After playing the FA Cup, before the team can enter the FA Cup final, Liverpool will face the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals with AC Milan.

This competition can be seen as the finals being staged in advance.

The sports media in any country will use this to describe this game, because both sides are Liverpool and AC Milan, because the two sides have "no winner" in the first round, Italy, Germany, and Spanish media believe that "the competition between Liverpool and AC Milan will be more intense than the final."

This is a bit underestimated by the other two teams - Arsenal and Villarreal, but in fact, that's the case. Not to mention the dark horses Villarreal, Arsenal, Liverpool, and AC Milan, are indeed much worse.

In the Champions League, Arsenal has always had poor results.

They have made history this year. You know, they have never won the Champions League and are mostly eliminated before the quarterfinals in the Champions League. Compared with teams like AC Milan that often reach the semi-finals in the Champions League, Arsenal is really much weaker.

Let’s talk about strength.

Arsenal is difficult to match even Liverpool. Liverpool's lineup is not as good as Zhang Tiehan, but it is still not worse than Arsenal. Arsenal has been called "a combination of luck and miracle" by the media.

Therefore, this battle between Liverpool and AC Milan has attracted many attention.

Everyone thinks that this game will be staged in advance in the Champions League final, even more intense than the Champions League final. Of course, the English media will definitely not say that, and it is a bit underestimated by Arsenal. They are talking about the entire English football, and the two teams in the semi-finals are from England, which gives them sufficient reason to be proud.

In particular, Liverpool and Arsenal are in two games. They are likely to meet in the final - as long as Liverpool can beat AC Milan.

Arsenal and Villarreal played in the first leg, and Arsenal won two goals. In the second leg, no one would be optimistic about Villarreal. They really have little hope of creating miracles. After all, they showed a victory. They are still far behind Arsenal.

So Arsenal almost booked a UEFA Champions League final.

The only thing left is Liverpool. Before the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals, almost all sports media reported on the Liverpool and AC Milan in advance, and various analyses of the two teams' matches appeared frequently on major pages.

Various professionals also came up to analyze the two teams.

Cruyff, who has always liked comment contests, wrote the article again, and his article definitely defined this game at the beginning-

"If I can turn the time back, I would like to watch this year's 16-to-8 match, because this round of matches has brought the top matches of European football this season: Arsenal vs. Real Madrid, Bayern Munich collided with AC Milan, and the biggest highlight is the match between Premier League champion Chelsea and La Liga champion Barcelona. The sensational level of these three quarter-finals can be compared with the Champions League final. The cruelty of the knockout system has allowed Real Madrid, Bayern and Chelsea to go home."

"From the perspective of competitive sports, this result is fair, but Arsenal and Villarreal met in the semi-finals and their attention may be less. Fortunately, we have another conversation that can be seen as a pre-scheduled dialogue in the finals: Liverpool faces AC Milan."

"I don't want to underestimate the achievements of Villarreal in the Champions League this season. With a midfield engine like Riquelme, the "yellow submarine" has indeed played excellent. Unfortunately, the stage for the Argentine star to display his talents is not a giant club like Barcelona. His teammate Mexican scorer, Fran, who once played at Manchester United, is the same. The strength of the two in La Liga arena is undoubtedly. Villarreal is one of the best teams in the domestic top league, but I want to emphasize that it is the "person" factor that prevents players like Riquelme and Fran from standing at the top of Europe."

"Two less noticeable faces appeared in the Champions League final two years ago, Portugal's Porto and France's Monaco. Porto finally won the championship under the leadership of Chelsea coach Mourinho. In my opinion, two teams like this have reached the Champions League final, which is a pity for European fans."

"Last year, Liverpool defeated AC Milan at the last moment to win the championship, in the Champions League with strong players. Many people no longer doubt the strength of the Premier League Reds. In fact, luck helped them to reach the finals from the qualifying round, and then used the Italians' negligence to lead 3-0 in the first half to win the championship."

