The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 135 Mourinho’s ominous place

On September 9, in the fifth round of Serie A, Inter Milan faced Naples at home.

Inter Milan central defender Samuel returned after a game of rest, and Chivu also replaced Thornton as the left back.

The players in the midfield and frontcourt continued the previous lineup unchanged.

Motta suffered a muscle strain after coming on as a substitute last weekend and will be sidelined for at least four weeks.

Head coach Mourinho was suspended for one game due to a red card, and assistant coach Baresi took charge of the coaching bench.

The Inter Milan coach was not only suspended, but also fined 15,000 euros.

Money is a trivial matter, and the club helped Mourinho, but Moratti still hopes that the madman will have fewer conflicts with the referee.

During the warm-up before the game, Leo also clearly felt that his body was slightly heavier than usual.

"Who can bear this one game for three days?"

Even if the body can bear it, the mind cannot avoid feeling tired.

For Naples, head coach Donadoni arranged a three-five-two three-back formation.

Double forward Quagliarella partners with Lavezzi.

Zuniga and Maggio are on the left and right, with the three midfielders Hamsik, Gargano and Bogliasino.

Cannavaro, Contini and Santaclosi partnered as defenders.

After the players from both sides finished their warm-up, 300 representatives of Inter Milan Football School students from 19 countries entered the stadium.

This also includes young players from Qingdao Inter Milan Football School in China.

Kick-off time was delayed by a few minutes as children greeted the players and spectators.

At the beginning of the first half, Naples, who were visiting Meazza, took the lead.

The Nerazzurri, whose physical condition was not very good, did not take the initiative to launch an offensive.

In the third minute, through a counterattack, the home team won a corner kick on the right.

Leo passed the ball accurately into the penalty area, and Samuel's header caused a melee in front of the goal!
  Diego Milito and Cambiaso's consecutive follow-up shots were missed. In the end, Eto'o was unmarked in front of the goal and easily pushed the shot into the empty goal!

Inter Milan leads Napoli 1-0!

Taking the lead easily, Mourinho in the stands also breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that his worries before the game were unnecessary, but is Inter Milan really so strong that even if the head coach is not there, it can calmly deal with opponents of Naples' level?
  Only two minutes had passed since the last goal, and Inter Milan threatened again.

Leo dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and Maicon made a diagonal pass from the right to break through three defensive players and send a direct pass!

Milito countered offside and successfully scored a single shot into the right side of the goal!

Two to zero!
  Inter Milan expands its lead!

Maicon's condition this year is indeed quite outstanding, and it is not an exaggeration to be considered the best right back in the world at the moment.

His teammates were in excellent condition and performed well, so Leo was able to save a lot of worry and effort.

Before he even exerted much effort, the team already took a two-goal lead, which was pretty good.

There is no need to go all out in every game, especially in the recent intensive and intense schedule.

Learning to allocate physical energy reasonably is also a science.

Leo deliberately controlled the rhythm of the game and slowed down the Nerazzurri's offensive.

Not only do they have another Serie A game to play two days later, the second round of the Champions League group stage also follows six days later.

Players are not animals. Even if Mourinho tries every means to rotate, there are only so many players in Inter Milan.

Not talking about other players, Leo may not be able to play a game less. There is nothing wrong with taking a break to save energy when there is an opportunity.

Of course, don’t let it go when you have the opportunity.

Eto'o broke through from the right and was blocked when he cut inside and knocked back. Leo followed up with a low shot from the edge of the penalty area but was saved by Naples goalkeeper De Sanctis!

Leo took a corner kick and made a precise curve ball into the penalty area!

Brazilian defender Lucio jumped high and beat the visiting team's central defender to header!
  After the ball bounced off the ground, it passed over the visiting team goalkeeper's fingertips and entered the net!
  Three to zero! Inter Milan had a dream start today!

Less than fifteen minutes into the game, the Nerazzurri already had a three-goal lead!
  Naples is all confused, what's going on?
  The people in the stands were originally worried that the team would not be able to easily win this game because of the short interval between games and the physical condition of the players. Nerazzurri couldn't sit still.

Meazza turned into a blue-black ocean, the visiting team fans in the surrounding stands were submerged, and the cheerful singing of Inter Milan fans was everywhere!
  Although it may be a bit late, after scoring three goals, Naples, playing away from home, finally woke up.

Gargano distributed the ball from the right, and Lavezzi's long shot from the outside of the penalty area was missed.

Soon after, Contini took a long shot from Hamsik's corner kick. Cesar made a solid save and easily picked off the ball.

In the 22nd minute, Maggio made a breakthrough pass from the right, and Quagliarella headed the ball high in front of the small penalty area.

Several consecutive waves of attacks were impressive, but it was a pity that they failed to score a goal.

Maicon made a pass from the right, Eto'o deliberately missed it, and Pandev followed up with a powerful long-range shot. The ball was slightly higher than the crossbar.

Lavezzi broke through to the edge of the penalty area and hit Samuel with a long shot that bounced off the baseline.

Hamsik passed the corner kick from the right, and Quagliarella headed the goal again!

