Chapter 285: The impeccable ruler of the Meazza, rushing towards the Golden Ball?
With about 20 minutes left in the game, Inzaghi refused to give up and replaced Dzeko with Asllani, who had already tried his best.
At this time, including Correa roaming on the left, Inter Milan already had four forwards on the field.
Inzaghi kept loudly directing Lukaku to stand in the penalty area. His intention was very obvious, which was to not compete with Roma in the midfield or in transfers, but to directly force the ball into the penalty area and play a high ball.
In the following period, it was difficult to tell which team was coached by Mourinho.
Roma patiently passed the ball back and forth in the midfield and backcourt. Chen Xiaoliang, Enzo and Cristante made a large number of side passes and back passes. Dybala and Kva also repeatedly retreated from the attacking third zone to keep the ball at their disposal despite Inter Milan's pressing.
Once Inter Milan gets the ball in the backcourt, they will directly pass it to the frontcourt. Dzeko and Lukaku will be responsible for standing and competing for the header, while Lautaro and Correa will try to control the second landing point.
If the midfielder gets the ball, he should pass it to the side as soon as possible, and then go to the bottom if he can, otherwise he will pass it directly. If he can't pass it to the side, he will play with the backcourt and pass it to both sides of the penalty area.
This is really a tough time for Mancini, as Dzeko's presence makes him overwhelmed.
Although Dzeko is not young at the age of 36, his height of 193cm and good physical condition allow him to maintain a very good level of jumping, balance and confrontation ability even though his explosive power and speed have seriously declined.
This season, after Lukaku returned and was frequently injured and unable to play, Dzeko contributed 3 goals in the league as a rotation player, which is a good proof.
Dzeko alone was difficult enough, and with Correa and Lautaro running around in the penalty area, Mancini was unable to defend himself.
It just so happened that their three forwards were targeting Mancini's weak spot, while Lukaku was challenging Gvardiol on the other side to act as a distraction.
For a moment, Roma's defensive midfielder had no chance to intercept in the midfield, and he completely transformed into a central defender and retreated into the penalty area, jumping continuously, welcoming the baptism of high-altitude bombing from the Nerazzurri again and again.
In the 76th minute, Dumfries forced a 45-degree cross from the right under the defense of Kwa. Although the ball was not rubbed, it went in and out and turned into a powerful diagonal half-high pass.
Lukaku leaned on Guevadiol on the inside while blocking Malasia on the outside, and he treated the two Roma defenders as pendants on his body, dragging them forward and actually caught the ball that fell over his head.
However, of Lukaku's current market value of 70 million, about 35 million is spent on his abnormally strong body, and the remaining 35 million is a reflection of his footwork and shooting skills. Compared with Abraham, who is worth 50 million euros and is currently sitting on the bench in Roma, the two are really evenly matched in shooting skills and it is difficult to tell who is better.
The fierce confrontation and powerful forward run ended up with the inside of his right foot hitting the outside of the ball, a complete miss. Patricio didn't even need to make a save as the ball bounced softly out of the baseline.
It was a false alarm for Roma and Lukaku himself felt a little regretful, but there was one good thing about him. Although he was double-teamed by Gvardiol and Malacia during the confrontation, and used many small moves such as pulling, tugging, pushing and bumping, after the shot, Lukaku did not vent his anger on his opponents like some forwards, but ran back quietly and gave Dumfries who passed the ball a signature thumbs up.
When Mourinho saw this scene, he couldn't help feeling touched, but now was not the time for him to reminisce. The fourth official had already raised the card, and Smalling came on the field, replacing Spinazzola, who had worked diligently in this game but had a mediocre performance on the right side , and let Zalewski retreat to play as a right-back.
In order to deal with Inter Milan's header tactics, Roma changed to three central defenders.
In the 79th minute, Dzeko headed the ball from the left side of the penalty area. Lautaro and Smalling near the penalty spot failed to get the second point. The ball passed through the two and rolled to the right side of the penalty area. Lukaku faced the frontal block of Gvardiol, swung his left foot and kicked it away again.
Inter Milan's players and coaches on and off the field either held their heads in their hands or waved their hands helplessly.
