On the evening of February 22, Munich’s Olympiastadion.
Rijkaard was sitting in the visiting team's coaching bench on the sidelines, his expression looking extremely stiff.
Except for occasionally standing up a few times to protest against the referee's decisions, he spent most of the time sitting blankly in the coaching bench, watching the game silently, seemingly thoughtful, but also seemingly helpless.
But if he saw the score on the scoreboard of the Olympic Stadium again, he would probably feel that he was stunned!
Three to zero.
International practice is that the home team goes first and the visiting team goes last.
There were only a few minutes left in the first half, and this score definitely surprised everyone.
Who would have thought that Barcelona, the favorite to win the championship, would be beaten 3-0 by Bayern Munich in an away game?
…
This is a game where everything goes against Barcelona, from the right time and place to the right people.
Before the game, Barcelona flew from the warm southern Spain to the cold Bavaria, Germany, and the players were quite uncomfortable.
In the away game, Marcos Senna, who has performed well recently, was unable to participate. Rijkaard was forced to use Marcos as the midfielder, with Van Bronckhorst, Oleg, Puyol and Belletti forming the defense.
But no one expected that only four minutes into the game, Kahn took a big kick in the penalty area and sent the ball directly to Barcelona's half. Oleg was running and failed to judge the ball's landing point in time.
Fell to the top.
The ghostly Peruvian forward Pizarro quickly stepped in, and before Valdez could attack, he kicked a low shot from the left rib of the penalty area and sent the ball into Barcelona's goal.
Bayern Munich got off to a perfect start!
After conceding the ball first, Barcelona still played steadily and remained patient.
But the goal came too early, and subtle changes have occurred in the mentality of both sides.
After Bayern Munich took the lead, they began to deploy heavy troops in the midfield, especially in the area from 30 meters from their own side to the midfield line. They also deployed layers of defense to prevent Barcelona from easily passing through their dragnet.
Barcelona controlled the ball and was able to successfully advance to near the midline, but it was difficult to move forward.
Although Ballack was absent, the combination of Demichelis, Frings, Hargreaves and Sauer made Bayern Munich's midfield full of oppression, firmly guarding its own half and not allowing Barcelona to face easily.
Their restricted area.
If the game was just a stalemate, it wouldn't matter. What's more terrible is that in the 13th minute, Sauer made a free kick from the right and sent the ball into Barcelona's penalty area.
In the chaos, Oleg made another mistake in defense. He failed to follow Pizarro in time. After being thrown away by the Peruvian forward, he easily scored with a header without any defense at the back point, further expanding the score.
Two to zero!
Just seven minutes later, Pizarro made a cross from the left and Frings made a pass near the left baseline of the penalty area. Valdez made a save but did not touch the ball. Ma Kai, who was unguarded from the back, easily scored with a shot.
Than zero!
After conceding three goals in twenty minutes, Barcelona was completely stunned!
Everyone couldn't believe it, some wondered if they were dreaming?
How can this be?
…
Rijkaard knew that his team's defense was very fragile, but he never expected that it would be so fragile in the face of a crucial battle. Isn't this too vulnerable?
Strictly speaking, this is Rijkaard's first Champions League knockout match in his coaching career, and it is also the first knockout match for the reorganized Barcelona Dream Team. The coaching staff and players have paid enough attention to it and put in a lot of hard work.
But who would have thought that at the critical moment, they would be defeated by Bayern Munich.
Magath did not confront Barcelona as he said before the game. He still played a very conservative three-midfielder style and relied on defending and counterattacking. But who would have thought that Bayern Munich's offense had not yet exerted its force, and Barcelona
The defender took the initiative to give gifts.
"Oleg is too nervous tonight!" Tenkat sighed dejectedly.
Being nervous makes it easy for people to make mistakes, especially when making judgments.
Rijkaard nodded. He has also played football and naturally knows that Oleg's mistakes are caused by nervousness. However, the performance of this central defender this season is indeed very worrying.
One is Oleg and the other is goalkeeper Valdes. These are both hidden dangers for Barcelona's defense.
The outstanding performance in the league is, on the one hand, the improvement in the midfield brought about by the joining of Marcos Senna, and on the other hand, because the opponents are not strong, but Bayern Munich is different, this is a strong team in the top 16 of the Champions League.
.
…
The whistle sounded at the end of the first half.
Su Dong raised his head depressedly and slowly walked towards the players' tunnel.
These forty-five minutes were really depressing, and it felt like four games.
From the beginning of the game, Barcelona didn't play well.
Conceding the ball first in the opening game was a big blow to the team, but it was not a problem.
In an away game, it doesn't matter if you concede the goal first. The key is to be able to hold on and try to score an away goal.
Unexpectedly, when the team finally tried to stabilize, they conceded the ball again.
And this time I just threw it away again and again, which is serious.
