Lin Hai Ting Tao
Chapter 523 A Tale of Two Cities (First Update, Seeking Monthly Tickets!)
In the end, thanks to Chen Yingxiong's two goals and Cassano's comeback goal, Naples defeated Parma 3:1 away from home, finally stopping the slide of not winning for two consecutive rounds.
Since AC Milan beat Bari 1:0 at home, Naples still had to rank second.
But that doesn't matter, no one cares about that.
Everyone is more concerned about Cassano's return.
In the fifteen minutes of the game he played, Cassano's performance was remarkable. In the eyes of reporters and critics, he ran actively, tirelessly, inserted himself in time, was able to appear in the right place at the right time, and then made the right moves...
As the schedule becomes more and more intensive and more and more difficult, Cassano's successful return is undoubtedly a shot in the arm.
This will give Mazzarri more room for maneuver when arranging personnel.
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This weekend, all the games in the Champions League Round of 16 are over. On the Serie A side, AC Milan and Roma were eliminated, while Inter Milan eliminated Bayern Munich to advance to the quarterfinals, and Naples eliminated Lyon.
In Inter Milan's 3:2 victory over Bayern Munich, Eto'o scored a goal, bringing his personal Champions League goal tally to eight this season, currently tied for first place with Messi.
In Serie A, Naples and Inter Milan advanced to the quarterfinals. The other eight teams are Real Madrid, Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Two teams from Serie A, two from La Liga, and the Premier League became the big winner, with three teams entering the quarterfinals. The Bundesliga and Ligue 1 armies were wiped out, and Shakhtar Donetsk became the only representative of Eastern European football, but it is estimated that they will not pass this round.
After the Champions League quarter-finals are released, naturally it is the draw.
This draw is much simpler than the round of sixteen.
The draw results also came out quickly.
Naples' game is the first leg of the quarter-finals, and they will stage a domestic derby with Inter Milan.
The three Premier League teams didn't fare well either. Don't look at the fact that they have the most advanced teams, but Platini's UEFA is determined to suppress the Premier League.
Chelsea and Manchester United, two strong teams, staged a domestic derby, which is a battle between two tigers.
The dark horse Tottenham Hotspur drew a very terrible opponent - Real Madrid. Judging from Real Madrid's performance this season, although they lost 0:5 to Barcelona, this Real Madrid team is still one of the strongest teams in the world, and Tottenham can definitely not deal with it easily. If nothing else, Tottenham will basically be eliminated.
Barcelona once again got a good draw, with the weakest team in the quarter-finals, Shakhtar Donetsk, being drawn by them. Advancing to the semi-finals should not be a problem.
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Naples drew Inter Milan, but this is not a bad draw, because judging from Inter Milan's current state, it is not too difficult for Naples to defeat Inter Milan. What's more, Naples also defeated this team twice last season. You must know that last season's Inter Milan was the treble winner led by Mourinho. Naples was able to beat such a powerful team twice. What's the harm in Naples winning again against Inter Milan now.
The first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals will officially kick off on April 5. Before that, Naples has two more domestic league games to play.
This is a great opportunity for Naples to catch up with AC Milan in the standings. Mazzarri still hopes to win the league title this season.
On March 20, Naples defeated Cagliari 2:1 at home, with Chen Yingxiong scoring a goal.
AC Milan unexpectedly lost to Palermo away from home.
AC Milan has 64 points, while Naples leads the way with 66 points.
Naples unexpectedly overtook AC Milan in this way.
However, the next round of league games will not be easy for either team.
Naples will welcome Lazio at home, while AC Milan will play the Milan derby at home.
If AC Milan can beat Inter Milan at home, and Naples accidentally loses to Lazio, the previous lead will be wiped out.
Due to the Champions League game in the middle of the week, these two games were arranged to be the first of this round.
On April 2, Naples will play against Lazio at home, and AC Milan will face Inter Milan at home at the same time!
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"AC Milan is leading?"
Mazzarri had just sat down in the coach's seat when he heard Viviani's exclamation next to him. He turned his head and asked.
"Yes, they are leading. Pato scored in the first minute of the game!" Viviani said with gritted teeth.
"This is really hell..." Mazzarri muttered.
Although AC Milan's coach Allegri is from the same town as him, their friendship will not be reflected when they compete with each other.
"Why is Inter Milan so useless? They are also a treble winner and a five-time consecutive league champion!" Frustrated, Mazzarri had to vent his anger on Inter Milan. Poor Inter Milan...
