Chinese champion

Chapter 256
"Maybe we should give up," Mancini told assistant coach Auros privately after a 30-3 victory over Lazio in the 1th round of the league, relying on Figo's first goal and Recoba's brace.

Auros also agrees with Mancini's statement. Although Inter Milan won this round, Juventus and AC Milan also won. With only eight rounds left in the league, the gap of 12 points seems out of reach. Instead of focusing on the league, it is better to let the players recharge their batteries to play the Champions League and Coppa Italia, and strive to win a championship.

On the 22nd, the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, as expected, neither side sent their main players. Inter Milan wanted to preserve their strength to play in the Champions League, while Udinese wanted to focus all their energy on relegation, which led to Pei Wei and Hu Yong Both sat on the bench, and the duel between them was once again postponed indefinitely. Inter Milan relied on Solari's first goal after the transfer to beat the opponent 1-0 at home and successfully took the lead in the two rounds .

On March 3, in order to prepare for the first round of the Champions League quarter-finals against Villarreal two days later, Inter Milan sent most of the substitutes in the league against Parma. The trend has no effect, but Mancini never thought that his team would lose so unexpectedly.

The only goal of the game came in the 39th minute of the first half, when Corradi barely passed the ball into the penalty area under the defense of Samuel. The ball fell to the feet of Inter Milan left-back Cameroonian Worm. He can kick the ball cleanly, but he stopped the ball like an acrobatic under the pressure of Bresciano. A strong shot pierced through Toldo's ten fingers, and Parma led Inter Milan 1:0.

In the second half, Inter Milan launched a tidal offensive, but the opponent's goalkeeper Butch performed exceptionally well, saving the shots of Cambiasso, Cruz and Recoba in succession. In the end, Inter Milan had no choice but to accept the defeat. result.

"We performed very well. Although most of the substitutes were on the bench, the players performed very well. In the game, we got far more shots than the home team. There were at least three must-go goals. It's a pity. Yes, we are unlucky." Mancini said bitterly, he had to put his hands under the table to prevent those keen media reporters from discovering that the knuckles of his clenched hands had turned white: "It's already Let the past be bygones and our main objective now is to win the Champions League game against Villarreal on Wednesday, which will be a very important one."

"Riquelme, Forlan and Jose Mari are the guarantees for Villarreal's goals. We must keep a close eye on them. However, we also have Pei Wei, Martins and Adriano. Wei's strength will not be inferior to Riquelme's. Although Figo's absence has a certain impact on our offense, both Stankovic and Solari can make up for his position. I believe that on Wednesday In the game, we will win in the end," Mancini concluded.

But in this game, not only Figo was absent, but left-back Favalli was also unable to play. Mancini had to use Wurm, who made a serious mistake in the previous game, although his defensive ability is not flattering. , but still has a set of offense.

But it was this Worm that made Mancini suffer again.

Just 40 seconds after the start of the first half, Riquelme picked the ball from the left to the front of the penalty area. Wurm was about to rush to make a clearance. It flew over Worm's head, and just as Worm was about to turn around, Jose Mari had already rushed past him, single-handedly!

Toldo abandoned the goal and attacked, Jose Mari immediately took a shot, Toldo jumped up from the ground, flew up like a spring, stretched out his hand and hit the ball hard!

"Beautiful save! San Toldo saved Inter Milan!" Meazza's commentator shouted: "Who said Toldo is old?"

The commentator's words were still echoing on the pitch, but Inter Milan immediately fell into a new crisis!

Toldo didn't throw the ball under himself because the distance between him and Jose Mari was too close, throwing the ball out is already a world-class save, no matter which goalkeeper can't be sure hold the ball.

In that instant, Toldo threw the ball into the middle, and he could see clearly that there were no players there.

And here is Inter Milan's restricted area, I believe that Inter Milan's defenders will appear in that place sooner.

But he was disappointed. Fran appeared in the middle of the penalty area like a ghost, and Cordoba, who was chasing after him, was still 4 or 5 meters away from him!
The Uruguayan striker abandoned by Manchester United, the Golden Boot of La Liga last season-Diego Forlan!

