By the 35th minute, Napoli had 10 shots, 57% ball possession, and 5 corner kicks. At this rate, they might have 25 shots at Roma's goal throughout the game.
Mourinho was very satisfied as he watched his players being pressed into the penalty area and attacked wildly by Napoli.
It seems that the harder the other party hits, the happier he is...
Cesco kept running near the midfield line, waiting for his teammates behind him to pass the ball after every successful defense.
But every time he cleared the ball with a long kick, Napoli continued to control the ball and launched another attack.
Cesco calculated that he had only had one chance to touch the ball in the ten minutes since Mourinho received the yellow card...
Ramani, who was closely guarding him, even started chatting with him to reduce his concentration.
On the left, Insigne got the ball again.
The conceited man never challenged Chen Xiaoliang for a duel since he failed in his last attempt to dribble past him.
After dribbling a few times on the left and finding no good route, he passed the ball to Rui behind him and ran to the right.
After Rui received the ball, he immediately made a large move and passed the ball to Di Lorenzo on the right.
Since there was no one pressing him, Di Lorenzo stopped the ball elegantly with the instep of his foot, and the ball fell high up and landed steadily on the ground in an instant as if it was sucked to his feet.
Napoli started trying to break through on the right again.
After Insigne came over, the number of attacking players on the right reached 4.
Abraham pounced.
But the new European Cup champion's main right-back is now in his prime at the age of 27, which is the peak period when his physical strength, technology and experience are integrated together.
How could he, who defeated England in the final, take seriously someone who couldn't even make it into the England national team?
Facing Abraham's interception, he pulled the ball with his left foot, pushed it with his right foot to Insigne who had changed position, and then made a forward move.
Abraham thought Di Lorenzo was going to make a one-two and immediately stepped back.
But Insigne passed the ball back to Di Lorenzo who was still in position.
Abraham realized he had been tricked and tried to steal the ball again.
Just as his center of gravity moved forward, Di Lorenzo accelerated in disguise and passed him!
Abraham quickly turned around and chased after him!
But he found that Di Lorenzo, who had accelerated, had already left him several body lengths behind!
For Napoli, which is heavily armed, they have many ways to get past Roma's defenders on the wing, and it is too easy to do it by using more people against fewer people in a certain area.
Seeing that Di Lorenzo had another chance, Osimen immediately ran forward in the penalty area!
Zielinski also immediately moved forward, running diagonally in the penalty area, intending to disrupt Roma's zonal marking.
The two midfielders Anguiza and Ruiz both pressed near the top of the penalty area.
Both of them were trying their best to avoid Chen Xiaoliang!
Di Lorenzo passed the ball to Insigne in front of him!
Insigne was a little impatient. Even facing Juventus' experienced defense, their fierce attack was invincible, and they finally won 1-2 away.
But today Roma's bus was really disgusting, they almost lined up the players in front of the goal to block it.
An attacker like him certainly likes a situation where both sides attack each other. This way, it would be like two skilled heavy-armored knights dueling to decide the winner.
But now it feels like chopping an old turtle with a sharp knife.
Although it looks lively and the noise is loud, it has no effect at all.
On the contrary, the knife-wielding man's hands were sore from chopping...there wasn't even a crack on the turtle shield.
But when you are not paying attention, this old turtle will suddenly stretch out its head and try to bite you. Although the accuracy rate is not high, it is quite scary.
What is this!
It's simply anti-modern football!
Thinking in his mind, Insigne started and went to the junction of Roma's central defender and defensive midfielder in the penalty area.
Seeing him rushing in, other Napoli players rushed into the penalty area, trying to find an open space to support him!
Insigne, who was cutting from the left, was blocked by Veretout and Ibanez, so he cut to the right and rushed to the bottom line!
Ibanez follows up!
The small restricted area is a deadly area that must not be violated!
Insigne suddenly raised his right foot, as if he was going to shoot with great force!
Ibanez quickly blocked the route and Patricio also blocked the near corner!
When my foot touched the ball, it instantly became soft!
A half-high cross!
Napoli hasn't passed the ball high in several attacks!
“Middle!”
"Jump!"
"Head shot!"
"It was Koulibaly who rushed into the penalty area to compete for a header!"
"Coulibaly!"
"It's a pity it's a little off!"
"This sudden change and header made Roma's defense break out in a cold sweat!"
"Look at the replay! Chen Xiaoliang interfered with Koulibaly closely! He prevented him from hitting the right spot!"
"Goal kick for Roma!"
Although he failed to score again, Spalletti was very satisfied with his players' patient performance.
He knew that the players were following the routines they had learned in training and were constantly trying to find ways to score.
If the inverted triangle from the wing doesn't work, then try to shoot at a small angle. If the small angle shot doesn't work, then try to get a corner kick or a set piece. If the set piece doesn't work, then try a long shot from the middle. If the long shot from the middle doesn't work, then try a half-high cross.
In short, in Spalletti's eyes, the game has been completely incorporated into Napoli's rhythm.
After all, they had to attack ten times before Rome could launch a counterattack once.
