Chapter 284 Tell me loudly, whose territory is Meazza?
The game continued, and Inter Milan played an all-out attack and defense under the instructions of Inzaghi.
Ten players rushed forward like a tide in the offense, and then retreated at full speed in the transition between offense and defense.
This kind of kicking is indeed very lethal, but it consumes too much physical strength. If you kick well, you will hurt the enemy by 1,000 and lose 800 of your own money. If you kick badly, you will hurt the enemy by 800 and lose 1,000 of your own money.
The most hard-working player on Inter Milan's side, apart from the furious Barella, was Lukaku. The striker was everywhere in the penalty area, on the right side, in the midfield, whether in attack or defense. Under his leadership, Lautaro also ran actively, constantly harassing Mancini and Matic who were passing the ball.
Faced with this oppressive style of play, Chen Xiaoliang retreated significantly, almost forming a three-midfielder combination with Enzo and Matic, with Matic, who had poor mobility, in the middle, Chen Xiaoliang blocking the left, and Enzo assisting in defending the right.
This change made Inter Milan's right side very uncomfortable. The original routine of high-altitude passes to Lukaku became difficult to work under the double defense of Chen Xiaoliang and Guevadiol. Inter Milan gradually shifted the focus of attack to the left half.
In the 31st minute, Lautaro retreated to the left side outside the penalty area to receive the ball. After adjusting, he faced his national team teammate Enzo, took a strong step forward to create space and shot from a distance. However, Mancini blocked the ball with his body and the ball went out of the baseline. Inter Milan got a corner kick.
Dimarco took a corner kick from the left, and Bastoni headed the ball over the bar, beating Mancini.
Two minutes later, Inter Milan attacked the left half again. This time, Dimarco made a one-two combination with Calhanoglu on the wing, but Spinazzola was not completely shaken off. Dimarco passed the ball back to Calhanoglu, who made a lob pass without stopping. Lautaro on the penalty area line suddenly moved forward the moment the ball came. Mancini's reaction and starting speed could not keep up with the Argentine's pace.
Lautaro received the ball near the baseline and swept the ball into the small penalty area with his left foot before falling to the ground. Lukaku held on to Guevadiol who was defending him with his right hand, rushed forward and shot with his left foot!
At this distance, unless the ball hits the body, it is impossible to expect the goalkeeper to react!
Gvadiol predicted ahead of time and stretched out his left foot towards the ball despite the foul situation. He just managed to touch the bottom of the ball before it was shot out, causing this powerful shot to go over the crossbar!
This goal was equivalent to helping the team score another goal. Enzo excitedly rushed over and pushed Gvardiol, shouting words to vent his emotions. Patricio also patted the Croatian central defender who saved him to express his gratitude.
Unlike Roma's relief, Lukaku was shocked! He hugged his shiny bald head with both hands, stared at the goal with wide eyes, and stood up after a while to give Lautaro a thumbs up.
Inter Milan got another corner kick, and for a moment there was a panic in front of the Roma goal.
Dimarco's corner kick was sent to the front point again. This time, the double towers of Skriniar and Bastoni competed for the header. Bastoni, who had just made a threatening header, jumped first against Matic's defense. As a result, the ball passed over his head and attracted the first point of defensive attention for Skriniar behind him.
Skriniar then jumped to compete for the header, but Mancini's attention was attracted by Bastoni and he reacted a beat slowly, allowing the Inter Milan center back to make a powerful header from the left side of the penalty spot!
Again, within the penalty spot, the goalkeeper will not have time to react to any powerful shot.
Seeing that the city gate was in danger, something happened that no one had expected. The ball hit Lukaku's head hard and flew high over the crossbar like a big kick!
Skriniar ran back, raising his hands and waving them helplessly.
When the ball hit him just now, Lukaku subconsciously protected himself and hugged his head. At this moment, he looked confused. He turned his head to look at his teammates, not knowing whether to cry or laugh.
The referee Massaro directly ruled that the ball was offside and Roma took a goal kick.
In the live broadcast room, the three words "Chuzhu King" were suddenly all over the screen.
The players on the Roma bench couldn't help it either. They looked at each other in disbelief at first, and then covered their mouths and laughed at Lukaku's embarrassment. In contrast, there was a long sigh from Inzaghi on the Inter Milan bench.