The Uruguayan, who became the top scorer in La Liga by surpassing Eto'o with a hat-trick in the last round of the league last season, volleyed in the penalty area before Cordoba made a tackle. Before he had time to wave his hand, the ball roared and flew into the goal!
In just 47 seconds of the opening game, Villarreal took the lead in the away game!And what created this goal was the yellow submarine frontcourt trident that worried Mancini before the start of the game!
Riquelme's wonderful pass, Jose Mari's shot, and Forlan's supplementary shot resulted in this lightning goal!
Mancini shook his head helplessly. Worm undoubtedly made a big mistake in defense just now. His weaknesses of slow turning and weak defensive awareness were undoubtedly exposed in the conceded goal just now, but what can be done?The weakness of the left-back position has always been a big defect of Inter Milan. Although Favalli is very old, Inter Milan's defense is still indispensable. And the No.1 pick Bronsodi, who could replace him, returned to Argentina because his daughter continued to undergo surgery, so Mancini had to send Worm, and the result was such a consequence that the left back was Inter Milan. Achilles' ankle.

Next season must introduce a good left back!Mancini thought fiercely in his heart, Favalli is old, Worm is useless, it is okay for Bronsodi, who was born as a central defender, to play a cameo once in a while, but it is a bit reluctant to play this position all the time, let alone in the old Miha After retiring, Burundisso is also needed to fill the vacancy of the central defender.

I don't know how Palermo's Grosso and Ajax's Maxwell are. They are players that Inter Milan has been looking for in the transfer market for a long time.

"Look! Pei is dribbling the ball!" Oros' cry woke Mancini up, and he hurriedly looked up to the field, just in time to see Pei Wei use a juggling heel to pick the ball past the opponent's back Waist Tower Chinati!

"The third one!" Pei Wei thought to himself, just after kick-off, Pei Wei rushed into Villarreal's half with the ball, and the Villarreal players were completely unprepared for this. He passed three in a row!
When he saw the opponent's defender Peña rushing forward, Pei Wei showed a smile on the corner of his mouth!
it's time!Just before the opponent's defender came up, Pei Wei suddenly pushed the arch of his foot, and the ball rolled into Villarreal's penalty area along the route exposed by Peña's save!
Adriano has been by Pei Wei's side all the time. He is already familiar with Pei Wei's passing route. He didn't hesitate and ran directly to the only gap in the opponent's defense line. He believed that Pei Wei would definitely send the ball to him. underfoot!

Pei Wei did not disappoint him. The ball rolled to his feet as if he had eyes. Facing Vieira who was attacking, Ade calmly kicked his left foot, and the ball flew over Vieira's head!
"Go in!" Mancini shouted silently in his heart, but what happened next disappointed him. The opponent's defender Benta flew forward and kicked the ball out before the ball was about to enter the goal!

"Our luck is too bad." Mancini shook his head with a wry smile: "Since the game against Fiorentina... there are many games we should have won but we didn't win..."

Oros is speechless. Indeed, Inter Milan seems to have run out of luck in the 12-game winning streak. Whenever they lose the chain inexplicably in key games, or they have an absolute advantage but cannot score goals. Maybe, it is God. Don't want Inter Milan to win the league title...

Pei Wei on the field didn't have this idea. He didn't believe in luck or bad luck. Isn't it just a conceded goal?Just chase it back...

Pei Wei and Stankovic switched positions and came to the right. The opponent's left back Calleja seemed very nervous. It's no wonder that he had suffered from Pei Wei more than once in La Liga. Pei Wei was fine when he transferred to Serie A. He didn't expect to meet this guy who made him have nightmares again in the Champions League...

Pei Wei slowly took the ball on the sidewalk, Kaleja bent down and stared at Pei Wei closely.

Pei Wei suddenly leaned forward, Kaleha was shocked, and hurriedly turned his center of gravity backwards, but Pei Wei was just a fake move, the ball didn't even move under his feet!
Calleja hurriedly regained his focus amidst the laughter of the Inter Milan fans. It is not his fault that he was fooled. Pei Wei's forward leaning just now was too real!
Just as he turned around, Pei Wei moved again!
This time it was not fake, Pei Wei quickly crossed the unstable Kaleha and went straight to the bottom line!

