Inter Milan was seen as the number one favorite to win the UEFA Champions League. This was obviously not a good thing for Inter Milan. It meant that they were the target of public criticism.
However, Li Ang was not too worried about this. In fact, Inter Milan was in a good state this season. They were stronger than they were in 2006. This was a fact that was known to all.
In Li Ang's words to the players in the locker room: We are very strong. This is a fact. It has always been the weak who feel sorry for themselves. There has never been a strong person who is distressed because they are strong!
"We just need to be ourselves. We don't need to care about anything else!"
"Don't be arrogant! Believe in yourself! "
"Don't look at how the media is praising us now! I believe you must be very clear that there are people waiting for us to do a somersault. They are waiting to watch the show! "
"I dare to bet that if we lose in the league or suffer a setback in the Champions League, the media who praised us today will attack us a hundred times crazier than the praise now!"
"So, remember, only the one who has the last laugh is the real king!"
Li Ang knew that this was a critical moment. Therefore, he called for a timely team talk. In addition to cheering the team on, he also wanted to give the team a heads-up to prevent the players from being arrogant.
Yes, it felt good to be regarded as the number one enemy by the other European powerhouses. Even opponents like Barcelona and Manchester United did not dare to go against them. However, Li Ang had to guard against the players' arrogance and complacency.
Of course, his words could only serve as a warning. As for whether the players listened or took it to heart, he was not sure.
However, if a player really had a problem with his thinking and was indulgent, Li Ang would not be soft-hearted.
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March 16, 2008, Milan, Meazza Stadium.
Inter Milan was playing against Palermo at home.
There was another focal battle in this round of the league, which was the direct contest between Roma and AC Milan at home. Roma was facing a strong opponent. If Roma was stopped, Inter Milan would be one step closer to winning the Serie A title in advance.
For Inter Milan, if they could secure the Serie A title early, they would be able to shift their attention to the UEFA Champions League.
Of course, in order to expand their lead, apart from AC Milan's help, they must also take down Palermo at home today.
Palermo was currently ranked in the middle of the Serie A. After two seasons of practice, Zampania's team's strength could not be underestimated.
The goalkeeper was the veteran Serie A goalkeeper, Fontana.
The rear defensive line was led by Barzagli and Zaccardo, the two active Italian national footballers, as well as the fringe national footballer, Balzaretti.
The midfield was controlled by Miliaggio and Simplicio, two Serie A veterans.
Miccoli and Amauri, two Italian internationals, were on the frontline.
After Li Ang had done his research on Palermo, he found it strange that such a team had so many Italian national footballers, both old and new.
Therefore, Li Ang did not underestimate Palermo. Although such a team seemed harmless, they were still a little difficult to deal with when they occasionally went crazy.
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Li Ang expected that this game would not be too easy, but the process of the game was still unexpected.
For this game, Palermo's manager, Zampalini, had a clear goal from the beginning. They were aiming for a draw.
Palermo retreated.
Li Ang had already prepared for this. With Inter Milan's current strong attacking power, many teams in the middle and lower levels of Serie A would choose such a conservative tactic when facing them. Although conservative tactics would not prevent failure, Inter Milan's previous 27-game winning streak was proof. However, playing conservatively could at least avoid a crushing defeat to the greatest extent. And what if luck came and they forced Inter Milan into a draw? They did not dare to attack. Everyone knew that attacking Inter Milan meant courting death.
However, what made Li Ang frown was that Palermo's fighting movements were too big.
Palermo's players were heavily deployed in the half of the field. As long as they entered the preset danger zone in their hearts, the Palermo players ran and fought with no regard for their stamina, and their movements were very big.
In the 31st minute of the game, Agüero was violated by Zaccardo and fell to the ground in pain.
After the team doctor entered the field to give Agüero emergency treatment and examination, he immediately gestured for a substitution.
Li Ang asked Balotelli to warm up and get ready to go on the field while he went to the fourth official to protest. Zaccardo's action was a big foul, and the referee did not even give a yellow card, which made him unhappy.
Balotelli came on as a substitute and replaced Agüero, who could not continue the game due to his injury.
At the end of the first half, the score on the field was zero to zero. Faced with Palermo's aggressive fighting and foul tactics, Inter Milan was unable to break through Palermo's goal.
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During the halftime interval, Li Ang especially emphasized for the players to be careful of Palermo's big moves and try to avoid injuries.
Although Li Ang reminded the players, he could not stop the Palermo players' bad fouls.
At the beginning of the second half, Balzaretti's flying tackle caused David Silva to be injured.
Li Ang could only substitute Arshavin for David Silva.
Although the referee finally showed a yellow card to Balzaretti this time, Li Ang was still furious.
In his view, it was the referee's connivance that caused Silva's injury. If the referee had been strict in the first half of the game to curb the Palermo players' foul behavior, the Palermo players' behavior would have been restrained. In that case, perhaps Silva's injury could have been avoided.
The two substitutions in a row were passive substitutions because the players were injured. Not only did they waste two substitutions early on, but Li Ang was more worried about the players' injuries.
It seemed that the referee finally could not tolerate the frequent big fouls of the Palermo players. In less than 20 minutes of the second half of the game, four Palermo players were given yellow cards.
On the other hand, Inter Milan was also furious. Captain Zanetti and Carlos were also given yellow cards.
In the 69th minute of the game, Palermo's center back Balzaretti committed a big foul and was given a second yellow card by the referee. He was sent off with a red card.
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Li Ang sneered on the sidelines. He did not care about the Suzerain referee's "feelings." If it were not for the fact that he did not control the penalty well in the first half, red and yellow cards would not be flying everywhere in the second half of the game.
Palermo's tight pursuit of the full field consumed a lot of stamina. The foul tactic caused them to have one less player to fight. This caused Palermo's tough defense to begin to collapse in the face of Inter Milan's continuous power.
In the 76th minute of the game, Arshavin sent a diagonal ball. Balotelli pulled to the side, dribbled two steps, and passed the ball into the penalty area. Adriano headed the ball over, and Arshavin followed up with a volley to break the goal!
One to zero!
After losing the goal, Palermo's morale took a huge hit. They came for a draw. Once they lost the goal, they also thought that all the previous efforts of Heze and the others were for naught. Not to mention that the team was one less player to fight. Palermo's fighting spirit began to collapse.
Then, Adriano dribbled the ball and broke into the penalty area. A powerful shot was successful, helping Inter Milan lock in the score at two to zero.
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