Chapter 185 A player close to being a superstar! In the 25th minute, Riquelme passed the ball to the right, Venta made a cross, and Jose Mari's header from 6 yards in front of the goal went over the crossbar. In the 27th minute, Rickel suddenly shot while dribbling the ball in the middle and attempted a long shot from about 35 meters away from the goal. Unfortunately, this long shot failed to hit the goal frame and the ball went over the crossbar again. "Riquelme's desire to attack was very strong today!" "Long shots from this position are relatively rare in his previous games!" The commentators were all surprised by Riquelme's actions. Although Riquelme was good at long-range shots, most of his attempts were within 30 meters. It is very rare to see a long shot like this that hits the goal before entering the 30-meter area. Riquelme's offensive desire is not only reflected in his shooting, but also in his dribbling and even dribbling attempts. After 20 minutes, Riquelme gradually became the loudest player on the field. The way he dribbled and got rid of the ball made the people watching mesmerized.
Inter Milan's players were like clumsy buffaloes in front of him and were fooled many times by his exquisite dribbling skills. Even when being double-teamed or pressed by multiple players, he can still control the ball under his feet. He can even find opportunities to pass the ball between people and create offensive threats. In the 29th minute, Riquelme received a pass from his teammate at the front of the penalty area. Facing two Inter Milan players double-teaming him on the left and right, he first knocked the ball from his right foot to his left foot, staggered forward, and quickly passed the ball back to his right foot with his left foot. At this time, the player who was double-teaming him on the right side had already rushed in front of him during the tug of war, and was about one body length ahead of him. Seeing the ball return to his right foot, Cambiasso quickly turned around and stretched out his left foot, trying to snatch the ball from the opponent's feet. At the same time, Zanetti also rushed over from the side, aiming at the ball and preparing to destroy it. Riquelme moved quickly, pulled the ball with his right foot, paused to avoid Zanetti's tackle and passed it to his left foot again. Before Inter Milan center back Materazzi rushed up to destroy the ball, he completed the transfer again, passed the ball to his right foot, and took advantage of the opportunity to complete a fried meatball, picked the ball out of the crowd, and staggered out of the melee in the penalty area and caught up with the ball he had passed. All the fans at the scene were stunned! The fans watching the game in front of TV were also stunned! Is this guy still a human being? In such a small area at the top of the penalty area, he avoided the pressure of four opponent players and not only did not lose the ball, but also had a one-on-one opportunity? Unfortunately, Riquelme's shot was blocked by Inter Milan goalkeeper Cesar because the angle was too small. Otherwise, this goal might have become the best goal of this round of the Champions League. Its excitement was no less than the Bergkamp-like century-turn goal scored by Lin Feng in the previous game! There was warm applause at the scene. Even though the ball did not go in, the fans still praised Riquelme for his wonderful performance. In front of the TV, many fans who didn’t know Riquelme well finally understood, after watching this scene, why this guy was called a midfield master! "This dribbling skill is amazing, it feels like it's even better than Ronaldinho's!" "I think he's even better than Ronaldinho. Inter Milan sent out four people to grab the ball from him but they failed to do so and he almost let them score a goal. He's simply not a human being!" "I just don't understand, why would a midfield master like him be returned by Barcelona?" Although Ronaldinho is very good, everyone thinks Riquelme is not bad either! Although his speed is a little slow, with his dribbling skills, threatening passes, free kicks and long-range shooting abilities, there is no way he will be unable to play in Barcelona and be kicked out, right? Is the classic attacking midfielder so unpopular? "Pay attention to interception in the midfield and don't give the opponent room to move!"
