Chapter 145 Analysts and Commentators

During halftime, the experts and commentators analyzing the first half of the game all mentioned Cristicito’s name.

They felt that the reason Napoli looked so bad in the latter half of the first half was because Cristicito hadn't been able to control Messi.

"Cristicito was completely outmatched by Messi. His presence is Napoli's biggest weakness on the field. I believe Barcelona will intensify their attacks on this point in the second half..."

"In the contest with Messi, Cristicito is at a complete disadvantage. He can't defend Messi at all. If Messi is allowed to run rampant on his side, Napoli will be in danger in the second half..."

"If I were Mazzarri, I would replace Cristicito and consider bringing on another player who is good at defense..."

……

The commentators and expert pundits had already issued Cristicito’s death sentence.

However, in the locker room, a dejected Cristicito felt the support of his teammates.

"Don't worry, Domenico. You've done your best."

"You were facing Messi, he's the best player in the world. I don't think anyone would be comfortable facing him... so you have nothing to be discouraged about, Domenico..."

His teammates were comforting the left back, who was feeling frustrated with his performance in the first half.

But Chen Hero snorted. He wasn't dissatisfied with Cristicito's performance, he was unhappy with what his teammates were saying.

He also went up to comfort Cristicito.

"Losing a goal is no big deal, Domenico! This game isn't about defense at all! We're fighting them for goals! If we lose one, we'll score two! If we lose two, we'll score three! What's there to be afraid of?!"

Hamsik rolled his eyes: "That's not how you comfort people, Hero!"

"Anyway, don't take Messi seriously. He's got two legs just like you." Chen Hero ignored Hamsik and continued. "He's not really an alien, what's there to be afraid of?"

Cassano chimed in from the side: "Domenico, Hero is right. Look, Messi took thirteen games to score twelve goals, while Hero only took seven games to score eleven goals. Who is the real alien? You compete with an alien in training every day, so why are you afraid of Messi?"

He was changing the subject a bit, but it sounded refreshing.

So everyone laughed.

Even Cristicito, who had been looking mournful before, smiled.

Mazzarri was very satisfied with the team's ability to adjust themselves. The team’s morale had been very low after such a bad end to the first half. In fact, that was how the players were when they first returned to the locker room.

As a result, a few jokes from Chen Hero and Cassano changed the atmosphere in the locker room.

Seeing Chen Hero and Cassano's confident performances, he, as the head coach, was also full of confidence in the team.

Napoli's overall strength was certainly inferior to Barcelona's, but if the team always had such an optimistic spirit, then defeating Barcelona might not be an impossible task.

Many teams simply don't have this kind of spirit when facing Barcelona. Even Mourinho's Real Madrid, despite their loud boasts, were actually very afraid of Barcelona in their hearts, otherwise they wouldn't have adopted that kind of style...

Who can truly not take Barcelona seriously? Perhaps Chen Hero is the only one in the world!

※※※

Guardiola was very satisfied with the team's performance in the first half, and he also saw Cristicito's inadequacy in defending Messi. So during halftime, he made a targeted arrangement—requiring the team to focus their attacks on Cristicito's side in the second half.

Of course, it wasn't to say that they must find a breakthrough on this side. In fact, Barcelona's tactics are very flexible. He also knew that the opponent wasn't a scarecrow. If Barcelona put all their attacking strength on Cristicito's side, how could Mazzarri not react?

He would certainly shift the focus of his defense to Cristicito's side to support the left back.

So, while they were assisting this side, they might not actually find any opportunities from this side.

The key was in the following arrangement—if Napoli strengthened their defense on the left, then Barcelona's attack would quickly transfer the ball to the other side, to Iniesta and Pedro and others there.

Catch the opponent off guard.

Anyone who often watches Barcelona should be very clear that this is one of the common routines in Barcelona's attack—their frontcourt players pass the ball around, all centered around Messi. And Messi is so famous that when Barcelona's opponents defend, they will focus more on the side where Messi is, with everyone closely watching Messi.

So much so that they are unaware of the loopholes that appear in other parts of the defense.

At this time, Xavi, Iniesta, or even Messi will quickly pass the ball into these spaces, and naturally other Barcelona players will rush up to receive the ball, and then kick the ball in almost without any defense...

