Even with the enhancement from the team card, the team’s positional defense ability had improved.
But there was an entire forty-five minutes in the second half.
It would be difficult for everyone to survive this period with focused attention.
However, He Tianqi couldn’t just tell the team to keep attacking.
After all, you’re leading by two goals on aggregate.
Attacking more would just give the opponent chances to steal a goal, wouldn’t it?
This is the origin of the football saying: “1-0 is the most dangerous lead, but what’s more dangerous than 1-0 is 2-0.”
Leading by one goal is terrifying because the opponent could turn the tables at any moment.
Leading by two goals is terrifying because the leading side will have no other choice but to cripple their own offense to play defense.
…
In the second half, Perugia maintained their intensity.
Serie A level players are just better than Serie C level players in this regard.
In the fifty-sixth minute, Ribery, frustrated from losing physical battles against Grosso, resorted to using both hands and feet to take Grosso down, earning a yellow card.
In the sixty-third minute, Grosso successfully broke through on the left wing, attracting the attention of Palermo’s players, and then played a horizontal pass.
Perugia’s number ten midfielder fired a long shot to score.
The score for this match thus became 2-2.
The aggregate score over two legs was 4-5.
Perugia was only one goal away from equalizing.
And once they equalized, winning the game wasn’t far off.
Because Palermo clearly had no ability to fight back anymore.
In the sixty-seventh minute, Modric lost the ball and immediately fouled the opponent, giving away a free kick.
The referee came over and warned him that if he continued like this, he would get a yellow card.
He Tianqi immediately started making substitutions.
He subbed on Ashley Young for left-back Accardi.
“Huh?
Isn’t he a right-sided player?
Why did He Tianqi put Ashley Young on the left this time?” Barbara couldn’t quite figure out He Tianqi’s intentions.
In fact, the tactic of flying on a single wing was indeed easier to counter than flying on both wings.
After their loss in the previous match, Perugia had probably reviewed the game.
With the so-called single wing flight, as long as Ribery is contained, the other wing—Ashley Young—really doesn’t pose a huge threat.
So in this match, Perugia’s containment of Ribery was absolutely perfect.
They almost never gave Ribery a chance to hold the ball; the moment he got it, they got physical, preferring to foul rather than let Ribery play.
Therefore, He Tianqi had no choice but to utilize the left wing.
“Luka!
Switch from strong to weak side; from now on, combine more with Di Donato, Ashley Young, and Quagliarella to attack down the left.” He Tianqi took the opportunity to assign Modric new tactics.
“Tell Ribery to stand out by the right touchline and not come over.”
“Use his threat to provide enough width for the team.”
“Di Donato, from now on, the entire left wing and center belong to you.
Ashley Young, Quagliarella, and Modric will all coordinate with you.”
Di Donato nodded.
He Tianqi really hadn’t lied to him; he specifically arranged a special dual-core oscillating tactic for him.
From this moment on, he took over the possession handed over by Modric and became the team’s primary core.
In the seventy-first minute, Palermo uncharacteristically launched an attack down the left wing.
Modric played a wall pass with Di Donato.
After Di Donato dribbled forward to draw the opponents in, he sent a through ball.
The overlapping Ashley Young successfully reached the baseline and delivered a cross.
Unfortunately, the quality was quite poor.
Moreover, the opposing defender pinned Filippo down early and cleared the football.
In the seventy-eighth minute, Modric carried the ball out wide to the left.
Di Donato and Modric made crossing runs, with Di Donato heading into the center.
During the crossing, Modric knocked the football to Di Donato.
The Perugia players knew Modric was the core and paid extra attention to him, which allowed Di Donato to easily break free.
“Right side!
Ribery!” He Tianqi knew Di Donato’s vision and awareness were flawed, so he immediately shouted a reminder.
Di Donato didn’t dare hold onto the ball too long; he hit a long switch, delivering the football to Ribery on the right wing.
Ribery’s position was very close to the touchline.
Grosso marked him tightly for a while but felt it wasn’t worth it, slowly giving him some space.
Now that Ribery had the ball, Grosso could only lunge at him.
Ribery feigned a pass, and Grosso jumped up to try and block it.
But Ribery faked the pass and actually drove past, easily shaking off Grosso.
Perugia’s left center-back immediately moved out to cover, leaving a gap in their defensive line.
Bang!
Ribery sent in a cross.
[Basic Crossing!]
Ribery actually didn’t like crossing that much before; he felt it was unreliable and preferred using fine technique to create chances.
But recently, his crossing ability had visibly improved, and he began to feel the superiority of crossing.
Many flaws in the opponent’s defensive line would have already vanished by the time he dribbled the ball into the penalty area.
But a cross could exploit those flaws.
Inside the penalty area, Filippo held a favorable position at the near post, blocking the center-back rushing in from behind.
When the football flew in, he didn’t even need to jump; he just whipped his head to strike at goal.
“GOAL!”
“Filippo scores!”
“Six to four!
Palermo widens the score gap once again!”
“The quality of Ribery’s cross was incredibly high!”
“Perugia’s left center-back rushed out too recklessly; he neither interfered with Ribery’s cross nor made it back in time to defend Filippo!”
“Compared to the scoreline, Filippo’s leisurely header without even jumping is an even bigger blow to Perugia’s morale.”
In the stands, the light faded from the eyes of the Perugia fans.
Trailing by three goals before, they at least had plenty of time.
Now, trailing by three goals again, it was basically game over.
Even if Ronaldo came, it would be useless.
They were actually being double-killed over two legs by a Serie C team?
Simply absurd!
In the eighty-fourth minute, Perugia displayed their final stubbornness.
Their central midfielder stole the ball from Modric via a controversial tackle and subsequently delivered an assist.
Miccoli seized the opportunity to score.
“Five to six!”
“Perugia is still fighting!”
“Miccoli has scored three goals over two legs; as a loanee from Juventus, his performance this season has been commendable.
Perhaps we’ll see him playing for Juventus next season.”
“Does Perugia still have a chance?
Do they?”
In the eighty-eighth minute, Modric sought revenge, successfully ambushing an opponent from behind to steal the ball, and then passed it to Di Donato.
Di Donato took two touches with the ball before passing it to Filippo, who had pulled out of the penalty area.
Filippo held off the opposing center-back, stepping on the football.
He feinted turning to the left, but while engaging the opponent physically, the right foot stepping on the ball flicked it out to the right.
This level of silkiness was something he couldn’t achieve before.
Because this was the improvement brought by the [Stepping Ball Technique]!
Bang!
Di Donato ran up and met the football with an explosive shot.
Filippo’s setup was so perfect that Di Donato felt like he was doing shooting drills.
Swish!
The football flew straight into the net.
“This is madness!”
“Palermo is still scoring!”
“They have already scored four goals in this stadium!”
“They don’t just want to advance; they want to double-kill Perugia!”
“The aggregate score over two legs is seven to five!”
“Who could have imagined!”
“Who would dare believe it!”
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends.