September 21st, afternoon, Stadio Friuli.

  Gao Shen stood in front of the visiting team's coag booth, his brow furrowed, silently watg the game.

  The scoreboard still read 0-0.

  Napoli had failed to break Udinese's defense in an away match that roving far more challenging than expected.

  Seventy minutes had passed, and the deadlock remained.

  Gao Shen made two substitutions in quick succession. Pastore came on for Callejon, while Rakitic repced Hamsik.

  Callejon, who had performed well as a substitute in the midweek match against Real Madrid, struggled to replicate that form after being included iarting lihis time. It was likely due to the physical toll of the ret bad-forth schedule.

  Hamsik's performance had been acceptable, but it failed t the desired impact.

  Udinese, under head coach Pasquale Marino, employed a 3-5-2 formation. Although it was nominally a 3-5-2, the two wing-backs frequently dropped deep, turning it into a more defensive 5-3-2.

  This setup had been very effective for Mazzarri's Sampdoria the previous season, and now Marino was looking to replicate its success with Udinese.

  As a result, this match was a grind.

  Pying at home, Udinese sought to engage Napoli in a high-paced battle of attrition from the very first whistle. It was clear they inteo exhaust their oppos.

  Napoli, of course, were not willing to back down, and the game quickly turned into a fierce test.

  While Napoli held a slight edge in possession and trol, Udinese posed a stant threat on the terattack.

  By this stage of the match, the shot tally was 14-10 in Napoli's favor, but the difference was marginal.

  Gao Shen's substitutions reflected his tactical adjustments. Bringing on Pastore and Rakitic was a clear move tthen midfield trol, improve passing, and utilize Pastore's ability to dribble and carry the ball forward.

  The idea was to break through Udinese's relentless midfield press and solid deferucture.

  …

  Rakitic's first tribution after ing on was a defeackle, which sent Udinese midfielder G?khan Iumbling to the ground.

  Inler, a Swiss iional who previously pyed for FC Zurich, had faced Rakitic often during their time in the Swiss Super League. Inler pyed for Zurich, while Rakitic represeheir rivals, Basel. The two knew each other well.

  After being taken down, Inler extended a hand, and Rakitic helped him back to his feet.

  But the referee still brandished a yellow card at the Croatian midfielder.

  Gao Shen shook his head in frustration.

  "Not even a minute och, and he's already booked," he muttered.

  "Inler's a clever pyer," Zidane remarked from the bench. "He kly what he was doing, baiting Rakitito that foul."

  Even if Gao Shen and Zidane could see through Inler's antics, the referee's decision couldn't be reversed. The yellow card stood.

  …

  Despite the setback, the substitutions began to pay dividends.

  Pastore was especially dangerous with the ball at his feet, repeatedly uling Udinese's defeh his dribbles and incisive movement.

  Ih minute, Napoli's persistence finally bore fruit.

  After receiving a pass from Vidal on the left, Pastore cut ih the ball, driving diagonally toward the edge of the penalty area. As he approached the byline, he spotted an opportunity and delivered a precise cutback toward the penalty spot.

  Pelle, Napoli's t Italian striker, trolled the ball with his back to goal, pivoted, and calmly id it off to the advang Rakitic.

  The Croatian midfielder, uerred by his earlier booking, charged forward and struck the ball with precision and power, sending it flying past the stunned Udinese goalkeeper Berardi.

  The ball hit the back of the .

  Napoli had taken the lead!

  Udinese's defenders stood frozen, uo react to the rapid sequence of passes and movement.

  The home side immediately made substitutions, looking tain trol and mount a ebaapoli, meanwhile, shifted to a more defensive posture, focused on proteg their slim advantage.

  Despite Udinese's best efforts, the scoreline remained unged.

  Napoli secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory, with Rakitic's goal proving decisive.

  …

  Elsewhere in Serie A, the league's top teams tio rack up victories in this round.

  Roma dispatched Reggina with a 3-0 win, while Juventus scraped a narrow 1-0 victory away at Cagliari.

  Inter Min triumphed 3-1 over Torino in an away fixture, and A cruised past Lazio 4-1 at home.

  After three rounds, the Serie A table began to take shape.

  Inter Min remai the top, tied with Napoli at nine points apieapoli, however, trailed on goal difference.

  Juventus followed in third pce with seven points, while Lazio, Palermo, and others rounded out the top spots.

