After the match began, AC Milan rode the momentum of home advantage and launched a fierce attack on Inter Milan.
Rui Costa's passing, Kaka's speed, Inzaghi's movement...
Milan's attacks in the final third flowed brilliantly, leaving Inter Milan's goal under constant threat.
Inter Milan did not sit back and wait to be beaten. They responded in kind and immediately stepped up their marking of Rui Costa.
Master Rui was not only handsome but also an outstanding midfield player.
His broad vision, timing of distribution, and accuracy with through balls were all among the best in the Football World.
Unlike traditional European players, Master Rui not only had solid fundamentals but was also highly creative. He often delivered imaginative passes on the pitch and played with great flair. He did not seem like a European player at all, but more like a South American player.
But Master Rui also had weaknesses: he was rather slow, lacked mobility, and liked to carry the ball.
Once Inter Milan raised the intensity against him, Master Rui, who had just been playing so brilliantly, immediately wilted.
Under Lin Feng and Cambiasso's alternating harassment, Master Rui was having an utterly miserable time.
Forget organizing attacks—he could barely even hold onto the ball.
Inter Milan's two midfielders had clearly defined roles. Cambiasso stuck to Master Rui like glue, not seeking to win the ball from his feet, only to disrupt and throw off his Dribbling Rhythm, making him uncomfortable.
Lin Feng, meanwhile, waited for Master Rui to expose an opening before delivering the fatal blow, stealing the ball from his feet and immediately launching a counterattack against Milan with his own speed and explosiveness.
Though Milan held the upper hand in terms of possession and play, it was Inter Milan who created the best scoring chance after the match began!
In the 11th minute, Inter Milan won the ball in their own half and launched a quick counterattack on the spot.
Lin Feng charged forward with the ball at full speed. Milan's right back, Cafu, came over to intercept him, only to be blown away by Lin Feng's pace.
The Milan fans in the stadium widened their eyes in astonishment.
The way he went past Cafu and sprinted at full speed looked unbelievably like Kaka!
If Kaka had not still been wearing an AC Milan shirt on the pitch, they might have suspected that Kaka had defected to the enemy!
Kaka himself was also shocked. When he had watched Lin Feng play on television before, he had felt that the other player resembled him.
But after seeing him on the pitch in person, he was startled to realize: had they become this similar already?
His speed, his way of beating defenders, even the rhythm of his dribbling—everything seemed to have been molded from the same template.
But Kaka had no time to think about that now, because only he himself knew just how strong he was!
So when he saw Lin Feng driving forward on the counterattack, Kaka immediately chased hard from behind, trying to catch him and stop Inter Milan's attack.
Even though the other player's style resembled his own, that did not seem to be his fault.
Yet Kaka felt an inexplicable sense of guilt, as though if he did not stop the other player from shooting, he would be letting his teammates down.
"It's happening, it's happening! Kaka chasing Lin Feng! I was looking forward to this scene before the match, and it's actually happened!"
"Seriously, these two look like they came from the same mold. It feels like Li Kui running into Li Gui. The only question is, who's Li Kui and who's Li Gui?"
The fans loved a spectacle and feared no chaos. When they saw Kaka turn and chase Lin Feng, every one of them became excited.
This was a rare iconic moment. They had to enjoy it properly.
Kaka in 2005 had not yet reached his strongest form, but he was already very close.
Lin Feng, on the other hand, possessed only 83% of Peak Kaka's strength, so in terms of speed, Kaka at this point was still faster!
The distance between them slowly narrowed. Given a little more time, Kaka would definitely catch Lin Feng.
But the pitch was simply too small. It could not give Kaka that much time.
After seeing Lin Feng get past Cafu, Nesta immediately came over to cover.
Nesta was highly experienced defensively, and his positioning was excellent. He stood directly in Lin Feng's dribbling path.
Lin Feng had long heard of Nesta's great reputation. After testing him and finding no chance to get past him, he did not overestimate himself and continue a one-on-one battle with the world's best defender. Instead, before Nesta could slide in, he passed the ball away.
A blue figure burst out from the side—it was Inter Milan's striker, Adriano!
After receiving Lin Feng's pass, Adebayor made no adjustment and unleashed a thunderous shot.
The ball flew straight toward the goal. Milan's goalkeeper leaped desperately and barely managed to fingertip it away.
The Milan fans in the stands broke out in a cold sweat. Adriano's shot had nearly breached their goal.
"Lin of China, great pass!"
Though Adriano had not scored, he still gave Lin Feng, who had supplied the pass, a thumbs-up.
To get the ball out under Nesta's marking.
This yellow-skinned kid from China had some real ability!
Nesta, who had just defended against Lin Feng, thought the same. He had not given it everything, but he had still used at least eighty percent of his ability.
He had thought he could easily neutralize the opponent's attack, but Lin Feng had unexpectedly managed to pass the ball out.
This kid was no simple player!
Before Inter Milan launched that counterattack, in a private box somewhere inside San Siro Stadium, Facchetti had been complaining to Moratti:
"Lin Feng has never played in a Big Five Leagues-level match before. Mancini put him on without giving him time to adapt to the match tempo first. Isn't that too risky?"
Moratti carefully wiped his glasses and replied unhurriedly:
"It doesn't matter. The Tim Cup is only a warm-up tournament anyway, so winning or losing is irrelevant. Besides, we've already won the Tim Cup three times in a row. It's fine even if we don't win it this time."
"But if he really performs poorly, won't outsiders mock our eye for talent? After all, we spent a huge sum of 20 million Euros to bring him in!"
Moratti put on his glasses and turned his gaze toward the pitch.
"People can say whatever they want; we cannot control that. Besides, Lin Feng is not a Bargain Bin Player!"
The moment he finished speaking, the situation on the pitch changed dramatically as Inter Milan sounded the horn for their counterattack.
Although it did not end in a goal, after watching that counterattack, Moratti finally felt completely reassured.
Lin Feng really had never played in a Big Five Leagues-level match, and when he had first come on, he had indeed looked somewhat uncomfortable.
In a clash between powerhouses like Inter Milan and AC Milan, the pace was extremely fast and the Physical Confrontation was intense—far beyond anything the Youth World Cup could compare to.
He had joined the team only recently and had almost no chemistry with his teammates, making things even harder for him.
Fortunately, he adjusted quickly and soon adapted to the pace of the match.
After all, this body possessed more than eighty percent of Peak Kaka's ability. Adapting to the rhythm of Serie A was not a problem.
The real difficulty was finding his proper role and the style of play best suited to him.
Lin Feng's tactical status at Inter Milan was clearly not as high as Kaka's at AC Milan. Mancini could not possibly build Inter Milan's attacking system around him as its core.
So Lin Feng could not simply copy Kaka's style at AC Milan.
But as the saying went, attack won matches, while defense won championships.
To launch attacks more effectively, he first had to solve the defensive issue.
So Lin Feng began making use of his speed and mobility, actively taking part in the team's defense and working with his teammates to relentlessly smother their opponents in midfield.
On the sidelines, Inter Milan's Head Coach Mancini could not help but nod slightly when he saw what Lin Feng was doing.
Lin Feng's attacking talent was obvious to the naked eye. Yet few attacking players of his type were willing to lower themselves and do the dirty, exhausting work usually left to workhorses.
But he had done it!
That serious attitude earned Mancini's approval.
If Lin Feng continued to maintain this attitude in future matches, Mancini would not mind giving him more opportunities in the new season.
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