February 16th.
The Champions League routinely holds pre-match press conferences.
Zidane sat on the stage, his forehead reflecting the light, looking very bright.
First, reporters and media in London stood up and asked, "Hello, coach, will Hazard start this game? Has he lost weight recently?"
This opening made Qi Zu a little unhappy.
Hazard, who cost Real Madrid 120 million and loves to eat hamburgers, has already made him anxious.
It can be said that in the eyes of the outside world, Hazard, who came to Real Madrid, has been labeled as a "parallel import".
Real Madrid fans have long lost patience with this "Mr. Billion Dollars" and even feel repelled.
However, Zidane still trusts Hazard. After all, Real Madrid's ability to spend a large sum of money to buy Hazard must have been approved by head coach Zidane, otherwise Real Madrid's senior executive Florentino would not have spent this unjust money.
At this time, Zidane paused for a while before replying: "We have too many injuries. Every club encounters the same situation, but I think we are the team with the most injuries. I am very worried, I need my players back, so many of them are injured."
"It is for this reason that everyone at Real Madrid needs a healthy Hazard. But I think he will come out of this. It is a difficult moment now, given what he has been through, but he has a contract and he wants to be there." Success here and I hope it won't be long before he shows what he's got."
This year's Real Madrid is indeed in bad shape. They qualified as second in the group in the Champions League, but they actually faced a lot of criticism.
In terms of the league, they are also very competitive with Barcelona. They are currently ranked first, but the gap is only one point.
The pressure on Qi Zu was actually not small at all.
Later, another reporter asked why Real Madrid did not spend 70 million liquidated damages to buy Equation.
Zidane hesitated for a moment before saying: "His strength is indeed one of the most powerful midfielders in the Premier League, but 70 million euros is not a lot. This needs to be taken into consideration. There are many outstanding football players in Europe. We It’s impossible to buy them all.”
Many reporters want to say that they still remember Real Madrid's famous "Galaxy Battleship".
Immediately, another reporter stood up and asked, "Excuse me, who do you think is the best between the Premier League's Equation and La Liga's Wu Lei?"
Zidane was silent for a moment.
It seems that he did not expect that one day a reporter would ask him such a rare question.
Qizou responded with a high emotional intelligence: "They are all the pearls of Eastern football. I think La Liga and the Premier League will become more dynamic because of their addition."
When an Oriental reporter in the audience heard this, his face suddenly brightened and he couldn't help but straighten his back.
It is really rare to hear words of praise for Eastern players from the mouth of this football legend.
Soon, Wenger also accepted interviews from reporters and media.
Asked about Equation's injury and whether Saka would return to the starting lineup,
Head coach Arsene Wenger did not give a direct answer, which was a smoke bomb for Real Madrid. Who will play Arsenal's right winger has become a mystery.
As for this powerful showdown, the outside media is paying close attention to it.
The game day has not yet arrived, and many media have chosen this game as headline news.
"Zidane bluntly stated that he did not buy Equation in the winter window because of lack of funds. Real Madrid once again missed out on the Oriental player."
——"Daily Sports News"
"Wenger has posed a difficult problem for Zidane. Saka has confirmed his return. Who will Arsenal arrange to play as the right winger? This will affect the outcome of the Champions League knockout rounds."
——"Mirror"
"It turns out that the football market in the East is very huge, and many football clubs in Europe have begun to look for a third Oriental player who has studied abroad."
——"Marca"
.
Also on this day, both sides of the game announced their team rosters.
I saw that both Saka and Fang Fang were included in the Arsenal roster.
The starting lineup will not be announced until the day of the game.
In this regard, Zidane decided to still make adjustments on the right wing, because both Saka and Fang Fang have strong offensive capabilities.
Arsenal also made tactical arrangements for Real Madrid's three midfielders.
On the day of the game, both teams announced their starting lineups.
Saka did come back, but he only entered the bench. After all, he had just returned from injury and still needed to find his game status. Equation continues to play as a right winger.
Real Madrid has a 433 formation:
Goalkeeper: Courtois,
Backcourt: Ferland Mendy, Militao, Varane, Carvajal.
