Bab 204: Chapter 204: Di Matteo in the Champions League
Chapter 204: Di Matteo in the Champions League
Udinese came from behind to win once again, giving them 65 points after 25 league matches, now 11 points ahead of Juventus, who have one game in hand. Tonight, Juventus will face Roma at the Stadio Olimpico. No matter the outcome of this match between the second and third place teams, it will benefit league leaders Udinese.
Especially if Juventus drops points, it will be an even greater advantage for Udinese. They say that when luck is on your side, nothing can stop you. When the entire Udinese team returned to Udine by bus, the match at the Stadio Olimpico had already ended, with Roma and Juventus drawing 1-1.
This result extended Udinese's lead over Juventus to double digits! At this point, it was clear to everyone that Udinese's chances of winning the Serie A title this season were becoming unstoppable.
On March 7th, in the 26th round of Serie A, Udinese hosted eighth-placed Torino at the Stadio Friuli. Despite having their Champions League Round of 16 second leg against Schalke 04 in three days, Guidolin still fielded his strongest lineup for this match.
Clearly, Udinese's coach was focusing his main efforts on Serie A. Compared to the fiercely competitive Champions League, where Udinese was already far ahead in Serie A, this was their real field of pursuit.
Zenit St. Petersburg's coach, André Villas-Boas, appeared in the stands at Stadio Friuli to scout Torino, their upcoming Europa League opponent. Both teams started the match strongly.
In the 15th minute, the visiting team scored first with a header from Quagliarella. Two minutes later, Udinese equalized with a brilliant long pass over the top from Bruno to Di Natale, who beat the offside trap and scored with a low shot.
Eight minutes later, Bruno combined with Cancelo on the right wing, leading to a cross that forced Molinaro into scoring an own goal.
After taking the lead, the match completely shifted to Udinese's rhythm. However, their attackers were somewhat unlucky and failed to score a third goal, leaving Udinese with a 2-1 lead at halftime.
After the second half began, Bruno remained very active in the front, appearing in almost every corner of the attack. In the 49th minute, Bruno suddenly moved to the left, received a pass from Guilherme, cut inside, and unleashed a right-footed shot, scoring a curling goal to make it 3-1.
However, Torino had been performing well recently. Since their defeat to Juventus in the Turin Derby on November 30th in the 13th round of Serie A, they had remained unbeaten, with a record of 6 wins and 6 draws, climbing from 15th to 8th place.
At the Stadio Friuli, facing the invincible Udinese this season, Torino boldly went on the attack and managed to score again in the 69th minute.
In the end, Udinese narrowly won 3-2 at home against Torino. In other matches, Roma drew 0-0 with Chievo away, while Juventus narrowly won 1-0 against Sassuolo at home.
With two-thirds of the season completed, Udinese still led Juventus by 10 points. Roma had fallen far behind, with only 1 win, 9 draws, and 1 loss in their last 11 matches, trailing Udinese by 21 points!
Although their ranking remained unchanged, Udinese's continuous victories were still highly anticipated. Especially Bruno's consistent scoring, which extended his lead in the top scorers' list. He had scored 19 league goals, followed by his teammate Di Natale with 16 goals.
Three days later, still at the Stadio Friuli, Udinese faced Schalke 04 in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16. Having won the first leg 2-0 away, Udinese had one foot in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Additionally, Guidolin was eager to solidify his lead in Serie A, so he decided to rotate his squad for this match, leaving several key players, including captain Di Natale, on the bench.
This decision nearly allowed Schalke 04 to stage a comeback at the Stadio Friuli, where Di Matteo's Chelsea had almost created a miracle three years ago.
Having lost 2-0 at home in the first leg, Schalke 04 were in a desperate situation, leaving them with no choice but to attack ferociously at the Stadio Friuli, needing to win by more than two goals to have a chance.
Schalke 04, with nothing to lose, scored first in the 20th minute. Meyer broke through and passed the ball, Barnetta crossed from the right, Huntelaar cleverly let it pass, and Fuchs fired a powerful shot from 12 yards out, which Karnesis could only parry into the net.
Although Udinese equalized five minutes later through Bruno, Schalke 04 had found their rhythm. They dominated the game and scored two more goals in the 39th and 40th minutes, bringing the aggregate score to 3-3.
If the match ended with this score, Udinese would be eliminated, as they had only two away goals compared to Schalke 04's three.
From a 2-0 aggregate lead to a 3-3 tie in just 45 minutes, Udinese felt as though they had fallen from heaven to hell.
Back in the locker room, the Udinese players looked demoralized and dispirited. This was understandable; going from a comfortable lead and near-certain qualification to the brink of elimination was a bitter pill to swallow.
Bruno felt the same, especially as he was Udinese's captain today. However, sometimes football is like this.
Bruno couldn't blame his teammates, as they were either not in top form or had given their all.
Thinking about it was exhausting. Udinese's squad was indeed lacking in depth; things would be better with all key players available, including Di Natale, who could share the burden.
But today, Di Natale wasn't even in the squad. The substitute, Thereau, although somewhat capable, wasn't strong enough for the Champions League knockout stages against a formidable opponent.
In such circumstances, all the pressure fell on Bruno, especially in a Champions League match, making him feel overwhelmed.
But he didn't regret his choices or blame his teammates. He had come to Udinese to prove himself, and what better way to do that than now?
As the youngest captain in Champions League history, leading Udinese to the knockout stages was an achievement, regardless of the outcome.
His back-to-back braces against Real Madrid had already proven his worth. Every step forward was pushing himself to the limit, squeezing out all his potential.
At this moment, he knew the team's morale must not falter!
After the halftime break, Udinese's morale had somewhat recovered, and Guidolin brought on Salah to strengthen the attack at the start of the second half.
Under the cheers of the 40,000 home fans, Udinese pulled a goal back in the 52nd minute. Substitute Salah combined with Bruno on the left, cut inside, and after dribbling past three players, he scored into the bottom right corner, making it 2-3.
This was the Egyptian's sixth goal in just over three months with Udinese, an outstanding performance.
However, Di Matteo's team indeed had a touch of magic. Just five minutes later, Huntelaar scored again, making it 4-2.
Udinese was once again pushed to the brink!
In a crucial moment, Guidolin decided to go all out, bringing on Muriel and switching to a 4-3-3 formation.
Bruno was given more freedom, moving to any position in the front line where there was space. Thereau acted as the focal point upfront, using his physical presence to challenge Schalke 04's defenders.
The wingers, including Salah and Muriel, along with fullbacks Cancelo and Piris, relentlessly attacked Schalke 04's defense from the flanks.
By this time, the match had reached a boiling point.
For Udinese, they needed just one more goal to advance; for Schalke 04, one more goal would likely kill the game.
With limited time left, Udinese would struggle to score two more goals if Schalke 04 scored again.
As the match reached the 85th minute, the score remained 2-4, with Udinese trailing by two goals at home.
Bruno was exhausted, breathing heavily. Whenever possible, he would stop and take deep breaths.
Sweat poured down his face, and his entire body was drenched.
But he still felt unwilling to give up.
Losing 2-4 at home after a 2-0 away win was unacceptable to him.
Moving to the left, Bruno received a pass from Cancelo. On the left flank, he faced Fuchs.
Bruno accelerated, trying to outrun the Austrian defender. Fuchs, though slower, was physically stronger, using his body to block Bruno while employing small fouls, preventing Bruno from breaking free.
The two tangled all the way, and just as Bruno was nearing Schalke 04's penalty area, Fuchs finally committed a foul to stop Bruno's advance.
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