After a two-week break, Serie A resumed its campaign with renewed iy.
Lazio, currently top of the table, tiheir strong form, seg a 1-0 home win against Sampdoria thanks to a goal from Zarate. The win allowed them to maintain their position at the top of the standings.
Torino, however, wasn't as fortunate, managing only a 1-1 draw away tina.
The real surprises came from A and Roma.
Both Ai and Spalletti suffered heavy defeats in this round.
Roma, after taking an early lead away against Palermo, ceded three goals in a row and ultimately lost 3-1.
A fared er, losing 2-0 away to Genoa. Diego Milito sealed the win with a penalty in the closing moments of the match.
These back-to-back defeats from two of Italy's top clubs were shog.
A, in particur, had raised expectations after adding stars like Ronaldinho and Fmini over the summer. Yet their performances had worsened, with two secutive losses to start the season. Ai appeared to be irouble, looking increasingly helpless about the team's predit.
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In the weekend's other matches, Juventus faced Udi home. A goal from Amauri helped the Turin side secure three points.
Inter Min delivered a statement victory, showg their bolstered squad. The arrival of Lucio signifitly improved their defensive solidity, while Moutinho, Pandev, and Quaresma added firepower to the attack.
In the first half, goals from Moutinho and Quaresma put Inter 2-0 up. After the break, Pandev added ao plete a 3-0 win over ia. Inter's dominant performance earhem ahree points.
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Napoli, meanwhile, hosted Prandelli's Fiorentina at the San Paolo.
Fiorentina had been one of Serie A's stro sides over the past two seasons. Even as the away team, they fielded a fearsome attag trio of Mutu, Girdino, and Santana. Their midfield was led by Montolivo, with pyers like Jovetic, Osvaldo, and Pazzini avaible on the bench.
Fag such a talented side, Gao Shen didn't dare to take the match lightly.
However, with a midweek trip to Madrid looming for their Champions League opener against Real Madrid, Gao Shen opted to field a heavily rotated lineup, resting his South Ameri iionals entirely.
Even so, Napoli's squad depth ensured a petitive lineup:
Goalkeeper: Handanovic
Defense: Dossena, avaro, Benatia, Maggio
Midfield: Vidal and Nainggon as a double pivot, with Callejon, Hamsik, aens further up.
Striker: Pelle
This lineup featured Napoli's now-famous "Mohawk Trio" in midfield: Nainggon, Vidal, and Hamsik. Their ability to dominate and disrupt in the ter of the park was a major strength. However, their defensive positioning still left room for improvement, and their prote of the bae wasn't always reliable.
This fw was exposed ih minute. Girdino won a header, creating spautu to break through. The midfield duo failed to track back quickly enough, and the opportunistianian forounced on the sed ball ihe box, putting Fiorentina 1-0 up.
After halftime, Napoli came out with renewed iy, spurred on by Gao Shen's stern halftime talk.
The breakthrough came from Callejon, who made a determined run down the left and whipped in a cross. Hamsik timed his run perfectly and finished ically to equalize.
Gao Shen then made two key substitutions ih and 65th minutes.
First, Pastore came on for Mertens, with Callejon shifting to the right wing and Pastore taking the left. Five mier, Parejo repainggon, giving Napoli more trol in the midfield.
The impact was almost immediate.
In the 71st minute, Pastore carried the ball forward from the left and pyed a pass to Parejo. The Spaniard bined with Hamsik in a quie-two, threading the ball through to Maggio, whed into the box from the right and rifled a shot into the .
Napoli had turhe game around. 2-1!
Despite te pressure from Fiorentina, Napoli held on for the win, thanks to goals from Hamsik and Maggio.
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After two rounds, Napoli sat third iable with six points, behind Lazio and Inter Min, who both had identical records and a +5 goal difference.
Reas to Napoli's narrow victory were mixed.
Supporters praised their depth, noting how they had beaten a strong Fiorentina side with a heavily rotated squad. This, they argued, highlighted the team's strength and Gao Shen's smart preparation for the Champions League.
Critics, however, saw it as a risky gamble. They warhat bang domestid European itments could backfire, leaving Napoli empty-handed on both fronts.
At the post-match press ference, Gao Shen expressed his satisfa with the team's performance.
