Chapter 154 Let Lin Feng play center in the national team? The huge score difference of 5:0 made the game enter garbage time early. "Be more cautious in the second half, don't waste too much energy, and avoid getting injured!" During the half-time break, Mancini gave some specific instructions to the players. A tragedy had already occurred, and it would be rude to score another goal. Even a clay man has three points of anger. If Inter Milan scores again, it is possible that the opponent will be angry and retaliate against them. If a player gets injured in the opponent's retaliation, it would be a waste of time. After the start of the second half, Inter Milan did slow down the pace of attack. But Palermo on the opposite side were not convinced. Seeing that Inter's attack was not as fierce as before, they instead launched a fierce attack on Inter. Palermo is not weak, and the fact that they beat Inter Milan at home last time is enough to prove it.
So when their offensive was formed, Inter Milan could only retreat and launch a defensive counterattack. After the start of the second half, Palermo used corner kicks and free kicks to besiege Inter Milan's goal. In the 50th minute, Samuel was forced to commit a foul in defense and Palermo got a free kick in a good position. 'The great Italian left-back' Grosso took the penalty himself, and the quality of the penalty was so high that Inter Milan goalkeeper Cesar was forced to make an extreme save. The ball fell outside the penalty area. Inter Milan players committed another foul when counterattacking, and Palermo got another free kick on the right wing. This time, they did not choose to shoot directly, but chose to pass the ball into the penalty area. But Palermo's players failed to get the first point and the ball was cleared by Cordoba. Barone shot the ball outside the penalty area, and with a bang, the ball hit the goal post and Inter Milan escaped. In the first 15 minutes of the second half, Palermo's attack was so fierce that Inter Milan could only defend themselves. Okay, okay, let’s play like this, right? The opponent's ingratitude angered the Inter Milan players who were planning to call it a day. In the 60th minute, Inter Milan made an offside pass in front of the penalty area, but Martins' goal was blown off by the linesman. Slow-motion replay showed that it was a good ball and Martins was not offside when he received the ball. It’s a pity that there is no VAR in this era, and the referee is unlikely to change the result after making a decision. Inter players did not waste time protesting to the referee, but instead seized the opportunity to continue their attack. In the 62nd minute, Lin Feng patiently organized the attack in the frontcourt and finally found an opportunity after several transfers and deployments. Unfortunately, his powerful shot was blocked by the goalkeeper and failed to turn into a goal. The Palermo goalkeeper who completed the save kept shaking his right hand in the following few minutes. The save just now made his palm numb and he almost lost consciousness. In the 65th minute, Ade, who had been silent for a while, found an opportunity. He used his superb personal ability to change direction and create an angle. Unfortunately, his subsequent shot went over the crossbar. During this period, Inter Milan regained control of the situation and once again formed an siege on Palermo.
Moreover, compared to Palermo's attack just now, Inter Milan had more shots and posed a greater threat. Obviously, the offensive power of the two teams is not on the same level! In the 75th minute, Ade successfully broke through on the right wing, then passed the ball to Lin Feng who was following up in the middle, and he chose to rush towards the penalty area. Lin Feng was very clear about Adriano's intention, so he took a few steps to the right, took away the defensive player in the middle, and then made a straight pass, passing the ball back to Adriano's feet. At this time, Ade had already broken into the penalty area and could shoot directly after receiving the ball. But he seemed to want to score a hat trick too much and was a little hasty, so he kicked the shot that was close to the goal away. There was a sigh at the scene, and even the fans felt sorry for him. For Inter Milan fans, it has been a long time since they saw Adriano perform a hat trick at home. Adriano obviously also wanted to complete a hat trick. After the corner kick, he jumped up hard and tried to complete a header, but unfortunately he failed. In the 77th minute, Figo took a corner kick from the left wing. Cordoba, who was only 173 cm tall, got the first point. His header hit the opponent's defender's foot and bounced into the net. 6: 0! It’s true that flowers planted with intention do not bloom, but willows planted with no intention of planting create shade. Ade, who was eager to score a goal, failed to get the ball, but Cordoba scored one instead. In the 80th minute, Lin Feng was brought down by the opponent while dribbling the ball on the left rib, and Inter Milan won a free kick opportunity in the frontcourt. Lin Feng took the penalty