  Despite their resounding victory over Lazio, A had only three points from their first three matches, just enough to lift them out of the relegation zone.

  …

  The fourth round of Serie A kicked off three days ter, in midweek.

  In one of the first matches, Roma suffered a surprising 3-1 defeat away to Genoa. Argeriker Diego Milito stole the show, sg twice to propel Genoa to victory and announce himself as a star in Serie A after impressing in La Liga.

  Meanwhile, Inter Min hosted Lecce at the San Siro. Despite dominating possession and creating numerous ces, Iruggled to break down Lecce's disciplined defeup.

  In Italy, pying against tightly defeeams is always a challenge. Visiting sides often prioritize defense over attack, making it difficult for stroeams to impose themselves at home.

  Lecce stuck to their deferategy, frustrating Mourinho's men until the 79th minute, when Cruz finally broke the deadlock with a decisive goal.

  Inter Min's narrow 1-0 win allowed them to retain their position at the top of the table.

  Juventus, however, stumbled. After Amauri gave them an early lead at home against ia, the visitors equalized in the sed half, resulting in a 1-1 draw.

  A tiheir resurgence, defeating Reggina 2-1 away with goals from Borriello and Pato.

  Napoli returo their home ground to face a determined Palermo side.

  Hamsik opehe sg for Napoli ih mihe match remaiense and evenly banced until the 75th minute, when i doubled Napoli's lead.

  However, Palermo cwed their way bato the game in the 81st minute when David Luiz ceded a penalty. Miccoli stepped up and verted it with ease.

  Despite the te scare, Napoli held on for a 2-1 victory.

  …

  The fifth round began with Juventus traveling to Sampdoria, where they pyed out a goalless 0-0 draw. Mazzarri's Sampdoria proved too defensively solid for the Biao break down.

  Roma, back at home, cimed a 2-0 victory over Atanta thanks to goals from Panucd Vuic.

  Napoli, meanwhile, faewly promoted Bologna in an away fixture. Bologna, under head coach Daniele Arrigoni, had struggled in their first four matches, managing only one win and three losses. They were nguishing in 18th pce, desperately fighting against relegation.

  Arrigoni opted for a defensive 4-3-2-1 Christmas tree formation, borrowing inspiration from Ai's system, with three holding midfielders anch the setup.

  Yet just nine minutes in, Napoli found themselves trailing.

  avaro ceded a penalty after fouling Amoruso, and Di Vaio verted it to give Bologna an early lead.

  Gao Shen was visibly displeased on the sidelines, questioning the referee's decision.

  "Two penalties in two secutive matches? This is absurd," he muttered.

  But Napoli quickly responded.

  Three mier, Vidal scored to level the game. Ahree minutes after that, Pastore tched onto an assist from Maggio and scored to turch around.

  Before halftime, Pastore struck again, this time assisted by Pelle, making it 3-1 to Napoli.

  In the sed half, Nainggon added a fourth, with Vidal providing the assist.

  Napoli ultimately secured a dominant 4-1 victory over Bologna, powered by an impressive performance from their rotation pyers.

  …

  The highlight of the fifth round was the Min Derby at the San Siro. A hosted Inter Min in a match that captured the attention of fans across Europe.

  Mourinho's Inter boasted a superior lineup and showed their io dominate, even on "away" turf.

  Despite this, it was A who struck first.

  Ih minute, Kaka received a long ball from Pirlo, glided past a defender on the right, and delivered a perfect cross into the box. Ronaldinho met it with a powerful header, outmusg Cambiasso and pg the ball into the er of the .

  The goal was a moment of brilliahat left Inter's goalkeeper, Cesar, helpless.

  Mourinho responded aggressively in the sed half, making multiple substitutions tthen Inter's attack.

  Ai, however, remained resolute, reinf A's defensive shape to preserve the lead.

  Inter pushed relentlessly, dominating possession and piling on the pressure.

  In stoppage time, Quaresma narrowly missed the target with a spectacur volley. Moments ter, Mai delivered a cross from the right to the back post, where Cruz slipped free of his marker and headed the ball past Abbiati.

  The matded 1-1, thanks to Cruz's st-gasp equalizer.

  Meanwhile, Napoli's 4-1 victory over Bologna propelled them to the top of the Serie A standings, overtaking Inter Min by two points.

  The upset sent shockwaves across Italy.

  It was clear nooli were no longer just an up-and-ing team.

  But the real test awaited in the midweek Champions League fixture.

  ***

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