Midfielder

Porto's semi-final opponent was determined to be Deportivo La Coruña, which made the Portuguese media very excited. They even shouted the slogan of winning the championship.

It's not about advancing to the finals, but about winning the championship. Those football commentators are almost unanimous in their opinions. This time, no one is looking down on the Porto team.

After all, there is no benefit in badmouthing the Porto team in Portugal at this time. These guys have simply become the incarnation of the country and a symbol of honor.

Even the chairman of the Portuguese Football Association and those senior government officials are on the side of the Porto team, who would be so self-indulgent to badmouth them.

What's more, before the start of the European Championship, Portugal can have such a club reach the semi-finals of the Champions League. This is definitely something to be proud of.

The semi-finals of the Champions League, this is something they would never dare to think about in normal times. You must know that Portuguese clubs rarely even make it to the top 16.

But this time the Porto team fought for their reputation. Not only did they successfully reach the semi-finals, but they also defeated several top teams in the five major leagues.

Including their league rival Lisbon, everyone exclaimed that this may be the best time for Porto to reach the top after winning the championship in 1986.

It is not accidental that these people dare to shout such a championship slogan. After all, among the top four, only Porto has recently won the European championship.

Last season's UEFA Cup championship was not just for show, it was actually achieved. Compared with the other three teams, they have experience.

The most important thing is that it has experience in European finals. In the eyes of many people, this is Porto's best chance of winning, but other teams do not have it.

Even many English media have said that among the semi-finals, Chelsea's overall player level is the highest, and they have the strength to win the championship.

But most people are still not optimistic about the team led by Ranieri. After all, the Italian's luck is indeed too bad, and he has never been able to win the championship.

Ranieri, who has always been considered to have a kind-hearted personality, is not suitable for such a tough stadium atmosphere. He is still a bit too soft, and that's the second thing.

The most important thing is that although Chelsea has many excellent players, its record this season is not so stable, and its status fluctuates greatly.

They can kill Arsenal, and they can also fight Manchester United in the league, and they are inseparable, but they also dare to lose to anyone they encounter.

Teams like Blackburn and Fulham can frequently steal points from Chelsea, which makes Stamford Bridge fans very embarrassed.

And although Chelsea has the strongest players and thickest bench among the top four, its internal management and team operations are also the most chaotic.

This is all thanks to Peter Kenyon's desire to get rid of Ranieri early. If he hadn't been so involved, it might not have been so chaotic.

What is most reported in the English media now is not how Chelsea defeated Arsenal to advance to the semi-finals, nor how sure they are of reaching the finals, or even winning the final championship, but what exactly Chelsea are trying to do. It's time to fire Ranieri.

Gossip is what people are most concerned about, especially for a team that suddenly becomes popular. Any move they make will attract public attention.

Moreover, those media targeting Chelsea will seize this opportunity to hype the cruelty of the money-rich team. This is a different kind of media war.

Reporters and media like those who have always been loyal to the traditional powers and the Premier League giants will never let go of this opportunity to slander the opponent team.

But Peter Kenyon has never cared about this. Anyway, he is the kind of person who doesn't bite the lice and doesn't worry about the debts. He can say whatever he likes!

Even if newspapers and TV describe him as a lackey of the Russian tycoon, he does not care, and he will not even deny the idea of ​​​​firing Ranieri.

Firing a coach who is ranked third in the league and has reached the semi-finals of the Champions League is something only a madman would do, but Chelsea is indeed a bit crazy.

This is definitely not groundless, and the person involved, Ranieri, already knows what his future will be like, just like what he said at the press conference after he eliminated Arsenal, "What can a victory in one game change?" Forget it, my friends.”

"My fate has been decided a long time ago, even weeks ago. It cannot be changed, but now I don't know when I will leave."

This good old Italian man obviously showed a sense of helplessness when he said these words, but he still could not change his fate of being dismissed from get out of class.

Even now that he has led Chelsea to the highest peak in the past ten years, he still cannot save his career future, which is really helpless.

This is the cruel reality of Chelsea. No one takes Ranieri seriously, and the fateful battle to defeat Arsenal has long been forgotten by Kenyon.

Peter Kenyon now sees Ranieri's incompetence and flaws everywhere. No championship means failure. This is Chelsea's policy.

And don't forget, Ranieri is not the head coach appointed by the Russian boss and Kenyon, he is the legacy left by the former chairman.

Even if they still have the suspense of winning the Champions League, Peter Kenyon doesn't care. Anyway, the Italian is about to leave here.

Now Chelsea just have to choose the one that suits them among many targets. Even Mourinho and Deschamps are just one of the choices.

Since Porto's biggest potential threat is now plagued by so many bad things, there is no reason for the Portuguese media not to shout the slogan of winning the championship.

