Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 104 Rematch with Fulham

Fulham were on high alert, while Roma were conducting normal training, and the whole team was relaxed.

Warm-up and tactics training are the only two components of the training.

Afterwards, the whole team flew to London to prepare for the first leg match against Fulham. Every player was in high spirits, after all, it was the Europa League semi-final.

Even Roma's core players like Totti and De Rossi have never achieved anything in European competitions. Their best result is reaching the Champions League quarterfinals. Everyone longs to reach the Europa League final and win the championship.

As the major battle draws near, media coverage from both sides is increasing.

Italian football has performed exceptionally well this season.

Inter Milan and Roma have reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and Europa League respectively, giving the Italian media a rare moment of triumph over the English media and sweeping away the disappointment of the past few years.

The English media were much more frustrated.

In this season's Champions League, all Premier League teams were eliminated in the quarterfinals, which silenced the English media. Now, although two teams have reached the Europa League semifinals, one of them is Fulham.

Moreover, Fulham were defeated twice by Roma in the group stage.

However, the English media still tried their best to create hype, analyzing Fulham's chances of defeating Roma from various angles.

Italian media, naturally, were not to be outdone. They cheered for Roma, praising Shan Yongzhuo as one of the top strikers in Europe. Even rival media outlets like Gazzetta dello Sport and Tuttosport stood firmly on Roma's side.

Various news reports emerged, giving the impression that this was not a Europa League semi-final between Roma and Fulham, but rather a Champions League final.

It's still difficult for external media to influence the team. Media hype is just a gimmick; the real outcome depends on the team's performance in the game.

Craven Farm Stadium was packed with people.

This was the most significant match ever played at Craven Crop Stadium.

For European giants, the Europa League semi-final is nothing special, but for Fulham, it represents the pinnacle of the team's history.

There were a lot of Fulham fans at the stadium. Craven Cottage can only hold 30,000 people, so many Fulham fans could only watch on TV, but that did not dampen their enthusiasm.

at this time.

Twenty minutes into the game, a thunderous cheer erupted from the stands as Fulham scored the first goal.

Just now, Fulham launched an attack, with veteran Duff breaking past Perrotta and Riise on the wing before delivering a cross that Zamora headed in to score.

Fulham are leading Roma at home!
The Fulham fans in the stadium cheered loudly, applauding their team's excellent performance.

The fans were absolutely thrilled.

Fulham reaching the semi-finals is already a record-breaking achievement, and fans would be even more satisfied if they could go further and reach the final.

Rome, on the other hand, was somewhat disappointed.

Fulham's aggressive attack at the start of the game was so strong that Roma couldn't keep up for a while, and Roma made a series of mistakes in passing and receiving the ball in their midfield and backfield, allowing Fulham to score the first goal.

"1-0, Fulham played exceptionally well today. Their attack from the start completely dominated Roma, and the score has been changed!"

"Hodgson's decision to attack Roma from the start was commendable, and his containment of Roma's star striker, Shan Yongzhuo, was very successful. So far, Shan Yongzhuo has only touched the ball once, a direct interception achieved with the combined efforts of Hangranda and Murphy..."

The English commentator spoke eloquently, as if Fulham had already defeated Roma.

Shan Yongzhuo was fine; he remained on the front line, running around lazily. There was nothing the team could do about being suppressed, a situation that had occurred many times this season.

However, the suppression cannot continue indefinitely, and Fulham cannot maintain such a high level of intensity forever. As long as I keep a steady mindset and look for opportunities, that's all I need to do.

The opportunity didn't come until the 40th minute of the first half.

Fulham maintained a high-pressing stance, with Hangeland marking closely and Murphy frequently coming over to help defend. Shan Yongzhuo struggled to create opportunities, even using his powerful ground kick, only to be brought down by Murphy. However, Shan Yongzhuo didn't seem to mind; he had secured a well-placed set piece, which was acceptable.

This is a free kick 20 meters from the edge of the penalty area, in a very good position.

Shan Yongzhuo took the free kick and scored directly into the top left corner of the goal.

"The ball is in!"

"Shan Yongzhuo!"

Amid the cheers of a small number of Roma fans, Fulham fans remained unexcited.

Conceding a goal near the end of the first half is extremely frustrating, especially since it was a direct free kick, making Murphy's yellow card seem meaningless.

Meanwhile, Spalletti breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines.

The pressure of the semi-final is still immense. Roma was behind before, and even though it was the first leg away game, there was still pressure.

Now the score is tied, that's great.

A goal scored away from home is very significant.

On the field.

The game has restarted.

Shan Yongzhuo's goal frustrated Fulham, who were in a very good position but conceded a goal near the end of the first half.

But there's nothing they can say about this goal.

Murphy's foul was timely; otherwise, Shan Yongzhuo would have been able to rush into the penalty area, and Hangeland would have been left far behind.

But the most infuriating thing was that the opponent still managed to score with a free kick.

The first half ended quickly, followed by a 15-minute break before the second half began.

Fulham continued their aggressive pressing and dominance, forcing Roma to solidify their defense and look for counter-attacking opportunities.

Dan Yongzhuo seemed relatively relaxed in the attacking third. He was closely marked and didn't actively drop back to receive the ball, which meant he barely touched it.

As the competition progressed, he was gradually forgotten again.

However, in the 70th minute of the match, Shan Yongzhuo got the ball.

That was a corner kick.

The English commentators didn't seem to care; in their view, it was a bit incomprehensible for a striker like Shan Yongzhuo to take a corner kick.

"It seems that Shan Yongzhuo is also somewhat disappointed with his performance. He took the corner kick himself, which is not something he should do."

But the Italian commentator got excited, "Look, he's taking the corner kick! We all know he's scored several goals directly from corner kicks this season. Whenever he takes a corner kick, he usually shoots directly..."

"Look at this ball!"

"The ball is in!"

"As expected, it was a direct goal from a corner kick. Shan Yongzhuo never disappoints. Roma is leading Fulham 2-1 away from home, a very favorable score for Roma!"

The Italian commentator cheered, and the Roma players celebrated excitedly.

A 2-1 away win is a very comfortable score. As long as Roma doesn't lose by two goals at home, they can advance to the final.

(End of this chapter)