This is Cruyff's evaluation of Liverpool, who created the "Istanbul Miracle" last year.

This evaluation is quite bad, but it is undeniable that what Cruyff said makes some sense. On the way to the Champions League last year, Liverpool had almost never encountered any strong team except for Chelsea in the semi-finals. They went all the way to the Champions League final.

But he turned to Liverpool now, "Those are two teams. Liverpool has Zhang, a young German Chinese young man. His goal efficiency has amazed the whole world. I have to admit that Liverpool now has the strength to compete head-on with AC Milan."

"At Anfield Stadium, the two teams are about to meet, and I dare say this game will be more attractive than this year's final. I'm not a team that belittles Wenger, but they do have a certain gap with the world's top giants."

"Whether it's Liverpool or AC Milan, I'm very happy to see Arsenal become their final opponent. Although I also hope that the dark horse Villarreal will go further this season, the strong midfielder composed of Ljubre, Reyes Heleb and others is insurmountable for Spanish teams. In addition, Henry, the fastest killer in the Gunners' lineup, has trained a group of young people under him on the right track."

"No matter who the protagonist is to reach the final, we have no reason to complain. Perhaps the giant clubs have lost their form at the critical moment, so whoever can win the championship trophy at the Stade de France in Paris on May 17 will be eligible for this honor."

This is the article written by Cruyff before the Champions League semi-finals. Obviously, Cruyff prefers AC Milan and Liverpool games, and it is just a matter of mentioning the match between Arsenal and Villarreal. His views are the same as those of other media.

But the "by the way" game is also the Champions League semi-final.

The match between Arsenal and Villarreal was staged one day ahead of schedule. The result of this game was amazing. Villarreal showed surprising strength. They scored a goal in the game and almost dragged the score to overtime at the last time - the last time of the game. Villarreal might have a penalty kick, and Riquelme was responsible for taking the penalty.

As long as you score this goal, the game will enter overtime.

But in the end, Riquelme missed the penalty under the pressure of 'Maradona'. After the game, some media said, "If Villarrel cannot enter the final, its name will not be remembered."

Riquel had an ominous premonition before the game, and this pessimistic sentiment is innate, even the trait of Argentine players.

Riquelme only guessed the first half correctly. His name is remembered by history because he missed a penalty at the last minute. For the first time, the small ball club that went so far in the Champions League, the meaning of this slip is comparable to that of Baggio in 1994. After a gorgeous game, it ended with such a tragic ending, and then accompanied by a melancholy look. What a classic and gorgeous way of death in Argentina.

About 60% of the people in the city walked into the Love Song Stadium that night, and club flags were hung on the balcony of every household. Villarreal Mayor Gotlis personally visited the camp, and fans also surrounded the stadium with a huge yellow submarine inflatable model. The city was covered with yellow spots... All the situation shows that "victory" is an irreversible historical trend in this battle.

However, this momentum is not motivation but pressure in Rikelme's pessimistic eyes.

For 89 minutes, Riquelme's expression was as stiff as marble. It can be seen that Riquelme was under a lot of psychological pressure. He was killed by his opponent in the first round of the battle with Arsenal.

In the 90th minute, a fleeting excitement flashed in Rikelme's eyes. This was the penalty kick opportunity brought to him. But he was still very nervous. He kissed the football, then stood in front of the penalty kick and spitted frequently, trying to release the pressure in this way, but he didn't dare to look at Lehman's cold gaze. Lehman even made a judgment in advance to swing to the left, and he was still sending the ball to the German's arms, of course, this was delivering tickets.

"Pressure, a pressure from the outside world to sway it with Maradona, made Riquelme score a gentle penalty 12 yards," the Spanish media commented appropriately. A team's fate that had been waiting for 83 years was tied to his feet, and the 180-minute two-round battle was compressed into the ball under his feet.

It seems that all missions and details have become unbearable weight for Riquelme. He is like an overwhelmed engine that cannot carry the ocean-going mission of the "yellow submarine".