Sorin, the captain of Villarreal, withdrew, and he chased after Pei Wei, but Pei Wei had already turned into the penalty area, and before Sorin caught up with him, he pushed horizontally!
The ball quickly passed under the defender Peña who was in a hurry to defend, and Adriano, who ran a little bit, turned around after receiving the ball, and pushed with his left foot!

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL——!" The commentator yelled for half a minute, and just after he stopped, he continued to yell: "Rett Adriano! After receiving a pass from Pei Wei, he scored a goal for Inter Milan. No.17 goals in the UEFA Champions League! He surpassed the great Mazzola and became Inter Milan's No.1 goalscorer in the Champions League!"

In the 6th minute, Inter Milan's Adriano scored and the two sides returned to the same starting line. However, Villarreal can accept this result because they have already scored an away goal, and Inter Milan will not be reconciled The opponent took away a point, so in the following games, Inter Milan will still attack and Villarreal will defend...

In the 9th minute, Pei Wei's long shot was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper.

In the 16th minute, Stankovic dribbled the ball horizontally in front of the penalty area and suddenly took a long shot, and the ball missed the far post.

In the 20th minute, Villarreal counterattacked. After receiving a pass from Riquelme in the penalty area, Forlan grabbed the kick in front of Samuel and hit the goal. The ball was saved by Toldo.

In the 22nd minute, Recoba suddenly took a long shot after receiving a pass from Pei Wei past a defender, and Vieira flew to save the ball out of the baseline.

Just when Mancini breathed a sigh of relief, Inter Milan's bad luck came again. Recoba sprained his foot in an attack, and Mancini had to replace him with Martins.

Cordoba fouled José Mari in front of the penalty area. Riquelme's free kick just went wide. Inter counterattacked. Captain Zanetti dribbled the ball from the right. He dribbled past two defenders. After that, he ran 40 meters to approach the opponent's penalty area, and then distributed the ball to the left. Unfortunately, Cesar's pass was a little higher and failed to form an effective shot.

The next time is entirely Zanetti's performance, he continued to attack from the right, so that the other party's Sorin and Calleha miserable.

The most threatening attack of Inter Milan occurred in the 41st minute. Pei Wei dribbled the ball in the middle and attracted the defense of the opponent's three defenders. In the cross, it is a pity that Adriano, who outflanked the center, headed slightly higher.

The first half is over and the score is 1:1.

After the start of the second half, Inter Milan strengthened the attack on the two sides. Stankovic, Cesar and others made crosses one after another. Unfortunately, the striker in the center failed to seize the opportunity.

Pei Wei winked at Stankovic, Stankovic understood, and the two changed positions, Stankovic came to the middle, and Pei Wei went to the right.

Mancini nodded off the field. Villarreal's left back Calleja is obviously very afraid of Pei Wei, and left midfielder Sorin is a strong offensive and defensive role. From this point of view, maybe the right side It will be a good breakthrough.

It's a pity that Figo is injured, and Stankovic is not very threatening in terms of breakthroughs, otherwise Pei Wei would not need to go to the unfamiliar right.

Sorin discovered Inter Milan's attempt. As an old Argentine international, he consciously strengthened his defense.

"Pei!" Zanetti yelled, and then passed the ball to Pei Wei who was in front of him.

Pei Wei got rid of Calleja almost at the same time he received the ball. He didn't stop the ball at all, but sent the ball forward directly. The ball flew over the poor Calleja. Before he could figure out what happened, Pei Wei quickly passed him and continued to rush forward.

When Pei Wei was about to rush to the vicinity of the restricted area, a figure stood in front of him.

"Huh? Sorin, aren't you a winger? Why did you come here?" Pei Wei asked in Spanish with a little surprise.

"Don't think I didn't see your plan. If you want to attack from the left, there is no door!" Sorin answered Pei Wei's question unconsciously. Don't answer when.

What's more, Sorin is quite complacent that he saw through Pei Wei's plan...

Before Sorin finished speaking, Pei Wei had already moved.

Like a ball elf, he jumped up from the ground and flew over Sorin's head. At the same time, Pei Wei was already short and rushed past Sorin.

Sorin turned around in a hurry, but Pei Wei blocked him with his body, and at the same time he was about to kick a cross!

