The match between Atletico Madrid and Valencia comes after the match in Barcelona.

As we prepare for the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final in midweek, Simeone has rotated modestly – not with a major player turnover, but with a few tweaks in a few positions.

Of course, in order to ensure victory, Gao Zheng and Griezmann still appeared in the starting lineup at the same time.

In the end, the two managed to link up once in the game, helping Atletico Madrid win 1-0 at home to Valencia.

Two games in a row were won by a single goal, and it wasn't easy, but it didn't matter.

The important thing is that Atletico Madrid has risen to second place in the league table with the victory of this match!

Of course, there is also a reason why Real Madrid themselves lost the game.

But in any case, they trampled on the feet of their rivals Real Madrid, and they were level on points with Barcelona.

If this points situation continues, the match between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid could decide the eventual league title.

Of course, Real Madrid fell to third place, but there is still hope of a comeback.

After all, they are only one point behind Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. And Real Madrid still has the opportunity to talk directly with Barcelona, that national derby, if Real Madrid can beat Barcelona, they can still regain their first place in the league.

The race for the league title intensified in the final moments.

※※※

After the match against Valencia, Atletico Madrid moved on to preparing for Bayer Leverkusen.

This match is very important for Atletico Madrid.

Because in the first leg, they lost 0:1 away to Bayer Leverkusen.

Not only that, but centre-back Diego Godin received a yellow card for tackling the opposing player Russ Bender in the game, and was suspended for accumulating yellow cards. Thiago, on the other hand, was sent off with a red card after accumulating two yellow cards directly in the game, and will also miss the life-and-death match.

Saul, who was injured against Real Madrid, has not recovered well and will not be able to play in this game.

And this match has also attracted the attention of the media in China and South Korea.

Because this is the second meeting between Gao Zheng and Sun Xingmin after the Asian Cup - in the first leg of the match between the two sides, Gao Zheng played, but Sun Xingmin did not play.

So the second leg was the first meeting between the two sides at the club.

This time, a lot of South Korean media rushed to Madrid to cover the game.

They surrounded him at the airport to hear what he had to say about the fight.

"Sun Jun, do you think this is the best opportunity to avenge the Asian Cup?"

"After the Asian Cup, facing Gao Zheng again, are you confident to beat him?"

……

The questions that reporters threw at Sun Xingmin were basically related to Gao Zheng and revenge.

Although almost two months have passed since the Asian Cup, the South Koreans, who were eliminated by the Chinese team in the quarter-finals, have been haunted by it.

After that defeat, the South Korean players returned home and were even booed and protested by some fans at the airport. Although the South Korean team actually played well in that game, and they were only a thin line away from the semi-finals, as long as they lost to China, it was an unacceptable result.

South Korean football has maintained an absolute advantage over Chinese football for a long time, making many Korean fans feel that as long as they meet the Chinese team, the victory is booked in advance, and the result of the game will not have any other possibilities.

As a result, they lost to the Chinese team. Their biggest star in the team, Son Xingmin, lost to Gao Zheng.

How can Koreans swallow this breath?

It's just that after the Asian Cup, China and South Korea don't know when they want to meet again.

I don't know if I can be placed in a group in the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup.

If they can't meet again and can't find the Chinese team for revenge, this tone will have to be held in the hearts of the Koreans and torture them day and night.

As a result, just when everyone didn't expect it, Gao Zheng and Sun Xingmin actually met in the Champions League!

This is a much smaller chance than meeting in the national team!

Before the first leg of the match between Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen, the Korean media frantically hyped Son Heung-min's revenge battle and South Korea's revenge match.

As a result, Son Heung-min did not appear in the starting line-up.

This made Korean fans very embarrassed.

This time, though, the South Korean media have received very reliable information from various sources – Son Heung-min will definitely start in the second leg.

After all, Bayer Leverkusen, who are one goal ahead, don't need to attack aggressively, they need to defend and counterattack.

And Sun Xingmin is fast and has strong individual combat ability, which is very suitable for defensive counterattacks. At this time, as long as Bayer Leverkusen plays defensive counterattacks, he will definitely choose Son Xingmin to start.

