The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 339: Falling leaves with one kick

Last season Real Madrid and Barcelona still occupied the top two spots in La Liga as usual.

Valencia ended the third consecutive season in third place in La Liga.

Since Emery took office in the 2008-2009 season, the Bat Corps' performance has been good.

But Valencia's performance in the Champions League was relatively average.

In the first two seasons, they were eliminated in the group stage once and reached the top 04 once and were eliminated by Schalke .

After the end of last season, Emery, who led the team with stable results, announced his departure from the team because he believed that he would not be able to continue to seek breakthroughs if he continued to stay in the Bat Corps.

It is difficult to say that it was not for the sake of saving money that the club hired Pellegrino, who played for Valencia as a player, as the new coach.

However, due to poor performance in leading the team, the Argentine was fired by the club after only five months in office.

After that, current head coach Valverde took over Valencia.

But a minute later the Nerazzurri came back again.

Leo is the attacking midfielder, Modric and De Rossi are in the midfield.

If it is understandable that Valencia, a La Liga powerhouse, has been able to maintain an excellent record in the past two years, then last season's fourth-place Malaga was even more surprising.

The effect was also obvious. The game was intermittent, and Inter Milan's offensive players were turned upside down by tackles time and time again.

As a result, at the beginning of the new season, the owner's withdrawal of capital caused a financial crisis for the team, core players left the team one after another, and even the club manager was preparing to run away.

Less than two minutes into the game, Neymar was injured and fell to the ground during a struggle with Guardado. After a brief treatment, he re-entered the game.

In the 19th minute, Jonas' cross pass near the right baseline was blocked by Kolarov, and Guardado volleyed a powerful shot over the crossbar from the penalty area!

And judging from the severity of the opponent's foul and the referee's penalty scale, today's game may not go well.

The position was not particularly suitable for falling leaves, so Leo directly hit with a heavy shot!

The ball was fast but the angle was not particularly tricky. The home team goalkeeper Guaita fought hard to save the ball!

Neymar followed up in stoppage time and missed the outside of the far post!

In the ninth minute, Bell dribbled the ball outside the penalty area and was scooped away by Pereira. Modric got the ball and hit the post with a fake fax!

Modric put his hands on his hips and smiled bitterly. It was a good scoring opportunity, but unfortunately he was rejected by the goal post.

Balotelli served as the single arrow, and Bale and Neymar flew on both wings.

Two days before the game, the entire Inter Milan team arrived in Valencia, Spain's third largest city.

After Abdullah Al-Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family, took over the team in the summer of 2010, he continued to spend money like water and brought a lot of strong support to the team.

We have reached the knockout rounds again this year. I wonder if we can make a breakthrough?

It's a bit difficult because their opponent is the defending champion Inter Milan.

And compared to Valencia, which has to compete with the powerful Inter Milan, Malaga, despite external and internal troubles, really has no chance of eliminating Porto and entering the next round.

The three midfielders, Banega, stand slightly forward, with Parejo and Alberto behind him.

Spanish forward Soldado burst forward, with Fegulli and Jonas on the left and right.

Except for the two veterans Thiago Silva and Pirlo who are injured and absent, the other positions are basically the absolute main force of the team.

Valencia center back Rami gave Bashen a hug from behind!

Balotelli was thrown to the ground hard and ate a mouthful of dirt and grass clippings.

Spending money is the easiest way to improve performance, so Malaga was able to beat Atletico Madrid to finish fourth in La Liga last year and get the opportunity to participate in the Champions League.

Falling behind at home, the Bats must attack, and there is no point in defending as hard as before.

Leo passed the overhead ball, Balotelli's chest stopped lightly, and he was about to have a single opportunity!

Left back Kolarov, right back Srna, Bonucci and Ranocchia partnered as central defender and goalkeeper Handanovic.

Then looking at the home team, Valverde also arranged a 4-2-31 starting lineup.

Inter Milan, playing away from home, took the lead in scoring!

Two minutes later, Parejo passed the ball from the wing, and Soldado, who was outflanked in the middle, missed the shot due to interference from Bonucci.

This is already the knockout stage of the Champions League. Naturally, Inter Milan cannot hold anything back and play directly with the full lineup.

Taking advantage of the advantage of the home court and the relatively loose standards of the referee, Valencia adopted unreasonable foul tactics at their own doorstep.

Modric's pass, Leo and Neymar played a wonderful match against the wall in the frontcourt!

Before Neymar returns to the court, all Inter Milan fans can't let go.

