A week of double matches ended, but Inter Milan has not adjusted to its form.
After a week of rest, the Nerazzurri challenged Lazio away from home in the thirty-first round of Serie A.
Mancini once again deployed a three-midfielder formation of 4,31,2, trying to stabilize his position in the away game.
Lazio, playing at home, also showed 4312.
Although the formations are the same, the effects are completely different.
Lazio had Pandev as one, Bianchi and Rocchi as two, and the three midfielders behind them were Behrami, Ledesma and Dabo. With the advantage of home court, Lazio took advantage of the scene from the beginning, suppressing
With Inter Milan, he frequently creates threats.
But what is interesting is that in the 11th minute, Inter Milan made a quick counterattack. After Maicon advanced with the ball, he passed the ball across to Stankovic and made a decisive move forward.
Stankovic sent a direct pass. Lazio defender Radu failed to block the offside, allowing Maicon to successfully counter the offside. After getting the ball, he entered the right side of the penalty area and passed the ball to the goal. Crespo followed up easily and hit the target with his left foot.
.
Inter Milan took the lead.
Lazio then launched wave after wave of indiscriminate bombing.
Inter Milan was suppressed by its opponents and made many passing errors, but Lazio also failed to seize the opportunity well.
Until the second half, Ledesma sent a long pass in his own half. Rocchi stopped the ball with his chest at the front of the penalty area, then chased after him and hit the ball with his right foot, equalizing the score for Lazio.
After that, Lazio pursued and fought fiercely, continuing to suppress Inter Milan and frequently creating threats.
In the 64th minute, Lazio almost scored again. Behrami's lob shot hit Inter Milan central defender Rivas and redirected towards the goal, but Cesar was like a god.
He lifted it up with one hand and hit it on the crossbar.
In the 83rd minute, Lazio midfielder Dabo hit the crossbar with a long shot.
In the end, Inter Milan relied on defense to draw Lazio 1-1 away from home.
…
In an interview with the media before the game, Mancini revealed that Inter Milan has adjusted to its form. He is very familiar with Lazio and he believes that his team can defeat Lazio on the road.
But in the end, the score was one to one, and he was slapped hard in the face.
The number of shots is 24 to 9, the ball possession rate is 55 to 45, the number of corner kicks is 11 to 1, and the pass success rate is 80 to 75...
Corriere dello Sport gave a comparison of various game data after the game. One of the very interesting points is that in this game, Inter Milan switched from offense to defense more times after being successfully intercepted by the opponent when advancing in the midfield.
Up to twelve times.
Dabo stole the ball six times alone.
The Romans said with pride, "If it weren't for this game and Bianchi showed no form, this would have been a huge massacre!"
The implication is that Inter Milan was very lucky to even get a point.
The goal came from a mistake made by the Lazio defender when causing offside, and the lackluster performance throughout the game made people completely lose confidence in Inter Milan.
Gazzetta dello Sport publicly stated that the Inter Milan championship was not snatched away by Naples, but given away by himself.
Why?
Because recently, "Inter Milan seems to have suddenly become completely incapable of playing football!"
Gazzetta dello Sport's doubts are not unreasonable, because Inter Milan's recent state is indeed too bad.
Just no creativity? No passing?
No, Gazzetta dello Sport believes that Mancini’s team seriously lacks a backbone.
"At the beginning of the season, Mancini entrusted Ibrahimovic with important tasks, but at critical moments, especially in the past few rounds, Ibrahimovic's condition is very poor."
"In Rome, the Swedish center performed so poorly on the offensive end that it is unbelievable that he is Inter Milan's best star."
"In the first half, Lazio always had problems with offside. In addition to Maicon's goal, Ibrahimovic had a solo shot, but his shot was kicked directly to the opponent's goalkeeper."
"In the second half, he had a counterattack. At that time, a favorable two-on-one situation had been formed. He should have given the ball to the unguarded Crespo in time, but he was too sticky to the ball and did not think about passing the ball. As a result,
, the shot was saved.”
"Not to mention that he made no contribution on the offensive end. On the defensive end, he once played with fire in the front of the penalty area and was too sticky to the ball. He tried to pass Dabo. After being intercepted by Dabo, he directly hit a long shot and almost scored.
."
Gazzetta dello Sport believes that Inter Milan's malaise is all-round, from the head coach to the players, from state to injuries.
Sacchi said in his column that Mancini has not been able to solve a problem well since this season.
That is, the team tends to press too high when attacking and retreat too far back when defending.
If the offense is too high, it is easy for the opponent to hit directly behind when counterattacking; if the defense is too far back, it is easy to expose the weakness at the front of the penalty area.