kick himself. Facing the goalkeeper, he chose to shoot with Ballack's heavy artillery. The angle of the ball was not actually tricky, but the opponent's goalkeeper seemed a little hesitant and failed to move into position in time to block Lin Feng's shot. The ball went straight into the goal and the score became 7:0! After scoring this goal, Lin Feng was quickly replaced by Mancini. He doesn't have a hat-trick complex, and the third goal isn't a must for him. But Adriano was still working hard for his hat trick. Unfortunately, after Lin Feng, Figo and other assist players were substituted one after another, there were fewer people behind him to deliver ammunition to him. Until the end of the game, he still failed to achieve a hat trick and left the field with regret on his face. Inter Milan's big win brought their winning streak to 10 games, making them the most powerful team in the entire Serie A. Originally, the outside world was skeptical about whether they could overthrow Juventus, but after watching this game, many fans began to accept this fact: In the entire Serie A, the only team that can threaten Juventus' dominance is Inter Milan! The two teams will face off in the second half of the season in the 25th round of Serie A next month. In the eyes of outsiders, the result of this game may very likely determine who will win the Serie A championship this season. If Inter Milan can maintain their current high morale, beat Juventus at home and win this crucial battle, they have a great chance of reversing Juventus and snatching the league championship from the Old Lady. But if they fail to defend their home court and let the Old Lady escape unscathed, even if it ends in a draw.
Then the initiative to compete for the league championship will no longer be in Inter Milan's hands. Whether you can make a comeback depends on your opponent's attitude. …… Since the match between Inter Milan and Palermo started first, when their match finished, the match between Juventus and AC Milan had not yet started. Inter Milan's big win obviously had a significant impact on the two teams behind. Facing the challenge of relegation team Empoli, the leader Juventus played quite uncomfortably. The opponent set up a defensive defense from the beginning. In the first half, Juventus racked their brains and broke their teeth but failed to break the opponent's tortoise shell. Instead, Empoli took advantage of a counterattack opportunity and broke the deadlock first. Juventus, who were behind at home, played very anxiously. In the last round, they were unexpectedly tied by Chievo away from home, causing them to lose a 2-point advantage. If they lose this game again, their lead over Inter Milan will be reduced to 3 points! The points difference is very small. If they lose to Inter Milan in the national derby at Meazza, they will lose the top spot they have held for most of the season and be overtaken by Inter Milan. So, in the second half, Juventus put all their efforts into launching a crazy attack on their opponents. But except for Pizarro's kick to the post, their ground attacks all came to nothing. Instead, Cannavaro, who is only 175 cm tall, stood up and scored two goals in a row with magical headers, helping the team to defeat the opponent. After the game, Juventus players worshipped Cannavaro, who saved the team, as a god and threw him high into the air over and over again. Without him, Juventus might really lose this game. However, although Juventus finally defeated their opponents with Cannavaro's winning goal, the outside world generally believed that their decline had already appeared. "Juventus has lost its dominance in the league!" After the game, this report by Gazzetta dello Sport caused heated discussions in the Italian football world. Although Juventus still maintains a 6-point lead, many people are not optimistic about them given their current state. It’s so difficult to beat a relegation team, how can we win against top teams like Inter Milan and AC Milan? "Inter Milan's relentless pursuit, injuries and fatigue from fighting on multiple fronts have caused Juventus' form and results to fluctuate. Now they need to grit their teeth and hold on, using tenacious perseverance to get through this low period. Otherwise, the team's efforts for most of the season may come to naught." Even Turin Sports Daily, which is the most supportive of Juventus, believes that Juventus is not in good shape now. It’s strange to say, Inter Milan was obviously the lagging side, but the fans and the media were singing praises for them. However, everyone is pessimistic about Juventus, which has a clear lead. This is actually not very reasonable, it seems more like someone is praising Inter Milan too much. What’s not good is that Inter Milan has been clearly affected by this. January 1, Italian Cup semi-final. Mancini, who was unwilling to give up this important trophy, still chose to send his main players to Rome to face his semi-final opponent Lazio. Mancini is obviously a little inflated. With Inter Milan's current lineup, it is clear that they do not have the strength to fight on three fronts.
