Chapter 611: Drawing Lots for the Quarter-Finals

After the draw for the Champions League quarter-finals, Chelsea ranked second in the championship odds list, second only to defending champion Barcelona.

After the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, Chelsea trailed 1:2 away from home, but the winning odds remained unchanged, and most people were still not optimistic about Inter Milan advancing.

After Manchester United swept AC Milan, which has Champions League genes, 7:2 to advance to the quarterfinals, more fans looked down on Inter Milan.

However, in the second round of the Champions League quarter-finals, Inter Milan smashed Stamford Bridge with a shocking 5 goals, sweeping Chelsea with a total score of 7:1 to advance to the quarterfinals.

This time, I don’t know how many people were slapped in the face, and I don’t know how many knowledgeable football emperors had their glasses shattered.

After the game, major bookmakers immediately adjusted their winning odds. Defending champion Barcelona topped the list at 1 to 3.15, Manchester United rose to second place, and Chelsea also climbed rapidly. They are now the third favorite, but the odds are higher than Barcelona. The number is nearly double, followed by Arsenal and Bayern.

After the game, the English media were stunned by Inter Milan. The Times called the game the "Stamford Bridge tragedy"; the Daily Mail believed that Chelsea suffered the backlash of a 45-year curse; The Sun The newspaper said that this mysterious magic from the East dominated the competition, and Xiao Donggao was simply a devil.

The Italian media cheered and thanked Inter Milan for saving the dignity of Italian football when they were bloodbathed by Manchester United in Milan, Juventus failed to qualify, and Fiorentina was eliminated after complaining.

"Gazzetta dello Sport" said: "Sometimes, you will want to ask why Inter Milan, which has invested heavily in every position in the past few years, has repeatedly failed in the Champions League. But today, you will be even more surprised. Why is Inter Milan, the most civilian-oriented team in many years, so powerful? At this time, you need to take a look at who is sitting on the coaching bench."

"Gazzetta dello Sport" highly praised Mourinho, while "Gazzetta dello Sport" gave the credit to Gao Xiaodong, "This Inter Milan may not be better than the one last season. The coach is still Mourinho." , the opponents are all the strongest teams in the Premier League, why are the results so different? I think Gao Xiaodong may be the best answer."

"Torino Sport" was unhappy with both Mourinho and Gao Xiaodong. They attributed Inter Milan's super victory to Ancelotti's stupidity and Chelsea's bad luck. "There is no doubt that Mourinho and Gao Xiaodong were involved in the victory." role, but it has to be said that luck and Ancelotti being completely understood and suppressed by Mourinho tactically are more important factors. If Gao Xiaodong did not have a magical performance at the goalkeeper position in the first round, Inter Milan might They failed in the first round. If Chelsea hadn't had so many chances to score in the second round, it would have been difficult for Inter Milan not to mention a 5-goal victory, but even a small victory with one goal."

In Spain and Germany, Mourinho's Inter Milan is regarded by the media as the biggest enemy of Barcelona and Bayern to win the championship, even more terrifying than Manchester United, mainly because Mourinho is better at playing in the Champions League knockout rounds than Ferguson.

For fans and Inter Milan players, the significance of this game is far greater than advancing to the Champions League quarterfinals four years later.

Inter Milan had been unable to defeat a Premier League team in the knockout rounds for 45 years before. They felt guilty as soon as they entered the knockout rounds of the Champions League and almost had a psychological barrier.

After eliminating Chelsea, Inter Milan threw Anglophobia into the Atlantic Ocean in one fell swoop, while also gaining confidence, fighting spirit and resilience.

It can be said that after defeating Chelsea, Inter Milan no longer fears any team except Barcelona. In the next quarter-finals and semi-finals, as long as they do not encounter Barcelona, ​​Inter Milan will not be afraid of anyone.

If they really meet Barcelona in the final, then with Mourinho's on-the-spot command ability, Inter Milan and Barcelona will also be 50-50.

Of course, regardless of whether they are confident or not, Inter Milan still does not want to encounter a strong opponent in the top 8. After all, after two games with a strong opponent, injuries and suspensions, even if they reach the final, they probably will not be able to play with all their main players. .

The drawing time for the Champions League top 8 matches is very close to the end of the top 16 matches.

At noon the next day, the draw ceremony was held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

The quarter-finals will be drawn again. There will be no seeded teams in the draw, and there will be four teams in Zone A and Zone B. A random selection method will be used, and there will be no avoidance of players from the same country and group.

Lots will be drawn to determine the home and away games. Those drawn first will play at home first, and those drawn later will play away first. Two rounds of games will be held to determine the top four.

Two teams from Zone A and Zone B will then play home and away games to determine the two teams that advance to the finals.

In this draw, Inter Milan's luck is much better than that of the top 16 draw, but it can't be said to be a winner. At best, it can be called a win.

In the quarter-finals, Inter Milan's opponent was CSKA Moscow of the Russian Super League. The other matches are Lyon vs Bordeaux; Bayern Munich vs Manchester United; Arsenal vs Barcelona.

CSKA Moscow eliminated La Liga's Sevilla and reached the top 8. They won one and drew one in two rounds, narrowly beating Sevilla by one goal. In the group stage, CSKA Moscow's score against Manchester United, the first in the group, was one draw. One loss, obviously they have a certain strength, but this strength is certainly not comparable to Inter Milan, which eliminated Chelsea.

In other words, Inter Milan got a good draw in the quarter-finals, and his hope of advancing to the semi-finals is very, very high.

But the reason why Inter Milan's signing talks are not going well is mainly because Inter Milan and Barcelona are divided into half of the zone. In other words, after Inter Milan reaches the semi-finals, it is very likely that he will encounter Barcelona and Arsenal. winner.

Obviously, as a representative of artistic football, Barcelona is stronger than Arsenal, and its possibility of promotion is also stronger than Arsenal.

Among the eight opponents, Inter Milan is most afraid of Barcelona. Such a draw greatly increases the difficulty of Inter Milan's advancement to the finals.

After the draw, Inter Milan head coach Mourinho said: "We must now consider the game against CSKA Moscow. None of the teams that reached the top 8 are easy to beat. As I have always said, we must win the Champions League. You have to beat every team, even the strongest. Both games in the semi-finals are like finals. Inter Milan can only concentrate on how to win, whether the opponent is Arsenal or Barcelona .This is the spirit we must have. It is very important to advance from the knockout round of 16 because Inter Milan showed its character and quality through those two games. But it will be even more important to show our ability again and reach the semi-finals. Our previous visit to Barcelona proved the wrong way to play at Camp Nou and we have to learn from that lesson and we will definitely go there differently next time against them."

Moratti said: "We did not want to draw Chelsea before, and we would rather face a team that is easier to deal with, but this is not our decision. I think the current Inter Milan can beat any team. I am very satisfied with the team. Full of confidence and I think we can win the Champions League this season.”

Obviously after the old enemy Chelsea was eliminated by Inter Milan, Barcelona no longer has an opponent to fear. After the draw, Barcelona coach Guardiola said, "We don't care who the opponent is, we are the favorites to win the championship, and we are the defending champions." , only our opponents want to avoid us, now our goal is to reach the finals and defend the title!"

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