The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 149 Going to Camp Nou

“We may not have had a great performance tonight, but we controlled the game and made it difficult for Bologna.

I don’t particularly like to say which of my players performed best on the pitch, but there is no denying that Milito played very hard.

As for Leo, I don’t think I need to go into details about his performance. He has maintained a consistently high level of performance.

The only reason I substituted Balotelli was because he got a yellow card.

He played normally in the first half and missed a good scoring opportunity, but scored one goal.

Then I replaced him because he had already received a yellow card.

He didn't change his playing style after getting the yellow card. Previous experience told me that I couldn't risk keeping him on the field.

I have nothing to complain about, we won the game and we won without any doubt. "

After the game, coach Mourinho was satisfied with the team's performance, but reporters were more concerned about the next game.

"Of course, Eto'o will start against Barcelona, ​​so today I chose to give Eto'o a little more rest because his foot is not 100 percent recovered yet.

Now we can consider Barcelona, ​​haha.

Today I asked the assistant coach to stay in Milan to prepare for the game against Barcelona, ​​and I will probably start studying them on the car back to Milan.

I think the most important thing is our spirit, not tactics or technology.

Going to Camp Nou will test our willpower, which is the most important thing. "

Facing reporters, the madman seemed confident, but only he knew that he actually had no confidence in his heart.

That's Barcelona. The Barcelona in Guardiola's hands is recognized as the strongest in the world.

Although Mourinho led the Nerazzurri to win against them once at home before, others attributed the victory to luck and home field advantage.

Not many people would think that Inter Milan is stronger than Barcelona.

Therefore, returning to the home court of the Catalan team this time, the outside world is generally optimistic that Guardiola's team can easily win at the Nou Camp.

Just one day after returning to Milan from Bologna, the entire Inter Milan team took a special plane to fly to Barcelona, ​​the capital of Catalonia.

Coming to this familiar city again, both head coach Mourinho and Eto'o had mixed emotions.

No matter what, one thing is for sure, they all want to give those guys who are clamoring to "kill" Inter Milan a good look at home.

In preparation for Barcelona's training, Mourinho made meticulous tactical arrangements for the players.

How to defend Messi, how to target Ibrahimovic, and so on, he explained everything in detail.

At the same time, different plans were made for each possible situation.

Defense is naturally the top priority, but Mourinho knows that even if the coaching staff is well prepared, it will be very difficult to prevent Barcelona from scoring on the road.

That meant that the offense could not be relaxed. After careful consideration, Mourinho called Leo over.

"Leo, what do you think of this game with Barcelona?"

Leo did not answer immediately. In fact, regardless of the so-called grievances, Inter Milan is now firmly at the top of the group and has obtained the promotion spot in advance.

In fact, rationally speaking, they do not need to fight against the powerful Barcelona on the road.

But he is not stupid. It is naturally impossible for him to answer like this when he clearly knows what the head coach is thinking.

“Our goal this season is the Champions League, so Barcelona is an unavoidable hurdle.

If we defeat them in an upright manner at Camp Nou, we can slap those who despise us in the face! "

Mourinho nodded slightly, and he took out a piece of paper with the predicted starting lineup for Barcelona.

"In this game, I hope you..."

On the evening of November 11th local time in Spain, in the fifth round of the 24-09 UEFA Champions League group stage, the focus of Group F, Inter Milan's away game against defending champion Barcelona is about to begin.

More than 4,000 Inter fans traveled with the team to Camp Nou, but they seemed so small in front of more than 90,000 home fans.

In this game, Inter Milan went all out. Compared with last weekend's league start, Eto'o replaced Balotelli. This was his first return to the Nou Camp after his transfer.

Motta started instead of Cambiasso.

By the way, Inter Milan midfielder Thiago Motta, like Eto'o, also played against his old club today.

The Italian came to Barcelona's youth team when he was seventeen years old. Two years later, he was promoted from the second team to the first team and spent nine full years in this city.

After that, Motta moved to Atletico Madrid and played for one season before returning to Serie A. As soon as he achieved some results in Genoa, he was recruited by the Nerazzurri.

Motta's time at Inter Milan was even a fraction of the time he spent at Barcelona.

So when Eto'o hugged his former Barcelona teammate in the tunnel, Motta stood aside silently with mixed emotions.

Neither Ibrahimovic nor Messi, whom Mourinho made detailed and targeted arrangements, appeared in the starting lineup today.

They were all injured and only entered the bench.

Guardiola still uses a four-three-three formation at home.

Henry's single arrow shot forward, while Iniesta and Pedro lined up on the left and right wings.

Xavi leads the midfield, with Keita and Busquets partnering him.

Left back Vidal, right back Alves, Puyol and Pique form a central defender combination with goalkeeper Valdes.

Even if Ibrahimovic and Messi did not start, Barcelona still put together a very controlling lineup. Although there have been some changes, this starting line-up was also within Mourinho’s expectations before the game.

None of the Inter Milan players were surprised, and they even felt somewhat confident due to their thorough preparation before the game.