Seeing that it was already difficult for him to stop him, Sorin gritted his teeth, stretched out his feet and swept across. As long as Pei Wei avoided his feet, it might cause a deviation in the final pass. He could see it very clearly, Martins The front point has been grabbed, and there is no one to defend. As long as Pei Wei passes accurately, Inter Milan is likely to overtake the score!

But to Sorin's surprise, Pei Wei didn't dodge. Instead, he tried his best to dodge after passing the ball. In this case, Sorin couldn't do it even if he wanted to retract his feet. His feet were strong. It actually hit Pei Wei's right ankle that was still in the air!
The ball flew to the front point, Martins flew to meet the ball and poked it, Vieira couldn't make a save, Inter Milan successfully overtook the score, 2:1!

But the Inter Milan players who managed to take the lead were not in the mood to celebrate. On the right side of the penalty area, Pei Wei, who had just assisted Martins, fell to the ground clutching his feet!
The players gathered around one after another, Sorin was still explaining something to Zanetti, but the captain of Inter Milan pushed him away regardless of the feelings of his compatriots, and the other Argentine players of Inter Milan did not respond to this The captain of the Argentine national team is polite-everyone of the Inter Milan players like Pei Wei, a cheerful young man, even Veron, who will return to Argentina after the end of the season because he cannot compete with him for the main position.

Ma Keer rushed forward with the team doctors of Inter Milan, and she is now able to help treat the wounded with the team doctors at the scene. She was happy to see Pei Wei at the scene, but she didn't know until now , She on the sidelines may also feel heartbroken because of Pei Wei's injury.

"The ankle bone is slightly contused, and the specific situation needs to be observed, but it is impossible for him to play in this game. If there is congestion, he may have to rest for one to two months." The team doctor said with a frown.

"God, why was he injured again? Although Sorin's action just now was a foul, it was not very serious. Why did he get injured?" Mancini scratched his hair in annoyance.

"The key point is that he was injured in this area once before. You know, the old injury is easy to recur in the injured area. This is not bad, and there is no incurable injury. I believe he will be back in late April. gone."

"Late April? My God!" Mancini smiled wryly: "At that time, the semi-finals of the Champions League will be over! Maybe we can use a final to welcome Pei Wei's return?"

Mancini shook his head helplessly, watching the team doctor send Pei Wei to the hospital.

He replaced Pei Wei with Pizarro and continued to strengthen the attack, but Villarreal defended hard. Although they fell behind 1:2, Villarreal only lost one goal and had an away goal. Al can still accept such a result.

In the next game, Riquelme's free kick hit the post, and Adriano, Martins, and Cambiasso also had chances to score. Unfortunately, when the final whistle sounded, the score It is still 2:1.

Inter Milan won this victory, but they also lost their main midfielder Pei Wei. It seems that Inter Milan's bad luck has not passed.

After defeating the underdog Messina 3-0, Inter Milan went to the stadium to participate in the second round of the match. Real scored the only goal of the game through Riquelme's assist. In the second half, Villarreal got a free kick about 35 meters away from the goal. Riquelme cleverly The ball was hoisted into the penalty area, and the unguarded Aruabarena headed six meters in front of the goal and rubbed into the net.The total score of the two sides was tied at 2 to 2, but Inter Milan was at the disadvantage of few away goals.

Inter Milan's bad luck continued. Figo's free kick, Martins' goal grab and Cambiasso's long-range shot from outside the penalty area were all resolved one by one by the divinely assisted Vieira. Adriano and Martin Sidu once fell in the penalty area, but the referee ignored it. As No.90 Stankovic's long shot from the left side of the penalty area was saved by Vieira in the second minute, the players and fans of Inter Milan were almost desperate.

Vieira was given a yellow card by the referee for delaying the time, so he will miss the next game, but Villarreal managed to delay the time until the last moment. When the final whistle sounded, Mancini gave a slap The son sat on the coach's bench.

Inter Milan's road to the Champions League this season has come to an end. With no hope of the league title, the only championship they can still fight for is the Coppa Italia champion.

Five days after the game ended, the "Phonegate" incident that shocked the whole of Italy and even the world of football began to surface...

(End of this chapter)