Chapter 166 The Price of Opening Champagne at Halftime
"The fight in the midfield was fierce. Lin Feng fouled Vieira and received a verbal warning from the referee!"
"Lin Feng's move just now was very crucial. If we can't stop Juventus before they speed up, once Vieira passes the ball, it will easily lead to serious consequences."
"Yes. If you can block the opponent's counterattack for just one second, the result may be completely different."
In the commentary booth, the commentators were all praising Lin Feng's performance just now.
In fact, this is not the first time he has done this.
Since the start of the game, Lin Feng has been very active in the midfield and frontcourt. Not only is he loud on the offensive end, but he can also always be seen on defense.
Although he is not a professional defensive player, he puts tremendous pressure on the opponent's midfielders through his running and pressing, delaying or even disrupting the opponent's passes.
In a match between strong teams, it is very difficult to break the opponent's goal by relying on positional warfare.
If you want to score, the best way is to seize the opponent's mistakes, take advantage of the moment when the opponent's defensive formation is incomplete and the players do not have time to get into position, and deliver a fatal blow.
To achieve this effect, the team's midfielders are required to pass the ball cleanly and efficiently during counterattacks.
Anyone who can do this can be considered a qualified midfielder.
If he can pass the ball more accurately, making it more comfortable for the offensive players who receive the ball and posing a greater threat to the goal, then he will be a top midfielder.
But on the other hand, if the defense blocks their passing points, the offense's counterattack will lose its threat.
Now, Juventus is facing such a problem.
Of Juventus' two defensive midfielders, Emerson was originally a defender. Taking the ball and passing it in the midfield is not his forte. He is good at defense and crossing from the wing.
The only person who could take on the responsibility of passing the ball was Vieira, and Lin Feng kept a close eye on Vieira. Once the opponent made a move to receive the ball, Lin Feng would stick to him, not letting Vieira receive the ball comfortably, nor allowing him to pass the ball easily.
Capello suddenly realized that it was no wonder that the team's offensive machine seemed to be rusty and running very awkwardly.
It turns out that this guy mixed sand into the machine!
No, I have to find a way to avoid him.
So he took advantage of the dead ball opportunity, called a Juventus player, gave him some instructions, and asked him to pass the message to other players.
After Capello made tactical adjustments, Juventus's style of play quickly changed.
Vieira's number of passes began to decrease, and when counterattacking, Juventus was more inclined to bypass the midfield and let the central defender pass the ball directly to the winger.
Juventus is very strong on the flanks. In addition to the two wingers, they have a hidden killer on the flanks, that is Nedved.
As a former Ballon d'Or winner, Nedved is a very special figure in today's football.
Although Nedved plays in the midfield, he is not the core of Juventus' organization. He is more like a winger who appears in the attacking midfielder position and is Juventus's wing breakthrough player.
He has strong running ability, dribbling ability, and fast speed. He is very good at breaking through and shooting in the rib area between the wing and the center in the frontcourt.
If we must make an analogy, we can describe him as a version of Messi with weaker dribbling but enhanced physical fitness.
In the 37th minute, Juventus launched a counterattack after a successful defense in the backcourt. This time they bypassed the midfield and passed the ball directly to the wing. The ball soon came to Nedved's feet who was active on the left.
Nedved had already observed the position and movements of the defensive players before receiving the ball. When Inter Milan's midfielder Cambiasso rushed up to intercept him, he made a beautiful pass and got rid of the opponent's pressure.
Then he used his speed and explosive power to completely get rid of the threat of Cambiasso and strode towards Inter Milan's penalty area along the flank area.
Zanetti had to step up to prevent the opponent from making long shots.
Nedved's long-range shot is his signature skill. If he is not under enough pressure in front of the penalty area, he is likely to shoot directly.
Nedved did not intend to confront Zanetti. Seeing Zanetti left his position, he immediately passed the ball to the wing.
Juventus' winger rushed over from behind, received the pass from Nedved, and immediately kicked the ball into the penalty area.
The two Juventus forwards had already entered the penalty area. Seeing their teammates passing the ball, Trezeguet and Ibrahimovic almost made a sliding shot.
