Chapter 337: Two Generations of Argentines Replicate Famous Free Kick Scenes
After Lukaku gave the first thumbs up of the day, referee Anthony Taylor blew the whistle, Roma took the goal kick and the game continued.
If there is someone who fell asleep in May 2010 and woke up today, after watching 10 minutes of this game, he will definitely think that the Inter Milan in front of him is still the team led by Mourinho.
With a ball possession rate of 63% versus 37%, Roma achieved the highest ball possession rate against top teams this season, while Inter Milan's forwards became midfielders, midfielders became defenders, and defenders became goalkeepers, and they all retreated, fighting to the death.
Inter simply ignored the passing between Roma's backcourt, but as long as Chen Xiaoliang retreated to the backcourt to get the ball, Lukaku would definitely initiate the first round of pressure on him, using his nearly 200-pound body to rush towards Chen Xiaoliang like a heavy truck. In addition, his speed was not slow, so it was not easy to get rid of him. So after Chen Xiaoliang received the ball and saw him coming, he would either transfer the ball directly or simply dribble the ball diagonally in a large range and run around him, which also consumed some of his energy.
In the 13th minute, Lautaro retreated to the left side of the penalty area to receive the ball, but was tripped by Wijnaldum from behind. The referee Anthony Taylor awarded a free kick.
Calhanoglu, who had been hiding in the back, finally came up. Inter Milan was not too aggressive. Five players made forward runs from high points, one player took a free throw, one player received the ball from outside the penalty area, and three players were left behind to defend.
Calhanoglu passed the free kick from the left side directly to the back of the penalty area. The defense on this side focused on Skriniar and Lukaku. The Roma defenders did not notice Barella quietly inserting from the outside, and finally Barella's volley shot hit the side net.
In the 17th minute, Inter Milan intercepted Dybala's pass to Vinia on the right and launched another counterattack. Dimarco took the ball from the left to the corner of the penalty area and passed it to the middle. Lukaku followed up with a low shot, which was confiscated by Patricio who fell to the ground.
Soon 20 minutes passed, Roma had the ball possession rate but was 3 to 6 behind Inter Milan in shots, and Roma fans were anxious.
This game is different from the previous league game. Even if we lost that game, we could still win the championship by getting 1 point in the next 3 games. But if we fail to take the lead or even lose today, then when we go to Meazza to challenge Inter Milan away in the next round, everything will be uncertain.
Mourinho took the lead in changing the formation, raised his hand and extended three fingers, asked Cesco to start retreating actively, Dybala to move inward on the right, and then Chen Xiaoliang pressed forward.
That's why he started with Perrone today.
He was very satisfied with the Argentine young man's passing ability. Coupled with his high morale and positive attitude, Mourinho planned to let him play for 45-60 minutes today to exhaust his physical strength before substituting him.
In the 21st minute, Barella's straight pass was intercepted by Wijnaldum, who passed it to Perrone, who made a long pass directly to Cesco in the frontcourt.
At this time, it was Calhanoglu who was coming towards Cesco. It was obvious that the two were stronger than each other. Cesco did not jump, but simply suppressed the Turk with his weight and height. He easily took the ball off his chest and turned around to pass it to Chen Xiaoliang who was running forward.
As soon as the ball reached Chen Xiaoliang's feet, Gosens on the side followed him for a few steps and found that he could not keep up. Without waiting for Barrera to come over and double-team him, he directly tripped Chen Xiaoliang to the ground from the side.
“Beep!”
Referee Anthony Taylor blew the whistle. Chen Xiaoliang stood up and looked over. He saw that Anthony Taylor only warned Gosens a few words and did not pull out a card. He questioned a few times, but was warned by Anthony Taylor instead.
Before the game, the club's referee consultant Giampaolo Calvarese reminded the players that today's England referee team was "extraordinary".
Anthony Taylor himself is disliked by many Chelsea and Arsenal fans, but that’s okay. At most, he has problems with his “professional ability”.
Tonight's two video referees, Atwell and Paul Tierney, are at the center of controversy.
In a Premier League match in early April, Atwell made consecutive decisions in favor of Tottenham and even disallowed a goal by Brighton. Due to huge doubts and pressure from the outside world, the English Football Association arranged for him to temporarily transfer to a video referee to "stay out of the spotlight."
The same thing happened with Paul Tierney.
In view of this situation, Giampaolo Calvarese reminded his players before the game to minimize disputes with the referee over minor issues, to avoid increasing the referee's burden and increasing penalty tendencies, which would lead to more stupid moves on major issues.
