Chapter 447: Champions League Top Scorer Overtakes Ronaldo, Ronaldo's Bold Declaration
Missing a penalty is not a big deal, especially when Manchester City still won. Guardiola certainly wasn't going to blame his players for it. However, De Bruyne couldn't easily forgive himself. After this match, he added penalty practice to his daily training routine. Although he doesn't get many chances to take penalties since Lin Quan is the primary penalty taker for City, he knew he needed to be ready for when Lin Quan wasn't on the field and the responsibility fell to him.
Guardiola noticed De Bruyne's dedication and was pleased. With his talent and hardworking attitude, it's only a matter of time before De Bruyne becomes a world-class midfielder.
On November 4th, the fourth round of the Champions League kicked off. Manchester City traveled to face Sevilla away. With Juventus being held to a draw at home by Borussia Monchengladbach, Group D's qualification picture became very complicated. Manchester City sat atop the group with three wins out of three. Juventus had one win, one draw, and one loss, sitting second with 4 points. Sevilla was third with one win and two losses, with 3 points. Monchengladbach was last with one draw and two losses, earning them just 1 point.
All three teams besides Manchester City theoretically still had a chance to qualify, even Monchengladbach. If they could beat Juventus at home and City won against Sevilla, Monchengladbach could leap into second place. However, their fates were tied not only to their performances but also to how Manchester City played. If City lost to Sevilla, both Juventus and Monchengladbach would face a tougher battle.
At 17:45 on November 4th, the matches kicked off simultaneously. Aside from City, the coaching staff of the other three teams closely monitored the other game's scoreline. For City, winning this game would mean they'd qualify from the group with two games to spare. Therefore, Guardiola had no intention of easing up and instead intensified the attack in the first half.
City took the lead just three minutes into the game when Lin Quan scored. Eight minutes later, Kroos doubled the lead with a long-range effort, making it 2-0. In the 25th minute, Sevilla played some beautiful football and pulled one back. Spanish teams are known for their technical prowess, and Sevilla, being a strong La Liga side, showcased this with a well-worked team goal.
Guardiola, having faced Sevilla numerous times while managing Barcelona, was unfazed. He signaled his team to keep up the pressure. In the 35th minute, City responded in kind with a series of intricate passes, ending with Lin Quan and De Bruyne playing a one-two before Lin Quan slotted home for his second goal of the match.
Upon hearing that City led 3-1 away, both Juventus and Monchengladbach felt a sense of relief. However, looking at their own scoreline, the relief was short-lived. By halftime, the score between Juventus and Monchengladbach was 1-1. Unlike the previous 0-0 draw, this game saw goals, but the equal scoreline meant both sides were essentially in the same position as before.
A draw was a lose-lose for both teams. Juventus had to face a strong City next, and unless City, having already qualified, decided to ease up, their chances of winning were slim. This would likely mean Sevilla could pull away in the standings. The final group game would see Sevilla host Juventus, where a draw would suffice for Sevilla to qualify, leaving Juventus on the brink of elimination.
With Juventus needing a win, Allegri was frustrated with how tough Monchengladbach was proving to be. They seemed to be a thorn for Juventus just as they were for Bayern in the Bundesliga. Despite their talent, Juventus couldn't break them down, leading to frustration and an accumulation of three yellow cards from desperate tackles.
The turning point came in the 53rd minute when Juventus midfielder Hernanes received a red card for a high tackle. Down to ten men, Juventus faced an even tougher challenge. Allegri had to focus on shoring up the defense to at least secure a point, as a loss would be catastrophic.
Meanwhile, Sevilla's coach decided to go for broke, making three attacking substitutions at halftime to try and overturn the deficit. However, City's defense, among the best in Europe, held firm. Guardiola, noting Sevilla's attacking intent, instructed his team to play deeper and use Son Heung-min's pace on the counter.
Son Heung-min, after coming on, was a livewire, causing all sorts of problems for Sevilla's defense. Although he narrowly missed scoring twice, his presence was a constant threat, forcing Sevilla into a dilemma: commit players forward and risk getting caught on the counter, or sit back and accept the defeat. In the end, Sevilla couldn't find a way through and had to swallow a home defeat. City qualified from the group with two games to spare, now able to focus on potential knockout stage opponents.
On the other side, despite their struggles, Juventus managed to hold on for a draw thanks to Buffon's heroics, keeping their qualification hopes alive, albeit still hanging in the balance.
