Chapter 2 Lyon Was Alarmed by the Score of 2:3, Because It Meant They Were About to Be Eliminated...

Lyon's club president, Aulas, looked ashen and sat dejectedly in the presidential box. He had originally thought that winning this match at home would be easy, but he never expected Napoli to suddenly go crazy for some reason, and there was no stopping them.

Platini, sitting next to him, was expressionless, as if the outcome of the match between Napoli and Lyon had nothing to do with him.

No one knew how much he was gnashing his teeth inside...

A slap in the face, a slap in the face, a blatant slap in the face.

※※※

There were a full five minutes of injury time in this match, which caused some dissatisfaction from Mazzarri. The refereeing team naturally had their reasons, because the main referee had fainted and been taken off the field, and replacing him had taken some time.

Mazzarri had already made a substitution before this. Cassano came off, and an extra center-back was added.

During injury time, he made another substitution. This substitution was purely to delay the game.

The substituted Arshavin deliberately walked slowly off the field, and when Lyon players expressed their dissatisfaction, he jogged a few steps, then raised his hands and applauded, hugging and shaking hands with his teammates as he passed them.

By the time he slowly "waddled" off the field, the Stade de Gerland was filled with deafening boos—Lyon fans believed he was deliberately wasting time.

Arshavin did not go directly to the bench, but after hugging coach Mazzarri, he walked to the sidelines. There, his teammates had already stood shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, forming a line, waiting for the referee's whistle so they could rush onto the field to celebrate.

Although they were only leading by one goal, and they were often told that "leading by only one goal is the most dangerous score in the world," at this moment, they were surprisingly confident, believing that Lyon would not be able to equalize, and that victory would belong to the glorious and tenacious Napoli!

After experiencing this match, they had never been so confident—even Platini can't do anything to us, so what's there to be afraid of!

※※※

Chen Hero was not substituted early; he was still on the field, making the most of his heading ability and physical qualities.

Whenever Napoli defended in their own half and got the ball, they would kick it long towards the front, and then Chen Hero would use his body to protect the ball, delaying the game.

It wasn't easy to steal the ball from him if there was only one opponent. Generally, Lyon had to use two or more players to intercept the ball. And it had to be with... a suspected foul.

However, at this time, the referee basically didn't call fouls in this kind of situation.

The Napoli players didn't bother to raise their hands to protest to the referee; they had to defend first. They couldn't let the situation in the first half, when they conceded the first goal, happen again.

This kind of defensive pressure was actually very high, because their opponents weren't just Lyon's eleven players, but also the refereeing team. No one knew if the referee would find an opportunity to award a penalty at the last moment… They believed that the referee could really do it.

So Napoli was particularly careful when defending, sometimes even preferring to defend against the opponent's turn and then intercept them from the front, rather than sticking a leg out from behind.

If the opponent fell at that moment, it would most likely be a foul.

Despite the great pressure, Napoli held on!

When injury time reached six minutes, Mazzarri rushed to the sidelines, raising his arm high, and pointing to the watch on his other wrist to remind the referee—time was up!

※※※

"The game is over! The game should be over!" The Italian and Napoli commentators were shouting, as if their shouts could remind the referee.

At this time, the entire Lyon team was still attacking. They launched an attack from their own half, passing the ball to the front. At this point, it was already the sixth minute of injury time, and in theory, the injury time should have been over. But it seemed that the referee wanted to include the time Napoli had wasted on substitutions in injury time as well... but even so, it was long overdue.

The Napoli substitutes protested on the sidelines, raising their arms in dissatisfaction.

The referee turned a blind eye, as if he wanted Lyon to finish this attack, maybe they would score a goal this time?

At this time, Chen Hero had retreated to the penalty area, so Lyon's attack was unimpeded, and they rushed directly into the thirty-meter zone.

Faced with the crowded penalty area, Lyon chose the simplest method—a cross from the byline.

Chen Hero's defensive ability was actually very poor, but heading was exactly what he was best at...

Lyon crossed the ball from the wing, and the ball flew into the penalty area. It was not headed by any Lyon player, but instead, Chen Hero flicked his head and directed the ball towards the sideline.

"Now you fucking have to blow the whistle, right!" Mazzarri roared furiously from the sidelines.

Finally, he heard the referee's whistle, three times! It was the final whistle!

"The game is over—the game is over!" the Italian commentator shouted.

"We are the top of the group!" the Napoli commentator screamed, raising his arms to the sky.

Arshavin, Cassano, and other substitutes rushed onto the field, turning the Stade de Gerland into their paradise for celebration.

※※※

Napoli defeated the powerful Lyon at the Stade de Gerland and took first place in the group.

Anyone who had watched this match would probably not consider it a normal match.

Many people thought that Napoli was doomed to lose, because their opponents were too strong...

But who would have thought that the ones laughing and celebrating in the end were the visiting Napoli players?

