Li Zhao only trained for one day after his return. Atlanta first ushered in the third game of the Europa League group stage on October 19. The opponent was the Apollo Limassol team from Cyprus, which was also the relatively best team in this group.

A weak opponent. Compared with the previous battle, this game has become an appetizer before the team launches the charge again. It is also a good opportunity to test the recovery of the main players after their return and practice by the way.

Some new tactics, because the gap in strength between the two sides is not small, made the entire game easier for the home team. After the first half, the home team already had a 3-0 lead, coach Gass

Pelini replaced some of the main players at the beginning of the second half, and in the end the home team easily won the victory with a score of 4-1. This victory made Atlanta the first team to qualify in Group E.

Then they can focus more on the league.

Two days later, in the ninth round of Serie A, Atlanta faced another challenge from Bologna at home, and the opponents in this game were also not strong. In the end, Atlanta relied on two goals from Li Zhao and Cornelius to win 2-2.

Won the opponent 0 and achieved another first victory in Serie A this season.

Let’s look back at the performance of the other two biggest competitors in this round. Naples encountered the equally strong Inter Milan at home, but they were unable to withstand the pressure this time and ended up with a goalless draw after 90 minutes of fierce battle with their opponents.

.Although they still occupy the top spot, there is only one point left between them and second-place Atalanta, and they may be overtaken at any time. Juventus finally stopped the decline after two consecutive losses.

And ushered in a strong rebound in this round, overturning Udinese 6-2 as a guest. Although they were still only third in the standings after winning the victory, they finally followed up closely.

The pace of both.

With this good start, Atlanta continued to achieve good results in the following league games.

In the tenth round of Serie A on October 25, Atlanta was still playing at home, and this time their opponent was Verona, who was in the relegation zone of the league. So they scored a 4-0 score, Li Zhao, Gomez, Yili

Cic and Freuler each scored one goal.

In the eleventh round of Serie A on October 29, Atlanta challenged Udinese away. Udinese used to be a traditional strong team, but now they have completely fallen into the middle and lower reaches of the team.

In view of the weak opponent's strength, coach Gasperini made some new attempts in the game lineup and used multiple substitute players to start the game. Even Li Zhao was placed on the substitute list, but then

The facts proved that his attempt failed.

Although Kurtic's first goal in the opening stage gave Atalanta a brief lead, this advantage was lost quickly. Udinese scored in the 22nd and 35th minutes of the first half.

The two goals scored immediately reversed the situation on the field, and Cristante unfortunately missed a penalty kick at the end of the first half, which made them only enter the halftime break with a 1-2 deficit.

.

Fortunately, Gasperini finally made a series of adjustments in time. The appearance of several main players, including Li Zhao, allowed Atlanta to stabilize the situation again. Relying on Li Zhao's passes and shots, the team finally completed the reversal.

A decisive victory, and finally won the victory 3-2 with great difficulty.

However, because Juventus and Naples also won these two rounds, Atlanta, which has won three consecutive victories, still has no change in its position in the standings. The three teams have also formed a very strange relationship.

The competition method, and this situation did not change until November.

In the twelfth round of Serie A, Atlanta won four consecutive victories after winning SPAL 2-1 at home; Juventus also defeated Benevento 2-1 at home in this round and continued to keep up with the leader.

The pace; but Naples, playing away from home, was unexpectedly tied by Chievo, and finally handed the top spot to Atalanta.

However, the anxious tug-of-war between the three companies is still going on. In this increasingly fierce competition, even the temporarily leading party will have difficulty breaking away from the pursuit of the other two, not to mention that Atlanta, which has returned to the top of the list, only has a lead of only

There is one point, so I don’t dare to be careless at all. I must ensure that I can continue to win so as not to be pulled down by the chasing troops. And the team that is slightly behind must catch up non-stop, and there is no way.

