October 29th, the ninth round of Serie A.
The match began under challenging ditions. A heavy downpour had left the pitch waterlogged and the humidity unbearable. It felt as if the stadium had been soaked in a washing mae, with water pooling everywhere.
The slippery field created challenges for both teams, but Gao Shen quickly adapted his tactics. Before the match, he instructed Napoli to py a more dired cise style, minimizing risks in such ditions.
Reggina, pying away from home, struggled to adjust from the start. Under Napoli's relentless high-pressure defehey repeatedly made errors.
In just the seventh minute, i and Hamsik bined beautifully he edge of the penalty area with a quie-two. Breaking through Reggina's defensive line, i slotted the ball into the , giving Napoli an early lead.
1-0!
Nine mier, Di Maria broke down the left fnk and delivered a precise diagonal pass behind him. Hamsik, perfectly timing his run to beat the offside trap, found himself in a one-ouation with the goalkeeper. Calmly, he drew the goalkeeper out and passed to i, who was unmarked.
The Uruguayan striker made no mistake, tapping the ball into the empty .
2-0! i had doubled Napoli's lead and secured his bra just 16 minutes.
Eight mier, Reggina attempted a terattack, but Biglia intercepted the ball near Napoli's 30-yard area. Without hesitation, he unched a long pass to the front.
i, showing incredible awareness, chested the ball down and id it off to Sanchez, who squared it to Hamsik. The Slovak calmly struck the ball into the .
3-0!
With less than half an hour pyed, Napoli were already dominating with a three-goal lead.
Reggina responded by tightening their defense, while Napoli pyed a more measured game, trolling possession and serving energy.
In the sed half, the onsught tinued.
In the 63rd minute, Napoli unched a lightning-fast terattack. Vargas sprinted down the left wing, received a precise pass from Di Maria, and whipped a cross into the box.
i, perfectly positioned, calmly finished from six yards out to plete his hat trick.
4-0!
The score remained unged until the final whistle.
Napoli celebrated a anding victory gina, maintaining their position at the top of Serie A with a decisive win.
---
Elsewhere in Serie A:
Juventus secured a 2-1 away victory over Bologna.
Lazio came from behind to beat Chievo 2-1 on the road.
A edged Siena 2-1 at home.
Roma defeated Sampdoria 2-0 in the capital.
And then there was Inter Min…
Mourinho's side pyed away at Fiorentina and could only manage a goalless draw.
Yes, Inter Min dropped points again.
---
Mourinho's tactical blunders from the previous weekend were still haunting him.
Before the Fiorentina match, both Adriano and Kroos were handed suspensions, creating tension ier dressing room. Even Inter chairman Moratti had to step in to mediate and reassure the pyers. Despite his public bag of Mourinho, the problems were clear.
Och, things didn't improve. Fiorentina, missing key pyers like Girdino and Mutu due to injury, adopted a high-tempo approader Prandelli. The strategy left Inter Min uled.
Although Inter domihe first half, they couldn't vert their ces. Ibrahimovic was out of form, and the rest of the team seemed lethargic.
Adding fuel to the fire, Prandelli accused the referee of favoritism after the match. He poio an i in the first half where Burdisso pulled Pazzini down in the penalty area, which should have resulted in a penalty and a red card. The referee waved py on, and Inter escaped unpunished.
In the sed half, Fiorentina grew bolder. Sensing Inter's ck of fidend cohesion, Prandelli pushed his team forward. The Rossoneri found themselves on the back foot, struggling to mount meaningful terattacks.
The matded 0-0, and with this draw, Inter Min slipped four points behind Napoli in the Serie A standings.
---
In his post-matterview, Mourinho remained defiant.
"The current standings don't matter. What matters is who's at the top after 38 rounds," he said, hinting that the title race was far from over.
But fao Shen, the draw was a wele relief.
The four-point lead gave Napoli a crucial buffer, easing some of the pressure.
"If Inter had stayed just a point or two behind us, the tension would've been suffog," Gao Shen admitted. "But now, we have some breathing room."
---
Napoli sat atop Serie A with 25 points, followed by Inter Min with 21.
Udinese, in third pce with 20 points, art of a tight cluster of teams. From sed-pced Io ninth-pced ia, only six points separated eight teams.
The petition was fierce.
Meanwhile, Roma, despite their strong performances in the Champions League, nguished in 13th pestically. Sampdoria, who had sho season, were floundering in 16th pce, just two points above the bottom.
"The bance of power in Serie A is shifting," Gao Shen observed. "Everaditional giants, Roma, Juventus, Min, and Inter—are struggling with serious issues."
Roma, in particur, faced internal turmoil. Spalletti had resorted to draian measures, fining his pyers to the training ground and allowing them only one hour per day with their families.
Juventus remained pgued by injuries, thanks to Ranieri and na's questiohods.
A, despite their star-studded roster, cked the energy and iy of years past. Pyers like Kaka and Ronaldinho still had moments of brilliance, but they were clearly past their peak.
Inter Min, however, were in turmely due to Mourinho's abrasive style. Gao Shen suspected Mourinho was attempting to reshape the squad in his image, but the process had left the locker room divided.
"If this backfires, Inter could pletely implode," Gao Shen thought.
---
Amid Napoli's success, challenges remained.
The strain of peting on two fronts—Serie A and the Champions League—was beginning to take its toll. With Handanovic rec and squad depth stretched thin, Gao Shen o manage his resources carefully.
After discussing the situation with his coag staff, Gao Shen made a bold decision.
"Ich against A, we're rotating the squad," he decred.
The coag staff nodded in agreement. While risky, the move would allooli to rest key pyers ahead of more critical fixtures.
"I'll give Ai a gift this weekend," Gao Shen said with a sly grin. "But whether he make use of it is up to him."
---
November 2nd, San Siro Stadium, Min.
The tenth round of Serie A saoli face A away.
From the opening whistle, Napoli pyed aggressively, imposing a frantic pa the match.
Min, uo sutensity, struggled to adapt. Napoli's relentless high pressihe Rossoneri scrambling and disanized.
In the 21st minute, Benatia unched a long ball from he ter line, finding Pelle in the box. The Italian striker outmuscled Bonera and he ball down to Hamsik.
The Slovak midfielder's initial shot arried by Abbiati, but Callejon pounced on the rebound. His follow-up effort was blocked by Favalli, only for the ball to fall to Mertens.
With posure beyond his years, Mertens curled the ball into the top er.
1-0! Napoli led.
---
After taking the lead, A began to find their rhythm. Ronaldinho and Kaka, showing fshes of their brilliaook trol of the game.
Ronaldinho's solo runs caused stant trouble, eventually earning Maggio a yellow card.
Just before halftime, Ronaldinho drew another foul from Maggio, resulting in a sed yellow and a red card. Napoli were reduced to ten men.
In the sed half, Gao Shen switched to a defensive terattag strategy.
Despite their numerical advantage, A struggled to break dooli's disciplined defense.
Finally, ih minute, Ronaldinho's pass found Kaka, whose shot struainggon's hand. The referee poio the spot.
Kaka verted the penalty to equalize.
1-1.
The matded in a draw, but Gao Shen wasn't disappointed. In fact, he was grinning as he shook hands with Ai.
"It's not that I didn't give you a ce," Gao Shen quipped. "I gave you the ce, but you just couldn't take it!"
Ai could only smile wryly. "A ce? Do I still have one?"
