Chapter 89: Europa league starts again
Back in Milan, in the 7th round of Serie A, Inter Milan faced the challenge of Udinese, a strong opponent.
With the momentum of their recent big win, they started the game very aggressively. In the 11th minute, Dibaggio received the ball on the left and sent a straight pass to Récoba upfront. Despite facing two defenders, Récoba managed to control the ball at his feet but missed the chance for a cross.
At this moment, Dibaggio, who had made a quick run, took away the ball. With the defenders busy marking Récoba, Dibaggio found space for himself and effortlessly crossed the ball.
In the middle, Wang Feng received the ball on his side but didn't stop it. Instead, he used the back of his right foot to flick the ball, sending it rolling diagonally to the edge of the penalty area.
Rushing in, Vieri met the ball and took a shot, piercing through Udinese goalkeeper Tursi's fingertips.
Celebrating their well-coordinated play, the players gathered together, while the home fans in the stands cheered jubilantly. It had been a long time since they had seen such fluid teamwork from their team.
In the 74th minute of the second half, Inter Milan gradually advanced towards Udinese's goal with several wide-ranging passes from midfield, successfully breaking Udinese's defense. Wang Feng received the ball inside the penalty area.
Carefully controlling the ball at his feet, he evaded the pressing of two defenders and reached near the goal line. Then, Wang Feng feigned a move to speed up towards the goal line for a cross, drawing a block from Udinese's #14 defender, Bertotto.
However, Wang Feng just pretended to make the cross, pulling the ball back as it rolled to his left foot. He immediately chose to shoot at a tight angle, sending the ball straight towards the near post. Tursi, positioning himself to guard against a cross, couldn't react in time to save it.
2-0! With Wang Feng contributing with one assist and one goal, Inter Milan triumphed over Udinese at home.
In the midweek fixture, Inter Milan, enjoying the comfort of home, faced Odense who had traveled from afar.
Just three minutes into the game, Wang Feng received the ball on the right, dribbled towards the center, and seeing Odense's defense tight, passed it back to Di Biagio in the middle, then quickly made a forward run.
After receiving the ball again, Di Biagio played it forward, finding Concazcao, who then laid it off for Wang Feng, successfully breaching Odense's defense with these passes.
Facing a one-on-one situation at the edge of the penalty area, Wang Feng used his dribbling skills to easily bypass the defender and enter the box.
"Wang Feng with the ball in the penalty area, shoots! Goal! Just three minutes into the game, Wang Feng opens the scoring for Inter Milan!"
"This match is Inter Milan's midweek fixture, but the players are showing great excitement. You can see it from this goal, and of course, Odense's defense also had its problems, easily breached by Inter's consecutive passes."
In the 11th minute, Wang Feng on the right, Di Biagio passed the ball to him, with a defender marking him tightly from behind.
In this situation, controlling the ball and turning could be risky, so Wang Feng came up with a clever move. He deliberately let the rolling ball pass by his foot and quickly turned to chase after it.
Easily evading the defender after this move, Wang Feng faced the approaching defender, accelerated with the ball, dodged the pressure with a change of pace, and charged straight into the penalty area.
Once in the box, Wang Feng took a shot directly, sending the ball into the net at the near post.
2-0! Just one-ninth into the game, Wang Feng scored his second goal of the match.
Excited Inter Milan continued their relentless attack. In the 27th minute, Récoba on the left held the ball, passed it to Vieri, who then laid it off for Wang Feng near the edge of the penalty area.
The pass was a bit strong, causing the ball to bounce up after hitting Wang Feng's inside foot. Wang Feng, facing the descending ball, immediately volleyed it, and with a loud "bang," the ball flew into the net.
This shot was fast, and Odense's goalkeeper couldn't react in time, allowing the ball to hit the net before he could make a save.
3-0! Wang Feng completed his hat-trick!
This was Wang Feng's first hat-trick for Inter Milan, and excited, he jumped over the advertising boards to the stands, looking up at the towering stands, raising his hands in celebration.
Inter Milan fans in the stands stood up to cheer for his brilliant performance. The nearest fans leaned on the railing, excitedly shouting his name, saying things like, "You're the best, we need you."
Later, Matrazzi jumped on his back, shouting, "Did you take some kind of stimulant today? Why are you playing so well?"
When the game resumed, Odense was completely bewildered. Their offense and defense became disorganized.
In the 35th minute, Wang Feng on the right, with a skillful move of acceleration and quick stop, easily bypassed the defender and crossed. Dibaggio at the far post tapped the ball into the empty net.
4-0! The first half of the game was not over yet, and Inter Milan had already secured the victory.
Later, Inter Milan noticeably slowed down their attacking pace. They wanted to give their opponents some dignity. Wang Feng was substituted in the 50th minute, and Cooper subsequently made several substitutions.
However, in the 77th minute, Inter Milan scored another goal, and it wasn't until near the end of the match that Odense pulled one back.
In the end, the final score was set at 5-1, making this round of the Europa League the one with the largest goal difference.
So far, after 7 rounds of matches, only Juventus, Roma, and Inter Milan remain undefeated in Serie A. Among them, Inter Milan has 5 wins, 2 draws, and 17 points, ranking second, while Juventus, with 6 wins, 1 draw, and 19 points, holds the top spot.
Next, Inter Milan will face a tough schedule, with back-to-back matches against AC Milan and Juventus, which will directly impact the title race.
Fortunately, the match against AC Milan, although away, will still be played at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milan, and the subsequent home game against Juventus will also be at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, so Inter Milan won't have to travel to Turin.
To better prepare, head coach Cooper specially requested to bring the entire team to the five-star Hilton hotel in the city for training. This place is also the preferred choice for many Serie A clubs when playing away matches in Milan.
The reason for leaving Pinetina is the poor conditions there. Just a week ago, there were some issues with the hot water system in the dormitory, almost causing burns to Cordoba and Gresko. The problematic system is still under repair.
The poor environment at the training base has long been criticized by Inter Milan players. Compared to Milan Milanello, the training base of AC Milan, the conditions and quality of the dormitories in Pinetina are much worse. However, Moratti has not taken any steps to address this issue, so there have been some voices within the team wanting to train at a hotel before home matches instead of the training camp.
Naturally, the club's management would not agree to such a proposal. However, in order to prepare for the crucial matches against AC Milan and Juventus, and after Cooper's reasoned arguments, they compromised and agreed to stay in the hotel during these two matches.
This decision made all the players jubilant, including Wang Feng. After living in Pinetina for some time, he understood how bad it was there. The place was cold in winter and hot in summer, and the dormitories were permeated with a musty smell. The rooms without sunlight seemed particularly gloomy, like a prison.
But Wang Feng wasn't the kind of person who fusses about such things. He had lived in worse places before, so he never complained about the training camp dormitories.
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