In fact, many people know that Barcelona will play like this, but the problem is... you know it, but you can't stop it. Can you not concentrate your defense on the area where Messi is and spread out your defensive forces evenly? Well, things are even simpler for Barcelona. They only need to give the ball to Messi. If you don't find a few more people to defend, Messi alone can turn your defense upside down, and then go straight to the goal and score.

Why has Barcelona insisted on their style of play for so many years, and why didn't it feel as invincible as it does now?

It's because they now have Messi. Messi's super personal ability has become a deadly weapon to break the balance, forcing opponents to invest more defensive forces on him alone, so the defense in other places is naturally stretched...

This is the so-called ability to break the balance.

Barcelona also had many excellent players before, but none of them were as sharp as Messi. In addition, Barcelona specially created new tactics around him, and with the media's hype, Messi's reputation naturally spread throughout the world. Now, as soon as anyone mentions Messi, they will think of his sharp breakthroughs and beautiful goals after dribbling past several people.

In the past, scoring more than thirty goals in a season was considered a difficult task, but Messi can score more than fifty goals in a season. He has made scoring a very simple matter. It is precisely because of this reputation that many teams are willing to deploy heavy troops when facing him, and they still can't defend him, so his legend becomes even more legendary...

As long as they have a Messi in normal condition, Barcelona is basically invincible.

※※※

The fifteen minutes of halftime passed quickly, especially in such a major game. Many people were impatiently looking forward to the start of the second half.

During halftime, various TV stations analyzed the situation for both sides in the second half. Although they didn't know what other TV stations were saying, they basically reached a consensus—they felt that if they continued to play like they did in the first half, Napoli would be in trouble in the second half.

It seemed to be to confirm their statement and make them complacent about their "divine prediction."

Less than ten minutes into the second half, Barcelona scored again and took the lead!

"Villa!! Beautiful! He scored!"

"Barcelona takes the lead for the first time in this game! 2:1, they have the advantage now!"

"It's a little regrettable that the goalscorer wasn't Messi, otherwise he could have further widened the gap with Chen Hero!"

"See, I just said that if the game continues like this, Barcelona will score sooner or later!"

"Barcelona fully demonstrated their powerful power! This time they didn't rely on Messi, the goalscorer was Villa! This is likely to be a goal that completely crushes Napoli and makes them realize the huge gap between themselves and Barcelona!"

"Very few teams can come back after being led by Barcelona!"

Wembley Stadium erupted in cheers once again.

After scoring, Villa ran to the sidelines and raised his arms in celebration. He transferred from Valencia to Barcelona this season, hoping to win championships. Now that almost a season has passed, his transfer has been successful, because he has already won a La Liga title, and now he has scored in the Champions League final, and has a great chance of winning the Champions League trophy...

It's really a double blessing.

※※※

Napoli fell behind after just nine minutes of the second half, while Barcelona's morale was completely up.

Mazzarri stood on the sidelines, his brow furrowed.

How should this game be played?

It is indeed difficult to defend Barcelona. He spent most of his time arranging the team's defense during halftime. The players were already very concerned about defending Messi just now. Messi didn't have any outstanding performance in this goal, but he attracted most of Napoli's defensive players, resulting in a weak defense in other places.

Villa received a pass from Xavi and then kicked the ball into the goal. The whole process was very easy, like doing shooting practice in training.

Go defend Villa? Messi's defense would be empty.

Keep a close eye on both Villa and Messi?

But Barcelona doesn't only have Villa and Messi, they also have Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Alves, Busquets, and even Piqué...

Barcelona's offensive firepower is quite strong...

Wait!

Mazzarri suddenly grasped something.

Offensive firepower?

That's right!

That's it!

This is the final, not the semi-final, nor the quarter-final. We don't need to consider away goals or goal difference. There is only one standard to determine the outcome—our number of goals must be more than Barcelona's!

As long as we can score more goals than Barcelona, that's all that matters?

Our Napoli's offensive firepower is not weak either!

※※※

P.S. It's the last day, please give me some monthly tickets! Let's make sure to stay in the top ten on the overall list!