If they really want to compete with Juventus for the league title, they should give up competitions like the Italian Cup early to avoid distraction. After all, cup matches interspersed in the league schedule can easily affect the team's combat readiness and increase the players' consumption. Especially after the start of the Champions League knockout rounds, the impact of this three-line battle on the team will be sharply amplified, leading to widespread injuries in the team. Inter Milan does not want to give up the Coppa Italia, and neither does Lazio. In this season's league, Lazio is ranked in the middle of the standings, with no worries about relegation but no hope of winning the championship, and even entering the European competition zone is not realistic. Therefore, they attach great importance to the Italian Cup and want to take advantage of the opportunity when the top team is distracted to compete for the trophy. In Lazio's view, Inter Milan wants to compete with Juventus for the league championship, and also has to deal with the upcoming Champions League knockout rounds. There is no way they can compete with them in the Italian Cup, right? However, after seeing Inter Milan's starting lineup, Lazio's head coach was stunned: "Damn it, why is Mancini so greedy that he wants everything?" Lazio, who had intended to win the battle at home, had to engage in a fierce battle with Inter Milan, which fielded all its main players. The game was extremely fierce and there was a lot of tension between the two sides. Just 4 minutes into the game, Lazio's Di Canio and Inter Milan's defender Materazzi came to blows after an argument, and were both sent off with red cards as a result of the brawl. The game had just started when both teams were missing one player. It seemed that because of the two red cards at the beginning of the game and the impact of the near-fight just now, the players on both sides were very angry on the field. In the 20th minute of the first half, Adriano elbowed his opponent during a fight. The opponent got up and pushed Adriano to the ground. After standing up, the furious Ade wanted to discuss the true meaning of boxing with the other party, but was held back by Lin Feng and other teammates. After listening to the reports from the linesman and assistant referee, the referee imposed the death penalty on the two players, pulling out two red cards again and sending them off. The spectators were stunned. The game had just been going on for 20 minutes and there were already 4 red cards on the field! Didn't we enter the wrong venue? Is this really a football game? With four red cards, the game has completely changed. The two teams, each missing two players, were greatly affected in both offense and defense. Inter Milan is missing a forward and a central defender. The forward is still okay, but the defender cannot be missing, so they are forced to make a substitution to fill the gap in the back line. The opponent was not much better and also used up a substitution quota. After Ade was sent off, Lin Feng was pushed to the front by Mancini and became Inter Milan's lone striker. Mancini did not expect Lin Feng to make any outstanding contribution in the center position. After all, he is a midfielder, not a forward. What surprised him was that Lin Feng played very well and performed well in the unfamiliar position of center. Lin Feng did an excellent job in receiving the ball with his back to the basket, passing the ball and distributing the ball. And his abilities are more than that. Thanks to his excellent footwork and extremely fast speed, Lin Feng can transform into the team's offensive weapon after getting the ball, disrupting the opponent's defense line. "Is this guy born to be a striker?"
Seeing Lin Feng's performance, Mancini was shocked and even began to doubt whether the way he used him was wrong? This guy is very good at both individual breakthroughs and cooperation with teammates. What’s more amazing is that, because he plays as an attacking midfielder and bears a heavy scoring task, Lin Feng’s shooting skills are also superb, even not inferior to the top forwards. And thanks to his habit of playing in midfield, he can also retreat to organize the ball, enriching the team's offensive system and avoiding falling into the dilemma of one style of play. Mancini became more and more satisfied, and even had the urge to replace Lin Feng from midfield to forward position. But fortunately, he calmed down quickly. Inter Milan has two excellent forwards, but lacks an attacking midfielder who can replace Lin Feng. If Lin Feng were really allowed to play as a striker, the striker position would become more crowded, while the midfield would be in a dilemma of no one taking over. Those who share the same idea as Mancini include the head coach of the Chinese national football team Zhu Guanghu and the majority of Chinese national football fans! "Ten thousand people have written a petition in blood. Let's quickly promote Lin Feng to play as a striker. I really don't want to see those unreliable shooters in the Chinese national football team anymore!" "I also support Lin Feng playing as a striker, but the question is, if Lin Feng is transferred to play as a striker, who will fill the midfield position?" "Don't we still have Zheng Zhi and Chen Tao? Can't they replace Lin Feng?" “I think it’s worth a try!” (End of this chapter)