Dybala took the free kick while Chen Xiaoliang stood aside.
Inter Milan sent out a human wall of five people, and Lautaro lay under the wall as a "threshold".
Dybala took a run-up but did not touch the ball. Instead, Perrone on his right took a run-up and kicked a half-high ball to the back post after he passed the penalty spot.
Mancini moved forward from the back post. Although his ability in confrontation was relatively average, attacking the back post from set pieces was a subject he had practiced for years. As long as the ball could reach the appropriate landing range, he could try to compete for the header in a complex environment.
This time Perrone's ball was a little deep, and Mancini headed the ball back near the bottom line outside the small penalty area on the left.
Wijnaldum headed the ball twice in the middle and headed it towards the right near post.
At this time, because the ball was kicked towards the far point, the defense in the penalty area also focused on the far point . In addition, there were six people rushing back at the human wall, so there was no one guarding Kva who was ambushing near the goal post!
Zhan Jun: “Danger!”
"Shot in front of the goal!"
"Onana, once again a great achievement!"
"He actually blocked Kvaratskhelia's shot from close range in front of the far post!"
"Inter Milan has been able to remain undefeated until now, and Cameroonian goalkeeper Onana deserves the most credit!"
Dong Fangzhuo: "This reaction ability is too fast, mainly because of the speed he moves on the goal line. This is a reflection of the physical fitness of the black goalkeeper."
Zhang Lu: "Hey, there's nothing wrong with Kva's play, but if this ball doesn't go in... I'm worried that Roma will start to get impatient, and Inter Milan's morale will definitely be boosted."
Just like the commentator said, when Kva saw that the ball he thought was a sure goal was blocked by Onana and then kicked out of the sideline by the retreating Barrera, he was so shocked that he just squatted there with his head in his hands and looked at him in disbelief!
Wijnaldum, who headed the ball to him, also fell backwards to the ground...
Many Inter Milan fans complained repeatedly in the comment section, saying that if Inzaghi had used Onana more, the performance this season could have been much better.
Chen Xiaoliang himself did not expect that the opposing goalkeeper would be so brave today. He went over and patted Kva on the back, which was both an encouragement and a warning for him to stay focused and not be affected by his emotions.
Binya threw the ball out from the sideline, Perrone received the ball and passed it to Chen Xiaoliang in the middle.
Gosens, who was defending him, immediately came up to harass him. Chen Xiaoliang leaned on him and turned around to speed up and get rid of him, but was tripped by his outstretched leg and fell to the ground.
Chen Xiaoliang, who was sitting on the ground, opened his arms towards Anthony Taylor with a very dissatisfied expression, but the English referee still only called a foul and did not give a card.
"If you judge like this, then when we make a big move later, you shouldn't give any cards." Chen Xiaoliang said to Anthony Taylor.
Anthony Taylor turned around immediately: “Watch your words!”
Several unfavorable factors made Roma play a bit depressed afterwards. Facing Inter Milan, where all players retreated to participate in defense, they missed a great opportunity. The next chance to score is not so easy to find.
As for Inter Milan, their morale seemed to rise with every minute that passed.
In the 33rd minute, Chen Xiaoliang came to the right to meet Binya who was holding the ball on the wing.
Binya was preparing to make a one-two pass with him, but Dybala in front of him had already moved inward to make way.
When the ball reached Chen Xiaoliang's feet, Viña had already run forward with Dimarco.
Chen Xiaoliang did not pass the ball. Seeing that Gosens consciously stood between him and Binya, he pushed the ball to the left and rushed towards the middle position in front of the left.
Gosens chased after him immediately. The German midfielder, who has made 25 league appearances this season, committed only 11 fouls and received one yellow card, seemed like a different person today. The scene of him chasing Chen Xiaoliang at this time would not look too out of place even if someone handed him an axe.
Seeing his teammate being thrown away, Barrera came to to block, while Damian on his right immediately moved inward and took Barrera's original position.
One thing leads to another. At a time when zonal defense is the mainstream, the Italian native player Inzaghi has also brought out the catenaccio defense of Italian football in the past.
Chen Xiaoliang continued to dribble the ball, approached Barrera, and passed the ball to the left with his right foot, passing it to Kwa whose defensive pressure was relieved.
Kva received the ball outside the left penalty area. Facing Skriniar, he used his usual signature tactic of changing direction back and forth.
