The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 105 Winning the Championship in Advance
  “I think it’s natural to win the game at home.

What I want to say is that the goal conceded was too undeserved. The opponent took away an away goal from Meazza, which left suspense for promotion.

Is it too early to talk about the opponents in the Champions League semi-finals?

When you go to the Gunners' home ground, anything can happen.

And we still have one league round to play before the second leg against Arsenal. "

When interviewed by reporters after the game, Mourinho was more cautious than before.

Because now for Inter Milan, the league championship has basically been obtained, and the Champions League results are what they pay more attention to.

In the past, under the leadership of Mancini, no matter how the Nerazzurri performed in the domestic arena, there was no hope in the European war.

Now that Mourinho is in charge, although sometimes the scenes are not very good, especially when playing against strong teams.

But as long as you can win, that's the best.

After all, Nerazzurri, who longs for the Champions League trophy, is different from fans of some wealthy teams who are pretentious.

Those people not only want to win, but also want to look good on the scene.

If they often stick to the defense and cannot play gorgeous offensive football, they will not be satisfied even if they win the championship, and they will still fire the head coach.

It can only be said that Mourinho and Inter Milan at this time are a match made in heaven.

It is precisely with the support of the club from top to bottom that the madman can freely start his work here.

On April 4, in the 11st round of Serie A, Inter Milan faced Palermo at home.

As long as they win this game, regardless of the results of other teams, the Nerazzurri will win the Serie A championship this season in advance!
  Although considering that this game is sandwiched between the two Champions League games before and after, it is completely possible to rotate significantly to give the main players a rest.

However, Mourinho still decided to go all out. Winning the league championship earlier might boost the team's morale and allow the team to achieve another good result in the Champions League.

Therefore, except for substitute goalkeeper Toldo who replaced Cesar who was injured in the last round, no other positions have changed.

The stronger Inter Milan was at home and did not give the visiting team many chances.

In the tenth minute, Leo made a direct pass from the frontcourt, and Ibrahimovic passed the ball and knocked back.

Leo passed the ball into the penalty area again, and Balotelli countered offside and dived in front of the goal to head the ball into the lower left corner of the goal!
  One to zero!
  The Nerazzurri scored first.

Palermo also tried hard to carry out some attacks, but they could not easily break through the home team's defense.

In the 39th minute, Leo passed Nocerino and headed straight into the penalty area!
  Ibrahimovic forced his way into the left side of the penalty area, and Kyle tackled him from behind in the penalty area. Penalty kick!

Referee Carmine Russo decisively awarded a penalty kick.

Ibrahimovic personally took the penalty kick and volleyed it into the net against Palermo goalkeeper Amelia!
  Two to zero!
  Inter Milan expands its lead!
  Entering the halftime break with a two-goal lead, Mourinho's old habits recurred.

"In the second half, we slowed down the pace and tried to save energy, but also to avoid injuries."

The Madmen thought they had already won this game, but their opponents didn't see it that way.

Palermo coach Ballardini made two substitutions, with Bresciano replacing Migliaccio and Suchi replacing Nocerino.

The visitors' efforts soon paid off.

Ibrahimovic's kick was blocked by Amelia, giving Palermo a chance to counterattack.

Bresciano made a high pass from the left, Miccoli made a pass from behind, and Suqi, who was inserted in the middle, fell to the ground and shot!

The ball went under Toldo and into the net!

Two to one!

Palermo pulled one back in the 67th minute!
  Mourinho first replaced Balotelli with Vieira, and then replaced Maxwell, who was weak in defense.

In the 78th minute, the fourth official on the sidelines had already raised his sign. Inter Milan continued to make substitutions, and Muntari replaced Leo.

The Nerazzurri fans at the scene were not very satisfied. They felt that the team should not play so passively.

Wouldn't it be better to have the upper hand and continue to attack and kill the game with goals?

Mourinho's thinking is different from that of the fans. What he thinks is that there is no need to waste the players' energy.

Winning this game is enough; what's the point of scoring more goals?

There is no dead ball yet, so Leo remains on the court for now.

Simplicio passed the ball straight from the center, and Palermo forward Cavani crossed into the penalty area and shot!
  Toldo showed his bravery and blocked this close shot!
  It wasn't over yet. Palermo's players controlled the ball outside the penalty area.

Liverani buckled the angle and took advantage of the situation to hit a powerful and heavy long-range shot!

Leo ducked from the side and appeared in the path of the opponent's shot, blocking the ball with his back!

Inter Milan was almost equalized by its opponent!
  When Leo comes off the field, the rest of the game has nothing to do with him.

Muntari got the ball in the backcourt and was pressed, making a mistake and losing the ball!

It's Cavani who receives the ball and breaks into the penalty area again! The Uruguayan was in excellent form in the second half of this game.

Facing Inter goalkeeper Toldo, Cavani succeeded with a right-footed diagonal shot into the far corner of the goal!
  Two to two!
  A few minutes after Leo came off the field, Palermo actually evened the score!
  It looked like he could celebrate winning the championship early at home, but his own actions ruined it.

