During halftime, Mancini gently touched Tang Long’s brow as soon as they returned to the locker room, asking how he felt.
Tang Long took the philosophical mask out of his bag.
"No worries, the brow bone isn’t broken. At worst, I’ll just wear the mask and keep fighting with them!"
Tang Long wasn’t afraid of the pain; he was just concerned that once he put on this philosophical mask, the Chinese fans would probably start mocking him again, sigh.
Mancini then looked at Icardi, who was drenched in sweat, sitting on a chair and drinking his sports drink.
Tsk tsk, these two are the treasures of the team; we can’t let those reckless southerners from Naples injure them!
Along with the 3-0 score and the team’s complete control of the game, Mancini felt that since the match was already in hand, there was no need to aggressively clash with the opponent anymore.
Screw it, let’s call it quits in the second half.
First, he substituted Tang Long right at the start.
Then, in the 60th minute, he also substituted Icardi.
But unexpectedly, as soon as these two were off, the situation changed dramatically!
Inter’s midfield became sluggish and slow in their passing. When the ball reached the penalty area, Bonazzoli, who replaced Icardi, was completely ineffective in posing any threat to Naples’ goal.
Instead, Naples grew increasingly confident.
In the 69th, 76th, and 85th minutes, they scored three consecutive goals!
If it weren’t for a debatable penalty that wasn’t given towards the end, Inter almost became the backdrop for "World Football’s" epic comeback of the week.
Viewers watching the match online were divided into two groups, arguing fiercely!
Some Inter fans questioned Mancini’s substitutions.
After the game, they stormed into Inter’s social media, using extremely sharp language to criticize Mancini’s conservative tactics.
"That half-white-haired man, is his brain completely white too?"
"I don’t understand his decision, taking both Tang and Icardi off, causing the team to lose three points for nothing!"
"I was right in the locker room, I swear Mancini opened a bottle of champagne at halftime and got high!"
"Almost became the tragedy of Istanbul night!"
Moreover, some netizens raised suspicions that Inter was colluding with the betting companies in match-fixing.
Someone posted detailed changes in the match odds, claiming it was a pre-calculated match with the purpose of milking the fans.
"Match-fixing! Definitely match-fixing!"
"Serie A is so damn fake! I suggest renaming it ’Serie Fake’!"
"Can you imagine? Leading 3-0 in the first half, everything looks good, substitute two players, and then concede three in the second half?"
"I’m so angry! I lost all my salary this month! Even if it were the Chinese men’s national team playing, they wouldn’t concede three!"
Some asserted that toward the end of the Serie A season, match-fixing is rampant and no longer surprising.
"Take a look at that forward named Bonazzoli subbed in; he had several opportunities, obviously deliberately kicked the ball away!"
"And Ranocchia, that passing error was too obvious, someone should investigate him thoroughly!"
"Idiots, for a bit of petty gain, they waste the Champions League qualification, picking up sesame seeds while losing a watermelon!"
"Mancini, how much did you bet, be honest!"
Another part of the more rational fans scoffed at the claims of match-fixing.
They analyzed the whole situation, breaking down the deep reasons behind Inter’s downfall in the second half—the gap between starting and substitute players is too significant!
This group of netizens also mentioned the retired Italian coach Capello, who had expressed skepticism about Inter winning the Champions League qualification.
"Capello once said in an interview that Inter’s lineup is typically top-heavy!"
"Tang Long and Icardi’s skill level far exceeds that of their teammates. Once they’re off the pitch, Inter faces a crisis!"
"It’s clear in the second half, without Tang Long in midfield, there was no one to deliver threatening passes."
"Icardi could perform a hat trick in the first half, but once he’s off, substitute striker Bonazzoli’s two shots were shockingly off-target!"
"Mancini wasn’t wrong to protect Tang Long and Icardi, but at least one of them needed to stay on the field."
"Attack is the best defense; a stagnant offense allows Naples’ midfield and defense to push forward recklessly."
"Naples is fronted by Higuain and Callejon, both former Real Madrid stars; if you let them play freely, not just Inter but Juventus can’t withstand it!"
"I wouldn’t be surprised if Naples wins the Champions League qualification this season. The league is a marathon; whoever holds till the end is the winner."
Rome Sports Newspaper: Inter forced into a corner! Champions League qualification in jeopardy!
Turin Sports Newspaper: Dream shattered! Naples shows their fighting spirit to the northerners!
Milan Sports Newspaper: Higuain waves his arms! Indomitable Naples is back again!
Mancini was also very frustrated with this draw.
He never expected that, as a traditional Italian defensive coach, he could be tied by the opponent in such a great leading position.
Equalizing against Juventus felt amazing; now being equalized by Naples is equally infuriating!
Not that the draw against Naples means they won’t make the Champions League.
Serie A still has four rounds to go this season, and everything is uncertain.
It’s just that losing such a favorable situation in this way is truly regretful.
On the plane back to Milan.
Mancini ignored the flight attendant’s advice and paced back and forth in the aisle, muttering curses.
"Disgrace, it’s simply disgraceful!"
"Look at this garbage game you played!"
"What happened, Tang is off, and midfield can’t even make a return pass anymore?"
"Without Mauro, the forwards can’t shoot?"
"If Mr. Moratti were still chairman, everyone on the field today, except for Tang and Icardi, would be sold off!"
Whoosh—among all the players blown by Mancini’s hairdryer.
Hernanes and Bonazzoli buried their heads the lowest.
They were the ones who came on as substitutes for Tang Long and Icardi.
They had hoped to take a stroll on the field, then finish, shower pleasantly, and clock out amusingly back to Milan for a sleep.
After all, thanks to Tang Long and Icardi’s brilliant performance, they had a whole three-goal lead.
Not just against Naples, but even against top teams like Real Madrid, Barça, Bayern, and Manchester City, holding a three-goal advantage, no Inter player could resist relaxing, commonly known as—getting cocky!
But unexpectedly, Naples indeed had some skill.
Previously with Tang Long and Icardi pressuring them in the midfield and forward areas, other players hadn’t noticed.
But once these two were off, the effects were immediately apparent!
Especially Tang Long.
Once he was off, Inter lost its midfield metronome, the smooth passes disappeared, replaced by mistakes amidst Naples’ intensive encirclement at midfield.
Higuain had two goals, both scored by exploiting Inter’s midfield passing errors for quick counter-attacks.
After the match, Tang Long still received a game-high 9 rating from Sky Sports.
But this score was honestly somewhat ironic!
Because aside from Tang Long’s 9 and Icardi’s 8.5, the rest of the players, including Mancini, were all below 5.5.
Tang Long, clutching the philosophical mask, reluctantly said to Berni:
"If I’d known, I should’ve held on and played for 20 more minutes, and sub out at 70 minutes; we probably could’ve clinched it, what a shame!"
Berni didn’t respond immediately, just patted Tang Long on the shoulder and put on his headphones.
Before continuing his rock music, he remarked meaningfully:
"Damn, we got played by those southerners today. Now we’ve got to fight hard for the UEFA Europa League too!"
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