Chapter 273: Another enemy

When the final whistle sounded, Xiao Ming did not realize anything, because the news just came that Fiorentina was scored two goals in a row by Bordeaux while leading by 3-1. Even if Leiden East defeated Valencia, Valencia should have qualified. However, two minutes after the final whistle passed, Italy came to news that Fiorentina relied on Batistuta's shot from the front of the penalty area in stoppage time to lead Bordeaux again, and at the same time, it also took the promotion place in his own hands!

Valencia was eliminated?

When this idea appeared in Xiao Ming's mind, Xiao Ming realized what he had done.

It's a pity that Xiao Ming had no intention of killing Valencia to help Fiorentina in this game because he was not so great that he wanted to sacrifice the physical fitness of his main player to help others. Today he sent out a pure defensive counterattack formation, with the primary goal being tied or losing less. Being the first in the group was his biggest goal.

Who knew that Cooper was so confused that he could not swallow his away defeat to Leiden East when he got a point enough to qualify in the group. He wanted to defeat Leiden East with an offense that he was not good at to prove his excellence. As a result, he fell directly into Leiden East's vision, and was led by Leiden East in turn with counterattack. After that, he fell into the difficulties that his opponent often encountered...

Damn, I actually eliminated the future runner-up!

Thinking of this, Xiao Ming felt very happy - could it be Leiden Oriental, the one who replaced Valencia to enter the finals? Damn, I feel happy even if I think about it...

"Prepare to go back and wait quietly for our next opponent." Xiao Ming said to MacDonald with a sensation. He did not do anything out of line. After all, Leiden East and Valencia have no old grudges. He won the opponent even if he has already qualified. Although he won accidentally, he has to consider his mood...

After returning to London, Leiden Oriental once again became a team that the whole of Europe was concerned about.

The second stage of the group stage ended. Among the four groups, the highest points were not Barcelona, ​​who had four wins and two draws, Bayern who doubled out of Real Madrid, nor the defending champion Manchester United, but the last winner of the Champions League champion Leiden Oriental who participated in the Champions League for the first time!

After losing the first round, he won the first place in the group with an unstoppable five consecutive victories, qualifying one round ahead of schedule, and the first team to enter the quarterfinals... As a team to participate in the Champions League for the first time, these achievements made by Leiden Oriental are enough to be shocking.

"I suddenly felt that we might be able to achieve good results in the European arena." Xiao Ming smiled at the coaching staff meeting and said to all the coaches: "We are always able to play very well for the first time in Europe."

Hearing the boss say this, the coaches laughed. Leiden Oriental has participated in three European competitions so far, all of which are the first and only...

However, the results are really good. I entered the quarterfinals for the first time in the League Cup, and I became the champion for the first time in the Winners Cup. This time in the Championship Cup, I have become one of the quarterfinals, and maybe I can go further...

The entire Leiden City is immersed in happiness. Although for Leiden Oriental fans, they seem to care more about domestic honors, but for their team to become famous throughout Europe, Leiden Oriental fans can still feel extremely proud!

However, things will turn back when they are extreme, and they will lose when they are prosperous. This is an irrefutable truth, and it is the same on the football field.

On the weekend, in the 30th round of the league, Leiden Oriental played away against West Ham United.

Four consecutive victories in the Narrow League, five consecutive victories in the Champions League, nineteen unbeaten games in the league and Champions League, the mighty Leedon Oriental challenged the West Ham United, which is now ranked tenth. Almost everyone believes that West Ham United cannot block Leedon Oriental's attack. You should know that Leedon Oriental still defeated Leeds United, which was ranked second before, away. What's more, the four main players of Leedon Oriental have been resting for a week, and their physical fitness and other aspects must be restored a lot. I'm afraid that West Ham United can't resist it.

However, when the ninety-minute game ended, the score displayed was 2-1 above Upton Park Stadium, with the home team in front.

The record of Leiden East's 19 unbeaten games ended, and the record of unbeaten against West Ham United in the past four years also ended. West Ham United fans were excited because they finally defeated the closest opponent and defeated this opponent that has been the advantage over them in recent years!

Perhaps it was because less than a week's rest time was not enough to restore the main players of Leiden East to recover their physical fitness, but instead made them unable to quickly tighten their nerves after relaxing. In this game, the players of Leiden East were almost collectively out of shape. They rarely saw the rapid attacks after pressing in the midfield that they were good at in the past. Instead, in the back and forth, West Ham United slowly gained the advantage, seized two opportunities and defeated Leiden East.