Midfielder: Kroos, Casemiro, Modric.
Frontcourt: Hazard, Benzema, Rodrygo.
.
The domestic commentator for this game is still Zhan Jun. He said very happily: "The game is about to start. I believe everyone is looking forward to this game. You know, Wu Lei just broke through the gate of Barcelona not long ago and created a record of studying abroad in La Liga. New record. If Equation can score a Real Madrid goal now, it will definitely be the headline news tomorrow."
Director Zhang smiled and said: "In the past few days, after the video of Wu Lei breaking Barcelona, the hot searches in China were almost all about this news. I saw that many people who have not watched football know about it. It can be predicted that, If we have more and more overseas players, there will be more and more young people who like football."
Zhan Jun agreed: "Football is a collective sport. The more people participate, the better football can be. I hope this day will come as soon as possible."
The two commentators chatted while watching the pre-game ceremony.
Soon, as soon as the game started, Real Madrid took the lead in launching an offensive.
They play away games and regard the Emirates Stadium as their home stadium.
Modric's ability is getting better as he gets older. He can organize the ball and quickly avoid Arsenal's attack.
Then, he found Rodrigo on the right with a pass.
Facing Arsenal's defense, Rodrigo, who was carrying the ball, suddenly braked and passed an inverted triangle to the center.
Cross ran to the top of the arc, grabbed the rolling football, and chose to volley with all his strength.
The football flew out like a cannonball, so frightened that the Arsenal players in front could only block it with their backs.
fine,
Goalkeeper Leno took off quickly and lifted the flying football over the crossbar with his glove fingertips.
Arsenal almost scored a goal from Kroos in the opening game.
The whole place was in an uproar.
Zhan Jun immediately exclaimed, "As expected of Kroos, his long shot is very threatening. Arsenal should pay attention. Although they are at home, Real Madrid in the knockout stage definitely has strong strength."
Director Zhang agreed: "Zidane is very experienced in leading teams in cup competitions, otherwise he would not have won the Champions League three times in a row. Arsenal must use all their strength today!"
Seeing this, Fang Fang quickly ran back and regarded himself as a full midfielder to help the team's defense.
Real Madrid got a corner kick opportunity, and Kroos took the corner kick.
Fang Fang suddenly remembered something and quickly reminded Leno loudly, "Be careful of corner kicks."
He remembered that Ke Gao seemed to have this free throw technique.
After hearing Equation’s reminder, goalkeeper Leno reacted immediately,
Then he saw Kroos taking a corner kick, and the football drew an arc and spun towards the goal.
Leno quickly backed away and held the football out with one hand just before it crashed into the goal.
Real Madrid almost scored against Arsenal.
Cross's opening two consecutive hits immediately brought out their momentum.
This undoubtedly gave Arsenal a wake-up call.
Wenger immediately shouted from the sidelines, reminding the disciples on the court not to get dizzy, "Stay focused, it is the Champions League knockout round now"
Zhan Jun sighed, "Kross's ability is so outstanding. His playing style is always unpretentious and as accurate as a textbook. This is a level that many midfielders cannot reach."
"Indeed, when he retires, I can't think of anyone who will take over this position in Real Madrid," Director Zhang agreed.
Fang Fang also quickly reminded his teammates that this is the knockout stage of the Champions League and must not be taken lightly.
Fortunately, Arsenal quickly regained the ball after a turbulent start.
However, Real Madrid's attack was also very fierce and did not give Arsenal time to organize an attack.
Fifteenth minute,
Real Madrid took another corner kick on the right,
Benzema successfully fought for the top 7 meters from the front point, and goalkeeper Leno once again rejected Real Madrid's attack.
In the 18th minute, Thomas cut off Rodrigo in the middle and passed the ball to Foss.
The young player Foss did not distribute the ball to the equation on the right, but dribbled to the center for a breakthrough.
In response, Casemiro rushed over ferociously from the side.
Fox pushed the football away, and after resisting Casemiro's collision, he bit the bullet and took a long shot with his right foot.
The football flew into the air, with a slight arc, and hit the crossbar with a bang.
The Arsenal fans suddenly exclaimed that Fuchs was only just one step away from scoring the first goal of his career in the Champions League!
