Chapter 232: Juventus cornered
To celebrate Wang Feng's 50 goals, the club's executives held a small gathering in Pinetina. They thoughtfully customized a large cake with the number 50 on it.
After the celebration, everyone boarded a plane to Turin, where they would face Juventus in a decisive battle at the Alps Stadium, competing for the final Coppa Italia. In the first leg, Juventus defeated them 2-0, so they had to give it their all for the trophy.
The stands were packed with fans. Despite Juventus's recent poor performance, loyal fans still believed the team could rise again.
In the southwest corner, a devout fan was praying for Juventus to win. His friend joked, "Hey, Lichetti, relax. We're leading now."
Lichetti's prayer was interrupted, and he reluctantly said, "Roland, I always feel nervous. Even though we're in the lead, I can't calm down until we win at the last moment."
"Inter Milan and Wang Feng are too formidable. They always defeat us and lift the trophy time after time."
"You're scared of Inter Milan," Roland frowned. "We're not pushovers. Just watch how Juventus defeats Inter Milan here and lifts their 10th Coppa Italia."
The mentality of some Juventus players on the field was similar to Lichetti's in the stands. They trembled at the sight of Wang Feng and Inter Milan. Despite being in the lead, they were still anxious.
Moreover, with interim coach Bartini's conservative coaching style, they chose to defend and maintain their lead. After kick-off, Inter Milan took the initiative, launching fierce attacks on Juventus's goal.
What you fear comes upon you. In the 3rd minute, Inter Milan counterattacked after winning the ball on the right side. Zanetti passed to Ribery, who crossed into the penalty area. Wang Feng blocked Rugani and Llorente with his body and controlled the ball.
He flicked it with his toe, over Rugani's head, escaping the double team and creating space. Then he followed up with a left-footed shot, but Buffon made an excellent save, punching the ball over the bar.
This attack not only made Juventus players nervous but also caused Bartini on the sidelines and the fans in the stands to break into a cold sweat. The stadium fell silent for a moment, then the home fans, seemingly to dispel their fear, cheered even louder.
"Look at this attack. Inter Milan wins the ball in the back, Zambrotta passes to Makalele. The Frenchman dribbles through midfield and makes a long pass to the front."
"Wang Feng receives the ball on the left, his range of movement is indeed wide. He keeps going along the flank and nears the penalty area. Montolivo finally can't help but step forward to intercept, while Linderley also comes to help defend."
Wang Feng was waiting for this moment! He used his left foot to flick the ball inward. He cut inside horizontally, instantly shaking off Montolivo and heading straight for Linderley.
Linderley was surprised, Wang Feng was too fast. In the blink of an eye, he arrived and couldn't react. He only saw the Chinese star lean left and try to break through on his right side, so he attempted to block with his leg.
Unexpectedly, Wang Feng changed direction, and Linderley only saw a blur as Wang Feng passed him on the left, swinging past him!
After shaking off his marker and entering the penalty area, Wang Feng didn't hesitate and took a powerful shot. Buffon's attention was highly focused, and he quickly dived to save, but the ball still entered the net from above his outstretched hand.
1-0! The Nerazzurri pulled one back!
After conceding, Buffon pounded the ground and then stood up, loudly reprimanding Montolivo and Linderley, "What's going on? How could you let him in so easily and shoot so calmly?"
Montolivo and Linderley were also frustrated. They had defended well, but Wang Feng's skills were too strong, and his explosive power was full. A slight mistake and he would instantly break free.
This goal severely shook the confidence of Juventus's defense. Soon, Inter Milan came back. Wang Feng and Ribery completed a one-two on the right, with Wang Feng facing Rugani on the edge of the penalty area, performing two consecutive stepovers.
Then he suddenly darted to the bottom, leaving Rugani behind, and then sidestepped Llorente's sliding tackle, reaching the ball and shooting with his left foot into the bottom left corner of the goal.
"Gooooooooooooooooooooal! Wang Feng scores again, and Inter Milan equalizes the aggregate score!"
"Oh my God, everything happened so quickly. In the blink of an eye, Juventus's advantage has completely disappeared, and now both sides are back on the same starting line."
"The situation is very unfavorable for the Bianconeri. They need to lift their spirits and take up the flag of attack again!"
The first half ended with no change in the score. Bartini hurriedly walked to the team's dressing room; he needed to arrange tactics for the second half.
On the stands, Lichetti sat despondently in his chair, murmuring to himself, "It's over, everything is over." Roland said with an unpleasant expression, "It's not over yet, at most, it's a draw now."
"You don't understand. The opponent is Inter Milan. Unless we have a big lead, it's no different from losing! No, even a big lead seems unreliable. My God, I'm about to go crazy!"
As the second half began, in what seemed to confirm Lichetti's words, in the 67th minute, Ribery broke through on the right, shaking off Rugani and sending a diagonal pass near the baseline. The ball reached the edge of the small penalty area on the right.
Wang Feng quickly made a run, and despite Llorente's efforts to stop him, almost holding him back completely, he still managed to reach the ball with his strong explosive power, blasting a shot through Buffon's fingers.
3-0! Wang Feng scored a hat-trick!
Most of the stadium fell silent, except for a small section of enthusiastic Nerazzurri fans. Wang Feng, the hero of the goal, ran to that area to celebrate with the fans.
This scene was extremely ironic for Juventus fans. Someone started booing, and soon it swept through the entire stadium like a storm. Deafening boos echoed in Juventus's home ground, whether they were directed at the detestable Nerazzurri or the disappointing Bianconeri was unclear.
Looking at the Juventus players on the field with their heads down, Lichetti couldn't help but feel desolate, thinking, "The backbone of the Old Lady has been broken by Inter Milan!"
With the sound of the referee's whistle, the score remained unchanged. With a total score of 3-2 over two legs, Inter Milan defeated Juventus and defended the Coppa Italia!
Many fans began to leave before the end of the game. When the referee blew the final whistle, only scattered Inter Milan fans and some ordinary spectators remained at the scene; Juventus's hardcore fans had already left!
As the Inter Milan players lifted the trophy on the makeshift stage, in the box, Juventus's technical director, Halil-Branda, nervously called the general manager, Moji, to report the result of the game.
"I got it." A stiff voice came from the receiver, followed by a series of beeps as Moji hung up the phone.
Branda was already soaked in cold sweat. He thought he would be fired and wanted to explain, but he didn't expect Moji to hang up so readily.
At this moment, Moji sat in the office like a stone statue. The whole night passed, and the next morning, he started making calls again.
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