Chapter 153: Advancing triumphantly and winning 10 consecutive victories!
The game was in a stalemate and Inter Milan was unable to break through for a long time.
Watching the time passing by little by little, Mancini became extremely anxious watching on the sidelines.
In desperation, he even used the last substitution on Mihajlovic, hoping to change his fate with the opponent's free kick.
However, even a free kick master like Mihajlovic cannot guarantee that he can score a goal from a free kick in every game.
Mancini's gambler's behavior obviously failed.
When the game entered injury time, the score was still 2:2, and the Inter Milan players became more and more anxious.
At this time, tactics are no longer a concern. As long as there is an opportunity, they will shoot without hesitation.
However, because the opponent had a large number of defensive players in the penalty area, it was difficult for Inter Milan to pass the ball into the penalty area, and almost all of their shots were long shots outside the penalty area.
Most of these long shots failed to threaten the opponent's goal.
Seeing the team playing so anxiously, there was little time left in injury time.
In the stands, the expressions on Inter Milan fans' faces gradually changed from full of hope to despair.
Some people even started to leave the field early as they could not accept the fact that their team was tied at home by a relegation team.
However, just as the injury time entered the last minute, Lin Feng broke away horizontally from the top of the penalty area and forced a shot.
The ball was so powerful that the opponent's goalkeeper didn't dare to take it head-on and could only kick it out of the baseline.
Inter Milan got another corner kick opportunity, but the injury time had ended and the referee had already started looking at his watch.
This means that this corner kick may very well be Inter Milan's last attack.
"I'll kick off, you go to the penalty area and try to score, following the corner kick tactics we learned during team training!"
Lin Feng originally planned to take the corner kick himself, but Mihajlovic stepped out to stop him.
"oh, I understand now!"
Lin Feng nodded heavily. He had witnessed Mihajlovic's footwork with his own eyes, and he was deeply impressed by his ability to hit the target wherever he pointed.
Mihajlovic stood in the corner area and gestured to his teammates in the penalty area.
After seeing his gesture, Inter Milan players collectively retreated and squeezed towards the back point.
The Cagliari players saw that several tall players on Inter Milan's side were running back, and they subconsciously followed them and ran back.
At this moment, Lin Feng, who was retreating, suddenly ran in the opposite direction, shook off the player who was guarding him, and accelerated towards the front point.
This change came too suddenly, and the Cagliari players were caught off guard. No one could keep up with Lin Feng's rhythm in a split second, leaving a huge gap for Lin Feng.
And this gap was left by their retreat!
Lin Feng had just started when Mihajlovic's corner kick was taken.
The two of them seemed to have cooperated countless times and their timing was just right.
Lin Feng, who was not guarded, received Mihajlovic's pass very comfortably. With a slight touch, the direction of the ball changed and it bounced towards the opponent's goal.
The Cagliari goalkeeper knew that something was wrong the moment Lin Feng suddenly broke away from the crowd and started running back.
However, he was a step slower, and it was impossible for him to catch up with Lin Feng's pace.
The ball flew over his futilely outstretched hand and crashed into the net.
In the last minute of injury time, Inter Milan defeated their opponent with a header from Lin Feng.
The moment Lin Feng scored, the Meazza Stadium erupted in thunderous cheers.
Some fans who were leaving the stadium heard the noise behind them and subconsciously glanced at the scoreboard. Then, like the fans at the scene, they briefly lost their minds and joined the fans' crazy celebration.
Although the opponent is not a strong team, it can even be said to be a weak team.
But the feeling of scoring the winning goal in the last seconds still made the fans at the scene feel their hearts beating faster and their blood boiling.
Many people were prepared to lose points, but they didn't expect Lin Feng to give them such a surprise at the last moment.
This feeling of regaining something lost is truly delicious.
On the court, Lin Feng, who scored the winning goal, excitedly rushed to the corner area and gave a big hug to Mihajlovic who assisted him.
Lin Feng is very clear about the level of his headers. The reason why he was able to score the goal just now was due to the design of Inter Milan's corner kick tactics.
