章 229: Chapter 229: Champions League Knockout Stage Draw, A Destined Showdown!
Chapter 229: Champions League Knockout Stage Draw, A Destined Showdown!
"Halfway Champions Secured, Who Can Stop Manchester City?" "Premier League Newcomers Undefeated in 16 Rounds, Breaking Best Start Record Again!" "Hat-Trick Crushes Gunners, City's No. 10 Outshines Walcott!" "Wenger Eyes Strengthening Frontline, Suarez May Join the Gunners!"
After this round of the league, the major British media are in full praise mode, showering Manchester City with accolades.
Manchester City achieved an impressive record of 14 wins and 2 draws in the first 16 rounds of the league, once again breaking their previously set record for the best start in Premier League history.
And after defeating Arsenal, they have secured the half-season championship three rounds early.
Although there is still a long way to go until the season ends, there is no doubt that Manchester City has taken the lead in the title race.
As long as they don't falter, with the huge advantage they currently hold, their chances of winning the championship are very high.
The Blue Moon is very likely to lift their second Premier League trophy!
However, compared to the external praise, the Manchester City team themselves remain very humble.
"We still have some shortcomings, and we need to continue to strengthen during the winter break!"
Club chairman Al Mubarak expressed the team's determination to continue recruiting when facing reporters.
And coach Pellegrini shares this sentiment:
"Yes, our squad depth is still not enough to handle multiple competitions, we need to keep reinforcing."
During the summer, Manchester City spent a lot on the transfer market, bringing in many players.
Some of these have proven to be very good deals.
Players like Fernandinho and Navas quickly secured their positions in the team, becoming crucial players for Manchester City.
However, some signings in the forward line have not been as effective. Negredo is acceptable as Aguero's backup, sometimes even starting matches.
But Jovetic hasn't had many opportunities to play since joining Manchester City, making the 26 million euros spent on him seem a bit wasted now.
What Pellegrini needs now is not another forward; he wants an organizer.
David Silva can play as an attacking midfielder, but putting him on the wing is more threatening and is also his more familiar position.
Therefore, Manchester City needs a proper playmaker to free up Lin Quan.
This is also the opinion of the big boss Mansour. Even if Pellegrini doesn't make a move during the winter break, the club will buy players.
Manchester City's excellent performance in all competitions this season has made Mansour very happy; he has never been stingy with money.
As long as it makes the team stronger and helps them go further in all competitions, he is willing to spend any amount.
Therefore, many stars are already rumored to be moving to Manchester City even before the winter break.
According to sources, Manchester City has their eyes on key midfielders from Bayern, Real Madrid, and Barcelona.
When the transfer window opens, they will present these teams with offers they can hardly refuse.
The authenticity of this news is yet to be verified, but the big clubs linked with these rumors seem a bit nervous.
If it were just any team trying to poach their players, they might just laugh it off.
But Manchester City trying to poach players is different!
The reason is simple: Manchester City is too rich.
Previously, Manchester City was just a wealthy upstart, but this year, they are making great strides in both the league and the Champions League.
Since Lin Quan joined Manchester City, anyone can see that Manchester City now has what it takes to challenge for the Champions League trophy.
This means that other players joining Manchester City can not only get high salaries but also continue to pursue honors.
This undoubtedly eases a lot of people's concerns and significantly lowers their threshold for joining Manchester City.
At this point, if Manchester City offers a price that is hard for the club and players to refuse, these big clubs are worried they won't be able to resist.
There's no way around it, Manchester City offers too much!
So, after rumors of their players being linked with Manchester City, these clubs are filled with a sense of crisis, starting to look for suitable replacements in the transfer market.
That way, when Manchester City actually comes with their checkbooks, they won't be left without backup options.
...
After the league match with Arsenal, club chairman Al Mubarak and coach Pellegrini rushed to UEFA headquarters to attend the draw for the 2013-2014 Champions League Round of 16.
This is Manchester City's first time making it to the knockout stage, and they are both very nervous, hoping they don't get a bad draw.
