After the results of the Arsenal and Barcelona Quarter-finals were released, the results of the other three matchups also came out...
Real Madrid thrashed Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 on aggregate over two legs.
Schalke 04, on the other hand, caused an upset by defeating defending champions Inter Milan 7-3 on aggregate.
The only Premier League internal conflict in the Quarter-finals saw Manchester United eliminate Chelsea 3-1.
The matchups for the 2010-2011 Champions League semi-finals were officially announced.
Real Madrid VS Arsenal, Schalke 04 VS Manchester United.
After defeating Barcelona, Arsenal was about to face another strong Spanish team, Real Madrid, in a direct confrontation.
Instantly, sports media across England and Spain began to hype it up...
Especially after "Fly VS Messi," now came "Cristiano Ronaldo VS Fly," which was full of talking points...
as soon as this round of matchups was officially confirmed, the media from both sides immediately started building momentum for their respective home teams.
Arsenal's allies were mainly Fleet Street and the media from Catalonia.
Adhering to the principle that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Although Barcelona was personally eliminated by Arsenal, compared to their century-old rivalry with Real Madrid, that was nothing...
For the media in Catalonia, it was almost self-evident who to support in Arsenal VS Real Madrid.
as for the local media in England, it was the familiar Sky Sports, and the same England legend Gary Lineker.
This England legend, who had criticized Fly at the start of the season, had long become a staunch "Fly fan."
Coupled with Gary Lineker's Barça background, disparaging Real Madrid naturally became a form of "political correctness."
"Without a doubt... there's no suspense in this matchup, Arsenal will defeat Real Madrid."
"You must know, Real Madrid is heavily suppressed by Barcelona in the domestic League, and even Barcelona lost to Arsenal, let alone Real Madrid?"
"Real Madrid defeated Arsenal's city rivals 5-1?"
"We all know that Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal are not opponents of the same caliber. I don't see the point in comparing these two teams..."
"Real Madrid's easy victory over Tottenham doesn't prove anything; they will be at a loss when facing Arsenal."
"Fly will easily tear apart Real Madrid's defense, just as he did against Barcelona..."
"I have full confidence in this; this season's Champions League title will definitely belong to the Premier League!"
"After three years, the world's top League should once again lift its own Champions League trophy."
Gary Lineker's statement on Sky Sports quickly spread throughout England, and other European countries soon learned of his outrageous remarks.
Other countries didn't comment on such "loan-like" remarks.
Only the pro-Real Madrid media in Spain broke their composure and sternly rebuked him.
Roncero, a famous Real Madrid loyalist and editor-in-chief of as, published an article launching the sharpest attack.
"Regarding Arsenal's elimination of Barcelona, I am extremely excited... Truly, although I strongly dislike Barcelona, it's undeniable that they are indeed very strong right now."
"Of course, the great Real Madrid will surpass them sooner or later."
"Before this, I always held Arsenal in high regard, which could be seen from the Arsenal jersey I wore when broadcasting the Arsenal VS Barcelona match..."
"But this time, I have to come out and refute some irrational and arrogant statements."
"Admittedly, Arsenal's ability to defeat Barcelona has proven their strength."
"But I want to say, Arsenal's ability to defeat Barcelona does not mean they can defeat Real Madrid."
"Football matches are never just a simple game of 'who's bigger'."
"There's no such saying as 'Team A beat Team B, and Team B beat Team C, therefore Team A can also beat Team C'."
"Such remarks are undoubtedly absurd..."
"I highly doubt if Gary Lineker is a professional football player, to be able to utter such amateurish remarks."
"Also, we need to be clear about one fact... in cup competitions, defenders win championships!"
"Looking back at all past major cup competitions, the teams that ultimately won were invariably those with excellent defense."
"But let's look at the aggregate score of Arsenal and Barcelona over two legs... Oh my God, 11:10. If I hadn't watched this round of knockout matches, I would have thought it was a ping-pong score."
"Arsenal conceded 10 goals against Barcelona over two legs, an average of 5 goals per game, which is simply incredible."
"Honestly, I'm even questioning how Arsenal's terrible defense managed to eliminate Barcelona."
"But after seeing Barcelona's staggering 11 goals conceded, I understood that Arsenal was able to eliminate Barcelona simply because their opponent was even worse..."
"I've always found it very difficult to understand why outsiders called Arsenal VS Barcelona a preview of the Champions League Final."
"When can two teams conceding more than 5 goals per game become Champions League finalists?"
"If that were truly the case... then I could only feel sorrow for the Champions League, because it would mean that the competitive level of the Champions League is experiencing a visible cliff-like decline."
