Under the dark night sky, in the gorgeous night view of Rome, the Olympic Stadium looks like a dormant beast, which is daunting.

Although it was far from the start of the game, the Olympic Stadium was already full of people.

In total, the stadium stands, which can accommodate more than 62,000 fans, were occupied by fans from Liverpool and Barcelona, and as the home team tonight, Liverpool fans all wore red jerseys that represent Liverpool's heritage.

Barcelona and their fans avoided Liverpool's red colour and donned their own yellow away kit.

Fans of both teams were distinct from each other in the stands, but both were doing everything they could to cheer for the teams they were supporting.

This is the pinnacle of the world's attention and will attract the attention of all the media and fans around the world.

Especially as the game time approaches, guests from all walks of life gather in the stands.

UEFA President Michel Platini, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, King Juan Carlos of Spain, Prime Minister Zapatero of Spain, Prince William, Representative of the British Royal Family, Prime Minister Gordon Brown ......

This is not only a football feast, but also an annual event for European political and business circles.

Before the start of the game, a short but grand performance was held, and the protagonist was Jupiter, the king of the gods in ancient Rome, who was dressed in lightning, which fully demonstrated the long tradition and history of Rome.

Accompanied by the theme song of "Gladiator" sung by the Italian blind tenor Bocelli, the model dressed in gold walked into the stadium with the St. Bride Cup, and at this time, Bocelli began to sing the theme song of the Champions League, pushing the atmosphere of the game to the extreme.

……

"The pre-match opening show is over and the fans look enthusiastic."

"The camera switches to the players' tunnel, and we can see that the players of both teams are already lined up at the entrance of the tunnel, ready to play, and the camera is focused on tonight's referee, Busaka from Switzerland."

'We can also see the starting line-ups for both teams tonight.

"First of all, Liverpool, we saw goalkeeper Reina, Aurelio, Skrtel, Carragher and Arbeloa in defence, Gareth Barry, Mascherano, Xavi Alonso and Gerrard in midfield, and Yang Yang and Kuyt up front.

"At present, we can't know whether Liverpool's lineup is four-three-three, four-four-two, or four-three-one-two, or four-three-one-two, Benitez's line-up has always been surprisingly successful, often very surprising."

"Whether it's Yang Yang, Steven Gerrard, or Gareth Barry, these three players can play multiple positions at the same time, which brings more room for Benitez's line-up, and how to arrange it can be seen clearly in the game."

"It's the same with Barcelona."

'We saw goalkeeper Valdés, Abidal, Pique, Puyol and Daniel Alves at the back, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Xavi in midfield, and Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto'o and Messi up front.

"Some media broke the news before that Guardiola is likely to put Messi in the middle and let Henry and Etoola side, but whether it is arranged like this or not, we have to wait until the game to see clearly."

……

Yang Yang stood in the queue of Liverpool, chatting with Messi and Iniesta and others in the Barcelona team.

Although they will have to do a backflip in the game later, off the court, they are still in harmony with each other.

Don't look at Messi shouting fiercely before the game, as if he wanted to swallow Yang Yang and Liverpool in one bite, but when he really met, the Argentine was still quite shy and extremely polite to Yang Yang.

In the chatting room, with the greeting of referee Busaka, Yang Yang and Messi and others exchanged good luck, and slowly walked out of the player tunnel with the queue.

The players were greeted by a tsunami of more than 60,000 fans from the stands, all of whom were in the stadium and could no longer tell what they were shouting.

Some people shouted the team, some people shouted the players, and some people shouted cheers, intertwined together, and the momentum shook the sky.

Gerrard is still quite superstitious, and before walking out of the players' tunnel, he repeatedly told Liverpool's players not to touch the St. Bride Cup placed at the entrance of the tunnel no matter what, it is said that after touching it, they will miss this trophy.

Although I don't know where Gerrard heard the news, Liverpool really didn't have anyone to touch.

Not only Liverpool, but also Barcelona's players.

The 22 players from the two teams were divided into two rows, and the players walked in from the left and right of the St. Bride Cup, and no one touched the Champions League trophy from start to finish, and it looked so tempting.

……

Taking off their training jackets and revealing their match shirts underneath, Liverpool began to put on a line-up.

Barcelona won against Liverpool in guessing the edge, so Puyol won the kick-off.

At this time, the two teams set up their positions, and their positions were basically clear, and Yang Yang admired Benitez even more from the bottom of his heart.

At least in the pre-match preparation, Benitez really did a good job.

Because Pep Guardiola really put Messi in the middle, Samuel Eto'o on the right and Thierry Henry on the left.

