Unexpectedly, the Palermo players failed to adapt to this warm atmosphere and failed to enter the match state in time.
After He Tianqi’s adjustments, Palermo’s performance improved slightly.
Both sides entered a tug-of-war.
In the thirteenth minute, a through ball from the Perugia midfield was intercepted by Chiellini.
In the nineteenth minute, the Perugia attacking midfielder broke through with the ball, but Chiellini made a precise tackle.
In the twenty-seventh minute, Chiellini used his body to suppress the “Little Maradona” Miccoli, allowing the defender to get the ball easily.
In the thirty-sixth minute, Chiellini raised his foot to block Miccoli’s long-range shot.
Today’s “Little Chi” was like a wall of bronze and iron, leak-proof.
However, correspondingly, Palermo’s attack didn’t get going either.
Although their midfield core Di Donato frequently moved to the right wing to cooperate with Ribéry, Perugia’s defense was smart; they focused on double-teaming Ribéry.
Di Donato, who gained opportunities, was slow in handling key balls, giving Perugia plenty of time to adjust.
They failed to create a threat for a long time.
After forty minutes of stalemate, Perugia also found the midfield hard to penetrate, so they switched to the wings.
In the forty-fourth minute, Grosso used his height advantage to hold off his man and get the ball, then pushed forward on the left wing and sent a cross.
Unfortunately, Perugia’s striker was not tall and was beaten to the ball by Vidic.
Ultimately, at halftime, Perugia 1-0 Palermo.
Both sides were unremarkable.
The biggest highlight was actually the defensive midfielder of the losing side, Chiellini.
His performance in this match was like a different person compared to before.
In the second half, the shocking “He-style substitution” appeared again.
Modric was subbed on at halftime once more.
But this time, the one subbed off wasn’t Di Donato, but the left midfielder Brienza.
Di Donato moved to the wing to play as a left midfielder.
Modric was in the middle, playing as the midfield core.
“This way, won’t our left wing be completely without a threat?” Ashley Young said quickly.
Di Donato was indeed stronger than Brienza, but for the left midfielder position, the latter was better—at least faster.
He Tianqi liked students who were eager to learn: “Did we have any training regarding the left wing in the past few days?”
Ashley Young shook his head.
Don’t even talk about left-wing training.
As a left-wing player himself, he had even been sent to the right wing to practice several times over the past few days.
“If we were playing in Serie A, we would have to fly with both wings because the opponents are strong,” He Tianqi said, looking at the pitch.
“But in lower leagues, as long as there is one explosive point, you can smash the opponent.
One wing is enough!”
Just then, exclamations came from all around.
It turned out that Ribéry on the field had already begun a solo performance, breaking directly through the double-team of two Perugia players and crossing from the baseline.
Bang!
What a pity!
Perugia’s center-back was defensively stable and headed the ball out of the penalty area.
But Modric, who had just performed a wall pass with Ribéry, happened to be in that area.
He looked into the penalty area.
Filippo was in an offside position.
Arturo was not offside; he was calling for the ball, but Perugia’s defenders were moving toward him—two of them.
At this moment, Modric faced a choice.
Giving the ball to Arturo was a reasonable choice, but he felt that with Arturo’s ability, he probably wouldn’t be able to convert the pass into a shot.
This was a “threat pass” that looked good but wasn’t actually threatening.
Midfielders who care about stats would pass like that.
But Modric wouldn’t.
People like him, who lived in war-torn areas, knew that if you didn’t finish off the opponent with one move, you would surely be finished off by them.
He needed a teammate who could threaten the goal more.
In the blink of an eye, Modric found it!
He saw Ribéry’s run.
But he also hesitated.
If Ribéry didn’t run as he expected, this pass would look like a “mysterious” mistake to outsiders.
The kind that would be mocked by thousands.
Just like the things he suffered at Dinamo Zagreb.
“Ribéry!
Luka!
Chip it to Ribéry!”
At the critical moment, Modric heard the command from the sidelines.
His brain hadn’t finished thinking, but his body had already reacted.
Bang!
Modric, looking at Arturo on the left side of the penalty area, flicked the ball with his toe.
The ball rose high and flew toward the depths of the right side of the penalty area.
It was empty.
In the stands, countless fans shouted “WTF” in insult.
But in the next moment, a pink figure rushed over.
Bang!
Ribéry headed the ball.
The ball suddenly changed direction and bounced into the net.
The Perugia goalkeeper and center-back had no reaction at all.
“GOAL!” He Tianqi celebrated excitedly with a fist on the sidelines.
With his reminder, the Rosanero fans at the scene woke up as if from a dream and celebrated warmly.
“GOAL!”
“Incredible run!
Incredible goal!”
“One to one!
Palermo equalizes!”
“Modric’s pass was mysterious, but Ribéry’s run was divine!”
“After sending the cross, he slipped into the penalty area along the baseline.
The Perugia center-back completely ignored this killer.”
“No one would have thought a wide attacker would rush into the depths of the penalty area!”
Palermo celebrated happily.
The camera focused on Ribéry.
But few people noticed that Modric, who provided the assist, ran to He Tianqi.
“Well done, Luka!” He Tianqi hugged Modric.
“You guided me!” Modric smiled.
“I heard your voice!”
He Tianqi shook his head: “No, no, Luka, that was the voice of your heart.
Before I gave the command, you had already made the preparatory movement.
That was an opportunity only you and I could see.
Believe in your own eyes, and believe in my judgment of you.
Luka, you are an excellent midfielder.
Keep playing with this confidence!”
Modric nodded heavily.
…
Palermo’s goal stimulated Perugia.
They were a Serie A team, yet they couldn’t take down the fifth-place team in Serie C?
And you even dare to fight back?
The Perugia players launched a storm-like attack.
In the fifty-eighth minute, the brave Vidic stood up and used his body to block a world-class shot from the opponent’s midfielder.
He lay on the ground for dozens of seconds after being hit.
Everyone thought he was done, but he managed to persevere.
In the sixty-fourth minute, Chiellini made a precise sliding tackle, completing a risky defense outside the penalty area.
This match greatly increased his confidence.
Generally speaking, there are two types of players who are good at sliding tackles.
One is those whose speed is much faster than the opponent’s.
The other is those whose level is much higher than the opponent’s and thus have full confidence in tackling.
Chiellini now belonged to the latter.
His level might not be much higher than the opponent’s, but he was very confident now.
The positioning from “Backing” allowed him to intercept and tackle easily too many times.
But soon, a problem also appeared.
(END CHAPTER)