But this year's second-place teams aren't very strong. The potential disruptor, Italian champions Juventus, was unexpectedly eliminated by a Turkish team in the group stage and didn't make it to the knockout stage.
Among the remaining second-place teams, apart from Arsenal from the Premier League and AC Milan from Serie A, the other teams are relatively weak.
Therefore, as long as Manchester City isn't too unlucky, they should get a decent draw.
But for Bayern, who came in second place, this season's Champions League will be very tough.
The other group winners are either top teams from major leagues or very strong teams.
No matter who they face, it will be a tough battle.
Of course, it's the same for the other teams.
No one wants to face the defending champions in the first knockout round!
This made the expressions of the coaches from the major clubs attending the draw ceremony look generally tense.
They all cursed Bayern in their hearts, blaming the defending champions for not playing well and making everyone nervous.
At 7 PM on December 16, the draw ceremony officially began.
UEFA General Secretary Infantino, Competition Director Marchetti, and this season's Champions League ambassador Figo teamed up to draw the eight teams for the knockout stage from the first and second place pots.
In the group stage, the teams that finished first in their groups were: Manchester United, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, and Barcelona.
These eight teams enjoy the advantage of playing the second leg at home, as a reward for finishing top of their groups.
The second-place teams were: Bayer Leverkusen, Galatasaray, Olympiakos, Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen, Arsenal, Zenit St. Petersburg, and AC Milan.
As second-place finishers, they need to play the first leg at home and the second leg away, which is not favorable for them. If they don't perform well at home, they might lose their chance to advance.
Under the watchful eyes of many, Figo drew Manchester City first.
Seeing their team drawn, Al Mubarak sat up straight, and Pellegrini couldn't help but clasp his hands together.
Obviously, both were a bit nervous.
"Manchester City has been unstoppable in both the league and the Champions League this season, still undefeated so far. Who will be their opponent?"
The host said with a smile, but the second-place teams weren't smiling; clearly, no one wanted to draw Manchester City.
Marchetti drew a team from the second-place pot, and it turned out to be Arsenal's badge.
According to UEFA regulations, teams from the same country and those from the same group will automatically avoid each other in the Round of 16.
So, this draw was void, and after a redraw, a team with a green background and white letters "W" badge was drawn.
If Lin Quan were here, he would recognize this team immediately—Werder Bremen!
Seeing this draw, Al Mubarak and Pellegrini were stunned for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief.
Werder Bremen isn't the weakest second-place team, but they aren't very strong either. Plus, Germany isn't far from England, so the away game won't be too tiring.
For Manchester City, this is a very favorable draw!
The broadcast showed Werder Bremen's coach Schaaf, whose expression was much more serious compared to the relaxed and excited Manchester City side.
Is this Lin's team?
He couldn't help but smile wryly: Is this UEFA's idea of a joke?
For Manchester City, this is a great draw, but for Werder Bremen, it almost feels like a death sentence.
"Damn, UEFA really knows how to play, matching up Manchester City with Werder Bremen!"
"If this isn't scripted, I'll eat my computer!"
"This draw is very favorable for Manchester City, pretty much guaranteeing them a spot in the quarter-finals!"
"Yeah, Bremen's strength has declined a lot this season; they can't really pose a threat to Manchester City!"
"With Bremen's current strength, they would struggle against any team. Facing Manchester City might actually be better, at least Lin Huang won't go all out against them!"
"I'm a Bremen fan, welcome back Lin Quan!"
"Welcome home!"
Bremen fans have a lot of affection for Lin Quan. Werder Bremen's decline has been ongoing for a long time.
If it wasn't for him and De Bruyne leading Bremen to second place in the league last season, Werder Bremen wouldn't have had any chance of making it to the Champions League.
This season, without Lin Quan and De Bruyne, Werder Bremen has reverted to their original state, ranking fifth from the bottom in the Bundesliga, just one step away from the relegation zone.
In this situation, Werder Bremen can't afford to focus on the Champions League; they have to fight for their place in the league.
For this reason, the Parrots fans miss their former twin stars even more.