If Liverpool really adopts a double-back style of play, it is estimated that the first half of this game will be very passive, and even a careless one may lose the opportunity.

But what Yang Yang didn't know was that while he was surprised by Guardiola's strange moves and Benitez's precautions, the Barcelona players opposite, including Messi, were also surprised by Benitez's on-the-spot change of formation and Guardiola's clever calculation.

Because Yang Yang and Kuyt are standing on either side of the periphery of the center circle, it means that Liverpool have adopted a two-striker style of play.

Pep Guardiola took the rare initiative to provoke Liverpool before the game, hoping that the Reds could take the initiative and fight against Barcelona, but in fact he knew very well that Liverpool could not do this at all.

Sometimes football games are like this, virtual and real, and elusive.

…………

…………

When referee Bussaka blew the whistle for the start of the game, Messi quickly played the ball to Samuel Eto'o, who quickly passed it back to Busquets and then to the backline.

Yang Yang and Kuyt both sprinted forward at the same time to take the Barcelona backline.

One on Puyol and the other on Pique, with both pressing at the same time, plus Gareth Barry and Gerrard pressing forward on the left, Liverpool started the game with aggressive momentum.

This was Liverpool's opening strategy, hoping to frustrate Barcelona's spirit from the start and disrupt the rhythm of the opposition.

Barcelona's players looked a little nervous at the start, after all, many of them are playing in the Champions League final for the first time, unlike Liverpool, who have already played one two years ago, and many have even played three Champions League finals.

In terms of experience, Liverpool is superior.

Gerard Pique played a long ball and tried to get up front, but Skrtel headed it down.

Liverpool instigated a counter-attack down the left, with Aurelio slicing a through ball past the halfway line and Gareth Barry receiving it.

Yang Yang retreated from the front and raised his hand to ask for the ball.

Stopping the ball and turning, Yang started with the ball from the left and rushed diagonally to the penalty area.

But as soon as he started, Busquets made a decisive foot and didn't break the ball, but he tripped Yang Yang.

Referee Busaka blew the whistle decisively and gave Liverpool a set-piece in front, but did not take out the cards.

The Liverpool fans at the scene immediately booed.

……

This position is exactly at the most comfortable angle in Yangyang, thirty-two meters away, which is a bit far.

After Yang Yang put the ball, he slowly pushed it back.

Barcelona were also on the verge of rivalry, with Pep Guardiola even rushing to the sidelines and directing the players to set up their defenses.

Everyone was very nervous, obviously worried about Yang Yang's direct free kick.

In the past two or three years, Yang Yang's direct free-kick scoring is a good game.

"I don't know how Yang Yang's footwork is tonight?" The on-site commentator spoke the hearts of all the fans in the stadium and in front of the television.

Hearing only a whistle from Busaka, Yang Yang took a deep breath, rushed forward quickly, stood still with his left foot, and hit a curved ball directly with his right foot.

A distinct muffled sound was heard at the scene, and the ball shot out quickly, jumping over the head of the human wall in the penalty area, falling rapidly, with a strong spin, and flying to the left side of the goal.

Valdés was also extremely quick to react, flying to make a save, and his right hand was extended as long as he could.

But when he felt the ball flying closer, he found that the ball in mid-air was obviously falling, which suddenly shocked him, and the outside world's evaluation of Yang Yang's free kick came to mind.

Deadly arc, unpredictable!

Valdés thought he had been defeated, but what he didn't expect was another muffled ringing in his ears.

With a bang, the ball hit the left post and bounced back into the box.

In an instant, there was a sigh of relief at the scene.

The Liverpool players in ambush in the box also rushed forward quickly, Gerrard and Kuyt both rushed for the ball, and finally Kuyt scrambled to shoot first, but Pique was faster and blocked Kuyt's shot with his foot.

Corner kick!

"Oh my God, almost!"

"Barcelona escaped, Yang Yang's direct free kick arc was very erratic, Valdés couldn't even stop it at all, and in the end it was the goal that saved Barcelona."

"Liverpool's opening attack was very threatening, especially Yang Yang, who showed his skills at the beginning, almost breaking Barcelona's goal with a free kick full of threat."

The Liverpool fans at the scene responded with warm applause, obviously affirming Yang Yang's opening free kick, but Yang Yang himself was not satisfied, because his footwork of the penalty just now was still not well controlled.

The game had just started and he wasn't really into the groove yet.

If this free kick is a little later, when his body warms up and his footwork is more skillful, then this goal will really be there, what a pity it is a great chance to score!

But he believes the free-kick was enough to scare Barcelona.