It only took three minutes from the decision to make a substitution to the successful one, and Sassuolo's action can be said to be very fast.

Don't dare not be fast, Pia is afraid of delaying for a few more minutes, Mazzolati gives Gao Zheng a free kick opportunity with a good distance, and it will be completely over - now it is not impossible to fall behind by two goals, but if it is three goals behind in the first half, the team's morale may collapse......

So in the 33rd minute, Sassuolo made the first substitution of the game - Pia replaced Mazzolati with No.19 right midfielder Trojaneiro.

At the same time, the formation was adjusted, so that Longi and Gazzola, who started the game on the left and right sides of the midfield, withdrew to the back line, both of them were actually playing full-backs, and happened to form a back four defense with the remaining two central defenders Piccioni and Tranova, so as to at least ensure that the integrity of the defense line will not be destroyed.

When the fourth official held up a substitution sign on the sidelines, everyone in it, including the commentator Sirio, was surprised: "Sassuolo has changed!" Thirty-three minutes into the first half, there were substitutions! It's very rare to make such an early substitution without injuries......"

The fans in the stands at the Alberto Braglia Stadium also looked at each other - they knew that Mazzolati's performance was not good, but they did not expect manager Pia to be so decisive and make changes so early.

I don't know whether to praise Pia for decisively stopping the loss, or criticize Pia for not trusting his players enough......

"Sassuolo has changed! That twenty-four is finally going down! ”

"I've seen that bastard unpleasant for a long time, I feel like he's targeting Gao Zheng at all!"

The Chinese students in front of the TV saw this scene and some cheered.

But there are also people who feel regretful.

"Why do I think it's a pity...... If this idiot continues to stay on the court, won't Gao Zheng have more scoring opportunities? ”

"Let's go down...... Although there is a chance to continue scoring, what if the other party is completely annoyed and angry, and he is really desperate to hurt Gao Zheng? Now that there are two goals anyway, I think Gao Zheng's performance can't be better. ”

※※※

Mazzolati himself seemed surprised and unhappy to be substituted so early.

He was stunned for a moment, and then walked down slowly, the expression on his face quite ugly.

In front of everyone's eyes, he is not unclear about what the manager's substitution decision means.

This is in front of so many people, telling them that they have become a complete loser, they lost to Gao Zheng, they were completely defeated by him, and they can no longer continue the game, so they have to be replaced in advance.

This is a public execution for any player.

Few people can face it calmly.

Pia was well aware of this, but he had no choice.

If you still think about whether the players can withstand the blow at this time, then if the team loses, I am afraid that no one will speak for him as a manager.

We're all adults and professionals, so we naturally have to bear this kind of pressure.

Otherwise...... Don't mess around in this business.

※※※

Despite Mazzolati's reluctance, he eventually walked off the pitch and was replaced by Trojaneiro.

Then he didn't shake Pia's hand, he didn't hug him, he didn't even sit back on the bench, he walked straight back to the locker room. He used this way to express his dissatisfaction with this substitution adjustment - he originally wanted to continue to fight Gao Zheng on the court, but he didn't give up, but he didn't expect his coach to surrender in advance, so he was characterized as a loser!

This made him particularly angry.

But Sirio didn't think much of it: "When Mazzolati came off the field, I'm sure the Sassuolo fans were relieved - at the beginning of the game, when Mazzorati and Gao Zheng continued to fight physically, the Sassuolo fans gave him applause and cheers. It was only as the match progressed that Mazzolati's courage could only bring panic to Sassuolo fans...... If Mazzolati and Gao continue to fight each other, Gao will have to complete a hat-trick with a free-kick...... Mazzolati complained that the manager had replaced him early, so it was better to go to the dressing room to calm down and think about why Gao was able to score two goals on his own......

After Mazzolati went off the field, the game finally got a little more normal.

Sassuolo, defended solidly, began to attack in an attempt to pull a goal back before the end of the first half.

Going into halftime with a one-goal deficit versus going into halftime with a two-goal deficit is a completely different feeling for the underdogs. Conceding just one goal is also tactically much more open and the confidence of the players is not broken.

That's it for normal play.

But unfortunately this game is not a normal game.

Because there was a war of words between Gao Zheng and Skunzi before the game.

※※※

In the 40th minute, when Sampdoria advanced the attack, Gao Zheng did not stay in front, but retreated to near the arc of the center circle, and he went back to meet his teammates.

When his team-mate passed the ball to him from the wing, he made a feint when he received the ball, making his defender, Francisco Mananelli, think he was going to break through from his right. But when the football really rolled over, Gao Zheng didn't touch the ball, and let the football pass in front of him and roll to his right foot.

Gao Zheng then adjusted his center of gravity and turned to the other side, intending to break through from the opponent's left.

Of course, Mananelli knows what the consequences will be if Gao Zheng breaks through him, but it is almost impossible to break the ball now.

If you want to stop Gao Zheng, there is only a foul.

And if you want to foul, you have to take advantage of it!

Because it is still far from the penalty area, even if it is judged to be a foul and gives Sampdoria a free kick, it is still difficult to threaten his own goal......

Because of Mazzolati's two fouls, Sampdoria scored points with two free kicks, and now Sassuolo players are a little noisy, and they have to weigh whether they will create a chance for Sampdoria to score when they foul.

Fortunately, this time it was far from the goal, so Mananelli no longer hesitated and reached out to pull Gao Zheng.

Gao Zheng didn't drag Mananelli to move on, and when the other party grabbed his clothes, he spread out his hands and stopped the breakthrough.

Referee Tomasi's whistle sounded - this was a very obvious tactical foul, and the foul did not have to be very violent, as long as it could stop an attack. There is no controversy or suspense about this kind of foul, and cards are generally not given unless the action is particularly large.

So neither the fouled Mananelli nor the fouled Gao Zheng had any dispute about the foul, and the players on both sides did not dispute.

Obiang quickly ran to set up the football.

And Gao Zheng didn't stay on the side of the foul site, turned around and ran to the front.

Sampdoria's two centre-backs, Gastadello and Rossini, also ran up to the top of the pitch.

In the face of Sampdoria's free kick attack, Sassuolo made a targeted arrangement - all the defenders stood on the line of the big penalty area, and did not let the Sampdoria players enter the box in advance, so that Gastadro and Rossini, as well as Pelle, could only stand on the line of the big box with Sassuolo's defenders.

Gao Zheng didn't join in the fun, he stood in front of this defensive line, closer to the free thrower Obiang.

Although he is 1.9 meters tall, his body is not strong enough, and his header is not excellent, so Gao Zheng has always played a support role in set-piece tactics.

He seems to be like that this time too.

He stood in front of the defensive line, with Mananelli behind him - although Gao Zheng will not participate in the battle for the top, Sassuolo will not let his guard down on him because of this, and there will still be someone who will follow him every step of the way.

Gao Zheng, who found Mananelli, retreated a little more, as if he wanted to get rid of Mananelli.

How could Mananelli get Gao Zheng out of his own defense? He also posted it.

※※※

Obiang set up the football and was observing the situation in the penalty area, there was nothing special, he couldn't find time for a while, and could only pass the football into the penalty area according to the offensive set-piece tactics of pre-match training.

At this moment, he suddenly caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye.

He looked at it fixedly, Gao Zheng was gesturing at him!

He blocked the view of the Sassuolo player behind him with his body, put his hand on his abdomen, and kept making the gesture "Pass the ball to me"!