章 105: Chapter 105: A Resounding Victory
Chapter 105: A Resounding Victory
"Hahaha, Bruno made a fallen gesture while celebrating at the sideline!" laughed the commentator from the local Udinese TV station. "Clearly, this is Bruno responding to those pre-game comments calling him a 'fallen' European Golden Boy."
The fans in the stands also enjoyed a good laugh, shouting and cheering.
"Bruno, you're really too 'fallen,' only scoring two goals today! How can you not go for a hat trick?"
"Bruno, please fall a bit more!"
"I love the 'fallen' Bruno!"
"We all love the 'fallen' Bruno!"
...
"Italy's Sky TV commentator also noted, "Bruno has positively responded to the pre-match comments about him being 'fallen.' I wonder what Mr. Aurelio thinks now, after seeing Bruno's performance today? But, I think Anzhi's fans are definitely cursing Mr. Aurelio right now! If it wasn't for Mr. Aurelio provoking Bruno, Anzhi might not have ended up in this situation."
Indeed, Anzhi's fans were collapsing, many cursing the female relatives of Mr. Aurelio who had called Bruno "fallen" in the newspaper.
Meanwhile, in a room in Florence, a plump man was also cursing Mr. Aurelio's female relatives. Mr. Aurelio had called the plump man a "fallen" European Golden Boy in his report, making the plump man feel violated and very upset.
Mr. Aurelio, who was watching the live broadcast of the match, heard the commentator continuously berating him and kept uttering expletives. Was it just because he took some money to criticize Bruno in his column, that they should keep hounding him like this?
...
By the end of the first half, the score was Udinese 3, Anzhi 0.
"3:0! Udinese leads by three goals at halftime, look at Anzhi's coach, his face ashen. His team has been slaughtered in the first half, and they might well say goodbye to European competitions!" said the commentator from Italy's Sky TV.
After a fifteen-minute break, the second half kicked off.
Udinese didn't relax despite leading by three goals in the first half; they kept up the waves of attacks, putting tremendous pressure on Anzhi's defense.
In the 53rd minute, Kanselo exploited his speed on the right flank, then sent in a cross that Dina Tale met with a shot. The goalkeeper, Kzakov, parried it, but it looked set to fly into the net. In a moment of panic, possibly a brain short-circuit, Anzhi defender Gliay inexplicably used his hand to block the ball.
Whistle!
The referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot and showed Gliay a red card.
"Penalty! Red card! The referee shows a red card to Anzhi's defender Gliay and awards a penalty! It's a clear handball in the box, what was Gliay thinking? With the score at 0:3, conceding another goal wouldn't have been unacceptable; there was no need for him to block it with his hand!"
The commentator couldn't understand the defensive choice, which seemed foolish given the scoreline.
Udinese captain Dina Tale stepped up to the penalty spot.
He ran up, shot!
And scored!
...
The Friuli Stadium erupted in cheers.
"4:0, Udinese lead by a large margin, and with Anzhi down to ten men, the home team can start celebrating their victory early," said the commentator from Italy's Sky TV.
After Gliay was sent off, Anzhi's coach had to make a substitution, taking off right winger Aliyev and bringing on center-back Ibatov.
Seeing Anzhi's substitution, Guidolin immediately made adjustments too, substituting Muriel for starting striker Dina Tale.
The Friuli Stadium applauded warmly for Dina Tale, the 36-year-old club legend, who continues to add to his legend, scoring 27 goals in all competitions this season, making him Udinese's top scorer. With 19 goals in Serie A, he leads the scoring chart and is on track to surpass 20 goals in Serie A for the fifth consecutive season.
Guidolin sat relaxed on the bench, as his team was practically assured of advancing to the Europa League quarter-finals.
Guidolin then continued to make strategic substitutions. He brought on Badu for Basta and Alan for Kanselo.
The young players' departure was met with cheers and applause from the Friuli Stadium.
The substitutions didn't stop Udinese's goals. Muriel, who came off the bench, troubled Anzhi's central defenders, quickly drawing a yellow card from one.
...
In the 83rd minute, Bruno's through ball set up Muriel, whose shot was saved by the goalkeeper. Udinese earned a corner, which Bruno took. Substitute midfielder Alan rose high to meet the ball with his head.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!"
"5:0! Alan scores for Udinese, they now lead Anzhi 5:0, what a stunning scoreline! We can declare now, the two-legged tie is effectively over, Udinese has advanced to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, marking the best European performance in the club's history!"
The final score was 5:0, with Udinese securing a resounding victory at home, taking a significant lead in the two-legged tie.
When the referee blew the final whistle, the Friuli Stadium became a sea of cheers, not just inside the stadium, but also in the bars and homes around, as Udinese fans celebrated.
For a club over a century old, this day and this match will undoubtedly remain a cherished memory for many fans.
The Udinese players were ecstatic, celebrating passionately on the field, led by captain Dina Tale, they ran and slid towards the stands to thank and greet the cheering fans.
...
Udinese's 5:0 thrashing of Anzhi in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 even caused a stir in Italy.
Just the previous Tuesday night, AC Milan, Italy's last hope in the Champions League, had been routed 4:1 by Atlético Madrid at the Calderón Stadium, being eliminated with a 1:5 aggregate score.
With this, Serie A teams were wiped out from the Champions League, leaving Italy to pin its hopes on its teams in the Europa League.
With four teams in the Europa League, there wasn't a worry about not having an Italian team in the quarter-finals, since Juventus and Fiorentina were meeting in the round of 16, guaranteeing at least one Italian team would advance but also reducing the number by one.
Now, with Udinese's resounding victory securing their almost certain advancement to the quarter-finals, it was great news for Serie A, which has been struggling in European competitions.
Especially since such a victory came from Udinese, a team that had often been knocked out early in previous seasons.
The only question now was whether Juventus or Fiorentina would advance to the quarter-finals. It looked like Fiorentina had the upper hand, having drawn 1:1 with Juventus in Turin in the first leg.
As for Napoli, they faced a challenging situation after losing 0:1 to Porto away in the first leg.
...
On Monday night, March 17, Udinese traveled to Rome's Olympic Stadium to face Roma. Thanks to the big win in the Europa League first leg, Guidolin still fielded most of his starters, aiming to secure points, possibly even all three, away.
Udinese and Roma's match was the last of the round, and after Napoli had just beaten Torino away, Udinese's league position had temporarily dropped to fourth.
Even a draw against Roma would not have been enough for Udinese to reclaim third place in the league.
At the Olympic Stadium, the teams staged a goal fest, with Totti and Destro scoring for Roma to give the home side a 2:0 lead at the break.
Shortly after halftime, Pjanic assisted Alan to pull one back for Udinese. Then, in the 55th minute, after Dina Tale's acute angle shot was saved by Roma's keeper De Sanctis, Bruno quickly followed up to equalize.
2:2, Udinese leveled the score.
In the 64th minute, Udinese brought on Muriel for Pjanic to boost the attack, but their full-on pressure backfired when Roma caught them on the counter. In the 69th minute, Totti's brilliant pass set up Torosidis, who blasted home from just outside the box.
3:2, Roma regained the lead.
In the 80th minute, Muriel's cross found Alan, whose header was saved by De Sanctis, but Basta was on hand to finish the rebound.
3:3!
That was the final score, with Udinese taking a hard-earned point from Rome. However, it was not enough to reclaim third place in the standings.
After 28 rounds, Juventus led with 74 points, followed by Roma with 59, and Napoli, tied with Udinese at 57 points, held third place due to a better goal difference, leaving Udinese in fourth.
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