The main reason is that they still believe that a team like Deportivo La Coruna, which was beaten into a sieve by Monaco in the group stage, does not pose any threat to them.

If the opponent in the semi-finals is AC Milan, it may be a different story, but if it is a team from the Spanish league, it is not so scary.

Moreover, these Portuguese media have always been very confident about Porto's home performance. The Dragon Stadium has not lost a single game in the Champions League this season.

Whether it is traditional giants like Real Madrid and Manchester United, or French Ligue 1 powerhouses like Marseille and Lyon, they have not gotten any advantage here.

Now the Dragon Stadium has become a taboo place in the eyes of many teams. Porto people here are simply a group of invincible lunatics.

The first game of the semi-final is played at the Dragon Stadium, and their opponent is a famous "away worm", which is simply a godsend.

If Porto cannot successfully overcome the obstacle of Deportivo La Coruna and enter the final, it would be a waste of the opportunity God has given them.

Not only the media is advocating the final theory and the championship theory, but even the Porto team is gearing up to go to the Schalke Stadium.

When Nuno, the substitute goalkeeper of the Porto team who used to play for Deportivo La Coruna, heard that the opponent in the semi-final was his former club, his first reaction was to say to Mourinho excitedly, "Boss, we have entered the final! We can go to Germany!"

It is not a problem to defeat the opponent. This has become a consensus among everyone. Although Mourinho is still very vigilant, he can't stand the advocacy of so many people.

This excitement has continued to the league. Porto people don't want to be disturbed at this time. In the next two rounds of the league, they defeated their opponents smoothly, scored seven goals in two games, and ensured that their own gates were not lost.

Even those substitute players seemed to have taken stimulants. As long as they were on the court, they could contribute their own strength, and each one was more fierce than the other.

Such a strong state even made the local newspapers in Porto shout out the call for the triple crown. Porto seemed to be making history.

The all-round winning record made the whole city of Porto immersed in carnival. The league championship has been won, and now only the cup and Champions League games are left.

The momentum of rapid progress and the recent state of the team sweeping everything have indeed made many people full of confidence in defeating Deportivo La Coruna in the semi-finals.

However, even Mourinho inadvertently overlooked a problem, that is, when the team wins the game continuously, they will form a kind of inertia.

Players will rely on a certain rhythm, which is their weapon to destroy their opponents, but also a shackle that shackles their feet.

But the continuous victory made everyone ignore this point, although Mourinho reminded his players to keep a calm mind.

But in the face of the temptation of breaking into the Champions League final, who can stay calm? I am afraid that even Mourinho himself can't be as calm as usual.

After all, it is the highest honor in European football. Winning it not only represents honor, value, and contract, but the Champions League is a huge gold mine.

One team is a home dragon, and the other is an away worm. Too many people think that Porto will lock in a ticket to the final in the first round.

This is a good wish, but it does not mean that this wish will definitely come true. The night of April 22 was a game that did not belong to Porto.

0:0, when the 90-minute game ended, the fans who had been shouting for more than an hour all stared blankly at the score on the big screen.

This is the ending that Deportivo La Coruna gave to Porto. This group of Spaniards used the purest defensive counterattack to kill Porto's offense.

They completely abandoned the common ball-control style of Spanish football. On the court, they were even more tenacious than the Italians this time.

When the defense of Deportivo La Coruna did not have the ability to fight all-weather for 90 minutes, they could only temporarily give up the midfield when playing away.

Whether it was Belleron, Victor or Fran who came on later, they were not very "enthusiastic" about forward attack.

The Deportivo La Coruna team at the Dragon Stadium performed more like an Italian team. They gave up the gorgeous offensive advancement and instead pursued the efficiency of offense and defense, rather than the good-looking scene and the advantage of ball possession. They even gave up some offensive opportunities.

Because Irueta was too afraid of the threat of Porto's quick counterattack, he had the idea of ​​not making mistakes away from home.

Winning? He never thought of this idea from the beginning. He even said in an interview that he only needed a draw.

"Porto is a team with orderly offense and defense. If our defense line is not highly focused, it will pay a heavy price."

It was a miracle to eliminate AC Milan in two rounds, but Irueta didn't like to stage the kind of thrilling super reversal every time.

Irueta achieved his wish before the game and left the Dragon Stadium with one point. He and his team retreated from Porto unscathed.

The score of 0-0 also made him seem to see the hope of advancing to the Champions League final. When the game ended, the group of Spaniards cheered passionately.

The away fans sitting in the north stand were so happy that they waved the flags of Deportivo La Coruna in their seats and cheered loudly.

The players of Deportivo La Coruna also ran over to thank them. They sang together, as if they had won the ticket to the final.

