Chapter 198 Lin Feng's performance conquered Highbury and Wenger!
Arsenal's offensive tempo is very fast even among the top clubs.
It was precisely with this fast-paced style of play that Arsenal eliminated Real Madrid and Juventus and advanced to the semi-finals.
Whether it was due to path dependence or inertia, Arsenal still played this way in this game.
This style of play was quite effective, as Arsenal's several threatening attacks in the first half came from the fast breaks they launched after getting the ball.
But in the second half, when Inter Milan's formation retreated, especially after Lin Feng adjusted to the defensive midfielder position, the power of Arsenal's move decreased a lot.
Not only was their fast break not as sharp as in the first two rounds, but they were increasingly being exploited by the opponent and counterattacked.
In the 68th minute of the second half, there was a mistake in the cooperation between Ljungberg and Pires, and Inter Milan launched a counterattack after intercepting the ball in the backcourt.
Zanetti quickly passed the ball to Lin Feng, and the benefits of Lin Feng's retreat were demonstrated.
After getting rid of the pressing of Ljungberg, a large space appeared around Lin Feng.
Arsenal's formation was retreating quickly, and for a moment no one came to take care of him.
This kind of opportunity is not seen in the attacking midfielder position.
"Stop him and don't let him pass the ball!"
Wenger was shouting anxiously on the sidelines. Perhaps it was because the man-to-man defense tactics in the first half were too successful, so that the players on the field subconsciously ignored the threat of Lin Feng and did not assign anyone to press him!
Although the opponent has not yet crossed the half court, as long as the ball is at the opponent's feet, he will always be a huge threat to Arsenal.
In fact, this is not the fault of the Arsenal players on the field. The defenders retreated quickly because the opponent's forwards were sprinting and they had to keep up with Inter Milan's forwards.
The task of intercepting Lin Feng should not have been completed by them. This is the responsibility of Arsenal's midfielder.
Hearing the professor's call, Gilberto volunteered to rush forward.
Since I was able to perfectly restrict the opponent in the first half, I can do the same now.
However, he underestimated the benefit that speed would bring to Lin Feng.
When the opponent's speed is not up to par, his interception and entanglement are very effective.
But once Lin Feng's speed was fully increased, it would not be so easy for Gilberto to stop him.
The moment the two men faced each other, Lin Feng cut sideways and changed direction, easily getting rid of Gilberto.
After the latter lost his defensive position, he wanted to catch up, but was horrified to find that he could not catch up with the opponent at all.
"So fast!"
"Danger!"
In the Sky Sports commentary booth, the two English commentators were surprised to see Lin Feng get rid of Gilberto's interception so easily.
After getting rid of Gilberto's interception, Lin Feng dribbled the ball across half the court.
At this time, there was a three-on-three situation in the frontcourt.
On the Inter Milan side, Lin Feng, Martins and Cruz were all speeding forward.
On the Arsenal side, apart from left-back Ashley Cole who had gone up to assist and could not return for the time being, the other three defenders were retreating.
On the surface, the number of people on both sides was equal, but in fact, Lin Feng, who was dribbling the ball in the middle, was actually unguarded.
He was so fast, and Arsenal had attacked too deep before, so that all the Arsenal players who should have been here had no time to return to defense.
This is a great opportunity for Inter Milan!
Seeing this, Arsenal's two central defenders had to send one of them out to intercept Lin Feng.
After seeing the opponent's separation, Lin Feng did not pass the ball in a hurry, but moved slightly to the left side, making a move to cooperate with left winger Martins.
Kolo Toure and full-back Eboue did not suspect anything, one continued to put pressure on the opponent while the other tried to cut off the passing line between Lin Feng and Martins.
However, the person Lin Feng wanted to pass the ball to was not Martins, but center Cruz!
The reason why the ball was not passed before was because Cruz fell into the opponent's offside trap.
But in the moment when Lin Feng paused, he had already retreated from the offside position to the vicinity of the penalty area line.
Lin Feng saw it all clearly. When Toure rushed up, he suddenly cut inside with the ball, attracted the attention of another Arsenal central defender Campbell, and passed the ball to Cruz.
Cruz understood what he meant and kicked the ball back without stopping, passing it to the middle of the penalty area.
