Chapter 318: The Terrifying Inter Milan
Gao Shen has always held firm in his belief: Napoli still has a chance to catch up.
Inter Milan can't keep winning like this forever; their streak will eventually break.
The key, however, is that Napoli must consistently outperform their opponents, especially during challenging times like these.
…
Three days after their victory over Juventus, Napoli faced Cagliari away in the 20th round of Serie A.
With two matches in one week, heavy rotations, constant lineup adjustments, and the team's overall form still in a slump, Napoli's performance remained underwhelming. But these challenging moments are when the depth of the squad is truly tested.
In the past two games, Thiago Motta had been outstanding in midfield. This time, it was Parejo who stepped up.
In the tenth minute of the first half, the young Spanish midfielder received a pass from Rakitic. Running laterally, he faked out the defenders, making them think he would pass in the opposite direction. Instead, he delivered a precise through ball with his right foot.
The pass was like a scalpel, slicing through Cagliari's defense and landing perfectly on the right side of the penalty area. Sanchez sprinted in, controlled the ball, and fired a shot, scoring Napoli's first goal—1-0!
This would be the only goal of the match.
Parejo created several more opportunities throughout the game, but either his teammates couldn't capitalize on them or their accuracy was lacking, preventing any further goals.
Nevertheless, Parejo's command in the midfield kept Cagliari on high alert.
In the end, Napoli secured a narrow 1-0 victory away from home, thanks to the teamwork of Parejo and Sanchez.
…
The day after Napoli's hard-fought win over Cagliari, Inter Milan faced Udinese away.
Udinese is known for their aggressive, high-energy style, strong defensive discipline, and physical resilience. On their home turf, they stuck to what they do best: organizing a tight defense and launching quick counterattacks.
This strategy caused Inter Milan a lot of trouble, and they struggled to find a breakthrough.
After 90 minutes of stalemate, Inter Milan was held to a 0-0 draw by Udinese.
Meanwhile, other matches unfolded with interesting results. Juventus won 3-1 against Livorno away, AC Milan secured a 2-0 victory at home over Genoa with two goals from Pato, and Roma defeated Palermo 1-0 thanks to a goal from Mancini.
After this round, fans were excited to see that Inter Milan had finally shown signs of slowing down.
Yes, they had only slowed down. Inter Milan was still undefeated, holding a dominant record in Serie A.
Twenty rounds in, and Inter Milan remained unbeaten.
In Europe, how many clubs can claim such dominance?
Although Inter's draw allowed Napoli to close the gap slightly, the league standings stayed mostly unchanged.
Napoli held onto third place, with Roma in second by a single point, and Inter Milan leading by seven points over Napoli.
…
Three days later, the second leg of the Italian Cup quarter-finals arrived.
After Napoli's emphatic 5-2 away victory over Juventus in the first leg, they returned home and drew 2-2 with the Bianconeri.
Ranieri's Juventus played aggressively, throwing caution to the wind even at the expense of their defense.
Napoli rotated their lineup more heavily, giving rest to several key players. As a result, the match remained evenly contested, ending in a 2-2 draw.
This result allowed Napoli to advance to the semi-finals with a 7-4 aggregate score.
Joining them in the semi-finals were Roma, Inter Milan, and Fiorentina.
With the Italian Cup format changed this season, the final would be a single match held at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. As a result, Roma was highly motivated to claim the trophy on their home ground.
Following the semi-final draw, Napoli was set to face Prandelli's Fiorentina, while Inter Milan would clash with Roma.
Fiorentina, notably, is the only team to have defeated Napoli in the league this season.
Many considered Fiorentina Napoli's toughest opponent yet.
The semi-finals of the Italian Cup are scheduled for April.
…
That weekend, in the 21st round of Serie A, Napoli hosted Udinese at home.
The matchup was intriguing.
In the season opener, Udinese had managed to hold Inter Milan to a draw and faced Napoli in the second round. Over the past two seasons, Udinese had drawn all four of their encounters with Inter Milan, either 0-0 or 1-1.
For this game, Udinese's head coach, Pasquale Marino, deployed a 3-4-3 attacking formation, clearly aiming to take advantage of Napoli's inconsistent form and exact some revenge.
