Chapter 264: Inter Milan wins big at home
A string of numbers scrolled across the big screen at the Meazza Stadium. The goal Cruz had just scored was Inter Milan's 100th goal at home in the Champions League.
This super substitute surprised everyone by scoring twice in his first start of the season.
"Recoba's assists are intoxicating, and Cruz's efficiency in front of the goal is so trustworthy. Although Inter Milan's lineup is not complete in this game, the amazing performance of these two substitutes shows the outside world the strong bench depth of Inter Milan!"
The reason why the Italian media believes that Inter Milan will win the Serie A championship this year is because Inter Milan's bench depth far exceeds that of other teams.
As long as they don't suffer widespread injuries, other teams will have no chance against them.
Seeing that Recoba was in such good shape, Lin Feng leaned slightly towards him when handling the ball and passed the ball to him more often.
But Recoba is not the kind of person who likes to be alone. Lin Feng treated him well, and he treated Lin Feng well in return.
In the 19th minute, Lin Feng passed the ball to Recoba.
The latter cut in from the left and pretended to shoot, but after the Sparta defender blocked the shot, Recoba faked a shot and passed the ball back to the middle.
The ball was passed at the perfect time. Lin Feng just happened to move to this position, and because of the pulling between Recoba and Torres, there was a large space in front of him!
Of course Lin Feng would not let go of such a good opportunity.
After receiving the ball, he made no adjustments and decisively shot with his right foot 30 meters in front of the goal.
After kicking the ball, Lin Feng felt that it had succeeded.
When I looked up, I saw the ball passed the goalkeeper's fingers and hit the goal hard.
In less than 20 minutes, the score became 3:0!
Sparta, who had dreamed of getting points from Inter Milan, was now completely stunned.
Isn't this too fierce?
Even in the last game when they lost 0:4 to Bayern away from home, they didn't concede so many goals in the first 20 minutes!
Is this the true strength of the Serie A champion?
It's so terrifying!
However, Sparta has nothing to lose. It is already at the bottom of the group, and losing this game will only mean continuing to be at the bottom. In that case, what is there to be afraid of?
Just put it together!
There’s nothing to be afraid of if you lose the game, but it would be a bit embarrassing if you get zero points!
At this time, they have already begun to fight for their own honor!
As the champion of the Russian Premier League, Spartak Moscow certainly has some strength.
In the 21st minute, Sparta took advantage of the moment when Inter Milan's players relaxed after taking the lead and launched a quick counterattack.
No. 7 winger Boyarinsev dribbled the ball into the left side of the penalty area at high speed, but Inter Milan captain Zanetti handled the situation very calmly. He kept sticking to the opponent, preventing him from breaking through and passing the ball. Finally, when he was about to be forced out of the baseline, he forced a shot from 11 meters away from the goal.
But at this time his shooting angle was already very small, and with the interference of defensive players around him, Boya's shot finally hit the side net and did not pose any threat to Inter Milan's goal.
Although the net was shaking from a distance, which looked like a goal, in fact Inter Milan goalkeeper Toldo did not even jump, which shows that the opponent's shot was indeed not threatening at all.
Although Sparta tried hard to find opportunities, there was a big gap in strength between the two teams.
Inter Milan has been controlling the tempo of the game and keeping the ball firmly under their feet. They keep passing the ball and cooperating to consume the opponent's physical strength, and occasionally suddenly accelerate to threaten the opponent's goal.
The feeling of cutting meat with a slow knife is simply a torture.
The Sparta players were like puppets, being manipulated at will and had no way out.
In this process of pulling and mobilizing, Inter Milan also created many opportunities.
In the 27th minute, Inter Milan played a series of passes on the left side, and the opponent's players were moved back and forth and lost their defensive positions one after another.
Seeing this, Lin Feng made an over-the-top pass to the edge of the penalty area. Inter Milan's left-back Sane had quietly come here at some point. After receiving the pass from Lin Feng, Zanetti saw that there were no defensive players in front of him, so he chose to try a low shot.
Unfortunately, Sparta's goalkeeper Kowalewski was very focused and quickly fell to the ground to save the ball.
In the 29th minute, Recoba made a straight pass with the outside of his foot, the ball was aimed at Cruz, but Kowalewski confiscated the ball before Cruz.
