The Champions League final is the finale of the five major European leagues every year.

But this year is a bit special. This year is both the European Cup and the Olympics. Both major events are concentrated in the summer, which invisibly weakens the attractiveness and attention of the Champions League.

Of course, for Liverpool and Chelsea fans, the Champions League final is more important than the European Cup and Olympics.

In fact, just after the Champions League semi-finals, fans of Liverpool and Manchester United began booking air tickets to Moscow.

From the start of qualifying to the final day on May 21, there are only 13 working days for the full play. British people must apply for a visa in advance when entering Russia. Usually, visas to Russia take 10 working days. This Champions League final turned into a civil war in England, which means that at least more than 40,000 people will collectively flock to the Russian Embassy for visas. That is to say, according to normal procedures, so many applications must be processed within three days, which is almost impossible to complete.

So just after the semi-finals, the Russian Embassy in England lined up, which was all because of the concern that the visa was not applied well and that the fans who went to watch the game were affected.

Tens of thousands of fans flocked to Moscow, and they wanted to eat, drink and have fun. This is a huge expense. If any fans cannot go there because of their visa, this is certainly a loss for fans, but also a loss for Russia. Therefore, the mayor of Moscow suggested that relevant departments could give visa-free treatment to fans who hold tickets, but the mayor of Moscow's suggestion was rejected by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

However, in two days, all the flights from the UK to Moscow have been sold out. Detours from Finland and other places have also been sold for land entry. Many fans even plan to go to Moscow by land 10 days in advance.

With the end of the league, news about the Champions League gradually passed. A week before the final, news about the Champions League finally spread everywhere, and reports about the European Cup and Olympics finally disappeared temporarily in print and television media.

In the finals of the Champions League, even giants like Liverpool and Manchester United do not have the chance to play casually. It depends on opportunities. In the 100-year history of Manchester United and Liverpool, Liverpool has reached the finals 8 times, won six Champions League titles, Manchester United has reached the Champions League finals 4 times, and won two Champions League titles. On average, it has reached the final once in more than ten or twenty years. Some players have never even played in the Champions League finals in their lives, which shows how difficult it is to reach the Champions League final.

As the highest honor of the club, no one does not want to win the championship, so the battle of words is inevitable before the game.

The cause of this war of words was that Benitez said in an interview with reporters that Ronaldo likes to fake falls and often uses fake falls to benefit.

This was like a stone stirring up a thousand waves. Manchester United's coach and other players stood up for Ronaldo, believing that it was immoral to criticize Ronaldo before such an important game. Ronaldo was still very young. Such criticism may ruin a future superstar with great potential.

Ronaldo's fans and Manchester United players cursed Benitez, saying that Benitez was cold-blooded, vicious, and a despicable villain.

Manchester United coach Ferguson treats Ronaldo as his son. Benitez criticizes Ronaldo for how he can accept it. After a day of holding it in, Ferguson directly criticized Liverpool players at a press conference, and even Gerald did not let it go.

Other Manchester United players followed suit and pointed their guns at Benitez and Liverpool players. The Liverpool players were not polite, and the pre-match battle turned into a verbal battle.

On the Internet, fans of both sides also broke out in large-scale verbal wars, and even began to make appointments in reality. The war of words on the Internet quickly turned into a veritable "war".

In fact, whether it is the FA, the British media, or the club, they like to play a war of words between coaches and players. This can not only increase popularity and sales, but also increase fans' loyalty to the team. However, if it reaches the point of slandering and a fight, the FA and the club will not want to see it except the media. That would be too embarrassing. The FA quickly came out to mediate, let Liverpool and Manchester United stop saliva and concentrate on the Moscow game.

Russia

Moscow police entered a first-level security status starting from May 18. According to the Immigration Bureau, from that day on, about 40,000 British fans entered Moscow one after another.

About 700 policemen began to patrol 24 hours a day in many key areas in Moscow City, and stepped up the investigation of suspicious people. Among the 7,000 policemen, there were also 100 experienced English police officers, who mainly helped the Moscow police closely monitor British fans in Moscow City.

Although the relationship between Britain and Russia was once very tense due to the drug case of former Russian agent Litvinenko who caused a lot of controversy last year, due to the serious violent conflict after the League Cup final three days ago, the leaders of both countries felt the seriousness of the problem. In order to ensure that the Champions League final can be held safely, the police of the two countries have also put aside their past grudges and worked together.

On the morning of May 19, Premier League champion Liverpool and his team arrived in Moscow, the capital of Russia, and stopped at the airport for a while. The team took the bus prepared by the club to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

On the same afternoon, Premier League runner-up Manchester United also took a transit to Moscow. Coincidentally, they stayed at the Kempinski Hotel, not far from the Ritz Carlton Hotel.