Mancini was anxious on the sidelines. The fact that Riquelme could perform like this showed that the pressure Inter Milan put on him was not great enough! He demanded that the players must increase their efforts and completely lock down this guy and not let him continue to go crazy like this! A superstar's occasional flash of inspiration may very well create a goal. Although Riquelme is not a superstar, he is obviously close to this level, so we must not be careless! As Riquelme's compatriot and national teammate, Cambiasso is very clear about Riquelme's technical characteristics. Knowing that it would be very difficult to snatch the ball from him, especially after the previous few encounters, he completely gave up on the idea. So he switched to a more aggressive defensive method, sticking to his opponent like a piece of taffy, and engaging in physical confrontation at the same time to deplete his opponent's energy. Once the opponent gets the ball, quickly call on teammates to double-team and be prepared to foul at any time. This style of play made Riquelme feel a little uncomfortable. He didn't want to engage in a meaningless physical confrontation with Cambiasso, as this would consume his energy in advance and prevent him from playing the entire game. So Riquelme consciously tried to avoid the opponent, but he soon found that this trick was useless because Cambiasso was guarding him one-on-one. Wherever he went, the opponent followed him and ignored everything else! This exchange tactic is obviously a win for Inter Milan, because as long as the opponent's midfield core is frozen, Villarreal's offensive system will not be able to operate normally. After restricting Riquelme, the Yellow Submarine's offensive momentum was indeed reduced. On the other hand, Inter Milan's offense gradually improved. In the 32nd minute, Lin Feng passed the ball in the middle, and Recoba passed the opponent's full-back in a one-on-one situation on the wing. It was a pity that his long shot after cutting inside went high and the ball went into the stands. In the 34th minute, Lin Feng passed the ball again, but this time he passed it to the right. After getting the ball, Figo tried to get past the defender and went into the penalty area to look for opportunities. But before entering the penalty area, Figo was tripped by Senna who was defending him. The referee's whistle came at the right time, and Inter Milan got a free kick in the frontcourt, only about 20 meters away from the goal. The ball was not far from the goal, but it was a little off. After discussing with Recoba, Lin Feng decided to shoot directly, but the ball was blocked by the human wall during flight. In the 35th minute, Villarreal responded with a long shot from Senna from 30 meters in the middle. However, the ball was also blocked by the defensive player's legs and failed to pose a threat. After Riquelme lost his luster, Villarreal's offense became a little less smooth. Seeing that he didn't have many chances staying in the penalty area, Diego Forlan took the initiative to retreat and receive the ball. In the 38th minute, Fran stood at the top of the arc, received the pass from his teammate, and sent a straight pass with his heel with his back to the goal. Sorin's shot after breaking into the penalty area was bravely saved by Cesar. The fans of the visiting team broke out in a cold sweat. Villarreal had just missed a great scoring opportunity. This attack seemed to ignite the morale of the home team, and they once again launched a fierce attack on Inter Milan. In the 42nd minute, Venta made a cross from the right, and Aruabarena's header from 15 yards away was firmly caught by Cesar. In the 44th minute, Riquelme, who had been silent for more than ten minutes, found another good opportunity and volleyed his left foot from 25 meters on the left, but the shot went wide of the goal frame. In the first half injury time, Inter Milan committed a foul in front of the penalty area, and Villarreal also got a free kick in an excellent position. Riquelme took the penalty himself, but his shot was blocked by Inter captain Zanetti at the back post.
The first half of the game ended with the two sides temporarily tied. This score is quite favorable for Inter Milan. If the opponent wants to advance, they must score two goals in the second half. The time left for Villarreal is getting less and less! The home team was obviously well aware of this, so at the beginning of the second half, they launched a fierce attack on Inter Milan without any delay. In the 47th minute, Senna made a cross pass from the right, and Jose Mari's powerful shot from the edge of the right side of the penalty area was tipped over the crossbar by Cesar with one hand. The opponent launched a very threatening attack right from the start, which shocked everyone in Inter Milan! "Villarreal seems to have given it their all. Even their defenders have rushed over to join the attack. If they are counterattacked by the opponent, they will die if they fail!" "Yellow Submarine has no way out. I would do the same if I were in your shoes!" "Yes, if we put all our forces into intensifying the attack, we might be able to create a miracle. But if we continue to play according to the previous tactics, we will be doomed!" The fans were talking about it, but most of them approved of Villarreal's almost life-threatening style of play. If you don't charge now while you still have plenty of energy, are you going to wait until the opponent has completely exhausted his time and has little energy left before fighting with all your might? Inter Milan did try