Trezeguet at the front point failed to touch the ball, his toes were only a few centimeters away from the football.
Ibrahimovic at the back post was lucky and he kicked the ball.
But Inter Milan's goalkeeper Cesar chose to save the ball towards Ibrahimovic's side, and Ibrahimovic's sliding shot landed squarely in Cesar's arms.
Because his shot was so powerful, the ball was not controlled by the goalkeeper at first and slipped out of his hands. However, his second reaction was quick, and he quickly hugged the ball and held it under his body without waiting for two people to make a follow-up shot.
Trezeguet, who missed the opportunity, couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, feeling guilty for missing such a good opportunity.
Ibrahimovic became even more annoyed and kept pulling his hair back with such force that it seemed as if he wanted to pull out all the hair on his head.
There were first bursts of exclamations in the stadium, followed by thunderous applause.
Juventus' attack in this round was fast and fierce, making many Inter Milan fans nervous.
Fortunately, at the last moment, Sebastian once again stood up to save the team. If Inter Milan can finally win this game, Sebastian should be the main contributor!
The first half was coming to an end, but Juventus still did not give up the attack.
In the 39th minute, Ibrahimovic made a series of fancy moves on the left side of the penalty area, trying to deceive the defensive players.
But Cordoba remained unmoved. He was so skilled and bold that he made a tackle in the penalty area and successfully intercepted the ball, turning Ibrahimovic's performance into a clown's.
In the 41st minute, Veron was injured during a fight. Although he received treatment from the team doctor, he was unable to hold on.
Inter Milan had to passively use a substitution quota in the final stage of the first half.
Stankovic came on as a substitute, replacing Veron who was injured.
This is not good news for Inter Milan. Although Veron is slow in passing the ball and his defensive ability is not strong, he has strong passing ability. With him on the court, he can help Lin Feng share a large part of the firepower.
But now that he is off the field, the burden of passing the ball for Inter Milan may fall on Lin Feng himself. This also means that Juventus will target him as a key target next time.
As expected, after Veron left the field, the number of defensive players around Lin Feng increased significantly.
The opponent would often send out two or three or even three or four people to target him. Under such obvious targeting, it was difficult for Lin Feng to deliver ammunition to his teammates on the front line as before.
Inter Milan had almost no decent attacking opportunities at the end of the first half. On the contrary, Juventus used the flanks and Nedved to find several chances, but they were all resolved by Inter Milan's tight defense and the goalkeeper's outstanding performance.
A few minutes later, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half. Inter Milan returned to the locker room with a 2-goal lead!
This score made Inter Milan's players very excited. They were playing, laughing and chatting, and some even started singing in the locker room.
The situation is not just good, but very good.
With such a big lead in hand, their hopes of beating Juventus at home have greatly increased.
This scene made Lin Feng frown slightly, with a strong sense of déjà vu: Why does this feel a bit like AC Milan popping champagne at halftime?
The game isn't over yet, isn't it a little too early for you to get carried away?
"Clap clap clap!"
Mancini, who walked into the locker room, obviously noticed this. He clapped his hands vigorously to attract the players' attention, and said with a serious expression:
"Nonsense, what are you doing? Are you trying to imitate AC Milan?"
"The game isn't over yet, do you think you've won? That's Juventus. If you dare to underestimate them like this, then you'll be nailed to the pillar of shame along with AC Milan next door, and be laughed at by the fans for ten thousand years!"
Mancini's words were a bit harsh, but the effect was surprisingly good.
At least after hearing his criticism, the attitudes of the players who had been complacent before obviously changed.
As AC Milan's neighbor, Inter Milan likes to use the Istanbul Miracle to make fun of AC Milan.
If they also fail like AC Milan, then the boomerangs thrown before will undoubtedly fall on their heads.
AC Milan lost the Champions League because they opened champagne at halftime. If Inter Milan had also opened champagne at halftime, they would have lost the league championship.
"Juventus has shown us their offensive firepower at the beginning. It is not difficult for them to score two goals in the first half. The score of 2:0 cannot really reflect the difference in strength between us!"
Mancini's mind was very clear at the moment. He was not blinded by the score on the field and became complacent.