A chance to breathe a sigh of relief. If the current situation of this season continues, once any team in the first group falls behind due to being unable to hold on, then if the other two opponents are in undiminished condition, the laggard will have to win again.

It will be extremely difficult to catch up. Therefore, the three parties can only grit their teeth at full strength to see who will be unable to hold on due to this first.

However, compared to the other two teams, Atlanta's opponent in the next round is the prestigious Inter Milan, and this is undoubtedly a very difficult nut to crack, although Inter Milan's performance in the standings is not as good as any of the three first groups in the league.

, but it has not been left too far behind. It is currently the leader in the second group. If it is lucky enough, it is not ruled out that it is possible to catch up with the top spot. Atlanta is still playing away from home.

, this is undoubtedly another difficult test for the new leader.

The Meazza Stadium in Milan, also known as the San Siro Stadium, is the home stadium shared by Inter Milan and its rival AC Milan. It only has different names in both parties' mouths, but it is undoubtedly a great stadium with a long history.

.What many people talk about the most is the fierce competition in the same city derby every year. It seems that the split between the two sides at that time reflected the sense of tear between Milan fans, but when one of the teams faced the challenge of the visiting team,

Milan fans will rarely show unity. Maybe for them, their own struggle is important, but the meat is still rotten in the pot, but if outsiders want to cause trouble here, they will never be allowed.

of.

When the Atlanta team arrived here on the morning of November 19, they encountered "concerned" greetings from enthusiastic local fans. Although the players had been prepared for this kind of situation, they were blocked by such a large array of opposing fans.

, it still delayed a lot of time, and this also affected the progress of some of their subsequent preparations, and even the original time to adapt to the venue was compressed a lot.

The match between the two sides officially started at 8:45 pm. Faced with the roar of the visiting fans in the stands, everyone in Atlanta also clearly felt the pressure. After some research, coach Gasperini finally

A 3421 formation, which is relatively both offensive and defensive, was arranged; and Inter Milan obviously also made targeted arrangements. After watching several games in Atlanta, they seemed to have found some flaws and arranged a 4231 formation for this game.

Inter Milan suppressed its opponents to a certain extent after the opening, which also made Atlanta feel uncomfortable on both offense and defense. However, in general, the two sides were still able to barely play back and forth, and Atlanta's best chance was not

In the 15th minute of the game, Ilicic shot a shot from the right side of the opponent's penalty area, but the latter's single-handed goal was finally blocked by the opponent's player in front of the goal line. Several subsequent shots were either resolved by the opponent, or were blocked by the opponent.

It went wide. In comparison, the home team Inter Milan had more chances, but they also failed to seize it. In the end, the two sides tied at 0-0 in the first half.

After the change of sides, Inter Milan further strengthened the side transmission, but Atlanta had loopholes in the defensive matchup at this time, and the opponent frequently broke through from the left wing. What was even worse was the defense against high balls.

The problem that arose was accurately grasped by Inter Milan forward Icardi. First he scored with a header from a corner kick, and then after receiving a cross from his teammate, he jumped high in the small penalty area and shook his head.

The attack helped the home team gain another victory, allowing Inter Milan to establish a 2-0 lead.

As the game time entered the 60th minute, Inter Milan began to appropriately shrink their defense, and Atlanta, which was two goals behind, also decided to launch a vigorous counterattack, but failed many times despite the opponent's targeted defense.

And return.

Although Li Zhao relied on his personal ability to create a penalty kick in the 83rd minute of the game and took the penalty himself, it could not change the result of Atlanta's final away defeat to the opponent 1-2.

This defeat once again handed Atlanta's hard-earned top spot back to Naples, who won this round. However, Juventus also failed to continue to advance in this round and lost 2-3 away to Sampdoria. Although Juventus

Tus is still in the third position, but Inter Milan, which is in the top spot of the second group, has closed the distance between itself and the first group to only one point due to this win. If they don't work hard,

If so, being surpassed will only happen in the blink of an eye.
Chapter completed!