Chapter 37: The Sunshine Derby
In the fourth round of Serie A, Roma visited the Stadio Sao Paulo to challenge Napoli, who finished second last season. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 With two wins and one draw in the first three rounds of Serie A, Napoli are also performing very well, and are close behind Roma in the standings. Today's match will determine the top three positions in the Serie A standings.
The match between Roma and Napoli is also known as the Sunshine Derby, but the game is not as sunny as it is described, but full of passion and excitement.
Napoli still lined up with the familiar 433 formation today. Goalkeeper Reina, the back line from left to right is Isagi, Ziriche, Kalidou Koulibaly and Gulam. The midfield trio are Wildurnam, Freiro and Hamsik. The front trident is Callejon, Higuain and Insigne. Napoli's squad is quite luxurious in Serie A, especially his attacking line.
Roma are still in the 4231 formation today. Goalkeeper Liu Xin, defender Digne and Kastan replace the suspended Manolas, Nacho and Florenzi. The two midfielders are Stroman and Ballack. In front of them is still Liu Heng, the core of Rome. Liu Heng is flanked by Salah and Shaarawy. The single arrow was replaced by Perotti.
The Sunshine Derby is on the verge of a touch.
At the start of the game, Napoli took the lead and kicked off. Napoli were looking for attacking opportunities as soon as they kicked off. Callejon got the ball on the left and made a wall-to-wall combination with Wildurnum. Then cross along the baseline into the box. Higuain grabbed the first point, but the header was easily picked up by Liu Xin. Both players are familiar with each other. Higuain, Callejón and Nacho are all teammates at Real Madrid. And Wildurnum is also a key target for Roma in the summer transfer window.
Roma gradually gained a foothold on the pitch after fending off a couple of dangerous attacks from Napoli. Roma's attack in Liu Heng's organization also began to slowly pose a threat to Napoli's penalty area. Just now, Perotti's shot in front of the goal was saved by Reina, and the corner kick was driven out, and Ballack's long-range shot from the periphery also hit the crossbar and bounced off. For a while, there was a lot of noise in the Napoli penalty area, and the Napoli back line was still not reassuring, but Napoli's transfer never thought of the back line.
On the field, Roma and Napoli had no intention of shrinking their defenses, and both teams played against each other, and the scene was very exciting and the pace was very fast.
In the 26th minute, Liu Heng led the Roma team to make a comeback, and after Roma had just completed a clean steal by Stroman in the midfield, he quickly passed the ball to Liu Heng, who was unmarked in the front. Liu Heng rushed forward with the ball, and a 4-on-3 situation was formed in the frontcourt. Liu Heng did not choose to pass the ball, but chose to continue to bring it to the penalty area. Liu Heng passed Fraero!! Passed Ziriche again!! Skimming past Kalidou Koulibaly's tackle again. Liu Heng faced Napoli goalkeeper Reina at this time. At this time, Reina is already a little old and no longer in the peak form of Liverpool. Liu Heng pushes the near corner!! The ball went in!!! It's Liu Heng again!! Incredible Chinese!! Who can stop Liu Heng in the end of the Serie A team, is it Juventus who dominates one side or Milan who is no longer brilliant. Or maybe it's Liu Heng himself. After Liu Heng scored a goal, he ran to the bench of the Roma team, hugged his head coach Spalletti, and naughtily kissed Spalletti's shiny bald head. He used such an act to thank Spalletti for his trust and teaching. Then Liu Heng pointed to the sky with both hands to commemorate Liu Hengxian in his heart.
The reason why Napoli was ranked second in Serie A last season was because of his strong attacking power and mental willpower to never give up. After conceding the goal, Napoli did not mess up their position, and still played the game step by step according to the previous tactical deployment. And Roma did not blindly stick to the game, and still played against Napoli under the instructions of coach Spalletti.
Napoli equalised in the 35th minute. They capitalised on Roma centre-back Kastan's slow turn and opened the gap in the middle. Hamsik sent in a through ball and Higuain got the ball in and fired home with ease. It also scored his fourth goal in Serie A this season. There were still flaws in the Roman defense, which lacked a true ruler and a spiritual leader. Neither Nacho nor Manolas are the dominant centre-backs. Roma sporting manager Roberto Sabatini looked equally solemn in the stands, thinking about the introduction of a centre-back in the winter transfer.
Roma and Napoli are back on the same page, there is still a lot of time to play, and it is difficult to say whether the winner will be lost, but in terms of morale now, it is undoubtedly Napoli who have just scored the upper hand, and they are attacking wave after wave with the hoarse cheers of the home fans. If it weren't for the high and low blocks of the goalkeeper Liu Xin during this time, then Rome's goal should have been put into a hornet's nest now. The Roma manager is also powerless on the sidelines, and the bench strength at the back is also reduced, and there is no player available at all. He had to replace the underperforming Kastan with veteran De Rossi in the 40th minute of the game. Spalletti played De Rossi to central defender, using his experience to help the Roma backline and using his spirit to calm the now panicked Roma team.
Sure enough, after De Rossi came on the field, the Roma team gradually stabilized their position, and they suddenly had a bottom in their hearts when they saw their big brother De Rossi playing. The Roma fans on the sidelines were worried. They knew that in the past, Rome had Totti dependence, and Rome would not have played without Totti on the field, but now Liu Heng's birth has allowed Rome to temporarily solve this problem. But a new question arises, who will take De Rossi's position, Ballack, I feel that Ballack is too inhibiting his talent for a purely defensive position, and who else, Stroman. This Dutchman has his own glass attributes, and Roma fans really dare not expect high expectations. Roma are now in desperate need of a replacement for De Rossi. Padres on the bench seems to be a good candidate, but Roma manager Spalletti has never let him play, and hopefully he can come off the bench today to show Roma fans what he is capable of.
In stoppage time in the first half, Perotti, who was actively scrambling in front, was brought down at the top of the arc of the penalty area by Napoli central defender Ziriche after stealing the ball from Napoli defender Freiro. Roma were awarded a free-kick from a great position. Liu Heng took the undisputed penalty for this free kick.
Liu Heng stood in front of the ball, and he wanted to hit Reina's near corner. Liu Heng took a deep breath, and the referee blew the whistle to indicate that he could kick a free kick. Liu Heng assisted, swung his legs, and kicked the ball out of the arch of his foot. Liu Heng felt as if his body was floating, and the shooting action was done in one go. The ball went in a beautiful arc past Higuain's soaring scalp and into the near corner of the Napoli goal. Reyna had done everything he could to make a save, but it was just a little bit off.
It's art, the art of football! Damn football!! How can it be so wonderful!! Roma coach Luciano Spalletti was also impressed by the free-kick. Liu Heng kissed the Roman team emblem excitedly. The sign of that red wolf.
After Liu Heng scored, the first half of the game also ended. At the end of the first half, Roma temporarily led Napoli at home 2-1.