In the following 10 minutes, Inter Milan maintained this all-out attack and defense posture until 40 minutes later, when they began to retreat to the backcourt and adjust their rhythm due to severe physical exhaustion.
Roma also consumed a lot of energy in defense, and the two teams ultimately failed to create more sparks in the first half.
However, in the 47th minute, when the referee Massaro had put the whistle in his mouth and was ready to blow the halftime whistle, Acerbi kicked Spinazzola's cross out of the penalty area with a big foot. The ball flew far to the midfield, and Barrera who was moving forward to meet the ball and Chen Xiaoliang who was moving backward to meet the ball once again came into close combat.
Even though the first half was about to end and the whistle would probably be blown when the ball hit the ground, the two men still refused to give in when they saw the other coming.
Barrera used his body to push Chen Xiaoliang and secretly pulled Chen Xiaoliang's jersey to prevent him from jumping properly. Chen Xiaoliang put his hands on Barrera's shoulders and pushed him down hard.
As a result, when the ball fell, neither of them was able to jump up properly, but they both stretched their heads, tightened their abdomens, and exerted strength in their waists and backs, and used their heads to hit the ball heavily.
Both of them hit the ball, but neither of them hit the right spot. They only grazed the bottom of the ball. Not only did they fail to relieve the force, but they also caused their heads to collide with each other.
"Beep, beep, beep!" Knowing that these two guys were getting angry tonight, Massaro immediately blew the whistle and rushed over to separate the two.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the teammates also ran over and pulled each other.
Barrera complained to the referee that Chen Xiaoliang attacked him, and Chen Xiaoliang pointed his right index finger at Barrera, meaning "What are you talking about?"
The two were eventually separated by the referee and teammates and entered the locker room in the player tunnel one after another.
As soon as Chen Xiaoliang entered the locker room, he took a towel and covered his head. He kept covering his forehead with both hands, cursing in his heart: "Fuck, it hurts so much! Fuck!"
The same thing happened to Barella. He was cursing in the player tunnel one second ago, looking like he was ready to rush into the Roma locker room and beat up Chen Xiaoliang at any time. The next second he entered the locker room, picked up the ice pack he used for his legs and put it on his head. He leaned against the locker and buried his face in his hands, moaning in his mouth. He wanted to shout in pain but forced himself to hold it back. His teammates on the side were laughing and shaking their heads.
In the Roma locker room, Chen Xiaoliang just felt someone hit his butt with something. He lifted the towel and saw it was Mourinho.
"That's a bit too deliberate. You're just teasing him, but he won't eat any cards. You might end up getting hurt."
Chen Xiaoliang covered his head and nodded. When the players next to him saw that the head coach was joking, they immediately joined in the fun.
Spinazzola: "Captain, it seems that you are not hard-headed either! Haha!"
Cesco: "Why not? Our captain has already hit one with his head today!"
Gwadiol: "That's because he had a good posture. He just turned his head sideways and stabbed it in."
Chen Xiaoliang threw the towel on Gwadior's head and said, "Hey, I'll go. You can deal with that fat black guy by yourself in the second half."
After all the players arrived, Mourinho arranged the tactics. He said that Inter Milan would definitely try every means to counterattack in the second half. Judging from the way they played at the end of the first half, it is very likely that they will continue to use Lautaro's speed to play the ball behind Mancini in the second half, and directly kick the ball into the penalty area or to the side for Lukaku to hold the ball on Guevadiol's side.
If Dzeko comes on after 60 minutes, Lukaku will most likely be substituted, and then it will be a real combination of one tall and one fast, and the frequency of crosses and headers from both sides will be greatly increased.
Mourinho's tactical arrangement was to defend a few times in the second half, use small counterattacks to consume the physical strength of Inter Milan's two wingers, and then launch an attack after 66 minutes, trying to score another goal to completely end the game.
But before returning to the game, there is a small episode.
Forti asked Chen Xiaoliang to stay for a while and was the last one to leave the locker room. After everyone else had left, he took out the cell phone gave it to Chen Xiaoliang.