Meanwhile, Gao Shen opted for a steady approach, fielding Napoli's trusted 4-2-3-1 formation.
In a surprising turn, Napoli's first attack resulted in an own goal by Udinese's Zapata.
No one had anticipated that.
With the lead, Udinese pressed hard, attempting to threaten Napoli's defense.
However, in the 29th minute, Napoli launched a quick counterattack. Biglia delivered a brilliant pass through the middle. Cavani, positioned just outside the penalty area, controlled the ball, brushed off a defender, and struck a low shot, doubling Napoli's lead to 2-0!
Then, just two minutes later, Napoli counterattacked once more. Di Maria drove down the left flank, reaching the byline and crossing into the box, where Cavani met it with a perfect finish, making it 3-0.
The Uruguayan striker had scored twice in just minutes.
Both teams slowed down the tempo afterward.
Udinese, clearly learning from previous encounters, opted for caution to avoid a rout.
But the second half saw another twist. In the 54th minute, Cannavaro caught Udinese's Di Natale with an elbow during a defensive play. The referee deemed it a deliberate foul, issuing a red card and sending Cannavaro off.
Udinese seized the opportunity, launching wave after wave of attacks. Six minutes after the red card, Simone Pepe managed to pull one back for Udinese.
However, Pepe himself was soon shown a red card after a second yellow, leveling the playing field once more.
The game returned to a balanced but tense pace.
Ultimately, Napoli emerged with a 3-1 victory, securing three more points.
…
Meanwhile, Inter Milan hosted Empoli, managing a narrow 1-0 win thanks to a penalty converted by Ibrahimovic.
The game had been a tough one for Inter, with Empoli even earning a penalty in the 83rd minute. However, they missed their chance, with Julio Cesar making a crucial save for Inter Milan.
Juventus, hosting Cagliari, struggled throughout and ended the match with a 1-1 draw. The goals came in quick succession, with both teams scoring within a minute of each other in the second half.
But the real shock came the following day.
Roma, away to Siena—one of the league's relegation contenders suffered a crushing 0-3 defeat.
They conceded early, scored an own goal before halftime, and allowed another just before the end. The unexpected loss dealt a heavy blow to Roma's morale.
Meanwhile, AC Milan continued their resurgence, beating Fiorentina 1-0 away. This victory saw Ancelotti's team rise to sixth place in the standings.
Ancelotti's adjustments over the winter break seemed to be paying off, with Milan finding their rhythm again.
With Roma's shocking loss, Napoli climbed back to second place, seven points behind Inter Milan. Roma dropped to third, now two points behind Napoli.
Juventus remained in fourth but, following their draw with Cagliari, the gap between them and Napoli widened to five points.
…
This round of Serie A fixtures marked significant changes in the league standings.
Juventus had essentially bowed out of the title race.
Following their heavy defeat to Napoli at the Stadio Olimpico, most observers had already concluded that Juventus was unlikely to challenge for the league title and might struggle to hold onto their top-four position.
Inter Milan remained in a class of their own, though signs of fatigue and decline had begun to show. While they were still unbeaten and able to grind out wins, February and March were expected to be far more challenging.
Nonetheless, Inter's seven-point lead made them the clear favorites for the title. Many even considered the title race almost settled.
Twenty-one games unbeaten, Inter Milan was nothing short of a juggernaut.
As for Roma, their heavy loss to Siena posed a serious challenge to Spalletti. If he couldn't rally his players, Roma could find themselves slipping out of the title race entirely.
Meanwhile, Napoli was one of the few teams showing marked improvement post-winter break, the other being Ancelotti's AC Milan.
Both Napoli and Milan appeared to be hitting their stride, with analysts predicting both teams would only get stronger. Napoli, in particular, was in an enviable position.
Unlike other Serie A giants, Napoli only had the Serie A and Coppa Italia competitions to focus on.
With no European commitments, February and March consisted solely of Serie A fixtures for them.
This was Napoli's secret weapon.
Sacchi, in his column, argued that if Gao Shen wanted to pull off a miracle and dethrone Inter Milan, he'd need to capitalize on the upcoming two months, closing the gap in points as much as possible.
"By the time Napoli faces Inter Milan at home in the 26th round, they must be within striking distance," Sacchi wrote.
"That match could well be the turning point in the title race."
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