After the 22nd round, the rankings of the top four in Serie A are basically unchanged.
Still Inter Milan, Napoli, Roma and Juventus.
But as Sacchi said in his post-match column, Naples was obviously in better shape against Sampdoria, which proved that Naples had come out of the woods.
"I am looking forward to the next Serie A championship battle more and more!" Sacchi said in the column.
The same is basically true for the Italian media.
Naples' performance is obvious to all. At least in this round, it has indeed performed to a very high level and its state has improved significantly.
Gao Shen also publicly stated at the post-match press conference that the team is returning to its best condition.
"I want to say that the Serie A championship battle has just begun!"
Gao Shen made no secret that seven points was not an insurmountable gap.
"I believe, not only me, but all of you, no one believes that Inter Milan can keep winning like this. They will lose, and it will be at the San Paolo Stadium."
Gao Shen said that as long as Naples wins Inter Milan at home, there will still be great suspense in the sixteen rounds with a four-point gap.
The Italian media basically agree with this statement, but what they really doubt is whether Naples has the ability to defeat Inter Milan?
Gazzetta dello Sport questioned Gao Shen's remarks after the game, believing that in the two seasons since Gao Shen coached Naples, they have never been able to defeat Inter Milan. In the three duels, the results were two draws and one loss.
"His idea is beautiful. As long as he beats Inter Milan at home, the points gap can be reduced to four points. But the problem is that if Naples loses to Inter Milan at home, the gap will be ten points."
The implication is that once they lose this game, Naples will no longer have any hope of winning the championship...
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A week later, the twenty-third round of Serie A.
Since midweek will usher in the first leg of the Champions League away game against Liverpool, Inter Milan's game against Livorno is scheduled for the first game.
With Suazo's two goals in five minutes, the Nerazzurri defeated Livorno 2-0 at home and scored three points.
AC Milan was distracted by the Champions League and drew 0-0 with Parma away from home.
Carlo Ancelotti's side ended their latest winning streak.
Juventus was at home, relying on Del Piero's goal in first half stoppage time to beat Roma 1-0.
Napoli relied on goals from Di Maria, Hamsik and Cavani to defeat Empoli 3-1 at home.
…
After this round of competition, everyone unexpectedly discovered that what Gao Shen said before was true.
Naples and Juventus both focus on Serie A, which allows them to concentrate all their resources on Serie A games in February and March without having to be distracted like teams such as Inter Milan, Roma and AC Milan.
European War.
After this game, Inter Milan continued to lead with a seven-point advantage, followed by Naples, but Juventus and Roma were as much as five points behind Naples.
The Italian media began to feel very confused.
If they conclude that Naples cannot catch up with Inter Milan, then how can Juventus and Roma catch up with Naples?
The key is that starting from the 25th round to the 28th round will become the key to the Serie A championship this season.
In the twenty-fifth round, Juventus ushered in the Turin city derby, and Inter Milan faced Roma at home.
In the twenty-sixth, twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth rounds, Naples faced Inter Milan, Roma and Juventus respectively.
Among them, the first two games are home games.
This schedule will undoubtedly determine the Serie A championship this season.
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On the evening of February 19th, Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England.
In the Champions League knockout rounds, Liverpool's home game against Inter Milan is about to begin.
Gao Shen appeared in the stands at Anfield with Lucas and Buenaventura.
The three of them were all disguised, but their position was the best in the room, with the widest field of view. Lucas even brought his own camera equipment.
Liverpool's lineup is still four, two, and three one.
Goalkeeper: Reina.
Defence: Aurelio, Hyypia, Carragher and Finnan.
Midfield: The double defensive midfielders are Mascherano and Lucas, and the front is Babel, Gerrard and Kuyt.
Center: Torres.
This is Liverpool's iconic formation.
Before the game, there had been rumors that Benitez might be dismissed after coaching this season, because the Red Army has been in a very sluggish state recently. Three days ago, they suffered a humiliating 1-2 loss at home in the FA Cup.
Lost to Barnsley in the Championship.
After hearing the news, the Italian media almost sang praises to Barnsley, believing that this was paving the way for Inter Milan, especially since Liverpool is currently facing internal and external troubles and the situation is already precarious.
Almost the whole of Italy thinks of this game: win!
Even the underdogs in the English Championship can beat Liverpool away from home, how could Inter Milan not do it?
Mancini even threatened to defeat Liverpool in the away game during an interview with El Pais before the game.
"With my efforts, Inter Milan will turn from a cursed team into a winner!"
At Anfield Stadium, Mancini also put on his strongest lineup.
Goalkeeper: Cesar.