The revenge battle that Koreans have been waiting for for a long time can finally be staged!

Faced with the questions of these South Korean reporters, Son Heung-min was very indifferent: "This is not revenge, this is a game between clubs." A one-goal lead in the first leg doesn't mean much, and it's Atletico Madrid's home stadium, so we have to be careful...... Me and Gao Zheng? He's a very good player and we have to give it our all to beat him. ”

This disappointed South Korean journalists, and someone shouted at him in Korean: "Sun Jun, please rest assured, this is a news report for fans in South Korea!" ”

The implication is that Sun Xingmin should not have any worries and reservations, he can say whatever he wants, and is there anything to hide from his compatriots?

Sun Xingmin smiled and nodded: "I know." ”

It seems that this is what he wants to express without reservation.

South Korean reporters finally got his true thoughts out of Son Heung-min's mouth, and South Korean reporters firmly believed that what Sun Xingmin said was definitely not the truth, but they had no choice but to take what Son Heung-min told them to do news reports.

They guessed right, Sun Xingmin really didn't tell them the truth.

How could the pain brought to him by that Asian Cup be erased so easily?

It was not a revenge, he told his country's journalists.

But on the contrary, deep down in Sun Xingmin's heart, he thinks that this is a revenge.

In fact, the matchup between Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid came out as early as the end of last year after the Champions League round of 16 was all released.

At that time, Sun Xingmin knew that he was going to face Gao Zheng, and he was quite looking forward to it at that time, after all, he and Gao Zheng were among the best players in Asian football, and he wanted to compete with Gao Zheng.

This game is just a simple battle against the masters.

Unexpectedly, the competition between him and Gao Zheng was advanced to the Asian Cup.

And despite his excellent performance in that game, he still couldn't prevent the Chinese team from winning.

Especially Gao Zheng's last barb ball, when he jumped up and took off into the air to make an upside-down golden hook action, it stayed in Sun Xingmin's mind for a long time.

It was hard for him to forget that scene.

The lights of the court came down from a high place, and then were blocked by Gao Zheng's body, and the light squeezed out on the edge of Gao Zheng's body, completely outlining the outline of his action.

At that moment, time seemed to stand still.

He witnessed a brilliant barb ball. Later, some media said that Gao Zheng's barb ball could forever be recorded in the history of the Asian Cup and may become the most exciting ball in the history of the Asian Cup.

And Sun Xingmin already had such an idea when he saw this scene at that time.

At that moment, Gao Zheng was in the sky, he was on the ground, and he was ashamed of himself.

However, the shame after the game made Son Xingmin full of fighting spirit, vowing to fight with Gao Zheng again, and this time he will definitely not be as unbearable as he showed in the Asian Cup.

He has been looking forward to this Champions League quarter-final against Atletico Madrid.

However, he suffered a minor injury in the first leg, although he repeatedly insisted that he was okay and could play. Head coach Schmidt did not take his word for it, but for the sake of safety, let Son Heung-min sit on the bench, depending on the situation, whether to let him play.

As a result, Bayer Leverkusen scored in the second half to take the lead, and then withstood the attack of Atletico Madrid, so Son Heung-min was on the bench until the end of the game.

At that time, although he tried desperately to suppress his expression and emotions in front of the camera lens, he could still be seen to be a little unhappy.

It's just that at that time, the outside world thought that he was unhappy because he was injured and couldn't make it to the game.

Only he knows the real reason.

Now, in the second leg of the quarterfinals, he has fully recovered from his injury and has performed well in the league, and his form is not a problem.

Head coach Schmidt has no reason to put him on the bench anymore.

He knows that Atletico Madrid's home game will be difficult to play, and he also knows that Atletico Madrid, who lost the first leg, will definitely attack with all their might, which is exactly what he is like. He will use his speed and sharp counterattacks to find Gao Zheng to get back on the field.

But he was tight-lipped in the face of reporters and did not say what he really thought, because he did not look like the private duel between himself and Gao Zheng had become a hype known to the world.

This is a grudge between him and Gao Zheng, and it has nothing to do with the country.

The accounts of the national team will be talked about until the national team is on the field.