprus Cup championships. In addition, there are [-] Cyprus Super Cup championship trophies in hand."

"Before the reform of the European competition, APOEL became the first team from Cyprus to enter the European arena in 1963. The club participated in the European Cup Winners' Cup that season and played in the European arena for the first time. APOEL was full of sorrow and joy. The team eliminated the Norwegian team Goviklein in the European Cup Winners' Cup by a large score, but was also eliminated by Sporting Lisbon with an even bigger score. With a score of 1:16, it created the biggest defeat in the club's history."

"In addition, I need to educate the fans. After the restructuring of the Champions League, APOEL is not the first club to represent the Cyprus Football League to enter the UEFA Champions League group stage. In the 2008-09 season, the country's Anorthosis Club was the first Cyprus club to compete in the UEFA Champions League group stage."

After Ioan Lu introduced APOEL to the fans in front of the TV, Patrick Gillo then brought the topic to the analysis of the two teams. He said: "Now everyone should have a little understanding of the APOEL team, so let's take a look at the recent performance of the two teams before the exact starting list comes out."

"Let's talk about the visiting team first. APOEL has only won two games in the last five games, and they all beat their opponents by small scores at home. Therefore, it is not difficult to see that APOEL's record at home is still very good.

Similarly, this season's UEFA Champions League group stage also confirmed this point of view. The reason why APOEL was able to break through the group stage was really thanks to their scoring enough points at home. "

"Compared to the team's excellent home performance, APOEL's performance in the away game is quite mediocre. All three away games in the UEFA Champions League group stage were drawn. This is not bad in the group stage. Once you enter the knockout round, according to the UEFA Champions League system, it is very beneficial for a team to score away games, because away goals are often the most direct way to eliminate opponents in the case of a draw."

"However, going back to tonight's Champions League knockout match, with APOEL's mediocre away results and an opponent far superior to the team, Paris Saint-Germain, it must be very difficult for the Cyprus powerhouse to score away goals."

After a pause for a few seconds, Patrick Guillo continued confidently: "Let's talk about Paris Saint-Germain. Although they drew with Nice in the last round of the league, the team still hasn't lost after the winter break. The failure to win seven consecutive victories has not affected Paris Saint-Germain's fiery state in the past. The UEFA Champions League [-]/[-] knockout round faces the weakest Athletic Greek in the Champions League round of [-]. Paris Saint-Germain has no reason not to win."

"Yes, it's impossible not to win." Yoan Lu had the same confidence.

-

Paris Saint-Germain (4-3-3):
Coach: Carlo Ancelotti.

Goalkeeper: Sirigu.

Defenders: Silsko, Lugano, Yale.

Midfielders: Pastore, Matuidi, Nene.

Forwards: Wang Zi, Gameiro, Mene.

For Paris Saint-Germain's starting lineup, Ancelotti chose the most regular lineup he had when he took over the team. This lineup was also Combore's favorite in the first half of the season, but Ancelotti replaced the right back with Jale.

-

APOEL (4-4-2):
Head Coach: Yovanovitch.

Goalkeeper: Ziotis.

Defenders: Herder Sousa, William, Kaka (PS: Like William, his name is so awesome, and he is also a Brazilian.), Paul Jorge.

Midfielders: Paulsettidis, Pinto (PS: Another good name.), Morais, Trichkowski.

Forwards: Almeida (PS: Hey, again.), Chala Lampides.

"Jovanovic is a coach who advocates attacking, but against Paris Saint-Germain, instead of using a 4-3-3 formation like in the domestic league, he chose a 4-4-2 position, on the offensive end of APOEL..."

"..."

Yoan Lu briefly introduced and analyzed the APOEL lineup.

With the announcement of the starting lineup of the two teams, it is not far from the start of the game, and a big battle is about to begin.

-

"beep……!"

After the referee Mark Clattenburg (PS: The foreign referee of the Chinese Super League this season, he was invited by the Football Association with a high salary, and he is also the person in charge of the referee assignment and future development of the Chinese Super League.) After a long whistle, Paris Saint-Germain's UEFA Champions League [-]/[-] knockout match with APOEL officially began.

After the start of the game, to the surprise of the fans, while the starting players of Paris Saint-Germain were still looking for their status, Athletic Greek played more aggressively after the start, not like a weak team at all.

"The head coach of APOEL, Jovanovic, should have specifically explained that his players started the game early, trying to take advantage of the slow pace of Paris Saint-Germain after the opening to attack the opponent's defense."

"Facing Paris Saint-Germain, which is far superior to their own team, Jovanovic's tactics may really have a miraculous effect, but it is only about 10 minutes after the opening period. Once Paris Saint-Germain recovers, then APOEL will never have the same opportunity in the future."

While Patrick Guillo was speaking, the first shot of the game followed, an attack from APOEL.

Paulsettidis took the ball from the wing at high speed, and Nene rushed to intercept it. The APOEL midfielder stopped the ball and then passed it through to his teammate Herder Sousa who came in from behind.

After passing the ball to Gerder Souza, Paulsettidis bypassed Nene and rushed towards the center diagonally, but at the same time he was always watching his teammates. Paulsettidis knew that Herder Souza might pass the ball back to him at any time.

Gerder Souza rushed to the bottom line on the side, and Yalai blocked the passing route of the APOEL full-back on his side, but when Gerder Souza twisted his ankle, the ball was passed back in an inverted triangle.

Paulsattidis got the ball and did not give Lugano a chance to defend. Paulsattidis shot directly from the outside of the penalty area!
"It's about 20 meters away from the goal!"

"Bossettidis exploded with his left foot!"

　Thanks to [Yaoyao Yaoyao] for the recommendation ticket, thank you!

　　


(End of this chapter)