In his football philosophy, offense is the best defense, and no matter how tenacious the defense is, there will always be loopholes.
In this way, Napoli controlled the ball and Roma retreated; Napoli attacked both flanks, and Roma counterattacked with long passes in the middle whenever they had the chance.
Two completely different football styles ushered in the ultimate showdown in Serie A!
In the live broadcast room, the comments were also hotly discussing the game:
[Roma only had two decent attacks, and they were really lucky to be ahead]
[Naples is really good. Compared with Roma's last game against Juventus, it is normal for Juventus to lose to Naples]
[The geese really wanted to win the game, and they didn't care about their dignity. Who would care about getting 3 points like this? ]
[What? Who said that winning by counterattack doesn't count as winning? If you don't like it, don't watch it. I beg you to come and watch it? ]
[Thank you for your hard work, Heizi, staying up late at night and working diligently to blacken Mu's Rome]
[Napoli has several fans in China. I think many of them came tonight just to wait for Roma to lose so they can gloat over it.]
The online world is like this. There is no cost to typing on the keyboard, and anything can become the fuse for mutual abuse.
Football is a sport that is full of topics in itself, and coupled with Mourinho's controversial personality, the conflicts will naturally be magnified doubly.
Over the years, whether at Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid or Manchester United, his personality and success have attracted a large number of loyal fans who follow him everywhere, but his controversial behavior has also attracted many black fans who hate him in the opponent camp.
As the number of fans increases, the number of black fans also continues to grow.
The same thing happens to Messi and Ronaldo's fanatical fans.
It seems that only by trampling one down to the ground and condemning him to eternal infamy can the other be elevated to the eternal altar of the king of football.
Soon, the barrage became a place for two groups of fans to quarrel with each other.
However, on the court, no matter how Spalletti and Mourinho compete with each other at this moment, their goal is to win, and the scope of the struggle is limited to the game!
However, in the live broadcast room of the local Italian media, Cafu and Cannavaro, who were guests and also legendary players of the two teams, spoke highly of both head coaches.
Although they also agreed that both teams are still a long way from their historical peak, they both said that they are moving on the right track.
Compared with the scene, the result is more important. In competitive sports, the result always comes first.
Both football legends mentioned one thing.
In the 2006 World Cup final, how many people still remember the number of shots ?
How many people remember how many threatening passes Zidane made and how many shots he made into the goal?
Almost everyone who remembers that game recalls Zidane headbutting Materazzi and Italy finally winning the World Cup.
On the field, as if receiving praise from the head coach, Napoli continuously attacked Roma's two flanks again and again.
The offensive player in the middle kept moving back and forth in the penalty area.
Insigne and Di Lorenzo flew left and right, serving as the offensive engines on both wings.
Another 10 minutes passed, and in the 45th minute, Napoli had 14 shots, although only 4 of them were on target.
However, as a legendary central defender, Cannavaro pointed out sharply that Napoli's offensive effectiveness was too low because their center was completely blocked.
Only the two wingers were unable to break through Roma's dense penalty area defense.
Although he is a former player of Napoli today, his speech did not favor his old club. Instead, Cafu has been praising Roma's temperament, which has been significantly sublimated due to the arrival of Mourinho.
On the field, Napoli's two midfielders Ruiz and Anguiza were also depressed.
One is good at through passes, the other is good at dribbling and steals.
The question is where to pass the ball… where to dribble… and who to steal the ball from…
The only thing they have to do is to act as passers of the football between the left and right.
A lot of time was spent passing the ball from Insigne to Di Lorenzo, and then passing the ball from Di Lorenzo to Insigne.
Without depth, the speed advantage cannot be brought into play. In addition, there is a defensive maniac standing in the middle. Not only are his tackles fierce and accurate, but even his close defense makes people extremely uncomfortable. What can they use to break through the middle?
Hit with your head? Heading is not good...
In Hongguo’s live broadcast room, as the first half was about to end, Shi Qingsheng and Liu Yue also started a discussion.
Mourinho's tactics against Napoli today were almost the same as those against Juventus in the last game, but today because Napoli are in better form this season, the team did a more thorough job.
Allowing a team without the ability to stand and compete for headers to pass the ball high is like trying to find a needle in a haystack for their offense.
Scientific research has shown that football players who use a lot of heading have a much higher chance of developing Alzheimer's disease after the age of 60 than ordinary people.
Related research was published in the well-known journal "Neuropathology" as early as 2017. The United States and other countries began to strictly limit the number of headers for youth training players, and even children under the age of 11 are not allowed to practice heading specifically.
And those names that have gone down in the history of football - Gerd Muller, Puskas, Bobby Charlton and others - all suffered from this terminal disease in their old age.
But like many jobs, this is a potential risk that must be faced.
Compared to many sports, such as racing and fighting, the risks associated with football are very small.
However, these are just discussions between the commentators. On the court, who would care about these at this moment?
Finally, after the referee's whistle, the half-time game ended.
Napoli used an extremely oppressive performance to avoid the embarrassing situation of falling behind by one goal away from home.
