Mani was growing increasingly restless!

  This was the 29th round of Serie A, a midweek match where Inter Min faced Genoa in an away game. From the very beginning, everyone could see that something was off.

  In a particur attack from the home team, Genoa midfielder Juric passed the ball into the penalty area. Striker Sculli id it back, and Argentine forward Figueroa stopped the ball, turned, and volleyed toward the goal. The ball went just wide of the far post.

  This near-miss infuriated Mani on the sidelines. He was seen angrily yelling at his pyers, visibly uo keep his posure.

  "The head coach of Inter Min appeared extremely agitated, and the fourth official on the sidelines had to repeatedly remind him to calm down."

  "This outburst is rgely due to the fact that earlier in another important Serie A matapoli defeated Fiorentina 2-0 at home. While the match was fairly evenly tested, there were no surprises ie."

  "This result put Inter Min in a very unfavorable position. To keep pace with Napoli in the league standings, they had to beat Genoa."

  "But Inter Min, from the outset, seemed rushed and impatient."

  Inter had two det opportunities in quick succession.

  First, Suazo made a low cross into the box, but Ibrahimovic was slow to react, allowing the Genoa goalkeeper to clear it.

  The sed ce came when Suazo made a breakthrough through the middle, setting up Ibrahimovic for a le shot, but the Swede sent the ball flying high and wide.

  Ibrahimovic's impatience was clear, but it wasn't just him, it was the eer Min team.

  Ih minute, Genoa unched a quick terattack. Juric's initial shot was blocked by Cesar, but former A striker Borriello executed a stunning overhead kick to open the sg fenoa.

  The goal igensions och, and tempers began to fre.

  Referee Rocchi failed to maintain trol of the game, and the match quickly spiraled into chaos.

  Ih minute, Cambiasso made a precise through ball to initiate a terattack. Suazo, perfectly timing his run, broke through Genoa's defensive line and scored a one-on-one equalizer for Inter Min.

  But just two mier, Puese midfielder Pelé itted an elbow foul on an oppo and received a yellow card.

  Genoa capitalized on the momentum, ung relentless terattacks that put immense pressure on Inter's defense.

  Four minutes after receiving his first yellow card, Pelé was again overly aggressive in a challenge on Genoa's standout midfielder Juric. The referee had no choice but to issue him a sed yellow card, resulting in his dismissal from the game.

  Mani erupted in fury on the sidelines, shouting and cursing until the referee showed him a yellow card as well.

  ---

  In the sed half, Genht on ariker tthen their offensive pressure.

  Taking advantage of their numerical superiority, the home team unched wave after wave of attacks on Inter Min's goal.

  Mani attempted several substitutions in an effort to stabilize the game, but Inter's pyers were increasingly frazzled, losing posure and pying defensively.

  Toward the end of the match, Mani made a bold move by bringing on Cruz in an attempt to fight fire with fire against Genoa's offense.

  But nothing worked.

  In the end, Inter Min could only manage a 1-1 draw away against Genoa.

  ---

  At the post-match press ference, Mani publicly shed out at referee Rocchi, acg him of bias against Inter Min. Mani even listed past grievances between Rocchi and the team, such as a previous match against Sampdoria where Materazzi and Vieira received yellow cards for minor fouls.

  "Everyone see that his refereeing standards for us are not the same as for other teams!" Mani argued.

  The subtext was clear: Inter Min was being unfairly treated.

  Adding fuel to the fire, some Genoa fans held up a banner before the end of the match that read:

  "League title? Game over!"

  It was a mockery, insinuating that Inter Min's hopes for the championship were dead.

  Napoli's win and Inter's draw meant that Napoli now led the Serie A standings by two points.

  When asked about the banner, Mani dismissed the cim with disdain.

  "The championship race is over?" Mani sneered. "That's the most ignorant joke I've ever heard. There are still nine rounds left in the league. We're only two points behind. Everything is still possible."

  Mani emphasized that Inter Min's priority was tain their fideabilize the pyers' emotions, and focus on training and preparation.

  "I believe we win every remaining match, and Napoli will make mistakes. We'll close the gap and overtake them!" Mani decred with determination.

  Inter Miainly had the strength to do so.

  ---

  After the match, Sky Sports aired a Serie A analysis program where entators strongly criticized Mani's remarks.

  "Is this really about the red card?"

