Volume 1 Chapter 394 Little Pepper in Distress

After three rounds, only Fiorentina and Juventus won all, Inter Milan lost three points, barely getting by, and AC Milan was opened up by five points at the top of the table, even Livorno and Palermo were inferior.

Judging from the situation in the first three rounds, among the teams competing for the title, Juventus and Fiorentina had a flawless start, Inter Milan still had to go through some twists and turns, and AC Milan still had a big start with ups and downs.

After three rounds, there are only four points, and the same is true of AC Milan last season, who were held to a draw at home by Livorno and then away to Bologna, but lost to Messina at home in a two-game match in the third round, and after that game, many AC Milan fans chanted for Carlo Ancelotti to be dismissed.

Ancelotti has not had a good time this season, although no fans have called for class, but AC Milan have been heavily criticized by the media.

In the next three rounds, AC Milan host Lazio, then Treviso and then home to relegation favourites Reggina. Juventus, meanwhile, will play Udinese and Parma away from home, before playing an Italian derby against Inter Milan. Before the Italian derby, Inter Milan will play Chievo away and then welcome Fiorentina at home, AC Milan will need to rely on these three rounds to recover the points lost, and the club's bottom line against Ancelotti will be nine points from three games. Once Ancelotti makes a mistake, the change of manager will definitely no longer be a matter of the media and fans.

In the second group, Roma and AC Milan have the same points, and the situation is just as bad, and it may take some time to change the status quo, and if they can't get out of the situation quickly, they are likely to become part of the relegation team like last season.

Lazio, on the other hand, are in much better form, with two wins and one draw in three rounds, and are now only behind Juventus and Fiorentina, and once they don't lose to AC Milan in the next round, the leader of the second group is almost seated.

The other two teams in Group 2 are Udinese and Sampdoria, both with two wins and one loss, and are as consistent as last season.

In the relegation army, although there are not too many problems in the three rounds, Regina, Treviso and Empoli, who have lost three in a row, have been regarded by everyone as the relegation favorites.

The fourth round is a very important one for almost all teams.

The title contenders will have to catch up, the middle group wants not to fall behind and see if there is any hope of going further, while the relegation group such as Empoli, Reggina and Treviso desperately need a victory to boost morale, ease the current predicament and avoid falling deeper and deeper into the abyss.

For Fiorentina, playing Lecce in the fourth round is just as significant, even more than biting Juventus. Because in the Fiorentina schedule, this round of Lecce is the weakest, after playing Lecce, Fiorentina will soon meet Inter and Barcelona in a row, once this game is not won, the following may suffer three consecutive defeats, which is a great blow to morale, so Fiorentina must win the game with Lecce.

Lecce is a team hovering between Serie A and Serie B, often just promoted, and the following season was relegated back to the second division, but in these two seasons, Lecce's results have been maintained in the middle of Serie A.

There have not been many personnel changes in Lecce for the new season, the biggest changes are the departure of former manager Zeman and the transfer of Bodinov to Fiorentina.

In the last season, Zeman, known as the "bomb", brought a new football concept to the young "Little Pepper", and his attacking football was unique in Serie A, leading teams like Lecce to early relegation and finishing in the middle and upper middle of the list, making him one of the best coaches in Serie A last season.

However, Zeman is also a well-known personality coach in Serie A, last season in the Juventus drug ban trial process, Zeman came out many times to "add fuel and vinegar", which made the team president Semeraro annoyed and scared, and then Zeman bombarded the top of the football world, coupled with the eyebrows of Roma in the middle of the season, in the end, Semeraro could only reluctantly cut his love and invited the 4l-year-old former Lazio titan Greguchi.

Although Gregucci has no top-flight coaching experience, he was Mancini's assistant during his time at Lazio, and last season he led Serie B side Salernitana to relegation, at least in the second division.

"Little Pepper" didn't make much of a move during the summer transfer period, just sold the talented teenager Bodinov.