As a result, after taking two steps, Skriniar, who has long been ridiculed by outside fans as the "Inter Milan loyal soul", blocked the ball with a stretch of his legs.
Zhang Lu: "That shouldn't be the case...Kwa is obviously a little anxious, or is he still affected by the missed great opportunity just now."
Dong Fangzhuo: "According to his usual ability, and facing a tall and large central defender like Shike, it should not be a problem for him to pass him with his skilled dribbling and his own flexibility. Even if he can't pass him, he won't be blocked so easily."
Zhan Jun: "Although Skriniar and Inter fans have almost broken up, at this moment, this beautiful tackle can still be heard applause from Inter fans."
Kva threw the ball from the sideline to the back, and Malaysia passed the ball to Chen Xiaoliang again, but the ball was too short and was intercepted by the retreating Lautaro halfway.
Inter Milan immediately launched a counterattack, and Roma players retreated at full speed.
When Chen Xiaoliang turned around to run back, Gosens beside him secretly pulled his arm, slowing down his acceleration.
Chen Xiaoliang tried to shake it off, but because his movement was a bit too big, it was noticed by the referee Anthony Taylor. He immediately put his hands forward and made a gesture that was beneficial for attack.
Chen Xiaoliang was really drunk in his heart, but he didn't stop at all and ran towards the penalty area at full speed.
Lautaro took a few steps forward with the ball and was immediately guarded by Malaysia.
He took a few steps diagonally towards the middle, and seeing that there was no outlet for the ball, he immediately stopped, turned around, and passed the ball to Damian who was on the right.
Damian received the ball and continued to move forward at high speed until Malaysia turned and was about to catch up with him, then he immediately kicked the ball into the penalty area.
At this time, Lukaku had already rushed in, and Mancini and Guavardiol were attacking him from both sides.
Seeing that the two central defenders were defending him, Chen Xiaoliang ran to the middle of the penalty spot and the top of the penalty area, ready to defend against Inter Milan's possible second attack.
Who would have thought that today, I don't know whether God covered the curtain and forgot to open it, or Inter Milan stepped on something before the game and had special luck. Lukaku jumped forward and headed the ball under pressure from two people. The speed of the ball was very fast. Patricio just moved to the right subconsciously and failed to make any save, and the ball hit the left post!
Just when everyone thought that Inter Milan had "returned" a lucky ball, the ball unexpectedly bounced back and actually bounced right in front of Lukaku who had landed after jumping and heading the ball!
Although the Belgian vice-captain has been in poor form recently and has had some bad luck, he is, after all, one of the most famous strikers in Europe and is worth 40 million euros. Facing such a big empty goal, he lifted his left foot and blocked the ball directly into the goal!
Zhan Jun: "This ball goes in! Lukaku!"
"In the 35th minute of the game, Lukaku headed the ball and then shot it himself, breaking through Roma's goal!"
"The score between the two teams is 0-1, and the visiting team Inter Milan is the first to take the lead!"
"Lukaku also broke his five-game goal drought with this goal!"
Zhang Lu: "In this game, Lukaku made full use of his confrontation ability. The two central defenders of Roma did not dare to make big moves in the penalty area, and they did not defend in time during the counterattack. In addition, luck was not on Roma's side. There is really nothing to say about this goal."
After scoring the goal, Lukaku rushed to the sidelines frantically, pointed at Damian who passed the ball to him, and then ran over to hug him.
Other teammates also ran over, and many of them excitedly patted Lukaku's bald head.
The young Inzaghi, who had been drooping his cheek and looked like he had a toothache, also lost his worry and happily celebrated with his colleagues in the coaching staff.
Mourinho was always on guard against Inter Milan stealing his ball, but it was finally stolen from him.
He knew in his heart that this team was still too young and lacked experience in crucial games.
Although there are veterans like Wijnaldum and Dybala who have reached the Champions League final and even won the championship, whether it is Guevadiol, Kvar, Perrone, Malasia, or Chen Xiaoliang, these people have reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time. The schedule of home first and away later has undoubtedly rooted in their minds the idea of scoring more goals in the first leg and laying the foundation for victory as soon as possible.
The team attacked impatiently in the midfield and frontcourt, but defended timidly in the backcourt. Lukaku's goal seemed to be a result of luck, but in fact, the lead to the goal was laid by Malaysia's pass error and even Kva's attempt to get past Skriniar in one step before that.
There were only 35 minutes left and Mourinho couldn't rush to make substitutions. Apart from pressing his hands down and making a gesture to the boys to "calm down and don't be anxious", he had no other options for the time being.