"Chen, the staff said your phone was vibrating a while ago, would you like to take a look?"
Chen Xiaoliang was a little surprised. According to the team rules set by Mourinho, players must hand over their mobile phones to the property manager half an hour before the start of the game for safekeeping and return them to the players after the game. This is also to prevent the players' minds from being influenced by the outside world.
He took the phone from Forti, unlocked it and saw that it was Boss Wu who called him. He was the second largest shareholder and financial sponsor of the club. No wonder Forti made an exception.
This rule was formulated to prevent players from being interfered with by outsiders. Boss Wu is a member of the club and cannot be considered an outsider.
Chen Xiaoliang saw that Boss Wu had sent another message, which was not long:
"We got the news from the Imperial Capital that the matter has already begun and will have a result soon. You can participate in the competition with peace of mind."
Boss Wu is from Hong Kong, and he typed in traditional Chinese characters, which Forti couldn't understand at all: "Nothing important, right?"
Chen Xiaoliang smiled, locked the phone and handed it to him again: "It's okay, it's not worth mentioning."
At the start of the second half, just as Mourinho expected, Inter Milan passed the ball behind on the left and kicked a high ball on the right.
Especially on the right side, Lukaku chose to avoid Gvardiol and completely pulled to the wing to find the short Malasia to match up. On the contrary, the right wingback Dumfries frequently moved inward to attack the middle.
Lukaku is indeed difficult to defend when he is pulled to the wing. Malaysia was completely shaken off by his explosive dribbling in several one-on-one confrontations.
His dribbling past opponents is not like Chen Xiaoliang's, who relies purely on speed to overtake. Although Lukaku is not slow at all, his weight is still difficult to deal with. Once he is stuck, even pulling or pulling may not stop Lukaku.
As a last resort, Chen Xiaoliang came over to help Malaysia double-team, leaving Barella to Matic.
As a result, without Chen Xiaoliang's zone marking, Barrera began to become active in the midfield.
Finally, in the 55th minute, he dribbled the ball diagonally from the right side of the midfield to the left side in front of Matic, then made a straight pass with his left foot. Dimarco came in from behind Mancini and received the ball. He made a triangle pass inside, and Lautaro followed up with a shot. This time the Argentine did not waste the opportunity. Although Patricio's fingertips touched the ball, the ball was too fast and flew into the goal with almost no change of direction.
Inter Milan 1-2 Roma, scored a goal!
Barrera, the key figure who instigated this attack, was so excited after scoring the goal that he ran behind the goal and yelled at the fans in the stands. The veins on his face and neck bulged, and his right hand kept pointing at the ground:
"I want to let the Nerazzurri in the stands know who has the final say at San Siro!"
When Chen Xiaoliang saw Barrera's arrogant look, he really wanted to summon Suarez to bite him.
However, he knew that he couldn't continue playing like this. As it is now, Lukaku has diverted too much defensive attention and he cannot take care of other places. Enzo has to deal with the ball behind Lautaro on the other side. The two are trapped on both sides at the same time, which is equivalent to handing over the control of the midfield.
Mourinho, who was watching from the sidelines, saw the situation more clearly and also noticed the problem, so he started making substitutions.
Dybala replaced Cesco, who was in average form after recovering from injury, Zalewski replaced Pellegrini, and Cristante replaced Matic.
On the other side, Inzaghi, who had just scored a goal, chose to stay put and wait and see how the game progressed before deciding whether to make a substitution.
However, Dzeko, Correa, Mkhitaryan, Gosens and others have already warmed up on the sidelines.
Although Zalewski's appearance reduced the offensive options on the right side, the defensive pressure in front of Spinazzola was greatly reduced. The Polish teenager's frequent retreats to defend, especially the pressure on Calhanoglu who had the ball, allowed Enzo to calmly deal with Lautaro's movements near the penalty area.
At the same time, Cristante was dedicated to helping Malaysia double-team Lukaku, allowing Chen Xiaoliang to free up his hands to return to the central midfielder position and put pressure on the opponent's offensive organization from the midfield.
It can be said that Mourinho's first adjustment was to temporarily suppress Inter Milan's attack by replacing them with energetic substitutes.
