Because before this season, the Champions League has always been a two-round group stage. So there is no such thing as the top 16 of the Champions League. As long as it breaks through two rounds of the group stage, it will be directly into the quarter-finals.
But after reducing one round of the group stage, qualifying for the group stage is the top 16 of the Champions League.
The top 16 teams will be determined before the New Year.
That is the draw for the quarter-finals.
Su Yun rushed to Nyon, Switzerland for this draw.
Nyon is where the UEFA headquarters is located. This was also the time when Su Yun had just arrived in England. In 1995, the UEFA headquarters moved here.
Su Yun is very beautiful.
Su Yun used to be a famous young coach in European football, but now he is coaching the upstart Chelsea and has attracted the attention of European football. Even with the winter transfer approaching, reporters with nothing to do are spreading the news every day about who Chelsea has their sights on.
Therefore, reporters always ask Su Yun, who will Su Yun buy?
These questions made Su Yun very upset.
Because Su Yun has not thought about buying any players in the winter transfer until now. Even if there is any move, it will only be in the summer.
Of course, the most popular young coach in European football right now is definitely not just Su Yun.
There are many more.
One is the young coach Benitez who is currently coaching Valencia. He led Valencia to win the La Liga championship, defeating Real Madrid and Barcelona in 2002. Benitez is a rising star in Spanish football.
A young marshal.
He is only forty-three years old this year.
Very popular in Spanish football.
Another outstanding figure is a young coach who suddenly rose to prominence in European football last season.
Called Jose Mourinho.
Last season, Mourinho, who was only 40 years old, led Porto to win the Portuguese Super League championship, Portuguese Cup championship, and UEFA Cup championship, completing a mini-treble.
He became one of the most popular coaches in European football last season. He beat other coaches in Europe and became the best coach in European football that season.
Even Su Yun has never touched this best coach.
Of course, the two of them are still not as famous as the other one.
It was Carlo Ancelotti, who was ridiculed as the second-best player in Juventus back then. He led Milan to defeat Juventus in the Champions League final last season and win the Champions League title.
It also put Ancelotti among the ranks of world-famous coaches.
Ancelotti is slightly older, forty-four years old.
But even at the age of 44, he is still considered a young coach in the coaching industry.
At the age of 44, Ancelotti has already won a Champions League championship. He immediately compares himself to other young European coaches.
Compared to their other young marshal with good grades, his reputation is much smaller.
Of course it's his reputation as a coach.
And Su Yun was chatting with this person.
"Didier, you have done well recently. I already knew you would be an excellent coach."
This person is Deshang.
Deschamps was famous as a player, but after becoming a coach, although his results were good, they were limited to France. But this time after coming to the Champions League, Deschamps performed well.
Especially in the group stage, they swept Deportivo La Coruna 8-3.
Pursau even pulled off a big four.
The game was a sensation at the time.
Although Deportivo started to decline, it has always been a strong team in Europe. Unexpectedly, it was beaten 8 to 3 by Monaco, a French team. This gave many media in European football a huge shock.
However, the young Deschamps is not as well-known as the previous three people.
But don't be in a hurry.
Deschamps was only thirty-five years old.
A few years younger than Su Yun.
"Su, your contribution is also part of this. I learned a lot from you, and I can use it all now."
The relationship between the two people is good.
The two have had a good relationship since Deschamps was still at Chelsea. The two have been in contact since then.
So we sat together chatting and laughing.
Top 16 teams.
There are many differences from the previous Champions League games. You can see it at a glance. Because until last season, it was a two-round group stage, so anyone who can break through the two rounds of the group stage is a tough opponent.
There are no weak teams at all.
They are all strong teams.
They are either traditional European giants or rising teams that have been growing in strength in recent years.
But it's different now.
There is only one group stage, and there are many weak teams in the top 16 of the Champions League. Because some weak teams meet together. The two teams that finally appear may be weak teams. Or one strong team and three weak teams, except for the strong teams
After ranking first, the second place is fish belly.
So there are really a lot of weak teams.
Su Yun chatted with Deshang leisurely.
When the first opponent came out, Su Yun couldn't help but laugh.
Deshang next to him was also happy.
They are all a group of gloating people. Because the first opponents are La Liga giants Real Madrid and Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
None of them are good.
We met and went together.
It makes people so happy.
There are only a few strong teams in European football, and now Bayern and Real Madrid are competing against each other.
It will definitely eliminate a strong team. Even if another team appears, it will be exhausted. What a great draw.
So everyone is happy.
However, the opponent announced immediately made Su Yun even burst into laughter.
Because Chelsea got a very good draw.
Chelsea were drawn against a weak team.
