Chapter 145: An encounter on the streets of France
Just as Inter Milan narrowly defeated Juventus, AC Milan faced Atalanta away. Their lineup was perfect, having beaten Bayern Munich in the Champions League, so defeating Atalanta was natural.
In the end, they swept their opponents 4-1. After five rounds, Inter Milan remained undefeated, leading the league table, followed closely by AC Milan, with Juventus in third. The title race between the "Northern Three Giants" was starting to take shape.
In fourth place was Parma, led by Adriano's trio, demonstrating strong attacking capabilities in the first five rounds. Adriano even scored 5 goals, second only to Wang Feng's 8 goals on the top scorers' list.
This left Inter Milan's management somewhat frustrated. Fortunately, they had only transferred Adriano's rights for two seasons initially, retaining the priority to buy him back.
Now even a fool could see that this 20-year-old talent had a bright future ahead.
After the match against Juventus, the Inter Milan team headed directly to Lyon, France, preparing for the UEFA Champions League group stage match in three days.
For Lyon, this match was a do-or-die situation, but for Inter Milan, winning was not essential as they had absolute dominance in the group.
To prevent the main players from getting too tired, Coach Cooper sent out a substitute lineup, focusing on defense. Securing one point would guarantee their qualification.
After the game started, Inter Milan voluntarily gave up possession, defending in their own half and waiting for counter-attacks, while Lyon pressed forward aggressively, creating several threatening shots but failing to break through Inter Milan's defense. The first half ended in a 0-0 draw.
In the second half, in the 57th minute, there was a sudden roar at the Olympique Lyonnais Park as Lyon launched a swift attack. Edmilson's long pass found Juniinho in the forward position.
Juniinho managed to pass it to Anderson near the penalty area, who then swiftly struck, piercing through Inter Milan's defense, leaving Torlodo helpless.
1-0! Lyon took the lead!
Under immense pressure, Lyon fans finally saw a glimmer of hope, while Inter Milan showed no signs of giving up. Coach Cooper approached Wang Feng on the bench and said, "Wang, warm up. You're coming on next."
In the 65th minute, Wang Feng replaced Martins. Lyon coach Le Guen looked worried as he remembered how Wang Feng's appearance in the last match had changed the game, resulting in Inter Milan's reversal.
This match could not afford the same mistake! So he also made substitutions, bringing in defensive stalwart Arlequin and instructing him to keep a close eye on Wang Feng!
After coming on, Wang Feng indeed felt the tight marking from the home team but remained calm. He continuously ran to exhaust Lyon's defense.
"Wang Feng!" As the game approached its end, the commentator in the live broadcast exclaimed.
At this moment, Wang Feng was near the top of the penalty area. Leveraging his physical advantage, he firmly held off Arlequin, receiving Sandetti's long pass with his back to goal.
After controlling the ball, Wang Feng immediately turned, using his right hand to shield Arlequin, then dribbled laterally for a few steps. Edmilson and D'Almeida were attracted, rushing to defend.
Before being completely surrounded, Wang Feng, with a quick movement, used the back of his right foot to tap the ball, passing it to the running Carlon. The three defenders instinctively chased after the ball.
Receiving the ball, Carlon was nervous but recalled his training and sent a through pass with his left foot. Wang Feng was waiting for this moment. He quickly started a forward run, successfully avoiding offside.
The pass was a bit heavy, but Lyon's goalkeeper reacted swiftly, rushing out to intercept. Wang Feng, in a moment of urgency, dove and stretched his foot out to reach the ball before the goalkeeper.
The ball changed its trajectory, deflecting into the far corner of the goal!
"Goooooooal!! The ball's in!! In the 87th minute, a fantastic shot from Wang Feng!!"
"This goal is beautiful, showcasing Wang Feng's attacking awareness and finishing ability!"
"The substitute Italian striker Wang didn't disappoint the away team. Once again, he helped Inter Milan in adversity. The Olympic Park Stadium fell silent. Home fans couldn't believe that after leading for almost the entire match, Lyon had been equalized."
"Let's review this magnificent goal. Wang Feng was completely dominant against Arlequin. An imaginative pass broke through Lyon's blockade."
"Mohamed Carlon, the Sierra Leonean forward who has recently become a key player for Inter Milan this season, didn't let Wang Feng down and successfully passed the ball back. However, the pass was a bit too strong."
"But for Wang Feng, it was nothing. He used his height and long legs to his advantage, sweeping the ball into the net before the goalkeeper's reach."
Inter Milan ultimately drew 1-1 with Lyon. After four rounds of the group stage, Inter had 10 points, Ajax had 7 points, Lyon had 4 points, and Rosenborg had 1 point. Inter Milan had almost secured a place in the next round.
Since Inter Milan's next match was away against Bologna, they would fly directly from Lyon to the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. However, due to bad weather delaying flights, they could only rest in France for a day before departing the next evening.
The players were restless. Although Lyon couldn't compare to Paris's prosperity, it was still a major city in France, with many interesting places to visit in various respects.
After much consideration, the coaching staff decided to give the players half a day off, with the familiar three rules: no alcohol and returning to the hotel on time.
The coaching staff's understanding mainly stemmed from Cooper's good mood. Despite injuries to key players this season, the team's performance remained solid. Moreover, with Wang Feng as the team's core, he was a player who could be relied upon, allowing other players some room to relax.
Wang Feng and Matrazi took a stroll around Lyon's streets, experiencing the charm of Lyon's old city, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
At this moment, a commotion caught their attention. Upon closer inspection, they saw a young man laying bricks on the street, practicing keepie-uppies during his break. His high number of keepie-uppies attracted onlookers.
Wang Feng watched with interest for a while. Matrazi, puzzled, asked, "What's so fascinating about keepie-uppies? Don't we do them often?"
Wang Feng did not answer him but instead fell into his own memories. He reminisced about the days when he was still in Virton, Belgium, doing keepie-uppies in the park as if nobody were watching, feeling as if it were a world away.
This young man's fundamentals were solid. After juggling for a long time, he stopped and prepared to continue his bricklaying work. Wang Feng was suddenly inspired and walked up to ask, "Brother, what's your name? Your skills are almost on par with professional athletes like us."
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