After arriving at the hotel, the players took a bath and then had lunch. After lunch, Benitez held a meeting for the players, mainly talking about the training arrangements and precautions for the two days before the game. Because Western European countries and Russia have a bad relationship, Russia's Saint Zenit and Wanderers had a violent conflict in the League Cup final held in Manchester some time ago. A Russian fan was stabbed to death. Benitez was worried about the safety of the players and strictly prohibited players from going out at night. He also applied to the coach when going out during the day to ensure that any accidents occurred in the front of the final.

Benitez is also reasonably nervous. After the Champions League reform, only one team in Fiorentina successfully defended the title, and it is very difficult to defend the title. Manchester United is also a very outstanding team. They know Liverpool well and have no secrets. The competition between the two sides is actually on-the-spot performance. Since Liverpool played in a FA Cup game before, they were slightly inferior to Manchester United in physical fitness, so Benitez does not want the team to be affected by any accidents again.

Liverpool players are not children anymore. They all understand the importance of this game. They have won the FA Cup and the league championship. Now they are only one Champions League champion. If they win this championship, they can create history and become the best team in Liverpool's history. At this time, they don't want any accidents. After coming to Moscow, except for going out for a relaxing sightseeing with the team, no player has ever had a bar and nightclub.

Two days later

The Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, which can accommodate 84,745 fans, is full.

On the court, two teams, one red and one black, are fighting fiercely. They are both from the Premier League. Liverpool is wearing red jerseys and Manchester United is wearing black away jerseys.

Of course, this is not the move to Moscow in the Premier League, nor is it a friendly match. This is the finale of the five major European leagues this season - the Champions League final.

Luzhniki Stadium is home court in Spartak, Moscow. They are also the first Eastern European stadium to host the Champions League final. The Champions League final held here today is also the first "Premier Civil War" in history.

This is also an important game. Of course, the owners of Liverpool and Manchester United cannot miss it. Even if they have any important things, they must come to the scene today.

Manchester United boss Glazer and Liverpool boss Gillette and Hicks were sitting in the VIP box and chatting and laughing, but their topics were political and economic matters, and no one mentioned the ongoing game.

In another box, Moscow's mayor Luzhkov also came to the scene. Manchester United legend Sir Charlton and UEFA President Platini, who were sitting with him, were talking about their views on the game.

The game just started. In the commentary seat, Chinese commentator Duan Xuan was reporting to fans the list of appearances of both sides today:...Liverpool played today with a 451 lineup: goalkeeper No. 25 Renner; four defenders: No. 3 Finnan, No. 23 Carragher, No. 4 Hypia, No. 6 Rise; five midfielders: No. 19 Babel, No. 20 Mascherano, No. 14 Alonso, No. 8 Gerald; No. 18 Kuyt, forward No. 9 Chen Yu, this is a relatively conservative formation. In terms of the two full-backs, Benitez chose Finnan and Rise who have experienced the Champions League final, rather than Aberoa and Aurerio who are better in the age; Agge and Scotter's injuries allowed Benitez to have only Hypia's starting lineup, and five players were set up in the midfield, which also shows that Benitez was against his central defender

Worry. Chen Yu is the only one on the front line. This is not only an absolute trust in Chen Yu, but also a determination to ensure that he does not lose the ball and then seek victory... "" Manchester United is a 442 formation with balanced offense and defense: No. 1 goalkeeper Van der Sar, four defenders: No. 6 Brown, No. 5 Ferdinand, No. 15 Vidic, No. 3 Evra, four midfielders: No. 4 Hargreaves No. 16 Carrick, No. 18 veteran Scholes, No. 7 C-Ronaldo; double strikers: No. 10 Rooney, No. 32 Tevez... Manchester United's central defender is very strong, but Manchester United's midfield is not as good as Liverpool. Scholes can start, probably considering the shocking long shot that Scholes eliminated Barcelona in the semi-finals, but in fact, how long Scholes can withstand the strong confrontation and fast pace of the Champions League, it's hard to say..."

The first kick-off was Manchester United. Because Liverpool snatched the league championship, Manchester United's fighting spirit was even more vigorous in this game. Scholes launched a long pass attack at the beginning, but Rooney and Hargreaves were unable to get the ball under the interference of Liverpool defender.

Then Renner made a long pass and the ball was grabbed by Manchester United, but Manchester United made a mistake in passing and the ball was intercepted by Liverpool again. Liverpool tried to attack from the wing, but Babel passed the ball out of the baseline with one kick.

After the opening, Manchester United played more proactively. They have been trying to face Liverpool's central defender Heipia directly, but Liverpool has five players in the midfield and has very thoughtful protection of the back line. Manchester United's offense has never been able to hit Liverpool's penalty area.

Five minutes later, Manchester United gave up the long pass and attacking style and began a combination of side and middle, trying to attract Liverpool's mid-lane players to the wing and then raid the middle.
Chapter completed!