At the start of the sed half, Napoli wasted no time threatening Inter Min with a well-orchestrated attack down the left.

  Quick passes between Vargas, Thiago Motta, Hamsik, and Sanchez saw the ball move fluidly through Inter Min's half like a butterfly flittiween flowers. It was a dazzling dispy of quick passing and sharp movement, taking the ball from Napoli's defehird to the edge of Inter's penalty area in no time.

  After Sanchez cut inside, he id the ball off to i at the top of the box. i took it to his right, but Montari and Cambiasso closed him down, blog his shot. The ball deflected off Cambiasso's body and posed no threat to the goal.

  But Napoli's attack didhere. They immediately pressed and formed a sed wave. Vidal stepped up, shook off his marker, and unleashed a powerful shot, but it sailed just over the crossbar.

  The fluidity of Napoli's passing and movemehe audien awe.

  It's rare to see such smooth and dynamiterpy in Serie A, especially during a csh of heavyweights like this.

  ---

  Inter Min, unwilling to back down, responded quickly with a terattack.

  They targeted Mani on the left again, but Lichtsteiner rose high to clear the ball with a header, sending it out of py.

  Soon after, Inter lost possession in the final third, and Napoli unched yet another swift ter.

  ---

  The match settled into a rhythm of high-paced exges, with both sides trading attacks.

  Napoli stuck to their trademark quick tempo, and Inter Miermio stand their ground, fought fire with fire.

  The entators were quick to point out, however, that this freic pace didn't favor Inter Min.

  "This is pying into Napoli's hands. They thrive in this kind of high-tempo game."

  "Mourinho appears determio ge the perception that he's too defensive."

  "Not long ago, he was in the running for the Bara job, but his servative style didn't sit well with their philosophy. That hesitation cost him the position."

  "It's that Bara's first choice was Gao Shen, but wheurhem down and reended his former assistant Guardio instead, Mourinho's didacy fell through."

  "Inter Min also initially wanted Gao Shen as their head coach this summer. After he rejected them, they turo Mourinho. Fag Gao Shen tonight, Mourinho seems eager to prove himself, not just to Inter but to the entire football world."

  "But so far, the spotlight belongs to Napoli."

  "After winning the domestic double st season, many feared this team was a o wonder, and there was Gao Shen might leave in the summer. But her happened."

  "Tonight, Napoli looks more posed and mature than ever."

  "This performance proves that Gao Shen's tactical philosophy has taken root. Napoli is no longer just a promising team, they are evolving into a dominant force that could remain at the top for years to e."

  ---

  Ten minutes into the sed half, Inter Min had yet tister a single shot on target.

  Even after Mourinho pushed Balotelli further forward to form a strike partnership with Ibrahimoviter failed to create any meaningful threat.

  Napoli's pressing game wasn't as aggressive as it had been st season, but it was far more suffog.

  They set up a defensive block around the halfway line, pinning Inter in their own half and preventing them from building any coherent attacks. Aside from occasional long balls, Inter couldn't muster any effective positional py.

  And long balls? Napoli wasn't afraid of them.

  Benatia had Ibrahimovi his pocket all game. While the Swede occasionally had moments of brilliahey were fleeting and iive. Meanwhile, Balotelli, who started on the right, frequently drifted into tral positions to avoid fag Vargas, who had pletely ralized him.

  Mourinho had instructed Balotelli to drop deep and help link py, but Thiago Motta shut him dowedly. Frustrated, Balotelli eventually stayed forward, waiting for service that never came.

  With the midfield uo ed the front line isoted, Inter's attacks were repeatedly fuo Mani on the left. Predictably, Lichtsteiner dealt with him with ease.

  ---

  After ten frustrating minutes, Mourinho had seen enough. He made a decisive substitution, repg Mani with Chilean midfielder Jimenez.

  This ge brought Inter Min back to a 4-3-1-2 formation, a setup they had relied on successfully in previous seasons under Mani.

  The adjustment paid off initially. With more pyers in midfield, Inter began pressing higher and more effectively, even managing to pin Napoli back for brief periods.

  Inter created a few ces, though none were particurly dangerous.

  First, Ibrahimovic's le effort was blocked by Benatia. Then Montari tried his luck from 26 meters, but Handanovifortably saved it. Finally, Zai unched a specutive shot from the right, but it sailed harmlessly wide.

  Despite these efforts, Inter's brief resurgence was more a refle of Napoli allowing them to attack than any true turnaround.