It can even be said to be fish belly.
Their performance in the group stage was very poor. In six games, they had two wins, two draws and two losses, and only scored eight points. He is Lokomotiv Moscow.
Their group is very interesting.
Arsenal has ten points, Lokomotiv Moscow has eight points, Inter Milan has eight points and Dynamo Kyiv has seven points.
Lokomotiv Moscow's performance is already very poor.
Unexpectedly, Inter Milan and Dynamo Kiev were worse.
So luckily Lokomotiv Moscow showed up.
But it is a very weak team among the top 16 teams, and is even known as a weak team. Because their strength is not only inferior to the strong European teams, but also Real Sociedad, Celta Vigo, Lyon, and Monaco are better than Lokomotiv Moscow.
Much stronger.
Chelsea are so lucky.
There are still many strong teams in the top 16, but unexpectedly Su Yun met Lokomotiv Moscow in the knockout round of the top 16.
"Su, congratulations."
Deschamps saw the draw and congratulated Su Yun. He also felt a little envious in his heart.
Su Yun nodded.
Soon, it was Su Yun who congratulated Monaco. Because among so many strong teams, Monaco also drew a relatively weak team. The fake Stuttgart.
Of course, Stuttgart is also a strong team compared to Monaco.
But among the many European giants, Stuttgart is not the most conspicuous.
So Su Yun also congratulated Deshang.
Both of them are very happy today because the draw is an ideal result for both of them.
…………
Anyway, Su Yun was very happy after coming back from the knockout draw.
Moscow locomotive.
This is a really good draw and it couldn't be better.
Su Yun is happy, and many Chelsea players are also very happy. Among the current Chelsea players, there are really few players who have entered the Champions League quarter-finals.
Champions League quarterfinals. Didn’t even see the goal.
The same goes for Su Yun.
Two times in the second round of the Champions League group stage, they were eliminated.
Now that he had drawn Lokomotiv Moscow, Su Yun was very excited.
However, there are also things that worry Su Yun in January.
Chelsea's condition is not very good.
Especially the players who were transferred this season, including Rosicky and Joaquin, are not in very good condition.
Su Yun discussed it with his coaching staff.
They said it was mainly because Rosicky and Joaquin had winter breaks in their leagues. But because England did not have a winter break, their bodies had not adapted to winter break games.
Therefore, in January, Su Yun made some rotations.
It also changed from 4-5-1 at the beginning of the season to 4-4-2 sometimes.
The method of adding two forwards can make up for Rosicky's poor condition. As for Joaquin, it's easy to say that Boboski has always been in good condition. It's just that he is older and has more minor injuries.
Just in time to play his veteran role in January.
In the four games in January, Chelsea's results have fluctuated somewhat. After all, a lot of rotations are needed at this time.
But fluctuations are fluctuations, and the results are not too bad.
There were two wins, one draw and one loss in the four games. Of course, it was not as good as Arsenal who were already playing crazy. Anyway, by the end of January, the 23rd round of the Premier League was over. Arsenal had never lost.
Arsenal's form this season is really good.
The good ones are even disappointing.
They have been in the lead since the beginning of the season and have not relinquished their first position.
However, Chelsea's results are also stable, and Chelsea still maintains its second place. There is not even any team that threatens Chelsea's second place.
Manchester United was left behind by Chelsea early.
Moreover, with Manchester United's current state, it is really impossible to catch up with Chelsea.
Other strong teams such as Liverpool, Leeds United, and Newcastle currently do not have any strength to challenge Arsenal and Chelsea.
The only way to face them is to surrender.
Even Manchester United can't compare to them.
If Manchester United were strong, they could still compete for the Premier League title. But Manchester United has declined, and Arsenal is too strong. As a result, the current situation in the Premier League is that no one can shake Arsenal's number one position, and Chelsea can sit back and relax in the second position.
Alas, although Manchester United did not perform well, they firmly occupy the third place.
Only the competition for fourth place is fierce.
Facing Arsenal's strength, Su Yun felt a little desperate. Of course, Su Yun still had a little extravagant hope in his heart.
Just waiting for the Champions League to start again.
After the Champions League resumes, Arsenal may have some problems in the Premier League due to fighting on two fronts. After all, Arsenal's bench is not as thick as Chelsea, and maybe they will fall behind by then.
So now Su Yun is gritting his teeth and following Arsenal.
Don't be too far behind Arsenal. Although they are really far behind, it is good to leave a little extravagant hope.
Of course, Arsenal's opponents in the Champions League quarter-finals are not strong either.
It's Celta.
Su Yun is even a little impatient to wait for the Champions League to start again.