Mourinho knew that at the Dragon Stadium, the group of Spaniards would not take too many risks, but would defend with all their strength, hoping to equalize the score at home.

So he also sent all the main players to try to defeat the opponent at the Dragon Stadium, but the reality was very cruel to him, and it was only a draw in the end.

Although Andrade of Deportivo La Coruna was sent off for infringing Lin Yi in the last 30 minutes of the game, they still successfully defended the goal.

If the opponent was sent off in normal times, Porto would definitely use the advantage in numbers to suppress the opponent and attack continuously.

But this time they were missing the sharpest bayonet. When Andrade was sent off, he also successfully made Lin Yi leave the field due to a leg injury.

Brito swore that if Faria hadn't hugged Mourinho, that guy would have rushed to the field and punched Andrade.

Because that guy was simply murdering when defending, Lin Yi was knocked to the ground by Andrade no less than a dozen times in the whole game.

The damn referee did not play cards frequently because of the overly heated conflict on the field, which also gave the opponent the courage to foul Lin Yi continuously.

The last time was when Lin Yi broke through with the ball, Andrade used a very bad defensive action beside Lin Yi and kicked him directly on the calf.

Lin Yi also encountered such defensive intensity when facing Keane, but as long as he could get up, he would not stay on the grass.

But that kick was too fierce. The moment Lin Yi was kicked down, he didn't even have the strength to roll over, and could only hold his calf with both hands.

That was his supporting leg when he broke through. The opponent kicked him hard just when he was exerting force. This kind of injury is very fatal.

When he was carried on the stretcher, Lin Yi could only feel that his left leg seemed to have lost consciousness, and there were boos and insults from all around the stadium.

Until he was carried to the ambulance by the team doctor, Lin Yi never opened his eyes, but just clenched his fists tightly. The team doctor thought it was caused by the pain in his leg, and just kept telling Lin Yi to relax, but Lin Yi knew in his heart that he was unwilling to leave the Champions League like this.

Damn foul! If there was no such kick, he would definitely pierce the opponent's defense. Damn, this damn injury came at the wrong time!

Lin Yi's injury almost triggered a group fight on the court. If the referee hadn't pulled out a card in time to let Andrade get out quickly, no one dared to guarantee whether the angry Porto players would really PK him. Even so, both sides received three yellow cards.

The players kept greeting each other with their ancestors, and Carvalho warned his opponent fiercely not to be too proud!

Mourinho was also verbally warned by the referee, but he ignored the warning and raised his middle finger to Irueta.

"You bastard!" Brito swore that this was definitely the first time he heard Mourinho curse someone, and he cursed so bluntly.

This roar was enough for Irueta to hear clearly, but the guy had no expression at the moment, and even pretended not to hear it.

But Mourinho's roar was heard clearly by the Porto fans behind him, and then hundreds of people roared in the same way, and then thousands of people roared together, and finally the entire Dragon Stadium greeted Irueta with the same voice. This time, no one could pretend.

Even the commentator didn't care about the broadcast incident at this time. He shouted loudly into the microphone, "These damn Spaniards."

But such insults will not bring substantial help to Porto. Without Lin Yi's flexible movement in the frontcourt, Deco was left alone. Under the siege of two or three opponents, it was very difficult to pass or organize. There was no rhythm of the game at all.

After Lin Yi left the field, the two defensive midfielders Sergio and Mauro Silva of the La Coruna team began to focus on Deco. Sergio was closer to Deco and was responsible for pressing forward, while Mauro Silva's main task was to limit Deco's activities at the front of the penalty area.

This made Porto's offense lose its fatal transmission. The previous devastating penetration was gone, leaving only meaningless cross passes.

In terms of ball possession time, Porto even reached more than 70% in the last 30 minutes. But even with such a big advantage, they only hit the goal frame three times in the whole game, and Molina didn't even have to make a save for Deco's free kicks.

The only threat was Maniche's long shot from the outside, but the ball hit the crossbar unlucky and failed to break the goal.

The game ended in such an offense and defense. An angry Mourinho said one sentence to all reporters at the press conference after the game.

"Congratulations to the opponent for taking the point they wanted with a lethal tactic, but don't forget that there are two rounds of the game. Let's see you in Riazor!"

Irueta won't care what Mourinho says at this time. After all, the next game is on their territory, and the Riazor Stadium is very scary.

Deportivo La Coruna will end the semi-final match at the Riazor Stadium, just like they killed AC Milan, they will create their own miracle!

But Irueta overlooked one point, that is, he killed Lin Yi in this way, which ignited the anger of the entire Porto team. . .

(Has Yao Ming become a burden to the Rockets? Then why don't they trade him? Isn't Morey known as the most shrewd manager? How can you make such a mistake? Trade quickly! If you really trade, I wonder what you can get... A group of talents with unlimited IQ...)