novelhk Chapter 48: Five consecutive wins at the start! A goal scored in the Champions League away game!
Chapter 48: Five consecutive wins at the start! A goal scored in the Champions League away game!
Chang Huan shone brightly in the Champions League, and in the following days he was constantly greeted by enthusiastic fans at the entrance of the Trigoria training ground.
The majority of the fans are enthusiastic and outgoing female fans.
They always try to get the ball signed in special places like the chest, waist, or thigh.
They all unanimously rejected this.
Only autographs on jerseys and posters are accepted.
Roma players driving by would often stop and whistle at them, making a casual joke.
"Francesco, have you noticed that your dribbling and ball control are more refined?"
Under the coach's tent at the training ground, Di Francisco watched with sharp eyes as Chang Huan smoothly dribbled past him during light contact, and asked his assistant curiously.
Tommy gently pinched his chin with his right hand and nodded slightly: "It is indeed more precise, and I have noticed that he does not look up to observe as frequently as before, but he still seems to maintain high-precision coverage of the usual blind spots. Every long pass attempt is almost perfectly timed."
"This... this must be true talent, right?"
Di Francesco's career began as a workhorse midfielder, later becoming a well-rounded player in both attack and defense, but overall he was rather unremarkable and couldn't be considered a true football genius.
"If only I had been born in Italy..."
The thought that the Italian national team will most likely only be able to play in the World Cup playoffs in Russia makes me feel a bit sentimental.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The 2017-2018 Serie A season has entered its first period of consecutive weeks with two matches, giving teams that will participate in the World Cup finals in Russia next year enough preparation time.
Roma's three league opponents before the second round of the Champions League were of very average strength.
They are all ranked outside the top 10.
Verona and Benevento were the first to take on the challenge, and even the second-to-last and last-placed teams were among them.
Roma, in excellent form, secured their fifth consecutive league win with victories of 3-0 and 4-0.
Chang Huan provided assists in both matches and was involved in the penultimate pass for both goals.
Dzeko was the team's best player, scoring twice in consecutive games.
He has increased his personal Serie A goal tally to 8 this season, leading the top scorer list.
He frequently graces the front pages of major sports news outlets, making him Roma's most watched star player!
In China, Chang Huan, who is gradually becoming a key player in Rome, is the absolute center of attention.
[5 assists in 5 games! 17-year-old Chinese teenager Chang Huan leads the Serie A assist charts with 5 assists]
After all, Chang Huan also demonstrated a significant tactical role in the match.
He can easily break through defenses that his teammates can't get past, or draw fouls from them.
He can deliver threatening balls that other teammates can't, as long as the opponent is momentarily careless, to a teammate who has made a run into space.
The only problem that has been criticized is shooting.
The 2017-2018 Serie A season has concluded with five rounds of matches.
With outstanding performances from Dzeko and Chang Huan, Rome swept through the enemy lines.
Five wins out of five, accumulating 15 points.
They scored 14 goals and conceded 3.
A goal difference of +11.
But... it's not enough to reach the top.
With five rounds of Serie A completed this season, Napoli and Juventus remain undefeated.
Napoli has the most potent attack and a decent defense.
With 19 goals scored and only 3 conceded, they hold a goal difference of +16 and are ranked first in the standings.
Defending champions Juventus have the same number of goals scored, goals conceded, and goal difference as Roma.
In this context, the abbreviation of team names is particularly important.
The Roman abbreviation is not Roma, but ASRoma.
Juventus is abbreviated as Juventus FC, and therefore ranks third in the league.
Two days later.
The sixth round of the 2017-2018 Serie A season is here.
Roma, Juventus, and Napoli, who have Champions League matches to play, will kick off their league games first on Saturday.
Rome was the earliest, at 3 pm local time on Saturday.
This timing is very friendly to Chinese fans.
9 PM!
However, Roma will be conserving their energy for the Champions League group stage match against Qarabag next week, with Chang Huan, who played nearly the full 2 minutes in the first two league games, on the bench.
The Stadio Olimpico in Rome was nearly full due to Roma's perfect record in all competitions this season.
Their opponent is Udinese, who have 3 points from 1 win and 4 losses in the first five rounds.
Roma, in top form, ended the game in the first half.
El Shaarawy explodes!
2 shots and 1 assist.
The second half lasted for 45 minutes and became a complete waste of time.
Chang Huan came on as a substitute for El Shaarawy in the 75th minute to get a feel for the game in the Champions League next week.
His ball control, breakthroughs, and playmaking all posed a real threat to the visiting Udinese defense.
If Perotti hadn't wasted his chances, Roma could have easily taken a four-goal lead.