Compared with the disappointment of the fans at the scene, offensive words such as "war criminal", "waste", "parallel import", and "rough guy" kept emerging in the live broadcast room, all of which were sprayed at Lukaku.
As both defensive midfielders retreated into the penalty area, Chen Xiaoliang, who actually became a single defensive midfielder, could not retreat any further. After all, Inter Milan still had Gosens and Barella in the midfield. If he retreated further, the space in the middle outside the penalty area would be equivalent to handing it over to the opponent. At that time, Inter Milan would not only have to play long passes, but also constantly try long shots in front of the penalty area.
At this point, it all depends on the overall performance of the 11 players on a team.
However, even though the penalty area was under high pressure , Mourinho still kept Dybala and Kvart in the frontcourt. As long as there was an offensive threat, Inter would not push all the central defenders to rush for the ball.
The time passed by every second, which was very torturous for the fans of both sides.
In the 85th minute, Dimarco attacked Zalewski from the left. Although he failed to get past the Pole, he managed to push the ball all the way to the outside of the penalty area on the left.
Dimarco immediately made a cross, but the ball was blocked by Zalewski and went out of the sideline. Then Dimarco quickly sent the ball out of bounds. Taking advantage of the rule that out-of-bounds balls would not trigger offside, Lautaro quietly ran to the left baseline and received Dimarco's hand-thrown ball, then turned around and gently rubbed the ball towards the penalty spot.
When Dzeko played for Manchester City, with Mancini as the head coach and Aguero and Balotelli as his partners, he was an old acquaintance of Smalling who was defending him.
In that classic , the young Smalling was playing as a right back under Sir Alex Ferguson.
At this moment, Dzeko overpowered his old rival again. He took one step and jumped high with his hands open. Taking the lead when jumping, he put his right hand on Smalling's shoulder, and then hit the ball heavily with his forehead.
Although Patricio subconsciously opened his arms as wide as possible and tried to maximize the covering area of his limbs, he still couldn't block this powerful header.
Zhan Jun: "This ball goes in! In the 86th minute, Inter Milan scored a goal! The current score is 2 to 3!"
Zhang Lu: "This game is going to be exciting. Hehe, there are about seven to eight minutes left. Once Inter Milan scores this goal, the morale of the players and fans will be boosted. Maybe they can score another goal."
Zhan Jun: "Roma's defense has always been their chronic problem! Although Gvardiol was loaned in, the entire defense line is far from enough with just one player."
"But Inzaghi also took a huge risk by pressing forward in the midfield and frontcourt, and took advantage of Roma's limited number of players in the high points of the midfield and backcourt, focusing on high balls in the final stage."
"How come the 33-year-old Smalling looks even older than the 36-year-old Dzeko? He was completely at a disadvantage in this header."
Zhang Lu: "It really shouldn't have happened, but I don't think it's because he doesn't have enough bounce. It looks like he was suddenly substituted in and hasn't started to move yet."
In the huge Meazza Stadium, there were thunderous cheers and roars, as if seeing the light of hope in a desperate situation. At this point in the game, the home fans' demands had long since changed from getting all three points to a draw in adversity.
Lautaro rushed into the goal, picked up the ball and ran towards the middle, while Barrera, who was running back beside him, repeatedly raised his arms to encourage the fans to increase their encouragement and inspire his teammates to score another goal.
Mourinho on the sidelines made another substitution, replacing the slightly shorter Enzo with the last central defender Ibanez.
All four central defenders of the team have now entered the field. As the head coach, he has done everything he can on the sidelines.
Chen Xiaoliang watched Dybala prepare to kick off, and he felt that defending was not a good option.
Inter Milan, who were still one goal behind at this time, had no psychological burden. If they could not equalize the score before the end of the game, losing by one goal or two goals would be the same result for them.
Therefore, in the last part of the extra time, not to mention the two central defenders, even goalkeeper Handanovic might come up to compete for the header.
But when it really comes to that point, no one can guarantee whether the team can hold on.
We must do something more, otherwise the rhythm of the game will be completely controlled by Inter Milan.
After the kick-off, Chen Xiaoliang rarely started dribbling in the backcourt.
When Barrera came over, he accelerated and dribbled the ball sideways to get rid of him. If someone came over to double-team him, he would pass the ball safely and then run to an empty area to receive the ball again.