After securing one point, Juventus's total points reached five. While this wasn't enough to ensure qualification, it did help them stabilize their position in second place in the group. As for Borussia Monchengladbach, with only two points from four matches, their theoretical chance of advancing was very slim.
In this round of the group stage, three of the four English teams won, with Arsenal being the exception. They were thrashed by Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. Goals from Muller, Lewandowski, Alaba, and Robben saw Arsenal suffer a 1-5 defeat. Over the two legs, Bayern scored 10 goals against Arsenal, who only managed 3 in return. This result highlighted Bayern's formidable attacking prowess and Arsenal's weak defense. The loss left Arsenal with four consecutive defeats in the Champions League, sitting at the bottom of the group with zero points.
Despite this, Arsenal still had a theoretical chance of advancing. Olympiacos missed a penalty and were defeated in the dying moments of their match, failing to secure their qualification early. Currently, in Group F, Bayern lead with 12 points from four wins, Olympiacos and Dinamo Zagreb both have six points from two wins and two losses, and Arsenal have zero points from four losses. If Arsenal wins their last two games, and both Olympiacos and Dinamo Zagreb fail to gain any more points while suffering heavy defeats, Arsenal could advance on goal difference. However, this seems highly unlikely.
"It's too difficult; it's really too difficult for Arsenal to advance this year!" "Only a theoretical hope remains!" "Honestly, after losing to Bayern at home, I thought Arsenal had no chance." "Yeah, blowing a 2-0 lead at home against Bayern, how could we expect them to win away? It's Bayern, after all!"
Bayern's strength needs no explanation. The world saw their terrifying power in the Champions League semi-final last year against Manchester City. Arsenal's current squad and tactics are lacking, making them easy prey for a team like Bayern. Even Arsenal fans, who accept the gap between the teams, still feel heartbroken over their home defeat. They had such a good chance, leading by 2 goals, only to be overturned. This issue of crumbling under pressure has plagued Arsenal for years: they perform well when ahead but collapse when behind.
Compared to the unfortunate Arsenal, the fans of Manchester City, Manchester United, and even Chelsea were in a much better mood. Manchester City had already secured their spot in the knockout rounds with two games to spare. Manchester United, after beating CSKA Moscow at home, topped their group with seven points and were in a strong position to advance. A win in their next match would secure their place in the knockout stages.
Chelsea, despite being 15th in the Premier League, performed well in the Champions League. They won 2-1 at home against Dynamo Kyiv, reaching seven points and leading their group on goal difference over Porto. Given the strength of the other teams in their group, Chelsea's qualification seemed assured. With three of the four English teams leading their groups, English fans had reason to be proud, proclaiming the Premier League as the best in the world.
"What? La Liga also has three group leaders? Oh, never mind then!"
La Liga fans scoffed at the Premier League's self-proclaimed title. Apart from Manchester City, the other two English group leaders had slim margins. In contrast, Real Madrid and Barcelona were undefeated and leading their groups by at least three points, almost assured of progressing. All three La Liga teams had the potential to reach the semi-finals, while apart from Manchester City, the other English teams might not even reach the quarter-finals.
Premier League fans also had their retorts: "Look at Barcelona's current form, and you think they can reach the semi-finals? Who believes that?"
However, Barcelona's poor form was mainly due to Messi's injury. By the time the knockout rounds begin, Messi would be back, and Barcelona could be at full strength again. Unless they faced top teams like Real Madrid or Bayern early, their chances of reaching the semi-finals remained high.
In this round, Ronaldo did not score, marking his second consecutive Champions League game without a goal. This allowed Lin Quan to overtake him as the top scorer with one more goal. For top scorers like them, scoring goals is as natural as eating and drinking. But Ronaldo's two-game goal drought raised concerns about his form.
"Kicker" magazine reported: "Born in February 1985, Ronaldo is about to turn 31. For players his age, a decline in form and ability is inevitable. Lin Quan, who is 11 years younger at just 20, has his best years ahead. The peak age for athletes is 23, meaning Lin Quan will only get stronger while Ronaldo and Messi will gradually decline. This might be Ronaldo's last chance to compete for the Champions League Golden Boot against Lin Quan. If he misses this opportunity, it might be nearly impossible to claim it in the future."
While the analysis was logical, Ronaldo, known for his competitiveness, couldn't accept such a definitive statement from the journalists. He responded on social media: "True champions are not bound by age!"
(End of Chapter)