In the 31st minute, Torres got the ball and shook off the defender. His low shot from 16 meters on the left side of the penalty area was again blocked by Kowalewski.
During this period, Inter Milan did not play as rigorously as before, and the few opportunities they created were handled rather casually. In addition, Sparta goalkeeper Kovalevski's condition also improved. He was very powerful in high catches and blocked shots from many Inter Milan players.
Compared with Inter Milan players, Sparta players, who were far behind, played more actively and desperately.
In the 34th minute, when the ball was about to go out of the baseline, Sparta midfielder Bystrov tried his best to hook the ball back to the small penalty area from the right baseline. Cordoba did not expect the opponent to be able to save the ball, and he cleared the ball hastily but did not kick it far.
The ball fell at the feet of a Sparta player on the perimeter, and the opponent sent the ball in front of the goal. Bystrov, who had just completed the save, shot with his heel 8 meters in front of the goal.
The pose was very cool, but unfortunately his shot slipped past the goal.
If this ball had gone in, this guy would probably have become a hero worshipped by Sparta fans.
But unfortunately, he did not seize the opportunity.
Mancini, who was off the field, was somewhat dissatisfied with the sloppy performance of the players on the field. He stood on the sidelines and shouted loudly, asking the players to concentrate and play well!
Although Inter Milan has a high probability of winning this game, but at this crucial moment of competing with Bayern Munich for the first place in the group, even if they win, they must score more goals and strive to accumulate more advantages in goal difference.
After all, Bayern has the title of tragedy maker. They have caused many tragedies in the Champions League. They are ruthless when facing weak teams, for fear that they will not win enough!
What Mancini is worried about is that if the two teams end up with the same points but their goal difference is less than Bayern's, then they're all doomed!
After receiving the instructions from the head coach, Inter Milan's players regained their spirits and took more shots.
In the 36th minute, Vieira's long shot was blocked by the goalkeeper and went out of bounds.
In the 38th minute, Spartak quickly counterattacked. Titov passed the ball in the middle, and Mozart used the inside of his left foot on the penalty area line to hit a curved ball aimed at the far corner.
Toldo made his first flying save of the game, lifting the ball out of the bottom line with one hand. This was the best chance for Spartak Moscow to score in the first half, but unfortunately, Toldo was still in good form and extinguished the opponent's hope with his own hands.
As if angered by the opponent's shot, Inter Milan's attack at the end of the first half was quick and fierce, almost forming a siege on Sparta's goal.
In the first half stoppage time, Torres received a pass from Recoba and his powerful right-foot shot was saved by Kovalevski again. But then Inter Milan counterattacked again. Figo passed the ball in the middle, Recoba made a low pass from the left, and Cruz, who was at the back post, fell to the ground and shot the ball into the goal, but unfortunately the ball was offside, otherwise Inter Milan's super substitute would have completed a hat trick!
At the end of the first half, players from both teams left the field and returned to the locker room.
When leaving the field, Torres seemed a little depressed.
Although the team was leading by a large margin, his own performance in this game was not very good.
Especially when compared with Cruise, he was completely outshined.
This made him a little anxious, as the competition on Inter Milan's front line was very fierce.
With Cruz showing such an excellent competitive form, the head coach is likely to take advantage of the situation to promote him and choose one of him or Crespo.
Although Torres feels that he is younger, more energetic and more aggressive, he has to admit that he is not as good as Crespo in terms of technology.
If Inter Milan needs a forward who can charge into the enemy line, he may have more opportunities, but if Inter Milan wants a forward who can score in the penalty area, Mancini will most likely choose Crespo.
Considering that Inter Milan has a strong midfield and a passing machine like Lin Feng, Crespo's prospects are obviously better than his.
This is what Torres is most worried about!
"What are you thinking about?"
Lin Feng noticed that Torres was in a low mood, so he patted him on the shoulder and asked with a smile.
Torres has a good relationship with Lin Feng, so when he saw the other party asked about it, he expressed his concerns.
“I don’t think you need to be so pessimistic. Your poor performance in this game was due to the opponent. Spartak Moscow was too weak, which resulted in their lineup being suppressed in their own half and unable to push forward.
In this case, your speed and explosiveness advantages cannot be reflected. After all, you and I are both players who need a certain amount of space to move around, and it will be uncomfortable when facing dense defense.
