Hoffenheim picked up another draw in the UEFA Cup as they held Benfica to a 1-1 draw in Portugal, a draw that was a positive for Hoffenheim as they scored a valuable away goal that gave them a head start on their way to qualification.

These draws are not without significance, as Hildebrand and Simunic, who joined during the winter break, have gradually adapted to the team and have gradually increased their playing time in games. In the away game against Bielefeld, Simunic and Hildbrand started for the first time at Hoffenheim, and their performances were very good, finally ending the team's streak of conceding goals, Hoffenheim did not worry about the back, the front line was a big kill, and the away 4-0 slaughter of Bielefeld was completed, and the morale of the team was boosted before the Do-or-die clash with Benfica in the UEFA Cup.

After the first leg of the League quarter-finals, the Bundesliga side won two and drew three, with Hamburg 3-1 away to Zurich and Bremen beating Braga 3-0 at home to have reached the final with one foot in the final, and Bayer Leverkusen also drew 0-0 away at Turkey's Galatasaray. The only surprise was that Bayern did not win Aberdeen away from home, and they fell behind twice. After the game, Bayern fans also ridiculed Bayern as "not strong when weak, and weaker when strong".

Hoffenheim met this Benfica can be called a star, coach Camacho was once the coach of Spain, the team's organizational core Rui Costa is old, but the passing skills are still there, even at the peak, Rui Costa is not a blue-collar worker who runs and fights, he is an artist on the field, an elegant poet, good at completing a fatal pass between idle walks, so age is not the most fatal weakness for him. The main striker Gomez is a handsome guy who has made female fans all over the world crazy in the '02 World Cup and Euro '04.

Benfica are not all outdated stars, they also have young people with great potential, Di Maria, who just spent 8 million to buy from Argentina, is known as the second Messi, and his breakthrough on the wing is very sharp, which is Benfica's lethal weapon.

Originally, Benfica also had a newcomer from China, Yu Dabao, but during the winter break, Yu Dabao was loaned to Portuguese B by Benfica. Let the Chinese media and the Portuguese media regret not being able to see the Chinese derby staged in the League Cup.

In the first leg, Hoffenheim was the first team to encounter a possession-based style of play, Benfica's running was not fast, and the scramble was not fierce, but each player's technique was very delicate, always using the pass to mobilize Hoffenheim, Hoffenheim's players were running all over the field but always unable to grab the ball. Because it is Benfica's home field, the referee's law enforcement scale is also a little too strict, and Hoffenheim plays more openly, so it gives Benfica a lot of offensive opportunities, if it is not for Benfica's lack of good strikers, if it is not for Li Huan's magical free kick, Hoffenheim will definitely have no chance to get a draw back.

As a promoted horse, Hoffenheim in terms of experience, bench thickness can not be compared with the old powerhouse, the club and Rangnick do not plan to attack on the third line, and trying to play well in the league is Hoffenheim's only goal now, if the League Cup is not an away goal on the road, the second game Rangnick is almost ready to give up, but now the team is in a favorable situation for promotion, Rangnick intends to work hard, and it is just through the League Cup and the German Cup to run in the lineup Simunich, Hildebrand, Wellington needs to run in with the team and adapt to Hoffenheim's attacking style of play, players like Jankel, Copado, Nelson, and Weiss all need games to maintain their form, although these players are still substitutes at Hoffenheim, in fact, their strength is not bad, but they just lack the run-in with the main players.

Benfica and Hoffenheim are different, Hoffenheim is a little half-hearted, but Benfica is determined to advance to the round of 16, before coming to Mannheim, Benfica's head coach Camacho said that Hoffenheim has been very magical this season, they are all talked about by fans in Portugal, because the last game was a 1-1 draw, and now Benfica is more difficult to qualify, but they will be able to overcome the difficulties and reach the round of 16.

The famous star Rui Costa said in an interview with reporters: "Hoffenheim's style of play is very passionate, very fast, but Benfica's attacking football is different from Hoffenheim, Benfica prefers to control the ball at their feet, through more possession to create chances, which is also a common feature of Iberian Peninsula football, Hoffenheim is more visually impactful, but we have more artistic beauty." ”

After the start of the second half, Hoffenheim's three-line record was three wins and three draws, which was much worse than last season, and Rangnick knew that this was a critical time, so he strictly controlled the players to be interviewed by the media. Especially for core players like Li Huan, reporters can only interview with the consent of the club.

