Defeating Deportivo La Coruna 3-1 at home allowed Atletico Madrid to rank first with a six-goal difference and seven goals. One place lower than them was the unexpected Celta Vigo, who were also in the top spot.
In the two rounds of the league, they had a six-goal difference, but they only scored six goals, so they were ranked below Atletico Madrid. Dick didn't care much about this opponent. Even if such a team could be ranked very high.
Gao, in the end, they won't be the ones to win the championship. Those teams are always the most threatening to the league championship.
Real Madrid are in very bad shape. After losing in the first round, they failed to win in the second round. They were tied 1-1 by Malaga at home. Now they have only gained one point and are ranked second from last. Barcelona also suffered a draw.
, but because they won the first round, they are now ranked sixth with four points, Valencia also has four points. In the second round, they were tied by Las Palmas away from home, and their condition does not seem to be particularly good.
After winning the game against Deportivo, Atletico Madrid took a week's rest in Madrid and then went to Valencia to prepare for the third round match against Valencia. It is obvious that Dick showed his ability to play against Valencia.
We attach great importance to the Champions League match, because among the players who went to the away game this time, Belleron, the core midfielder, and Makelele, the defensive midfielder, did not follow them to the away game. Instead, they were allowed to stay at Atletico Madrid to have a good rest.
, just to prepare for the next home game against Olympiacos in the first round of the Champions League.
In the league match against Valencia, Dick sent out a standard defensive counterattack lineup. Only Jardel advanced forward, flanked by Jorgensen and Vicente. In the midfield, he sent Baraja to ensure the defense.
Norwich and Marchena, who was pushed into the midfield, formed a three-back midfielder. The main defense line has not changed. Dick also wants to use this game to continue to test his defense line. After all, Atletico Madrid is going to
What he faced was a powerful player in the Champions League.
The game ended up tied at one to one. Cruz continued his excellent form and used a counterattack header to break through the gate guarded by Canizares in the second half, while Valencia was led by Mista.
A goal was scored with a supplementary shot in front of the goal, and the two teams finally tied one to one. Dick was quite satisfied with the draw.
Atletico Madrid drew, and Celta Vigo and Alaves, two teams that also had two consecutive wins at the beginning, also suffered a draw, so Atletico Madrid still sat safely at the top of the league, but Dick's
This approach seems to have caused a lot of controversy. Many media began to attack Dick for being too arrogant - you dare to hide two absolute main midfielders against a team of Valencia's level. How can you win one?
League champion, have you started to look down on La Liga teams?
After returning to Madrid, Dick did not answer these accusations - of course he was not crazy and thought that La Liga could win the league championship by just playing casually. The reason why he hid Belleron and Makelele in this game
, in addition to shifting the focus to the Champions League, the first thing is to test the ability of the defense to face pressure when the midfield protection is insufficient - Dick has used a lot of rotations in the frontcourt since the beginning of this season.
Whether it is the rotation of a single forward and a double forward, or the rotation of three wing players, he is testing various possibilities. Only on the defense line, Dick has not changed the combination of the two main central defenders.
Due to suspensions and injuries, he will not easily change the configuration of these two players. The reason is very simple. He needs to quickly establish a tacit understanding between the two central defenders and let them withstand more tests.
If these two central defenders were both young players, Dick wouldn't be so anxious, but they are both veterans, so there is no problem with their experience. As long as they gradually adapt to it, they can form a formation in a short period of time.
Combat strength is the foundation of a team. Whether it is offensive tactics or defensive tactics, excellent defense is a must.
As for the accusations from the media, Dick didn't care. As long as the final winner belonged to him, no matter what happened in the middle, it wouldn't have much impact on Dick - he had the confidence and the ability.
However, Rodriguez's column has become increasingly unsatisfactory during this period, mainly because Barcelona has been struggling recently. They only won one game in the first three rounds of the league, and Saviola could not save them. Barcelona itself
His grades were not very good, and he had no interest in attacking Dick - even if it were written, readers would not like to read it, and poor Mr. Rodriguez is about to lose his job.
This is also the reason why Dick has never responded to Rodriguez, because he knows that if he and Rodriguez quarrel in the media, it will be of no use at all, but will make the other party more and more famous.
——The person’s main job is to quarrel with you. You can’t just do nothing and quarrel with people every day, right? After all, quarreling requires racking your brains to find detours to ridicule the other person, which is also a technical job.
Therefore, to deal with such people who are deliberately seeking trouble, just ignore them and treat them as if they are nothing. The most important thing is that in the next few years, Barcelona will not be Atletico Madrid's opponent in the league. Barcelona fans are worried that the team's results will not be enough.
, there is no time to watch Dick’s excitement, so this column is destined to be a forgotten column.