Because this game is related to whether or not they can hold on to the top spot in the league, even though he is very clear that the Champions League game against Inter Milan is in the middle of the week, Mazzarri did not rotate players. He sent out almost the strongest lineup he could send. Even Cavani and Chen Yingxiong, who have similar characteristics, played at the same time...
Lazio is not an easy opponent to deal with, even at home.
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Facts have proved that Mazzarri's worry is justified.
In the twenty-ninth minute, Lazio, playing away from home, took the lead with a goal from midfielder Mauri.
"Stefano Mauri!!" The commentator roared, lengthening his voice.
All that could be heard in the San Paolo Stadium was the boos of the Naples fans.
"Fucking hell!" Watching the Lazio players celebrate wildly at the San Paolo Stadium, Mazzarri couldn't help but swear.
He has been a head coach for so many years, and this is the first time he has felt such great pressure. He is also experiencing the experience of competing for the championship for the first time, and it is indeed completely different from before.
Just the pressure alone has increased several times than usual, making him feel like his heartbeat is speeding up a lot.
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Until the end of the first half, Naples was unable to break through Lazio's goal. They could only enter the half-time break with a score of 0:1 and accept this reality helplessly.
On the other side, the score was the same, but AC Milan was leading at home.
During the half-time break, AC Milan's assistant coach Tassotti told Allegri the news.
"They are behind?" Allegri couldn't believe it.
Tassotti nodded: "Yes, they are behind at their home."
A smile finally appeared on Allegri's face: "Great, now let's focus on playing the second half well!"
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The second half of the game started fifteen minutes later, and the two sides changed sides and fought again. Naples launched a fierce attack on Lazio's goal from the first minute of the second half, wanting to equalize the score as soon as possible.
But what no one expected was... Lazio still scored first in the second half. The away team scored another goal by defender Felipe, helping the Biancocelesti take a 2:0 lead at home.
"Ahhh...ah - this is really too unfortunate for Naples! They are two goals behind Lazio at home!"
"This game may become a turning point in Naples' entire fate this season, and Mazzarri will definitely regret his arrangement for this game - with the premise that there is a Champions League quarter-final against Inter Milan in the middle of the week, he still chose to send out the strongest lineup to face the opponents in the league. He obviously hopes to be able to maintain the position in the league and not give up the Champions League... But being too greedy will not end well. Naples is far from being able to gain something on both fronts at the same time... Lazio will give him a good lesson with these two goals!"
The TV broadcast gave close-up shots of several Naples players. In the close-up shots, most of the Naples players looked lost and couldn't believe that they would be two goals behind Lazio at home.
"It seems that Naples' home unbeaten record for more than a season is about to end here, it's a pity..." The commentator's tone was not regretful or regretful at all, but rather gloating.
The real-time score was also displayed on the TV live broadcast screen - if these two games ended according to this score, Naples' league top spot, which had not been warmed up yet, would have to change hands, and AC Milan would regain the lead with a one-point difference.
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"They are two goals behind!" Tassotti clenched his fists and told Allegri the good news.
Allegri had a smile on his face.
This smile is not only because Naples is two goals behind, and dropped the chain at the most critical moment, but also because at the San Siro, AC Milan also occupies the advantage on the field. Inter Milan's counterattack is more like a headless fly, and they don't know what to do.
Some AC Milan fans have already used the half-time break to remake a banner and hang it up.
It was full of AC Milan fans' sarcasm and ridicule towards Leonardo, the traitor.
"Thank you, our spy, Leonardo!"
This is really rubbing salt on Leonardo's wounds...
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"We have to do something!" Assistant coach Viviani looked solemn.
"Yes, of course we have to do something..." Mazzarri could see that there was still something wrong with Cavani and Chen Yingxiong playing at the same time, because the characteristics of the two of them are similar. Of course, Cavani can also play as a winger and winger. Anyway, he often played in Palermo and is no stranger to it. But the problem is that he is only playing these positions as a temporary measure, and his performance is not necessarily good. He is not like Cassano or Arshavin who can send accurate crosses to Chen Yingxiong...
"Let Cassano go warm up."
In this way, Cassano once again put on his vest and ran to the warm-up area.
This time he was very sure that he would not return empty-handed. He was about to play and descend on the San Paolo Stadium in the name of a savior.
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ps, Happy Lantern Festival, I wish you all a happy Chinese New Year!
It's a pity that my stomach is not good and I can't eat tangyuan (sweet glutinous rice balls)...
Everyone, please eat a few more for me, haha!