  ---

  On the sidelines, Gao Shen remained calm, signaling his pyers to stay posed.

  He had no iion of making substitutions just yet.

  Gao Shen wao see how his pyers hahe pressure.

  As a coach, he believed it was crucial to uand his team's limits, both offensively and defensively.

  Because only by pushing them to their breaking point in high-pressure matches could he know how best to utilize them in future games.

  This kind of intense, real-world test was something no training session could replicate.

  "Holy, Mourinho must be feeling pretty frustrated," arked with a wry smile.

  Zidane nodded. "He doesn't have the pyers to execute his system properly, especially on the wings and up front."

  In Mourinho's tactical blueprint, a dominaral striker and dynamigers were essential.

  But Inter's current squad wasn't built for that. Ibrahimovic, while incredibly talented, wasn't a true tactical focal point. His individual brilliaen overshadowed his ck of iion withieam's system. His relian solo efforts made him less effective than a pyer like i in a cohesive tactical setup.

  Balotelli, oher hand, was still a raw talent. At just 17, he cked the tactical disciplio py Mourinho's preferred style.

  Inter's wingers were another ot. Mani wasn't capable of replig the impact of pyers like Robben or Duff.

  "Mourinho probably hoped Balotelli could break through on the right," Zidane tinued. "He's got the speed and physicality to trouble Vargas, but who would've thought…"

  Zidane chuckled, shaking his head. Balotelli had quickly realized that Vargas wasn't someone he could bully. After a few failed attempts, he stopped trying altogether, effectively crippling Inter's right fnk.

  With Mai hesitant to push forward for fear of leaving gaps behind, Inter's attack became one-dimensional.

  "It just goes to show," Gao Shen said, "you 't build a strong team just by assembling a bunch of stars."

  At that moment, Inter unched atack, but Thiago Motta intercepted the ball just outside Napoli's penalty area.

  Without hesitation, he initiated a terattack with a long pass forward.

  i shielded the ball expertly from Burdisso, ying it off to Sanchez, who cut inside and unleashed a shot. However, it was blocked by Cambiasso.

  The ball ricocheted out of the penalty area, nding at Vidal's feet.

  Vidal didn't hesitate. He sprinted forward and struck the ball on the half-volley.

  The shot rocketed toal like a missile.

  Cesar leapt, fully stretched, but couldn't reach it.

  The ball smashed against the crossbar with a thunderous thud, drawing gasps from the crowd. It rebounded bato py, and chaos erupted in Inter's penalty area as both teams scrambled for the ball.

  ---

  Watg from the sidelines, Gao Shen noticed avaro and Thiago Motta urging their teammates to push up.

  Despite Inter regaining possession and advang their line past midfield, Gao Shen couldn't help but smile.

  "These guys are really maturing," he said proudly.

  Fao Shen, moments like these meant more than goals or victories.

  This growing maturity would make Napoli even more petitive, especially in the Champions League.

  ---

  Ih minute, Gao Shen made his first substitution, repg Hamsik with Parejo.

  The young Spaniard brought fresh energy to Napoli's midfield, enhang their trol of the ball in Inter's half.

  Five mier, a fasating sequenfolded.

  Napoli circuted the ball around Inter's 30-meter area, probing for an opening but finding none.

  Mourinho's defensive anization was impressive. The back four and three midfielders held their ground, f a pact, imperable block.

  Inter's attackers, led by Balotelli and Jimenez, began pressing aggressively to disrupt Napoli's rhythm.

  But Napoli stayed posed. Parejo and Vidal exged quick passes, then linked up with Thiago Motta, drawing Balotelli and Jimenez out of position. When they pressed harder, Napoli calmly recycled the ball back to avaro, Vargas, aia.

  Balotelli chased after the ball like a headless fly, only to be outmaneuvered time and time again.

  Eventually, Benatia unched a long ball forward, sending it into Inter's penalty area.

  i rose to challenge Burdisso for the ball, attempting to head it back to the edge of the penalty area for his teammates. Unfortunately, his header cked precision, and the ball gnced off his head before boung out foal kick.

  This sequence perfectly captured the trast betweewo teams.

  Zidane, watg from the sidelines, couldn't help but marvel.

  "This kind of py happens almost every day in Napoli's training sessions," he remarked.

  It was, quite simply, a mastercss in rondo—or as it's more only known, "monkey in the middle."