Secondly, it is thanks to Mihajlovic's precise pass!
The timing, angle and strength of the pass were all perfect.
It can be said that if someone else passed the ball, Lin Feng might not be sure of scoring a goal.
Mihajlovic smiled and hugged Lin Feng, patted his shoulder and said:
"After seeing your performance, I can retire with peace of mind!"
Mihajlovic's number of appearances has dropped significantly this season. He is about to turn 37 and his physical condition no longer supports him to play long and high-intensity games.
Over the past half season, he has been acting more as the ballast in the team's locker room, helping veterans such as Zanetti to boost morale and stabilize the team's morale.
But now, seeing Lin Feng and his group of young people gradually growing up, he feels that there is no need for an old man like him to stay in the team and be an eyesore.
……
Although the victory was embarrassing, the 3 points we got from winning the game were real.
After this victory, Inter Milan's unbeaten streak in Serie A has extended to 13 games, with accumulated points reaching 44, still 8 points behind the top Juventus.
Halfway through the season, the situation in the Serie A standings this season has not changed much from the past few seasons.
It is still a situation of competition between Juventus and Milan, but Juventus has a huge lead.
If the two Milan giants want to snatch the championship from the Old Lady, they must not only perform well and try not to lose points, but also pray that their opponents make mistakes.
In the first half of the season, Juventus achieved a terrifying record of 17 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. If their performance remains so stable in the second half, it will be almost impossible for Inter Milan and AC Milan to win the championship.
And this opportunity soon presented itself!
November 1th, the 19th round of Serie A.
Juventus was unexpectedly tied by Chievo away from home, while AC Milan and Inter Milan defeated their respective opponents 1:0 at home and away respectively.
As a result, the Old Lady's lead in the standings has shrunk from 8 points to 6 points!
Don't underestimate these two points. When Juventus was leading by eight points, they had a psychological safety cushion of three games. But after the two points were reduced, they only had two games to make mistakes.
And considering that Juventus will have a direct match against Inter Milan and AC Milan in the second half, if they lose to their direct championship rivals, this 6-point advantage will probably be gone.
When the suspense of the championship was restored, the media immediately began to hype it up.
"With 9 consecutive wins, the Nerazzurri are on their way to the Serie A title!"
"An unexpected upset, the Old Lady's lead is further reduced!"
"A draw has brought suspense back to the Serie A championship!"
"Who will win the league title? Juventus, Inter Milan or Milan?"
The headlines in the major media were overwhelming, and as a result, the number of articles praising Inter Milan suddenly increased:
"Since Lin Feng returned to the team, Inter Milan's morale has been high, and they have reversed their previous decline and won nine consecutive league games, narrowing the points gap between them and the leader from the initial desperate 9 points to the current 12 points.
Perhaps, the Nerazzurri can really look forward to winning the league title after 17 seasons at the end of the season! "
When reporting, the media seemed to be very optimistic about Inter Milan.
Firstly, Inter Milan’s current momentum is indeed very good, and secondly, they also need to establish a hero to challenge the leader.
Except for Juventus fans, no one else likes the situation where Juventus is the only dominant team.
When Juventus' lead once expanded to double digits, many fans were lamenting that the Serie A had lost its championship suspense and had become boring.
As a result, the performance of major media outlets has been greatly affected.
Therefore, they very much hope that a challenger will emerge in the league to restore suspense to the league, so that they can continue to hype related topics, attract the attention of fans, and then improve their own performance.
The only ones who can challenge Juventus' dominance are the two Milan giants.
AC Milan, which focuses on the Champions League, is obviously not the best candidate.
So their only choice is Inter Milan.
The improvement in the public opinion environment, the morale boost brought by consecutive victories, and the disastrous defeat suffered at Palermo's home ground have brought the morale of the entire Inter Milan team to its peak.
In the 21st round of the league, when Inter Milan played against Palermo at home, the Nerazzurri raised their butcher knife.
In the 4th minute, Figo made a cross from the wing, but the opponent's goalkeeper Lupatelli blocked the ball before Ade.
