Chapter 254: Rotten rotten
On September 29th, in the second round of the Champions League group stage, Inter Milan welcomed Glasgow Rangers at home.
Glasgow Rangers are the champions of the Scottish Premiership, having almost monopolized the league along with their city rivals Celtic for nearly 100 years. Most of the time, these two teams take turns being champions.
Unlike other dominant teams in small country leagues, because Rangers and Celtic are rivals, their competitive level remains high. Rangers are also considered the most likely team to advance from this group apart from Inter Milan.
Of course, they didn't cause much trouble for Inter Milan. Wang Feng scored a goal in the first half, and assisted Pizarro to extend the lead. Although the opponents pulled one back in the second half, Ribery assisted Adriano to score the winning goal.
3-1! Inter Milan defeated their opponents, securing their second consecutive victory in the Champions League group stage.
On October 3rd, in the 6th round of Serie A, Inter Milan faced a focal battle, away to Juventus.
On the eve of the game, Juventus coach Capello said to the players in the dressing room, "Last season, we worked hard to regain glory and win the league title, but everyone outside is spreading rumors about our unworthy championship."
"This is an insult to each of you! Friends, pull yourselves together, we must defeat the Nerazzurri gallantly again and set out towards the goal of defending the title."
After listening to the coach's encouragement, the players had various expressions. Some were full of momentum, such as Ibrahimovic. He had finally defeated Wang Feng once and couldn't accept being criticized.
Of course, some remained unmoved, knowing in their hearts that last year's game was indeed suspicious, but no one would openly say it.
On the Inter Milan side, Wang Feng thought the coach would say something about revenge or redemption to encourage everyone, but he didn't say anything like that. He just asked the players to stay calm and stay healthy on the field.
After all, the league was no longer important; their goal was the Champions League trophy.
After the game started, Inter Milan took a defensive counter-attacking stance, while Juventus had a high ball possession rate. They seized the opportunity in the 5th minute, with Trezeguet contributing the first shot.
Inter Milan defenders Tullam and Zebina tightly marked Wang Feng, making it impossible for him to be completely neutralized, but they had to delay until other players came to help defend.
After experiencing two rounds of games, Samuel, who replaced Cordoba, gradually found some feeling. He originally came from Serie A and performed well in Rome. Unfortunately, he didn't adapt well to La Liga's Real Madrid, wasting a year of his time, which put a lot of pressure on him.
Neither side scored in the first half. Juventus had a ball possession rate of 67%, with 6 shots and 3 on target, while Inter Milan had a ball possession rate of only 33%, with 3 shots and 1 on target.
At the start of the second half, Juventus launched a sharp attack. Emerson passed the ball directly to the frontcourt, and Nedved accelerated to shake off Zambrotta near the goal line and crossed into the penalty area.
Trezeguet grabbed the ball at the near post, attracting Materazzi and Samuel. They adopted a double-team strategy, but Trezeguet didn't stop the ball or shoot; instead, he used his head to flick the ball to the far post, where Ibrahimovic kicked it into the goal.
Juventus took the lead! Watching Ibrahimovic celebrating with open arms nearby, Wang Feng was also quite amazed. His body coordination was truly remarkable. Despite his height of 1.95 meters, he could still make a high-speed run to the goal and perform a kicking action.
After Juventus scored, the pace of the game quickened. Inter Milan began to exert force, becoming more aggressive in midfield duels, and Wang Feng's role in leading the defense gradually became evident.
In the 71st minute, Ribery attacked with the ball on the right flank, and Wang Feng supported nearby. He suddenly ran towards the penalty area, drawing away Juventus defenders Tullam and Zebina, creating space for the Frenchman.
Ribery rushed into the penalty area and crossed from the right. Cannavaro at the near post timely blocked it. Although he didn't completely disrupt the ball, it changed direction after brushing against his leg, flying towards the outer edge of the penalty area.
At this moment, Wang Feng's position in the middle was a bit deep. He didn't expect Ribery's cross to be blocked by Cannavaro. However, Adriano's position was better, and as long as he could receive the ball in time, there was still a chance to shoot from the far post.
Seeing that Wang Feng no longer posed a threat, Zebina moved decisively to defend Adriano at the far post, intending to disrupt this wing cross attack.
The situation described above is very complex, but everything happened in an instant on the field. Wang Feng quickly outlined everything around him in his mind. He lifted his right leg to hook the ball in mid-air, turned sideways towards the goal, and swept.
Fortunately, Zebina had moved away, leaving only Tullam beside him. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to make this move under the double-team. The ball suddenly changed its path, flying straight towards the goal.
Buffon didn't expect such a shot, he rushed to save it but was a step too slow. The ball had crossed the goal line and hit the net before he could block it with his hand.
"Goal! Wang Feng's volley equalizes for Inter Milan!"
"I thought Ibrahimovic's volley was imaginative enough, but Wang Feng quickly responded with a sweep!"
After scoring, Wang Feng didn't choose to celebrate wildly. Instead, he hugged his teammates who rushed over and smiled at Ibrahimovic, which annoyed the Swede greatly.
"That guy must be doing it on purpose. One day, I will also score like that!"
Just when everyone thought the game would end in a draw, there was another wave of waves on the field. In the 88th minute, Juventus launched a long pass from the back, finding Trezeguet directly at the edge of the penalty area. Under Materazzi's tight defense, he failed to jump for the header, and the ball fell into the penalty area and was cleared by Toldo.
Toldo was about to throw the ball to Zambrotta when the referee blew the whistle, awarding Juventus a free kick in the arc area in the frontcourt. Inter Milan defenders looked at each other in confusion.
After a simple communication, they understood that the referee believed Materazzi's defense against Trezeguet just now was a foul, impeding his jump, and the camera accurately captured Materazzi's surprised expression.
The ball just now was completely clean; he didn't make any downward pressure, just used his body to block the position. Moreover, the landing point of the ball was very high. Even if Trezeguet jumped, he would most likely not touch it. So he just tentatively tested and gave up the ball. Could this still be called a foul?
The decision was final. Nedved seized this opportunity, his free kick bypassed the wall and went straight to the dead corner, achieving a miraculous feat for Juventus.
1-2, Inter Milan lost the game.
Back in Milan, Wang Feng sat in his room feeling frustrated. He felt very aggrieved. The next day, major newspapers reported on the match between Inter Milan and Juventus, as well as the controversial decision.
Everyone agreed that the decision to award the free kick was wrong, but most people believed it wasn't the referee's fault. Firstly, because throughout the game, the main referee did not show any obvious bias and remained very fair.
Secondly, because he didn't award a penalty but only a free kick, and no one could guarantee that a free kick would definitely result in a goal.
But after experiencing the red card incident last season, Wang Feng always felt something was wrong. They were turning a blind eye to the obvious and continuing to trouble Inter Milan, no, not trouble Inter Milan, but protect Juventus!
He felt this way because in other matches, the standard of refereeing for Inter Milan had returned to normal.
It seems that Serie A is getting deeper and deeper.
At this time, Lu Yao knocked on the door and walked in: "Are you still angry about the game?" Wang Feng nodded, and Lu Yao, with her soft jade-like hands, massaged his shoulders: "Isn't the goal of Inter Milan this season the Champions League? Don't worry too much about the league."
Wang Feng nodded. Yeah, why think so much? He's leaving Serie A next year anyway. Let it go this year. So he turned around and hugged Lu Yao, smiling, "I'll ask for leave in the next league match, I'm too lazy to play."
Lu Yao's cheeks blushed: "Why? It's still daytime."
"So what?"
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