Chapter 73: Rage Unleashed

Chapter 73: Rage Unleashed

Bruno was extremely upset after the opposition took the lead through an unwarranted penalty. As the match resumed, he took it upon himself to accelerate Udinese's offensive tempo.

Catania, a team deep in the relegation zone with limited strength, was immediately pushed back into their own half under the fierce assault from an enraged Udinese team.

In the 34th minute, Udinese earned a corner kick from their aggressive offense. Bruno took the corner himself, delivering the ball into Catania's penalty area. Domizi, the Udinese defender whose earlier challenge led to their conceded goal, got to the ball but his header was blocked by the raised hand of Catania's number 7, Tahzidis.

The handball was blatant; nearly everyone in the box saw it and the Udinese players protested vehemently for a penalty. The referee, DeMarco, stopped the game but, after consulting with his assistant, surprisingly gestured that there was no penalty.

The Udinese team exploded in anger. Such a clear handball and it wasn't called as a penalty? What were the referees even looking at?

DeMarco explained that he considered Udinese's forward Muriel to be offside at the moment Domizi headed the ball. This explanation only fueled Bruno's anger. "Last year I bought a watch!" he exclaimed, insinuating that the call was absurd. Muriel wasn't even in the direction of Domizi's header, and yet the referee claimed he interfered with play? And despite Domizi's header clearly being blocked by an opponent's hand?

Bruno felt a surge of rage but reminded himself to keep his temper in check, remembering that impulsiveness is the devil.

Guidolin was livid on the sidelines, vehemently protesting the referee's decision. How could such a clear handball not be a penalty? And how was the normal physical contact during Udinese's defensive play earlier considered a penalty?

The fourth official, with a stern face, tried to calm the increasingly agitated coach, warning, "Please calm down, Mr. Guidolin. If you don't, I'll have to call the main referee over."

"Ha, fine, I'll calm down," Guidolin retorted sarcastically.

Replays showed Domizi's header hitting Tahzidis's raised arm in the penalty area, clear for all to see. The supposed offside position of Muriel was nowhere near Tahzidis. Even the local Catania TV commentators were at a loss for words regarding the call.

If the earlier penalty awarded to Catania could still be debated as a mistake due to contact, this clear penalty not being awarded was indefensible, and it seemed nothing short of biased refereeing.

Despite Udinese's continued protests, the referee firmly stood by his decision, even threatening to card the Udinese players if they didn't back down. Reluctantly, Bastas led his teammates back to their positions.

"F***ing hell, daring to screw us over!" Bruno cursed as he walked back, visibly frustrated.

Kante, beside him, opened his mouth as if to say something, sighed, and then said nothing, seemingly pessimistic about the outcome.

Although Bruno was furious, he led Udinese in continuing to attack Catania's goal for the rest of the first half. However, despite their efforts, they couldn't score before the half-time whistle. The score remained 1-0 to Catania, thanks to a controversial penalty.

The Catania players left the field at half-time with smiles, buoyed by leading a strong Udinese side.

In contrast, the Udinese players looked somber and angry, with some already sighing in frustration, all too aware of the unfavorable situation.

"The first half is over, and while Udinese was the better team on the field, creating numerous goal-scoring opportunities, they couldn't capitalize. Meanwhile, the home team Catania has taken the lead with a penalty. It's a tough situation for Udinese, and it will be interesting to see how Coach Guidolin responds," said the commentator from Sky TV Italy.

Back in the locker room at Stadio Massimino, Guidolin glanced at his players and started, "Why the long faces? You played well in the first half and deserve praise."

The players looked at the coach, unsure if he was being sarcastic.

"What's with those looks? I'm genuinely pleased," Guidolin continued, setting down his tactical board. "You dominated the game. If not for two incidents, we might have been leading 1-0. You really did well."

Hearing this, the players felt somewhat better.

"It's all because of the damn referee," Domizi said angrily. "That was a normal physical clash! And my header definitely hit their number 7's arm!"

"I saw it, it was definitely an arm!"

"Is the referee blind?"

"Yeah, damn referee!"

"This match is tough, the referee is biased."

As the players voiced their criticisms of the referee, Guidolin shouted, "Quiet! Shut up!" Once everyone quieted down, he nodded in satisfaction. "Let's not talk about anything else for now. The important thing is the second half. Now, I'll set up the second half."

Guidolin then instructed Bruno, "Bruno, you'll move to the right flank in the second half."

Bruno nodded.

Turning to Muriel, Guidolin said, "Luis, I need you to drop back more to link up play."

"Riyad, you'll be between Luis and Bruno, be ready to exploit your speed to break the game open," he planned, setting up a 4-4-1-1 for the second half, with Mahrez playing a sort of shadow striker role.

After detailing the tactical adjustments, Guidolin concluded, "For the second half, I want to emphasize again: we're aiming for quick counter-attacks! Speed! Speed! Speed! Got it? If possible, bypass the midfield and find..." he paused, "find Bruno!"

Thinking it over, he also instructed Kante, "N'Golo, keep an eye on Sergio Almirón. I don't want to see him comfortably controlling the ball in the second half."

This veteran midfielder, who had spent two years at Udinese, was now the linchpin for Catania. While his form had dipped this season, contributing to Catania's poor results, he was performing well against his former club today.

Kante nodded, hesitatingly adding, "But coach, the referee…"

"You guys," Guidolin clapped his hands, "You need to trust the referee, be tolerant."

The players stared in disbelief. Coach, do you even hear what you're saying?

"Referees make mistakes too; we need to be understanding," Guidolin ignored their looks. "Learning to adapt to the referee's decisions is also crucial in a match."

He smiled, "Alright, don't think too much. We can't control the referee's will; just focus on our game, and victory will be ours."

(End of Chapter)

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