In the seventh round of the league, Valencia's first league game after taking the top spot in the league.
Although Valencia is playing at home, their opponent is tough - Athletic Bilbao from the Basque Country.
This team from the Basque region is a very distinctive team not only in Spanish football, but also in world football, because their team only allows players with Basque ancestry to play, and they insist not to buy any
Players of non-Basque descent.
Because the scope of player selection is limited, it stands to reason that this team should not be strong. But in fact, this team composed entirely of Basque players is one of the strongest teams in the history of Spanish football. In the history of Spanish football, it is only
Three teams have never been relegated. The first two are the giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, and the third team is Athletic Bilbao, which can only use players from the Basque Country.
Valencia was relegated in 1931. After that, when they were promoted back to Serie A, they were never relegated again.
The first time the two teams met last season was at the San Mamés Stadium, home of Athletic Bilbao.
In that game, I saw the tenacity of this Basque team for the first time. In the end, Valencia only narrowly defeated 2:1.
One season later, Valencia is now much more calm when facing Athletic Bilbao.
In the end, Valencia defeated Athletic Bilbao 5:1 at their home court.
This may be proof of increased strength.
Of course, this is just the home game. The real litmus test is the away game against Athletic Bilbao.
But for now, Valencia continues to sit first in the league with its victory in this game.
After seven rounds of the league, the gap has gradually widened.
Real Sociedad and Valencia are tied at the top of the standings with 17 points.
The third-placed Real Madrid has 12 points, five points behind them.
The league is like a marathon.
Currently, the leading group has stood out from the rest of the group.
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After the game against Athletic Bilbao, it’s the Champions League group stage in the middle of the week.
This time, Valencia continues to play away games. Their destination is Anfield.
Whether it's Liverpool or Valencia, this game is actually very easy. It's just that they don't know each other.
Valencia is relaxed because they basically qualified early, and no matter how they played the last two games, there was no problem. So they can face their opponents in the last two games with a relaxed mood.
Liverpool's ease is because they are currently in a good position to qualify for the group. After four rounds, they have seven points and rank second in the group, two points ahead of third-placed Basel.
In the last two rounds, they still have the opportunity to have direct dialogue with Basel, so they also take the initiative.
Of course, to take their destiny into their own hands, Liverpool must first defeat Valencia at home in this round.
In this way, they and Valencia are tied with ten points, and they will be more comfortable playing Basel in the final round of the league.
Liverpool people believe that they have a chance to defeat Valencia at home, because in this round of the league, Valencia has almost qualified early. They have no reason to try their best in this game.
If Liverpool relax, they will have an opportunity to take advantage of it, not to mention they are playing at home. Anfield can provide them with a combat effectiveness bonus.
This match between the two teams has attracted much attention. Basel is also paying close attention to this match.
Basel's coach Gross expressed in an interview that he hopes Chang Sheng will abide by professional ethics and not let Liverpool go when qualifying is basically certain.
As the central figure in the incident, Chang Sheng did not express his position.
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The day before Liverpool faced Valencia at home, Basel played a game against Spartak Moscow.
Spartak Moscow vs. Basel at home.
As a result, Basel defeated Spartak Moscow 2:0 in the away game!
Basel's points suddenly changed from five points to eight points.
Temporarily surpassed Liverpool and became second in the group!
This change was beyond everyone's expectation.
Because no one expected Basel to beat Spartak Moscow with two goals in the ice and snow in Moscow!
As a result, the originally relaxed atmosphere suddenly became tense.
If Liverpool cannot win against Valencia at home, they will have to face Basel in the final round. Basel was at home and Liverpool was away, so the difficulty is different from playing Valencia at home now.
After the last round of the group stage, Liverpool's "Echo" once gloated and said that the caution of always winning made Basel's theoretical possibility of qualifying disappear.
They also praised the victorious caution as the basis for a head coach's success... His calmness is despairing.
But now their tone has taken a 180-degree turn. They wrote an article and expressed tactfully that they hope Valencia can relax and use less main players and more substitutes. They cited many factors and analyzed Valencia’s
Why does West Asia need to be on the bench? What league, what injuries, what state... In fact, they all have the same idea, hoping that Valencia will let go, so that Liverpool can take advantage of it.
