I AM the Football Star

Chapter 957: Chapter 231: Showdown with the League Leader! (Part 3)

The mentioned individuals nodded successively.

Then, the meeting dispersed.

Sotu pretended to give an insightful critique of Lu Yang’s performance at the meeting, saying things like he spoke quite well, but some points were somewhat shallow and crude.

Morici rolled his eyes below, almost wanting to ask Sotu what a non-shallow and non-crude analysis looks like?

Of course, Momo wouldn’t court death like that.

All that glitter lifts everyone, after all, Sotu is his mentor.

Though Sotu initially didn’t recognize Morici’s potential.

...

September 17th, Juventus Stadium.

San Remo visits to challenge Juventus, the top of the standings.

This is the focus match of the round!

On Juventus’s side, the whole army attacks, deploying their strongest lineup.

San Remo, on the other hand, arranged Delarre, Lam, Morici in the midfield and defense.

With a strong defensive lineup of Camihong, Bernulin, Naji, Kaint.

From the beginning, San Remo was extraordinarily active.

Because for San Remo, this is a match they cannot afford to lose.

They drew against relegation teams.

Suffered a crushing defeat against Arsenal!

Two consecutive home games without a win have already severely impacted the morale of the fans and team.

If they cannot win this game against Juventus, the unstoppable momentum San Remo accumulated over the years really needs a pause.

Once paused, it wouldn’t be so easy to start again.

San Remo can lose.

No team is undefeated.

The core of San Remo’s miracle is not that they never lose, but... they always manage to win some unbelievable matches.

As long as they continue to possess such qualities, regardless of their position in the league, San Remo will provide endless confidence to their fans.

In Italy, is there a team greater to prove the miracle of San Remo than the top-of-the-table Juventus?

No!

After kickoff, every San Remo player was active in their running.

But Juventus’s defense was indeed formidable, falling back at lightning speed, giving San Remo limited opportunities.

Instead, they were looking for chances themselves.

Juventus midfielder Vidal even intercepted Lu Yang, who was trying to cut inside.

But he didn’t pass the ball immediately for a counterattack. He wanted to wait for Ancelotti to return to the front before passing the ball to him.

Ancelotti’s core position was thus highlighted.

But Lu Yang’s quick recovery and chase directly poked the football from Vidal’s feet from behind, and under Vidal’s pressure, passed the ball to Lam, who returned it to Bernulin.

San Remo managed to neutralize an opponent’s counterattack.

But Juventus also held off San Remo’s fierce attack.

It seemed a fair match.

However, experienced fans might have noticed some clues.

Juventus’s overall strength is superior to San Remo!

San Remo players’ intense running attack was repelled by Juventus, which itself proves Juventus’s defensive capabilities.

What is intense running attack?

Simply put, it means... all-out attack!

This state can unleash 200% of a team’s offensive power.

Many weaker teams, relying on this tactic, initially gain some upper hand when engaging stronger teams.

But once ten minutes pass, they can’t sustain it.

Then the situation is thoroughly controlled by stronger teams, leaving weaker teams facing the dilemma of being battered for over seventy minutes after their brief ten-minute uprising!

And San Remo... not to mention ten minutes, after only five minutes, their attack was blocked.

The gap in overall strength between the two teams is apparent.

Kolber wanted to catch San Remo off guard and pressured Bernulin.

Bernulin returned pass to the goalkeeper.

Kolber continued the pursuit, with a very enthusiastic attitude.

Areola performed a fancy move, lobbing the ball back to Bernulin.

The football soared over Kolber’s head.

At this moment, Ancelotti also moved in to compete for the ball.

Bernulin did not risk stopping the ball but without stoppage directly lofted, kicking the ball towards midfield.

It looked like a defensive play, but with Bernulin’s technical skills, this kick was precise.

This kick directly found Morici in midfield.

Morici dribbled forward.

Vidal rushed towards Morici; his defensive range is vast.

Boom!

Morici delivered a direct pass to the left.

On the left is Bai Zhami... no, it’s Lu Yang!

Lu Yang and Bai Zhami switched positions!

Just after recovering possession on the right, Lu Yang, after returning the ball, slowly moved to the left via midfield.

And Bai Zhami on the left moved to the right.

The effect of this position switch is...

Lu Yang appears on Juventus’s Lian Turan’s left-hand side!

Consider this, a left winger, when in the opponent’s half, should mostly be on the opponent’s right-back’s right-hand side.

That is, being carded to the side nearer the touchline by the opponent’s right-back.

This positioning allows the winger to cut inside, firstly hindering the right-back.

Lu Yang’s current position on Turan’s left side nearly equals having cut inside past Turan.

If Lu Yang had the ball, Turan could only be side-by-side or behind him, with limited influence.

"Close in!" Chiavich shouted, rushing towards Lu Yang.

Turan also reacted and moved towards Lu Yang.

Under their joint attack, Lu Yang...

Lu Yang didn’t stop the ball at the first moment.

This made Chiavich’s effort to rush up and tackle Lu Yang momentarily stunted.

His positioning was deliberate.