Qin Youxia, Special Correspondent for Sports Weekly All-Media
In a very dramatic showdown in the Champions League, Bayern lost to Paris Saint-Germain with a score of 4 to 5, for example. In the match against Braga, Freiburg was beaten by Braga with only half a minute left in the game and the referee blew the whistle. The two Bundesliga teams were in the Champions League and Europa League semi-finals. On the field, they are all away games, and the results of the games are regrettable losses by one goal. In fact, if we analyze it carefully, these are indeed the kind of game results that are completely acceptable. When they return to their respective turfs to serve as home games next week, judging from the current situation, there is still hope for a subsequent comeback.
In the Europa League semi-finals, Freiburg went to an away game against Braga and ultimately lost the game 1-2. Both goals conceded were due to personal mistakes. Freiburg entered the game at a relatively slow pace. Although the formation was well established, the defense was in a passive state and lacked aggressiveness. The ball conceded in the 8th minute was due to an unfavorable clearance by the far left back Markengo, who directly tipped the ball to the opponent, which resulted in Teknaz's outflank goal. Artubolu saved the penalty kick of former Schalke 04 attacker Salazar before the end of the first half. The quality of the penalty was not a big problem. The German national goalkeeper showed his excellent ability to save points. In the Bundesliga at the beginning of this season, this man of Nigerian descent also achieved the remarkable feat of successfully saving 5 penalty kicks across the season. Unfortunately, in the second minute of stoppage time in the second half, Freiburg, which was about to go home smoothly with a score of 1-1, failed to save the late quarter. As a result, Artubolu directly shot the opponent's not very threatening shot, but mistakenly threw it at the feet of Dogles. After the game, he claimed that when he took the first shot, there were too many players in front of him to block it, and his action was a completely subconscious reaction.
In this first European semi-final match in team history, Freiburg seemed nervous at the beginning. However, as the game continued to progress, it gradually stabilized its position. However, in terms of offense, it really lacked the spirit of adventure. It felt that Schuster's tactical intention was to settle for a draw.
However, back at the Europa Park, Freiburg still has a lot of possibilities for reversal and promotion. When the Freiburg team plays at home and away, its playing temperament and energy show a completely different situation. In the 7 Europa League away games this season, Freiburg only achieved 2 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses. However, the Black Foresters sat at home and won all 6 games in the Europa League this season, including the 1/8 finals with 5 – 1 reversed Genk to advance. In the quarter-finals, Cele also achieved great success in grabbing the opening goal. As a result, Celta did not have its first decent shot until 70 minutes later.
Braga already had a lot of injuries. In the first round, they added the absolute core and captain Ricardo Horta. He was injured and retired in the first half. This player has contributed 21 goals and 11 assists in all competitions this season and is the absolute core of the offense. He struggled to play in the second round due to a thigh strain. Braga is a technical team that prefers control, but its hardness is average. If Freiburg can show momentum at home and take advantage of intensity and set-pieces, the door to the finals will still be open to them.
At the Parc des Princes, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain played an epic and famous battle. This game scored 9 goals in a single game and set a historical record for the Champions League semi-finals. Judging from the opportunities obtained by both sides, even a 7-7 tie is not impossible. Bayern was once in a desperate situation of falling behind 2-5, and finally settled the score at 4-5. After the game, Bayern's soldiers felt like they were reborn. However, Paris, which wasted a larger lead, was somewhat frustrated. This season, Bayern's ability to play against the wind is extremely good. In the last round of the Bundesliga, Bayern reversed Mainz 4-3. This is the eighth time they have achieved a comeback in the league. This number of times tied the historical record held by Bayer Leverkusen in the 1999-00 season. Back at home, with a one-goal disadvantage, Bayern has enough strength and time to close the gap. This season, Bayern has maintained a winning record in six Champions League home games and scored 20 goals. After the game, both Kompany and CEO Dressen regarded the 75,000 fans at the Allianz Arena as the biggest booster for the second leg.
The quality of Paris' shots in this game is extremely high. With less than two expected goals, all five shots were converted into goals. This is a reflection of the strength of Paris players. However, the shooting efficiency is really ridiculously high. Due to the aggressive playing styles of the two teams, some opportunities in Paris were difficult for Bayern to avoid. However, such situations as Neves, who is 1.74 meters tall, scored with a header, and Alphonso Davies touched the player's body and then hit his arm, which resulted in a penalty kick (this penalty was not wrong according to the rules, after all, Afang's arm was not tightly attached to his body). Such situations are absolutely avoidable.
After the game entered the later stage, Paris Saint-Germain's physical fitness declined significantly. Hakimi will miss the second round due to injury. Bayern has an advantage in physical fitness, confrontation and game intensity. In the second round, Kompany can take charge personally, and Lennart Carr is expected to return on time and become a key back-up player.
Because the two teams lost in the first leg of the semi-finals of the European War, La Liga Atletico Madrid drew with Arsenal in the Champions League, and Rayo Vallecano defeated Strasbourg 1-0 at home in the UEFA Cup. The current European War points gap between the Bundesliga and La Liga has widened to 0.567 points, but there is still the possibility of being overtaken. The only condition is that both Bayern and Freiburg must achieve a comeback at home in the second leg to enter the final, and at most only one team in La Liga can enter the European finals.