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Chapter 107 Coppa Italia Semi-Finals

December 5, Meazza Stadium.

This is the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final, with Inter Milan hosting Roma.

67000 fans sang "pazzainter" and cheered for the home team.

This season, Inter Milan was eliminated from the Champions League early and lost the Serie A championship early.Last season's invincible Triple Crown, until now only the Coppa Italia is left as a fig leaf.

If you don't want all four to be empty, this is Leonardo's last chance.

In the case of defeating Rome 1:0 in the first round, Inter Milan can advance to the final of the Coppa Italia as long as they keep a tie in this game, so Leonardo's formation is conservative.

He formed a lineup that many people can't understand, which can barely be said to be 4312.Goalkeeper Cesar, left back Nagatomo Yuto, right back Maicon, center back is a combination of Lucio and Chivu, 3 defensive midfielders, captain Zanetti, Cambiasso and a rare player this season mariga.Harja appeared in the midfielder position.Pacini and Eto'o, who scored twice in the last game, partnered up front. Coutinho, who scored a goal after coming off the bench in the last league game, is still sitting on the bench.

However, Inter Milan, which is stronger than its opponents on paper, did not show the strength to overwhelm its opponents.

Last season, the steel-and-concrete defense that was proud of Europe last season had frequent loopholes in the first half of the game. Thanks to Cesar's rescue, Inter Milan did not fall behind.

Entering the second half, Inter Milan was even more tired.Both Cambiasso and Zanetti have world-class strength, and they both played very hard, but they couldn't run the midfield well.

A midfield without Sneijder is like a machine without cogs, unable to function well at all.Both Mariga and Harja also lack the ability to organize and make the last pass, and they are also more inclined to defend.As a result, both Eto'o and Paccini on the front line were fighting alone, lacking support, and unable to start the situation for a long time.

Nevertheless, Leonardo is still sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai.After all, as long as this score is maintained until the end, Inter Milan will be able to enter the final.

Shi Hao sat on the bench, together with other teammates, from time to time he hugged his head for his team's missed opportunities, and clenched his fists for the danger in front of the goal.He peeked at Leonardo's face from time to time, but the young marshal looked very calm with deep eyes.

Shi Hao sighed, thinking that he might not have the chance to play in this game, or he was sent to the field in the last few minutes to feel the atmosphere.

Football is round, and the team that has the upper hand may not win the game. The team that has the advantage in all aspects sometimes loses just because of a small accident.

In the 58th minute of the game, Eto'o broke through Roma's defense with his personal ability and scored a goal with a shot from a small angle.

The stadium boiled up, and the players on the bench all rushed forward to celebrate, and Shi Hao was not left behind.The team took the lead, and it was almost a sure thing to enter the finals. The possibility of him appearing increased again.

In the 66th minute, Leonardo finally stood up from the bench and replaced Pacini with Milito.This is a matchup substitution. He wants to continue to maintain the threat of the forward line to the Roma defense line, and does not intend to defend across the board early.

In the 72nd minute, Shi Hao finally got a chance. He came on to replace Eto'o, who scored the goal.Before going on the field, Leonardo taught him the opportunity face to face, asking him to delay a little bit and make a good connection between the midfielder and Milito.Sure enough, Leonardo was dissatisfied with the chaos in the midfield.

After Shi Hao came on stage, he obeyed Leonardo's order and didn't think about showing off.

He is no stranger to this role, which is similar to "No. 9 and a half". He played this position several times when he was in the Shonan University team.

But even though he drops deep, he still has few chances to touch the ball.The Roma team almost made a last-ditch push across the board, and Inter Milan's defense was even tighter, and they rarely dribbled the ball across the half.

Mariga and Zanetti are not very organized. Cambiasso has a certain organizational ability, but his defensive task is more difficult; Harja, who Leonardo placed high hopes on, still has not performed well. With the strength commensurate with his worth, he made frequent mistakes.

Some players are at home in small teams, but after arriving at giants, it is difficult to play their worth due to complex reasons such as psychology and tactics. Harja seems to belong to this category.

Seeing that the midfield was out of control, Inter Milan was completely passive and beaten. Leonardo had to make another substitution adjustment, replacing Harja with Motta in the 79th minute.

At this time, Inter Milan's formation became 4411, with 4 defensive midfielders piled up in front of the defense line. Motta was responsible for the organization of the midfield, Shi Hao was responsible for the connection between the midfield and frontcourt, and Milito was the single arrow.

This substitution had an immediate effect. After Mota came on the field, the entire Inter Milan team seemed to be activated suddenly. Although the defense was still a little tight, they did a much more orderly counterattack.

In the 82nd minute, Shi Hao got a great chance.

After Inter intercepted the ball in the backcourt, Motta handed the ball to Motta. After Motta passed several times in a row with Cambiasso, Motta suddenly found Nagatomo Yuto who was rushing forward with a long pass.

Nagatomo Yuto's technical and physical conditions are not outstanding, but he is physically fit and very dedicated on the court. As long as he has a breath, he will jump up and down. Now that the game is coming to an end, he is still resolutely moving forward.

The consequence of Roma's massive pressure is the emptiness of the defense.Nagatomo Yudo drove straight in. When the Roma defender finally stepped forward to press, he did not love to fight, but decisively handed the ball to Shi Hao who stepped forward to respond.

After receiving the ball, Shi Hao didn't hesitate at all, and immediately kicked it straight.

But the pass was a little bit off. Milito couldn't get the angle of the shot immediately after taking the ball, so he had to slowly protect the ball and try to break through.

At this time, Shi Hao was also running quickly into the restricted area.Milito made a fake move and knocked the ball near the penalty spot without deceiving Mex.

Shi Hao and De Rossi ran to the ball almost at the same time.

Shi Hao, who had already scored goals in Serie A, did not let his emotions blind him this time. He calmly sensed De Rossi's approach, touched the ball first, and then continued to accelerate.

Due to his physical advantage, he accelerated again at close to extreme speed, and De Rossi couldn't keep up. Only the young defender Burdisso and goalkeeper Doni remained between Shi Hao and the goal.

With De Rossi still in hot pursuit, Shi Hao did not try to dribble again, and he did not expect to be able to fool the experienced De Rossi.

After catching up with the ball, Shi Hao shot directly.The shot was low and fast, and went straight into the far corner of the goal.

Dhoni fought hard to make a save, but was still beyond his reach, but when everyone thought the goal was sure to be scored, the football showed a slight arc and brushed the far post out of the baseline.

I rely on!Shi Hao stared dumbfounded at the football going wide of the goal.He thought he could finally score his first Coppa Italia goal, but he had to wait...

Although the goal was not scored, it still caused the Roma team's defense to break out in a cold sweat. They no longer dared to underestimate this young Chinese teenager. In the subsequent games, Burdisso never left him.

In the 84th minute, Roma pulled a goal back from Borriello.In the rest of the time, although the Roma team was still looking for scoring opportunities, the threat posed by Shi Hao and Milito to their defense made them dare not go all out.

The 1:1 score was maintained until the end, and Inter Milan finally advanced to the final of the Coppa Italia.

　Sorry for the late update!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)