The sky was filled with dark clouds, and beneath them, the soccer match was in full swing!
Lazio’s head coach Pioli knew exactly where his team’s strengths lay.
His 4-3-3 formation was tailored specifically for the German bomber Klose.
The left winger Mauri primarily played a supporting role, while Lazio’s main attack point was on the right with Anderson!
The 21-year-old Brazilian winger Anderson, known for his speed, excellent crosses, and stamina, was one of the top talents in Serie A.
After taking the ball on the right, Anderson played a one-two with central midfielder Ledesma, directly facing the left-back Dodo!
Facing his Brazilian compatriot, Anderson composed a magnificent dribbling symphony in the wide lanes of the Olympic Stadium.
Accompanied by three "whoosh" sounds, his feet moved like blazing wheels, shaking off Dodo, and like a fierce dragon entering a river, he shot towards the goal line and made a cross!
In the middle of the penalty area, Klose, the bomber, had already started his engine!
His body stretched to its fullest as he jumped, chin slightly tucked, abdominal muscles tightened; once he received the ammunition delivered from the flanks, he would rcilessly bombard Inter’s goal!
But Serie A’s renowned coach Mancini was well aware of the need for counterasures!
Klose might have an excellent leap and a great header, but he was only one person!
I fielded two defenders over 1.9 ters tall, not afraid they couldn’t contain you!
"Get out!"
Vidic roared, swinging his iron head, heading the ball and Klose’s head out of the penalty area!
Seeing Klose knocked to the ground, Berni waved his towel excitedly from the sidelines.
"Great job! No wonder you ca from Manchester United, with such an iron head, which forward wouldn’t shiver?"
Tang Long thought that Vidic’s robust physique wasn’t inferior to Van Dijk’s; if he had co to Inter a few years younger, he would have been the most reliable iron barrier in defense instead of being a rotation player this season.
Inter, on this side, was equally impressive.
Unlike Lazio, Inter played a 4-2-3-1 ground attack formation.
Shaqiri and Yuto Nagatomo, both around 170 cm tall, had very agile movents.
They frequently moved from the wings to the center, working around the central axis of Gualin-Hernanes-Podolski.
Gualin had the ball!
After pushing forward four or five steps, he passed the ball to the right to Nagatomo.
Nagatomo returned the ball to Hernanes, who was supporting him, and then sprinted forward at high speed!
After Hernanes and the retreating Podolski made a wall pass, he aid at the right side lane and made a ground-through pass!
"Follow him!"
Lazio’s left-back Stephen followed Nagatomo as he ran, and the ball was passed at the sa ti!
With his cheeks puffed out, Nagatomo chased the ball with all his might, barely managing a sweep just before the ball was about to go out at the goal line!
The ball was hooked by Lazio’s central defender’s foot, bouncing outside the penalty area.
Gualin ca running in large strides and, without hesitation, took a violent shot!
With a "bang," the ball went over the crossbar by more than a ter, flying to the end of the running track behind the goal.
Mancini applauded from the sidelines, praising this ground attack combination.
But he couldn’t help thinking that if Tang Long had been in Hernanes’s position, he would certainly have delivered the ball more comfortably to Nagatomo, and the subsequent cross might have posed a greater threat.
In the first 20 minutes of the half, both sides were probing, playing at a fast pace.
But it was all thunder and no rain, a lot of flash with no finish!
Once 20 minutes had passed, the pace slowed down.
"It’s entering a stalemate tug-of-war, this is getting interesting."
"Uncle Berni, so far we’ve completely suppressed Klose’s aerial advantage."
"Yes, after all, he’s 37 years old. Our two central defenders are in their pri, with height and weight advantages, handling him is not a big deal."
Berni and Tang Long discussed the match from the sidelines.
However, Berni was quickly proven wrong!
Crash——
With a clap of thunder, heavy rain poured down!
The torrential rain was no coincidence; the threatening clouds had been hanging low over the field for so ti.
The aging Ro Olympic Stadium was even more dilapidated than Inter’s azza.
The substitutes sat on plastic seats placed on the track, with a blue rain cover above.
The rain cover even leaked~
Raindrops were dripping through a small hole right onto Berni’s bald head~
Berni cursed, wrapped a towel over his head, and shook off the water droplets on his binoculars, saying helplessly to Tang Long:
"Well, with this downpour, the binoculars are useless, it’s like watching blind!"
Many forwards hate the rain; it impairs vision, makes the ball slippery, and difficult to control.
But for Klose, it was like divine aid!
In the 32nd minute of the first half, Anderson perford a solo dribble down the wing again, breaking through and making another cross!
Vidic marked him tightly, correctly judging the drop point, but didn’t expect a gust of wind and rain to cause the ball to suddenly shift unpredictably mid-air!
"Damn!"
Vidic, already in the air, was startled as it was too late!
Klose seed to have anticipated the possibility of his opponent missing the mark, and as soon as the ball went over Vidic’s head, the seasoned Klose dove forward, eting the ball with a header!
Bang!
The ball, exploding with splashes of water, smashed into the goal!
At the Ro Olympic Stadium, the cheers of sixty thousand fans mingled with the wind and rain, creating a roaring tumult.
Mancini frowned, sensing things weren’t going well~
This was Lazio’s first shot on target in the ga, yet it resulted in a goal.
In Mancini’s coaching career spanning hundreds of matches, when such situations arise, the ga becos exceptionally difficult!
There’s no rationale; it’s one of football’s inexplicable phenona.
Standing drenched in the coaching area, Mancini turned to glance at Tang Long on the bench.
"It’s still early, let’s wait a bit more."
But waiting didn’t yield a goal for Inter; instead, they conceded another goal from Lazio!
It was another wing cross.
Except this ti, it was from the left-back Stephen!
The Romanian player, almost swimming through splashing rain, used his relentless determination, along with a bit of luck from the muddy turf, to navigate the ball into Inter’s penalty area flanked by Gualin and Mbaye.
In the wind and rain, Stephen’s eyes stung with rain as big as beans.
He closed his eyes, not seeing, and stumbled to chip the ball into the box!
"Vidic, watch your back!"
Ranocchia’s shouts were drowned out by the wind.
Vidic hadn’t noticed; Klose had quietly moved from in front of him to behind him.
Almost instinctively judging the ball’s path, Klose lunged his body out!
Snatching at the far post for the goal!
At the mont the soccer ball hit the net.
The screams of Lazio’s ho fans finally penetrated through the long track and the thick wind and rain, reaching the center of the Olympic Stadium!
"K——K——K——Klose!!!"
...
Halfti, inside the away team’s locker room.
Inter players, including Mancini himself, anxiously awaited the referee’s decision.
They had been waiting for a full 20 minutes, well beyond the usual 15-minute halfti break.
The locker room was wet, not much better than outside.
Soone pushed the door open; it was Chiwo.
"Christian, what did the referee say, will the match continue?"
"Boss, it’s continuing! The rain has lessened a lot, and the referee said there’s a 10-minute delay for clearing the field of water, and then the match will resu!"
Mancini rolled up his soaked sleeves, slicked back his ssy hair, instantly forming a slicked-back hairstyle.
"Tang! Get your ass on the field now!"
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