Towards the end of the match, Chang Huan received a pass from Lorenzo Pellegrini on the right wing and used a series of changes in rhythm to cut inside.
He dribbled the ball to the edge of the penalty area, raised his left foot, faked a shot, and then cut inside into the penalty area.
Center-back Angela was too slow to react and kicked Chang Huan, who had already deflected the ball away, to the ground.
Referee Luca Bandi promptly awarded a penalty.
Perotti missed a golden opportunity, failing to convert his penalty kick.
Squandering scoring opportunities will inevitably backfire.
In the first minute of stoppage time, Strig Larsen helped the away team salvage some pride.
In the end, Roma defeated Udinese 3-1 at home.
Their winning streak at the start of the league season has extended to six games, temporarily placing them at the top of the league table.
Just two hours later, Napoli beat SPAL 3-2 away from home to regain the lead.
Juventus, playing the latest match, secured a resounding 4-0 victory over Torino in the Turin derby, while Roma, who had previously slipped to second place, dropped to third in the league due to a two-goal deficit on goal difference.
Roma fans are a little disappointed, but... not worried!
We won against all the opponents we were supposed to beat, and we also overcame even the strongest opponents.
Roma's Champions League second group stage match against Qarabag took place on Wednesday night.
As is customary internationally, the team flew directly from Rome to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, on Tuesday morning.
Located in Eurasia, Azerbaijan is only four hours ahead of Beijing, making the match time relatively friendly to Chinese fans.
相比于夏令时凌晨2点45和冬令时3点45分，本场在帝都时间凌晨12点开球的欧冠比赛吸引诸多中国球迷。
Despite being at the bottom of Group C, Qarabag still holds a huge appeal for Chinese fans.
Who made Chang Huan his first ever Champions League start?
More than an hour before the match, UEFA released the official starting lineups submitted by both teams.
Chang Huan, along with Dzeko and El Shaarawy, formed Roma's attacking trident.
However, the midfield rotation was clearly a move to conserve energy for the weekend's away game against AC Milan at the San Siro.
Nainggolan, Gonalons, and Lorenzo Pellegrini lead the midfield trio.
Qarabag will host Roma, marking the first time in the club's history that they will play as the home team in a Champions League group stage match.
The 6-0 defeat in the first round at Stamford Bridge did not dampen the enthusiasm of Qarabag fans.
The Tofik-Bakhramov Stadium, which can accommodate 32000 spectators, was packed to capacity.
Qarabag, playing at home, knew they were far weaker than Roma and had no pressure as the home team.
Just set up the bus honestly.
The first thirty minutes.
Roma, having seized control of the game, launched a relentless offensive.
Qarabag's overall defense was excellent, and the referee also gave the home team some leeway, turning a blind eye to any obvious fouls.
The score on the scoreboard remained unchanged.
In addition, the fact that Qarabag's home stadium uses artificial turf is a problem for Roma players who are used to playing on natural grass.
Its very hard texture causes the pass to be faster, affecting the prediction of the landing point.
Roma's attacks seemed to come wave after wave, but they actually created very few chances to threaten the goal.
Of course, it is also related to the fact that Chang Huan received special care.
His away jersey and shorts were covered in black stains, and there were two bloody scratches on his neck, apparently from someone scratching him.
The sweat on his face was stuck together with artificial grass clippings, making him look more like a refugee.
CCTV-5 commentator He Wei said, "Qarabag was very well prepared before the match, Chang Huan..."
Before he finished speaking, Florenzi passed the ball directly to Chang Huan on the right flank.
Qarabag's left-back Agoli and defensive midfielder Richard Almed were well-prepared.
Chang Huan, who had been moving inwards, did not pass the ball in this time, but instead let it pass to the other side.
The defensive players were completely unprepared for this change.
Chang Huan, catching up with the ball, stopped and dribbled it to the right sideline of the penalty area before unleashing a feint and a quick cut-off with his right foot.
Left center-back Sadykov, forced to cover, was tricked into jumping.
Chang Huan adjusted his footing and crossed the ball with his left foot from the edge of the right side of the penalty area.
Agoli, who rushed back at full speed, was a beat too slow and could only watch helplessly as the ball, which arced through the air like a rainbow, fell towards the far post of the penalty area where Lorenzo Pellegrini had been missed.
With barely any effort, Lorenzo Pellegrini leaned back and flicked a shot into the net from the near post...
"Chang Huan assists Lorenzo Pellegrini to score the first goal!"
CCTV-5 commentator He Wei exclaimed with enthusiasm: "Roma takes a 1-0 lead against Qarabag away from home!"