Chapter 116: Leadership qualities
"Chelsea's performance was much better than the previous match," said Osgood, former Chelsea legend, in the Sky Sports studio.
As a special guest, he was broadcasting this highly anticipated match, the second leg of the UEFA Europa League round of 16, between Chelsea and Inter Milan, to audiences across the UK.
In the previous encounter, Chelsea was in a disadvantageous position, almost on the brink of elimination. Therefore, in this match, the entire team showed great enthusiasm, initiating a relentless attack amidst the cheers of the home fans.
Within the first ten minutes of the game, Chelsea completely dominated the field, making it difficult for Inter Milan to organize effective attacks, and the ball rarely reached the feet of Wang Feng and Vieri.
In contrast, Chelsea's Goodjohnsen and Lampard both made two high-quality shots. If it weren't for Toldo's focused attention and strenuous saves, Inter Milan's goal would have been breached early.
This is the true strength of last year's UEFA Champions League quarter-finalists!
In the 15th minute of the first half, Chelsea's attack paid off. Lampard crossed from the right, Materrazi made a powerful header clearance, but the ball's trajectory was too high, just grazing his scalp and reaching the back post in the penalty area.
Goodjohnsen, despite Zanetti's interference, managed to jump and head the ball into Inter Milan's goal.
Chelsea successfully pulled one back! The moment the goal was scored, the entire Stamford Bridge erupted with deafening cheers. Lampard's excellent cross not only evaded Materrazi at the near post but also found Goodjohnsen accurately at the back post. The ball had a noticeable downward trajectory when it reached him, everything seemed to fall perfectly into place.
After scoring, the Icelandic player didn't choose to celebrate but quickly rushed into Inter Milan's goal to retrieve the ball and put it at the center circle. He knew it wasn't enough; they needed at least one more goal to have hopes of advancing!
Wang Feng took a moment to catch his breath. In the intense fifteen minutes of the game, he actively participated in defense, covering a large distance with his runs, yet still allowed the opponent to succeed.
As the game resumed, in the 18th minute, Peti, in midfield, used a feint to get past the distracted Grzeskowiak and attempted a direct breakthrough.
But Wang Feng timely filled the gap, disrupting the ball with a sliding tackle, causing Peti to fall.
"Beep!" The referee's whistle sounded, as he walked up to Wang Feng, showing him a yellow card. Wang Feng and several other players surrounded the referee to explain that he didn't touch Peti at all, just the ball. However, the referee insisted on his decision.
"Oh, the Frenchman Aurelio Cusna, the referee in charge, has shown a yellow card to Inter Milan's number ten, Wang Feng. Let's see what happened exactly."
"From the slow-motion replay, it can be seen that Wang Feng's foot touched the ball first. This should be a good defensive move. What do you think, Osgood?"
"I think this situation could go either way. It could be considered a foul for lifting his foot too high when tackling, or it could be seen as a good tackle. Of course, being at Chelsea's home ground, there might be some advantage in the refereeing decisions, but I don't think a yellow card was necessary at all."
"According to the records, this yellow card is the first one Wang Feng has received since joining Inter Milan. The referee was indeed too arbitrary."
Wang Feng shrugged helplessly. The events on the field were indeed unpredictable. He said to his teammates around him, "Come on, guys, let's stay focused. We're still in the lead, this minor setback doesn't mean anything."
Seeing Wang Feng's determined attitude, the others couldn't help but feel shaken. Throughout this season, Wang Feng had repeatedly created miracles, helping the team come from behind to win. Unknowingly, everyone seemed to rely on him.
Although he was not very old, his leadership qualities were becoming more and more prominent.
Inter Milan's defense in the back gradually stabilized, and their offense did not shine much. Wang Feng frequently dropped back to midfield to organize attacks. In the 30th minute, he received the ball in midfield and dribbled forward.
With successive dribbles and lightning-fast speed, he shook off Cenden and Gallas, charging directly into the opposition's final third. At this moment, several defenders hurried over to defend, and Wang Feng found himself surrounded by four defenders.
Vieri had not yet pushed forward into the attack. Wang Feng could only protect the ball and wait for the right moment to pass. He managed to pass the ball to the space where Vieri was supposed to run, but unfortunately, his speed was slightly slower, and Chelsea's Melchiot intercepted the ball ahead of time.
The first half ended with a score of 0-1. Chelsea coach Ranieri encouraged the players, "Guys, we're just one goal away from overturning Inter Milan and advancing to the Europa League quarter-finals."
"Our performance in the first half was excellent, successfully suppressing Inter Milan's attacking momentum. But we must pay attention to defending against Wang Feng; his accelerating dribbles are too threatening."
After the break, Inter Milan made a substitution, with Ronaldo replacing Konsikao. It seemed that Cooper didn't intend to just defend, as it was too risky.
Ronnie and Wang Feng's connection once again paid off. In the 60th minute, Inter Milan launched an attack. Di Biagio passed the ball into the penalty area, where Ronaldo received it on the left.
At this moment, Chelsea defender Le Saux rushed over and chose to slide tackle, blocking Ronaldo's passing and shooting routes with his body. However, Ronnie dodged the tackle with a back-heel turn, and with the goalkeeper fully prepared, he passed it to Wang Feng on the right flank.
Cudicini was taken aback, but it was too late for him to react. Wang Feng directly shot into the empty goal, and the other defender, Terry, couldn't stop the ball from entering the net.
1-1! Inter Milan equalized! With the aggregate score of 4-2 in both legs, each team had scored an away goal. This meant that Chelsea needed to score two goals to level the score and three goals to win.
"This goal really shouldn't have happened!" Osgood in the studio exclaimed angrily, his face turning red, "How could Le Saux make such an easy slide tackle in the penalty area?"
"This is inside the penalty area; even if there was no foul, with Ronaldo's skills, he could easily evade your tackle in hundreds of ways. And if the sliding tackle fails, you can't just stay down; it will cause serious positional errors."
"The correct approach in this situation should have been to maintain a certain distance from Ronaldo, then focus on defending against his dribble or shot. There was actually very little space for Ronaldo to operate."
"Le Saux is also a veteran of Chelsea; how could he make such a mistake here?" Osgood slammed the table.
No matter how regretful it was, this goal was irretrievable. The score remained unchanged for the rest of the game until the 87th minute, when Chelsea equalized through Lampard's direct free-kick.
This goal restored some pride for Chelsea at home, but they were ultimately eliminated by Inter Milan with an aggregate score of 3-4 over two legs!
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