to counterattack, but the opponent's fight in the midfield was very fierce, and it was difficult for the ball to be passed to their forwards. As for Lin Feng, he was the opponent's main target in the second half. Moreover, the method used by the opponent to restrict him was almost exactly the same as the countermeasures Inter Milan used to restrict Riquelme in the first half. "It's really interesting that the head coaches of both teams chose to trade with the other team!" "And this tactic seems to have worked. Without Riquelme, Villarreal's attack looks powerful, but the attack in the middle has hardly improved. They rely entirely on crosses from the two wings to find opportunities." "Inter Milan is in a similar situation. Lin Feng is being closely watched and his teammates don't dare to pass the ball to him, which makes it impossible for Inter Milan to use Lin Feng to send ammunition to the front court!" "I think Inter Milan should just make a substitution, take Veron off, give the opponent an extra outlet and make it harder for the opponent to restrict him?" "Haha, Veron's defensive ability is far worse than Stankovic's. If he is substituted in, Inter Milan's midfield strength will drop all of a sudden. By then, we might not be able to score a goal, but our own goal might be blown up by the opponent!" On the sidelines, Mancini was also a little conflicted. He glanced at Veron more than once, wondering whether to replace him and take a gamble. Looking at the time, there were almost 40 minutes left before the end of the game, and Inter Milan was still leading by two goals. For Inter Milan, scoring goals does not seem to be that important. Even if they score one goal, the opponent can still drag the game into overtime by scoring two goals. But if they can withstand the opponent's attack and prevent them from scoring two goals in the last 40 minutes, they will be able to secure a ticket to the semi-finals. After quickly weighing the pros and cons in his mind, Mancini decided to play it safe and not gamble. At this time, defense is more important than offense! He was even thinking about whether to substitute Zanetti to further strengthen the defense? After thinking about it, I finally decided to wait and see. …… On the field, Villarreal's attack continues. In the 54th minute, Fran broke into the penalty area and Materazzi accidentally touched the ball with his hand when intercepting. This time the referee showed no mercy and decisively pointed to the penalty spot, awarding the home team a crucial penalty! Diego Forlan stood at the penalty spot, took a deep breath, and scored the goal steadily.
The score became 1:0, the total score became 2:3, and Villarreal's disadvantage was reduced to one goal! Since they have an away goal, now as long as they score one more goal, they will perform a miracle, eliminate Inter Milan and enter the semi-finals of the Champions League! The stands of the Estadio da Estadio della Sera were boiling with excitement. Villarreal fans were crying with joy, hugging each other excitedly, and celebrating wildly! Finally, there is hope for a reversal! But Inter Milan fans all became nervous! "No way, Inter Milan won't capsize in the ditch, right?" "Something is wrong. Inter can't continue to play conservatively. They must score a goal!" "That's right, the opponent's momentum has risen. If Inter Milan continues to be so conservative, the longer time goes, the more disadvantageous it will be for them. If the opponent scores a goal at the last moment, they won't even have a chance to reverse the situation!" Mancini's face turned pale, and after cursing inwardly, he decisively chose to make a substitution. He replaced Recoba with the faster Martins. Adriano, who performed mediocrely, was replaced by Inter Milan's lucky star - super substitute Cruz! Replacing Martins is easier said than done. When the opponent launches a massive attack, using a fast winger to counterattack will make it easier to create scoring opportunities. But it would be a bit strange to replace Cruz. Cruz is not the kind of player who excels in speed. On the contrary, Ade is much faster than him. In the past few seasons, Inter Milan has often used Ade's speed to launch counterattacks. But now, Mancini replaced Ade. This made the fans feel very puzzled, and Ade, who was substituted, was also confused. After he confirmed that he was being substituted, his face turned pale. He didn't even high-five his teammates when he left the field. He ignored Mancini, walked straight to the bench, and sat down angrily. Mancini's face also looked a little unhappy. He originally wanted to explain to Ade the reason why he did this. But after seeing the other party's behavior, he immediately lost interest in the idea. As it turned out, Inter Milan's substitution was very effective. In the 57th minute, less than 2 minutes after Martins came on the pitch, he received a yellow card in a counterattack. Seeing that he couldn't stop him, the opponent's defender decisively chose to commit a tactical foul and used a yellow card to stop Inter Milan's counterattack. Although the counterattack was unsuccessful, it earned the opponent a yellow card and created a loophole in the opponent's defense, which is good news for Inter Milan. Next, just keep grabbing this side and beat it to death! However, the next second, Villarreal made a substitution and the player who had just received a card while defending was substituted. The corners of Mancini's mouth twitched, and he turned his head to look at the coaching booth next door: Aren’t you so cautious, brother? (End of this chapter)