Chapter 92: Top battle
On the evening of October 28, 2001, the ninth round of Serie A commenced as scheduled. Inter Milan welcomed Juventus at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium. This showdown between the league leaders and runners-up would directly impact the battle for the top spot.
"Ladies and gentlemen in front of the television, this is CCTV Sports Channel. I'm your old friend Huang Jianqiang. Today, along with my colleague Zhang Lu, we will bring you the live broadcast of the ninth round of Serie A, featuring Inter Milan against Juventus."
"Hello everyone, I'm Zhang Lu. This match is the key battle of this round in the Serie A. Currently, Inter and Juventus are tied with 20 points each. Whoever wins this match will claim the top spot in Serie A."
"Yes, I believe many viewers in front of the television are supporters of Inter Milan, including myself, because Inter Milan has our Chinese star, Wang Feng."
"Since joining Serie A, Wang Feng has been outstanding, quickly becoming the core of Inter's attack and one of the most threatening strikers in Serie A."
"This makes Chinese fans both excited and proud. Let's look forward to his brilliant performance in this century-old confrontation."
The referee for the match was the renowned Italian referee Pierluigi Collina, whose iconic bald head and sharp eagle-like eyes made players on the field hesitate to challenge the referee's authority.
With his whistle, Inter Milan kicked off first. Recoba passed the ball to Vieri, who then passed it back to the defense.
On the right side outside the center circle, Wang Feng charged forward. Before the match, coach Cooper arranged for him to penetrate the opponent's territory immediately after the game started, aiming to establish an advantage through aggressive play.
After Inter Milan regained possession in their own half, they passed the ball to the left. Di Biagio dribbled past the midfield and was about to approach the penalty area within thirty meters when Juventus defender Thuram immediately stepped up to intercept.
Wang Feng, who was originally at the forefront, suddenly retreated to support, running behind the defensive player. Di Biagio made a precise cross, bypassing three defenders in the middle and reaching Wang Feng directly.
Wang Feng received the ball in the center and quickly turned to break through. Tudor and Conte chased closely behind, but he deliberately took a step forward with the ball before accelerating.
With this acceleration, when Wang Feng caught up with the ball at the top of the penalty area, he shot directly, and the ball pierced through Juventus' goal like a sharp sword.
1-0! Just one minute into the game, Inter Milan took the lead!
The Inter Milan fans in the stands hadn't fully immersed themselves in the atmosphere of the match yet, and they were surprised by the sudden happiness.
They were silent for a moment, then erupted into earth-shattering cheers. Many fans stood up excitedly, applauding Wang Feng who was celebrating the goal.
Nedved felt uneasy when he saw Wang Feng's accelerating breakthrough. Such unstoppable momentum had to be stopped, but unfortunately, he was too far from the opponent, and even with all his effort, he couldn't catch up.
After the restart, Inter Milan continued to show a positive attitude, but Juventus was not discouraged by the early goal. They still calmly organized their defensive positions.
Juventus gradually gained control of the game and launched several threatening attacks on Inter Milan's defense.
In the 25th minute, Juventus launched an attack from midfield. Nedved's through ball found Trezeguet, who passed directly to the right to Del Piero. He skillfully entered the penalty area and equalized the score for Juventus.
Just five minutes later, Nedved and Conte's consecutive passes found Trezeguet at the edge of the penalty area. He dribbled past Inter's defender Cordoba with his right foot, then suddenly shot from distance, piercing through Toldo's fingertips.
Juventus took the lead! Coach Marcello Lippi jumped up from the coaching bench, waving his arms excitedly. This was the embodiment of his pre-match tactical arrangements.
Lippi coached Juventus from 1994 to 1999, then went on to coach Inter Milan. He was sacked last season due to poor performance but now returning to the Old Lady, he could be said to have a deep understanding of both teams.
Especially Inter Milan, their main lineup had not changed much compared to last season, so Lippi knew clearly that Inter Milan's weakness lay in their attacking organization. As long as he cut off the connection between the midfield and the frontcourt, he could contain their threat.
The only variable for Inter Milan was Wang Feng, who scored a goal by seizing the opportunity at the start of the match. However, he couldn't face Juventus' entire defense alone. So when Juventus suppressed Inter Milan's midfield, the balance of victory tilted in their favor!
At halftime, Wang Feng and Vieri appeared particularly frustrated. They couldn't get support from the midfield and could only keep retreating to get the ball, reducing the threat to Juventus' defense.
Coach Cooper rubbed his forehead. Facing Juventus' luxurious midfield worth hundreds of millions of euros, he also felt powerless. He could only point to the tactical board and ask everyone to focus on defense: "We left gaps in our defense for both goals in the first half, which shouldn't have happened. So in the second half, we need to be more focused and closely mark their forwards."
"On the basis of stabilizing the defense, we will counterattack defensively and try to equalize the score."
Soon the halftime break was over, and both sides returned to the field to prepare for the second half of the match.
The situation on the field mirrored that of the first half, with Juventus controlling the game's rhythm by dominating the midfield, while Inter Milan could only defend passively, facing frequent crises in their defense.
Helpless, Cooper had to make substitutions. In the 65th minute, he replaced Vieri with a defender to strengthen the defense and avoid further widening the score gap.
In the 75th minute, Inter Milan won the ball in their own half. The ball reached Matrazi's feet, and Wang Feng quickly initiated a counterattack. With their training understanding, Matrazi made a long pass, lofting the ball directly behind Juventus' defensive line.
Wang Feng chased after the ball with all his might, guided by his intuition. He successfully judged the landing point and reached the ball before the defensive players.
At this point, there was no time to control the ball, so Wang Feng lifted his foot to push the falling ball forward, letting it continue flying towards the opponent's half as he ran forward.
Behind Wang Feng, Tudor quickly grabbed his shirt to stop him from advancing. Wang Feng, pulled off balance by Tudor's tug, fell to the ground. Due to Wang Feng's excessive force, Tudor was also brought down.
"Beep~" Referee Collina's whistle promptly sounded. He quickly ran to Tudor and showed him a red card. He was the last defender for Juventus, and if it weren't for his foul, Wang Feng would have been through on goal.
Tudor sat on the ground, helplessly spreading his hands. In this situation, he could only choose to foul. Inter Milan players gathered around to check on Wang Feng's condition.
Fortunately, Wang Feng only suffered a minor scrape on his knee, and with the team doctor's simple treatment, the bleeding was temporarily stopped.
The game resumed, and Inter Milan got a chance for a free kick in the opponent's half, but unfortunately, Zanetti's kick into the penalty area was disrupted by the defending player.
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