"Almost, the Arsenal youngster almost became famous with one goal! Their opponent today was Real Madrid." Zhan Jun couldn't help but exclaimed, "Arsenal's youth training camp is really full of talents. Fox has only started two games, and he has the air of a general. , this is really rare. This reminds me of Equation, which just debuted last year."
Director Zhang hesitated for a moment and then said: "However, Fang Fang is very good with both feet, so Fosse's appearance should not be a problem for him. Fang Fang still has the status of captain."
"No, Real Madrid counterattacked quickly!"
Zhan Jun wanted to continue this topic, but who knows, after the football hit the crossbar and bounced back, it came to Militang's feet.
Foss was still a little regretful that the goal was not scored, and he was the closest to Militao. When he saw Militao taking the ball, he stepped up to interfere symbolically.
However, Militao escaped the interference of Foss with one pass, and then he found Hazard on the left side of the frontcourt with a long pass.
Although Hazard is addicted to Hamburg in Madrid and cannot extricate himself, his game reading ability is still online.
He flicked the outside of his right foot, and the football drew a diagonal arc, finding his teammate in the middle of the penalty area.
This is Benzema sprinting up from behind Saliba and Gabriel.
He caught the cross and kicked a push.
The football went straight to the lower right corner of the goal!
Leno made a quick save, but it was too late as the ball went under his arm and into the goal.
Real Madrid leads by one goal on the road!
The football stopped in the goal. Leno was so angry that he hit the turf, but he couldn't save the ball.
Countless Arsenal fans were speechless in the stands.
They actually conceded a goal first at home?
"Arsenal is careless!" Zhan Jun watched the live replay and sighed. "Although Foss kicked a high-quality long shot, he did not interfere with Militao at the first time, which resulted in Arsenal being beaten by Real Madrid. Fight back quickly.”
"Hazard did a good job with this cross and helped Benzema score!"
Director Zhang reminded: "Arsenal is in danger. They conceded one goal at home, and in the next round they have to score two goals away from home."
Zhan Jun added: "The most recent record between the two teams was in the 2006 Champions League, also in the 1/8 knockout round. Arsenal lost to Real Madrid in two rounds with one draw and one loss. Judging from the record, Arsenal Na is obviously the disadvantaged party."
After Benzema scored, he and his Real Madrid teammates happily went to the sidelines to celebrate.
They were able to score first on the road, which was undoubtedly a fantastic start.
The home fans were naturally unhappy and immediately booed the Real Madrid people.
"Burger King, hurry back and fake an injury! You are no longer fit for football."
"The championship belongs to Barcelona, we can only line up to welcome them!"
"Benzema, you will never be better than Ronaldo——"
.
"Strengthen the confrontation and speed up your steps!"
Wenger couldn't stay on the sidelines anymore. It was only the 20th minute and he had already begun to direct the players on the court.
As for Real Madrid's three midfielders, they have solid skills and rich experience. It’s no joke that the older you get, the more you become more demonic.
It is difficult for Arsenal's midfielders Foss and Ronaldo to take advantage of the other three.
At most, Thomas can withstand the pressure in the backcourt.
Although Foss and Ronaldo were very active in attacking, the three midfielders were not in a hurry and passed each other around in the midfield, making few mistakes.
This is using passes to consume Arsenal's energy.
When Fang Fang saw something was wrong, he immediately withdrew to support the defense.
However, when he came back, he found that he seemed to be being walked around.
After Wenger saw the situation on the field, he and Arteta fell into thinking together and seemed to find it difficult.
Finally, Thomas cooperated with Ben White to steal the ball from Modric's feet, and Arsenal was about to fight Real Madrid's counterattack.
However, Casemiro predicted the passing path, cut off the football, and the offense and defense exchanged again!
There was a sigh in the stadium, and Real Madrid counterattacked again.
Casemiro distributed the ball to the right,
Rodrigo chose to pass the ball, and Benzema successfully fought for the top in the middle.
But the football flew off the crossbar.
Amid a burst of exclamations, Benzema covered his beard.
He almost scored twice in the first half
(End of chapter)
