章 297: Chapter 297: Beaten

"The ball is still at Napoli's feet."

"Since the substitution, Napoli has mounted a relentless assault on Juventus."

"Juventus appears completely unable to cope with Napoli's high-intensity, fast-paced offensive. Their defense is visibly struggling, and mistakes are becoming more frequent."

"Look at this play, Pellè has dropped deep, receiving the ball and passing it off to Parejo."

"The young midfielder who orchestrated the previous attack... Let's see what he does this time."

"Parejo lifts a pass toward the edge of the box."

"Hamsik, with his back to goal, shields the ball from Legrottaglie and deftly flicks it forward to the top of the penalty area."

"Pellè rushes forward, chesting down the ball and bringing it under control inside the penalty box."

As Pellè brought the ball down with his chest and a touch of his foot, he found himself surrounded. Chiellini was marking him closely, positioning himself between Pellè and the goal. Legrottaglie, who had been marking Hamsik, turned back immediately to assist, while Grygera came in from the right.

It looked like Pellè would be trapped in a three-man Juventus cage.

But just as the defenders closed in, Pellè executed a clever backheel pass, sending the ball to the penalty spot behind him.

Legrottaglie, caught off guard, quickly pivoted to chase the ball, but he was a fraction too slow.

While Juventus's defense scrambled, Hamsik had already read Pellè's play. Timing his run perfectly, he sprinted into the open space and reached the ball just before Legrottaglie could.

With his first touch, Hamsik drilled a low shot with his right foot, sending the ball rocketing into the bottom right corner of the net.

Buffon was helpless. He had been focusing on Pellè and hadn't anticipated the sudden heel pass or Hamsik's run.

2-0!

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!"

"Hamsik! Hamsik doubles Napoli's lead!"

"Two to zero!!!"

"Napoli has scored twice in just over six minutes."

"And it's only been ten minutes since Gao Shen made his substitution."

"Remarkably, both goals were initiated by Parejo."

"In this last attack, we saw excellent coordination between Pellè and Hamsik. These two have had good chemistry since last season, and it's clearly even stronger this season."

"Watching the slow-motion replay, you can see the intelligence and layered movement from Napoli's players."

"Juventus's defenders simply couldn't keep up."

As the crowd erupted in celebration, Hamsik dashed towards the sidelines, arms spread wide, celebrating his goal.

Interestingly, Hamsik was yet another Napoli player sporting a mohawk hairstyle.

"Haha, it seems that Napoli's team is full of eccentric hairstyles!"

"Vidal and Nainggolan both have mohawks, Hamsik has one today, and David Luiz has his distinctive afro. Let's not forget Gervinho from last season, with his unique braids!"

"Some fans have joked that in Napoli, the more unusual your hairstyle, the more popular you are!"

Standing on the sideline, Gao Shen couldn't hide his satisfaction. He confidently placed his hands on his hips, a smile creeping onto his face.

He was well aware that the broadcast cameras were likely focused on him at that moment.

His posture was confident, almost triumphant.

After all, a confident man was often seen as more attractive.

Of course, Gao Shen kept such thoughts to himself, maintaining his calm and composed demeanor.

In his mind, his image was one of a calm, wise, and successful coach.

Behind him, assistant coaches Carlo, Buenaventura, and others watched on with a mix of admiration and amusement. They had long since learned that Gao Shen's thought process could be a bit… unpredictable.

He could jump from topic to topic, from tactics to hairstyles, without missing a beat. His mind was constantly racing, and his assistants could barely keep up.

Perhaps, this was what people meant by a "generation gap."

They couldn't understand Gao Shen's fondness for Twitter, for example. He would casually post a remark or two, and it would trigger an avalanche of comments, retweets, and interactions from fans and players alike.

This trend had even spread to the team. Many Napoli players had started following Gao Shen on Twitter, frequently interacting with him there. Sometimes, Gao Shen would even post about funny moments from training or make lighthearted jabs at certain players.

Oddly enough, the players enjoyed it. Even if they were playfully "scolded" by fans online, they didn't mind. They saw it as part of the team culture.

But beyond social media, there was something about Gao Shen that truly impressed his staff, his rapid growth in tactical acumen and on-the-spot decision-making.