They didn't say that word directly, but that's what they meant. They wanted Valencia to be kind and show mercy.
As the central figure in the incident, Chang Sheng still did not express his position.
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Until the game comes.
Chang Sheng indeed sent out some substitutes in the game against Liverpool, but not as thoroughly as "Echo" hoped.
He retained half of his main force.
Seeing this starting list, the Liverpool media cheered and the Liverpool fans also breathed a sigh of relief, and the stone in their hearts fell to the ground. Even Houllier himself felt that his heart was much lighter...
But if they knew how Chang Sheng mobilized his players before the game in the locker room, they might not think so.
"I am doing the rotation not really to let you rest, nor to make you give up this game. I think we should cherish this opportunity and not waste it easily! The outside world is saying that we are going to let go and let you go."
To be merciful and think that we don’t need to be so desperate is simply an insult to us! Use practical actions to tell the other party that there is no need to let him go!”
There were various rumors before, basically saying that Chang Sheng would let things go. These rumors put a lot of pressure on both Chang Sheng and Valencia.
After all, if Valencia really lets go, this will definitely be a stain on them.
Chang Sheng remained silent, intending to use practical actions to prove their innocence.
This game is doomed for Liverpool!
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When Liverpool people were looking forward to this game with great expectations, hoping that the team could defeat Valencia at home, they were hit hard.
Valencia played very aggressively in the away game, and there was no sign that they meant to be merciful.
And Valencia took the lead in the 24th minute when Angulo, who replaced Villa in the starting lineup, scored a goal!
Liverpool, who were lagging behind, seemed a little flustered, and as time passed, this panic and impatience became more obvious.
In the second half, Liverpool pressed hard to equalize the score. Unexpectedly, Valencia saw Liverpool start to press hard and started a defensive counterattack with them.
In the 69th minute, they took a chance and scored another goal.
The scorer this time was Mista, who was substituted for Angulo just three minutes ago.
With a two-goal lead, the suspense of this game was completely lost.
No one expected that Valencia, who played only half of their main lineup, would be as effective as their full lineup...
So Liverpool, who were unprepared for this, naturally lost even their underpants at home...
As a result, with the last round of the group stage left, Valencia qualified ahead of schedule with 13 points.
Liverpool is in third place with seven points, followed by Basel with eight points.
Liverpool, who had a good chance of qualifying before, suddenly had to face Basel in the final round.
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At the press conference after the game, Chang Sheng was very happy that his team qualified for the group stage one round ahead of schedule.
Then he didn't comment at all on Liverpool and Basel, who were fighting a bloody battle for second place in the group.
No reporter asked him without hesitation how he would comment on the voices that wanted him to be flattering before the game.
Because after watching this game, everyone knows that Valencia has not let go, so isn't it clear at a glance what Chang Sheng's attitude is towards this matter?
Valencia returned to Spain with victory, leaving Liverpool alone to lick its wounds...
In Basel, Switzerland, the Basel fans who were also paying attention to the game gave a huge cheer.
There were also excited Basel fans who displayed a banner saying "Thank you Valencia".
They thanked the winning team for not giving in, but upholding the spirit of fair play and beating Liverpool on the road.
At this time, Basel fans obviously don't care how they were defeated by Valencia 6:0 at Mestalla...
Considering the relationship between Valencia and Basel, a 6:0 victory is not enough to turn the two teams into mortal enemies. So it is not surprising that they thanked Valencia.
Liverpool, on the other hand, had mixed feelings. On the one hand, they felt that it was a bit shameful that Valencia still worked so hard after qualifying for the group. On the other hand, they felt that it was unreasonable to accuse Valencia. After all, they had withdrawn their main players.
This can't win, which only shows that Liverpool's strength is too poor...
In this way, Valencia took the lead and qualified early, but left the suspense until the last round of the group stage.
Liverpool challenges Basel away from home, a direct dialogue between the two teams, no matter who they are, as long as they want to qualify, they must defeat their opponents.
This will definitely be a battle between dragons and tigers.
Chang Sheng, on the other hand, doesn't even have the leisure to sit back and watch the fight between tigers. He has already set his sights on the second round group stage.