After all, the coach can't go up and play football for the players.
He once again placed his hopes on Chen Xiaoliang, the team captain who had repeatedly turned the tide.
At this time, Chen Xiaoliang was talking with Kvart and Cesco in the center circle. Dybala was also standing next to him and he supported Chen Xiaoliang.
Chen Xiaoliang: "Xiao Ke, with your two moves, it's not easy to beat him, right? But don't be impatient. How many white high school defenders have you met? If two shakes are not enough, shake four times until his legs are tied up. Don't be impatient, we will create space for you in the middle."
Dybala: "Chen is right, just go past him."
Chen Xiaoliang: "And you, Xiao Sai, Acer is 35 years older than that old man, and half of his body is buried in the ground. Kvart will pull you away from Skriniar on the left, and your Di Ge and I will pull you away from the others near the penalty area. Just go after him, he can't keep up with you and he will definitely foul."
Dybala: "That's right, people over 30... ahem... how can they compete with you guys in terms of momentum."
He supported her, but in his heart he was thinking: I am 30 years old... Never mind, this is not to appease the child...
Chen Xiaoliang finally said: "I will let Wijnaldum and Peronedo press forward. We want to score goals, but we also need to be patient and cooperate with me more outside the penalty area. I will create opportunities for you!"
Anthony Taylor blew the whistle a few times, signaling the four people to stop whispering in the center circle and to kick off the ball quickly.
Then, Sesco passed the ball directly to Perrone at the back, and Roma's formation began to move forward as a whole.
Forti couldn't help but ask Mourinho: "I wonder what Chen is trying to do?"
Mourinho nodded. "I can't guess what's going on in this guy's mind, but now they can only adjust on their own. You know, young people nowadays have strong self-esteem. They are completely different from the thick-skinned kids around 20 years ago. If I had yelled at Gvardiol and Mancini just now, they would only get more and more nervous."
Forti obviously agrees with Mourinho's words: "How many players will never have the opportunity to participate in the Champions League semi-finals in their lifetime? These kids are just over 20 years old, or even less than 20 years old, and they can stand on the field. The pressure itself can be imagined."
Mourinho: "Before the game they were too optimistic. I kept saying that Inzaghi would have a back-up plan. But that's how young people are. It's hard for them to understand something they haven't experienced themselves."
"No matter how the game goes today, even if it's the worst result, the coaching staff will have to encourage us after the game."
Forti nodded: "Jose, I am confident."
Mourinho grinned: "Oh? Are you suddenly excited again?"
Forti flattered him in a fancy way: "You are the coach who maintains a perfect record in European finals. I am confident that these kids can make it to the finals!"
After the goal, the playing styles of both sides changed slightly.
Inter Milan played more conservatively, with their ball possession rate dropping directly to 31%, just one step away from falling below the 30% mark.
In Roma's front four, the team's running and coordination increased significantly.
Cesco frequently retreated out of the penalty area to cooperate with Chen Xiaoliang and Dybala in wall passes, while Kvart did not stick to the wing and began to try to make some moves from the flank where Damian was defending.
In the 41st minute, the situation on the field changed again.
Perrone made a long pass from the center circle to the retreating Cesco, who overpowered Calhanoglu and headed the ball back to Chen Xiaoliang.
Cesco immediately turned around and headed back towards the penalty area, reaching out for the ball. Calhanoglu unconsciously followed Cesco to defend.
Chen Xiaoliang pushed the ball forward with his chest, then stopped and started to move forward to the middle.
With Barrera in front and Gosens behind, Chen Xiaoliang dribbled the ball to the front right, trying to use his speed to break out of the double-team.
But just after taking two steps, he stepped with his left foot, and his right foot tripped again, causing him to lose balance and fall to the right side of the top of the arc.
“Beep!”
"What the hell!"
"Damn, referee, can you whistle?"
"Where did this British idiot come from?!"
As the dissatisfaction of the Roma fans at the scene grew, more and more curses began to be heard, eventually turning into uniform boos in the stadium.
Anthony Taylor seemed to wake up and finally gave Gosens a yellow card, then awarded Roma a free kick.
Just as Dybala and Chen Xiaoliang were discussing how to play, the fourth official sign was raised on the sidelines.
"No. 8 goes down, No. 14 goes up"
Gosens, who had just received the Golden War God Card, ran to the sidelines without looking back. After high-fiving Aslani, the young Albanian midfielder quickly ran in.
