Chapter 913: Inter Milan’s Hope

After 70 minutes, the score on the field was still 0:2. Inter Milan was lagging behind at home and did not have the upper hand on the field.

The Nerazzurri in the stands were already impatient. Many impatient fans began to shout that Leonardo should be dismissed. Even the more patient players began to shout for Coutinho.

Coutinho is a rising star of Inter Milan. He is only 19 years old this year, but he is already regarded as another successor to the king after Gao Xiaodong and Balotelli.

In such a focused battle, it is actually difficult for young people like Coutinho to play a role in changing and deciding the situation. Not every player is Gao Xiaodong. Inter Milan fans also know this very well. They are calling for Coutinho to be replaced. Just expressing dissatisfaction with the offensive players on the field.

Due to Milito's injury, except for veterans Suazo and Coutinho, Leonardo no longer has an attacker on hand who can change the situation.

Suazo is getting older and his condition has declined sharply. In this game with no hope of winning, fans naturally hope that Coutinho can play and experience.

At this time, Leonardo no longer had any confidence in equalizing the score, so he decided to obey the fans' opinions and replace Coutinho.

For Leonardo, whether Coutinho can strengthen his offense is not the most important thing. As long as Coutinho can perform in the game and give fans a little hope, there may be less criticism of him after the game. So a little.

Coutinho did not expect that Leonardo, who seemed a bit conservative, would give him more than 20 minutes of playing time. He thought it would be good to play 5 minutes at the end.

In the 71st minute of the game, Coutinho came on to replace Stankovic.

There was a round of applause in the stands.

For Inter Milan fans, this game is like this, and even this season is like this now. If the young player Coutinho can train himself, even if he cannot reach the level of Gao Xiaodong, he can become another Balotelli. Excellent, at least there is still some hope.

Except for Gao Xiaodong, none of the Manchester United players knew who Coutinho was. They were a little surprised to see that Inter Milan had replaced him with a young boy at this time, thinking that Leonardo was suffering from a serious illness and sought medical treatment, or perhaps I'm ready to give up.

Only Gao Xiaodong showed a cautious look on his face and said to the players around him: "Don't underestimate this Brazilian boy. He is very skilled and smart. If you underestimate him, you will suffer."

Although Gao Xiaodong warned his teammates, Coutinho was too young and too unknown, so the Manchester United players did not care.

In the 73rd minute of the game, Coutinho received the ball for the first time. Under Gao Xiaodong's quick press, Coutinho wanted to smash the ball past Gao Xiaodong's mistake, but Gao Xiaodong stole the ball. Manchester United's subsequent counterattack almost Expand the score.

Coutinho's mistake made Manchester United's players even more disdainful of this young, short, and thin guy.

However, after Coutinho gradually adapted to the rhythm and atmosphere of the game, he slowly began to show his skills and wisdom to the world.

In the 75th minute of the game, Coutinho received the ball in the middle and quickly passed Fletcher. Scholes made up the defense and was passed by Coutinho. Rooney moved closer to the center, trying to prevent Coutinho from advancing into the penalty area. At this time, Coutinho suddenly dribbled the ball towards the wing, staggering Rooney.

Coutinho continuously made breakthroughs in the middle, frightening Manchester United's full-back O'Shea. He was tall and strong and could not be as agile as the 1.71 meter Coutinho. He quickly retreated to leave enough space. , to prevent Coutinho's breakthrough.

Coutinho is not a stupid young man who only knows how to dribble. There are many big guys in the Inter Milan team. How dare he just play with the ball? Seeing that O'Shea did not stick to him, Eto'o came over to lift the ball. Wanting the ball, Coutinho quickly passed the ball to Eto'o.

Coutinho had messed up Manchester United's defense before, and Eto'o suddenly ran to the wing unguarded, giving Eto'o time to calmly handle the ball.

Eto'o stopped and turned around, quickly facing the goal.

Vidic did not follow him at the first moment. When he saw Coutinho passing the ball, it was too late to block it. Eto'o took a step inside the corner of the penalty area and shot directly.

