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Chapter 330: Too Stretched!

  The game's pace was accelerating rapidly.

  As Hamsik sent a long ball forward, Napoli's frontline pyers surged forward in a synized sprint.

  While i dropped deep to create space, the two wingers, Di Maria and Sanchez, pushed to the forefront of the attack.

  After Di Maria caught up with the ball and effortlessly bypassed Materazzi with a series of feints and shimmies, Inter Min's goalkeeper Cesar could no longer hold his position. He abahe goal, rushing toward the left er of the six-yard box to close down the angle.

  But Di Maria, calm and posed, lifted a precise cross before Cesar could intercept.

  Inter defender rushed toward the ter to block, but Di Maria's pass sailed over him, heading toward the far post.

  There, Saormed in, chesting down Di Maria's pass gracefully. The ball bounced off his chest, hit the ground, and rebounded.

  Without waiting for Maxwell to catch up from behind, Saruck the ball ly with his foot.

  The shot sped past Cesar.

  Despite Cesar's desperate dive to save it, stretg every muscle in his body, he could do nothing to stop the ball from smashing into the back of the .

  "GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"

  "In the eighth minute, Napoli strikes again! It's 2-0!!!"

  "My goodness! Nobody, absolutely nobody, could have predicted su explosive start to this match. I doubt even Gao Shen himself could have dreamed of this sario."

  Sanchez, eted from his goal, turned and poi Di Maria in the distance, ughing as he backpedaled in celebration. Di Maria, grinning widely, sprioward Sanchez a into his arms.

  i, Hamsik, and the rest of the Napoli pyers joined in, f a jubint huddle around the two.

  The entire Sao Paulo stadium erupted into deafening cheers from Napoli fans.

  Some supporters, who were still finding their seats after the first goal, were stuo realize they'd missed another.

  The sheer speed and efficy of Napoli's offense left everyone in awe.

  Gao Shen, pag the sidelines, could hardly believe his eyes.

  If the first goal caught Inter Min off guard, then this sed goal was nothing short of a shock. Even Gao Shen himself hadn't anticipated this sequence of events.

  her had Napoli's pyers. The opportunity had appeared so suddenly that they barely had time to process it.

  The sequence began when Mai lost the ball to Biglia, and Hamsik immediately intercepted Mai's pass attempt. Everyone knows that losing the ball in midfield is dangerous, it directly fuels terattacks.

  It was so ued that Gao Shen didn't reatil he saw Sanchez's shot hit the . Only then did he cp his hands and shout loudly in approval, his excitement palpable.

  He had envisioned a fast start and perhaps an early goal, but to score twice so quickly and so decisively? That was beyond his wildest expectations.

  "Hahaha!"

  The people around Gao Shen couldn't help but ugh at the coach's delighted, almost devilish ughter. But nobody mi was iious. The entire Napoli bench was buzzing with excitement.

  "We see even Gao Shen himself is surprised by how things are unfolding!"

  "Absolutely. This game is exceeding everyone's expectations, especially given Inter Min's form aation as Serie A leaders. What we're witnessing tonight is hard to prehend."

  "Gao Sheioned earlier this season that Napoli would peak in form by te February or early March. Judging by their energy and coordination tonight, it seems his pnning is paying off."

  "Di Maria has been absolutely phenomenal so far. First, he dribbled past multiple defenders with ease. Then, he pletely dismantled Materazzi for the sed goal."

  "Oh, wait, we're seeing Inter Min pyers signaling to the referee. They're asking to pause the game."

  "Materazzi is down in the penalty area, clutg his groin. He looks to be in some pain."

  "Let's look at the repy. During Di Maria's sequence of feints and dire ges, Materazzi's movements looked... awkward. It seems his legs were overstretched, and he may have pulled something."

  The live broadcast cut to the Inter Min bench, where Mani was visibly fuming. He gestured furiously at his pyers, clearly frustrated and disappointed with their performance. His facial expressions and body nguage screamed of someone on the verge of losing trol.

  For Mani, this game was supposed to be a must-wi here they were, down two goals within the opening minutes. What could he do now?

  And to top it off, Materazzi was injured. What would happen if they lost one of their key defenders so early?

  "There's an old saying," Zidane remarked dryly from the stands. "If you overreach, you're bound to slip up."

  The Fren's words were devoid of emotion. His personal history with Materazzi still lingered, making it hard to feel any sympathy for the defender's plight.

