Chapter 268: He didn't lose
Returning from Villarreal to Milan, the Nerazzurri welcomed their 33rd Serie A match against Ascoli, with an Italian Cup match scheduled just three days later. Therefore, all the main players were kept on the bench.
Wang Feng originally thought he might come on as a substitute if the team couldn't break the deadlock. However, the players performed exceptionally well, with forwards Cruz and Martins consecutively breaching the visitors' goal, leading Inter Milan to a 2-0 victory.
On the evening of April 11th, at the Udine Friuli Stadium, in the second leg of the Italian Cup quarter-finals, Inter Milan faced Udinese. The score in the first leg was 2-2, with Udinese securing two away goals, giving them an advantage.
The other semi-final match was between Roma and Lazio, with Inter Milan being the strongest team among the four. Therefore, although the Italian Cup was not initially part of the team's plan for the season, as long as it didn't affect their Champions League campaign, it was worth fighting for.
Once the match started, Udinese's tactics were straightforward. They persisted with a defensive counter-attacking strategy, aiming to prevent Inter Milan from scoring while holding onto their advantage.
This strategy indeed kept Inter Milan's attacks at bay in the first half. Despite the Nerazzurri having around 70% possession, they managed only seven shots, and the score remained 0-0.
In the second half, Inter Milan's frontline became more active, especially Wang Feng's energetic runs, and Udinese's defenders inevitably became distracted, exposing a loophole.
In the 63rd minute, Zanetti's long pass found Pizarro on the left flank, who then dribbled towards the left side of the penalty area. After attracting defenders to the bottom line, he suddenly stopped the ball and made a back pass in a triangle.
Wang Feng, who followed up, received the ball and shot with his foot, placing the ball into the near corner of the goal. The nearby defending players couldn't block it in time, and although goalkeeper De Sanctis dived to save, the ball still grazed the inside of the post and entered the net.
1-0! Inter Milan successfully reversed the aggregate score!
At the moment of the goal, Udinese coach Sanniti clasped his head in his hands, showing an extremely frustrated expression. Their goal was breached by Inter Milan once again!
If they hadn't been so conservative and had played as decisively as they did in the first leg, would the outcome have been better? Sanniti was uncertain, as the two-legged tie was very unfriendly to smaller teams like theirs that occasionally cause upsets!
Since they were already behind, Udinese's continued defense was futile. Sanniti successively substituted two attacking players, intending to take a risk. However, once their defense was breached, it meant Inter Milan's attacks would become even easier.
In the 77th minute, Wang Feng and Ribery formed a wall-like combination on the right flank, and when Wang Feng received the ball inside the penalty area, he didn't encounter the tight defensive wall as he did in the first half. So, he easily chipped the ball to the back post, where Adriano arrived with a header to seal the victory for the team!
With a total aggregate score of 4-2, Inter Milan eliminated Udinese to advance to the Italian Cup final. The final format remains a two-legged tie, with Roma eliminating Lazio with an aggregate score of 2-1.
On April 14th, in the 34th round of Serie A, the city of Milan hosted the Derby della Madonnina, with Inter Milan facing AC Milan. Due to Juventus' unbeaten streak, only AC Milan had a chance to challenge their championship position, as Inter Milan had already withdrawn from the race.
Moreover, with the Champions League semi-finals starting midweek, head coach Mancini made a surprising decision to field a reserve team. This was an extremely rare occurrence in the history of the Milan Derby.
Seeing main players like Wang Feng sitting on the bench, Inter Milan fans quickly understood the situation and were very understanding of the team's approach. After all, AC Milan had been eliminated from both the Champions League and the Italian Cup. If they didn't strive for something in the league, they would end the season empty-handed.
Therefore, both on and off the field, the atmosphere was very harmonious. AC Milan, who fielded their full-strength lineup, dominated the game, while Inter Milan defended with all their might. The coach's only requirement was not to lose by a large margin.
It wasn't until the 31st minute that AC Milan opened the scoring through Kaka. In the 55th minute of the second half, Kaka assisted Inzaghi to extend the lead. Five minutes later, Kaka dribbled through the center and scored his second goal with ease.
Seeing the team gradually collapsing, Mancini substituted Wang Feng in the 70th minute to strengthen the attack. The effect was immediate, as the heavily pressed Rossoneri had to divide their defense, and their attacking momentum was hindered, slowing down the pace of the game.
In the 85th minute, Inter Milan launched a counterattack. Emre, retreating to the midfield, turned and sent a straight through ball to penetrate the defense. Wang Feng quickly initiated a forward run and caught up with the ball in the area about thirty meters from the goal.
Facing the defense of Maldini and Cafu, he calmly controlled the ball under his feet while slowly approaching the edge of the penalty area. Just when Cafu felt he couldn't retreat any further and decisively moved forward to press, Wang Feng suddenly flicked the ball to the right.
Evading Cafu's foot, he fiercely kicked a long shot at the edge of the big penalty area, and the ball drew a curved arc in the air, curving into the top left corner of AC Milan's goal.
1-3! Wang Feng pulled one back! Inter Milan avoided a massacre, and this score remained unchanged until the end of the match.
Inter Milan cleanly lost the Milan Derby! Although many people understood the Nerazzurri's starting lineup before the match, it was still unexpected for them to send on Wang Feng only after falling three goals behind.
"Inter Milan has broken AC Milan's unbeaten record. Mr. Mancini, why did you make such a lineup arrangement, and why didn't you let Wang Feng come on earlier?" a journalist asked at the post-match press conference.
"That record is quite interesting, isn't it?" Mancini replied with a smile. "But more than that, I care about the trophies. We just finished a tough Italian Cup semi-final and are about to face the Champions League semi-finals."
"There's no problem with rotating players, and sending Wang Feng on was just to let him get a feel for the game in preparation for the upcoming challenge against Arsenal."
AC Milan coach Ancelotti also stated that while winning the Milan Derby after a long time was indeed pleasing, the more important goal was the fight for the league championship. "Even though Juventus has shown an unstoppable defending title form, we will never give up until the last round."
Kaka, who was named the best player of the match, also accepted an interview. A reporter asked, "In this match, you contributed two goals and one assist, while Wang Feng only scored one goal. This is your first victory against a Chinese player. What are your thoughts on this?"
Kaka replied solemnly, "No, he didn't lose. Wang Feng was only on the field for 20 minutes and still managed to score against AC Milan's fully armed defense. This is a performance that only top strikers in the world can achieve."
"I'm still chasing after him." The Brazilian's tone changed, full of confidence. "But I can feel that I'm getting better and better, and I believe this is not an impossible task."
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