Chapter 221: Chapter 221

Each of the five major leagues has its own domestic cup:

Bundesliga has the DFB-Pokal, Serie A has the Coppa Italia, La Liga has the King’s Cup, and Ligue 1 has the French Cup.

The Premier League has a bit more, not only the FA Cup but also the League Cup.

However, for a long time, especially for those elite teams, the league and European competitions have been their main focus.

Domestic cup competitions are sometimes dispensable, like a chicken rib.

Winning them is an excellent addition to the club’s honor book, so why not?

But if they lose the cup, even early on, fans and outsiders won’t overly criticize them.

But this season’s Coppa Italia final, set early, has attracted unprecedented attention in Italy.

This is probably because this season, Juventus is very likely, after Inter Milan in 2010, to become the second team in Italian football to win a triple crown.

They have already secured the Serie A championship three rounds ahead, winning the league title unprecedentedly for the 30th time.

If they can defeat Inter Milan and smoothly capture the Coppa Italia, it means they will claim their second crown this season, and then the team will fully prepare for the Champions League final against Barcelona.

To win the treble, domestic league, domestic cup, and Champions League, none of them can be missing!

Before the match, the entire Juventus team was determined to defeat Inter Milan; otherwise, even if they beat Barcelona in the Champions League final and claim their third Champions League trophy, they could hardly compare to Inter Milan in 2010.

Winning the treble is indeed a very difficult task, not only meaning the team must perform well and have a deep bench but also requires a steadfast resolve from top to bottom.

Otherwise, why is it that only Inter Milan has achieved a treble in the last hundred years of Italian football?

The hardships along the way can only be understood by players and coaches who have gone through an entire season.

Juventus, indeed the dominant force in Serie A, showed an extremely strong performance at the opening, quickly taking control of possession.

Compared to the previous game, Marquinhos in the midfield trio has been replaced by the more confrontational Vidal.

Pirlo was responsible for linking the play in the backfield, often using long passes to adjust the formation.

Vidal is purely an enforcer, providing protective support around Pirlo.

The third midfielder, French star Pogba, is an all-around B2B player; his dribbling, ball-holding, and forward runs often serve as key tools for breaking deadlocks.

With these three midfielders in charge, Juventus’s midfield operated smoothly, showing high tactical competence both in attack and defense.

In the opening 10 minutes, the ball remained under Juventus’s control, with Inter Milan barely touching it. Tang Long had only one pass.

That was when he delivered a highly imaginative ground curve ball to Bonazzoli from the attacking midfielder position.

Though the ball bypassed the first center-back Bonucci, it was immediately blocked by another center-back Chiellini, who used his position to knock Bonazzoli off the ball.

"Juventus’s defense line is truly exceptional!"

"Goalkeeper Buffon, the three center-backs Chiellini, Barzagli, and Bonucci, are directly transplanted from Juventus to the Italian national team."

"Even Inter Milan’s captain Ranocchia, with his status at Inter, can only serve as a substitute for any of these three center-backs at the Italian national team."

Sun Jihai, who hadn’t watched Serie A matches for a long time, had evidently prepared in advance, eloquently describing the configuration of Juventus’s defense line. Correct content is on

"Now that the match has started, Inter Milan is facing some difficulties, Jiayi, what do you think?" He Wei asked Shao Jiayi.

"The main issue is that Inter can’t get the ball; Juventus started with a high-pressure pressing in the front, and they are really good at regaining possession immediately after losing the ball."

"I just counted, in the opening 10 minutes, Vidal has already made three tackles, which is undoubtedly an incredible number."

"Once Inter Milan gets the ball, if they can’t pass it to Tang Long immediately, they will face a siege from Juventus’s midfield."

"Looking at it now, Tang Long is the only one in Inter Milan’s midfield who can hold the ball, but he really lacks helpers."

Shao Jiayi’s analysis is very objective, directly pointing out the disparity in the players’ strength between the two teams.

Standing next to Pirlo were Chilean captain Vidal and French star Pogba.

Both are truly championship players, and having been playing together for years, their mutual understanding needs no further explanation, often a glance is enough to convey their thoughts.

Similarly, as a midfield organizer, Tang Long’s partners in the holding midfield position are Gualin and Medel.

These two are first-rate midfielders in Serie A, but ultimately their status can’t compare to Vidal and Pogba, with at least two levels of difference between them.

In the 12th minute of the first half, Inter Milan got a rare chance for a counter-attack.

Full-back Yuto Nagatomo was very clever.

Even though there was ample space for a sprint down the flank, he still chose to pass the ball immediately to the oncoming Tang Long.

At Pirlo’s command, the tough Vidal immediately closed in.