Such a tragic hero naturally won sympathy, Pellegrini said: "This is football. People think that Riquelme failed because he took the penalty kick. But his greatness lies in taking the responsibility. It is not his fault that he didn't score the penalty kick."

Fran is also defending him: "Rickelme's performance in the game has won the respect of others, and even when Maradona makes mistakes, it has nothing to do with the skills."

With the tragedy of Rikelme's penalty kick, this game that was not favored has become a classic that people remember.

Because of this game, Villarreal, a small town named "town", became the protagonist of major Spanish sports newspapers overnight. This is incredible under Real Madrid and Barcelona's absolute rule over the media, but Villarreal's small team did it.

It was not because it was fortunate to be an Arsenal opponent and was fed with the "Gunners", but because it beat the Gunners out of temper. Riquelme missed a penalty at the last moment and won it more votes of sympathy.

Le Monde said: "The endless pain. Villarrell's greatest dream in history was destroyed and disappeared with Riquelme losing the penalty at the last moment. But the performance of the Spanish team was still honored. Who could have expected that Arsenal, who advocated offense, would be blocked from the gun hole and did not shoot a goal? Villarrell got a continuous shooting opportunity. The 0-0 ending was unfair. It allowed a great team to experience the most incredible tragedy."

"Daily Sports" also felt sorry for Villarreal, "There are often unfair things happening in the world of football. The score of 1-0 cannot reflect the real situation. The Spanish team has four chances of winning and even one penalty kick; on the other hand, Arsenal has no temper at all, especially Henry, who was wearing a Barcelona jersey and a yellow robe, who was completely missing in front of Barbosa!"

"As" believes that Villarrel lacks nothing but luck. "The penalty kick that Riquelme missed in the final stage was reasonably made to head towards the European Champions League final. If Villarrel's several shots were rewarded, today's celebration at the Love Song Stadium would be in tango style. Unfortunately, Villarrel was awakened from the wonderful European dream in the most cruel way."

"Marca" believes that this untrue result is unacceptable. "Faced with Arsenal, which only defends but does not attack, it is very difficult for Villarrell to score two goals. They finally stopped at a distance one step before the European Champions League final. Riquelme missed a penalty and Leman saved it by chance, which can only be classified as luck. Villarrell definitely suppressed the Gunners in the game, so being eliminated at this time seems so unacceptable!"

Even Sky Sports in England said after the game: "Villa Reel had the chance to drag the game into overtime. But Riquelme eventually became the sinner, and he let the Love Song Stadium sing the Gunners' victory song."

In any case, Riquelme created the tragedy of football.

There are sorrows and music, and Arsenal has finally laughed to the end. Although they did not perform well in this game, and although they did not score a goal, they eliminated Villarreal and made it close to the Champions League final.

After the game, no Arsenal players were willing to talk about the game.

They yearn for the finals, and Arsenal's Spanish young player Reyes commented on the match between Liverpool and AC Milan tomorrow. Finally, he said that he wanted to meet AC Milan the most in the final. "This will be a great final!"

"I would rather meet AC Milan in the final than Liverpool," Reyes said. "It will be a great Champions League final and a huge challenge for us."

"For me, reaching the finals means a lot, and the same goes for the team. We are all very excited and eager to see the finals come. It's hard to describe how I feel now, the locker room is full of excitement, but no one is happier than Wenger."

Other Arsenal players were interviewed. They also talked about their concerns about Liverpool and AC Milan matches.

More players hope that their opponent is AC Milan.

"We hope it's AC Milan, because it will be a wonderful battle." Henry and Reyes have similar views. In short, few Arsenal players hope that their opponent is Liverpool.

This is surprising.

In media reports, Liverpool players naturally knew about this news. Zhang Tiehan complained, "These guys must be afraid of us!"

He can say so.