The only thing that made Leedon Oriental fans happy was that Leeds United also lost in this round of the league. They lost to Leicester City 1-2 away, and Leedon Oriental continued to rank second.

What they are happier than are Manchester United and Arsenal. Manchester United and Arsenal both won in this round of the league, and Manchester United expanded their lead to eight points, while Arsenal only has three points left to the top two. Manchester United champion is in sight, and Arsenal sees hope of entering the Champions League next season.

In the next round of the league, Leiden Oriental will usher in Arsenal at home. If he loses to Arsenal, his original six-point advantage will be tied by Arsenal. After three days of playing against Arsenal, Leiden Oriental will usher in the first game of the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

"Do we need to divide a primary and secondary position now?" MacDonald asked Xiao Ming hesitantly on the side of the training ground. After losing a game, Leiden East immediately began to feel that the position of their top three was not so stable...

Xiao Ming pondered for a long time, then asked MacDonald a question: "Isn't it very difficult to chase eight points in the eight rounds of the league?"

McDonald nodded, and then Xiao Ming continued to ask: "Is the advantage of three-pointers in the eight-round league not a big deal?"

McDonald understood what Xiao Ming meant a little, and shook his head: "It may not be... If we can beat Arsenal in the next round, we will be able to throw them away by six points."

Xiao Ming shook his head: "But don't forget that Liverpool is only four points less than us now... Before the second leg of the Champions League, we have to go away against Liverpool. We have absolutely no advantage in the league, and the Champions League is something we cannot give up."

Speaking of this, Xiao Ming shrugged his shoulders with a wry smile: "Look, we don't have the right to pick and choose here... Let's fight one by one, there is no need to distinguish between the main and the second. The Champions League is important, but the league is equally important, or even more important, because only by winning the third place can we continue to participate in the Champions League next season. This is very important and very important. Being a regular visitor to the Champions League is a symbol of a team becoming a strong team, especially in this era when at least three teams in major leagues can participate in the Champions League."

McDonald nodded silently, yes, the Champions League is a supreme honor and a World Cup between clubs. In addition to bringing glory, it can also bring rich benefits... But no matter what, the league is the foundation and the soil on which the team relies on for survival.

"That next game against Arsenal..." McDonald asked.

"Of course we have to strive for victory. Even if we can't win, we must never lose." Xiao Ming nodded and laughed: "But we also have to see who the opponent in the quarterfinals of the Champions League will be... We are the first in the group and should have some advantages in the matchup."

The first in the four groups in the Champions League are Barcelona in Group A, Leiden Oriental in Group B, Bayern in Group C and Manchester United in Group D. The second in the four groups are Porto in Group A, Fiorentina in Group B, Real Madrid in Group C and Lazio in Group D. Among them, Real Madrid's qualifying can be said to be the most thrilling. They defeated Rosenberg in the last round and relied on their win-loss relationship to overwhelm Dynamo Kiev, who had accumulated tens of tens of thousands, and obtained the right to qualify.

As the first in the group, Leiden Oriental's opponent will be produced in the second in the three groups except Fiorentina. Of course, Xiao Ming hopes to meet Porto. Porto is not the Porto led by Mourinho in the future. Although main players such as Deco and Carvalho are now in the Porto team, they are still one of the easier teams to deal with.

When participating in the draw ceremony of the quarterfinals, the head coaches of the other seven teams looked a little unusual in their eyes. After all, Leiden Oriental became the first team among them to enter the quarterfinals and have the best results in the second stage group stage. Although Valencia, Bordeaux and Fiorentina are not particularly strong teams, it is not easy to make a way out in this group with average strength.

Xiao Ming's hope of drawing Porto was lost. The opponent he drew for the first time was Bayern in Group C against Porto in Group A. They were in the upper half, and soon, Ferguson's face became serious. They were also divided into the upper half, and the opponent was Real Madrid, the second in the four groups...

Seeing this result, Xiao Ming sighed, his opponent had actually come out...

After raising his head, Xiao Ming indeed saw Lazio's head coach Swedish Eriksen looking at him.

The matchup situation in the second half of the zone no longer requires a draw. Leiden East's opponent is Lazio, while Barcelona's opponent is Fiorentina.

"UEFA really knows how to find gimmicks. In the group stage, I have already met Cooper who had played against last season, and now I have met Lazio who was defeated by us last season... But this seems to be very beneficial to us." Xiao Ming thought to himself.

At this time, the fans of Leiden Oriental and Lazio who watched the draw ceremony were very happy. Leiden Oriental fans were happy to meet a team that they had defeated once, while Lazio fans thought this was the best draw and the best chance for them to take revenge!

