Chapter 293 Sorry, I'm a Midfielder
The goal Napoli lost just now was entirely their own fault.
After Roma kicked off from the center circle, Napoli's midfielders and frontcourt players rushed forward blindly, and Osimhen even got the ball to Patricio's feet.
The forwards were fine, but the two central midfielders were irrational in pressing forward, and the backcourt did not move forward properly to press, which created a huge vacuum in the midfield.
But Roma was really taking a risky move. If the ball was really intercepted by Napoli, they would not be the ones celebrating now.
Failed to get the start, the game was taken away by the opponent instead. After the Napoli players kicked off in the center circle, they launched wave after wave of charging attacks.
Roma also returned to the typical Mourinho style, drastically shrinking the defense and starting to counterattack.
Even though Roma was playing like a bus, their counterattack was not ambiguous at all and the second half of the game was even more exciting than the first half.
According to the two regular commentators of Sky Sports Italy, Piero and Chiellini (similar to Gary Neville and Carragher of Sky Sports in the UK), the two teams on the field at this time represent Italy's sharpest spear and hardest shield.
Napoli's attack is not like the Northern Three, which are accustomed to increasing ball possession as long as they take the initiative.
Their offensive style is just like Osimhen's personal style: simple, clear, and even brutal.
If there is an open space on the wing, then cross the ball, and the central midfielder and center forward will rush forward to compete for the header.
If there is a route in the middle, then pass the ball straight, with the winger acting as the center, and then pass the ball into the penalty area and together play offside and attack the opponent from behind.
Never pass the ball from left to right or from right to left outside the opponent's penalty area.
Possession without shots is meaningless.
After the attack is over, whether Roma takes a goal kick or it is a normal offense-defense transition, Napoli will definitely launch a pressing attack on the spot and retreat at high speed.
To put it simply, it is the run-and-gun tactics on the football field.
Spalletti, who is getting better with age, has no luck with top clubs. He did not have any outstanding results when coaching Inter Milan. However, he won the Italian Cup for two consecutive seasons when coaching Roma. His other major honor was going to Russia and leading Zenit St. Petersburg to two Russian Super League titles.
But since he came to Naples, he has the momentum to turn this old team, which has more fans in Italy than Roma and is second only to the three northern powers, into the fourth largest club in Italy.
Although Roma's great success last season puts them ahead in this regard, no one can deny that Napoli is now better than the three northern powers and is almost the team in Serie A this season that is most likely to make it difficult for Roma to defend their title.
At this moment, the two sides on the field almost turned it into a large-scale shuttle run demonstration.
In the 52nd minute, Lozano cut in from the right in front of the penalty area and his shot was blocked by Enzo's body. Chen Xiaoliang then received the ball and passed it to Kva who was on the left. Napoli immediately entered a defensive formation.
Right winger Anguiza stepped forward to block, while right back Di Lorenzo frantically retreated from Roma's half due to the delay of his teammates, and the rest of the midfield and backcourt players did the same.
Lozano, who had just completed the shot, was also rushing towards Kova desperately.
In modern football, defense is no longer the exclusive domain of defenders. It is common for wingers to retreat to help with defense. Especially for many well-known head coaches, such as Guardiola, Klopp, and Ten Hag, who is currently fighting with Ronaldo at Manchester United, all attach great importance to defensive ability and defensive enthusiasm when choosing wingers.
The Art of War by Sun Tzu clearly pointed out 2,500 years ago that "if your force is ten, surround it; if your force is five, attack it; if your force is twice as great, divide it; if your force is equal, you can defeat it." To put it bluntly, it means that if your force is large, you can defeat if your force is small.
In football, when both teams have 11 players in total, how to use more players against fewer players in local areas where the ball is available is a direct reflection of the tactical level of a head coach.
After all, there are very few players like Messi who can pick several people by himself.
Facing Anguissa's defense, Kva passed the ball back to Chen Xiaoliang and made a two-on-one pass with him.
In his heart, Anguisa still regarded Chen Xiaoliang as the first defensive focus, so when Kva passed the ball back, he rushed towards Chen Xiaoliang without hesitation. This also allowed Kva, who received the ball again after a two-on-one pass, to face Di Lorenzo directly.