Gu Yan
Defence: Maxwell, Materazzi, Cordoba and Maicon.
Midfielder: Chivu, Cambiasso and Zanetti, with Stankovic in front.
Forwards: Cruz and Ibrahimovic.
…
After Gao Shen saw Inter Milan's lineup, he felt a little confused.
But what really surprised him was the opening.
Liverpool, playing at home, adhered to their usual style of play and launched a fierce attack from the beginning.
Benitez's 4, 2, 3, 1 high-position press is a style of play that is very familiar to Liverpool.
While the Red Army pressed forward from the start, Inter Milan retreated somewhat timidly.
More than two minutes into the game, Liverpool took advantage of a corner kick to create chaos in Inter Milan's penalty area. Carragher's right-foot shot hit Cordoba's hand, and the two sides had a penalty kick.
Afterwards, there was an obvious phenomenon: Inter Milan's players were a little timid and worried about gains and losses.
This mentality was reflected in the defense in the fourth minute. Chiwu tripped Gerrard and was given a yellow card.
Liverpool, on the other hand, relied on the offensive to get opportunities for set-pieces in the frontcourt, either corner kicks or free kicks.
Fortunately, Cesar played steadily.
In the 12th minute, Materazzi committed a foul while defending Torres. This was nothing, but he vented his dissatisfaction towards the referee and was directly given a yellow card.
Okay, twelve minutes, a defensive midfielder and a central defender both got yellow cards.
Gao Shen looked at it from the stands and shook his head.
Many people were confused by Materazzi's performance in the World Cup. In fact, he was really a big winner.
Just like the situation just now, there is absolutely no need to talk so much nonsense.
"The game started like this, it's not going to be a good match!" Gao Shen shook his head and said with a wry smile.
After all, Inter Milan is also a Serie A team.
The great leader once proposed a concept in his anthology: Be cautious in your first battle.
"The first battle is very important. It has a great impact on the overall situation and even affects the last battle."
Therefore, on the football field, getting a good start is undoubtedly a crucial part.
Either seek stability and stay invincible, or seize the initiative and seize the enemy's opportunity.
Mancini's start was really bad and chaotic.
"He probably didn't unify the players' thoughts before the game, and he may not even have told the players a unified idea. As a result, they are a little confused now. They want to win, but their past performance was poor and the players can't let go." Lucas also feels very sad. funny.
For such an important game to be arranged like this, Mancini's coaching ability has really been exposed.
An expert in civil war, an amateur in foreign war.
…
In the next half hour, Inter Milan was directly overwhelmed by Liverpool.
This is definitely something Gao Shen never thought of before the game.
He could never have imagined that the incredibly powerful Inter Milan, which had maintained an unbeaten streak in Serie A for 23 rounds, would be overwhelmed by Liverpool and unable to fight back even though it was an away game.
This is definitely not normal.
"Judging from the current performance, there is no problem with Inter Milan's physical fitness, but I can't understand how they can play like this?" Buenaventura also felt very puzzled.
This is unreasonable!
If we really talk about the cards, will Inter Milan's lineup lose to Liverpool?
But on the pitch, the Nerazzurri were overwhelmed, to the point of being one-sided.
"The midfielder couldn't get the ball out at all and was forced to make more long passes, but the long pass went to the front. Neither Ibrahimovic nor Cruz could get the ball. Benitez restrained Inter Milan's center This set of ideas on the market is quite interesting." Gao Shen saw some clues.
Of course, judging from the game process, Liverpool didn't actually pose much of a threat.
He occupies the advantage on the field, but mostly uses some set pieces to create threats. There are very few positional attacks that are truly threatening. Gerrard is considered the most active.
This also proves that Liverpool's condition is not good, but Inter Milan is playing worse.
Gao Shen is really speechless.
"How come Inter Milan in the Champions League is completely different from Inter Milan in Serie A?"
Lucas and Buenaventura both looked at each other and smiled bitterly.
There is certainly an issue of team confidence, but there is also a tactical issue.
In the 30th minute, after Torres received the ball in the right rib, he turned around and accelerated, throwing away Materazzi.
The Inter Milan central defender pulled Torres' collar from behind and dragged the Spaniard to the ground. The referee signaled a foul.
In fact, there is no need to get a card, but Materazzi was arrogant and complained.
The referee didn't know whether he favored the home team or forgot that he had received a yellow card before and gave him another yellow card.
Yes, two yellows turned into one red, and he was sent off directly.
Gao Shen was really depressed in the stands.
How he hoped that what he encountered at the Sao Paulo Stadium was tonight's Inter Milan.
In that case, he will definitely cause Mancini's team to suffer a humiliating defeat!
