Capítulo 246: Lin’s First Showdown with Messi!
"Poor Arsenal, getting crushed again!"
"How many times have they been destroyed this season? True Gunners fans are used to it by now!"
"Sigh, every year in March, they fall apart. In January, they're title contenders, February things start to go wrong, March they collapse, April they're in a desperate situation, and by May they miraculously secure fourth place..."
"That's why they're called the 'Fourth Place Specialists'!"
As soon as the phrase "Fourth Place Specialists" was mentioned, the internet filled with a wave of joyful banter.
Netizens began sharing Arsenal jokes to lighten the mood: "No spoilers, let's hear some Arsenal jokes!"
"I advise you not to seek fourth, act like fourth, be neither third nor fourth, and boldly embrace the fourth!"
"God is first, I'm second, not sure who's third, but fourth belongs to Arsenal—Mourinho!"
"Our greatest fear comes from the fourth-placed Arsenal—Winston Churchill!"
"If there's only one team loyal to fourth place, it's Arsenal—Van Persie!"
"Only a team without a title for ten years is qualified to be fourth!—MacArthur!"
"An Arsenal not aiming for fourth is not a good team—Napoleon!"
"Whether you fight for it or not, we are always fourth, no more, no less.—Tsangyang Gyatso!"
"Ha-ha, I'm going to die laughing because of you guys!"
Scrolling through these, Lin couldn't help but laugh too.
Football jokes abound, but Arsenal seems to get the most of them.
Based on his experience playing against Arsenal, Lin felt that their late-season collapse wasn't too hard to understand.
The team's thin squad struggled with multiple competitions, and the players were too young, leading to significant psychological fluctuations—these were some of the objective reasons.
But Lin thought there was another crucial reason: this Arsenal team lacked grit.
Wenger's team was as refined as he was—elegant and brilliant, but like fine porcelain, it shattered at the slightest touch.
This season, Arsenal's winning rate in matches against strong opponents was very low. They were crushed 6-2 by Manchester City, 5-1 by Liverpool, and 6-0 by Chelsea—all away games.
These heavy defeats all happened in one season, which says a lot.
Adding the 1-0 loss to Manchester United away, Arsenal hadn't won a single away match against the top-ranked teams in the league.
It wasn't much better at home either.
This season, Arsenal only won at home against Liverpool. When they faced Chelsea and Manchester United, they were held to draws.
Their next match was against Manchester City, and if City gave it their all, Arsenal, still reeling from their recent thrashing, would have no chance.
But Arsenal caught a break because Manchester City planned to field a backup squad for their next match to focus on the upcoming Champions League game against Barcelona. The main squad would head to Barcelona two days early to prepare.
When Wenger heard this news, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Arsenal managed to secure fourth place year after year, there was no telling how long that luck would last.
Everton and Tottenham were both hot on their heels on the leaderboard.
Everton was only six points behind Arsenal, and Tottenham just seven points back. If Arsenal lost a couple more games, they could easily be overtaken.
If City had gone all out, a loss would have shrunk Arsenal's lead to just three or four points.
With only six rounds left in the season, that gap could easily disappear in just one match.
Moreover, after playing Manchester City, Arsenal's next match would be against Everton.
Given Arsenal's poor away form, Wenger had no confidence that his team could beat the Toffees.
If they lost both matches, Everton would overtake them, dropping Arsenal to fifth place.
However, just as Arsenal fans thought the match was in the bag, fate played a trick on them.
Jovetić and Nasri scored in the 2nd and 5th minutes, respectively, leaving Arsenal shell-shocked.
This was City's backup squad?
The Gunners fans at the Emirates were stunned; this was not what they had expected.
They had hoped to witness a resounding victory at home, but City's two goals brought them back to reality.
They were up against Manchester City!
This was the Premier League leader, and even their backup squad was stronger than many of the mid-to-lower-tier teams.
Seeing the score on the board, Arsenal fans felt like they were back at Stamford Bridge.
Last time, Chelsea beat them this way!
Would history repeat itself?
The camera zoomed in on Wenger on the sidelines. He looked like he was struggling with his coat's zipper as he tried to take it off, seemingly unable to get it down.
Sigh, Wenger's getting old! Seeing this, Arsenal fans felt a pang in their hearts.
The score remained 2-0 until halftime.
With both Wilshere and Walcott out injured, Arsenal's attack was a serious problem.
They had more shots in the first half, but they couldn't convert them into goals.
In the second half, Wenger made some adjustments, pushing more midfielders into the attack.
This change paid off in the 53rd minute when Flamini, a former Arsenal player who had returned on a free transfer last summer, stepped up. He capitalized on a mistake by the City players, intercepted the ball, and fired a long-range shot to bring Arsenal back into the game.
Flamini didn't celebrate his goal but immediately ran into the net, grabbed the ball, and rushed back to midfield, eager to continue the attack.
Seeing this, Arsenal fans stood up and applauded.
Flamini wasn't the most talented player; he didn't have exceptional skills or physical attributes.