Kwa, who had defeated Ashraf and Arnold, humiliated Di Lorenzo today. In a one-on-one situation, he had absolute confidence.
For defensive players, players like Kva who can dribble past opponents with both feet, pass the ball and shoot are the most difficult to defend.
If you defend him from going inside, he can go down to the bottom and cross the ball with his left foot. If you defend him from going outside, he can cut inside and shoot with his right foot. Di Lorenzo has no way to deal with him.
Kva used his signature feint, pause and change of direction to dribble past the opponent, and with his skillful control of rhythm, he left Di Lorenzo behind cleanly and headed straight into the penalty area.
However, before he could make the next move, Lobotka and Kim Min-jae came over to double-team him.
And there are already several Napoli players who have returned to defense.
Kva was outnumbered two and couldn't kick for a while.
Kim Min-jae immediately came up and pressed hard, using his body to squeeze Kvar, while Lobotka took the opportunity to steal the ball.
Kva had to try to force the ball through Lobotka's crotch and pass it to Cesco, but unexpectedly Rahmani got in front of Cesco and intercepted the ball.
Rahmani made a long pass!
Osimhen, who was waiting for an opportunity in the frontcourt, quickly started running towards the landing point, but Enzo, who was defending that area, was closer to the first landing point.
However, Osimhen used his speed and bounce to head the ball to Politano on the left before Enzo could.
At this time, it was Roma's turn to retreat and defend. After receiving the ball, Politano pushed it towards the middle and sent the ball back to Osimhen who was making a forward run.
When facing off against a striker whose muscles, strength and speed far surpassed his own, Enzo's physical shortcomings were exposed. Although his playing style was very tough, his mental strength was not enough to make up for his innate deficiencies.
Osimen had no teammates in front of him at this time. He used his body and right hand to block Enzo who was harassing him from behind, cut inside the middle, and completed a powerful shot near the top of the arc before Cristante and Smalling double-teamed him!
Patricio said he would never let Osimhen score a hat trick when facing him. Fortunately, most of the shooting routes of this ball had been blocked by his teammates. Although the ball had some arc, he still saved it to the right and held it firmly with both hands.
In just less than one minute, the two sides completed three offense and defense transitions, and each time they directly launched an attack towards the opponent's hinterland after receiving the ball. The fast pace made the commentators, spectators, fans and coaches of both sides scream with excitement!
There were even comments saying "You can breathe while watching a football match", to express that the intensity of the competition was so intense that it made people hold their breath.
At this time, in the VIP box on the second floor of the stands, Napoli owner De Laurentiis was watching the game with an old man that Chen Xiaoliang was familiar with.
Of course, this was hosted by Roma owner Dan Friedkin.
He doesn't want to offend this old man, nor can he afford to offend him.
It was the Godfather in the electric wheelchair.
Aurelio De Laurentiis is the most talked-about club owner in Italian football after Berlusconi, the former chairman of AC Milan who was elected Italy's official decision-maker four times in 1994, 2001, 2005 and 2008.
As the most famous film company owner on the planet, De Laurentiis often uses controversial topics and explosive remarks to market himself and attract traffic to Naples.
His grandfather Dino De Laurentiis is a leading figure in the European and American film industry. He participated in the production of more than 500 films in his lifetime, 38 of which were nominated for Oscars.
Aurelio De Laurentiis inherited his uncle's legacy and made classic films such as "Léon: The Professional" and "Shut Up", and has extremely deep ties with the European film industry and Hollywood.
But De Laurentiis, who has been cursing everything, scolding FIFA, criticizing UEFA, and ridiculing Juventus every other day, and has also mocked Higuain, Sarri, Ancelotti, Donadoni and many other players who went to play in the Red Super League for money, was very calm when he saw the Godfather.
There is no way these days. No matter how sharp your words are, they are not as lethal as a pistol.
However, on this planet, literature and style are inseparable and flourish everywhere.
De Laurentiis, who bought Napoli after it went bankrupt, is certainly well aware of this, and The Godfather is one of the main producers of his films.
As the patriarch of the Sicily Blackfoot Gang, the godfather who already loved football when Maradona came to the Naples Club more than 30 years ago, still loves this world's number one sport which is increasingly manipulated by capital even when he is old.