The ball was lifted over the crossbar by Inter goalkeeper Cesar with one hand!
  That's right. With Naples' lineup, there's no way they can't fight back against Inter Milan.

Leo stole the ball in the frontcourt and Diego Milito passed through, but Pandev's left-footed shot was saved by De Sanctis!

After receiving the pass from the right wing, Maggio cut inside to get rid of the defender and shot a long shot that was a bit wide. In the 30th minute, Leo sent another accurate through ball. Milito failed to get rid of the Naples defender after receiving the ball.

After knocking back, Eto'o's long-range shot was blocked by the visiting team defender.

The game then reached a deadlock, and Inter Milan, leading 3-0, was in no hurry to attack.

Naples was anxious, but there was nothing they could do.

Lavezzi dribbled the ball through Chivu's defense and hit the Inter Milan defender with a long shot, creating a corner kick.

Hamsik took a corner kick from the right, and Contini's left-footed volley from behind had already missed, but Lavezzi blocked it with his left foot on the other side and added the ball into the goal!

This can also get an assist, and Contini unexpectedly burst into laughter.

Three to one!

Naples got a goal back before the end of the first half!
  In stoppage time, Leo made a wonderful collaboration with Eto'o on the right side of the frontcourt and made consecutive passes, but the Cameroonian's final long shot missed the far corner.

With a score of three to one, the first half of the game ended.

Less than two minutes into the second half, Inter Milan replaced Leo with Muntari.

Now every time he is substituted he gets applause from all the Inter Milan fans.

Of course, substituting Leo was not because there was a problem with his performance. It was simply to allow the core of the team to rest more when the game was basically no suspense.

Cambiaso's free kick went directly to the goal. Although it bypassed the wall, it also bypassed the goal and missed the baseline.

In the 55th minute, Stankovic also came on as a substitute for Zanetti.

The Serbian who just came on the field was very angry. He and Contini clashed in the midfield, and both received yellow cards.

Donadoni also made adjustments subsequently, and Santaclosi was replaced by Aronica.

Soon after, Maggio was also replaced by Argentine striker Denis.

Naples has not given up resistance yet, and the gap between two goals does not seem too far away.

Lavezzi broke through from the wing and passed the ball across, but Quagliarella missed the long shot.

In the 81st minute, Cannavaro Jr. was not far away from the rescue. Samuel's low shot was held up by DeSanctis with one hand.

The game ended as Quagliarella's long shot was easily received by Cesar.

In the end, Inter Milan defeated Naples, who they thought would be "aggressive", 3-1.

The process of the game was actually easier than the final score. It was 3-1 at half-time, and Inter Milan's playmaker Leo was replaced at the beginning of the second half.

Only two days later, Mourinho's team went to Genoa to usher in the sixth round of Serie A, an away game against Sampdoria.

Since Inter Milan will visit Russia in the Champions League match next Tuesday, Mourinho, who returned to the coaching bench, has made a substantial rotation.

Leo directly took the rotation to stay in the European competition. This is the first time he has been excluded from the squad since the start of the season.

Mourinho made this decision after taking into account the comprehensive opinions of the team's fitness coach and medical team.

Nineteen-year-old Leo has been playing continuously, and his physical condition has indeed shown a red light and he needs to rest.

Chivu and Muntari are on standby.

Balotelli, Milito and Eto'o formed a three-pointer.

Vieira started the game, partnering Zanetti and Cambiasso in the midfield.

Left back Thornton, the rest of the defense remains unchanged.

A minute's silence was observed before the game in memory of former Sampdoria president Garufi, who passed away this week.

The Estadio Ferraris holds special significance for Mourinho.

Last August, the Portuguese made his Serie A debut here, and in that game Inter Milan drew with Sampdoria one to one.

Although China later eliminated Sampdoria in the Coppa Italia, they still failed to win on the road.

Returning to the Ferraris Stadium again today, can Inter Milan led by Mourinho score three points on the road?
  The answer is no, especially without Leo.

In the 77th minute of the game, Palombo intercepted the ball at Thornton's feet and passed it across from the front of the penalty area, and Mannini passed into the penalty area!

Pazzini scored with a low shot with his right foot in front of the goal!
  In the end, Sampdoria, playing at home, defeated the league leader Inter Milan 1-0 with the only goal of the game.

Tasting defeat again at the Ferraris Stadium, this place really seems to have become an ominous place for Mourinho.

Without Leo's organization in the midfield, the Nerazzurri's offense turned into a mess again.

The offensive players in the frontcourt are all very capable, but they cannot be connected in series to create an overall threatening offense.

After Stankovic was replaced in the second half, he completely destroyed the team's morale with a few outrageous long-range shots that opened the door.

After Mourinho suffered his first defeat of the new season, Inter Milan was also tied with Sampdoria in the league standings!

Both teams have fifteen points!
  "I will take responsibility for the loss of this game. The players have tried their best. Samp is a strong opponent, which can be seen from the current league ranking.

I admit that we are saving our energy today for the Champions League game three days later, and it is indeed not respectful enough to Samp.

So they gave us a game with a bad result too, which is fair enough.

Leo has always been an indispensable and important core of the team. He is our player. What's the problem with relying on him? "

(End of this chapter)