What he did have was a relentless work ethic and a fighting spirit, always taking on the dirty work of a defensive midfielder.
He didn't score many goals, and this was his first since returning to Arsenal.
But it was worth its weight in gold!
Flamini's goal reignited Arsenal's spirit and signaled their comeback.
In the following 40 minutes, Arsenal launched a relentless attack on City's goal.
City's backup squad, after all, wasn't as strong as Arsenal's starters.
As they fell back into a defensive posture, they couldn't mount an effective counterattack, leading to an increasingly difficult situation.
In the 85th minute, after nearly 30 minutes of relentless pressure, Arsenal finally equalized through substitute Oxlade-Chamberlain.
In the last game at Stamford Bridge, Oxlade-Chamberlain's handball had made him the villain.
But in this game, he redeemed himself, helping Arsenal earn a hard-fought draw at home against Manchester City.
While a draw wasn't ideal for Arsenal, considering they had been trailing early on, it was a result they could accept.
However, in another match, Everton's 3-1 victory over Fulham closed the gap with Arsenal to just four points.
Now, Arsenal found themselves in another tight spot!
...
Meanwhile, in Barcelona, Manchester City's main squad was surprised to hear that their backups had nearly beaten Arsenal.
"Really? Is Arsenal that weak?"
"Yes, Jovetić and Nasri scored two quick goals early on and almost pushed Arsenal to the brink. But the team got a bit too conservative later, and their counterattacks weren't effective, so Arsenal managed to equalize."
"Haha, a point is still good. We all thought we were going to lose, so getting a draw is a pleasant surprise!"
"Yeah, and there's more good news: Chelsea lost 1-0 away to Crystal Palace!"
With that announcement, the Manchester City players at Camp Nou were instantly energized.
"So, does that mean our lead is now nine points?"
"That's right, it's a three-game lead now!"
"Heh, I remember we still have a game in hand. If we win that, we'll be twelve points ahead of Chelsea!"
A 12-point lead, plus their advantage in goal difference, meant they could clinch the title four rounds early! As his teammates excitedly discussed the Premier League title race, Lin quietly put down his phone, choosing not to mention that Liverpool had now moved up to second place.
With Chelsea's loss, Mourinho's team now had only a theoretical chance of winning the title.
But after their 4-0 thrashing of Tottenham, Liverpool had surged into second place, overtaking Chelsea.
They currently had 71 points, seven fewer than Manchester City.
It was a significant gap, but City and Liverpool still had a head-to-head match coming up, and it would be at Anfield.
This season, Liverpool had been formidable at home, losing only once and drawing once in 16 games at Anfield, with the other 14 being victories, many of them by three or even four goals.
If any team could rival Manchester City's home form this season, it was Liverpool.
Facing such a strong team at home, City couldn't be too confident of winning.
The City-Liverpool match was scheduled for April 12, just two days after the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals! Liverpool didn't have to worry about the Champions League, so after their league match, they'd have seven days to rest and prepare, while City had no such luxury.
From April 10 to April 13, City had three crucial matches: the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against Barcelona, the league match against Liverpool, and then the FA Cup semifinal against Arsenal.
The downside of competing on multiple fronts is that as the season progresses, the games come thick and fast, with little time in between.
That's why teams that manage to win the treble while competing on multiple fronts are so highly regarded!
Given City's schedule, Lin felt it was too early
to celebrate.
But with a big match approaching, he didn't want to dampen his teammates' spirits.
City needed to be at their highest morale to face Barcelona at Camp Nou! ...
After arriving in Barcelona, Manchester City trained at the training base of local team Espanyol.
Espanyol's training base, called the Dani Jarque Sports City, is located in the northeast of Barcelona in Sant Adrià de Besòs, covering about 60,000 square meters.
Compared to Barcelona's training base, Espanyol's is much smaller, roughly only a seventh of its neighbor's size.
But despite its smaller size, it has all the necessary facilities.
Everything they needed was there, fully capable of meeting Manchester City's training needs.
Espanyol, a team in Barcelona that doesn't get much attention, often sees the spotlight stolen by their neighbors, Barcelona.
But with Manchester City in town, the training base, usually quiet, was suddenly buzzing with fans and journalists.
Among them were local media from Barcelona and some Barça fans eager to spy on City.
Clearly, all of Barcelona was keenly interested in the visiting Manchester City.
After two seasons of being knocked out in the semifinals, Barça had increased their focus on the Champions League this season.
They were determined to reach the final and lift the trophy once again.
To achieve that, they first had to eliminate Manchester City; otherwise, they wouldn't even make it to the semifinals.
But Barça was confident they could defeat Manchester City.
This Barça was not the same as the one in later years, which struggled, had an aging squad, and was in the midst of a rebuild after losing key players.
That Barça couldn't even make it out of the Champions League group stage, but this Barça had reached the semifinals for six consecutive seasons and won three Champions League trophies in eight years.
They were one of Europe's most successful clubs—perhaps even the most successful.
Although they were thrashed by Bayern last season, leading some to question their strength, Barça was still a force to be reckoned with.