The editor-in-chief of World Sports News has a good vision. If Barcelona can ensure its strength in the next two years and become a championship team, then such a column to disgust Dick will definitely be very popular, just like World Sports
Columns attacking Real Madrid in newspapers and weekly sports newspapers will be very popular. Real Madrid is Barcelona's feud. If Atletico Madrid were Barcelona's competitors, they would also be treated in this way.
It is a pity that although Barcelona's goal in recent years is to compete for the championship, it does not have the ability to compete for the championship. No matter who the head coach is changed or who is hired, it will be the same!
Ignoring the clamor of the media, Dick began to prepare for the game against Olympiacos. This is the first time Atletico Madrid has returned to the Champions League after four years. The last time was in the 1996-97 season.
In the Champions League, Atletico Madrid was placed in the same group with Dortmund, the champion of the Champions League that year. In the group stage, they lost to Dortmund 0-1 at home, but defeated their opponent 2-1 away from home, and finally played against the opponent.
They qualified together, but unfortunately, they met Ajax in the quarter-finals. Although they tied with the opponent 1-1 in the away game, they lost 2-3 at home and stopped in the quarter-finals. This is Atletico Madrid's goal so far.
It was the last time they participated in the Champions League. After that, they had no chance.
Atletico Madrid, which returned to the Champions League after four years, has begun to feel unfamiliar with the atmosphere of the Champions League.
Olympiacos is not a particularly good team, but their experience in the Champions League is exceptional. They never miss the Champions League almost every year, so Dick pays great attention to this game.
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On September 19, countless Atletico Madrid fans poured into the Calderon Stadium, hoping to see Atletico Madrid's first victory in the Champions League after four years!
Ninety minutes later, Atletico Madrid fans walked out of the Calderon Stadium with disappointed expressions.
Originally, they had a great start to this game. In the 22nd minute, Vicente intercepted Jardel's pass in the penalty area and then scored the ball into the dead center of the goal. Then they took the lead.
It lasted until the 80th minute, but the situation on the field suddenly changed. First, substitute Ghanaian international Avery Cue's shot was saved by Molina. Greek international Gianakopoulos equalized the score with a supplementary shot. Just two minutes later
, Karen Bu, who once played for Real Madrid, passed the ball, Giovanni, who played for Barcelona, received the ball and passed the ball selflessly, and Avery Cue shot the empty goal to lead the score!
Fortunately, before the end, Belleron received Camoranesi's pass in the penalty area and turned around and hit the ball into the dead center of the goal, thus avoiding Atletico Madrid's home defeat - even if they won the Champions League four years later
After winning the first point, Atletico Madrid fans who were used to winning still couldn't hide their disappointment.
"Our experience is not enough, and we paid the price for it." Dick's expression was also very solemn after the game. This game should not have been a draw, because in this game, Atletico Madrid was
They had the advantage before and after taking the lead. However, perhaps due to nervousness, they wasted too many opportunities in the next game. At 80 minutes, they relaxed again and were punished.
Olympiakos scored two consecutive goals to take the lead. If Belleron hadn't scored a beautiful goal before the end, Atletico Madrid might not have been able to get a draw.
"Fortunately, this is just a group stage... For us, the Champions League group stage has just begun. One point is much better than losing the game. We will slowly adapt to the Champions League competition.
If you want to grow, you have to pay a price. This is true for Atletico Madrid and myself. But the group stage will give us many opportunities. There are still five games in the next, and we will not let go of any opportunity.
"
The next round of the Champions League group stage begins a week later. Atletico Madrid continues to play at home, but this time their opponent is Manchester United. In the first round, relying on Beckham's last-minute goal,
Manchester United defeated Lille in Ligue 1 1-0 at home and temporarily ranked first in the group.
And this game will also be the first time Atletico Madrid plays against Manchester United in its history!
After the first round of the Champions League group stage, Atletico Madrid's morale seemed to be affected to a certain extent. In the weekend league, they were unexpectedly tied 0-0 by Malaga at home. Malaga used
The excellent defense left Atletico Madrid helpless, and Dick seemed to have focused all his attention on the Champions League and was unable to make too beautiful adjustments.
After two consecutive draws in the league, Atletico Madrid slipped from the first place in the league for the first time, being surpassed by Celta Vigo with ten points, Deportivo La Coruna with nine points, Real Betis and Villarreal.
, Valencia and Barcelona's points have also tied with Atletico Madrid. Atletico Madrid is now only ranked fifth - in just one week, Atletico Madrid seemed to be in excellent condition before and seemed to have the ability to challenge for both the league championship and the Champions League championship.
, it has reached a precarious stage!
"So I often say that the rankings at the beginning of the league are all illusory. Just like when you enter a casino, no matter how much you win at the beginning, it is illusory. The key is how much you have left in your pocket when you walk out of the casino...
… We have paid some price and understood how difficult this season will be for us, and now is the time for us to move towards the difficulty!”