As soon as the match ended, Platini left the presidential box at the Stade de Gerland with a gloomy face, disappearing from everyone's sight.

In fact, he already knew the result of the other match. Over there, Liverpool had equalized at the last moment, so even if Lyon lost the match, they still edged out Zenit St. Petersburg by one point to take second place in the group, securing a spot in the knockout stage.

Zenit, on the other hand, could only play in the UEFA Cup.

For Lyon, this should be a good result, and for Platini, who was determined to get Lyon through, it should also be a good result.

But Platini just couldn't smile, because his face... had been slapped swollen in this match...

His arrangements had been so secure, but they had been ruined by a team of madmen!

And... they had aimed their spearhead at him.

Because of Napoli's unexpected strong resistance and lack of cooperation, the refereeing issue had become the focus of everyone's attention in this match. After the match, the media would definitely have something to say. He had to figure out how to suppress the media's voice...

The dignified UEFA president was in such a mess, and it was all because of... Napoli, and Napoli's number nine, Chen Hero!

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Chen Hero, who was resented by Platini, was being interviewed in the mixed zone at this time.

"I'm very happy that we were able to win this match. Because this match was really too difficult. Our opponents were definitely not just Lyon's eleven players! As for what other opponents there were? I think you all saw it, so I don't need to say more, right?"

"I'm very happy to win the match, and I'm also very happy to be at the top of the scoring chart. But none of this is as happy as being able to score two goals in such a difficult match."

"Hero, your celebratory gesture after your second goal seemed to have a deeper meaning?" a reporter asked.

Chen Hero, who had been smiling, put on a serious face and said, "That's my signature celebratory gesture—reporters who often cover Serie A know that. I know that Mr. Platini also came to watch the match, so I was so excited that I paid tribute to President Platini. I want to dedicate that goal to President Platini, and I want to dedicate this victory to President Platini. I think he must be very happy. Because I want to thank him. It was his presence at the match that inspired our entire team and made me fight with high morale, allowing me to defeat Lyon. It's all because President Platini came to watch the match and cheer us on. During halftime, we vowed not to disappoint Mr. Platini, who came to watch the match, so our performance in the second half was very good... You know, I've been an admirer of President Platini since I was a child. It's really my honor to have this opportunity to show our strength in front of him..."

The more Chen Hero said, the more outrageous it became. At first, the reporter who was interviewing him really thought that Chen Hero was planning to dedicate the goal and the victory to Platini. But after hearing the rest, he realized... Damn it, this was completely sarcasm!

The Napoli players who were being interviewed by other reporters next to them had a hard time holding back their laughter after hearing Chen Hero's words.

It was only when they had all finished their interviews that they could laugh happily.

A group of people crowded around Chen Hero and walked towards their locker room.

"You're too good at bragging, Hero! I almost got fooled by you at first!"

"After filming an advertisement in Egypt, I found that your acting skills have improved, Hero..."

"I was wondering, what kind of expression will Platini have after hearing these words?"

Chen Hero grinned: "It must be wonderful!"

Everyone laughed, their laughter echoing in the player tunnel, mocking the person who had left in disgrace.

※※※

At the post-match press conference, Mazzarri did not talk about the refereeing issue; his mind had cooled down. He knew that if his team wanted to survive in Europe, they couldn't offend UEFA. In this match, they had already slapped Platini hard in the face. He didn't know if President Platini was magnanimous enough to not hold a grudge after being slapped in the face. He didn't dare to gamble the fate of his entire team on President Platini's character.

Anyway, they had won this match and taken first place in the group, so there was no need to dwell on this issue. The players could say some angry words, but he was the coach, and he couldn't say anything rash, as it would implicate his team.

When reporters asked about the referee's performance and the controversial calls, Mazzarri changed his angry demeanor from the match and shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head: "Refereeing issues happen from time to time, but there's nothing to be surprised about. These are just ordinary misjudgments. It's just unfortunate that these misjudgments were all concentrated in our match with Lyon, and it's very coincidental that they were all unfavorable to us... But it's already over, so let's leave it at that. The most important thing is that we were able to advance as the top of the group, that's the most important thing."

Puel said at his press conference that he was already satisfied with qualifying from the group.

"It doesn't matter whether you're second or first in the group. Being first in the group doesn't necessarily mean things will go smoothly, and being second in the group doesn't necessarily mean you can't go further. I think it depends on the team's form, not your group ranking..."

He was also asked about the refereeing issue by reporters, and he also chose a cautious approach.

"I don't know. Perhaps the referee's decisions did have some questionable aspects, but I think that's the job of the UEFA Referee Committee, not mine. I've always told my players not to judge the referee. I have to do the same myself."

Although both coaches chose to avoid talking about the referee's issue, the media was very clear that the referee's issue would definitely be unavoidable after the match, and many media outlets would discuss it.

At that time, it would depend on what kind of explanation Platini could give...