But there are many strong teams in the Champions League, and the opponents will become stronger as time goes by.
By then we may even face the same dilemma that Spartak Moscow encountered today – being suppressed by the opponent in the half court and unable to move forward!
At that time, there will be large tracts of empty space in the other half of the field, and your explosiveness, your speed and your best defensive skills will have the opportunity to show off. At that time, the whole team will be counting on you to make achievements! ”
Torres was originally very depressed and worried, but after being enlightened by Lin Feng, his mood suddenly turned from gloomy to bright and improved.
……
It seemed that because of his change of mood, after the start of the second half, Torres played more calmly and with a more composed mentality. He began to integrate into the team's offensive system and actively sought cooperation with his teammates. When he encountered a shooting opportunity, he did not force a shot, but looked at the position of his teammates first. If his teammates were in a better position, he would pass the ball selflessly, instead of engraving the idea of hurrying to score a goal on his mind like in the first half.
Sometimes, the game is so magical that the more you want to score a goal, the less likely you are to do so.
But when you calm down, scoring goals becomes easier.
In the 56th minute, Vieira launched an attack and Lin Feng took the ball on the left side of the rib, attracting several Sparta players to defend.
They have figured out that Lin Feng is the core of Inter Milan's formation. As long as this guy can play comfortably, their goal will be in danger!
Therefore, it is necessary to put enough pressure on Lin Feng to make him feel uncomfortable when kicking.
As long as Lin Feng's performance can be restricted, Inter Milan's offensive threat will be reduced by at least half.
The opponent's reaction was within Lin Feng's expectations. Although he had the opportunity to complete the pass in the first place and avoid being double-teamed by the opponent, Lin Feng deliberately slowed down the pace, as if he was waiting for the opponent to complete the double-team on him.
Just when two Sparta players, one in front and one behind, completed the encirclement of Lin Feng, Lin Feng suddenly passed the ball through the gap between people to Figo on the right.
Figo didn't think twice and quickly cut in from the right side and dribbled into the penalty area.
Figo's charge attracted the attention of the opponent's full-backs and center-backs, and Lin Feng took away the defensive players in the middle, resulting in a brief gap in Sparta's position at the front of their own penalty area.
Torres seized the opportunity, but instead of running to the open space, he rushed diagonally into the penalty area.
Before running, Torres was thinking:
If a teammate is able to find this gap and receive the pass from Figo at this time, how should he move so that the teammate who receives the ball at the front of the penalty area can see his position and pass the ball to him?
Torres thought of a solution, which was to pretend to run behind another central defender of the opposing team, and then suddenly turn back. This way he could temporarily get rid of the defender's defense and get the opportunity to handle the ball and shoot.
But this requires sufficient tacit understanding among teammates, otherwise, his eyes will be thrown to a blind man.
But the person who appeared in the empty space in the middle was Vieira. Vieira's skills and football IQ were impeccable. After seeing Torres's running position, he chose to pass the ball to Toni immediately.
Torres secretly thought that it was a good pass, stopped the ball 11 meters in front of the goal and half-volleyed with his right foot, sending the ball into the goal again.
The score became 4:0 and Torres also scored.
After this goal was scored, the game basically entered garbage time.
Mancini immediately began to make substitutions. The fact that the team had so many injuries and suspensions at the beginning of the season sounded a wake-up call for him.
The rotation was not very good last season, which led to widespread injuries at the end of the season.
Inter Milan has goals on three fronts this season, so they must pay more attention to the impact of injuries.
Although it is fun to use the main lineup, it would be even more sour if the main players were injured, especially the players in key positions!
So in the 58th minute, Inter Milan made an early substitution.
Veteran Figo was the first to be substituted. His condition was still good, but he was old after all, so he had to use the little fuel in the tank sparingly.
After Figo was substituted, the situation on the field was still under Inter Milan's control. Seeing this, Mancini replaced Lin Feng and Zanetti in the 65th and 70th minutes respectively.
Lin Feng was replaced because his position was too critical and no one in the team could replace him.
The reason for replacing Zanetti is that this season Zanetti is the jack of all trades in Inter Milan. He can play in all four positions in the back line and as a defensive midfielder. Such a player has a heavy task on his shoulders. In addition, Zanetti is not young anymore, so Mancini feels that he needs to take better care of such a veteran.
(End of this chapter)