After passing the ball, Lin Feng immediately chose to rush into the penalty area. The cooperation between the two was seamless. As soon as Cruz's pass arrived, Lin Feng rushed over.
Arsenal goalkeeper Lehmann's eyes widened, and alarm bells rang in his heart!
The moment he saw the opponent's shooting, he chose to fly and save the ball.
The 37-year-old veteran's reaction speed is already very fast, and his save action is impeccable.
But Lin Feng's shot was too close. No matter how fast Lehmann's reaction was, he couldn't block the opponent's powerful shot from so close.
With a swish, the ball flew into the net and Lehmann fell on the lawn in front of the goal!
The score was rewritten to 1:1. Inter Milan tenaciously equalized the score after conceding a goal first!
"The ball is in!"
"Lin, I love you so much, I knew you could do it!"
“Beautiful, beautiful goal, who said Inter Milan is doomed? Our Nerazzurri is not so easy to be defeated!”
"Hahaha, damn English guy, why aren't you laughing? Weren't you laughing so proudly just now?"
In the stands, the small number of Inter Milan fans who had traveled with the team celebrated like crazy.
When no one was optimistic about them, Inter Milan's desperate counterattack drove the fans crazy and greatly boosted the morale of the entire team.
"Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable, Inter Milan launched a textbook quick counterattack!"
"Yes, Inter Milan's counterattack was very exciting, especially Lin Feng's performance. From stealing the ball in the backcourt to dribbling to the frontcourt, to cooperation in the penalty area and the final goal, Lin Feng participated in the whole process. He completed the transformation from defensive midfielder to attacking midfielder by himself. He could be seen on both offense and defense, and his performance in each position was excellent!"
In the stands of Highbury Stadium, Arsenal fans were collectively dumbfounded.
They seemed unable to accept such a goal loss. They were clearly bombarding the opponent's goal, so how come the team lost the ball the next second?
However, whether they can accept it or not, the result of the game will not change.
The referee pointed to the center circle, indicating that the goal was valid, and the number on the scoreboard changed to 1:1.
The big screen was replaying the process of Inter Milan's goal just now. After watching the whole process, Arsenal fans were very frustrated: "Although we are opponents, I have to say that the opponent's No. 8 is really too strong!"
"It would be great if this guy could come to our Arsenal!"
Some Arsenal fans were even convinced and wanted to recruit Lin Feng.
"If he can really come, that would be great. Then we can keep Pires and Henry, plus this guy's speed and passing ability. I can't imagine how strong the Gunners will be next season!"
Not to mention them, even Wenger was moved after watching this game.
Although he had been impressed by Lin Feng's performance many times when watching the video tapes of Inter Milan's games.
But the visual impact brought by the videotape is obviously not as great as watching the game live.
Therefore, after watching Lin Feng's god-level performance on the spot, Wenger became more interested in Lin Feng.
At this moment, he even had the urge to ask the team owner for funds and force Lin Feng to buy him!
Wenger has always been partial to young players. When he saw such a young and talented player not in his team, he felt like he was being scratched by a cat.
……
"Lin Feng's goal brought both teams back to the same starting line, and the game became interesting!"
"I don't know if Professor Wenger will adjust Arsenal's tactics. Although the score is 1:1, Inter Milan has the advantage of away goals. Now it is Arsenal that should be anxious!"
Arsenal is indeed in a hurry. An away goal is equivalent to goals. If the game ends with this score, it will be difficult for Arsenal to advance to the final!
So after the game resumed, Arsenal immediately increased the strength of their attack.
And this time, their offensive focus was obviously different from the first half.
But after Inter equalized the score, their defensive formation further contracted.
Getting an away goal is enough for Inter Milan. It would be even better if they could keep this score until the end of the game.
Faced with this situation, Henry increased the number of inside shots, and midfielders such as Ljungberg and Fabregas also increased the number of long shots attempted outside the penalty area.
But this trick did not work. Although Arsenal's shots seemed to have never stopped within ten minutes and it looked like an overwhelming attack, it did not actually really test the goal guarded by Cesar.
Seeing this, Arsenal changed their strategy again and began to use the players' personal abilities to force their way into the penalty area in an attempt to create a penalty.