  "Di Maria has beeacur in this game," Valdano chimed in. "He's already shown more sistend fir than Gervinho did st season."

  Sacodded in agreement. "What's even more impressive is his tactical execution. It's clear why Gao Shen has prioritized Di Maria and Callejon ervinho. Their style fits perfectly with his system."

  As an analyst c every Napoli game this season, Sacchi had bee intimately familiar with the team. Writing ns and analyzing Napoli's tactical brilliance had turned into a lucrative endeavor for the Italian legend.

  "If Inter Mi adjust soon, they're going to colpse pletely," Sacchi tinued. "Right nooli has all the momentum, and Inter looks lost."

  For Napoli, the game seemed entirely in their trol. But for Inter Min, the stakes were dire. A tinued ck of adjustments would only lead to further disaster.

  Fortunately for Mani, Materazzi's injury wasn't serious. After a brief sultation with the team doctor, he was ba his feet. However, the brief stoppage granted Inter Min some mueeded time troup.

  Taking advantage of the break, Mani called several pyers to the sideline, providing quistrus in an attempt to stabilize the game.

  Fao Shen and Napoli, there wasn't much they could do about the dey. Acg Materazzi of faking an injury wasn't an option, as the defender had clearly been in disfort.

  This moment revealed Inter Min's experiehey were cleverly using the rules to their advantage.

  The game resumed.

  Napoli maintaiheir high pressing, repeatedly creating ces.

  But Inter Min had adjusted, adopting a more servative approach. Their defensive line and midfielders packed the final third, with even Stankovic droppio help defend. Ibrahimovid Suazo remained up front, ready for terattacks.

  Napoli's relentless attack tinued, with Di Maria, Sanchez, and Hamsik driving forward and i wreaking havo the box. Yet despite numerous ces, Inter's disciplined defending and Cesar's heroics kept the scoreli 2-0.

  By the 20th minute, Inter Min had begun to settle, finally halting Napoli's relentless wave of attacks.

  "Napoli's attack is overwhelming!" one entator excimed. "It's been 20 minutes, and Inter Min hasn't managed a single shot! They haven't even e close to threatening Napoli's penalty area."

  "This is unbelievable!"

  "Napoli's high pressing is suffog Inter Min. They're pletely boxed in!"

  Just as the entators marveled at Napoli's dominance, Inter unched a terattack.

  Ibrahimovic dropped deep to bih Mai, who sent a diagonal ball behind Napoli's defense. Suazo broke free from his marker and chased the pass, poised to ehe penalty area. But just as he did, David Luiz sprinted bad executed a perfectly timed sliding tackle.

  Suazo tumbled ihe box, but the ball was ly intercepted by David Luiz.

  Inter Min's pyers protested, demanding a foul, but referee Rizzoli waved py on, indig a challenge.

  "From the repy, David Luiz's tackle recise, but it was also incredibly risky. A fra of a sed ter, and it could've been a penalty," the entator noted.

  "This Braziliaer-back has nerves of steel."

  The ball was cleared, and Napoli unched anhtning-fast terattack. Hamsik surged forward and id the ball off to Di Maria, whose attempted breakthrough past Materazzi was finally blocked.

  The deflected ball ricocheted dangerously toward Inter's own goal, but Cesar reacted swiftly, tipping it over the crossbar to avoid an own goal.

  Napoli tio apply pressure, creating more ces, but Inter's pact defensive shape kept them at bay. For the first 30 minutes, Inter failed tister a single shot on target, leaving fans and analysts alike stunned.

  "Inter Min's performance has been shog," a entator remarked. "Is this really the Serie A leader?"

  Even Gao Shen appeared surprised on the sidelines.

  Was Napoli simply in incredible form tonight? Or was Inter Min's performance simply too stretched?

  Despite their struggles, Inter's defense refused to pletely crumble. For all of Napoli's domihe scoreline remained 2-0.

  Until the 33rd minute, when Inter finally mao mount a threatening terattack. Suazo timed his run perfectly, breaking the offside trap to receive Ibrahimovic's pass. As he charged into the box, Handanovic raced off his line.

  Diving at Suazo's feet he penalty spot, the goalkeeper smothered the ball before the striker could shoot. Suazo, uo stop, tripped over Handanovid crashed to the ground.

  Inter Min's protests for a penalty fell on deaf ears.

  ***

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