"If you have a fast player and a long passer, when playing against Inter Milan, you can't go wrong with defensive counterattacks; if you have a player with outstanding long-range shooting ability, then you can press forward and take turns shooting from long range.
, he can basically score goals.”
"Unfortunately, Lazio has both!"
Sacchi believes that Inter Milan only conceded one goal and was able to maintain a draw in the away game, which is actually the favor of the goddess of luck. Gu Min
Finally, Sacchi believes that Inter Milan cannot catch up with Naples.
Facts confirm Saki's judgment.
…
One day later, Naples faced Palermo at home.
As sixth in Serie A last season, it is currently ranked 12th this season, but Palermo's strength should not be underestimated.
However, after a week of recuperation at the Sao Paulo Stadium in Naples, the sophisticated team suppressed Palermo from the very beginning. Through high-position press and pressure, they suppressed their opponents without any temper.
In the 29th minute, Di Maria took a corner kick, David Luiz nodded the ball to the center, and Cavani hit the volley in the chaos, opening the scoring for Naples.
In the 40th minute, Lichtsteiner made a pass from the right, and Cavani rushed to the front again. When competing with Palermo defender Barzagli, he grabbed the ball and quickly shot the ball, scoring a goal.
The second time, another victory for Naples.
After changing sides and fighting again in the second half, Naples frequently created opportunities, but Palermo also relied on Amauri to almost score Naples' goal.
But in the 70th minute, with a free kick opportunity in the frontcourt, David Luiz overwhelmed all opponents and hit a header from close range, expanding the score to 3-0!
Just five minutes later, Naples counterattacked quickly from the left. Di Maria sent a direct pass. Cavani deliberately missed it. Hamsik stepped in from behind and shot angrily into the penalty area. Naples scored another goal, four to four.
zero!
In the end, Naples defeated Palermo 4-0 at home!
…
On the one hand, it was a hearty victory, and on the other hand, it was a frustrating draw. Comparing the two, Naples' momentum was obviously unstoppable. Inter Milan's points gap further widened, falling behind by a full seven points.
The Italian media have all changed their tune and all agree that with seven rounds left in the league, it is basically impossible for Inter Milan to catch up with Naples.
Especially considering that Inter Milan has been in such poor form and performance recently.
Inter Milan fans were very dissatisfied with the team's performance and unanimously demanded that Mancini be dismissed from get out of class to apologize.
Mancini's attitude remains the same, he will not take the initiative to resign.
At this point, it is basically impossible for Inter Milan to change coaches.
As analyzed by Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter Milan's first candidate for coaching is Gao Shen, but under the current situation, how could Gao Shen give up Naples and choose Inter Milan?
Gao Shen also came forward to clarify that he had no contact with Inter Milan.
"I still have a contract with Naples for more than one year. Now, I am still the head coach of Naples. I will not consider other things."
Gao Shen revealed that he was very grateful to Naples for their trust and support in him at critical moments. This was the reason why he coached Naples two years ago. Now, he has brought out a strong Naples, and this is the reward he has given.
"But that's not enough!"
Gao Shen promised that he would personally put Naples on the championship podium.
"Not only are we the Serie A champions, we also want to conquer the Italian Cup!"
Gao Shen's words greatly boosted the morale of Naples and made Naples fans feel reassured and inspired.
Yes, the Coppa Italia has been suspended for several months, but Napoli reached the semi-finals.
Right now, the seven-point lead is enough for Naples to free up their hands to better invest in the Italian Cup.
Especially the semi-final match against Fiorentina.
Naples officials also came forward, and De Laurentiis publicly criticized those opponents who conspired to poach Naples in the media.
"I know they can't beat us on the court, so they want to poach our most important people, but I want to say to them, go ahead and dream of your dreams!"
"Gao Shen is the most important person in Naples. He will not leave Naples. He will continue to stay in the team!"
De Laurentiis said that he has instructed general manager Marino to do his best to renew the contract with head coach Gao Shen no matter what. He even revealed that when he visited Fort Volturno not long ago, Gao Shen had talked to Gao Shen.
He outlined a blueprint for competing in the Champions League next season.
"He wants to lead the team to make a difference in the Champions League. I feel his ambition. He will not leave us!"
But De Laurentiis's words still seem somewhat feeble.
After all, Naples is not a wealthy club and does not have strong enough financial resources to maintain its current strong competitiveness.
For the same reason, Gao Shen will not stay in Naples forever.
As Tianzi's number one high-profile player, Sacchi said in an interview with the media that he had not discussed this issue with Gao Shen.
"Right now, his mind is full of thoughts about how to conquer Italy!" Sacchi said cheerfully.
As Gao Shen gained recognition, Sacchi's status in Italian football became more and more respected.
The bet he made two years ago is earning him increasingly rich returns!