Although the running distance in this game was not very high, several close combats with Lukaku consumed a lot of Chen Xiaoliang's physical strength. He also rarely used the physical recovery card in less than 60 minutes.
Stamina recovery card 5→4
If the goal just now allowed Barrera to see the possibility of turning the game around in the match with Chen Xiaoliang, then the physical input and output at this moment completely turned the situation in a direction that could not be changed.
Chen Xiaoliang started the midfield sweep mode.
Asllani was fooled by Kvart several times, and Dybala, who had just come on, did not stand in the penalty area like Cesco, but frequently wandered around the front of the penalty area looking for gaps, which made Asllani even more afraid to leave his defense area.
Inter Milan's midfield organization and advancement are completely handed over to Calhanoglu and Barella.
They played for more than 60 minutes, including a part of the time spent on all-out attack and defense, which significantly slowed down the speed of the "King of Ball" whose physical fitness was already weak.
Although Barrera was still full of energy, he could not withstand Chen Xiaoliang's full-blooded interceptions.
For this reason, in the 63rd minute, when Chen Xiaoliang jumped to intercept Bastoni's long pass from the backcourt, Barrera, who was unable to compete with Chen Xiaoliang in height, could only reach out and push him. Finally, the good-tempered Massaro couldn't bear it anymore and showed him the first yellow card of the game.
In the 66th minute, seeing that the situation in the midfield was unfavorable and the game was still one goal behind, Inzaghi changed the formation, replacing Calhanoglu with Correa and Bastoni with Gosens, while letting Dumfries and Dimarco on both wings retreat.
In this way, Inter Milan's defense became a four-back combination with two central defenders. Asllani continued to be the single defensive midfielder, Gosens and Barrera formed a new midfield combination, and Joaquin Correa served as the left forward among the three forwards.
As for Lukaku… Inzaghi was really conflicted for a while. Replacing him meant that there was one less fulcrum in the frontcourt that could get the ball, but if he stayed, he would always stay out of the penalty area… Occasionally, when he stayed out, he even blocked a teammate’s header that was sure to go in… It would be better to just let him play as the right forward among the three forwards, and let him play to the side if he wants…
Zhang Lu: "I just don't understand Lukaku's style of play. Why does a striker who weighs nearly 200 pounds, has a strong body, speed and impact always like to play on the wing, leaving Lautaro in the middle, who is not tall enough to serve as a fulcrum?"
"I really don't understand this. If Belgium plays like this in this year's World Cup, unless they don't play him and have better options, I think it will be difficult for them to go far."
Zhan Jun: "Zhang Zhi, ever since he partnered with Mourinho at Manchester United and gained weight, he often likes to move on the wing, so he is nicknamed professional winger Lukaku!"
Zhang Lu: "This reminds me of Arsenal's center forward Adebayor during Wenger's time. In the Champions League that year, he was also like this. He had a strong body, speed and bounce, but he insisted on crossing the ball from the wing, and then let his teammates in the middle who were short and had no confrontation rush to the top. I don't know if it was an intentional arrangement by the coach or the player's own improvisation on the field. Anyway, I think it is very unreasonable."
In the 69th minute, with the cooperation of Gosens, Inter Milan reorganized its position to the front of Roma's penalty area.
But this also means entering Chen Xiaoliang's hunting range.
Barrera dribbled the ball horizontally from the right side, and Chen Xiaoliang blocked the passing route while constantly approaching him.
They had fought for three games, and even if he was angry, Barrera was not stupid enough to try to break through Chen Xiaoliang by dribbling. He kicked the ball to Gosens on the left side of the midfield.
Enzo, who had been waiting for a long time, came up to him. Seeing this, Chen Xiaoliang immediately rushed over to double-team him. Spinazzola on the wing immediately locked onto Correa's route to receive the ball.
With no outlet, Gosens had to pull the ball and turn around to take it back, but Enzo refused to give way and Chen Xiaoliang was approaching. He wanted to pass the ball back to left-back Dimarco, but Zalewski was blocking him in the middle. He wanted to pass the ball back to midfielder Asllani, but the distance was too far and Dybala was lingering nearby.
So Gosens could only carry the ball back, hoping to create space and reorganize the team.
