Chapter 311: You’d Better Obey Me

January 20th, the 19th round of Serie A.

Napoli was up against Lazio at home for the second time in four days.

As soon as referee Gianluca Rocchi blew the whistle to start the game, Napoli launched a fierce offensive against Lazio, just like they did in the Italian Cup match three days earlier.

Lazio struggled to handle this onslaught and soon conceded a goal again.

But this time, after winning possession, Napoli didn't immediately initiate a counterattack. Instead, they opted for a patient approach, carefully controlling the ball.

When Thiago Motta dropped back to receive a pass from his teammate, he raised his right hand high, signaling his teammates to stay calm and composed.

Napoli began to push forward slowly, while Lazio hurried back to defend.

As they reached the front third of the field, Napoli first attempted to break through on the right flank with Sanchez. However, Lazio's left-back Kolarov held his ground, giving Napoli no openings. Forced to pass the ball back to Thiago Motta, the team then shifted their attack to the left, hoping Di Maria could make a breakthrough.

In the third minute, this attack led to the game's first shot on goal.

Cavani took a long shot from outside the penalty area, but it sailed over the bar.

Lazio's goalkeeper Ballotta took a goal kick, but David Luiz won the aerial duel, heading the ball down. Thiago Motta seized the second ball, controlled it, and quickly passed to Bonucci.

Under pressure from Tare, Bonucci returned the ball to Motta, who moved left and passed to Vargas in open space.

Lazio was forced to retreat quickly to reestablish their defense.

Napoli, however, continued their slow and steady advancement.

At this point in the game, everyone realized Napoli's strategy had shifted.

…

Lazio was using a 4-3-1-2 formation, with only one lineup change from the cup match.

Napoli, on the other hand, had made significant adjustments.

They had shifted to a sophisticated 4-3-3 formation.

Lineup:

Goalkeeper: Handanovic.

Defense: Vargas, David Luiz, Bonucci, Lichtsteiner.

Midfielders: Biglia, Thiago Motta, Parejo.

Forwards: Di Maria, Cavani, Sanchez.

Before the game, Gao Shen had a direct conversation with Thiago Motta, informing him that he wasn't part of the cup match plan. Gao Shen wanted him to focus on the league game instead.

Tonight, Napoli's tactics were clear: control the ball.

They aimed to exploit their strengths in ball possession and technical skill, using possession to draw their opponents back into their half.

This tactic not only saved Napoli's energy but also allowed them to leverage their technical and ball-control advantage.

Gao Shen was hoping that Lazio would take the bait and press forward for the ball.

If Lazio pushed up, gaps would appear in their defense, providing Napoli with scoring opportunities.

What worried Gao Shen most was if Lazio chose to sit back and defend passively, as that could pose difficulties.

Napoli's biggest concern at the moment was managing their stamina, as they couldn't afford a war of attrition.

That's why Gao Shen had built up the hype before the game, using psychological tactics to provoke Lazio, hoping that coach Rossi and his players would adopt a more aggressive strategy under the pressure.

But judging by the game so far, it seemed that Rossi was being quite conservative.

Would Lazio continue to defend tightly without pressing forward?

Gao Shen wasn't one to go into battle without confidence, and he had specifically paired Parejo and Biglia in the midfield for this purpose.

When the game reached the 15th minute, Parejo attempted a pass outside the penalty area but was blocked by Lazio midfielder Mutarelli. However, Parejo managed to regain control of the ball.

After stopping the ball, the Spanish midfielder quickly turned to evade the defender, took a step forward, and pretended to aim for Cavani, only to send a sudden through pass into the right side of the penalty area.

Sanchez cut in from the right, caught up with the ball, and fired a low shot.

Unfortunately, the angle was too tight, and goalkeeper Ballotta was able to save it by diving to the ground.

Although it didn't result in a goal, Sanchez gave Parejo a thumbs-up from afar in appreciation.

The beautiful pass also drew warm applause from the crowd at Stadio San Paolo.

"Well done, Daniel!" Gao Shen cheered loudly.

Even though they didn't score, it served as a warning to Rossi, telling the Lazio coach: "You can't win by just defending, so you'd better obey."

…

Sanchez's shot nearly drove Rossi insane.

He rushed to the sidelines, shouting instructions at his players.

He felt the earlier lapse was due to a defensive issue in the midfield that a young player had exploited.

But after berating his players and returning to his spot, Rossi felt a twinge of fear.

He had to admit that the pass was both beautiful and clever.

It had deceived Lazio's defenders, landing perfectly in a spot to cause maximum trouble.

"Damn it, that guy's so lucky!" Rossi muttered, glancing at Gao Shen who was enthusiastically cheering for Parejo from the Napoli dugout.

Creativity and midfield organization were sorely lacking throughout Serie A.

During the summer transfer window, both Inter Milan and AC Milan had vied for Emerson, one of the few creative midfielders in Serie A.