Compared with the previous move, this move is much more threatening.
Arsenal's small-scale cooperation in the frontcourt is already very sharp, and their players like Henry and Pires have the ability to break through. These players who can break through, dribble and pass, after rushing into Inter Milan's penalty area, make the Inter Milan penalty area restless.
Inter Milan's players did not dare to commit fouls in the penalty area and could only block and position themselves desperately to leave no space for the opponent.
But in this chaotic battle, accidents still happened.
In the 85th minute of the second half, Henry fell after dribbling into the penalty area. Because he had physical contact with the Inter Milan defender before falling, the Frenchman immediately reached out to ask for a penalty after falling to the ground. The Inter Milan players were distracted and were paying attention to how the referee would make the decision, and did not notice that the ball had not gone out of bounds yet.
At this moment, Pires suddenly rushed out from the wing, saved the ball, and passed it back to the penalty area with an inverted triangle.
Inter Milan's players only realized the danger at this time, but it was too late to remedy the situation.
Fabregas came from behind and received a pass from Pires, then lobbed the ball into the goal again.
The score became 2:1, Arsenal once again took the lead!
Fabregas, who scored the goal, excitedly rushed to the sidelines and slid on his knees passionately in front of the camera.
The Arsenal fans in the stands were generous with their applause and cheers, responding to their heroes in the most enthusiastic way.
The team had been unable to break through for a long time and Arsenal fans were already very worried, but Fabregas' goal put their minds at ease again.
At the same time, Inter Milan's players and fans seemed particularly uncomfortable.
Several Inter Milan defenders tried to protest to the referee, believing that the opponent's goal should not count.
But the referee shook his head and pointed at his whistle, indicating that he had not stopped the game. As the game was still going on, Arsenal's goal was naturally valid, although it was a little bit dishonorable, but he could not blow off the opponent's goal for this reason.
If anyone is to blame, it can only be blamed on Inter Milan's players' own lack of concentration, or they were too absorbed in guarding against the opponent's penalty shots and were too sensitive to any slight disturbance.
Mancini's face turned pale. He glanced at the time and saw that there was not much time left before the end of the game.
The physical strength of these players on the field has reached its limit, and it is simply unrealistic to expect them to equalize the score through offense in the remaining few minutes.
If we were unable to retreat after attacking and Arsenal seized the opportunity to score another goal, the situation in the next game would be even more difficult.
Although the score of 1:2 is a disadvantage, being able to score an away goal is not too bad, and the result is still acceptable.
Thinking of this, Mancini made personnel adjustments and position adjustments, replacing several players who were exhausted.
Fortunately, he did not impulsively replace offensive players. After scoring the second goal, Arsenal's morale was boosted and they launched a crazy siege on Inter Milan's goal in the final moments of the game.
If he had just replaced an offensive player, Inter Milan's incomplete defense, coupled with their exhausted physical strength, would probably not have been able to hold on.
After ten minutes of fierce attack, the referee finally blew the whistle to end the game.
The game was relatively smooth, with no injuries or accidents on the field, but the referee still gave 5 minutes of injury time, which made Mancini very dissatisfied, and he even received a yellow card for protesting the referee.
Fortunately, he calmed down after being persuaded by his assistant. If he continued to lose his temper and was sent to the stands, it would be even more disadvantageous for Inter Milan in the next round of the game.
The moment the whistle sounded, players from both sides collapsed.
In the final moments of the game, Inter Milan gritted their teeth and held on, while Arsenal relied on their enthusiasm to attack.
When the game was over and the excitement in their hearts dissipated, players on both sides felt extremely tired.
This game consumed a lot of Lin Feng's physical energy. To have an outstanding performance on both offense and defense meant double the physical energy consumption.
It was already the end of the season, and the fatigue and physical depletion accumulated from long hours and high-frequency games had already made him physically and mentally tired of the game.
At this moment, like most players, he is particularly looking forward to sunshine, beaches and wonderful holidays.
However, just as I thought of these beautiful things, a devilish whisper rang in my ears:
Doctor, you can't rest yet, you still have a lot of things to deal with!
When he opened his eyes, there was no beautiful girl with long ears, but only a young Fabregas:
"Um, can I exchange jerseys with you?"
(End of this chapter)