"Xiao, I didn't expect we would meet so soon."

When shaking hands with Xiao Ming, Erikson said in a pun.

Looking at the Swedish in front of him who would soon become the head coach of the England national team, Xiao Ming smiled: "That's right, it's such a coincidence..."

Both coaches knew it well that such a coincidence might not be a pure coincidence. Look at the defending champion Manchester United met the strongest Real Madrid among the opponents, look at Leiden Oriental's consecutive encounters with enemies last season, look at Fiorentina, who had Batistuta, who had made all Barcelona fans silent at Camp Nou, and met Barcelona... In three of the four quarterfinals, there were a little old grudge against both sides. You know that in order to make the Champions League more eye-catching, UEFA has used all the methods to do everything.

However, such a match is undoubtedly good for Leiden Oriental. At least it is better than meeting Real Madrid at this time? Besides, Lazio this season is actually not as outstanding as last season, although they have won the Serie A league championship this season.

For fans who are not inclined, a game where both sides have had intersections and grudges can obviously attract them more, which will also help Leiden East gain more attention.

April is another devilish schedule. Leiden Oriental will play six league games and two Champions League games, four games a month, and there are only thirty days this month.

"My guys, there's nothing to say... Let's cheer up. We have to continue working hard this month. Last month was very hard, but we have gained a lot. This month will be even harder, but I believe we will get more."

After returning to London, Xiao Ming told the players who already knew the next schedule on the training ground.

The players have long been mentally prepared. For these professional players, the more intense the schedule at the end of the season, it means that their results are also better. If they were not able to advance on several fronts at the last moment, how could they prove that the team has achieved good enough results?

If the results are not good, why can you still participate in such intensive competitions at the end of the season? This is also a kind of glory in itself!

On April 1, Leiden Oriental's second consecutive month of devilish schedule kicked off, and on this day, they welcomed Arsenal, the fourth in the league, at home.

Arsenal's situation is better than Leiden Oriental. Although they played four League Cup games after the New Year, these four games started in February, and there were only three European games in March, which means that they played last month's game less than Leiden Oriental - although this is not an advantage.

Both sides sent their strongest lineups in this game. Although they will soon usher in the quarterfinals of the Champions League and the semi-finals of the League Cup in three or four days, for both sides, they cannot afford to lose this game.

If Leiden Oriental wins, he will be more at ease in the league. If Arsenal wins, he will be able to enter the top three. Behind them, Liverpool is eyeing him and ready to make a profit at any time.

After a week of rest, the main players of Leiden Oriental have recovered. They performed much better in this game than in the last game. After all, there was no mid-week game last week, and Leiden Oriental's coaching staff also let them undergo restorative training to preserve their physical fitness.

There is no mystery between these two teams now, and the head coaches of both sides are well aware of the habits of both sides. At the same time, after such a long intensive schedule, the players on both sides did not reach their best, but in this game, the two teams also joined forces to contribute a wonderful game.

Arsenal, who played away, took the lead. Henry dribbled the ball from the middle, made a beautiful two-pass and one-on-one cooperation with Borgkamp and Lungberg, and then passed between Hypia and Deselli, and then shot against Jasqueline and broke the net. Arsenal scored the first time.

But before the end of the first half, Leiden East tied the score. Phillips's supplementary shot in front of the goal allowed him to score his 26th league goal. With seven rounds left, Phillips is likely to score his goal to the 30th mark, becoming the third player after Cole and Hiller to score 30 goals in a Premier League season.

In the second half, Leiden Oriental once had an absolute advantage on the court, and with the help of home power, Arsenal was so breathless that he could not breathe. Boban made a substitute Robbie. Keane let Leiden Oriental overtake the score, but just five minutes later, Ovemas broke into the penalty area and tripped by Deselli. Arsenal received a slightly controversial penalty. Borgkamp scored the penalty with great pressure, and Arsenal equalized the score again.

After that, both sides created many opportunities, but they were not sure about it. When the final whistle sounded, Leiden Oriental tied 2-2 with Arsenal at home, and was unable to win in two rounds of the league. However, Xiao Ming was quite satisfied with this. After all, he did not lose to his opponent and continued to maintain his three-point advantage over Arsenal. The only regret was that Liverpool won the league in this round, leaving only two points left to Leiden Oriental. Another good news is that Leeds United lost again. They lost to Chelsea at home and lost three games in a row, and were left by Leiden Oriental by one point.

With such a regretful and satisfying result, Leiden East started their Devil April game.
Chapter completed!