But Lecce dared to sell Bodinov, the top scorer, not only because of Fiorentina's price that was hard to refuse, but also because of Vushinic's rise. Last season, Serbian and Montenegro striker Vucinic suddenly broke out, scoring 19 goals in a single season not only at the top of the scorer list, according to statistics, his goal efficiency is still the second highest among all strikers in Serie A except for Chen Yu, and his stay in the team may be regarded as Lecce's biggest gain this summer.

In addition to Vucinic, Lecce also has Konan, a black player who also scored 71 goals last season, has a strong body and good foot skills, and he can create more space for Vucinic.

In addition, Lecce also sat on the bench with the main center forward of Italy's under-H youth team, Paelli, who scored four goals in five games at the World Youth Championship in the Netherlands, and was a rare bright spot in this mediocre Italian youth team. Vucinic is a player who is known for his foot skills, and Pelly is 93m tall and weighs 89kg, so he may be more helpful to Vucinic when he comes on the field.

In midfield, "Little Pepper" has basically maintained the main squad from last season, Darabona has returned to AC Milan at the end of his loan period, and Camorani, who has transferred from Fiorentina, is more than capable of replacing him.

Lecce captain Ledesma is the heart of the team's midfield, and if Andrea Pirlo is the brain of AC Milan, then the brain of Lecce is undoubtedly the Argentinian. Ledesma defensively excelled, with a strong anticipatory ability and sometimes a drop back as a centre-back, he has a good sense of the big picture and an excellent long ball, and is often the initiator of Lecce's defensive counter-attacks, while he also has the delicate foot skills and excellent scheduling ability characteristic of South American players, and is an excellent playmaker in positional attacks. Fiorentina pursued Ledesma for a long time during the summer transfer, but in the end Lecce did not sell Ledesma to Fiorentina.

Lecce's weakest should be their backline.

Mali centre-back Diamutny is physically unbeatable and will not suffer against any striker, but he is a well-known colanderer in Serie A, and his own kung fu and missed kick skills are a must in Serie A, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is a time bomb in the defensive line, and the defensive line led by him cannot reassure his teammates at all. His partner Steveni is relatively solid and has a lot of experience, but he has never proven his defensive ability in the league for many years, and has always been able to make a living in a few small clubs. The only satisfying defender is the youngster Rulo, who was comfortable at left-back last season, with a tight defence, a good assist, and an excellent long-range shot, and he and Cassetti on the right are the wings of "Little Pepper", but the biggest problem is that the two youngsters are inconsistent. Goalkeeper Cicignano is still the main force that cannot be beaten, and he had a magical performance in many games last season, but his performance in the new season is very average.

Before the fourth round of matches this season, "Little Pepper" Lecce had a poor record of L draws, while Fiorentina were in excellent form, winning three in a row and beating the Old Lady to the top of the standings on goal difference.

In terms of strength, Fiorentina deserve to win away from home. Strikers Chen Yu and Toney have been in particularly good form, with Chen Yu scoring twice last weekend and Toni netting a goal while Lecce scored just one goal in three games.

The historical record also shows that in the last 10 meetings between the two sides, Fiorentina has the advantage with 4 wins and 4 draws. The last time the two teams met, Fiorentina drew away at Lecce.

Facing such a team with a lot of quality but a poor record, Fiorentina coach Prandelli said before the game: "The team is in a good situation at the moment, but every game is a challenge for us. The away game against Lecce was not easy, but the players and fans were confident of the victory before the game and I believe it will be ours. ”

Greguch has been experimenting with the lineup for the first three games of the new season in Lecce, but the two-loss and one-draw record has left Greguch no time to experiment with the formation again, and if he loses again at home in this round, he is likely to be fired.

Now Greguch has no luck mentality, Cagliari fired coach Tesel in the first round, and Agrini in the second round, his strength and reputation are not better than these two coaches, if Greguch can't prove himself, there is nothing impossible to get out of class.