章節 86: Chapter 86: A Perfect Half-Season
Chapter 86: A Perfect Half-Season
Midweek brought the final round of group stage matches in European competition.
Juventus's match in Turkey was postponed to Wednesday afternoon due to heavy snow. In a snowy battle, Juventus was defeated 1-0 by Galatasaray, finishing third in their group and moving down to the Europa League.
Napoli's tragedy unfolded as expected. Despite a 2-0 home victory over Arsenal, Dortmund's 2-1 win away at Marseille placed all three teams at 12 points. Dortmund topped the group with a better goal difference, followed by Arsenal, leaving Napoli in third place due to their inferior goal difference, and thus they were relegated to the Europa League.
Of the three Italian teams in the Champions League, only AC Milan from Group H advanced. They secured their place by drawing 0-0 with direct rivals Ajax at San Siro, finishing second in the group with 9 points.
On Thursday night, three Serie A teams competed in the Europa League.
Fiorentina, playing first, won 2-1 at home against Dnipro, topping their group and moving on to the knockout stage.
Udinese then played away at Estoril, with Bruno contributing a goal and an assist, securing second place in their group. Lazio, already assured of advancement, played a goalless draw against Trabzonspor at the Stadio Olimpico, also finishing second in their group.
Thus, all six Italian teams competing in European competitions managed to stay in the running, though Juventus and Napoli had to settle for the Europa League after being knocked out of the Champions League.
On Friday, while the main squad of Udinese flew back from Portugal, the general manager and coach went to Nyon, Switzerland, for the Europa League knockout draw. The results pitted Udinese against Dutch powerhouse AZ Alkmaar, with a challenging schedule that had them playing at home first.
This was the second meeting between the two in the Europa League. In the 2011-2012 season, they met in the round of 16. Udinese lost 2-0 away and, despite a 2-1 win at home, was eliminated with a 3-2 aggregate score.
However, the rematch would be months away, giving both teams time to prepare.
On December 15th, Udinese faced Torino in Serie A's 16th round at home. The quick turnaround from the midweek Europa League match left Udinese visibly fatigued, while Torino played aggressively. The first half ended 0-0.
In the second half, Udinese narrowly avoided conceding early. In the 75th minute, Kanté intercepted a cross from Diamanti, preserving the stalemate. Fortune smiled on Udinese in the 81st minute when Bruno's through pass found Di Natale, who broke the offside trap and scored the only goal of the match.
After the match, Kanté was hailed as the man of the match for his defensive prowess, contributing five tackles, the most of any Udinese player on the field.
On the afternoon of December 21st, Udinese visited the Piola Stadium in Novara. It was Bruno's first return since his transfer. The crowd of ten thousand gave him a standing ovation, acknowledging his contributions to the team's promotion to Serie A.
However, the warm pre-match atmosphere vanished with the kickoff. Novara, almost unrecognizable to Bruno due to numerous player changes since last season, struggled in the league and was in the relegation zone after six consecutive losses.
The disparity in strength was apparent as the match progressed. Udinese, led by Bruno, quickly dominated, and Kanté's midfield steal set up Bruno, whose pinpoint pass allowed Di Natale to score in the 11th minute. Novara managed to equalize in the 30th minute, but the first half ended 1-1.
Udinese continued to press in the second half and regained the lead in the 65th minute from a corner kick by Bruno, which Di Natale converted with a superb volley, marking his tenth league goal of the season.
With the winter break approaching, Udinese had surprised everyone with their performance, sitting just one point behind Juventus in second place in Serie A with a record-setting 42 points for the first half of the season.
As the Serie A entered its winter hiatus, Udinese was recognized as one of the season's title favorites, second only to Juventus in the championship odds.
(End of Chapter)
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