Chapter 22: The Victor

Chapter 22: The Victor

Bruno ran wildly across the field, arms wide open, gliding across Piola Stadium. The entire crowd was chanting his name as he finally stopped under the main stand, where his teammates caught up to him, embracing and celebrating the goal with high spirits.

This goal nearly killed the game!

Conceding three goals within sixteen minutes of the start was a complete collapse!

It can be said that this goal dealt a heavy blow to Sassuolo's morale, as evident from the expressions on the faces of all their players, especially their defenders.

"Sassuolo's defense has never been solid. In the first 34 rounds of this season, they conceded 30 goals. Originally, in the first 16 rounds of the season, they only conceded eight goals. But starting from December, Sassuolo's defense started to show frequent problems, and this match is more of a microcosm of that."

"On the contrary, Novara has been increasingly impressive since December this season. In 18 league matches, they have only conceded 13 goals, the fewest in Serie B during that period. Solid defense has been one of the key factors in Novara's 17 consecutive victories."

"Of course, the primary factor in Novara's 17-game winning streak is their excellent offensive performance. Since December, Novara has scored 49 goals in 18 league matches, averaging nearly 3 goals per game!"

"Especially Bruno, who has so far scored 16 goals and provided 24 assists in Serie B. Novara has scored a total of 75 league goals, with Bruno directly involved in 40 of them, highlighting his excellence and importance to this Novara team."

"Last summer, Novara spent only 40,000 euros to bring in this Portuguese talent, which is an absolute bargain! Bruno perfectly filled a gap in Novara's lineup and enhanced the team's overall strength, particularly their attacking ability."

"Currently, this 18-year-old Portuguese talent has a market value of 7 million euros on Transfermarkt. Given his age and immense potential, other teams might have to pay at least 10 million euros to get him!"

Coach Tesser on the sidelines clearly recognized Bruno's performance. In particular, Bruno's performance in strong matchups was outstanding, with a consistent scoring efficiency.

It can be said that Novara's unstoppable performance in Serie B this season is largely due to Bruno's contributions. However, this is clearly not Bruno's best performance yet; his potential is immeasurable.

"We've found a treasure!" Tesser said with a big smile. Initially, when Giarretta brought this Portuguese kid to the team, Tesser had his doubts. But Bruno quickly impressed him with his hard work.

And Bruno did not disappoint. Since his debut for Novara, he recorded 5 goals and 7 assists in 8 games, winning over Tesser, the entire Novara team, and all the fans.

Although Bruno later went through a tough period of 8 games without goals or assists, leading to Novara's six consecutive defeats, Tesser never gave up on him. He knew Bruno was a genius and also knew how hard Bruno worked.

Geniuses don't always succeed, and hard workers don't always succeed, but a genius who works hard has no reason to fail.

Sure enough, after overcoming that difficult period and adapting to the targeted defenses of opponents, Bruno's performance rebounded, leading Novara to a record 17-game winning streak in Serie B history. During this period, Bruno contributed 9 goals and 16 assists.

"What a pity! Such an excellent player won't stay with the team for long!" said Tesser's assistant, voicing an uncomfortable truth.

Although it seems certain that Novara will return to Serie A next season, it will be hard for Novara to offer conditions that satisfy Bruno.

Despite Bruno having two more years on his contract with Novara, theoretically allowing them to keep him for two more years, Novara's sky is too small for Bruno, who is about to spread his wings and fly.

Most importantly, Novara cannot resist the tempting offers from other teams.

As far as Tesser knew, strong teams from Serie A had already contacted Novara, offering very attractive conditions.

"I have a strong feeling," Tesser said, looking up at the sunny stadium, "We will definitely win the league championship this season."

His assistant nodded.

Even if they won the championship, it would only be the title of Italy's second division league champion. But for Novara, it would be the highest honor in their 105-year history!

For this small town team in northwestern Italy, they didn't have many notable honors in their history. The best championships were three Serie B titles, and even those were in the early days of the club. The most recent Serie B championship was in the 1947-1948 season, which was 65 years ago!

His gaze quickly returned to Bruno on the field.

After the match resumed, Bruno continued to look for opportunities.

Specifically targeting Manianelli, who was defending him, Bruno frequently used his advantages and range of movement to create chances, making the Sassuolo captain exhausted but forced to keep up.

Of course, Novara couldn't keep attacking relentlessly. The players' stamina wouldn't allow it, and it wasn't part of the team's tactics.

After thirty minutes, Novara deliberately slowed their offensive pace, allowing Sassuolo, who finally stabilized, to attempt a counterattack.

Novara paid for this with two yellow cards but barely managed to suppress Sassuolo's offense.

However, Sassuolo, as the long-time leaders of the league table, undoubtedly had the strength.

Novara's ability to take a three-goal lead within sixteen minutes of the first half was primarily because Sassuolo's understanding of Novara was still based on their first-round encounter. They were caught off guard by the Bruno-led Novara, conceding three goals in a row.

When they adapted to the new Novara, their strength began to show.

In the 61st minute, Sassuolo launched another counterattack after intercepting the ball in midfield. Manianelli brought the ball to the edge of the penalty area and passed it to Masucci.

Masucci quickly cut into the penalty area, stopped suddenly, then started again, shaking off Mariani. Seeing the Novara goalkeeper rush out, he decisively passed the ball across the goal.

The ball passed between the goalkeeper and Mariani, causing panic as both tried to recover. Sassuolo's talented winger Berardi emerged from behind Mariani and easily pushed the ball into Novara's goal with his right foot.

1:3!

Sassuolo pulled one back.

Berardi, ecstatic after scoring, celebrated wildly on the sidelines, despite knowing this goal didn't significantly change Sassuolo's situation.

This Sassuolo genius winger had once been compared with Bruno as the biggest discovery of Serie B this season. But as Bruno led Novara to a 17-game winning streak, Italian media no longer mentioned the "Serie B twin stars" comparison.

Before this match, Berardi vowed to compete well with Bruno. However, the first half turned into a personal showcase for Bruno, leaving Berardi frustrated as he watched his rival dominate the field while he could only seethe in helpless rage.

Now, having finally helped Sassuolo score, Berardi released some of his pent-up emotions.

With Sassuolo pulling one back, their morale significantly boosted, and they began to press Novara.

In the 76th minute, under pressure from Berardi, Novara captain Rudi accidentally scored an own goal.

As the game approached 80 minutes, Sassuolo had clawed back to 2:3, bringing suspense back into the match.

In the final stages, the match became extremely tense and fierce.

But until the referee blew the final whistle, Sassuolo couldn't score a third goal.

In fact, with Sassuolo fully pressing forward, Novara launched a quick counterattack in the 90th minute, with substitute young forward Falago scoring another goal.

4:2!

Novara secured the victory!

(End of Chapter)

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