The reason why he, who lives in the suburbs of Rome, invited De Laurentiis to the Roma home stadium today is very simple. He wants to buy shares in the club to further their cooperation, but the condition is also very simple, that is, Naples must buy Chen Xiaoliang.
For De Laurentiis, this is simply out of the question. He thought to himself, it's not that I don't want to buy. I also want to buy Haaland, Mbappe, Messi, De Jong, Rudiger, etc. The problem is that even if I want to buy, I can't afford the price.
But the Godfather's conditions were also very tempting.
As a filmmaker, he particularly likes a scene in a certain movie:
The bandit's pistol, can I make money with this?
Can earn money in the mountains.
The county magistrate's official seal, can I make money with this?
If you can earn it, kneel down.
So with this plus this, can you make money while standing still?
The Godfather clearly has this ability.
Ever since The Godfather started working with him on a movie, there has been basically no actor that he couldn't get scheduled with. Even when his actors encountered some negative news, at least in Italy, after The Godfather's people invited the reporter who wrote the news to have a cup of espresso, the news would soon be removed by the media.
De Laurentiis has no illusions that Serie A can reach the same profit level as the Premier League, but as he is willing to spend money on the club, he very much hopes that Napoli can replace the northern big three and represent Serie A in the European arena.
Originally, he thought that this would be difficult to achieve, and it would take at least three to five years to train talented players and then spend money to buy some current stars.
But Roma's great success last season made him realize that he didn't need to spend a lot of money to buy "some" people. He only needed to spend some money to buy Chen Xiaoliang alone, and then combine it with Napoli's current lineup. Not to mention the Champions League, at least everything can be smooth sailing in Serie A.
Although he had seen Chen Xiaoliang's performance at the Maradona Stadium, the home stadium of Naples, he was still shocked by the Roma football market and the atmosphere on the scene driven by this red Chinese man at Roma's home stadium today.
The Godfather looked at De Laurentiis who was in deep thought and said something at the right time:
"After 30 years, Italy finally has another Maradona-like talent."
"He chose Naples 30 years ago, why can't he do it 30 years later?"
De Laurentiis was persuaded. He turned around and instructed his men to secretly start inquiring about the transfer price to Roma.
On the field, the players had no idea what those people in the box, wrapped in top-brand clothing, were planning. Their idea was simple: to defeat their opponents.
In the 59th minute, after several rounds of physical fighting in the midfield, the two sides were still unable to break through the opponent's retreating defense at all costs.
As for Chen Xiaoliang's defense, Spalletti also made adjustments in the second half. He did not expect that Chen Xiaoliang's originally ordinary dribbling ability had improved by leaps and bounds, and his already excellent long-range shooting level had reached a terrifying level where he might lose the ball if he missed the defense.
Instead of double-teaming him after he receives the ball, it is better to take precautions and try to reduce the number of times Chen Xiaoliang receives the ball.
If he can't receive the ball, he naturally can't attack or organize his teammates to attack.
Therefore, the four players, Anguiza, Zielinski, Lobotka and Osimhen, were like four planets orbiting a star, one on the left, one on the right, one in front and one behind, always relying on constant off-ball running to block their teammates' passing routes to Chen Xiaoliang.
Roma mainly uses a 4-2-3-1 single central midfielder formation. If Chen Xiaoliang cannot organize the attack smoothly, he can only hold on to the wing and push hard, or move to the position of defensive midfielder to switch sides and advance.
The recent transfer route for the central midfielder has been cut off, and the ball has been passed back to the defensive midfielder for transfer and organization. This is like driving on the road, which is an obvious detour and will also increase the distance and difficulty for the wingers to get the ball.
But Chen Xiaoliang was not in a hurry. He kept encouraging his teammates with tactical gestures of waving his hands to defend.
Because he has an advantage over no one.
If you want to prevent him from catching the ball, you have to keep running after him. No matter if one person comes up to defend him closely or four people double-team him, you have to rely on physical strength to support it.
As for physical strength, who in this world can compete with him?
Stamina recovery card 4→3
In the 60th minute, Chen Xiaoliang, who had recovered with full blood, began his continuous movement in the midfield.
In the 63rd minute, Lozano made a cross from the right, and Osimhen headed the ball in front of the goal. Under the tight defense of Gvardiol, the ball went directly out of the baseline.
