Chapter 274: Advance to the Top Two Rounds Ahead of Time Under the continuous suppression of the opponent's offense, during this period, Zanetti, Vieira and others focused their energy on defense and had no time to participate in the offense. Even Lin Feng often retreated to the position of defensive midfielder, forming a double defensive midfielder formation with Vieira to intercept the opponent's attack. At this time, Lin Feng's advantage of being able to attack or defend came into play. When defending, he can return to the defensive midfielder position, strengthen his own midfield's interception ability, and deny the opponent the opportunity to organize an attack in the midfield. Once Inter Milan switches from defense to offense, Lin Feng can use his speed advantage to carry the ball from the backcourt for long-distance attacks. Even if the opponent is on guard, Lin Feng can use his excellent passing skills to provide support to Torres and Cruz who are in a more forward position. With Lin Feng's presence, Inter Milan's midfield operation was very successful today and did not give the opponent too many opportunities. Of course, this is also related to the opponent’s weak strength and insufficient suppression. If they were not facing Spartak Moscow at this time, but teams like Barcelona and Arsenal that are good at ground coordination, they might not be able to defend.
Seeing that Inter Milan's midfield defense was too intense, they couldn't find many good opportunities from the center. Spartak Moscow changed their offensive strategy and no longer tried to attack from the middle. Instead, they shifted their offensive firepower to the flanks on both sides, which is also a common style of play used by Eastern European teams. Compared to Italians, Slavs living at higher latitudes have an advantage in height. So they tried to threaten Inter Milan's goal by crossing the ball to the center forward in the penalty area. The idea is good, but the two defenders on Inter Milan's back line are well-tested. They have played in the league, the Champions League and even the World Cup. What kind of scene have they not seen? Inter Milan's two central defenders, Materazzi and Cordoba, performed very well today. Both central defenders performed very well today, especially in controlling high balls. Although Sparta's striker Pavlyuchenko is tall, it is difficult for him to win the header. Originally, he saw that Cordoba was not tall and wanted to bully this weakling, but he didn't expect that this guy was actually a spring man with amazing jumping ability. Moreover, Inter Milan's defense against high balls was also very methodical. As long as a high ball was sent into the penalty area, Materazzi and Cordoba would immediately double-team Pavlyuchenko from the front and back. One of them blocks the opponent's position behind to prevent him from moving, while the other one uses his excellent jumping ability and flexible body to jump up and clear the ball before the opponent. Pavlyuchenko was so impatient because of the defense that he couldn't touch the ball at least eight times out of ten times his teammates made crosses. Even if he occasionally received a pass from his teammates, it was difficult for him to complete a high-quality shot under the opponent's targeted defense. So, as reflected on the court, Sparta's attack was all loud noise but little results. I just saw them shooting a lot, but I never saw any goals. Even the very threatening shots were rare. Although the scene looked very lively, those who knew the situation knew that their offense was in trouble. In the stands, the home team's fans couldn't help but start to get anxious. If they hadn't conceded the goal at the beginning, they would probably have been satisfied seeing the home team taking advantage on the field and besieging the goal of the Serie A giants. But after that goal, everything was different. When the team is behind in the score, every wasted shot will make the fans in the stands and the players on the field more anxious.
