Although they have performed poorly in the British battlefield this season and are even deep in the relegation zone with only ten rounds left in the league, Southampton, which is trying its best to gain points in the league to avoid relegation, still has the ability to distract the enthusiasm of the Champions League. Thorns cause trouble. Although former British Golden Boot Kevin Phillips and main left-back Le Saux are aging, their abilities are still there. If used properly, they can play a role in stabilizing the sea at critical moments; the "Drap Grenade" has also begun to gradually Showing its powerful power in the UK has brought many surprises to Southampton; and the sudden emergence of high center Peter Crouch has made Saints fans forget that James Beatty has left the team!
In addition, the arrival of Harry Redknapp has also given the Saints some confidence in their relegation cause. Although this veteran coach who has been coaching in English football for more than 20 years is not among the top coaches in the coaching circle, his strong network of contacts and rich coaching experience are what Southampton urgently needs now. A valuable asset!
In this game, under the command of the old coach, the Southampton players playing at home focused on defense. At the same time, they made a big fuss about Delap's strong throw-in ability and Crouch's height, trying to save energy for the Champions League. Tottenham Hotspur got points that could help them avoid relegation!
In fact, Redknapp Sr.'s plan almost succeeded. Under the diligent defense of Southampton players, Tottenham, which lacked many main players, found it difficult to find scoring opportunities - although Mendieta and Darren Anderton are not bad in ability and have enough experience, they are old. The increase in body size and decline in physical fitness make it difficult for them to maintain a stable enough performance under such intensive defense; although young players such as Vermaelen and Dawson do not have this problem, they face these veterans of Southampton. Youtiao, they are easily deceived due to their inexperience.
Therefore, although Tottenham, who played with all substitutes, is still better than Southampton in terms of overall strength, facing the iron barrel formation set up by the Saints and the extremely lethal set-piece in the frontcourt, they have no scruples and dare not The Tottenham players, who were pressing hard, failed to create many scoring opportunities at all.
However, just when everyone thought that Tottenham Hotspur, who had hidden most of their main players, would suffer their second consecutive draw in the British competition at St. Mary's Stadium, Villa and Klose were He stepped forward at the critical moment and became a hero in the eyes of Tottenham fans - in the 88th minute of the game, Mendieta took a corner kick from the right, and Klose, who was in front of the goal, beat the Southampton defender to clear the ball. As soon as the ball hit, Villa, who was ambushing in front of the goal, subconsciously stretched out his foot to block the ball and blocked the ball into Southampton's gate!
One to zero! With Villa's winning goal, Tottenham defeated Southampton, who were fighting for relegation, in an away game and continued to lead the league standings with a four-point advantage!
After defeating Southampton with one goal and ensuring their lead over Chelsea in the standings, Tottenham, who returned to London, ushered in their long-awaited highlight four days later, which was the Champions League match against Real Madrid. The second leg of the quarter-finals!
Although Real Madrid lost 1-3 in the round and the promotion situation is extremely pessimistic, the pro-Real Madrid media and Real Madrid fans are still desperately cheering for the Galacticos, hoping to revive the team and win in the second round. Defeat Tottenham in the first round and get a ticket to advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League!
In order to build confidence in the players, these fans and media even dug out the old sesame seeds and rotten millet of the year - in the 2002-03 season, George, who was still the acting coach of Manchester United at the time, won the Champions League that season. In the quarter-finals, they won first and then lost, and were reversed by Real Madrid!
Since George was defeated once two years ago, Real Madrid is naturally also capable of replicating this feat now!
George naturally sneered at this argument: "Why didn't they say that Real Madrid had strong players like Hierro and Makelele in the backcourt at that time, and the defensive end was not as fragile as it is now; and Ronaldo was not as fat as he is now. It seems that Raul is still in good condition. But at that time, Manchester United had reached a crossroads of transformation?"
Just like that, when the time came to six o'clock in the evening on March 9, the players from both sides stepped onto the lawn of White Hart Lane on time, preparing to make a last ditch effort to qualify for the quarterfinals!
Similar to Tottenham's recent situation, after the Champions League round, the depleted Real Madrid also suffered from the sequelae of the Champions League - in several La Liga games before and after the quarter-finals, the previously extremely fierce points-grabbing momentum was Real Madrid only achieved a poor record of one win, one draw and two losses, and was further widened by leader Barcelona in the league standings. As of now, Real Madrid is already eight points behind Barcelona, and the hope of winning the La Liga championship this season can be said to be extremely slim!
With no hope of winning the league, Luxenberg can only pin his hopes on the Champions League. He prays that his superstars can perform well against Tottenham and help the team win the qualification to enter the Champions League quarter-finals. qualifications!
Therefore, in the second round of the Champions League, Luxenberg, who had no choice, sent out the strongest deck at hand. As for the final result, the Brazilian coach could only resign himself to fate and secretly pray to God.
Goalkeeper Casillas, right back Raul Bravo, left back Robert Carlos, center backs Samuel and Helguera, midfielders Gravesson and Beckham, and left and right midfielders Zida Nei and Figo, and the forward line is still the combination of Ronaldo and Raul Gonzalez!
Compared with the last time they met, Luxenberg made only one adjustment, which was to replace Salgado with teenager Raul Bravo. This is also something that can't be helped. Who made Salgado diagnosed as season-ending by the team doctor after the game against Tottenham, so that Real Madrid now has only Raul Bravo at the right back position? Therefore, if Luxenberg does not use Bravo, then he can only let Solari or Beckham play this position!
Look at Tottenham again. After learning lessons from every game, George also made certain adjustments to the lineup tonight. For example, Edgar Davids was put on the roster to partner Xavi Alonso in the midfield, and Klose, who has more superb shooting skills and greater mobility, replaced Didier Drogba!
Compared with Real Madrid, which is short of personnel once its main players are injured, Tottenham are not only younger, but also have more available troops. This also means that in the second half of the season, Tottenham, which has more sufficient physical reserves, is already one step ahead of Real Madrid before the start of this game!
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