So it wasn't surprising that Barça felt confident.
But facing such a strong Barça, City couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.
To ease the tension, Pellegrini didn't arrange any complex tactical training.
Instead, he focused on some light-hearted training exercises and specific set-piece drills.
This left the journalists and fans who came to spy on them quite puzzled: Did Manchester City really think they could beat Barça with these tactics?
Or were they giving up early, knowing they couldn't win? When this news reached Barça's coach Martino, he suspected that City was trying to throw them off.
If he were City and wanted to beat a strong team like Barça, he wouldn't go in unprepared.
So, the more City acted this way, the more likely it was that they were hiding their true intentions.
With that in mind, Martino didn't dare take any chances.
He and his coaching staff carefully analyzed the tactics City might use and discussed countermeasures.
Finally, Martino summarized their approach:
"Manchester City is not as weak as the outside world thinks, so we absolutely cannot underestimate them!"
Martino hoped to use their home advantage to settle the match in the first leg.
That way, they could focus their attention on the league and their competition with Atlético Madrid.
Barça had just come from a 4-3 comeback win over Real Madrid, temporarily widening the gap between them and Madrid.
Currently, Barça was just one point behind Atlético at the top of the table.
It was a small margin, but that made it all the more important that Barça didn't slip up.
Otherwise, when they faced Atlético at home in the final round of the league, Barça would be at a disadvantage.
At the pre-match press conference, both coaches were polite.
They exchanged compliments, with Pellegrini praising Barça as a great team and Martino calling City a respectable opponent.
The two exchanged glances, each understanding the unspoken challenge: Old man, get ready for a fight! ...
On the evening of April 2, at Camp Nou.
The 100,000-seat Camp Nou was packed to the rafters, with Barça's frenzied fans already creating a terrifying atmosphere before the match even began, putting pressure on the visiting Manchester City fans.
Compared to the overwhelming numbers of Barça fans, the 5,000 City fans were like a tiny boat in a stormy sea, surrounded by waves that threatened to capsize them at any moment.
Gulp—a City fan couldn't help but swallow hard.
Although thousands of security personnel kept them separated from the Barça fans, the menacing expressions, roaring gestures, and constant fist-waving from the Barça fans made them nervous.
If a fight broke out, 90,000 Barça fans could easily overwhelm them in seconds.
But soon, the Barça fans' attention shifted from the City fans to the pitch.
The players were lining up in the tunnel, ready to walk out onto the field.
Standing in the tunnel at Camp Nou, hearing the deafening cheers from the crowd outside, Lin had a strange feeling.
He grew up in Barcelona, joined Barça's youth academy at six, so Camp Nou was not unfamiliar to him.
But this was his first time entering Camp Nou as an opponent.
He wondered what was waiting for him.
Would it be a chorus of boos?
Or would it be insults and jeers from the fans?
Just as he was pondering these questions, Lin felt a tap on his shoulder.
He turned around to see Barça captain Xavi.
"Lin, how about we exchange jerseys after the match, okay?"
Xavi smiled as he spoke. Lin had good relationships with many Barça players, so quite a few would want to swap jerseys with him after the match. If Xavi didn't ask now, he might miss his chance.
"Sure, captain!"
Lin nodded, agreeing to Xavi's request.
"Hehe, welcome back to Camp Nou. Let's play a great match today!"
"Mm, I will!"
Lin clenched his fist and nodded firmly.
Xavi said no more, returning to Barça's lineup, chatting and laughing with Iniesta behind him.
Seeing Lin glance over, Iniesta winked at him, greeting him with a look.
Behind them, Fabregas, Piqué, Busquets, Pedro, and other Spanish national teammates also nodded at Lin in acknowledgment.
Although they played for different clubs and were opponents on the field, off the pitch, they were friends, with no direct competition since they didn't play the same positions.
Of course, not everyone was friendly toward Lin. Several of Barça's Brazilian players, like Neymar and Alves, looked at Lin with hostility.
Especially Neymar—his eyes burned with a desire for revenge, clearly eager to avenge last year's Confederations Cup loss! Lin shrugged indifferently, ignoring Neymar's glare. Neymar was skilled, but if Lin considered him a rival, that would be beneath him.
Just as Lin was about to look away, he felt a strong, almost tangible gaze on him.
Following the direction of the stare, he wasn't surprised to find it was coming from Barça's star player—Lionel Messi.
The tunnel, filled with noise just moments ago, seemed to fall silent as Lin and Messi locked eyes, and everyone around them noticed the tension between the two.
This match wasn't just a showdown between Manchester City and Barcelona; it was a clash between two of football's biggest stars, Lin and Messi.
It was their first official encounter, a matchup both had long anticipated.
Messi, let's see how much of your peak form you have left! Messi was equally determined: Lin, let's see if you really deserve to stand shoulder to shoulder with me! Lin smiled and nodded, and Messi did the same, the tension between them dissipating.
At that moment, the referee signaled for both teams to enter the field.
The Champions League quarterfinal between Manchester City and Barcelona was about to begin!
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