Chapter 166: Champions League Top 8 Draw! A Decisive Battle Against The Top Three In La Liga?

Arsenal did not perform miracles.

The two sides fought fiercely in the second round, ending 3:3!

Arsenal's smooth offense caused Union Berlin a lot of trouble. Many players finally woke up and delivered their best performance of the season.

Since Giroud broke his scoring drought in the first half, he has brought a lot of trouble to Union Berlin in the second half. Veteran Alex even strained a muscle in defense and was replaced by Lisandro Martinez. Poor Lima faced relentless attacks from Giroud.

To compete for a header, Giroud even flew sideways over Lima's head. This moment was captured by reporters and named "Giant Eagle Over Berlin."

Ozil and Sanchez also continued to cause problems for Union Berlin. In the second half, Ozil assisted Giroud, who scored twice. Then, Sanchez's continuous breakthroughs on the left almost resulted in a fourth goal! Sanchez's shot bypassed Fabianski and bounced off the post, just a little short! The home fans broke out in a cold sweat. The score was almost 2:4, but it remained 2:3, with Arsenal trailing 5:7 by two goals.

Their fierce offensive once gave fans a faint hope. Unfortunately for Arsenal, Su Luo stood up again. Arsenal's crazy attack left their defense wide open. In the 80th minute, Su Luo dribbled the ball from his own penalty area, fully utilizing Ronaldo's running ability, and drove straight in! Su Luo clearly felt a rush of excitement from Ronaldo's soul.

"Su Luo, step over and change direction, quickly get rid of Ramsey!"

"Facing Coquelin, Su Luo continued to speed up and sprint past him!"

"Bellerin! A sliding tackle!"

"Su Luo made an emergency stop and changed direction with a heel kick! Beautiful! One more pass!!"

Su Luo's consecutive dribbles completely ignited the enthusiasm of East Berlin. The crowd gradually boiled over, and fans in front of their TVs gritted their teeth, staring at Su Luo on the screen with intense focus!

Koscielny and Gabriel double-teamed from left to right. Su Luo chose to blast past veteran Koscielny, who was initially two positions ahead of Su Luo. With Su Luo's acceleration, he was left behind abruptly! The visual effect was comparable to Mbappe's breakthrough against Argentina in the 2018 World Cup!

Gabriel came around from the other side, ready to bring Su Luo down, thinking a penalty would be better than being beaten 1v5. Su Luo didn't give him a chance and continued to dribble outside, bypassing Gabriel and even Cech's block!

At this point, Su Luo had lost the shooting angle and theoretically should have passed back to his teammates. But with his heart rate soaring over 180, the Karma buff was activated instantly! With a familiar feeling flooding his mind, Su Luo made a quick judgment!

"Su Luo has no angle, he... Oh my God! Directly hits the angle!"

Near the baseline, Su Luo hit an outside instep shot without hesitation! The football drew a faint arc and whizzed past Cech into the top corner! The whole stadium erupted!

Su Luo started with the ball in front of the penalty area and once again staged a long-distance attack, dribbling past multiple players. This time, he scored a difficult goal from a 0-degree angle! It was full of technical brilliance and was a visual treat!

Such an imposing goal completely shattered Arsenal's hard-earned morale! The score was 3:3, and the total score was 8:5! The game was over.

Even though Su Luo didn't celebrate after scoring, he just stood there quietly, looking around the audience with a kind of commanding presence.

Seeing this, Wenger was convinced. He had been sad before but now felt relieved. Defeated by an opponent like Su Luo, Arsenal deserved to lose.

In the end, the total score was 8:5! Arsenal's away draw with Union Berlin ended their winning streak. However, the disadvantage in the first round was too great, and Arsenal were eliminated in the round of 16.

After the game, Wenger even laughed in front of many media and reporters.

"We played at our level today, played well. The players played well, and the opponents played well. Both sides contributed to a wonderful goal battle. The end of the Champions League does not mean the end of the season. We still have hope of competing for the championship. This year is our best chance."

Indeed, Wenger's words were not without reason. The 2015-2016 season was the most chaotic in recent Premier League history. Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool all struggled to show their dominance. Anyone could lose, and anyone could win. The win-loss relationship among all Premier League teams formed a complete circle, creating a balanced competition.

Tottenham, Manchester City, and Manchester United were pulled apart by Leicester City. But Arsenal were only 4 points behind and still had hope.