Sparta's head coach had long been unable to sit still, and turned into a pianist on the sidelines, trying to direct the team's offense with gesticulations, but to little effect. Due to the high-intensity defense and their own lack of ability, the home team's players often don't know what to do after attacking the front of Inter Milan's penalty area! They lack delicate coordination. Although they want to get the ball into the penalty area, they just can't get it in. Forced passes will result in a lot of mistakes, giving the opponent a chance to counterattack. This is still an ideal situation where they are lucky enough to advance the ball to the front of Inter Milan's penalty area. The reality is that when they advance to the midfield, they are often made somewhat desperate by Inter Milan's chain-like defense. Looking around, the front is almost entirely filled with opponent players. No matter where the attacking team passes the ball, there will be Inter Milan's defensive players in front of them. Inter Milan's defense was like a moving wall, blocking the attacking team's advance route, making the Russians feel very uncomfortable. This was completely different from the feeling when we played against Bayern before. The Germans won the game by relying on faster speed, better skills and stronger bodies in offense and confrontation. The Italians also have good skills, but their discipline has reached a new level. The whole team seems to have a brain that directs the movement of each player. Thirty minutes later, seeing that the score was still 1:0, the home team's fans became increasingly uneasy. It should be said that Inter Milan's attack on the road today was relatively restrained. Perhaps it was because they were not used to the venue and climate and the players could not move freely, or perhaps they were afraid of getting injured on the road, so their attacking power was not strong and not many troops were invested. If there is an opportunity, let the front players rush forward. If there is no opportunity, keep the ball firmly under your feet. The main focus is on stability. This was in stark contrast to the previous game at the Meazza, where Inter Milan set out to bombard Sparta. If Inter Milan had followed the same rhythm as in the previous game, with the opponent attacking so fiercely and the backcourt so empty, they would have probably scored several goals by now. But even so, the home team still didn't have any better solution. This game highlighted a sense of desperation. The opponent had obviously played very conservatively, and they tried various means to try to tear open the opponent's defense, but all these attempts ended in failure. This causes the players on the field to become more and more anxious as the game goes on, and the more anxious they become, the worse they perform. At the end of the first half, Spartak Moscow had completed 11 shots, more than twice as many as Inter Milan. But their 11 shots did not result in a single goal, and they only had a pitiful two shots on target. This level of attack is probably not enough to break through Inter Milan's goal. During the half-time break, the home team's coach made major adjustments to the team's formation and offensive tactics. At the beginning of the second half, he replaced the left-back Rodriguez (not James Rodriguez), who is good at assists. After coming on the court, the latter faithfully implemented the tactics arranged by the head coach and boldly pressed forward to assist. But Rodriguez played in a hurry and his ability to read the game did not seem to be strong. He was the type who would pass the ball as soon as he had it, regardless of whether his teammates were in position in the penalty area. Although he looked very active and fast, and often sent crosses from the wing, he did not pose a big threat to Inter Milan. On the contrary, after he pressed forward, the space exposed behind him was easily seized by Inter Milan for counterattack. In the 55th minute of the second half, Inter Milan intercepted the ball in the backcourt. Lin Feng, who retreated to the defensive midfielder position, saw the gap behind the opponent and quickly transferred the ball there. Figo played too hard in the first half and consumed too much physical energy, so he played more restrainedly in the second half. But now that he saw such a great opportunity in front of him, how could he give up? After receiving the pass from Lin Feng on the wing, Figo had a clear path ahead of him, with no defensive players within the first twenty!
