Tottenham - Barcelona: Wembley Stadium, can it still bring joy to the away team?
(Baonghean.vn) - Messi and his teammates will return to Wembley Stadium to face Tottenham in the second round of the Champions League group stage. The match will take place at 2:00 a.m. on October 4 (Vietnam time).
The 2010/2011 Champions League final between Barcelona and Man Utd was held at Wembley Stadium (London) on May 28, 2011. As a result, the Spanish team won convincingly with a score of 3 - 1.
Before the match, experts and fans all believed that Man Utd - the English team - had more advantages when playing at Wembley Stadium, which is no different from the home field of Rio Ferdinand and his teammates.
However, coach Pep Guardiola and his team knew how to prevent Man Utd from successfully taking advantage of that advantage. With 3 goals from Pedro, Messi and Villa and a dominant game, the "Catalan giant" defeated the "red devils" to win the prestigious championship trophy. What happened at Wembley Stadium that day still cannot fade in the memories of Barcelona fans.
Nearly 7 years have passed since Blaugrana (Barcelona's nickname) had the chance to return to Wembley Stadium to play. This time, Messi and his teammates had to play away against Tottenham, the team that used Wembley Stadium as their home ground (White Hart Lane has not been completed yet).
The victory over Man Utd in the 2010/2011 Champions League final is one of the reasons why Barcelona and their fans believe in a victory over Tottenham in the upcoming match.
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| Barcelona won the 2010/2011 Champions League at Wembley Stadium. Photo: Internet |
The cules would not have to worry about Messi and his teammates' away trip if Barcelona's form had not suddenly declined dramatically. In the last 3 rounds of La Liga, Barcelona has only known draws and losses. Starting with a 1-1 draw with Girona, followed by a 1-2 defeat by Leganes and most recently a 1-1 draw with Bilbao. This is a very alarming situation for coach Valverde and his team.
Furthermore, Barcelona will not have the services of centre-back Umtiti (suspended) in this match. The absence of the French player will seriously affect the defensive ability of the away team.
With Pique now a shadow of himself and new signing Lenglet yet to prove himself, coach Valverde doesn't know who to turn to to neutralize Tottenham's killer Harry Kane, who scored a brace against Huddersfield on Saturday.
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| Striker Harry Kane is a threat to Barcelona's defense. Photo: Internet |
In contrast to Barcelona, on the other side of the front line, Tottenham are going through a 3-match winning streak. Harry Kane and his teammates defeated Brighton (2-1), Huddersfield (2-0) in the Premier League and overcame Watford (on penalties) in the 3rd round of the League Cup.
Witnessing the recent performances of coach Pochettino and his team, it can be seen that Tottenham is in quite good form. Defeating them at this time is extremely difficult for any opponent, not just Barcelona.
Certainly, Tottenham players will take advantage of home field advantage and Barcelona's decline to win all 3 points. Currently, after the first round, the "roosters" have not won any points (lost 1-2 in the opening match to Inter Milan).
To compete for one of the tickets to the knockout round of Group B, the mission of coach Pochettino and his team is nothing other than to defeat the team from the "land of bullfighting". Most likely, the sweet memories of May 28, 2011 will be replaced by the sadness of October 4, 2018./.