It is not easy for him to lead such a team to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Defending champion Inter Milan traveled to Valencia's home stadium, the Mestalla Stadium, as a guest.

Bell has just returned from injury. It would be really bad if Neymar gets injured again.

Thanks to Inter Milan's growing reputation in recent years, the local fans were actually quite enthusiastic after arriving in Spain.

The young and newly-promoted French whistler Clement Tilpin will officiate today's game.

Pereira took the ball from the right, Ranocchia's header was not far away, and Banega met the ball and shot angrily and missed!

The referee blew the whistle, but he did not give his French compatriot a card, but only verbally warned Lamy.

No one knows whether Pellegrini also regrets the mess he inherited.

On February 2, the first leg of the 12-2012 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals kicked off.

The night before the competition, Leo was not disturbed and had a good sleep.

Guardado at left back, Joao Pereira at right back, Rami and Ricardo Costa partner at center back and goalkeeper Guaita.

Neymar received Leo's exquisite direct pass and reached the right side of the penalty area!

Surrounded by three defensive players, Neymar dodged Guardado and hit a powerful shot with his right foot into the near corner of the goal!

One to zero!

Valencia's captain, Spanish striker Soldado, has performed quite well this season.

So far, the season is just over halfway, and he has already scored 15 goals for the team in La Liga and the Champions League. Breaking his personal scoring record is just around the corner.

Playing against Inter Milan today, he is also the biggest hope of all Valencia fans.

They are looking forward to seeing their captain score against the powerful Inter Milan at home.

However, Ancelotti naturally responded and made targeted defensive arrangements for Soldado long before the game.

Spanish midfielder Parejo, who also came from Real Madrid's youth training like Soldado, performed pretty well after the start of the game.

He can be seen participating in both offense and defense.

Leo dribbled the ball past halftime, and No. 21 Parejo immediately stepped forward to defend.

Glancing at the other party, Leo didn't take it to heart at all.

Thinking that he had been despised by Leo, Parejo, who was not mature enough at this time, got a little carried away.

Leo's upper body feint did not deceive the opponent, but he immediately passed by Parejo with an extremely flexible acceleration and direction change!

With long strides, Leo was about to leave Valencia's defensive players behind.

Parejo kicked him from behind. Leo barely dodged the vital point but still lost his center of gravity and fell to the ground.

The referee showed Parejo a yellow card and Inter Milan got a perfectly placed free kick. Leo stood up from the ground with a smile and patted his butt.

Then he gave Parejo a thumbs up in a heartfelt manner.

The meaning is obvious, thank you for giving me the free kick.

"I still don't believe it. If I give you a free kick, can you score it?"

The young Spanish midfielder was a little unconvinced and stared at Leo who was about to take the free kick.

But Leo will not pay attention to this. In his eyes, the Valencia players in front of the goal are no different from the dummies commonly used in training.

I took a quick glance and memorized their positions, and then noticed that Guaita's stance was a little to the right.

It seems that the goalkeeper of the home team trusts the wall formed by his teammates and leaves the space on his left to other defensive players.

The referee's whistle blew, and Leo took two steps forward and kicked the ball in the middle.

A fallen ball was discovered at the Mestalla Stadium!

The ball had almost no spin but was very fast. It flew over the head of the wall and then dropped rapidly in front of the goal!

Pirlo, who was injured and watching the live TV broadcast at home, nodded repeatedly. Leo's goal kick was already better than his previous goal.

Guaita had no choice in the face of such a free kick. He had already tried his best to save the ball, but he was still a long way away and could only watch the ball go into the net.

Two to zero!

Inter Milan expanded its lead in the away game!

Leo's face still had the same smile as before, but in Parejo's eyes it looked particularly ferocious and terrifying.

Guardado and Jonas completed the cooperation on the left, Guardado passed the ball to Soldado in front of the penalty area and then moved forward!

Inter Milan's right back was pulled away by Guardado. Soldado stopped the ball and adjusted and then returned. Parejo's follow-up kick was weak and was easily saved by Handanovic.

Near the end of the first half, Banega took the ball on the right side of the frontcourt and was brought down by De Rossi. The home team also got a good free kick opportunity.

Costa passed the penalty area with a free kick, and Lamy scored with a flick from the outside of his left foot!

Oops, this is a bit surprising to Inter Milan. How can Rami, a central defender, still have such shooting skills?

It must be covered, right?