Eto'o is indeed a world-class striker. This ground ball was played quickly and cunningly. Although Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was prepared, he did not pounce. The ball flew past Van der Sar's fingertips. .

However, Van der Sar was lucky, and the must-goal bounced off the goal post.

After Coutinho passed the ball to Eto'o, he did not stand and wait for the ball. When Eto'o shot, he immediately rushed into the penalty area to prepare for the follow-up shot.

Coutinho was lucky. After the ball hit the post, it went towards Coutinho.

However, the ball was too fast, and Coutinho ran towards the goal quickly. Before he could swing his leg, the ball hit his leg and bounced out of the baseline.

This is a good opportunity to become famous with one goal!

Coutinho held his head in his hands in frustration.

When Eto'o saw that he failed to score two consecutive shots, he opened his mouth in frustration and smiled bitterly. Mader, Gao Xiaodong is gone, has he also taken away his luck?

Coutinho's personal performance reminded Manchester United's players that they can no longer take this young man lightly, otherwise this young man may cause some trouble for his own goal.

However, the time has reached almost 80 minutes. Manchester United's players are fighting very hard in front, and their physical energy is almost exhausted. Especially veterans like Scholes, who have almost no sprint ability. It's just that now Manchester United mainly focuses on defensive counterattacks. Having him on the court is mainly about controlling the ball and counterattacking, but now Scholes has become the focus of Coutinho's breakthrough. Fletcher and Gao Xiaodong have to frequently fill in for Scholes.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Ferguson quickly made substitution adjustments. He replaced Scholes with Park Ji-sung, and used the Korean's running to assist Gao Xiaodong and Fletcher in controlling the midfield.

However, Fletcher's physical fitness was about the same. In the 80th minute of the game, Sneijder caught the ball, turned around, passed Fletcher, and passed the ball to Eto'o.

Eto'o was marked by Vidic. He swayed for a moment without moving away from the angle of the shot. He decisively passed the ball to Coutinho who ran over to take over. He quickly inserted into the penalty area, preparing to cooperate with the young man.

Coutinho was flattered when he saw Eto'o give the ball to him, and was about to pass the ball to Eto'o, but Eto'o's intention was seen through by Vidic, who blocked Eto'o with his arm. Soon, he caught up with Eto'o.

Coutinho gave up playing the ball for Eto'o, moved him sideways, past Smalling, and volleyed directly when Park Ji-sung pounced on him.

Coutinho took out a very high-quality curve ball and hit the upper right corner of the goal.

Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar did not expect Coutinho to shoot, let alone that the ball was so tricky. He tried his best but failed to touch the ball, and the ball flew into the net close to the goalpost.

1:2

Coutinho was so excited as he watched the ball hit the net that he took off his jersey, waved it and ran towards the stands.

This goal was something that Inter Milan fans did not expect. In an instant, the entire stadium was boiling, and all the Inter fans jumped up and cheered.

"It's in, it's in..." Martin, the on-site commentator, shouted excitedly: "Coutinho! It's Coutinho! The 19-year-old Inter Milan hopes to score an important goal. This goal puts Inter Milan Back from hell, 1:2! There is still a chance. If we can score another goal in the end, Inter Milan will have hope of survival at Old Trafford..."

Leonardo had no idea that his unintentional substitution would work wonders. Coutinho got a goal back. He rushed to the sidelines with excitement and waved his fist towards the court in celebration.

This kid became famous with one goal! Gao Xiaodong watched Coutinho score a long shot, shook his head and sighed. He was originally planning to let Zhang Qi dig out Coutinho, but now I'm afraid there is no chance. After scoring this goal, Coutinho will definitely enter. The eyes of wealthy families must be disdainful of small shrimps like Xinglong Company.

Ferguson didn't feel nervous. Although Inter Milan pulled back a point, Inter Milan had to score at least two goals at Old Trafford to eliminate Manchester United. Manchester United still had an absolute advantage, but they must not let Inter Milan score another goal.

Ferguson quickly called Anderson, who had been warming up for a while, to replace Fletcher, who was physically exhausted, and then asked forward Hernandez to warm up and prepare to replace Berbatov.