Chapter 17: Serie A Objective

Chapter 17: Serie A Objective

In the sixty-sixth minute, it was once again Bruno who, after leaving a defender behind on the right side, quickly centered towards the area, where González reached the ball first, but his shot was blocked by a rival defender and went out for a corner.

Novara won a corner, but just as the team captain, Rudy, was about to head towards the corner area, Bruno suddenly stopped him.

"Let me try this corner kick," Bruno said enthusiastically.

Novara had had some corners in this match, but the results were not very clear, as both González and Mohammedi, who were in the front, had a height of only around six feet, which made it difficult for them to reach the ball in the area. And although the two central defenders had good height and could defend corners well, it was difficult for them to head towards the goal.

With this lineup, it was easy for the opposing team to contain corner attacks, and the results were scarce.

However, González and Mohammedi had skills to win decent aerial duels. If the corner kick had enough quality and they could find their position, the chances of scoring a goal would be quite high.

And as for passing the ball, Bruno was confident.

"Do you want to take charge of the kick?" Rudy asked, surprised.

"I want to give it a try," Bruno said with a smile.

Previously, when he was at Boavista, he was one of the main free-kick takers for the team. Although he hadn't had many opportunities to take free kicks since joining Novara, he had practiced a lot in the master coach's training system and had passed the system's evaluation, so his level should be quite good.

Rudy had a good impression of Bruno and, after thinking for a moment, finally nodded.

Novara was already three goals up at this point, and this corner had also been obtained from a cross by Bruno, so there was no problem in letting him try.

After receiving Rudy's approval, Bruno quickly ran towards the corner area.

It was a corner kick from the left side, and Bruno skillfully placed the ball in the corner of the corner area, stepping back slowly to balance himself with the goal line, carefully observing the position of the ball and the goal.

Soon, with the referee's whistle, Bruno took a deep breath, following a familiar rhythm and familiar movements, he quickly ran towards the ball, placing his left foot at a forty-five-degree angle with the ball once it stopped, and then quickly struck with his right foot.

There was a thud, and the ball shot out of Bruno's right foot, tracing a curve in the air before quickly dropping towards the penalty spot.

There was chaos in the area, the defenders couldn't predict where the ball would go, and when they finally realized the direction, they saw that a Novara player was already moving quickly from the penalty spot, jumping high in front of the right post, and connecting a header with the falling ball.

The player who darted towards the spot was the team's forward, González. The ball firmly hit his forehead and changed direction, entering Cesena's goal.

"Goal!!"

The stadium erupted in jubilation.

After landing, González raised his hands high, shouting excitedly, and ran towards Bruno with enthusiasm, kneeling in front of him at the corner area, paying homage to him.

He was so excited!

With this goal, not only had he scored twice in this match, but he had also reached 15 goals in the league this season, placing him at the top of the Serie B top scorers' table!

For a forward, becoming the top scorer, even if it's just in Serie B, was an exciting feat.

The goal was validated by the referee, and all the fans in the stadium erupted in applause and cheers.

Bruno was also very excited, kneeling next to González and hugging him tightly.

Bruno's judgment on the ball's trajectory and his excellent ability to win aerial duels were clearly shown in this goal.

Novara's teammates quickly approached, especially Rudy, who gently punched Bruno's fist and joked, "Are you trying to steal my corner kick opportunity?"

Although he said it in jest, the defender hugged Bruno and González tightly.

For Rudy, the team captain, the most important thing was to win, it was victory.

After the goal, the pace of the game slowed down as Novara tried to control the ball to consume time and save energy. After all, the players were somewhat tired at this stage of the season, and it was good to save energy for the upcoming matches.

Cesena, three goals down, practically collapsed and no longer had any intention of attacking actively.

So the last twenty minutes of the match were consumed in silence, in a tacit agreement between both teams.

The streak of eight consecutive victories injected great confidence in Novara's players, who seemed invincible.

In the twenty-fifth round of Serie B, Novara had another tough match against a team in the promotion zone, this time playing away against SPAL.

Before the match, Novara was in fifth place in the table with 36 points, while SPAL was in sixth place with 34 points.

After an exciting match, in which Novara won 4-2 away, their winning streak extended to eight matches.

This was the longest winning streak in Serie B this season!

Bruno, who contributed with a goal and an assist in this match, raised his goal total to double digits and his number of assists to 14, firmly establishing himself as the leader in the assists table.

Among the 22 teams in Serie B, Bruno was the only player who had contributed double digits in both goals and assists.

After eight consecutive victories, Novara seemed unstoppable. In the twenty-sixth round, they faced Verona, the third-placed team in the table.

The match was tied 0-0 at the end of the first half, but at the beginning of the second half, Bruno provoked a red card for Verona's Slovenian midfielder, Bacchinovic.

With a man down, Verona struggled to compete with Novara. In the 53rd minute, Bruno assisted veteran Simone Pesce to score the only goal of the match, breaking the deadlock on the scoreboard.

The twenty-seventh round saw Novara score six goals away against Spezia, after a surprising winning streak that left the team with a record of 14 wins, 7 draws, and 6 losses, climbing to fourth place in the league.

Only Sassuolo, Livorno, and Verona were ahead of them in the table, and Novara was already eyeing direct promotion to Serie A.

After ten consecutive victories, both Novara's players and their fans were filled with confidence. Now, the question was not whether the team could compete for a place in Serie A next season, but whether they could avoid the promotion playoffs and secure a direct place in the top tier of Italian football.

In light of the current situation in the Serie B table, Sassuolo remained the undisputed leader, with a record of 19 wins, 4 draws, and 4 losses, accumulating 61 points. Even without the deducted points, they still remained 12 points ahead of Novara. Given Sassuolo's strength in Serie B this season, surpassing them would be difficult for Novara.

In second place was Livorno, with a record of 16 wins, 6 draws, and 5 losses, and 54 points in total, 9 points ahead of Novara. Although catching up to them wouldn't be easy, there was still a slight chance. Verona occupied third place, with a record of 14 wins, 8 draws, and 5 losses, totaling 50 points. If Novara didn't drop points due to deductions, they would be just 1 point behind Verona.

In summary, while Novara had slim chances of winning Serie B, they still had hopes of competing for a direct promotion spot.