If these two were still here, the team's performance would definitely not have fallen to this level.
...
The second team drawn was Barcelona, and their opponent was Arsenal.
Seeing this draw, Wenger's face changed immediately.
He strongly suspected this was UEFA's manipulation. Otherwise, why does Arsenal always face Barcelona in the knockout stages?
The third team drawn was Atletico Madrid, and their opponent was AC Milan.
This match-up is full of suspense. AC Milan is the strongest of the six second-placed teams, while Atletico is relatively weaker among the first-placed teams.
The result of this clash could be difficult to predict, with both teams having a roughly equal chance of advancing.
Subsequently, the opponents for Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Borussia Dortmund were also revealed.
PSG drew Bayer Leverkusen, giving them a high chance of advancing.
Real Madrid drew Olympiakos, a match-up with little suspense as the Greek team is unlikely to pose a threat to Real Madrid.
Manchester United drew Galatasaray. This draw is neither good nor bad for United.
Their opponent isn't very strong, but traveling to Turkey to play in the hellish atmosphere of the Turkish stadiums will be a significant challenge for United's players.
Dortmund drew Zenit St. Petersburg. Zenit's strength isn't strong, and since they advanced with the lowest points in Champions League history, the general consensus is that Dortmund will advance.
With only two teams left in the draw, everyone knew the result of the final match-up even without drawing.
Figo still went through the process and drew the last two teams.
The final match-up was Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich! After this result was revealed, the director gave two shots, one of Bayern coach Guardiola and one of Chelsea coach Mourinho.
These two are among the most popular top coaches in football today, having faced each other many times in the Champions League and La Liga.
It was thought that after they left La Liga, their encounters would decrease.
But unexpectedly, they are fated to meet again, even in different leagues, at the first stage of the knockout rounds.
This result is bad news for both sides. Mourinho's Chelsea and Guardiola's Bayern are the Champions League winners of last season and the season before.
Both teams are very strong and were among the favorites to win before the group stage.
However, their early clash means one team will inevitably miss the quarter-finals.
After seeing this result, neither Mourinho nor Guardiola looked happy.
Mourinho's face was ashen, staring intently at UEFA's Secretary-General Infantino.
The Special One had long suspected that the Champions League draw was scripted, and now he was even more certain.
He could guess that this match-up was arranged by UEFA for the sake of hype and attention.
In previous round of 16 matches, the large disparity in team strength meant less exciting games and fewer highlights.
But Bayern vs. Chelsea is different. These two teams are not only very close in strength but also have various grievances.
Bayern seeking revenge for their defeat in the final two years ago, and the fated clash between Mourinho and Guardiola...
So many talking points and highlights! Guardiola also looked serious. He has confidence in Bayern, but he didn't want to face such a strong team in the first knockout stage.
Chelsea's defense is very tough, and because Bayern will play at home first, the schedule isn't in their favor.
Knowing Mourinho, he will certainly set up a strong defensive counter-attack strategy at Allianz Arena.
If Bayern can't win at home, their chances of winning away will be slim.
The on-site journalists and spectators were well aware of the enmity between the two, so after this result was revealed, there was a buzz of discussion.
Other teams, especially the giants, watched with a sense of schadenfreude, ready to enjoy the spectacle of these two powerhouses clashing.
For teams aiming to win the championship, like Barcelona and Real Madrid, this result was very desirable.
Because without them having to do anything, one of these two strong teams would be eliminated.
Moreover, even the winner of such a fierce battle would be significantly drained.
Meeting them in the quarter-finals, other giants would have a much higher chance of winning.
According to UEFA's official schedule, Manchester City will visit Weser Stadium on February 19, 2014, to face Werder Bremen.
The second leg will take place on March 13 at Etihad Stadium.
Based on the strength of the two teams, Manchester City might end the suspense in the first leg.
However, some fans believe that Lin Quan, returning to Weser Stadium for the first time since leaving Bremen, might show mercy.
As Lin Quan is Manchester City's offensive core, if he shows mercy, Werder Bremen might not lose at home.
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