Not only in the locker room, Zhang Tiehan also said to the media the night before the game, "They are afraid of us. Yes, look at the two matches we played with them this season, and they didn't even get a draw. I believe that if we met them in Paris, it would definitely be a boring final."

"Why? Because we easily won the Champions League trophy."

Zhang Tiehan's words annoyed many Arsenal players and fans. The media supporting Arsenal also kept criticizing Zhang Tiehan for being arrogant, but in fact, Zhang Tiehan is not arrogant or something. He was thinking in his heart, "Damn you guys are the ones who messed with me first."

That's right!

Other Liverpool players think so. Before the battle, it would be fine if the media supported AC Milan, but it would be fine if they were optimistic that they could win, but Arsenal? What reason do they have to support AC Milan and say, "The final against AC Milan will be a classic battle." Isn't this saying that it is meaningless to play against Liverpool?

In short, the atmosphere between Liverpool and AC Milan was very peaceful before the game, and the argument with Arsenal began first.

However, this did not affect the team's preparations.

On the day of the game, the whole Liverpool team did a simple warm-up in the morning. Zhang Tiehan felt that he was in good shape and was going to play against AC Milan today. He was still very excited. This was his first time participating in the Champions League semi-finals. Such a game that has attracted worldwide attention made him very excited.

The good news is that he is in very good condition!

Although he had just participated in the semi-finals of the FA Cup with Chelsea, he had a round of league break before, and his condition was basically not affected. The game against AC Milan is today. He felt that he had no reason to perform well, not only in his condition, but in his heart he was looking forward to the game. He also had a smooth journey, and his relationship with Lola has always been very good. Zhang Tiehan would not bring them into football for other issues.

In short, Zhang Tiehan is already looking forward to the competition.

In addition to Zhang Tiehan, other Liverpool players are in good condition. Garcia, Riser and others have recovered from injuries, Alonso has no problem, and the players are in good condition. This also makes Liverpool more confident in the game.

As for the opponent, AC Milan's injury on the day of the game also had an answer. It was always questioned whether Nesta, who could play in the second leg against Liverpool, was still called on the roster. However, this does not mean that his physical condition will definitely allow him to get a starting position. It is said that one hour before the game, AC Milan's team doctor will also diagnose Nesta to see if he has the conditions to play.

However, compared to Ambroseni, who had a fibula fracture and Nesta, who was left at home with groin strain, was much luckier.

Among the other players, Shevchenko, Kaka, Kafu and Maldini are not in the best physical condition. There is no problem with their appearance. They have been included in the rosters respectively. Due to the shortage of manpower, Ancelotti also brought young player Mazoratti to Liverpool this time just in case.

The game against Messina has brought great harm to AC Milan. Under the shadow of injuries and loss of personnel, AC Milan arrived at Liverpool to prepare for this game.

Kaka said he is very confident in the game.

Kaka said: "This is undoubtedly a world-class match, but every game is different. The strength of the home court brings us some trouble, but I am still full of hope. Liverpool's strength is not higher than our goal. The result of the first game was good for us. It is difficult to maintain the same form within 90 minutes, but they did not cause us any trouble. We all believe we can stand close to the final."

Liverpool, who had just arrived at Anfield Stadium, responded quickly after hearing Kaka's words. Zhang Tiehan was still standing up, "He said we were the first one and didn't cause trouble for them? Then what are my two goals? We have the advantage of two goals. Now we only need a 1-0 to eliminate them. I don't understand what the advantage he is referring to is."

"As for the final victory, I think it's too early to say anything now, so let's see you on the court!"

This is also the last interview before the game.

Soon the two teams warmed up at Anfield Stadium, and then the fans entered the court. The two teams returned to the locker room and waited for the game to start, standing in the player's passage waiting to play.

With the referee's signing, the two teams came on the stage to prepare for the game.

...

Ancelotti attaches great importance to the game. He analyzed the current scores and situation of the two teams. He believes that Liverpool will definitely launch a fierce attack at the beginning of the game.

This is inevitable.
To be continued...