The Sparta left-back, who was supposed to be keeping an eye on him, was now hurriedly running back behind him! Figo would not be stupid enough to wait for him there. After getting the ball, he quickly cut inside and ran towards the ribs. At the same time, Cruz in the middle, Torres on the left, and Lin Feng who had just completed the pass, were all sprinting towards the opponent's half. For a moment, the home team's backcourt alarm bells rang. The three defenders who stayed behind saw that the situation was not good. They shouted to their teammates to return to defense, while nervously retreating at full speed, fearing that if they were a second slower, they would be overtaken by the opponent. Judging from the position, Cruz is closest to the opponent's goal, so he is also the focus of defense by the opponent's defenders. The two central defenders of Spartak Moscow blocked his position and did not give him the chance to receive the ball. But as Figo continued to cut inside, he gradually moved from the wing to the middle, which forced the opponent's two central defenders to send one of them to intercept Figo with the ball. Although Figo's desire to score goals has decreased as he got older, he will usually pass the ball to his teammates unselfishly if they are in a better position. But this does not mean that his finishing ability has declined. If the opponent ignores his threat, Figo will complete the attack without hesitation. When Figo saw a defender of the opponent coming towards him, he immediately changed direction. He was originally cutting in horizontally, but now he broke through vertically. He has to stagger the opponent's defensive positions and prevent the opponent's three defensive players from being in a line, thereby artificially creating space for his teammates to use. At the same time, Torres on the left made almost the same choice. He took advantage of the defender who was marking Figo to move backwards in a more dangerous situation, and decisively chose to go into the penalty area, taking Sparta's right back with him. As a result, the positions of the three Sparta defenders in the penalty area were completely scattered and disorganized, and they were caught in the dilemma of fighting alone. Although they also knew that losing the defensive formation would be very dangerous, the defenders had no initiative and could only be forced to follow the rhythm of the attackers. At this time, we can only pray that the remaining central defender can keep a close eye on Cruz and not give him any space, so that we can perhaps prevent Inter Milan's attack. But when the opponent's central defender was moving towards the goal closely following Figo, Figo suddenly made an inverted triangle pass and passed the ball out. This action left all three Sparta defenders in the penalty area dumbfounded! Who does he want to pass the ball to in that position? Before they could see clearly, a figure galloped over. Lin Feng received Figo's pass at the top of the penalty area and completed the shot before the three Sparta defenders could react. The Sparta goalkeeper leaped up with all his might, trying to block Lin Feng's shot. But the opponent's shot was so fast and tricky that he had no time to block it. The ball hit the net bag with a swish. The score was then changed to 2:0! Sparta midfielder Mozart, who had been chasing Lin Feng closely near the center circle, was still two meters away from Lin Feng when Lin Feng completed his shooting. Mozart really tried his best. The rapid sprint in a short period of time made his lungs almost explode. But I really can’t catch up! This guy is so fast! He really wanted to ask Lin Feng, if you can run so fast, why don't you just participate in the 100-meter sprint? ! Lin Feng didn't notice the resentful look of his opponent behind him at all. At this moment, he was hugging and celebrating with his teammates who rushed over from the court and the bench!
After this goal was scored, the game was basically won. Although Sparta's attack looked fierce, they were not strong enough to break Inter Milan's defense. A one-goal disadvantage was enough to give them a headache, and now they are two goals behind, making it exponentially more difficult to catch up. And even if they tied the game, it would be useless. They only got 1 point in the previous three games. If they can't get 3 points in this game, they will most likely be eliminated early. Unless Bayern Munich suffers a shocking upset and loses to Sporting Lisbon at home. Otherwise, the fate of Spartak Moscow would be sealed after this game. But the problem now is that it is difficult for them to even score one goal, let alone score at least three goals? This is an impossible task for them! So after Lin Feng scored this goal, the morale of the home team dropped sharply. The players even attacked weakly and were not as aggressive as in the first half. Seeing this, Mancini no longer played it safe and started making substitutions before even 60 minutes had passed. As usual, Figo was the first to be substituted, followed by Lin Feng. He only left one substitution spot unused, in case there was no one available if something unexpected happened on the field. In the stands, the fans of the home team seemed unable to withstand the cold wind and began to leave one after another. Obviously, even the fans of the home team have no hope for this game. However, what is somewhat laughable is that after the opponent's offensive intensity decreased, Inter Milan players became cold and their condition declined due to decreased activity, and they actually made low-level mistakes in the final stage of the game, allowing the opponent to score a goal. But this was not a big deal. In the end, the score of the game was fixed at 2:1. Inter Milan successfully won three points, with a total score of 10 points, and advanced to the round of two rounds in advance. Spartak Moscow was also eliminated after losing this game, but fortunately, there is still the upstart CSKA Moscow in the Russian Premier League that has kept the spark burning. They had previously defeated Arsenal unexpectedly and are now at the top of Group G, with a very good chance of qualifying. Tomorrow they will go away to challenge Arsenal. If they win this game, they will basically advance! This gave some comfort to the Russians who lost the game! (End of this chapter)