Chapter 156: Inter's curse ?
On February 15th, in the 14th round of Serie A, Inter Milan challenged Atalanta away.
In theory, Inter Milan and Atalanta didn't have much interaction, but in the two encounters last season, Inter Milan suffered their first defeat and narrowly won the second time.
If Atalanta were a strong team, then this record would be understandable, but they have been lingering in the lower ranks of the standings for years. When facing powerhouses like Juventus and AC Milan, they don't put up much resistance. However, they always seem particularly spirited when playing against Inter Milan, which is puzzling.
Sure enough, just 17 minutes into the game, Inter Milan conceded a goal inexplicably. Atalanta winger Comandini forcefully dribbled down the wing and crossed the ball into the box. Inter Milan defender Coco failed to control the ball, accidentally deflecting it into his own net.
Inter Milan maintained control of the game, especially after conceding the goal, they desperately accelerated the pace.
In the 19th minute, Zanetti's long pass found Wang Feng on the right, who then delivered a diagonal pass, but Carlon in the penalty area reacted a bit slowly and failed to catch up with the ball.
Three minutes later, Wang Feng dribbled past Carreira on the right, then passed to Carlon, but his shot went over the crossbar.
Two minutes later, Inter Milan launched another attack. Cannavaro sent a long pass from the back, and Wang Feng controlled the ball in the frontcourt. He dribbled past Beretta's pressure and passed to Batistuta, whose low shot was saved by the goalkeeper, Taibi.
In just over ten minutes, Inter Milan created several very threatening attacks, but all ended in vain. Wang Feng looked at the opponent's goal with frustration, feeling that luck was not on their side today.
"As the first half of the game is about to end, we can see that Inter Milan has created many scoring opportunities, but they have all failed to convert into goals, and they still trail 0-1."
"The Inter Milan players on the field seem a bit anxious. Just now, when fighting for the ball, Inter Milan defender Dharma pushed down Atalanta defender Zauri in frustration, and the referee predictably showed him a yellow card."
"As they enter halftime, they need to adjust their emotions. After all, there are still forty-five minutes left in the game. Look at this attack, beautiful, Wang Feng cleanly steals the ball from Zauri!"
After intercepting the ball in midfield, Wang Feng quickly dribbled forward. He used a one-two with Dharma to evade the Atalanta defender Zanoni, then quickly entered the vicinity of the penalty area and faced off against defender Pagani.
Wang Feng moved forward with short steps, then suddenly accelerated near Pagani's left shoulder. Pagani thought Wang Feng was going to cut inside, so he stretched out his leg to intercept, but Wang Feng actually went to the byline, leaving Pagani watching helplessly as Wang Feng dribbled past him.
Once inside the penalty area, Wang Feng easily crossed, finding Carlon's head. The latter headed the ball into Atalanta's goal, finally equalizing the score!
Entering halftime with a draw is completely different from being behind. The restless hearts of the Inter Milan players calmed down, and there were smiles in the locker room. After all, they had the upper hand on the field, and with forty-five minutes left in the game, scoring another goal to secure three points was not a problem.
As they resumed play, the situation remained under Inter Milan's control. But in the 69th minute, Atalanta launched a defensive counterattack. Zauri's cross was intercepted by Cannavaro, but his clearance resulted in a mistake, hitting Atalanta forward Soardi. Soardi quickly controlled the ball and scored with a powerful shot, piercing the away team's goal.
Inter Milan fell behind once again! This was Atalanta's first threatening attack of the second half and their first shot, yet it unexpectedly succeeded.
Throughout the history of world football, there are always some inexplicable upsets, forming various strange curses.
Watching the home team players celebrate wildly and the fans cheer in the stands, Wang Feng rubbed his forehead in frustration. Could there really be a curse, with Atalanta being Inter Milan's curse?
Never giving up under any circumstances is Wang Feng's creed, even if it means confronting the elusive fate!
In the 81st minute, Atalanta showed a flaw. Comandini made a passing error, intercepted by Matri. He sent a long pass to Carlon in the frontcourt, but the defensive player headed the ball back to the midfield.
Dibiagio received the ball and pushed forward, then passed to Wang Feng on the right. Wang Feng accelerated past Carreira on the wing, then delivered a curved ball to the far post in the penalty area. Carlon, making a run, volleyed the ball into Atalanta's goal, leaving goalkeeper Taibi with no chance to save.
Inter Milan equalized the score once again! The 2-2 scoreline remained until the end of the match. Inter Milan regretfully only earned one point, despite having a possession rate of 70%, with 17 shots and 9 on target, they only scored two goals.
In contrast, Atalanta had only 4 shots, 2 on target, but all were converted into goals, which was astonishingly efficient.
Inter Milan's recent record in the last four rounds is one win, one draw, and two losses, only gaining 4 points. Meanwhile, while Inter Milan faced adversity, AC Milan surged forward, achieving three wins and one draw.
As a result, the gap between the two teams in the standings has narrowed to 1 point. If it weren't for Inter Milan's hard-fought draw with Atalanta, they would probably have to relinquish their position at the top of the table after 13 rounds.
On December 18th, Inter Milan faced a match in the Italian Cup against Cagliari, a Serie B team from the southwestern Italian island of Sardinia. They had gone through three rounds of qualifiers, during which they also eliminated Serie A teams.
Cagliari has had a glorious history. In 1970, under Luigi Riva's leadership, they won the Serie A championship, but in the years that followed, they have been hovering between Serie A and Serie B.
Although the opponent's strength cannot be underestimated, Cooper still rotated the starting lineup, with Wang Feng and others on the bench, as they had to prepare early for the mid-season showdown with Parma.
After the game started, Cagliari proved to be evenly matched with Inter Milan's substitutes.
In the 23rd minute, Inter Milan defender Pasquale fouled Cagliari forward Cyril in the penalty area, and the referee decisively awarded a penalty. Cyril duly converted it, helping the team take the lead.
The situation of trailing was maintained into the second half. Just when Cooper couldn't help but want to send on Wang Feng, Inter Milan substitute Martins made a breakthrough.
First, he received a cross from Emre, heading the ball into Cagliari's goal, then eight minutes later, he scored again with a long-range shot, completing the comeback for Inter Milan!
The 18-year-old Nigerian substitute, who scored twice, was excited like a child. He rushed to the coaching staff and hugged the coach and the main players one by one.
Wang Feng said some encouraging words. Although they were only a year apart in age, their positions in the team were vastly different. However, Wang Feng never acted superior and often played with them.
"If given the opportunity, I would like to go to China to play football," Martins, who had a good impression of Wang Feng, said. With his ability, it was a bit challenging to make a mark in the top five leagues.
In the end, Inter Milan advanced to the quarterfinals of the Italian Cup by beating Cagliari 2-1.
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