The Roma players breathed a sigh of relief and walked into the player tunnel with their heads held high to the cheers of the home fans.
During the 15-minute halftime break, the two head coaches were faced with a new challenge.
Both of them know that the other person is likely to change, but they don't know whether they should change or not.
Insigne encouraged his teammates in the locker room and suggested to Spalletti that they must play more threatening football.
His words were rather euphemistic, but his meaning was very clear, which was to let more players press forward.
Otherwise, it would be difficult to break through Rome's iron defense with only 5-6 people.
A header expert like Koulibaly should make frequent headers like he did with the header just now.
Mourinho expected that Napoli would press even harder in the second half in order to gain league points and continue their winning streak.
Should he let the two wingers reduce their involvement in defense, move up fully, and increase the threat of counterattacks to prevent the opponent's backcourt from joining the attack?
The two famous coaches were thinking about how to make the decision and what to choose after weighing the pros and cons.
To some extent, the game entered a real bloody battle from this moment on.
The 15-minute break passed in a flash, and soon the two teams changed sides and reappeared on the court!
Fans of both teams were pleasantly surprised to find that both teams took a more open approach to the game in the second half.
Roma's counterattack was no longer just Cesco fighting alone, Abraham and Zaniolo also stepped up.
However, Napoli did not retreat to the midfield and backcourt. The two full-backs Di Lorenzo and Rui still frequently pressed into the Roma penalty area to support the attack. Koulibaly repeatedly rushed into the penalty area to try to compete for the header, leaving only Ramani as a central defender to keep a close eye on Cesco.
Both sides have the idea that if they fail, they will die!
55th minute of the game.
Napoli continued to pass the ball to Insigne on the left.
The Italian meritorious player once again demonstrated his skillful control of the ball. After a little effort to shake off Mkhitaryan, he sprinted into the penalty area with the ball.
Koulibaly's pressure diverted a lot of Roma's defensive attention, and even forced Chen Xiaoliang's defensive position to move further back!
Facing Veretout's blockade, Insigne made three consecutive fake bicycle moves, suddenly kicked his right foot, leaned his whole body to the right, and cut inside quickly!
Wellertu had no choice but to chase after him desperately.
He didn't dare to make a tackle, as a foul would make all the team's defensive efforts go to waste!
What's more, Signe is only 163cm tall and his pace is so tight that even Chen Xiaoliang doesn't dare to make a tackle easily.
And Chen Xiaoliang is guarding in the middle, so it’s no big deal to let him go!
Just when Veretout was thinking, suddenly, Insigne cut inside and passed the ball!
He hit a high ball, which just went over Mancini's head!
It was a pass to the far post!
The Roma players couldn't help but follow the ball and look towards the far post, wanting to see who was there ready to receive the ball and attack, and which teammate was guarding there to deal with it!
But there was no one at the far post!
not good!
This is a lob shot!
Although the ball was not moving fast, it was shot very suddenly, and the technique of pretending to be a cross caused Patricio to be a step late in making the save!
His fingertips blocked it!
The ball bounced off the inside of the goal post and still went into the goal!
In the 11th minute of the second half and the 56th minute of the game, Insigne equalized the score with his personal ability and the attraction and containment of his teammates!
Spalletti raised his fists excitedly and celebrated loudly!
On the other side, Mourinho crossed his hands in front of his chest, looking dissatisfied!
Napoli's repeated flank attacks and the strategy of increasing the number of players on the field in the second half finally paid off!
After scoring the goal, Insigne ran to the corner flag to celebrate, and was then surrounded by his teammates.
After celebrating, Insigne did not forget to stare at Chen Xiaoliang for a while.
His eyes are full of provocation!
It seems to be saying, your defense is indeed very good, but I finally broke through it!
Veretout cursed repeatedly in his heart, because he scored a goal because he was dribbled past, and it was such a wonderful lob shot.
For the next few days, I would be used as the background for the goal, played repeatedly on the computers of thousands of households...
In Rome, where there are many tall players, Veretout's height of 177cm is considered short, and he is not even qualified to enter the penalty area during set pieces.
The 163cm tall Insigne only reached his shoulders when standing next to him.
At this moment, Weletu wanted to step on any short person he saw.
So annoying!
Liu Yue: "Napoli has equalized the score. Next time, their attack will be more relaxed and they will pay more attention to the balance between offense and defense. The space left for Roma to counterattack will be greatly reduced."
Shi Qingsheng: "Does this mean that Roma's defensive pressure will be reduced?"
Liu Yue: “On the contrary, judging from the positions of Roma’s two wingers in the second half, Mourinho obviously knew that he couldn’t just rely on defense and wanted to expand the score.
At this time, from leading to being equalized, if they still want to win, they must increase their pressure on Napoli and cannot let the opponent control the ball like they did in the first half, otherwise they will have even fewer opportunities to counterattack.
Once the pressure is on, the dense defense in the middle will have loopholes, and Napoli, who can do whatever they want on both sides, will definitely make full use of this to play some offensive routines that were not possible before. "