In the 70th minute, Lobotka made a long pass, Osimhen leaned against Cristante to receive the ball with his back, then pushed it back to Zielinski who was making a run. The latter's long shot was first blocked by Chen Xiaoliang's sliding tackle, and then Politano on the left recovered the ball and passed it to Anguisa.
Anguisa took another long shot, but the ball was not controlled and went high.
Napoli attacked in waves, Roma defended again and again, and the difference in shots between the two sides became larger and larger. The total number of shots in the game had reached 12 to 24, with Napoli doubling their number.
Spalletti is no pushover either. Chen Xiaoliang's nickname of "nuclear-powered midfielder" is no longer just a joke among fans. The coaching staff of Napoli also discovered that Roma is very good at taking advantage of the opponent's declining physical strength at the end of the second half, relying on Chen Xiaoliang's endless physical strength to use speed or confrontation to score goals.
He directly replaced the two central midfielders with North Macedonian midfielder Elmas and French midfielder Ndombele, replacing Anguissa and Zielinski.
The black is replaced by the black, the white is replaced by the white, and in a trance, it seems to give people the illusion that it has been changed, but it has not been changed.
Although two of the four double-team players were replaced with those at full strength, this was enough for Chen Xiaoliang.
Osimhen, who consumed too much energy in the close confrontation with Guadiol, obviously began to save his strength in defense. After all, if Napoli wants to equalize the score or even turn defeat into victory, they still have to rely on his offensive ability.
Lobotka, who played as the single defensive midfielder, was tortured by Chen Xiaoliang and had to help Di Lorenzo defend against the dribbling Kva again and again. By this time, he was really exhausted.
Although two of them were half disabled, there were still two left with full strength. However, Chen Xiaoliang adopted a very simple way to deal with it, which was to move to the side.
Pull to the edge.
Compared to the activeness of Kovač on the left, Dybala, who seemed a little isolated and helpless without the support of Chen Xiaoliang, was much more dull in the second half, completely lacking the highlight performance of scoring two goals 50 minutes ago.
Of the two midfielders who came on, Elmas, who is 182cm tall and 68kg, is a more technical midfielder. His position inherits that of Zielinski and he is the central midfielder responsible for the left half.
With his speed and fighting ability, even at full strength, he is no match for Chen Xiaoliang.
Once he moves to the right side, it is impossible for Ndombele on the other side to cross half the field and leave his side to mark him. If he really does that, Salono and Di Lorenzo on the right side of Napoli will curse him.
Okay, let’s go after Elmas!
Chen Xiaoliang did what he said. He went straight to the side. When his teammates saw the boss coming, they knew he was not here for shopping. Cesco, a die-hard fan, retreated from the frontcourt, received Enzo's through ball, and then knocked it back to the right to the captain's feet.
Elmas, who was supposed to block Chen Xiaoliang on the right side in defense, can now only help Oliveira defend on the left side of Chen Xiaoliang.
Side defense?
I can't defend from the front, so what's the use of assisting from the side?
Spalletti was also annoyed. He looked at Mourinho who stood up and walked to the sidelines on the other side, thinking that you kid is not playing by the rules. You actually allowed the central midfielder to move to the side to play as a winger without permission. If the ball is lost, the midfield will be empty.
Mourinho, however, was in a different frame of mind.
What is there to be afraid of? If he loses his position in the midfield, this guy can run back to make up for it in a minute. Anyway, it seems like his physical strength will never run out.
Roma quickly changed its formation, and Dybala intelligently left the right side and moved to the middle, which was his favorite attacking midfielder position. The corridor on the right was completely given to Chen Xiaoliang.
With the help of Elmas, Oliveira always kept a distance of more than 3 meters from Chen Xiaoliang who was dribbling the ball, in order to prevent him from dribbling past the opponent.
This was the key point mentioned by the coaching staff on the whiteboard before the game.
We don't care if you advance slowly. As long as your teammates in the middle stand in position, the two of them can tighten the encirclement and try to disrupt Chen Xiaoliang's control of the ball, but they will never let you break through behind him easily.
Seeing that his route for the dribble was cut off and Oliveira was still lying sideways, there was no possibility for him to get through his crotch. So Chen Xiaoliang changed to a new method that no one had ever seen before - a pass and a dribble to get past the opponent!
