This World-Class Strike Stuns the Crowd! What a Pity, Though...

To prevent a potential conflict, the referee hurried over to the two of them.

Tang Long gave a disdainful laugh and immediately turned to walk away.

He didn't want to get into a fight right at the start of such a rare opportunity to be in the starting lineup; it wasn't worth it.

Especially with this Davis, as Berni had already warned Tang Long on the team bus that he loved to use verbal taunts and petty fouls to provoke opponents into losing their cool.

Davis watched Tang Long's retreating back and spat on the ground.

"An 18-year-old Serie A freshman? Watch how Grandpa plays until you're crying for your mommy!"

This sliding tackle in the first minute of the match set the tone for the game.

Tang Long's Inter Milan teammates were all infected by his energy, and the intensity of their challenges began to rise.

Naturally, Bologna, playing at home, was not about to fall behind.

"According to the data I have, last season, Bologna had the most tackles in the entire league, and in the first 13 rounds of this season, their tackle count is ranked 3rd among all 20 teams!"

"At the same time, the average height of Bologna's registered players this season is 185.3 centimeters, ranking fourth in Serie A!"

"This is a physically strong, tough-playing, typical mid-to-lower-tier Serie A team. Inter Milan needs to be careful, and Tang Long needs to be careful too!" Duan Xuan said with a hint of tension in his voice.

Zhang Lu, on the other hand, analyzed the situation calmly:

"Bologna has been competing in Serie A for four consecutive seasons. They don't invest much each season, but they always manage to avoid relegation. A team like this definitely has its own way of surviving. Inter Milan must not underestimate them; their away record this season is indeed not ideal."

In fact, Bologna manager Lopez had carefully studied Inter Milan's starting lineup before the match.

He had discovered a weakness in Inter Milan's midfield!

Inter Milan was playing a 4-3-1-2 formation with three defensive midfielders.

They were Medel, Brozovic, and Kovacic.

All three of these men were long-distance runners with incredible stamina.

Their coverage was vast; the movement of these three could cover the range of four players!

However, their three-man defensive midfield combination was not without its flaws.

The biggest defect was the issue of average height!

Medel was 172cm, Kovacic was 177cm, and the tallest, Brozovic, was only 181cm.

Combined, the three-man defensive midfield unit averaged only 176.7 centimeters.

In Serie A, this was considered on the shorter side.

Mancini was well aware of this problem.

But constrained by the cards in his hand, since he prioritized midfield movement, he had to sacrifice some height.

"Play more high balls, forwards drop back!"

Under Lopez's instructions, Bologna's Italian target man, the 191cm tall Borrelli, did not tangle in the penalty area with the 195cm tall Ranocchia.

Instead, he took the initiative to drop back into the midfield to receive high balls.

Standing in the middle of Inter Milan's three defensive midfielders, he looked like a tall tower, standing out from the crowd!

"Mine!"

Facing the goal kick from the Bologna goalkeeper, Borrelli held his ground against Kovacic behind him and trapped the ball with his chest!

For any defensive player, having an opponent lean on you like that to trap a high ball was a huge humiliation!

Generally speaking, such balls would be contested with headers.

By doing this, Borrelli was clearly bullying the young Kovacic, who was 14 centimeters shorter than him!

Kovacic was a bit anxious; his physical disadvantage forced him to reach out and grab Borrelli's arm, but this movement caused him to lose his balance.

Thwack!

Borrelli, who wasn't particularly fast at turning, spun in a circle on the spot!

Relying purely on his overwhelming physical strength, he bypassed Kovacic and charged forward with the ball!

Watching this scene on television.

Far away in his home in Milan, Guarin, who hadn't traveled with the team due to weight issues, slapped his thigh in anger!

"Damn it, bullying people like that! If I were in the midfield, would I let Borrelli play so arrogantly? Damn it!"

Bologna was playing a relatively avant-garde 4-3-3.

Their other two forwards, Giaccherini and Destro, were on the move!

It was clear that the coordination between the three forwards was very practiced; this routine had likely been drilled many times with a specific purpose.

After Borrelli pushed the ball to Giaccherini, he ran toward Inter Milan's penalty area.

This Giaccherini was also a player with very distinct characteristics!

His height stood out starkly among the tall players of Bologna, at only 167cm!

It could be said that he alone brought the team's average height down by nearly 2 centimeters.

However, everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses.

Giaccherini was short with a low center of gravity, earning him the nickname Short-legged Tiger, a budget version of Lionel Messi.

With a few quick taps, he dropped his shoulder, feinted, dropped his shoulder again, and feinted once more, leaving the left-back D'Ambrosio completely dizzy.

Taking advantage of the moment D'Ambrosio's rhythm fell apart, Giaccherini nudged the ball, and it obediently slid right through the gap between D'Ambrosio's long legs.

Berni, sitting on the bench, felt his heart tighten!

He jumped up and rushed to the sideline.

"Damn it, he nutmegged him! Watch out for Destro at the back post, watch the back post..."

The Inter Milan defenders on the pitch were highly focused.

However, their attention was entirely concentrated on the 191cm tall target man Borrelli inside the penalty area.

Borrelli had the 187cm Andreolli hanging off his left arm and the 195cm Ranocchia hanging off his right, squeezed like a sandwich, his face distorted by the pressure, yet he kept shouting:

"Cross it, give me the header!"

Whoosh—

The Short-legged Tiger Giaccherini did indeed cross the ball!

However, Tang Long, who had tracked back all the way to the top of the penalty arc, realized the danger the moment he saw Giaccherini make contact with the ball!

The AI System analyzed the trajectory; the ball wasn't flying toward the heavily guarded Borrelli, but toward the back post!

Lurking at the back post was the other Bologna striker, Destro!

"Oh no!"

Right-back Nagatomo Yuto felt a jolt of alarm and hurriedly closed in on Destro.

Nagatomo Yuto was 170cm tall, known for his speed and quick reactions.

He stuck to Destro like glue the moment he arrived!

But Destro was 182cm tall, holding the advantage in both weight and height.

Even though Nagatomo Yuto pulled and tugged at him, Destro still managed to get to the ball first.

Bang!

The header was a bit too central.

Handanovic saw a yellow blur fly toward him and instinctively swiped at it with both hands, sending the ball flying away!

It flew to the left side of the penalty area!

The center-back Ranocchia let out a long sigh of relief, but he didn't forget to remind his teammates to fight for the second ball, as it hadn't traveled far.

No sooner had he spoken than another loud thud echoed!

This time, it was louder and even more sudden!

It was Davis!

Positioned on the left side of the penalty area, he didn't trap the ball but instead unleashed a thunderous volley!

His posture was incredibly fluid as he launched himself into the air!

He struck the outer edge of the ball!

Like a light wave refracting, the football carved a bizarre arc through the air and "swished" into the back of the net!

All the Inter Milan players were stunned!

Handanovic wore an expression of utter disbelief; he hadn't even made a save attempt!

He had just watched it go in!

Davis was overjoyed; he never dreamed that by blindly rushing up and taking a shot, he would accidentally strike a world-class goal~

He first hopped on the spot, high-fived his teammates fiercely, and then specifically detoured in front of Tang Long, shouting at him in a mocking tone:

"Hey! Freshman kid, are you scared silly too!"