But then Inter Milan took a corner kick, Materazzi, who was lurking at the back post, overpowered the opponent's defender and headed the ball into the goal, changing the score to 1:0.
In the 12th minute, Inter Milan's attack came back.
Lin Feng and Figo completed a wonderful cooperation on the wing. The latter broke into the penalty area and made a triangle pass back. Lin Feng followed up and shot from the right side of the penalty area to change the score to 2:0.
All the Palermo players were stunned. Is this still the Inter Milan they know?
In the third round of the league, the opponent was obviously very incompetent, but they were defeated by them using almost the same trick to score three goals in a row.
But now, the roles of both parties have been reversed, and they are the ones who are defeated.
Seeing the opponent's increasingly fierce attack, the Palermo players were frightened and lost all morale, and their play became worse and worse.
The worse they perform, the greater the threat posed by Inter's attack.
In the 17th minute, Cambiasso found an opportunity and completed a long shot from 22 meters away from the goal.
The Argentine played this ball very thoughtfully, and the football rolled towards the goal at high speed almost sticking to the grass.
But unfortunately, his luck was not good. The ball hit his own player's leg and was blocked.
Adriano was confused. He didn't even notice his teammate's shot. He just felt something hit him. When he looked back, he was shocked to find that he had actually ruined a great opportunity of his teammate.
The Argentine covered his face and sighed: Ade, you are an undercover sent by the other side, right?
Cambiasso's luck was indeed bad. In the 20th minute, Lin Feng made a cross and Ade's header was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper. Cambiasso who rushed into the penalty area to make a supplementary shot was not prepared enough, and the ball hit his knee and went wide of the goal post.
In the 25th minute, Lin Feng moved to the side again and cooperated with Figo, who then dribbled the ball into the penalty area.
This time he did not choose to pass the ball, but kicked it himself.
Unfortunately, the angle of the shot was too small and the ball hit the side net.
Palermo had been beaten to the point where they had no power to fight back, and Inter Milan, without any defensive pressure, put almost all of its forces into the attack.
This made Inter Milan's offensive organization more fluid. In the 32nd minute, the opponent's goalkeeper made a mistake under the interference of Adriano and kicked the ball to Figo outside the penalty area. The Portuguese accepted this gift with a lob shot and changed the score to 3:0.
This score perfectly replicated Palermo's dream start at home.
But Inter Milan did not put down their butcher knife and continued to pursue Palermo.
In the 33rd minute, Lin Feng took a corner kick, Cordoba passed the ball to the front point, Cambiasso headed the ball from the back point but was blocked by the goalkeeper, and Adriano made a follow-up shot to score.
Inter Milan leads 4:0!
This score has turned this game into a tragedy, but Inter Milan still has no intention of stopping.
The players of Palermo are in tears. What kind of hatred or grudge is this?
Isn’t it just a win against you at home?
Is it necessary to kill so cruelly?
In fact, they wanted Inter Milan's players. Indeed, Inter Milan's players did want revenge.
But such a result was more due to the hype from the outside world, which made the players rush to show themselves in front of the fans.
The attention Inter Milan has received in the past half season has never been so high.
Palermo, who was really angry, finally completed its first shot in the 35th minute of the first half.
But unfortunately, in this game not only were Inter Milan's front attacking players in great shape, but the defensive players on the back line were also in good shape, and their attacks were resolved one by one by Inter Milan's defenders.
In the 40th minute, Lin Feng's precise pass penetrated Palermo's defense. Adriano shook off the defender and easily scored the ball.
5: 0!
One goal after another excited the 80,000 fans who came to the Meazza Stadium.
Other fans who followed Inter Milan’s game because of the media’s hype about the team were also shocked after seeing Inter Milan’s crazy performance in the first half:
Is Inter Milan so strong?
No wonder the media praised them and believed that they could challenge Juventus' dominance.
After seeing Inter Milan's "true strength", many people began to doubt the national derby.
Could it be that there really is something shady going on?
(End of this chapter)