  "No, absolutely not!"

  "This is an Inter Min team packed with superstars, but today in Genoa, they pyed like a sed-rate amateur team, barely holding on defensively."

  "The red card happened ih minute, but look at the game stats: Inter Min had only four total shots, just one on target, and scored a single goal. Genoa, oher hand, had 21 total shots, six on target, and 67% possession."

  "Anyone who looks at these stats see the truth."

  The media piled on, eg Sky Sports' se.

  Ever since Gao Shen had pointed out the corretioween running distance, ball possession, and pass success rate, Italian media outlets had begun analyzing games with a greater focus on these metrics.

  In this match, Inter Min's pass success rate was a mere 69.7%, and their ball possession was just 33%.

  These numbers were abysmal—on par with relegation-level teams in Serie A!

  Mani had fielded a strong lineup, including Zai, Cambiasso, and the promising Puese midfielder Pelé. Up front were Sori, Suazo, and Ibrahimovic. With such a roster, there was no reason for their statistics to be this poor.

  While the red card certainly pyed a role, it wasn't the whole story.

  "Let's be ho Inter Min was already being outpyed before the red card. Suazo's goal was their only threatening atta the first half. What more o be said?"

  The media was unvinced by Mani's excuses, beling them as nothing more than sophistry.

  The truth was that under Mani's ma, Inter Min cked creativity, anization, and fighting spirit.

  "Gao Shen is absolutely right, this Inter Min team is lost!"

  ---

  In the wake of the draw, Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Inter's ma was deeply disappointed and had begun pnning for Mani's rept.

  The neer also revealed that tensions had fred once agaiween Mani and Ibrahimovic during training. Ibrahimovic set because his goal tally had been surpassed by Genoa's Borriello and Napoli's i.

  "The Swedish striker believes it's all Mani's fault!"

  Before their match against Juventus, Mani refused to attend the pre-match press ference, leaving it to assistant coach Mihajlovi? instead.

  Acc to reports, this was a directive from Inter's ma, who feared that Mani's current temper might cause him to say something reckless and create further issues for the team.

  ---

  "It's Ranieri's time to shine now!"

  After reading the reports on Inter Min's pre-match press ference, Gao Shen couldn't help but smile.

  Mani's inability to face the media roof enough of the team's struggles.

  At a time like this, the coaeeded to project calm, fidence, and posure to both the media and the pyers. Instead, Mani seemed pletely out of trol.

  "It's uandable," mented with a bitter smile. "He's always been arrogant, aking us seriously. That 5-0 defeat we handed him pletely shattered his fidenow that you've publicly exposed his vulnerabilities, it's no wonder he's falling apart."

  Gao Shen had grown increasingly adept at pying psychological warfare.

  The timing of his verbal attaani had been impeccable, delivering not only an immediate blow but also ongoing damage.

  "Mani is now in a position where anything he says will backfire. The media will magnify his every word, yet he 't stay sileher. It's a lose-lose situation."

  Carlo nodded in agreement, adding, "You've effectively phe idea in everyone's mind that Inter is in chaos. Even his decision to skip the press ference sends the wrong message, making the team seem disanized."

  "The key is that Inter's internal issues gave me the opportunity," Gao Shen replied with a smile. "If Mani had a good handle on the locker room, none of this would've worked."

  Carlo hesitated for a moment before asking, "Do you think Ranieri ha?"

  Gao Shen shook his head. "It's hard to say. Ranieri is too servative, and with the race for fourth pce so tight, he might be relut to take risks."

  "That being said, if Juventus beats Ihe narrative could ge drastically." Gao Shen chuckled, clearly enjoying the uability

  of football.

  Gao Shen relished this feeling of uainty, where the future was filled with possibilities.

  "In any case, our foeeds to remain on ourselves," he said, his tourning serious. "The pyers have been overly excited these past few days, getting a bit carried away. We o remind them to stay grounded."

  Carlo nodded. "I'll keep an eye on it. They've been ag like the title's already ours, but it's way too early for that kind of mi."

  Napoli's lead was fragile just two points and Gao Shen uood that maintaining focus and discipline was the key to survival ile race.

  "We 't let them lose foow," Gao Shen emphasized. "If we start to slip up, the momentum we've built will vanish in an instant."

  Carlo gave a determined nod. "Don't worry, I'll make sure they stay sharp."