The referee of this game is the referee Massimo Busacca from Switzerland.

With Busaka's whistle, this much-anticipated battle finally begins!
  Stepping onto the pitch at Camp Nou, the cheers of more than 90,000 people in the audience surged in like the earth was shattering.

Leo felt a bit of pressure, and at the same time his fighting spirit was ignited.

"Playing in a stadium like this makes my blood boil!"

It's interesting that Inter Milan's starting eleven includes two old players who were abandoned by Barcelona, ​​while Barcelona's bench sits on Ibrahimovic and Maxwell, two former Inter Milan players.

Who will win this game depends on the next performance of both sides!
  Just one minute into the game, Harvey's long shot from outside the penalty area was blocked by the defensive player.

Then Xavi took a corner kick from the left. After Pique beat Inter Milan, my header was blocked by Motta's leg at the far post.

Then Iniesta got rid of the defense on the left and sent a cross. Xavi volleyed in the penalty area and missed the point.

Inter Milan withstood the home team's first wave of attack, Leo made a long pass from the backcourt, and the visiting team's counterattack came!

Eto'o once again ran on the turf of Camp Nou, faster and faster, faster than he has ever run this season!

Cameroonians are very familiar with this stadium, and the same is true for Barcelona's defensive players.

Now an accelerating change of direction wiped out Keita who was rushing forward, and then he broke through diagonally and threw away Abidal.

Faced with Pique's flying tackle in front of the penalty area, Eto'o just dodged it with a slight dunk.

Single ball!
  Eto'o ran 60 meters straight into the penalty area to face Valdes!

There was no time to hesitate, the cheetah took off and volleyed into the far corner of the goal with his right foot!
  The Barcelona goalkeeper who was guarding the goal flew to save the ball with one palm!
  After standing up, Valdes yelled to encourage himself. He glanced at the somewhat annoyed Inter forward and smiled.

Fortunately, I know you very well.

Having been teammates for five years, this pair of former shield and spear of the Red and Blue Legions naturally understand each other quite well.

This is the first head-to-head confrontation in this game, and it seems that Valdez is slightly better.

But the annoyance soon passed, and Eto'o grinned and gave Leo a thumbs up.

The game has just begun.

After failing to score, the Cameroonians first received boos from the audience of 90,000 people.

Eto'o, who had been mentally prepared for this, smiled and shrugged it off.

After Iniesta stopped the ball at the front of the penalty area, he was brought down by Inter Milan defender Samuel, but the referee did not say anything.

Then Iniesta's long shot from outside the penalty area was saved by Cesar and it was another Barcelona corner kick.

Xavi took a corner kick, Henry nodded the ball and then rubbed it. Pique got rid of Motta's entanglement, outflanked from behind and kicked the ball into the door from close range!
  This is Pique's first Champions League goal this season and his fourth Champions League goal.

One to zero!

Barcelona, ​​playing at home, took the lead in breaking the deadlock!

After the team took the lead, the cheers at Camp Nou were like a roaring tsunami.

Fortunately, Inter Milan's players on the field have seen the world, otherwise this scene alone would scare them to the point where they can't walk, let alone play football.

It was just a loss of the ball first, and the expression on Mourinho's face did not change at all.

Barcelona, ​​which was leading the score, had no intention of stopping and continued to attack.

Zanetti failed to stop Xavi, and Barcelona midfielder sent a wonderful pass!

As a last resort, Lucio fouled Henry and gave his opponent a free kick.

Xavi's free kick went over the wall and slightly over the crossbar.

Leo stood in the center circle with his arms crossed. The team was at a disadvantage as a whole. He didn't even have many chances to get the ball, so how could he find scoring opportunities.

Sighing helplessly, even if Barcelona "let" Messi and Ibrahimovic, they were still a little overwhelmed after the game started.

In the 12th minute, Leo suddenly stepped forward and stole the ball from Busquets' feet!
  Although Professor Bu immediately covered his face and fell to the ground after losing the ball, the referee clearly saw that Leo didn't touch him so how could he get a foul.

Busquets was not given a yellow card for diving at Barcelona's home court, and Busacca was already showing mercy.

In this moment, after successfully grabbing the ball, Leo quickly dribbled the ball to the front of Barcelona's penalty area.

Milito was unable to turn around under Puyol's marking, while Eto'o distracted Pique's attention from the side.

Keita returned to defense and was about to face Leo who had the ball.

For a moment, Leo's brain was racing. Should he pass the ball or hit it himself?
  Valdes is already prepared, and the success rate of direct long-range shots from this position is not high.

To whom should the word be conveyed?

Milito was in a good position but he was tangled up by Barcelona's captain, Eto'o running back and forth with Pique behind him.

At this time Pandev suddenly broke into the penalty area from the left and threw away Alves.

good! With his eyes shining, Leo dunked past Harvey, pushed the ball lightly with his right foot, and passed the ball!

The Macedonian kept the ball on the left side of the penalty area and followed up with a powerful low shot!
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  (End of this chapter)