Chapter 430: Everyone is expecting
Not unexpectedly, Barcelona easily defeated Valencia 4-0, continuing to lead the league standings, and the hero of their victory was Henry, who scored a hat-trick.
'The Devil's Team,' this is how the Spanish newspaper 'El País' described Barcelona. With 13 wins and 1 draw in 14 league matches, they have continuously defeated their opponents by large margins. 'Although Real Madrid's performance is outstanding, they still can only follow behind this cosmic Barcelona.'
'For Barcelona's opponents, the most desperate thing is that they never seem to be able to limit their attacks. There is always someone leading the charge: Messi with a hat-trick, Eto'o with four goals, and now it's Henry's turn.'
Since joining Barcelona last season, the French giant has endured tremendous pressure. The Camp Nou fans hoped to see the unstoppable No. 14, but apparently they were somewhat disappointed.
But now, even the most critical fans can't complain. Henry has shown the most positive attitude, attacking from the least favorite side to better integrate into the team and improve its competitive strength, and his efforts have paid off.
'In this game, two of the three goals were scored by him after his teammates attracted the opponents' attention. The Frenchman has become more cunning, learning to hide behind Messi and act as the second killer.'
'Talent, attitude, passion, and speed, all of this makes Barcelona different. Everyone is looking forward to the next century derby, which will definitely be a shocking scene.'
In an interview, Guardiola said, 'The only advantage of defeating Valencia is that we have widened the gap with the third-placed team, but we still haven't shaken off Real Madrid. The league is long, and everyone needs to be cautious.'
'The century derby, that will be our most important game. We must be extremely careful.' To prepare for Real Madrid's visit, he will rotate eight main players in the midweek Champions League group match. Fortunately, Barcelona, like the Galaxy Battleship, has already secured their spot in the next round.
So far, Barcelona's attacking trio has scored a total of 30 goals, and Wang Feng's league goals are 29!
'Yes, Wang is a great player, and the just-announced European Ballon d'Or proves it,' Guardiola praised. 'I think it's difficult to find a defense line in the world that can completely stop him.'
'But we will do our best and present a stronger offensive firepower than him. I believe Barcelona can do this. We will win this game and pave the way to the championship!'
Compared to Guardiola's confidence, Schuster seems a bit less assured. Although he led the team to the best start in history, they are still at a disadvantage in the cosmic level competition. Perhaps the strongest card in his hand is only Wang Feng.
However, in an interview with the media, the German still said, 'Since I took over, Real Madrid has never suffered at the Camp Nou, and this time will be no exception.'
'Of course, this will be an extremely difficult game. The opponents have performed very well this season and are playing at their home ground. We don't have much advantage.'
'But this match may greatly affect the final direction of the league. The whole team will do our best.'
'Schuster is just bluffing. He doesn't really have the confidence to win the century derby,' mocked 'Marca.' 'This season belongs to Barcelona. Although Real Madrid is chasing hard, they will ultimately end up empty-handed.'
'Sport' went even further, publishing a damning commentary: 'The Germans have led Real Madrid to win the league and Champions League for two consecutive years, so even if they fail this season, it doesn't really matter.'
In response to these comments, 'AS' wrote a harsh rebuttal: 'Schuster just wants to lower the pressure on the players. From the management, coaching staff to the players, the Galaxy Battleship has never feared Barcelona, because they have climbed to the top many times at their expense.'
The article admits that this season, the overall strength of the Catalan team has made a qualitative leap, obviously stronger than Real Madrid, but Wang Feng's presence will make everything different. 'He is Barcelona's nemesis. Don't forget who caused the downfall of Ronaldinho's dream dynasty.'
At the Real Madrid training base, members of the coaching staff are intensively studying the starting lineup and tactics for the next two matches. Naturally, they will give up the Champions League group match against Zenit St. Petersburg.
The most important thing is how to arrange the lineup at the Camp Nou and what strategy to choose. An assistant coach hesitantly expressed his opinion: 'I think we should be more conservative and aim for a draw.'
'Although the team is behind Barcelona now, it's only by two points. Continuing to maintain this gap, I don't believe they will keep winning in the second half of the season.'
'Wait until we return to the Bernabéu and then decide the outcome with them!'
Although this approach can temporarily avoid Barcelona's sharpness, Schuster shook his head and said, 'If we adopt a too conservative strategy to deal with them, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold on.'
'Barcelona will play possession football to the extreme, gradually penetrating our defense, and our midfield and defense have no advantage. No one can guarantee completely neutralizing their attacking trio.'
'So, while focusing on defense, we must also counterattack resolutely. Sending Wang Feng and the young Higuaín to attack the defense would be a more appropriate approach.'
'More importantly, instill in the players the belief that victory is certain. We must not passively wait for the opponent to make mistakes. The brutal second half of the league will not only affect Barcelona but also us. If we let them easily win this game, I'm afraid the gap will widen further.'
'On the contrary, if we face difficulties and defeat them, we can reverse the situation and take the lead. Then it will be a major blow to Barcelona, and the probability of mistakes in the second half of the season will increase significantly.'
'The outside world is talking about Barcelona being the devil's team this season, let them see who the real devil is!'
On December 11th, in the final round of the Champions League group stage, Real Madrid hosted Zenit St. Petersburg.
Wang Feng and other key players watched as young substitute players poured out their passion and sweat on the field. For Zenit, this game was crucial for securing second place in the group, so they naturally gave it their all.
'Wang, do you think the team can win at the Camp Nou?' Robben asked quietly beside the Chinese superstar, 'Barcelona is too abnormal this season, many media outlets don't fancy us.'
Wang Feng shrugged, 'I can't say for sure, but I just feel hot-blooded all over, eager to compete with them. The stronger the opponent, the more worth challenging, right?'
The Dutchman smiled bitterly, 'Indeed, it's you. I just want to win the league as smoothly as last season. The rebuilding Barcelona is the good Barcelona.'
'Haha, in my opinion, unless they trade Messi away, no matter how they rebuild, they will remain competitive.'
In the end, the Galaxy Battleship lost 1-2 to their opponents, but the fans at the scene were still enthusiastic, shouting at them as they left the field, 'Beat Barcelona!'
And with Juventus defeating BATE, Zenit's Champions League journey came to an end, only to return to the Europa League stage once again.
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