From left to right, from right to left, with the cooperation of Kva and Dybala, who have outstanding dribbling skills in the frontcourt, in less than a minute, Inter Milan's midfield and frontcourt players were pressed everywhere and really couldn't grab the ball.
It was already the 88th minute, and Inzaghi was getting anxious. He shouted a few words that sounded like Italian, but no one could understand them.
This is the tactical code within the team, which means a foul.
When Chen Xiaoliang dribbled the ball to the right again, Correa came up directly and stretched his legs to steal the ball. Although his foot was aimed at the ball, his shoulder and knee were all aimed at Chen Xiaoliang.
Chen Xiaoliang knew Correa's intention, but he managed to keep his balance and did not fall down.
At this time, every second you can hold on is valuable, and don't fall down easily as long as you can. This will also allow the opponent to increase their movements, and when the referee calls a foul, the probability of getting a card will be greatly increased, which will help delay time.
The two men were in a stalemate for a few moments, and Gosens and Dimarco came over. Chen Xiaoliang passed the ball to Dybala in front, and Acerbi, who was defending, knocked the Argentine over from behind.
The referee Massaro called a foul but did not give a card. Chen Xiaoliang and Mourinho expressed their dissatisfaction on and off the court. One went to Massaro and the other went to the fourth official to protest loudly.
Massaro chose to keep the peace. He ignored Chen Xiaoliang and just waved him away, letting the Roma players quickly take the free kick.
Zhang Lu: "The overall performance of the referee today was OK. Although the penalty standards were a bit loose, the overall fluency of the game was well ensured. At this point in the game, it is understandable that there was a little bit of a home whistle."
Zhan Jun: "Acerbi's foul just now was a change of away field, and he will most likely not escape a yellow card."
Zhang Lu: “Hehe.”
Roma's players slowly moved forward and wasted more than 30 seconds. Mancini, who kicked off the ball, did not dare to do anything fancy due to the four opposing forwards' man-to-man pressure on his own defenders, so he could only kick the ball forward with all his strength.
The ball was headed by Skriniar outside Inter Milan's penalty area. Dumfries, who got the ball on the side, immediately advanced at high speed. Inter Milan's overall formation surged towards Roma's penalty area like a deep blue tide!
The fourth official raised the card, 4 minutes of extra time!
Left, right, left, right…
Inter Milan surrounded Roma's penalty area, continuously passing the ball from both wings, then grabbing the second and even third points, then passing the ball back to the defenders for reorganization, and then distributing it to the wingers for further crossing.
Lukaku and Lautaro were also tired, especially Lukaku, who was increasingly at a disadvantage in the duel with Guevadiol.
Although his physical advantages are still obvious, his excessive weight causes him to consume much more energy than other players when performing the same movements or running the same distance.
After 90 minutes, his first-step speed and jumping height were much weaker. Coupled with Malaysia's frequent inward movement and the double-teaming of the newly-come Ibanez, Lukaku was completely lost in the high-altitude ball position.
In the 93rd minute, Zalewski tripped Dimarco and Inter Milan won a free kick 8 meters outside the left penalty area.
In a desperate and last-ditch effort, Handanovic and the two central defenders all pressed forward, leaving only Gosens and Barella outside the penalty area to grab the second penalty.
Dimarco's free kick was successful, but his legs couldn't help but feel a little weak from defending on the left side throughout the game, so the free kick didn't reach the full height.
Although Acerbi jumped hard, the ball was still headed out in front due to the double header between Mancini and Smalling.
Dybala, who retreated to the penalty area line, received the second penalty kick and he took it forward without thinking!
Because Handanovic was still in his own penalty area, the opponent's goal was empty at this time!
Dimarco rushed over desperately to stop Dybala from taking the opportunity to lob the ball from a long distance, while Barrera and Gosens also retreated protectively, and Handanovic was running towards his own goal with all his might!
At this moment, when Dybala was hesitating whether to force a lob shot or hold on to Dimarco and move forward a few steps, he caught a glimpse of Chen Xiaoliang running forward at an incredible speed, waving at him for the ball!