"While goals are certainly very important in football matches, most fans also enjoy watching high-scoring goal-fests."
"However, when such astonishing scores occur in the Champions League knockout stage, I can only conclude that Arsenal VS Barcelona was essentially a match between two weak teams."
"Believe me, after the Champions League semi-finals, friends who watched this match will realize one fact: Real Madrid is far stronger than Arsenal!"
"We might not be able to score 10 goals over two legs like Barcelona, but we definitely won't concede more than 4 goals."
"as for Fly? Well, his double hat-trick against Barcelona has made me re-evaluate this talented young man."
"To be able to hold his own, and even gain an advantage, in a direct confrontation with that despicable Argentine, his strength is beyond doubt!"
"Although I still believe he's not as good as Cristiano, becoming the second-best player in football is certainly not a problem..."
"I cannot promise that Real Madrid can completely shut him down, but I can guarantee that Fly's combined goals against Real Madrid over two legs will not exceed 3."
"Real Madrid is not Barcelona, and Real Madrid's defense cannot be compared to Barcelona's weak defense."
"I believe Ramos and Pepe will teach Fly a good lesson; it's not a good thing for a player to have too smooth a career since his debut."
"In summary, see you at the end of April matches; by then, you will find everything I'm saying now is being proven true."
After Roncero initiated the attack, a series of people from the Real Madrid camp joined in.
For a time, the condemnation of Arsenal and Fly dominated the Spanish football section.
However, Fly himself was completely unfazed; for him, even the current football world's big boss, Barcelona, had been dealt with.
It was just Real Madrid in Mourinho's first year... nothing to worry about.
April 17th.
The 33rd round of the Premier League began.
Arsenal hosted the visiting Reds, Liverpool, at Emirates Stadium.
Fly was still very interested in facing his first official opponent of his professional career.
Especially since Arsenal and Liverpool had fallen out over Suarez's transfer during the winter transfer window, this match was a must-win in the eyes of Liverpool's management and fans.
"Arsenal is indeed very strong this season, but I believe we can definitely defeat them!"
"We hope to use the victory in this match to tell Suarez that his choice to join Arsenal was a mistake!"
At the pre-match press conference, old Hodgson made a harsh statement in front of Fleet Street reporters.
However, unlike the harsh words spoken at the beginning of the season.
This time, the Fleet Street reporters merely smiled at Hodgson's harsh words, clearly not believing that Liverpool, who couldn't even qualify for the Europa League, could pose any threat to the Premier League champions.
Perhaps this match ignited the fighting spirit and passion in the Liverpool players; right from the start, Liverpool players were fiercely battling on the field.
This made the Arsenal players somewhat uncomfortable...
The rhythm of the game entered a very fragmented phase from the beginning, as Liverpool players constantly used fouls to forcibly disrupt Arsenal's attacking rhythm.
Coupled with the Main Referee's deliberate leniency in this match, Liverpool became increasingly excessive.
In the 21st minute of the match.
Liverpool player Jack Robinson and Wilshere both fell to the ground and remained down after a collision.
The former even went into shock.
Ultimately, after the ambulance entered the field, Jack Robinson was directly carried off on a stretcher.
as for Wilshere, his situation was also not good; according to the team doctor's provisional examination, the England midfielder likely suffered a concussion.
Left with no choice, Wenger had to make a substitution, taking off Wilshere and bringing on Arshavin.
The familiar 4-4-2 formation also changed to a 4-3-3, with Fly, Van Persie, and Arshavin forming the three-pronged attack upfront.
In the 30th minute of the match.
Flanagan committed his third foul of the match on Fly.
This time, the Main Referee, fearing too much public outcry after the match, could no longer turn a blind eye and had no choice but to show Flanagan a yellow card.
Even so, the Main Referee's decision still sparked dissatisfaction among the Arsenal fans present.
In the 33rd minute of the match.
Skrtel took over from Flanagan and began close marking Fly.
The effect was naturally not ideal.
After receiving the ball, Fly controlled it and dribbled past Skrtel in one fluid motion.
Since Skrtel only had the goalkeeper behind him, to prevent Fly from going straight through on goal, Skrtel didn't hesitate and directly pulled Fly down.
This scene once again drew boos from the fans present.
Wenger, in particular, immediately said to the Fourth Official on the sidelines:
"Fly was through on goal! This guy fouled to break up Fly's one-on-one chance, he should be shown a straight red!"
Although Wenger kept repeating himself, the Main Referee, wanting to complete the task given to him from above, could only bite the bullet and show Skrtel a yellow card.
This action further ignited extreme dissatisfaction among the Arsenal fans present...
Instantly, deafening boos erupted throughout Emirates Stadium.
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