Chapter 157

When Platini appeared on the podium, the politicians, businessmen, and football celebrities already seated stood up to greet him and shake his hand. As a legendary French football star and now the UEFA president, Platini enjoyed considerable popularity among the French people.

Lyon's chairman, Aulas, led Platini to the very center of the front row of the podium, the best spot to watch the match.

At this time, the players from both sides were still warming up. The TV broadcast cameras, with nothing better to do, quickly captured Platini's arrival and the "grand occasion" on the podium.

Napoli's chairman, De Laurentiis, also traveled with the team to the away game to cheer them on. However, he didn't sit on the podium but instead chose a private box, where he watched the match with the team's general manager, Bigon.

They also saw Platini's figure on the television screen.

"Quite a scene," Bigon said with a smile, his tone lacking any discernible respect for the man in charge of UEFA.

"This is their home ground, after all," De Laurentiis shook his head, turning his gaze away from the television screen and back to the players warming up on the field.

Actually, Napoli shouldn't be feeling any pressure in this match, as they had already qualified in advance. Lyon was also optimistic, believing that this match would prioritize friendship over competition. Napoli, having already qualified, would do Lyon a favor, allowing both teams to advance together—a happy outcome for everyone.

But De Laurentiis didn't see it that way. If his team lost to Lyon, they would have to advance as the second-place team in the group and then face a behemoth like Barcelona in the round of sixteen?

Why should Napoli sacrifice itself for the sake of others, guaranteeing Lyon's first-place finish in the group while facing such formidable opponents themselves?

Therefore, he quite agreed with Mazzarri's goal of "striving for first place in the group." We Neapolitans have never been the kind of people who sacrifice ourselves for the benefit of others!

He thought of something. Before the match, he had received a call from a well-connected journalist who reminded him to be careful of Platini. He didn't understand why he should be wary of Platini. Was it because he had publicly announced his support for Lyon and come to the stadium to cheer them on? But what was there to fear about that? Lyon's players wouldn't suddenly get a shot of adrenaline just because of Platini's support. Platini didn't have that much influence… If Maradona were to come and watch a Napoli match in person, the entire Napoli team would be more likely to transform into superheroes.

Platini wasn't a legendary figure for Lyon, so how could his influence on Lyon be compared to Maradona's influence on Napoli?

So why be careful of him? Was he going to come down to the field and help Lyon play?

Hahaha!

The thought made De Laurentiis burst out laughing—it was too absurd!

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Platini sat in his seat, exchanging pleasantries with the people around him.

Aulas seemed very happy. To have such a big figure like Platini come to the stadium to watch the match and publicly express his support for Lyon was an honor for Lyon and would definitely boost their morale. He believed that Lyon was capable of winning this match…

No matter how dark a horse Napoli might be, could they really cause trouble on our Lyon's home turf?

When the time comes, we will have a strong home advantage, and the boos from our home fans alone will be enough to make your legs go weak!

Platini simply stared intently at the field, even though there was nothing happening at the moment, as the warm-up players from both sides had already left.

He stared at the field in a trance, his eyes deep and unfathomable. No one knew what he was thinking.

Perhaps he was considering the grand plan for the development of European football…

But in reality, what Platini was thinking was… I hope there won't be any mishaps in this match, right?

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Aulas thought that Napoli would perform poorly away from home, but the reality was completely different from what he had imagined.

Napoli, for some reason, seemed to have eaten something that gave them extra strength. From the very beginning of the match, they played with all their might, showing no signs of timidity and adopting a solid defense and counter-attack strategy that Lyon detested the most.

If you want to win, you must have a strategy. You can't rely on sheer passion, as passion alone won't bring victory.

Mazzarri knew that Lyon was eager to win the match, and with the advantage of playing at home, they certainly wouldn't choose a defensive tactic. Therefore, they would press forward and attack, hoping to use a fierce offensive and an early goal to silence Napoli and force them to accept their role as mere supporting actors.

After understanding Lyon's strategy, Mazzarri formulated a defensive counter-attack tactic for his team.

This was by no means a passive defensive counter-attack but one in which they would quickly insert players to support the attack whenever an opportunity arose, forming a local numerical advantage in a very short period, suppressing a certain point of Lyon's defense and thus leaving them overwhelmed and full of loopholes. In that case, Napoli's attack would be much easier.

So, it wasn't surprising that everyone from the Lyon chairman to the Lyon fans was shocked when Napoli showed their swift momentum in the counter-attacks.

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The Italian commentator was very excited: "Napoli was not intimidated by Lyon's momentum in their own stadium, they showed their courage!"

On the other hand, the Lyon team was surprised and unprepared for the momentum that Napoli displayed—they were too confident in their experience, believing that Napoli, having already qualified for the group stage, wouldn't bother arguing with them and fighting to the death.