It can be seen from Mourinho's expression that the Nerazzurri coach is not in a very good mood at this time.

Once upon a time, at the beginning of his coaching career, the Portuguese told Leiria players that he did not want to defend and counterattack, and asked the team to play offensive football and ensure possession of the ball on the field.

At that time, the fledgling Mourinho's tactical thinking was not conservative at all.

So when did the change happen? Maybe only he knows.

Inter Milan attacked again in the final stage of the game and pressed all players, but unfortunately they were unable to complete the winning goal.

In the end, Mourinho's team was tied 2-2 by Palermo at home!

Tens of thousands of Lazuli in the stands had no choice but to put away the carefully prepared championship banners and flags and quietly dispersed. Just later on the same day, Juventus, currently ranked second in Serie A, played an away game against Genoa.

Although Juventus forward Del Piero and Iaquinta each scored goals.

But Thiago Motta's brace and Palladino's goal helped the home team defeat the Bianconeri 3-2 at home!

In other words, although Inter Milan lost points at home and only gained a draw, Juventus simply lost the game without scoring a single point.

The Nerazzurri still secured the Serie A championship seven rounds ahead of schedule!

This result is really ridiculous.

"So we're league champions?"

"If I'm not mistaken, it should already be."

David Thornton won the Serie A championship with the team in his first season after being promoted to the first team. He was so excited that he couldn't sleep at night.

The phone call in the middle of the night woke Leo up.

But to be honest, Leo also felt that it was a bit unreal. The season was not over yet, and he had just won a league championship with this "simple" title?

This is also the first league championship of Leo's career, and he won it a little too "easily".

Coupled with the fact that there was no celebration ceremony for winning the championship, he had no sense of reality.

The successful defense of the defending champion is something worth celebrating for all Inter Milan fans.

Winning the league championship in previous years would have required a grand celebration.

However, Mourinho rejected Moratti's championship parade on the grounds that the team needed to concentrate on preparing for the Champions League.

The madman's decision was correct.

Now is a critical period. How can the team lead the team if the players are distracted by those fancy things?
  Nerazzurri may have to wait a little longer to see the entire Inter Milan team parade around the city of Milan on a "float".

One day in advance, all members of Inter Milan flew to London on a special plane.

Leo felt an unusually tense atmosphere.

They only need to beat Arsenal to advance to the Champions League semi-finals.

It seems that the final championship is not far away.

Under such pressure, the joy of winning the league was diluted a lot.

In the away game, Inter Milan still arranged a starting lineup of 4,31,2.

Cesar and Samuel are back from injury.

Zanetti served as right back and Thornton moved to the left.

The three midfielders behind Leo are Cambiasso, Vieira and Stankovic.

Arsenal added another injured person, Almunia, Sagna, Gala, Djorou, and Clichy were all absent due to injuries.

Nineteen-year-old Gibbs got his first chance to start in the Champions League.

Robin van Persie, who failed to play in the last match, also returned to the starting lineup.

Arsenal have been unbeaten in 2004 consecutive home games in the Champions League since , conceding only seven goals in total.

After being scored by Kuyt in the first leg of last season's Champions League quarter-finals, the Gunners maintained a record of 424 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal at home in the Champions League.

However, Arsenal, which lost 1-3 away to Inter Milan, needs at least a 2-0 victory if they want to advance to the semi-finals.

At 2009pm on April 4, 15, nearly spectators poured into the Emirates Stadium in London, England.

In the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in the 08-09 season, Arsenal's home game against Inter Milan officially begins!
  “We are ahead and we don’t need to rush to attack on the road.

That would easily give your opponent a chance.

So first stabilize the method, and then patiently wait for the opportunity to counterattack..."

Standing on the field at the Emirates Stadium again, Leo felt like he was in another world.

The last time he was here, he was still a Tottenham player, and the atmosphere of the Champions League was completely different from ordinary leagues or domestic cup competitions.

Today, players from both teams wore black veils on their arms again, but the reason was different from last time.

This time it is to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

The chief referee of this game is Wolfgang Stark from Germany.

After Stark's whistle, this much-anticipated battle officially started.

Amid the cheers of tens of thousands of Gunners fans at home, Arsenal, which was lagging behind, began a wave of attacks.

As soon as the game started, Fabregas sent a scalpel-like through ball in the middle.

Adebayor received the ball from the left and almost formed a one-shot move, but unfortunately it was destroyed by the Inter Milan defender.

In the third minute, Van Persie, who had just returned from injury, fired a long-range shot from outside the penalty area and hit the defensive player and missed the baseline.

Just one minute later, Walcott started on the right and easily passed David Thornton with his speed advantage, but no teammate in the penalty area could grab the spot.

Nasri took the ball from behind and knocked it back. Fabregas took the ball from far away and passed it. Van Persie's header in front of the penalty spot was slightly higher.

The songs of the home team's supporters in the stands of the Emirates Stadium became louder and louder, and the arsenal's offensive on the field became more and more fierce.

Mourinho was sitting on the coaching bench on the sidelines, and this was all what he expected.

(End of this chapter)