The final score of the match between Inter Milan and Fiorentina was 6: 2!
Adriano scored four goals in the match, putting on a show of a hero's return.
Ronaldo also scored a goal.
Juan Mata also took advantage of the opponent's mistake in a return pass. After stealing, he charged into the penalty area and scored a goal.
When the referee blew the whistle at the end of the match, the Stadio Franchi was filled with boos.
The commentators were in a state of madness. No one would have thought that a match that was supposed to be evenly matched would turn into a massacre.
The camera followed Adriano closely. The Brazilian, who had not scored in the previous 15 league matches, scored four goals in the match and became the brightest star.
At the post-match press conference, Li Ang looked proud and proud. "Now, who still wants to ask me about the conflict between Adriano and me?"
The reporters at the scene looked at each other and gnashed their teeth in hatred. They had never seen such a despicable person.
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Although they hated Li Ang, they still had to praise Li Ang and Adriano in the media reports the next day.
"The Return of the King!" — Milan Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Inter Milan Stage a Massacre!" — Corriere dello Sport.
"Juventus Draw, Five Points Behind Inter!" — Turin Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Li Ang and Adriano's Embrace!" — La Repubblica.
And Milan Gazzetta dello Sport also had an exclusive interview with Adriano the next day in Pinenati.
"The coach told me that I should pull myself together. He told me that my father had always been cheering for me in heaven and protecting me. I knew it must be like this. When I scored the goal, I lowered my head and kissed the most precious thing my father had left for me. I could feel my father whispering in my ear, 'Well done, Ribeiro.' I looked up at the starry sky and seemed to see my father smiling at me … I want to thank my coach. He helped me pull myself together again …"
Everyone knew the story behind Adriano's cheer up and explosion. Many people were touched. Li Ang also received heartfelt praise from the media, praising him for everything he had done for Adriano.
"This is no longer within the scope of a manager's job, but Li has done all of this out of the kindness of a person's heart. He is a good person, a good manager, and a person worthy of respect …" – La Gazzetta dello Sport
During breakfast, Li Ang picked up La Gazzetta dello Sport and happened to see this paragraph. When he saw the media giving him the 'good guy card', a smile appeared on his face. It felt good to be able to make people happy from the bottom of their hearts after saving someone.
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The Serie A League had two matches this week. Three days later, in the 25th round of the Serie A League, Inter Milan defeated Livorno by a score of 2: 1. Livorno's striker, Lucarelli, scored for the home team in the first half of the game. Agüero and Adriano scored in the second half, helping Inter Milan to a 2: 1 comeback victory.
The reason why Inter Milan had a hard time winning was that in this game, Li Ang carried out a large rotation of the team. Compared to the game against Fiorentina, Li Ang rotated seven players in the starting lineup. Only the goalkeeper, César, center back, Samuels, midfielder, Carlos, and striker, Adriano continued to be in the starting lineup.
Inter Milan did not win easily, and their direct opponent for the championship, Juventus, also made another surprise in this round. They were forced to a 2: 2 draw by Messi in the away game.
This caused a huge uproar after the game. After two consecutive draws, Juventus had pulled the gap between them and Inter Milan to more than two games.
At present, the 25th round of the Serie A League was over:
Inter Milan was in first place with 22 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss, with a total of 68 points.
Juventus was in second place with 19 wins, 4 draws, and 2 losses, with a total of 61 points.
AC Milan was in third place with 17 wins, 3 draws, and 5 losses, with a total of 54 points.
And Fiorentina, which was massacred by Inter Milan in the last round of the league, lost to Lazio in the away game with a score of 1: 2. The Viola's current record was 15 wins, 5 draws, and 5 losses, with a total of 50 points, and ranked fourth in the league. However, Roma, who came from behind, was about to catch up.
Now, Inter Milan was seven points ahead of Juventus in the standings, which made the Turin media very panic.
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Turin Sport also began a consultation with Juventus in order to find out the reason for Juventus' plummeting form after the winter break.
They really found a result, and that was, compared to Inter Milan, Juventus was too tired.
In the Juventus lineup, Cannavaro played 2,301 minutes, Emerson played 2,119 minutes, Zambrotta played 2,029 minutes, and Camoranesi played 2,001 minutes. Inter Milan, other than the goalkeeper César and the defensive midfielder Carlos, did not have anyone else who played more than 2,000 minutes. What was even more frightening was that Juventus rarely rotated, unlike Inter Milan, who made a large rotation in the game against Livorno.
This could explain why Juventus's form was getting worse after the winter, but it was not all Capello's fault that they did not rotate. In fact, Capello had done his best. Balzaretti was dug out, Mutu was transformed into the right midfielder, which reduced the pressure on Camoranesi and Nedved. Del Piero was used more, but it was not enough. Juventus might have everything in the main lineup, but they lacked a strong bench lineup. Perhaps the goalkeeper's "double insurance" was strong enough, but the goalkeeper was also the only position that did not need to be rotated in two battles.
Speaking of the defensive line, Juventus only had one substitute for the center back, Kovacs, and this Kovacs was not so reassuring. In the game against Messi Messina, Capello intended to let Messi rest, but because of Cannavaro's red card, he had no choice but to replace him with the Frenchman in the 53rd minute. However, Kovacs' performance was a disaster, and in the end, Juventus was pulled back by two goals by Messi Messina.
Turin Sport believed that Juventus' lack of rotation in the defensive line was due to injuries. Compared to Lindley's injury, which ruined his season and his chance to transfer to Messi Messina, Zambrotta and Zebina were also injured at the same time. Balzaretti became the main force, Chiellini and Pessoto played frequently, and Blasi also came in as a guest. However, in terms of overall form, experience, and strength, they were indeed much worse than Zambrotta.