Players like Aquilani from Roma and Montolivo from Fiorentina were also highly sought after.

Napoli, however, had assembled a squad rich in creativity and skill. Rossi couldn't help but wonder where Gao Shen had found so many talented players.

Now, Rossi and Lazio were facing a difficult choice.

If they continued to sit back and defend, Napoli would keep controlling possession, using Parejo's precise passes and the wing attacks to create openings. The decision hinged on how confident Rossi felt about his team's defense.

On the other hand, if they pushed forward, they would also be taking a big risk.

Pressing up would open gaps for Napoli to exploit, making Lazio more vulnerable.

However, if Lazio pressed forward, they might be able to engage Napoli in a more open battle and perhaps even launch counterattacks.

But for now, Rossi couldn't think of a better strategy.

He had to admit that Lazio was outmatched in terms of strength and tactics, leaving them with limited options, all of which carried considerable risks.

Until a better solution emerged, Rossi decided to maintain the current approach.

…

Lazio continued to defend, and Napoli's possession rate began to climb.

Gao Shen was in no rush, keeping the game steady.

With nearly 70% ball possession, Napoli's dominance was evident. But as someone who had experienced the glory of Barcelona's Dream Team III, Gao Shen saw this as only the beginning.

Seventy percent? An 80% possession rate was nothing special in his eyes.

Gao Shen kept fine-tuning his team's tactics, focusing primarily on constant movement from his players.

In the 25th minute, Thiago Motta made a precise pass to Cavani, who held off his marker, controlled the ball, spun, and shot with his right foot. The shot was saved by the goalkeeper but clipped the crossbar.

The ensuing corner caused chaos in the box, but Napoli still couldn't score.

Just four minutes later, Napoli created another opportunity.

Biglia combined with Di Maria and Vargas on the left flank, leading to a corner kick.

Parejo took the corner, delivering the ball accurately to Thiago Motta in the box.

The Brazilian midfielder, tall and powerful, got to the ball and headed it directly, but it again hit the crossbar.

This was Napoli's most threatening shot since the start of the game.

Everyone felt a bit deflated.

Gao Shen continued to encourage the team from the sidelines, applauding Thiago Motta's performance and urging the players to keep pushing.

"Thiago's in great form," Lucas praised.

From metrics like passing accuracy and activity on the pitch, Thiago Motta was proving himself as Napoli's midfield anchor.

So far, he hadn't made a single passing error—a rarity.

Even more impressive was that he had made several key passes that created chances.

It was fair to say he had Napoli's midfield running smoothly, allowing the team to launch wave after wave of attacks.

"This kid needs games like this to gradually build his confidence," Gao Shen said with a smile.

Confidence, after all, is something that builds over time.

"It looks like Rossi's plan is to continue defending and wait until the second half, hoping our stamina wears down before pressing forward," Carlo speculated on Lazio's strategy.

Gao Shen nodded. This was no surprise.

In fact, he'd already prepared for this possibility.

If the deadlock remained unbroken, he was prepared to go all out before the end of the first half or at the start of the second half to try and secure a goal.

After all, dragging the game out would not be in Napoli's favor.

…

The two teams continued with their control and defense strategies.

Napoli kept patiently passing and probing, while Lazio held firm.

As the game progressed, and with Lazio's strong defenders on the wings, several of Napoli's long passes to the flanks failed to yield any results.

Instead, in the middle, Motta passed the ball in the 30th minute, allowing Cavani to take a long shot from over 20 meters out, though it missed the target.

Three minutes later, Thiago Motta and Parejo worked together again. The Spanish midfielder sent a through pass to Di Maria, who shot with his left foot, but the goalkeeper saved it, nullifying the threat.

Napoli created more than a dozen shots in the first half, and without exception, most of them were long-range shots from outside the penalty area.

The most threatening shot was a header from Thiago Motta, but it hit the crossbar.

This continuous siege made Lazio more and more stable and it seemed to be as strong as a rock.

Gao Shen also gave up the idea of attacking in the final stage of the first half.

But no one expected that in the 42nd minute of the first half, when Napoli was about to end, Sanchez tried to break through Kolarov on the right but failed. He was forced to stop and pass the ball back to Lichtsteiner.

After receiving the ball, the Swiss defender was pressed and immediately passed it to Thiago Motta who raised his hand to ask for the ball.

The Brazilian midfielder always appears at the right point.

After getting the ball, Thiago Motta didn't wait for the defensive players to come up, but made a long diagonal pass and transferred the ball directly to the unguarded left side.

After Di Maria stopped the ball with his chest, Lazio right-back De Silvestri quickly pressed forward. The Argentine started with the ball without hesitation. Before the opponent was ready, he had cut through the opponent's defense like a sharp knife, rushed into the penalty area with the ball, attracted Sevilla, and passed the ball to the middle with his left foot.

Cavani used his body to force his way past center back Stendardo and directly kicked the ball, sending Di Maria's cross into the lower left corner of Lazio's goal.

***

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