No one can maintain the team's morale under such successive blows.
As stubborn as Su Dong was, he felt depressed at this moment, but he quickly suppressed it.
He knew very well that he must not be knocked down by this mentality, otherwise there would be no hope.
But look at the teammates around you, which one is not hanging his head?
Oleg, the "culprit", was filled with regret and shame.
Who can blame him in this situation?
There is no doubt that Oleg should indeed be responsible for the defeat in the first half, but Barcelona could not find a more suitable player than him, so they had no choice but to let him play. In this case, if there was a mistake, how could they blame him?
Su Dong sighed deeply, walked over, patted Oleg gently on the shoulder, and said encouragingly: "It's okay." Then, without further ado, he walked straight into the players' tunnel.
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Regarding the situation in the first half, Rijkaard had no good solution.
He pointed out the team's problem, which is too much ineffective possession of the ball.
Tenkat also felt that although Barcelona controlled the ball, the rhythm of the game and the control of the situation were not as good as Bayern.
This is a very serious problem.
On-the-spot command and adjustment are not Rijkaard's strengths.
But he has one characteristic, that is, he follows what is good.
When he asked the players for their opinions, the players also analyzed the situation in the first half and gave some of their own judgments. Generally speaking, they could only get a glimpse of the situation, and it was difficult to see the overall situation clearly.
Both Xavi and Deco mentioned that the team needs to find a way to effectively pass the 30 meters to the center line.
If the pass cannot pass through this area, it will be difficult to create a threat.
But how to pass?
"Speed up!" Su Dong gave his opinion.
"Don't be afraid of making mistakes and losing the ball. We counterattack as soon as possible and keep the opponent's ball in the half court, or even in the 30-meter area. Once we grab the ball, we immediately speed up."
Su Dong also mentioned that the connection between Kahn and Bayern's defense is very close, and the cooperation is quite tacit, which makes it difficult for Barcelona to control the size of the pass and the ball will either be blocked by the defender or confiscated by the goalkeeper.
"We played quick, short passes, just inside Bayern's 30-meter area, and asked them to foul."
Barcelona has enough technical advantages. Even Su Dong can hold the ball and cooperate with his teammates in quick short passes. This is an advantage that Bayern Munich does not have.
Once Barcelona opens up, it will be difficult for Bayern Munich.
"I think our first priority in the second half is to strive for an away goal. As long as we score an away goal, we are sure to make a comeback at home. If we score two, the advantage will be back in our hands."
When Su Dong said this, everyone nodded.
Both Rijkaard and Tenkat also felt that this idea was quite good and worth a try.
…
After changing sides in the second half, Barcelona decisively accelerated the pace of the game.
There began to be more long passes and lobs. Compared with the slow passing and ball control in the first half, the difference was very obvious.
Bayern Munich still wanted to use the same tactics as in the first half to beat Barcelona, but things quickly went wrong.
Not long after the start, Barcelona stole the ball and passed it directly to the frontcourt.
Su Dong blocked his position with his body within the thirty-meter area.
Brazilian central defender Lucio rushed up from behind, trying hard to squeeze away Sudong.
Su Dong felt the mountain of pressure behind him. He had to admit that Lucio was indeed very good. His strength confrontation was very good. He could even be said to be the best central defender he had ever seen. He almost squeezed him out of his position.
.
But Su Dong was able to hold Lucio on his back, but couldn't turn around.
The ball came to Su Dong. After stopping the ball, Su Dong returned it to Deco.
Deco was facing the direction of the attack. Facing Su Dong's counterattack, Deco got ahead of Demichelis and poked the ball to the left, passing it to Ronaldinho.
The Brazilian superstar turned sideways in the direction of the attack, stopped Deco's pass with his right foot, and separated Sagnol with his body.
The moment the ball was stopped, Ronaldinho started to drive towards the center.
Sagnol stayed close to Ronaldinho, but the Brazilian made another emergency stop, then suddenly started again, sending a direct pass with his right foot and sending the ball to the left side of the penalty area.
Su Dong, who originally used his body to hold Lucio and stop the ball with his back, then crossed into the left side of the penalty area from the top of the penalty area and caught the ball behind Kovac, another Bayern central defender.
Ronaldinho's through ball.
Kahn decisively abandoned the goal and attacked!
But Su Dong was faster and hit the goal directly with his left foot.
The Bayern goalkeeper reacted quickly, fell to the ground and blocked Su Dong's shot.
This wonderful save earned Kahn a round of applause.
But the ball didn't fly far, it was still nearby.
Su Dong and Lucio both chased towards the point where the ball landed.
Two strong men collided with each other, and neither one took advantage.
Su Dong's legs were longer and his reaction was faster. Although he didn't squeeze Lucio away, he took the first step before the ball hit the ground.
The ball was kicked towards the empty goal by Su Dong.