On the contrary, he was deeply impressed by Juventus' attack before conceding the goal and the counterattack at the end of the first half.
"Veron's unexpected departure has weakened our offensive strength. Lin, you are under a lot of pressure. The opponent will definitely target you in the second half. Once your passing point is strangled, our offensive threat will probably drop significantly."
Lin Feng nodded slightly. He had been worried that Mancini could not see the hidden danger, but it seemed that he was worrying too much.
But he was very curious, now that Mancini had discovered this problem, how would he solve it?
There is no one in Inter Milan who can perfectly replace Veron, and Stankovic, who came on as a replacement, is obviously not up to the task.
"Once our offensive threat decreases, Juventus will be more reckless in launching heavy attacks.
The reason why we did not lose the ball in the first half, apart from the excellent performance of our defense, was mainly because the goalkeeper was in good shape.
But we may not be so lucky in the second half. We can't put all our hopes on Cesar, that would be unfair to him."
Cesar hesitated to speak. He really wanted to say that he was in very good shape and would definitely help the team guard the goal.
But he didn't dare to guarantee that he would not concede a goal. No goalkeeper in the entire football world would dare to say such a thing.
"So, Louis, you need to put in more effort in the second half, use your organizational skills, and help Lin Feng share some of the pressure of the offense."
Mancini finally placed his hopes on Figo. Although Figo played as a winger, he had good organizational skills and could play as a wing midfielder.
The only problem is that Figo is relatively old, and it is a big question how long his physical strength can last in such an intense game.
In the crowd, Cambiasso shouted in his heart: Look at me, look at me, coach, I can do it, let me play.
But Mancini never even looked at him from beginning to end, which hurt Commander Kan very much.
Last season he was still a favorite in Mancini's eyes, but after just one season, Mancini abandoned him because he was tired of the old and loved the new.
So, will love disappear?
Mancini didn't notice Cambiasso who was eager to try, but Lin Feng did.
To be honest, Commander Kan is still very strong.
Although he plays as a defensive midfielder, his organizational skills are not weak.
It's just that after joining the team, he lacks such opportunities to show himself.
Of course, he is definitely not able to reach the same heights as when Inter Milan won the treble.
Therefore, Lin Feng would not try it easily unless it was absolutely necessary.
……
The game started quickly after the two sides exchanged venues in the second half.
At the beginning of the second half, Juventus launched a fierce attack, intending to catch Inter Milan off guard.
But Inter Milan had anticipated this and successfully resolved the opponent's offensive by shrinking their formation and attacking from the back, launching a counterattack.
In the 46th minute, Inter Milan's counterattack reached the front of the penalty area. Ade knocked the ball back with his heel and passed it to Martins who cut inside.
But Juventus' defense was timely and Martins had no chance to shoot. He hesitated for a moment and missed the best opportunity to pass the ball, causing Figo, who was unguarded on the right, to make a wasted trip.
Figo was very angry. He had just seen an opportunity on the right side and had launched a sprint at all costs. However, his teammates were blind and did not notice his position, causing him to waste a lot of energy in vain.
Alas, if it was Lin Feng who had the ball just now, he would definitely have discovered his position, right?
Lin Feng wanted to join in the counterattack, but he was restricted very tightly. The opponent did not forget to send people to keep an eye on him when they were retreating. Martins saw that there were people next to him and did not dare to pass the ball to him.
The effect of Juventus' key focus has gradually emerged!
Inter's counterattack failed to pose a threat and Juventus' attack quickly returned.
Since the left side where Nedved was located was very active in the final stage of the first half, Inter Milan focused on strengthening the defense on this side.
But in the second half, Juventus suddenly changed the direction of attack. They no longer went to Nedved's side, but focused on the right where Camoranesi was.
This change was beyond Inter Milan's expectations and created a brief gap on their left side, giving the opponent a chance to score.
In the 52nd minute, Vieira sent a lob pass from midfield to the right, Camoranesi passed it directly to the back post without stopping, Ibrahimovic inserted between Cordoba and Zanetti, and pushed the ball into the goal with his left foot from 7 meters in front of the goal. Juventus quickly equalized in the second half!
The score became 2:1, and the suspense of the game returned.
(End of this chapter)