Hoffenheim's starting lineup in this game has made a lot of adjustments compared with the last league game, goalkeepers Hildebrand and Simunic continue to start, midfielders Weiss and Saarihovic, Eduardo lead, Welrington and Copado on the forward line Take two sides, Ibisevic is on the center position, the back line is basically unchanged except for Simunich, for a team, the adjustment of the back line must be cautious, and rash changes are likely to cause the collapse of the team.

Benfica's lineup is basically the same as the last UEFA Cup game, still a 442 formation, goalkeeper Quem; four defenders, Luis Felipe, Miguel Victor, Edcarlos, Leao; Four midfielders Capranis, Rui Costa, Maxi Pereira, Rodriguez; Di Maria, Nuno Gomez, Benfica are unbeaten in their last nine matches, and Camacho has a lot of trust in this squad.

After the start of the game, Hoffenheim, who had changed blood, still attacked with all his might, using active running and ferocious scrambling to contain the opponent's passes, the attack was simple and fast, three passes and two passes to the front, and then crossed or shot from a distance.

Benfica is still unhurried to control the ball, and is not in a hurry to attack, that is, continuous horizontal passes, return passes, and direct passes, Hoffenheim's fast and ferocious pressing is well-known in the Bundesliga, and the opponent is often forced by Hoffenheim to not even get the ball out, and can only start from the back line, but Benfica can still turn the ball upside down in the gap under Hoffenheim's pressure, and he is really forced to open his feet in a hurry, and does not give Hoffenheim the opportunity to counterattack on the spot. The Portuguese's small-range passing skills have been honed since childhood, and there are not many opportunities to be forced to open their feet.

Hoffenheim has a lot of substitute players, and it is not so tacit in the collective pressing, often this player goes to press, but the other player stands still, and the forcing is meaningless, and can only be slipped by Benfica's players.

After more than ten minutes of play, Hoffenheim's full defense could not be maintained, and he was forced to retreat step by step by Benfica's players, and after 30 minutes, he entered and became pressed by Benfica's players in the half. Portugal's strikers are notoriously poor in goalscoring and Hoffenheim defensively aggressive, with Rui Costa, Angel Di Maria and Andreas Pereira creating chances but failing to capitalise on any of them.

Seeing this situation, Duan Xuan couldn't help but say: "Benfica is like a master of Tai Chi, overcoming rigidity with softness, so that Hoffenheim's players have nowhere to go, and it is the first time for Hoffenheim to be pressed by the opponent in the half court to play." ”

Tao Weidao: "The opponent's skills are good, and the cooperation is more tacit than Hoffenheim, Hoffenheim can't grab the ball and can only play defensive counterattacks at the front of his penalty area." But they were forced, not intentionally. Hoffenheim have always struggled to gain the upper hand against technical teams, with technical teams restraining power teams. ”

Hoffenheim fans rarely see such a situation, even away to Bayern Munich, Hoffenheim were able to play against their opponents, and seeing the opponents pass the ball around in their own half, almost all Hoffenheim fans felt a little scared, they could not adapt to the situation like the Italian fans.

However, soon an unexpected scene happened, Benfica passed in Hoffenheim's half, Rui Costa suddenly passed a ball over the top, picking up the back of the defender, Costa's pass aimed at the peak, and Gomez's appearance was just right, a pass and a run made Hoffenheim's four defenders and a back become a decoration.

Gomez thighed and volleyed the ball towards goal before it could hit the ground.

If the ball goes in, it's a world wave and there is definitely a chance to be the best goal of the season in the UEFA Cup, but Hildebrand, who started for the second time, made a miraculous save when he subconsciously hit the ball with his hand, the ball was touched in the direction and bounced off the post and towards the touchline.

The crowd shouted in amazement, with Hildebrand's save leaving the Hoffenheim fans crying out for luck, while Gomez fell to his knees in the box with his hands on his face.

However, the game was still going on nervously, the ball just bounced to the area where Li Huan was, Li Huan's reaction was not ordinarily fast, he was the first to react and got the ball as fast as possible.

Di Maria saw Li Huan control the ball before running over to force it, but it was too late at this time, when Li Huan took the ball, Ibisevic began to run with understanding, Li Huan decisively pumped to the bottom of the ball, and passed the ball behind the Benfica defender.

(To be continued)