The day after the 28th round of the league with Freiburg ended, the entire Hoffenheim team flew to Lyon, arriving in Lyon, France two days in advance to make pre-match preparations.
Lyon is a giant in Ligue 1. From the 2001/2002 season to the 2007/2008 season, Lyon completely monopolized the Ligue 1 championship and won seven consecutive titles.
This is not only the first team in the history of Ligue 1 to win seven consecutive championships, but also the first team in the history of the top five European leagues to win seven consecutive championships.
Therefore, Lyon's elimination of Real Madrid in the quarter-finals was not entirely due to luck, nor could it be called a dark horse, it was just a small upset.
Lyon's strength should not be underestimated as they were able to eliminate Real Madrid and advance to the quarterfinals.
Although Ligue 1 seems a little weaker than the Bundesliga, as two of the top five leagues, the Ligue 1 champion is not much weaker than the Bundesliga champion.
Moreover, this quarter-final is held at Lyon's home ground, so it is no wonder that Ralph is facing a formidable enemy. In the last game, even Lu Wenbin, who has always been in good physical condition and has excellent resistance to injuries, was put on the bench by him to prepare for this game.
Compared with other giants such as Barcelona and Inter Milan, Lyon is a little weaker on paper, but it is not something Hoffenheim can underestimate.
At the pre-match press conference the day before the game, Ralph also cautiously expressed the view that Hoffenheim must go all out if they want to beat Lyon in two rounds and advance to the semi-finals, and that it is not as optimistic as some media described.
Lyon coach Claude Puel also stated in the pre-match press conference that Lyon was able to eliminate Real Madrid and advance to the quarterfinals, and is by no means a weak team as some media believe.
Lyon will definitely go all out at home to defeat Hoffenheim and lay a solid foundation for advancing to the semi-finals in the second round.
Of course, Pierre expressed respect for Hoffenheim's top star Lu Wenbin, but he claimed that Lu Wenbin was not terrible and he had already made tactical arrangements against Lu Wenbin.
At 19:45 on the evening of March 31st, the 2009/2010 Champions League quarter-final match between Lyon and Hoffenheim kicked off at Lyon's home stadium.
It rained heavily in Lyon that night, which was quite unfavorable for Hoffenheim, who had always played offensive football.
Lyon, on the other hand, fielded an extreme defensive counterattack formation of 541, with three central defenders and two defensive midfielders, taking defensive counterattacks to the extreme.
Moreover, Lyon's goalkeeper is Hugo Lloris, the best goalkeeper in Ligue 1 who has kept 13 shutouts. He has accurate positioning and quick reactions, and is the top goalkeeper in Ligue 1.
After the game started, Lu Wenbin found that there were two people sticking to him, and there was always a third or even a fourth person nearby ready to assist in defense at any time.
No matter how fast Lu Wenbin is or how erratic his movement is, it is difficult for him to get a chance in the frontcourt.
Even though he created a brief gap, his teammates' passing was not accurate enough, and due to the heavy rain, it was difficult for Lu Wenbin to receive the pass from the ground.
The accuracy of aerial passes is even lower and Lu Wenbin's heading technique is not good either.
Therefore, Lu Wenbin faced great difficulties in this game.
In the 15th minute, Lu Wenbin finally ran out of an opening to receive a pass from Eduardo and broke into the penalty area. However, he was tackled by the opponent's third defender before he could even kick the ball, and he didn't even commit a foul.
In the 28th minute, Lu Wenbin got the ball outside the penalty area and took a long shot, but the shot was blocked by the Lyon defender who blocked the shot and went out of the baseline.
In the 37th minute, Lu Wenbin got a free kick in an excellent position and distance. He sent it out using the system skill, but it was saved by Lloris who had predicted and positioned himself accurately.
Hoffenheim had not scored a goal until the end of the first half.
Of course, Lyon, who had been trying their best to defend, failed to launch any effective counterattacks and did not score any goals.
Both sides entered the halftime break with a score of 0-0.
It seems that Lu Wenbin is really being double-teamed by the Lyon team.
In the second half, Lu Wenbin changed his playing style, trying to move away the opponent's defenders as much as possible to create opportunities for his teammates or assist them.
However, the heavy rain and Lu Wenbin's passing attribute of only 13/13 made Lu Wenbin's assist strategy ineffective.
In the 52nd minute, Lu Wenbin used his speed to break through the wing and made a cross. Although Ibrahimovic, who followed up in the middle, got the first point, he headed the ball into Lloris' arms on the small penalty area line.
This was the closest pass Lu Wenbin made to an assist, but he still failed to score a goal.
On the contrary, Lyon, who played at home, scored a counterattack goal in the 66th minute when Hoffenheim was attacking aggressively and the defense was negligent.
When Lyon striker Gomis used his speed to shake off Simunić and Nilsson's defense and scored a lob shot against goalkeeper Özcan, the entire Lyon stadium erupted in earth-shaking cheers.
All the Lyon fans threw away their umbrellas, jumped and danced in the stands, celebrating wildly.
They withstood Hoffenheim's attack, scored the first goal, and took the lead over the team led by super shooter Lu Wenbin.
Looking at the French players running wildly to celebrate, Lu Wenbin sighed and felt a little weak for the first time.
In fact, there is no problem with his physical fitness, and it is impossible for the opponent to stick to him completely throughout the game, even if there are two or three people.
Throughout the game, he actually created quite a few gaps, but because the opponent had too many players piled up on the back line, many of the gaps were fleeting.
If you pause for a second or two, the gap will be filled and surrounded by the opponent.
On the one hand, his teammates were affected by the heavy rain and the grass environment of the stadium. On the other hand, their passing and assisting skills were indeed insufficient, making it difficult for them to pass the ball to his feet just right for him to shoot.
Although Eduardo is considered a good player in Hoffenheim, he is not a top attacking midfielder in European and world football, and perhaps not even first-rate.
The fact that he rarely even makes the national team, and even when he does, he is only a marginal substitute player, is proof of that.
The same goes for Salihovic, who is in a similar situation to Eduardo.
At this moment, Lu Wenbin recalled the long pass made by Xavi, the brain of Barcelona's midfield, in the European Super Cup.
If he had a top midfield teammate like Xavi to pass the ball and assist him, I wonder how many more goals he could score and how much more experience he could gain
At this moment, Lu Wenbin really wanted to transfer to a wealthy club.
Whether from the perspective of personal development or popularity, Hoffenheim is not a place to stay for long.
However, Lu Wenbin just sighed slightly and the competition still had to continue.
Since he doesn't want to stay in Hoffenheim for a long time, he must go all out to help Hoffenheim win the Champions League this season as a token of his gratitude for joining his first European club.
(asking for monthly ticket)