His progress was astonishing.

So much so that sometimes, even the coaching staff struggled to keep up with his thought process.

Take this game, for example.

Terms like "rotation," "positional switches," and other concepts Gao Shen had introduced before the game had seemed overly complex to them. But now, seeing it all play out with those two incredible goals, they had to admit, his tactics were brilliant.

Napoli's coaching staff could barely comprehend the nuances, and neither could Juventus's defenders.

As Gao Shen stood on the sideline, a faint glow seemed to surround him, a coach at the peak of his game.

But after reveling in the moment, Gao Shen suddenly turned to his assistants with a mischievous grin.

"What do you think Ranieri's doing right now?" he asked, his tone full of curiosity.

Carlo and the others couldn't help but laugh.

"What else could he be doing?" one of them replied. "Probably cursing his luck!"

"This is cruel," another added. "Poor Ranieri... He's probably regretting ever coming to Naples!"

Earlier during halftime, Marino, the general manager of Napoli, had reassured Gao Shen with a confident smile, saying, "Don't worry, I'll make sure Ranieri won't even get a moment to breathe."

And now, it seemed like Marino had been true to his word.

They all chuckled, knowing Ranieri must be going through a nightmare in the stands.

"Strangely, though, why haven't they shown Ranieri on the broadcast?" Gao Shen wondered out loud, a glint of mischief in his eyes.

As he voiced this thought, Carlo and the others broke into laughter, some shaking their heads as they walked away.

Messing with Gao Shen was like playing with fire. He had a knack for making sure his opponents regretted it!

At this point, on the pitch, Napoli showed no signs of slowing down. Instead, they continued to press Juventus, maintaining relentless pressure and pushing forward with attack after attack.

This made Juventus's general manager, Blanc, and sporting director, Secco, visibly nervous in the executive box.

Napoli's attack was just too ruthless.

Desperate, Christian Damiano, Ranieri's assistant on the sidelines, decided he couldn't wait for Ranieri's guidance any longer. He made two quick substitutions, bringing on Portugal midfielder Thiago for Almiron, and replacing Grygera with Marchionni to strengthen the right side where Di Maria had been wreaking havoc.

The substitutions seemed to stabilize Juventus, at least temporarily, as they tightened up defensively.

Blanc and Secco finally let out a sigh of relief.

But just then, a stadium staff member approached Marino in the executive box and whispered something in his ear.

"I see," Marino replied calmly before turning to De Laurentiis.

"What's going on?" De Laurentiis asked, sensing something was up.

Blanc and Secco, sitting nearby, were also curious.

Marino sighed. "It seems some of our fans have caused a bit of trouble in the stands, particularly in the section where Juventus fans are seated."

"What happened?" De Laurentiis asked, his voice taking on a concerned tone.

"We just got word that two Juventus fans ended up in the wrong section. They somehow got into a scuffle with our fans and, well... they got roughed up a bit."

"Huh?" Secco blurted out, his face pale.

Blanc's expression wasn't much better.

"They were beaten?" De Laurentiis echoed, feigning shock. "Were they hurt badly?"

"I'm not sure," Marino replied. "But the police intervened and escorted the two Juventus fans out. Apparently, they instigated the fight, so they're the ones being held responsible."

Blanc and Secco exchanged looks, both realizing the significance of what Marino was saying.

"Away fans causing trouble on our turf… Well, they should know better!" De Laurentiis said, his tone darkening. "If they're going to come to Naples, they'd better show some respect!"

Secco could only stare in horror.

Those two "fans" Marino was referring to were actually Juventus staff sent by Secco to help Ranieri communicate.

And now, thanks to the "help" from Napoli's loyal fan base, they'd been escorted out.

In that moment, on the pitch, Juventus's defense on the right side had just managed to stabilize, but a new threat emerged on the left.

Lichtsteiner, in sync with Sanchez, advanced up the wing. The Swiss right-back received a pass from Sanchez near the goal line and sent a quick low cross into the box.

Pellè, perfectly positioned, darted ahead of Chiellini and struck the ball past Buffon into the net.

3-0!

Napoli had sealed the victory!

The entire stadium roared in celebration, and the Juventus staff in the executive box sat frozen in their seats, unable to believe what they were witnessing.