With the expansion of UEFA and the merger of the European Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Cup has slowly become a more complex event.
Many times, some die-hard fans of their own team don't know that the team has entered the UEFA Cup.
Thanks to finishing fifth in the Premier League last season, Tottenham entered the top 80 directly without playing the first two rounds of qualifiers.
As long as they beat Slavia Prague from the Czech Republic in two rounds, home and away, the team can advance to the group stage.
Since the team's league goal this season is to strive for the top four, the team's strategy in other arenas is to fight on multiple fronts.
Perhaps the players will become more and more tired as the schedule becomes more intensive, but for Tottenham, which just won 1-0 in the away game, this is the time when the momentum is strong.
During this expedition to the Czech Republic, Wang Xiaodong once again showed his terrifying midfield dominance in front of the fans.
Especially a counterattack in the 73rd minute of the game made the home team fans shake their heads in shock.
It was a frontcourt steal. Wang Xiaodong, who was not very skilled in ball control, caught the ball before his opponent stretched out his leg to hook the ball away before he even raised his head.
After barely maintaining his balance, Wang Xiaodong immediately turned around and chased after him.
There were also Tottenham players attacking, but the home team pushed the ball deeper to the side bit by bit through continuous passes.
Even so, Wang Xiaodong, who had been following the ball two or three meters behind, did not give up.
Finally, after the home team's last through ball, Wang Xiaodong suddenly accelerated and chased after the ball.
Seeing Wang Xiaodong's outstretched leg when putting down the shovel, the home team's winger chose to avoid it at the last moment.
However, the result was that Wang Xiaodong stopped the ball with his foot in front of the corner post. He stood up and first used his body to resist the home team's winger who reacted and was about to attack. Then he saw the right moment and turned around gently, using his hand along the sideline. , passed the ball out.
Wang Xiaodong's pursuit of more than 60 meters caused Bai Baihe fans to shout wildly.
What's more attractive than a man who works hard?
Yes, Wang Xiaodong came to Tottenham this season with the highest transfer price, but there is no arrogance of a "star player" in him at all.
Youth and pragmatism have always been what Martin Joel values most about Wang Xiaodong, and these two points were fully demonstrated in front of the fans in this game.
Finally, with Robbie Keane's header in the 13th minute of the first half, Tottenham won a small victory away from home.
After the game, the fans were very satisfied with the team's performance.
In the early stages of the league, winning by a big score is not what fans want to see.
Small wins one after another are the best way for the team to develop.
After returning to the league, facing Fulham, which was ranked 15th, the team failed to continue their winning streak.
In the 33rd minute of the game, the Bulgarian footballer who the team spent more than 10 million to buy suffered a groin strain and was replaced early.
After the game, according to the doctor's diagnosis and treatment, it was believed that Berba did not need surgical treatment, but it would still take a while to be cured.
But Martin Joel said that what he fears most is not that Berba will actually undergo surgery, but that he has been wandering between pain and no pain, injury and no injury. In this way, the trouble has just begun, which will not only torture Berba himself, but also bring down the entire team.
With Berbatov off the field, the team's offensive burden fell on captain Robbie Keane and winger Lennon.
However, this time Fulham was obviously well prepared and guarded Robbie Keane in the middle, leaving him no chance at all.
After Lennon returned home, he somehow lost his shooting boots.
Perhaps it was because The Sun exposed his nude photos. The little mouse obviously gave people a twitchy feeling after getting the ball, as if he was covering something up.
Lennon also admitted the matter frankly after the game, saying helplessly: "Every time I receive the ball, I can hear the whistle coming from the stands."
"It made it difficult for me to concentrate on playing football. I always felt as if I had no clothes on."
"Those fans' eyes seemed to shoot out lasers, scanning every inch of my body."
"Hey, hey! Brother, your interview is an interview, where are you Teemo looking???"
Because of the "diving" of the two main forwards, Tottenham was tied 0-0 at home by their opponents.
After the first five rounds of the Premier League, all BIG4 teams were defeated. The first place in the Premier League was not red, blue or yellow, but civilian teams became the leaders.
Under the leadership of Redknapp, Portsmouth ranked first with 13 points with four wins and one draw from five games, Chelsea ranked second with 12 points from four wins and one loss, and Tottenham had 10 points with three wins, one draw and one loss. Ranked fourth.
Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United is ranked fifth with 9 points with three wins, two losses. Arsenal "bottomed out" after just beating Manchester United 1-0, ranking seventh with 8 points with two wins, two draws and one loss. . Liverpool just defeated Newcastle 2-0 in the make-up match and is currently ranked eighth with two wins, one draw and two losses and 7 points.
Judging from the current results, Martin Joel's team has accomplished its early-season goals well in the first five rounds.
After 5 rounds, three teams in the Premier League BIG4 have been left behind. Tottenham doesn't care which one fails to make the top four. Anyway, I just need to "run faster" than three of the four of you.
The days are passing quickly, and counting the schedule, Tottenham's next game will be a guest at Anfield.
In the fifth round of the league that just passed, Liverpool still lost 0-1 to Chelsea of Magic Birds in an 11-on-10 match, which dealt a huge blow to the Red Army.
What's more, before that, they lost to their city rival Everton 0-3.
In the eyes of the KOP, the most controversial thing about the Red Army is still the guys on the front line.
Bellamy's breakthroughs and shots are expected, but he is not a scoring genius but a breakthrough wizard. If he can do this, he is already qualified.
Kuyt, who had high hopes, looked a little pale: he hit the crossbar with a perfect one-on-one opportunity, and the unguarded shot in front of the goal was high... The performance of the Dutch scoring champion began to be slowly questioned by the fans.
The main task of a forward like Kuyt is to score goals rather than create threats. Now judging from the effect of his appearance, it is no problem to create opportunities and get them. Alonso, Gerrard and Crouch are also all He can deliver a very comfortable ball, but in Kuyt's recent dozen or so shots, he still has zero goals scored.
The problem of weak front has always troubled the Red Army.
After losing to Chelsea last week, Liverpool played a make-up match at home against Newcastle.
With 12 minutes left in the game, something happened on the Anfield field that made all KOPs excited.
Liverpool already had a one-goal lead at this time. After Alonso intercepted the ball from N'Zogbia in his own half, he did not immediately choose to pass the ball.
The Spaniard looked up at the opponent's goal and then swung his leg directly. The ball drew a parabola with a small angle and jumped behind Newcastle goalkeeper Hapoel like a long eye.
At this time, Harpur was standing forward. Seeing the air raid coming, he stumbled in the rush... By the time he got up, the whole crowd was already celebrating what could be called the most magical goal in Anfield history.
Seeing such a goal, the main goalkeeper Ji Wen, who was lying in the hospital receiving stomach treatment, was secretly grateful. Because of his injury, he no longer has to worry about being hit by a 60-yard lob into the net and having trouble sleeping.
"It's great not to concede a goal. Because only in this way can the team continue to put pressure on their opponents and win more games. I even think we should score more goals in this game. The players created many good opportunities. "Red Army coach Benitez said after the game.
Returning with a 0-2 defeat, Newcastle still could not change the Premier League history of having difficulty beating the Red Army away from home.
The last time the magpies flapped their wings at Anfield was during the most glorious Kevin Keegan era. In the League Cup in the 1995-1996 season, Shearer, who was in the prime of his career at the time, led Newcastle to a 1-0 victory over Liverpool.
Liverpool has been known as the "Home Dragon" since ancient times, so for current coach Rodl, failure does not seem too heavy.
But as soon as this argument came out, Tottenham couldn't sit still.
You know, the last time Tottenham won at Anfield was in the fourth round of the League Cup on November 10, 1998.
If we talk about victory in the league, it goes back even further.
Since 1986, Tottenham have only won one win at Anfield in the league. In the history of the Premier League, the record between the two sides is that Liverpool has the upper hand with 13 wins, 9 draws and 6 losses. At home, they have a clear advantage of 9 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss, scoring 29 goals and crushing Bai Baihe.
This season Tottenham started the season smoother than most of the top teams, and also defeated the Red Devils Manchester United. Naturally, the team does not want to be overshadowed by the Red Army in terms of public opinion.
It is precisely because of the victory at Old Trafford that Tottenham officials hyped up: "Historical record does not mean everything. If we can beat the Red Devils at Old Trafford, we can beat the Red Army at Anfield!"
Faced with such clamor, the response from Anfield was: "Don't compare us with that kind of rubbish team!"
A veteran Premier League powerhouse and a Premier League upstart, whether Tottenham can really overturn the "BIG4" mountain this season, so the media and fans have set their sights on Anfield.