"A well-funing rotation system is key to peting effectively on multiple fronts," he stated.
He reiterated his belief that relying on just one lineup was unsustainable for a team peting in multiple petitions.
Some saw this as a subtle jab at Ai's struggles.
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Real Madrid had also been rotating their squad under Schuster.
Even after losing 2-1 to Deportivo La Coru?a in their league opener, Schuster fielded a heavily rotated lineup at home against newly promoted Numancia.
Apart from Van Nistelrooy, Robben, and Guti, most of the starters were either substitutes e pyers.
The rotation, however, nearly backfired.
Just six minutes into the game, Numancia shocked the Bernabéu by sg the opening goal. Although Van Nistelrooy assisted Guti to equalize shortly after, Numancia regaihe lead three mier.
It took ahree minutes for Real Madrid to draw level again, this time through a goal from Higuain.
Eight mier, Van Nistelrooy set up Van der Vaart to score Real Madrid's third. Ih minute, a Numancia own goal made it 4-2 to Madrid.
Despite the two-goal lead at halftime, the sed half exposed Real Madrid's vulnerabilities.
Numancia quickly pulled one baake it 4-3 and tio create dangerous ces, threatening to equalize. Although Madrid eventually held on for the win, their performance left much to be desired.
pared to the newly promoted side, Real Madrid's defensive frailties were gring.
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Gao Shen and his coag staff watched the game closely.
Although it was just a live broadcast and not an in-person observation, Gao Shen formed a preliminary impression of Real Madrid. He would wait for detailed reports from his scouts in Madrid to finalize his preparations, but he already had a general strategy in mind.
"First of all, Real Madrid's bae is a major ," Gao Shen noted during the team's analysis session. "Maretzelder, Pepe, and Salgado started in this game. I'd bet none of them will be in the lineup against us midweek."
Real Madrid also had Heinze, avaro, Ramos, Arbeloa, and Miguel Torres avaible. Marcelo was still young and defensively unreliable, while Pepe, though talented, remained insistent. Salgado, meanwhile, had long lost his starting spot, yet Schuster still relied on him. Metzelder's performances in Spain had fallen far short of his standards in Germany.
"They'll likely stick with a 4-4-2 formation," Gao Shen tinued. "But Van Nistelrooy's positioning in this game was iing."
The staff discussed how Van Nistelrooy, traditionally a penalty-box predator, had pyed deeper, ag more as a link-up forward. This allowed Higuain to occupy the tral attag spaces.
On the wings, Van der Vaart and Robben had been Real Madrid's standout performers, with Van der Vaart particurly impressing since his arrival.
"Guti also pyed well and should keep his spot," Carlo Ai added. "His partner will likely be either Diarra o. If it's Diarra, they'll have better bance. If it's Gago, it's a clear signal they pn to attack us."
Zidane, after some thought, offered his perspective. "At the Bernabéu, they'll look to take advantage of their home ground and start aggressively. We ck experience, so we o stay cautious early on."
He paused before adding, "Don't fet about De Red in midfield."
Gao Shen nodded. He hadn't fotten his former protégé, one of Real Madrid's emerging talents.
While Real Madrid had a strong squad, it cked superstars capable of single-handedly dominating games. With proper tactical preparation, they could be beaten.
The problem, as Gao Shen saw it, was Schuster himself.
He simply wasn't the kind of coach capable of unlog the full potential of this team.
Gao Shen agreed with Zidane's analysis.
Many of Napoli's pyers are making their Champions League debut and are essentially rookies. On top of that, they're going up against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu Stadium. Uhese circumstances, it's nearly impossible for Napoli to go all out against Real Madrid right from the start.
Napoli will almost certainly py cautiously at the beginning, and Real Madrid will likely try to capitalize on this.
If Schuster 't exploit su advahen he's not fit to coach Real Madrid.
Gao Shen had kept Rakitid Thiago Motta on the bench during the match against Fiorentina specifically to prepare for this game.
With Thiago Motta's wealth of experience, Rakitic's posure, and Biglia's presen midfield, Napoli's midfield would be solid and banced.
But as for how to defeat Real Madrid at the Bernabéu, Gao Shen still o think through his strategy carefully.
The assistants openly shared their thoughts and ideas.
That was when Gao Shen received a call from Madrid.