No matter what, Valencia got a goal back, and the home team supporters in the stands were particularly excited!

At the end of the first half, the Nerazzurri temporarily led 2-1 on the road.

Neither team made any substitutions after the start of the second half.

Balotelli was frequently maliciously violated by the opponent's defensive players from the beginning of the game.

But for some unknown reason, the referee's standards are particularly lenient, especially the penalties given to the home team's players are puzzling.

Rami's hug and throw to him, and Ricardo's flying shovel on him were actually actions that could lead to a card or even a red, but they did not receive the punishment they deserved.

This is also an important reason why Bashen's performance is relatively silent today.

The second half was the same story.

In the 56th minute, Leo and Modric cooperated and then split the ball. Balotelli received the ball from the right and prepared to cut inside.

Valencia's full-back Guardado fought back to defend and knocked over Bashen with a scissor kick from behind.

Bashen sat on the ground and raised his hands to signal the referee, but the French referee Clement made no penalty!

Bashen jumped up from the ground with a jolt, turned around and was about to counterattack, and then saw him step down with his foot and seemed to have hit Guardado.

The referee Clay Mango finally took out a red card and sent Balotelli off the field!

And he will also miss at least the second round of the match between the two teams because of this red card.

Bashen shrugged his shoulders innocently and explained to the referee, but as Guardado cried out as he fell to the ground and rolled in pain, the Frenchman insisted on his decision.

Judging from the slow motion, Balotelli's foul on Guardado is indeed true.

But the target of the last kick was indeed aimed at the ball. Guardado's painful rolling left and right after falling to the ground seemed a bit exaggerated.

This exaggerated acting ability shows that he has not gone to La Masia to further his studies, and there is still a lot of room for improvement.

But Mexicans have enough "acting experience". Although their acting skills are not good, they have a strong sense of belief, otherwise Clément would not be fooled so easily.

Sure enough, after Balotelli left the field with a dark face, Guardado immediately got up like nothing happened.

At this time, even if the referee knew that he had been fooled, it was too late.

After all, he is a young referee who does not have enough experience and experience. He will be blinded on the spot when he encounters such an old actor.

Fortunately, the person who was sent off was a forward, which did not affect Inter Milan's defense too much.

The knockout round of the Champions League is a two-leg contest. If the game can end with a score of 2 to 1 in the away game, Inter Milan can already return home satisfied.

With one less player to play, the Nerazzurri could only strengthen their defense and allow the home team to launch an attack.

Feiguli dribbled on the right side and then passed the ball. Soldado was not able to shoot under the marking of the Inter Milan central defender.

Costa's long shot from outside the penalty area was saved by Handanovic!

Jonas, who was outflanked in front of the goal, missed the shot.

Inter Milan's ten-man response gave the home team hope of equalizing the score, and head coach Valverde made successive substitutions.

Valdes, Canales and Vieira came on as substitutes.

Tino Costa made a long pass to the left side of the penalty area. Valdez, who had just come on as a substitute, stopped the ball and passed Srna before hitting the side net with a left-footed volley shot!

Bell had not played in the Champions League for a long time. He wanted to perform well today, but he encountered such a situation again.

Ancelotti replaced Bale and Leo successively, and Neymar was also replaced by his Brazilian compatriot Lucas Moura in the 82nd minute.

With less than half a minute left before the end of stoppage time, Canales and Vieira formed a cooperation outside the Inter Milan penalty area.

After receiving the ball, Canales changed direction and passed De Rossi into the penalty area!

Valencia captain Soldado half-turned and fired a shot that missed the post and went out of the baseline under the watchful eyes of the audience!

At the end of the game, the Bat Legion, playing at home, failed to seize the opportunity of numerical superiority, and ultimately lost to the defending champion 1-2.

Although Inter Milan had the upper hand in the two rounds with an away win, Balotelli's red card still made Inter Milan's away victory less than perfect.

“I am quite satisfied with the overall performance of the team today, and winning 2-1 away from home is an acceptable result.

But our performance in the second half was indeed a bit poor. We had the opportunity to score the third goal and seal the victory early, but the players on the field failed to seize the opportunity.

However, I think the referee's decision is what I can't understand the most.

Mario's counterattack was a bit tough, but his target was obviously the ball. "

Leo also gave his response in the post-match interview.

"Valencia's strength is quite good, but the referee's penalty scale made us feel a little disappointed.

Mario's red card is undoubtedly a misjudgment. This should not happen in a Champions League-level game. "

(End of this chapter)