But Su Luo didn't care whether Leicester City could win the championship. During the press conference, Su Luo was already looking forward to the top 8.

"I hope we can meet the strongest opponents."

With the completion of the second leg of the Champions League round of 16, the teams advancing to the top 8 were announced one after another. Paris vs. Chelsea, first leg 2:1, second leg 1:2... Mourinho's Chelsea caught in 'catch the ghost.' Coupled with the conflict between Diego Costa and Mourinho, this also affected their combat effectiveness.

Last season's Premier League champions were eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain with an aggregate score of 4:2.

Manchester City and Manchester United were knocked out in the group stage. Arsenal were eliminated by Union Berlin, and Chelsea by Paris Saint-Germain. No Premier League team made it to the top 8; the entire league was wiped out.

Benfica eliminated Zenit St. Petersburg 3:1 over two legs. Wolfsburg beat Gent 4:2 on aggregate. Real Madrid defeated Roma 4-0 on aggregate.

It's a pity that Ronaldo only scored 12 goals, while Su Luo has already scored 20 goals after his recent brace! He became the first player in Champions League history to score 20 goals in a single season. Unprecedented!

Barcelona easily eliminated Dynamo Kyiv 5:1 on aggregate, with Messi scoring a hat-trick in the second leg. However, the European media were abuzz with discussions about Su Luo's long-distance goal from a 0-degree angle, overshadowing Messi.

Atletico Madrid and PSV Eindhoven played to a 0:0 draw over two legs, with Atletico advancing on penalties. Although there were no goals, Atletico's tight defense impressed all of Europe.

In a heavyweight clash, Juventus and Bayern Munich drew 2:2 in the first leg. The second leg, held at the Allianz Arena, saw Thomas Muller score the first goal in the 43rd minute, putting Bayern ahead 1:0. In the second half, Robben scored with a long shot, making it 2:0.

Faced with a crisis, Juventus showed resilience. In the 62nd minute, Dybala capitalized on a Bayern defensive error, stole the ball, and scored decisively, making it 2:1. In the 76th minute, Mandzukic set up Morata in the penalty area, who scored to tie the game at 2:2.

However, in overtime, Bayern Munich had a slight physical advantage. Thiago and Koeman scored successively, leading Bayern to a 4:2 victory. The total score of 6:4 sent them through to the next round.

During the draw ceremony for the top 8 and top 4, Su Luo didn't host a party. Instead, he quietly leaned on the sofa with Josephine and watched the live broadcast.

At UEFA headquarters, the draw ceremony began with Italian football legend Gianluca Zambrotta as the guest of honor.

La Liga and the Bundesliga were strong, each occupying three of the eight spots. Serie A and the Premier League were absent, while Ligue 1's Paris Saint-Germain and Portugal's Benfica took the remaining two spots.

In the latest European Championship standings, La Liga amassed an astonishing 100.713 points over the last five seasons, setting a UEFA record. The Bundesliga ranked second with 78.891 points, and the Premier League third with 74.784. Serie A and the Portuguese Super League ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. The Premier League's dominance had waned, falling behind the Bundesliga. However, it began recovering gradually in the following years.

After some small talk between Zambrotta and the host, the main event began.

Zambrotta first drew two names: "Wolfsburg!" "Paris Saint-Germain!"

Wolfsburg would face Paris Saint-Germain. Without De Bruyne, Wolfsburg's chances against Paris seemed slim.

Next, Zambrotta drew a familiar name: "Bayern Munich!"

Josephine laughed. "Shouldn't you be playing Bayern?"

Su Luo reached out and tickled her, causing Josephine to beg for mercy. "Don't be Bayern. Even if I don't get sick of it, the audience might."

Fortunately, the next match-up was announced: "Benfica!"

Bayern Munich would play against Benfica. If Bayern couldn't beat Benfica, Su Luo would be greatly disappointed.

Then, Zambrotta drew the next name: "FC Union Berlin!"

The remaining teams were Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, and Real Madrid—three of the strongest teams of the 2015-2016 season, even stronger than Bayern, Manchester City, Juventus, Chelsea, and Paris!

Su Luo hoped to face Barcelona and have a duel with Messi. "That's right, no matter who..."

But before he could finish, Zambrotta drew the next name: "Real Madrid!"

Real Madrid! Su Luo raised his eyebrows, feeling a mix of emotions. He thought facing Real Madrid would happen in the semi-finals, but now, they would meet the Champions League champions in the quarter-finals.

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