Chen Xiaoliang waved his hand, telling Enzo not to leave the defense zone, and he chased after him closely.
He ran, he chased, but he couldn't fly away.
Helpless Gosens was ready to pass the ball back to right-back Dumfries from the midfield, but due to Chen Xiaoliang's close pursuit, the ball just missed. When he looked down, he saw that Chen Xiaoliang had already kicked the ball to Zalewski who came back to double-team him.
Gosens, who had just reacted, was about to rush forward to steal the ball, but Zalewski had already pushed it horizontally to the middle and passed it to Chen Xiaoliang who was already moving forward.
Aslani took his position in advance and started jogging, trying to keep up with Chen Xiaoliang's pace.
At the same time, Dybala returned to the penalty area and inserted into the junction of left center back Acerbi and left back Dimarco.
Chen Xiaoliang did not pass the ball immediately, but continued to dribble the ball diagonally from the right half of the field towards the top of the penalty area in the middle.
Aslani approached the defense, Chen Xiaoliang kicked the ball to the left with his right foot, and with a push of his left foot, he accelerated and Aslani had to turn around and speed up to barely catch up.
Aslani took action and put his hand on Chen Xiaoliang's right shoulder, trying to end the fight outside the penalty area, even if it was a foul, he had to do it outside the penalty area.
But Chen Xiaoliang swung his right hand and knocked off his left arm, but he continued to move forward with the ball.
One is chasing, the other is waiting.
There was no immature Aslani in Chen Xiaoliang's eyes at all. In the compact few seconds, he kept looking at Inter Milan's goal, always showing an attitude of "get closer, get closer, and I will take a long shot."
Finally, seeing that they were approaching the penalty area, Barella behind him spared no effort to chase back, and Skriniar in front of him rushed out with his center of gravity to double-team Chen Xiaoliang with Asllani and Barella, while Dumfries on the right also moved inwards, ready to make up for the defense at any time.
In just this moment, Chen Xiaoliang attracted nearly half of Inter Milan's defense. His eyes suddenly turned from the goal to the front left, and then he kicked the ball with his left foot!
The ball passed between Skriniar and Dumfries exactly!
Kwa, who had been waiting for a long time, suddenly started and successfully made an offside move from the right rear outside position of Dumfries. When Dumfries turned around to chase, Kwa had already dribbled the ball into the penalty area on the left!
Seeing that the full-back had been broken through, Skriniar had to give up Chen Xiaoliang and turned around and rushed towards Kva!
Near the end line, Handanovic had already moved to the near post to block the ball. Kva had no space to shoot. He took a few more steps and raised his left foot to pass the ball before Dumfries and Skriniar got close!
At that moment, Dybala, who was next to Acerbi, suddenly moved forward, ready to grab the ball in front of the goal! Although Acerbi was taller and less flexible, he also tried his best to block the inside line and defend.
Handanovic's center of gravity also lowered instantly, and he made a defensive posture ready to fly and save the ball at any time!
With his left foot down, Kwa unexpectedly kicked a half-high ball towards the penalty spot!
The same fear fell upon Barrera's head again. He found again that Chen Xiaoliang, who had paused after passing the ball and was clearly blocked behind him, was missing again!
As my eyes followed the flight trajectory of the ball, I could clearly see the glaring red number 33 near the predicted landing point!
Chen Xiaoliang found that the ball was a little too big, but it didn’t matter. He and his Georgian left winger teammate had already established an unparalleled tacit understanding during the three months of training and extra practice!
The bonus of tacit understanding, plus the skill [Excellent at Difficult Shots], plus the completely empty penalty spot after the center back was taken away by two teammates, are enough to give him enough adjustment space to complete a high-quality shot!
Chen Xiaoliang slowed down slightly, raised his left hand and drew a semicircle to his left side, helping his body to lean to the left as much as possible.
Then he kicked off with his left leg and jumped into the air, with his right leg almost parallel to the ground, and the sole of his right foot hit the center of the falling ball!
Everyone on the bench of both teams involuntarily lifted their buttocks off their seats, and then opened their mouths slightly involuntarily in a mood of anticipation and nervousness, the only difference was that one side was expecting a goal, while the other side was expecting not to score!