The front court was wide open, and Dybala immediately lobbed the ball forward with his left foot, leaving Chen Xiaoliang at least 30 meters of sprint distance!
The obvious intention was to let Barrera and Gosens come over from the left and right to double-team Chen Xiaoliang, hoping that the two of them would close the door and block Chen Xiaoliang behind!
But obviously, they overestimated their speed and underestimated Chen Xiaoliang's ability.
Barrera watched, gasping for breath and opening his mouth in disbelief.
Before he and Gosens could get close to each other, Chen Xiaoliang passed between them like the wind!
Why?! Why does this kid still have the energy to run at such a speed at this time!
Barrera was not deliberately targeting Chen Xiaoliang. To put it bluntly, he didn't hate this red Chinese that much.
He just didn't accept it! He was selected in the top 30 of the Ballon d'Or and had become one of the best players on the planet, but a young player who had just arrived in Serie A took away Serie A and the best midfielder!
Not only the honor, this red countryman also grew at an incredible speed, causing the usually conceited Barrera to doubt his own talent for the first time!
It was as if the talent that he had always been proud of since he had received football training as a child had become completely insignificant in front of this red countryman!
He was not convinced, so he wanted very much to beat Roma and Chen Xiaoliang to prove himself and to crush those doubts!
But at this moment, looking at Chen Xiaoliang, who he could not catch up with no matter how hard he tried, it seemed as if fate was telling him that when facing a true genius, no matter how hard he tried, it was ultimately destined.
Although he was still running, the interweaving of emotions such as frustration, loss, sadness and sorrow made him involuntarily slow down.
Although his teammate Gosens was also running desperately, he could not catch up with Chen Xiaoliang who was running wildly and could not be stopped.
However, there were still people on the Inter Milan side who had not given up. Correa, who was roaming on the right side of the penalty area, felt that the height was wrong and the situation was not good the moment the free kick came out, and consciously moved out of the penalty area in advance, and now he was catching up.
Although his absolute speed is still not as good as Chen Xiaoliang's, the Argentine has not slowed down or given up at all!
Chen Xiaoliang caught up with the ball in the center circle of the frontcourt. The ball that Dybala passed under pressure did not stop completely in front of him, but this gap was not enough for the Inter Milan players behind him to catch up with him.
Chen Xiaoliang pushed the ball forward heavily and continued his crazy speed. The Inter Milan fans in the stadium seemed to be watching the executioner operating the huge blade of the guillotine to slowly fall down. Their hearts were full of despair but hope for a miracle to happen.
There was no miracle. Correa, trying his best, still couldn't catch up with Chen Xiaoliang and the ball he controlled.
Five meters outside the penalty area, Chen Xiaoliang pushed the ball towards the goal with the inside of his right foot. The ball rolled and rolled, and finally rolled into Inter Milan's goal.
Zhan Jun: "The goal that completely ended the game! 2 to 4! A crazy performance!"
"At the Meazza! In this temple of Italian football! Xiaoliang scored the first goal of his career and the first four goals in a single game in Serie A nearly a year after Simeone on October 25, 2021!"
"Perfect performance! In the last two away games against Inter Milan, Xiaoliang scored 7 goals at the Meazza. He is an absolute Nerazzurri killer!"
Zhang Lu: "It's impeccable. Even the most nitpicking person can't find any fault with it."
Zhan Jun: "I don't know if Turin Sports Daily will put aside their prejudice and give the Golden Boy Award to Xiao Liang this year! With his current performance, looking around the world, no player under the age of 21 can compare with him!"
Zhang Lu: "I think the Golden Boy Award is no longer important. I believe many fans are focusing on the Ballon d'Or."
Zhan Jun: "This year's Ballon d'Or selection will be held in late October or early November! Last year, Xiaoliang led the team to win three championships. Now he has caught up with Lautaro and tied for second place in the Serie A scorer list. He also tied for second place in the assist list with Napoli's Zielinski with 3 assists. The first place is Dybala who just passed the ball to Chen Xiaoliang!"
"Lukaku kicked off and the game was already in the 96th minute."
"The referee Massaro blew the final whistle!"
"There was a huge booing in the Meazza Stadium, and huge pressure was placed on the Inter Milan coaching staff and board of directors!"