He made a long pass with his right foot, stretched out his left hand slightly to block Elmas who was trying to close on him, and then rubbed his right foot on the bottom of the ball.
It just so happened that Oliveira was more than three meters away from him, and the ball could not be blocked by him before it flew high off the ground.
Then, it was a scene that Roma fans had seen many times, the ball flew behind Oliveira, and then Chen Xiaoliang passed by him as if he was riding on Hot Wheels in front of Oliveira's horrified eyes!
If the ground isn't working, I'll go to the sky!
Wherever the ball can go, I, Chen Xiaoliang, can also go!
When Spalletti saw this scene, he couldn't help but curse Cao Dan. Damn, this red Chinese player has this talent, and Mourinho didn't even let him play as a winger ?
Chen Xiaoliang seemed to have heard it and laughed in his heart, who wants to play winger with you? After receiving the ball, he turned directly and cut diagonally into the middle of the penalty area!
For a player attacking with the ball, the larger the space, the greater the threat!
The flank areas on the left and right sides are always the most easily overlooked areas in the defensive formation!
In the back four, the ribs are located between the center back and the full back on one side.
In the back three, the ribs are between the central defender and the side central defender.
In a double defensive midfielder position, the ribs are an area that one defensive midfielder defends alone and the other defensive midfielder will not come to assist in defense.
If the formation is one with only one defensive midfielder like Napoli did today, then the ribs will be even more vulnerable as the single defensive midfielder can only take care of one side and not the other side!
This is why Dybala came to the attacking midfielder position in advance. When he stood there, how could Lobotka move in advance to intercept Chen Xiaoliang? Once he left, Dybala would be left facing the penalty area without any defense.
No matter how big a threat Chen Xiaoliang poses, no team dares to ignore the existence of a player of Dybala's level!
Just like that, Chen Xiaoliang rushed into the penalty area from the right flank with sparks and lightning. Oliveira and Elmas behind him didn't even have a chance to eat dust. Cesco and Kva both moved to the area near the far post, leaving all to make way for the captain.
Dybala wandered in the middle, seducing central defender Kim Min-jae and then Lobotka.
Seeing that it would become a one-on-one attack if he didn't defend, Jin Min-jae rushed over! First block the inside line, then try to get close!
The reason why this Korean can succeed in Serie A, in addition to his outstanding personal defensive ability, is his strong mental quality.
He doesn't want to be suppressed by Chen Xiaoliang, who is also an Asian.
Seeing him approaching, Chen Xiaoliang hooked the ball with his right foot and passed it to Dybala who was at the top of the penalty area on his left.
Kim Min-jae, Lobotka, and all the defensive players in Napoli's penalty area involuntarily looked at the Argentine fairy!
He has a great shooting ability!
Just this moment of shifting his gaze gave Dybala enough time to pass the ball back to the right and directly behind Kim Min-jae!
Chen Xiaoliang and he completed a two-on-one pass on the penalty area line!
No matter how hard the Koreans tried, they could not catch up with Chen Xiaoliang who was sprinting forward after turning around.
Right side of the penalty spot!
45 degree angle!
The ball is coming!
Chen Xiaoliang kicked directly!
This time he didn't pass the ball, he just hit the goal!
Although his explosiveness and strength are not yet top-notch, combined with his already decent shooting ability, the power of his shots at this distance still exceeds that of most players.
Now there is only one question facing Meret: where should this red countryman kick?
Is it the near angle? Or the far angle?
Chen Xiaoliang glanced at the far corner!
That’s right, the far corner with a wider angle and more space is the forward’s favorite!
Lou Yichen: "Xiaoliang! One-on-one shot! Hit it!"
"pretty!!!"
"He shot over Meret's head and hit a close corner!"
“Merrett’s focus was completely deceived. He thought Chen Xiaoliang was going to kick the ball into the far corner!”
Liu Yue: "The replay shows it very clearly. Before shooting, Xiaoliang clearly made a deceptive move with his eyes, glancing in the direction of the far post. This must have fooled Meret."
4 to 2!
The game has reached its final stage, which means Roma has basically won the game!
After celebrating wildly with his teammates and fans in the stands, Chen Xiaoliang looked back at the lost Meret.
Yes, the far corner is indeed the striker's favorite.
But who made me a midfielder?
