“This is a great opportunity for Inter Milan to equalize the score. Juan’s interception in the front field won a penalty kick for the team! George Wood’s blunder was terrible. His performance in this game started off well and just went downhill. When faced with Inter Milan’s frenzy of interceptions, he did not play well, letting Juan seize this opportunity.”
The commentator chattered incessantly. Both the Inter Milan fans and Nottingham Forest fans wanted him to shut up.
“He’s still young.” The guest commentator made a very apt comment on Wood’s performance.
“Young man…” Twain sighed as he looked at Wood standing outside the penalty area. “He had to go and intercept that ball. All he had to do was to block at the back. Piqué was already blocking Juan’s shooting angle and forward route in front. By the time our defense had regrouped, Inter Milan would not have had the chance. He’s really… Oh, God.”
“Think about what to do next, Tony.”
“What else is there to do? Continue to play like this… A draw is fine for us, but it would be so nice if we could win.” Twain’s voice became softer, and he eventually stopped talking. He just stared at the penalty area.
Adriano carefully placed the football, and then stepped back. The referee carefully checked that the unrelated players had exited the penalty area before he whistled to signal the kickoff.
After the whistle had sounded, the noisy Meazza suddenly quieted down.
Adriano ran and energetically volleyed a shot!
“GOOOAL!! Adriano!”
The football slammed into the net. Adriano shook his fists and shouted.
The Meazza Stadium erupted in earthshattering cheers.
“Inter Milan equalizes the score. Both teams are now back on the same starting line!”
Inter Milan’s players rushed to the corner flag to celebrate the goal. The Forest team had already walked towards the center circle, waiting for the kickoff to restart.
※※※
This goal greatly boosted Inter Milan’s morale. Following that, the situation did not change much in the game. The visiting Nottingham Forest played under pressure from Inter Milan. The game became passive for the visiting team, which was utterly dominated by the home team.
The statistics for the two teams’ ball possession rate were displayed at the bottom of the screen: Inter Milan had 69%, Nottingham Forest had 31%.
Furthermore, this was not the most extreme situation. At its lowest point, Nottingham Forest’s ball possession rate dropped to 27%!
The idea that “the result is more important than the process,” which Twain had always insisted on, was exemplified most vividly in this game. It seemed that he was more conservative than the Italian footballers.
If he were to coach a La Liga team, it was estimated that he would have been ousted many times. However, in Nottingham Forest, the Forest fans were eager to be champions again after a downfall of twenty-odd years. They just wanted to have a manager who would pursue victories by hook or by crook and lead them back to glory.
Under Inter Milan’s frenzied attacks, the Nottingham Forest defenders were strained and on high alert. There were several near-misses with Inter Milan. All the Nottingham Forest fans who were watching the game on the television must have had their hearts in their throats.
Nottingham Forest tried to fight back, but Albertini was very closely marked by Inter Milan, which also took turns using foul tactics. Cambiasso was the first to foul. After a while, it was either Juan or Materazzi. In short, they would not let him take the ball comfortably and on the other hand, they also shared the risk of getting a card. After all, if Cambiasso was the only one who fouled, he was likely to receive two yellow cards and be sent off.
Forest did well in the first half because Albertini controlled the team’s rhythm. He knew when to attack, how to attack, when to defend, and how to defend. Everyone on the Forest team was familiar with Albertini’s passing routes on the field and had a rapport. It was very normal for them to be ahead of a team like Inter Milan.
But now that Albertini could not control the rhythm, the Forest team would naturally be suppressed by their opponents.
Inter Milan attacked ferociously amid the cheering of their home fans. Twain had already stood up from his seat. The current situation made him unable to sit still.
※※※
“Adriano shoots! Edwin van der Sar firmly holds the ball under his body.”
After the goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar pounced on his power shot from the penalty area, he did not rush to serve the ball. Instead, he pressed the football down and rested on the ground to allow his wildly beating heart to calm down. He was almost a depiction of the entire team. Under Inter Milan’s oppressive offense and defense, almost everyone had to brace their nerves to deal with the opponent’s every attack. They did not dare to slack off in the slightest bit.
Next, Nottingham Forest’s counterattack hastily came to an end. Anelka’s long shot did not cause any trouble to Júlio César, Inter Milan’s goalkeeper, due to Samuel’s interference. Inter Milan was in control of the game. Their fans were not worried about their defense at all.
Although Twain had insisted that the team played a defensive counterattack tactic, the current situation was not defensive counterattacking. They were so pressed by their opponents that they could only play defense and could not counter. They could not continue like this. He turned to ask Kerslake, “How long has it been?”
“It’s been seventeen minutes in the second half.”
“This is not working. We have to make some changes. I hope it’s not too late. David, let Arteta warm up. We need him.”
Kerslake nodded and got up to summon Arteta.
Twain turned and continued to stare at the field. He thought about what specific task to arrange for Arteta after he returned from his warm-up.
At that time, the Inter Milan midfielder intercepted Albertini’s ball and launched another attack. Twain thought as he watched that if Arteta was on the field, he would be able to share the pressure Albertini was under and the opponents would not be able to intercept the ball so easily.
As he was still deep in thought, Cambiasso, facing George Wood, cleverly chose to change direction on time and passed the ball Figo on the flank. Just when the Forest team thought that Figo would attack from the flank, he passed the ball to the middle, to Cambiasso who rushed up!
George Wood gave chase, and after attracting his attention, Cambiasso passed the football to Adriano in the penalty area.
The Brazilian striker leaned against another Brazilian player, Pepe. He did not choose to pass the football to Cambiasso, who continued to rush forward. Instead, he took advantage of the fact that Nottingham Forest’s defensive line was currently focused on the Argentine defensive midfielder. He suddenly turned and struck!
Even Pepe did not think that Adriano would choose to force a shot under those circumstances. The football drilled between his legs!
Edwin van der Sar’s line of sight was blocked by Pepe. It was far too late when he wanted to make the save.
“Adriano! Twice in a row! That was so beautiful! The perfect combination of teamwork and personal technique! The tables have turned for the leading team and Nottingham Forest is in trouble!”
“Inter Milan reverses the score, 2:1! In fact, the arrival of this goal was just a matter of time. Look at Forest’s performance; they play too conservatively! Manager Tony Twain has paid the price for his lack of courage! As it turns out, just like defense, a one-goal lead simply doesn’t work!”