Mutu solved a big problem in the midfield and the flanks, but what about the middle? Capello had given Giannicheda and Brasi countless chances, but the two's performance was extremely mediocre. Tuttosport said that such a substitute lineup made it impossible for Capello to make too many rotations. There was no way for a super strong main lineup to not show signs of exhaustion.
Then, Turin Sport expressed their envy of Inter Milan's manager, Li Ang. They believed that the Inter Milan team had many young players such as David Silva, Bonucci, Borriello, Marchisio, and so on. The rotation lineup was not only solid, but also very young and very impactful.
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This media seemed to have selectively forgotten that in the summer transfer market, when Li Ang purged players such as Martins and Fiore and brought in players such as Bonucci, David Silva, and Agüero, they mocked and ridiculed Li Ang for ruthlessly purging the star players who had played for Inter Milan for many years and bringing in these young players was an unreasonable move that should be punished … Now, they expressed their envy that Li Ang had so many young players to rotate in.
This report in Turin Sport made Li Ang even more famous. The Inter Milan manager's discerning ability to recognize talent once again won praise and exclamations.
Looking at the young players he brought in, there was no need to say much about Carlos, Mata, and Modric. Bonucci was directly promoted from the youth team. Marchisio was the captain of the Juventus youth team. He had no hope of entering the first team and was poached by Li Ang. David Silva had only been loaned by Valencia to play in the Spanish Third Division for a season. Although Agüero was famous in Argentina's domestic league, Li Ang dared to spend 16 million euros to bring in a 17-year-old young man.
Now, these young players were making rapid progress under him. Their futures were promising. Among them, David Silva and Agüero had already become important players in the rotation.
"Manager Li Ang has once again shown his amazing vision and his boldness in using young players boldly … And in the rotation tactics, the Chinese people are also using them with ease. Inter Milan's current personnel structure has a lot fewer players than last season, and they are younger, but they are also more combative …" – Special report from Milan Sport, Di Gennaro.
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While Turin Sport was diagnosing Juventus, it did not forget to cheer for Juventus and encourage the team to catch up, beat Inter Milan, and take back the throne of the leading team.
"This is the best opportunity! We have to beat Inter Milan directly and take back the throne that belongs to us … "– Turin Sport.
The reason why Turin Sport said so was that the 26th round of the Serie A League would usher in a heavyweight confrontation. Juventus would be visiting the Meazza Stadium to compete directly with Inter Milan.
If Juventus could beat Inter Milan in this game, they would be able to narrow the gap with Inter Milan to four points. With twelve rounds left in the league, Juventus' hopes of making a comeback would greatly increase.
"If Inter Milan can beat Inter Milan in this game, they will be able to extend their lead with Juventus to ten points. With a lead of three games, with twelve rounds left in the league, Inter Milan is getting closer and closer to their long-awaited Serie A championship trophy …" – Milan Sport … Turin Sport cheered for Juventus, hoping that Juventus could beat Inter Milan in this direct confrontation and narrow the gap, while Milan Sport cheered for Inter Milan, looking forward to Inter Milan's victory over Juventus to ensure a huge lead in the league.
For Inter Milan and Juventus, this was the second round of the league. In fact, both sides were not very happy to meet at this point in time.
The reason was that the 20052006 UEFA Champions League knockout stage would begin in the middle of the next week after the end of this league. Inter Milan would go to the Netherlands to play against the Dutch giants Ajax, while Juventus would go to Germany to play against the Bundesliga powerhouse Werder Bremen.
In fact, for Inter Milan, their current situation was even more severe, because Juventus' previous opponents in the league were Parma and Messi, while Inter Milan's opponents were Fiorentina and Livorno.
Fortunately, Li Ang was already prepared for this. He sent out the main force in the game against Fiorentina, and then made a large rotation in the game against Livorno. On the other hand, on Juventus' side, Capello rarely rotated because he was not satisfied with the substitutes' lineup …
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"So, now Juventus is exhausted." In the home team's locker room at the Meazza Stadium, Li Ang said, "And in today's game, Juventus still can't rotate. Capello even has to send out the main force. Why? Because we are seven points ahead of them, so Juventus can't afford to lose this game! They have to win! "
"As for us, we have seven points of confidence. Even if we lose this game, it doesn't matter. They're under more pressure than us!"
"Of course, I'm not saying that we're going to admit defeat in this game!"
"On the contrary, I hope that everyone can play this game with 120% of their efforts in a relaxed state of mind. A seven-point lead? This doesn't satisfy us. This kind of direct confrontation is worth six points. This is the best opportunity for us to consolidate our lead! "
"Thuram is suspended with a red card today, and Kovac will start. Our attack point is the Frenchman. Let's take turns to attack this point and crush him!" Li Ang said fiercely.
"In my eyes, all players are the same!"
"Inter Milan's achievements are the result of all the players' efforts!"
"There's only one result that can satisfy me in this game! And that is to win! "
"Win the game! Towards the championship! "
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The reason why Li Ang said this was because he still chose to rotate his players in this heavyweight match against Juventus in order to prepare for the first round of the Champions League quarterfinals against Ajax in the middle of next week.
Of course, compared to before, his rotation was smaller.
Mai Kong started, and the team captain Zanetti took a rest.
Materazzi started, and Samuels took a rest.
Stanković started, and Figo took a rest.
David Silva started, and Juan Mata took a rest.
Although it was only a rotation of four players, it was a very bold move in such a heavyweight match.
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