Kick, ball flies, goal breaks!
Chen Xiaoliang, who fell to the ground, jumped up immediately and looked back at the referee. He saw Massaro whistled and pointed to the center circle!
This time, he flew sideways into the air, and even Chen Xiaoliang, who was usually calm after scoring a goal, couldn't help but rush to the sidelines!
In the broadcasting rooms of various countries, the commentators exclaimed at the same time:
“Incredible goal!!!”
"Unbelievable!!!"
"Le gEnie!!!" (French: genius)
"Magnífico!!!" (Spanish: magnificent)
"miracolo!!!" (Italian: miracle)
"Goal~~~~!!!" (Argentina's signature long-drawn celebration after a goal)
In the live broadcast room of Sky Sports Italy, De Rossi, who was commentating on behalf of Roma, even stood up and slammed the table while shouting! Mihajlovic, who was commentating on behalf of Inter Milan and had just been fired from Bologna, also kept shaking his head.
Not a head shake of denial, but one of disbelief.
His physical condition was not good at the moment due to a relapse of leukemia. If not, he might have stood up and shouted excitedly.
Zhan Jun: "I wonder how many fans in front of the screen are amazed like us at this moment!"
"It was not only Xiaoliang who finally broke through the Nerazzurri's goal with a perfect sideways volley, but also the tacit cooperation with Kvaratskhelia in the straight pass, the diagonal pass behind the back and the inverted triangle pass assist were enough to make the fans linger for a long time!"
"The camera is focused on Barrera! I wonder what he is thinking at this moment!"
Zhang Lu: "Hey, Barrera is the assist king today. It feels like it was under his stimulation that Xiaoliang's offensive desire was completely aroused. He was present in all three goals."
Zhan Jun: "It can be called the king of background boards!"
"Also, Zhang Zhi, let me tell you something scary! After this hat trick, Xiaoliang has scored 6 league goals this season! Not only is he the top scorer in the team, he is also second only to Napoli's Osimhen and Lautaro who just scored a goal in the Serie A scorer list, and is tied with Atalanta's Nigerian striker Lookman for third place in the scorer list! He is currently ranked first among all midfielders in the top five leagues, and he is truly the leader!"
Zhang Lu: "I think Mourinho can consider letting Xiaoliang play as a second center forward, shadow striker, or even an attacking midfielder. Roma's current goals are still too dependent on Cesco. Although this season has the strong support of Kvaratskhelia and Dybala in running and breakthroughs, they still lack someone who can make the final decision in the middle, especially when facing strong teams. Abraham has proved to be useless, at least for now, and his role is definitely not as big as Cesco's."
"But with only one Cesco, the opponent will easily set up targeted defense over time. For example, today, there were three tall central defenders in the penalty area, which basically made it difficult for Roma to send threatening crosses from both sides."
The fans are celebrating, feeling frustrated, the commentators are analyzing, and the audience are reminiscing.
Inzaghi was very annoyed. He rarely cursed at people on the sidelines, but he couldn't help but yell at Asllani and Barrera: "Where are the players?! Where are the players?! What are you doing in defense?! Can you only use your eyes?!"
He turned around and yelled angrily to assistant coach Faris: "Substitution! Substitution! Damn it! If you don't want to play, just replace them all!"
On the field, Chen Xiaoliang, who once again completed a hat trick against Inter Milan, rushed to the stands directly behind Inter Milan's goal, where Roma fans gathered. He waved his hands and shouted to his diehard fans: "Whose territory is Meazza?!"
Although his shout was loud, it was drowned out by the cheers of more than 3,000 Roma fans and the wailing of more than 60,000 Inter Milan fans.
Some fans in the front row heard his shout and answered loudly: "It's Roma!"
Seeing this question and answer, Enzo, Spinazzola, Dybala and others who came over to celebrate also joined in.
Players: "Whose territory is Meazza?"
More Roma fans joined in: "It's Roma !"
At this point, Roma fans stopped cheering and started listening to Chen Xiaoliang yelling, "Louder, I can't hear you!"
Fans: "It's Roma!!!"
Chen Xiaoliang: "Louder!"
The fans pumped their fists and shouted rhythmically: "Roma! Roma! Roma!!!"