So, fifteen minutes into the match, even though Napoli was playing a defensive counter-attack and their possession rate was not as high as Lyon's, Napoli was far ahead in terms of threatening shots on goal—3:1.

Napoli had a total of three shots, and all three of them were very dangerous. As for Lyon? They only had one shot in total, and that shot was ridiculously off target…

Mazzarri stood on the sidelines with a calm expression, but inside he was very excited—if things continued to develop like this, it wouldn't be a pipe dream for Napoli to defeat Lyon on their home turf!

If we get first place in the group, we can go further in the Champions League knockout stage!

We need to score! We need to score as soon as possible! Once we take the lead, the game will be completely under our control!

Mazzarri clenched his fist.

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In the twenty-first minute, the first climax of the match finally arrived.

Napoli launched an attack in the frontcourt. Hamsik moved forward, and Cassano dribbled the ball from the wing towards the center, then passed the ball to Hamsik. Next, he changed his direction and turned to insert himself into the penalty area.

Just as he was parallel with Lyon's defensive line, Hamsik sent a straight through ball. Cassano received the ball behind the defense and then shot at the onrushing goalkeeper Lloris!

With a flick of his ankle, the ball drew a whistling arc, bypassing the onrushing goalkeeper Lloris, and then… fell into the goal!

"Goal—goal!!!" Napoli's commentator stood up and shouted, as if they had already won the match.

In reality, taking an early lead has a lot to do with winning the match…

The Napoli fans in front of the TV and at the stadium showed the exact same reaction. They raised their arms, opened their mouths, and cheered loudly, celebrating the team's wonderful start.

The Stade de Gerland was filled with all kinds of noises, so much so that Cassano, who was running wildly to celebrate the goal, didn't hear the referee's urgent whistle…

Not only him, but even the other Napoli players didn't hear it. Chen Hero was the first to run towards Cassano with open arms, planning to hug and celebrate with him. Then, more players rushed over.

But Paolo Cannavaro kept waving his hands, signaling everyone to retreat and defend!

The expression on his face was extremely anxious!

Because the referee didn't rule the goal valid but instead ruled that Cassano was offside!

The reacting Lyon players quickly took a free kick from the backcourt, but at this time, many of the Napoli players were still celebrating the goal in the frontcourt and couldn't retreat to defend at all!

"Ah… Wait… This is! This is Lyon's counter-attack! What's going on?" The Napoli commentator was also dumbfounded.

"Napoli's goal was ruled invalid, they were offside… Lyon seized this opportunity, they quickly took a free kick from the backcourt, and the Napoli players are still celebrating the goal in the frontcourt!"

"This is Lyon's chance!!!"

The Lyon fans in the stands switched from booing to cheering very quickly.

But the Napoli fans seemed a little unprepared. They were all stunned, and some of them were still holding their arms up in the air in a celebratory gesture.

The Napoli players, realizing that something was wrong, looked bewildered. Many of them had already started to chase back, but could they be faster than the flying football?

Lyon came to the front of the goal with three passes and two touches, and then Lyon's forward Delgado unleashed a powerful shot, and the ball flew into the goal…

In an instant, the situation went from a Napoli goal to a Lyon goal.

This time, there was no sharp and piercing whistle to spoil the atmosphere. Everyone turned their attention to the referee, wanting to see how he would rule. The referee pointed to the center circle—the goal was valid!

"Ooooh!!!"

The Lyon fans let out a long roar, celebrating the goal.

The Napoli fans, on the other hand, held their heads in their hands, as if struck by lightning!

The Napoli players were not happy. They rushed towards the referee, waving their arms and shouting: "What's going on! We were the ones who scored!"

"I want you to give us an explanation! An explanation! There's nothing wrong with our goal!"

"Offside? What kind of offside are you talking about? You stupid…" Cassano was about to curse when he was pulled away by his teammates. Everyone knew his temper, and if he uttered that curse, he would probably get at least a yellow card…

"Even if we were offside, should you have waited for us to come back before letting Lyon take the free kick?"

"Your ruling is completely wrong!"

"There's absolutely no way we were offside! There's absolutely no way we were offside!" Chen Hero roared, almost wanting to devour the referee. "There's nothing wrong with this goal!! Damn it! Nothing wrong with it! Your ruling has no basis!"

A group of angry Napoli players surrounded the referee, spitting saliva at him.

It was estimated that this guy would have to wash his face several times to get the saliva off his face…

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Watching the Napoli players besieging the referee and the Lyon players celebrating the goal, Aurelio De Laurentiis, sitting in the VIP box, suddenly thought of the advice that the familiar journalist had given him earlier.

Be careful of Platini!

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ps, The second update is here, monthly votes, monthly votes!