Chapter 224: He surpassed himself again
The second leg of the Champions League round of 16 took place at the San Siro, where the players of Prague's Sparta seemed particularly heavy-hearted as they walked onto the field. In the first leg, they failed to gain an advantage at home and instead conceded two goals, which was almost a fatal result.
Inter Milan didn't disappoint the home fans. In the first half, Wang Feng completed a clever exchange with Ribery on the right flank, then delivered a cross near the goal line, where Adriano's header opened the scoring for the home team.
In the second half, Sparta Prague went all out, pressing forward almost entirely, which gave Inter Milan ample space for counterattacks. After several threatening counterattacks, they finally reaped the rewards.
It was in the 77th minute when Zambrotta intercepted the ball in the backcourt and passed it to Civu, who sent a long pass to the front. Wang Feng, relying on his speed, arrived at the ball first, nudged it forward, and continued his pursuit.
As the ball bounced up, Wang Feng was already there, noticing that the Sparta Prague goalkeeper was positioned relatively forward. He directly lobbed the ball towards the knee-high corner as the goalkeeper, surprised, hurried back to the goal to save it. However, the shot's arc was too perfect, sailing over the goalkeeper's fingertips and dropping into the net below the crossbar.
Inter Milan scored another goal! With Wang Feng's assist and goal, the Nerazzurri defeated their opponents 2-0, advancing to the Champions League quarter-finals with a total score of 4-2!
Juventus, who had experienced the turbulence of their coach's departure, lost to super Deportivo La Coruna, stopping at the round of 16 in the Champions League, which was somewhat understandable. But AC Milan unexpectedly suffered a shocking defeat by the French side Monaco, which many found hard to accept. "A humiliating elimination," Italian media reported the next day. Now, in the Champions League quarter-finals, only Inter Milan, the sole representative of Serie A, remained. This left the Italians, the top league in Europe, with no glory. Their UEFA coefficient for the next season would undoubtedly suffer greatly, and they might even give up their top spot.
Among the other Champions League quarter-finalists, Ligue 1 claimed two spots with Monaco and Lyon, the Premier League claimed two spots with Chelsea and Arsenal, La Liga claimed two spots with Deportivo La Coruna and Real Madrid, and the lone representative from the Primeira Liga was Porto.
Mourinho indeed had the capital of madness. He had brought Porto, who were playing in the League Cup last year, to the Champions League quarter-finals, causing quite a stir.
In addition, the complete collapse of the Bundesliga was quite lamentable, with numerous German media outlets wailing, believing that they were getting farther and farther away from the mainstream level in Europe.
Inter Milan's quarter-final opponent would be Deportivo La Coruna, who eliminated Juventus, a match also dubbed the Serie A revenge battle by the Italian media.
On March 14th, in the 25th round of Serie A, Inter Milan hosted Chievo at home. Chievo, despite not displaying the same heroic performances as in previous years, still held the 9th position on the league table.
Having played several consecutive matches, Inter Milan seemed somewhat out of shape. In the 17th minute, Chievo's Daner sent a long pass from the back, and Baronio, after receiving the ball on the left side of the frontcourt, stormed into the penalty area, crossing to Kozak at the far post, who easily tapped it in to open the scoring for the away team.
The early goal acted as a wake-up call, and Inter Milan quickly responded. In the 26th minute, Ribery broke through from the left and crossed, finding Wang Feng in the penalty area.
He quickly turned around with the help of Chievo defender Barzagli, then wrapped his right foot around his left foot and gently poked the ball, executing a skillful back-heel shot to level the score for Inter Milan.
Inter Milan maintained pressure on Chievo for the rest of the match. In the 65th minute of the second half, Recoba assisted Adriano in scoring the goal that turned the match around, helping the team secure a comeback victory.
2-1! Inter Milan defeated "Flying Donkeys" Chievo.
In the 26th round of Serie A, Inter Milan faced newly-promoted Ancona away, and the match proceeded smoothly.
Shortly after the start, Ancona's goalkeeper Malcon made a mistake during a sortie, directly giving the ball to Wang Feng, who was wandering in the frontcourt. The Chinese star didn't miss this opportunity and gently poked the ball into the opponent's net.
In the 25th minute, Wang Feng sent a diagonal pass from the edge of the penalty area, and Ribery, near the edge of the small penalty area, received the ball and shot, helping Inter Milan expand their lead.
In the second half, in the 55th minute, Ribery sent a straight pass to the defense, and Wang Feng made a run, received the ball near the edge of the penalty area, and unleashed a powerful left-footed shot. The ball went straight into the bottom left corner of Ancona's goal.
"Gooooooooooooooooooooooooal! Wang Feng scores his second of the game!"
"Ancona can't pose any threat to Inter Milan. The Nerazzurri are now leading 3-0, almost securing victory!"
"Well, folks, just confirmed, Wang Feng's goal is his 41st of the season! He has broken his own record of 40 goals in a single Serie A season set last year! He has surpassed himself once again!"
"Now, with 41 goals in a single season, it's terrifying. With 8 more rounds left in the league, what miracles will he create next?!"
"We dare not imagine if there will be another great superstar like him in the future to break Wang Feng's records. But at this moment, I can confidently say that as long as he's in Serie A, this is far from over!"
"Don't forget, this Chinese superstar is not yet 21 years old!"
Wang Feng scored 41 goals in the league, surpassing the record of 40 goals he set last season! This news spread like wildfire, instantly sweeping across the world, causing a sensation in Italian and European football circles. It's worth noting that no other striker in the top five leagues has scored more than thirty goals this season.
In other words, he had almost secured the European Golden Boot for this season. Since joining Serie A, he had won the European Golden Boot for two consecutive seasons, and now he was on track for a third.
The Milan Sports Daily reviewed every goal Wang Feng scored this season, some of which were achieved through his individual skills, including continuous breakthroughs and sudden long shots.
"This season, Wang Feng has increased the number of shots, and his attacking aggression has become stronger."
The Milan Sports Daily also believed that with Wang Feng, Inter Milan no longer needed to worry about their frontline. Whether it was the Ribery + Vieri combination, the Ribery + Adriano combination, or the Recoba + Adriano combination, they could all play effectively around Wang Feng.
"He doesn't need to rely entirely on attacking cooperation. As long as someone can help him alleviate defensive pressure, Wang Feng can penetrate the opponent's defense."
The Rome Sports Daily, on the other hand, believed that Wang Feng had brought the Serie A goal-scoring record to a surreal number. "Is this still the slow-paced, defensively balanced Serie A in our minds?"
"If he were in La Liga or the Premier League, leagues with fast-paced transitions between attack and defense, how many goals could he score?"
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