Pogba also ran forward, forming a pincer attack with Vidal on Tang Long.

Vidal’s body was not only very strong, but his subtle moves were true to the South American football tradition.

He chose an angle that the referee couldn’t see, constantly pushing Tang Long’s waist with his hand and pressing his right knee against Tang Long’s thigh.

To prevent injury, Tang Long didn’t want to tussle too much with Vidal right at the start.

He immediately looked towards the center, seeking Guarin’s support.

If this ball were Pirlo instead of Tang Long, when Pirlo was closely marked, either Vidal or Pogba would definitely create space to help, providing protective support for Pirlo.

But now Guarin wasn’t thinking clearly; seeing Tang Long surrounded, he inexplicably charged forward.

The other midfielder, Medel, although running, arrived too late and wasn’t close enough to protect Tang Long.

Seeing another midfielder, Pogba, coming to assist with the siege, Tang Long helplessly had no passing route and could only return the ball to fullback Santon.

A great counter-attack opportunity was thus spoiled.

In the Sky Sports studio, Ronaldo sneered at Vidal’s small actions.

"Too many actions from behind. This Chilean is quite sneaky, perfectly blocking the referee’s view. This could actually have been a foul."

On the other side, Trezeget was unhappy, obviously disagreeing with Ronaldo’s point.

"You can’t say that. Although it’s from behind, physical contact is inevitable, right? It’s perfectly normal, and besides, Tang Long didn’t fall."

Ronaldo glared at Trezeget:

"Hey, you know what? I saw it very clearly, Ridder was using his knee to hit Tang Long’s knee area. Players are very likely to get injured this way; I’ve twice torn my cruciate ligament, and I’m more qualified to speak on this than you."

Seeing the two about to argue, the host in the middle, Dilata, quickly intervened to calm things down.

"Juventus has started very aggressively, suppressing Inter Milan’s midfield."

"Through the replay, Vidal indeed seems to have committed a foul, but the earlier Guarin collision with Pogba wasn’t whistled by the referee either. It looks like the match will be lenient, with the referee encouraging smooth gameplay."

"This is also an improvement made by the Serie A Alliance in recent years; we need to learn from the Premier League, making the game more fluid so we can attract more viewers."

Just as Dilata was comparing the Premier League and Serie A, Pirlo had already launched a cruise missile-like long pass!

Pirlo’s long pass seemed almost like a shot, appearing to drift gently and slow, yet as it was about to go out of bounds, it suddenly dropped, landing precisely at the feet of right back Evra.

The former Manchester United star joined Juventus’s Corps in Serie A, and plays comfortably at right back.

With strong midfield support, Evra always receives the ball comfortably when joining attacks.

Crossing is the forte of this French fullback.

Aiming at the Spanish high center-forward Llorente who had already signaled in the penalty area, Evra tapped and cued the ball, sending a fast-paced curling pass!

Llorente VS Ranocchia!

Both players are 1.95 meters tall, tied for the highest altitude in the game.

But Llorente weighs 93 kg, while Ranocchia is only 87 kg.

This weight disadvantage directly reflected in this contest for the header.

Even though Ranocchia firmly resisted Llorente from behind and secretly disrupted his focus with small moves,

Llorente still managed to leap high, not looking at the goal or Handanovic’s position, dipped his head, and with an afterbody posture quickly flicked a backward header.

"Watch out!" Ronaldo exclaimed.

With a clang, the ball hit the intersection of the crossbar and the goalpost on the left corner, bouncing out of bounds.

Next to him, Trezeget regretfully punched the table, saying wistfully, "Llorente completely won this duel with Ranocchia, such a shame, he was too demanding with the angle. If it had moved down 10 cm, this would absolutely have been a goal. Too bad, really too bad, no worries, try again, there will definitely be more chances!"

Nestled between the two, Dilata, who remained silent, was inwardly anxious.

She reached out and swept her golden hair back from her forehead.

Dilata, having played professional women’s soccer in her youth, although retired early, her understanding of football tactics surpasses other Sky Sports presenters.

She now clearly saw that the problem Inter Milan was facing was their lack of support for Tang Long.

Or rather, it wasn’t that Inter’s teammates didn’t want to help but that they lacked the capability.

Tang Long’s vision and skill might rival Pirlo’s, but his teammates, Guarin and Medel, are far inferior to Pogba and Vidal.

Especially since the tall Ranocchia is up against the equally tall Llorente, whose greater build nullifies Ranocchia’s height advantage.

Continuing to play , it’s only a matter of time before Inter Milan concedes a goal.

"Dear Tang, there’s no one to help you. What should you do at a time ?"

Dilata clasped her hands together and began to worry silently.