Chen Xiaoliang also understood that today Inzaghi was going to play a round-robin match with him, and Inter Milan's genuine midfielder Brozovic was still warming up on the sidelines, but he was not directly substituted this time, which meant that Asllani was also going to come up and get a yellow card.
It seems that Brozovic will not play until the really crucial moment of the game.
At this point, Inzaghi stopped pretending, and when his conspiracy was seen through, he enthusiastically high-fived and encouraged Gosens who was leaving the field, patting him on the back to show that the mission was completed very well.
As for the boos from the stands, he doesn't care about them.
Being defeated twice in the league has proved that it is futile to rely on one or two midfielders to compete with Chen Xiaoliang in physical strength. So today, all the available midfielders and backcourt players on the bench will take turns to greet you.
However, he did not expect that fouls always come with a price, and some people cannot be angered.
Referee Anthony Taylor blew the whistle, indicating that Roma could take a free kick.
This time it was still a human wall of five people plus the fallen Calhanoglu.
Dybala stood behind the left of the ball and Kvart stood behind the right.
In the penalty area, Especially Dior, Mancini, Cesco and Wijnaldum all pressed forward, and kept jogging and jumping, attracting the defensive attention of Inter Milan's remaining four defenders.
Young Inzaghi watched and saw that no player was missed, the human wall was shot very reasonably, Onana was in great form today and everything was in great order.
Moreover, the ball was a bit close to the goal, only about 23 meters away. It is not easy to shoot directly from a free kick. You have to go around the wall of people and then fall down. You have to ensure the angle, speed and height, which is quite difficult.
But he always felt something was strange, but he couldn't tell what was wrong.
An inexplicable feeling of uneasiness came over me.
He couldn't help but shout from the sidelines: "Watch out in the penalty area!"
He also pointed his finger at four Roma players including Cesco who were gathered in the area on the left side of the penalty spot.
After hearing his shout, the Inter Milan players, who were determined to end the first half with a one-goal lead, looked at the four people more carefully.
Dybala takes a run-up!
One step... two steps... three steps...
Instead of shooting at the goal, the ball went through the goal again!
Inter Milan's wall did not jump, and they were also glad that they were not disturbed by Dybala's feint and jumped.
Then, a second later, Kva followed up and swung his right foot as if he was going to shoot a curved ball into the upper corner of the goal!
But he still didn't ejaculate!
Inter Milan’s human wall still didn’t jump!
But this time they had no time to rejoice, as Dybala, who had just run over, turned around and pushed the ball. Perrone, who was standing behind him during the penalty kick, received the ball and swung his left foot back, as if he was going to create distance and shoot from a distance!
As the ball had been kicked out, Inter Milan's wall immediately rushed forward to block Perrone's shot!
At this time, Perrone put down his left foot and sent the ball into the penalty area in the front left!
At this moment, Inzaghi finally knew why he felt so uneasy!
Just now, when he looked into the penalty area repeatedly, he didn't see that person, the person who posed the greatest threat to any opponent of Roma!
And at this moment, the man hiding behind the human wall suddenly ran out and received the ball sent into the penalty area by Perrone!
At this time, Barrera and Aslani, who had just rushed forward, also realized that the situation was not good and immediately wanted to turn around to block it.
But it only takes a tiny amount of time to stop suddenly, turn around, accelerate, and then block. There is no time left.
With no one guarding him, No. 33 didn't even pause. He took the ball with his right foot and shot directly with the outside of his left foot!
Zhan Jun: "The cooperation of the free kick is Xiaoliang, shoot with his left foot!"
“This ball goes in!!!”
"Wow! Dybala and Perrone, two generations of current Argentine internationals, replicated the free kick cooperation of their predecessors against England in the 1998 World Cup!"
"And the one who scored that goal was Javier Zanetti, Inter Milan's current vice president, who was watching the game !"
Zhan Jun was talking excitedly, and the director at the scene just happened to cut the camera to Zanetti's side, but he and Zhang Kangyang beside him both looked unhappy...
Dong Fangzhuo: "This goal not only equalized the score, but also had a great impact on Roma's morale. The positional battle could not be opened up, and there were set pieces, telling the players that there is always a way to break through Inter Milan's dense defense."
Zhang Lu: "That's right. It also eliminated the psychological pressure caused by Onana's high block. At the same time, this free kick was earned by Gosens who just left the field with a yellow card. Xiaoliang also responded with a goal. If we continue to commit consecutive fouls by using the rotation substitution method, we have to consider the cost!"
