I changed football.

Li Yuan, who went to Monaco, obviously did not expect that his 12 goals in 2 games for the national team would generate such a high level of attention in Europe.

When Li Yuan landed at Paris airport, he saw many news reports about this incident.

I also received many messages on my phone.

Because Li Yuan was too lazy to use a VPN when he was in China, he basically didn't look at information from abroad.

When he arrived in Paris, he checked the messages and found that many people had contacted him about the 12 goals in 2 games.

Team News went even further, reporting that Li Yuan was the best contender for this year's Golden Boy award.

After a day of rest, I returned to the locker room.

The locker room erupted in chaos.

Some people congratulated him, while others joked around.

Overall, the atmosphere was very good.

There are 5 days until the next match.

However, apart from this national team break, the players who participated in the national team matches were generally in poor form.

"But Li Yuan's physical stats are all the same as before, they're perfect! He's definitely capable of starting in the league match this weekend!"

"No, let Li rest for a while."

Irola was a little confused.

Seeing his assistant and friend's puzzled expression, Jardim explained, "We're currently eight points ahead of fourth-placed Nice in the league. They're making more and more mistakes, while our third-place position is becoming increasingly secure. Our next goal is the Europa League. So, we need to rotate players when necessary, and mental rest is also important. Next, we'll face Athletic Bilbao, a very tough team. We need to be mentally prepared against them!"

Therefore, Li Yuan was rested in the 32nd round of the league.

To be honest, Li Yuan was a little annoyed because there was nothing wrong with his health. The club had conducted a physical examination on him, which he had seen himself, and he believed that Jardim knew this as well.

However, Yardin still made the decision to rotate him.

Although Li Yuan was not satisfied, he still accepted the decision.

While watching Monaco's match at home, Li Yuan thought to himself that he really might have a tendency to dominate the game in the future.

He gets upset if he doesn't play in a single game.

This is criticism and self-criticism.

However, Li Yuan also knew that every star player would want to start every game.

As for the match itself, Monaco lost 1-2 at home without Li Yuan and Mbappe.

Without their two wingers, Monaco lacks any impact, and their ability to penetrate and pass through the middle is also not threatening due to the absence of a strong center forward.

Yardin understood this perfectly well.

Therefore, when requesting the management to bring in new players, Jardim changed his request.

One center forward, two full-backs, and two center-backs.

Basically, it's just a complete overhaul of the defense plus a center forward.

With Li Yuan and Mbappe becoming even more mature next season, Jardim believes that Monaco might be able to compete for the championship next season. As for what kind of championship, that's hard to say.

……

April 7, Europa League quarter-finals.

Athletic Bilbao vs. Sevilla.

Athletic Bilbao is quite an interesting team; basically, any fan who follows European football should have heard of them.

As a Basque team, this club adheres to the Basque heritage policy, a core tradition that began in 1912.

In 1912, the club established a tradition of using only players of Basque descent.

Of course, this tradition has also evolved.

Initially, Athletic Bilbao only accepted players born in the Basque Country.

After World War II, the requirement was relaxed to include parents with Basque ancestry.

Now, the standards are even more lenient; players only need to meet any one of the following conditions.

Born in the Basque Country. The concept of the Basque Country has expanded considerably, encompassing three provinces in Spain and three in France.

His parents were Basque.

Trained in the Basque Country youth training system.

So the tradition remains the same, but the pool of talent that can be recruited has expanded by a hundredfold, a thousandfold, or even ten thousandfold.

Besides its selection criteria, Athletic Bilbao has another label: it is one of only three teams, along with Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​that has never been relegated since the founding of La Liga in 1928.

It is also the second oldest club in Spain.

In short, it is a club with a long history and has won many championships.

However, this season has been frustrating for Athletic Bilbao, as they finished fifth in the league, a significant gap from the top four.

They are at a disadvantage in terms of points.

Making it to the Champions League next season seems like a difficult task.

But there is another path, and that is the Europa League title.

In May 2013, UEFA announced that starting from the 2014-15 season, the Europa League champion would have a chance to qualify directly for the Champions League group stage the following season.

This has indeed increased the importance of European leagues.

It's quite interesting to talk about in my past life.

In the first season after the new rules were implemented, Sevilla won the championship.

Sevilla won the Europa League in the 2014-15 season. They finished fourth in La Liga, and at that time there were only 3 direct qualification spots for the Champions League in La Liga. However, since Barcelona, ​​the Champions League winner that year, had already secured a spot in the Champions League group stage as the La Liga champion, the Europa League winner clause came into effect, and Sevilla directly qualified for the 2015-16 Champions League group stage.

Interestingly, Sevilla performed poorly in the 2015-16 Champions League group stage, finishing third in their group and being relegated to the Europa League. However, they fought their way through the Europa League and won the title. They finished only seventh in La Liga that season, which would normally have disqualified them from the Champions League. However, Real Madrid, the Champions League winners that year, had already secured a Champions League group stage spot by finishing second in La Liga. As a result, the Europa League winners clause was reinstated, and Sevilla directly qualified for the 2016-17 Champions League group stage.

With their Europa League title in the 2013-14 season, Sevilla became a team that won the Europa League three times in a row.

But in this life, the European Union has undergone significant changes due to Li Yuan's appearance.

First of all, Seville will not reach the final and win the championship like in the previous life.

Sevilla were eliminated in the round of 16 by Athletic Bilbao in an all-La Liga match.

Now Monaco has encountered a La Liga team that wants to qualify for next season's Champions League by winning the Europa League.

They play a tough style of football.

It looks like it's going to be difficult to kick.

The first leg will be played at Athletic Bilbao's home stadium, San Mamés Stadium.

This stadium can hold more than 39,000 people.

It is the oldest stadium in Spain.

Athletic Bilbao are currently in poor form, having won only one of their last five matches across all competitions, drawn two, and lost two.

The team's head coach, Valverde, has also recently faced a lot of criticism from fans.

Against this backdrop, Athletic Bilbao hosted a young Monaco team at their home ground.