Chapter 75: The Smoke of the European War

After breaking his goal drought and defeating Malaga, Dai Zhiwei was about to experience his first European match. Although Villarreal was only competing in the Europa League this season, their first knockout stage opponent was none other than Napoli, one of the strongest contenders for the Serie A title.

Last week, Napoli had lost 0-1 to Juventus in a high-profile Serie A clash, reluctantly surrendering their place at the top of the table. However, Napoli was not convinced by the result; from the way the match played out, their coach Sarri believed his team at least deserved a point. Napoli’s attacking talisman, Higuain, was presented with a golden opportunity just before halftime, but Bonucci’s brilliant clearance left the Argentine striker ruing his missed chance.

Higuain’s silence in front of goal ultimately condemned Napoli to defeat on the road, yet the offensive threat posed by both him and the entire Napoli side could never be underestimated.

After 25 rounds of Serie A, Napoli had scored 53 goals, the only team in the league to have surpassed the fifty-goal mark. Their goal difference of 33 was even higher than Juventus’s. Of those 53 goals, 24 had come from Higuain alone—nearly half the team’s total!

Beyond Higuain, winger Insigne’s performances were equally impressive. In 24 appearances, he had scored 10 goals and provided 10 assists, becoming the first player in Serie A this season to record double digits in both categories.

Napoli’s defense, which had conceded 54 goals in 38 matches the previous season, had seen a remarkable transformation; after 25 matches, they had let in just 20 goals, the second-best defensive record in Serie A, behind only Juventus.

A key factor in Napoli’s defensive resurgence was the consistent performance of center-back Koulibaly. With excellent physical attributes and a commanding height of 1.95 meters, he ruled the air. More importantly, he paid close attention to his positioning. His acute sense of placement ensured he was always aware of his distance from the full-backs and his center-back partner, Albiol.

Additionally, Koulibaly possessed a keen ability to read the game, constantly alert to potential attacking threats. When shifting from defense to attack, he boasted impressive long-passing skills, able to deliver accurate 40- to 50-yard balls to wingers Callejón and Insigne. In Napoli’s short-passing, possession-based system, Koulibaly’s precise long balls provided a valuable variation to their attacking style.

Villarreal and Napoli had met four times previously, all in 2011, with the “Yellow Submarine” managing only one win, one draw, and two defeats. In their most recent two encounters, home and away, Napoli had emerged 2-0 victors each time.

The odds for this match were quite close, but with Napoli challenging for the league title and Villarreal clearly not in the same class as the top three, Napoli came into the game in much better form.

Both teams announced their starting lineups the day before the match. The in-form Dai Zhiwei was, without question, Villarreal’s starting striker, partnered up front by the veteran Soldado.

Napoli’s predicted lineup: Reina; Strinic, Chiriches, Hysaj, Koulibaly; Hamsik, Valdifiori, Lopez; Higuain, Gabbiadini, Mertens.

Villarreal’s starting eleven: Areola; Musacchio, Costa, Gaspar, Ruiz; Trigueros, Bruno, Suarez, Dos Santos; Dai Zhiwei, Soldado.

As the match was set to begin, the players emerged onto the pitch. A gentle drizzle fell over the Estadio de la Cerámica, but it was not enough to affect the game’s proceedings.

Walking out of the players’ tunnel, Dai Zhiwei kept his eyes fixed on Higuain ahead of him. This was the second time in his career he had come face-to-face with a world-class striker—the first, of course, being Suarez in the Club World Cup.

“Maybe I’m not as strong as him yet, but that day isn’t far off!” Dai Zhiwei clenched his fists, motivating himself. His current rating was 87; he estimated Higuain’s was about the same. Their abilities were now quite close—experience remained the biggest gap.

The match began. Napoli, after kicking off, sought to control the tempo with patient passing in their own half.

But Napoli was not Barcelona; their possession wasn’t absolute. A lapse by Valdifiori was seized upon by Dos Santos, who stole the ball in defense.

Villarreal launched an attack, Dos Santos switching play from right to left. Trigueros drove into the box, but Reina was quick off his line to claim the ball.

Villarreal, urged on by the home crowd, pressed forward again. Costa sent a long ball into the Napoli penalty area. Dai Zhiwei collected it, but the linesman’s flag was up—offside.

“Italian teams really are masters of defensive awareness!” Dai Zhiwei gave his teammate a thumbs-up. He’d only gone a step early, but that single stride revealed the defensive discipline of Serie A sides.

This was Dai Zhiwei’s first encounter with an Italian club.

Napoli responded with a long ball aimed at Higuain, but he failed to win the header, and the ball was gathered by Areola.

The opening exchanges were cagey, both sides probing cautiously. In a two-legged tie where away goals count, errors are costly.

Bruno picked up the ball in midfield and tried to launch a counterattack, but his pass was misplaced and rolled out for a throw-in. Higuain tracked back to his own byline to receive the throw, but Bruno made amends by dispossessing the Argentine striker.

Villarreal built an attack down the left. Trigueros’s pass was cut out by Napoli’s right-back, Koulibaly, who put it behind for a corner.

Dos Santos played a short corner, sending the ball into a crowded penalty area. Amid the chaos, Suarez pounced on a loose clearance at the edge of the box and, without waiting for the ball to drop, unleashed a powerful volley. Unfortunately, it struck a teammate and rebounded out for a goal kick.

Still, Suarez’s effort was enough to draw Sarri from his seat for the first time, clearly unhappy with his team’s lack of protection at the edge of the area.

“Oh, it’s that old fellow!” Dai Zhiwei’s impression of Sarri came mostly from his later stint with Chelsea; he hadn’t known Sarri once managed Napoli.

The Yellow Submarine resorted to another long ball toward the box. They were struggling in midfield against Napoli and could only look to find Dai Zhiwei and Soldado up front with direct passes from the back.

But these long balls were yielding little. This time, Soldado was penalized for pushing Chiriches in an aerial duel, giving up another attacking opportunity and losing possession.

Napoli’s attacks were more effective, playing to their strengths on the counter. Hamsik advanced down the right and found Higuain at the edge of the area. Higuain tried to set up Gabbiadini, but Gabbiadini’s poor first touch allowed Gaspar to intervene.

Villarreal advanced to the edge of the opposition box; Dai Zhiwei finally got his chance. Unable to fully shake off Strinic, he fired a shot from the edge of the area that flew just wide of the post—a moment that left Napoli keeper Reina with his heart in his mouth, the closest either team had come to scoring in the half.

Although he hadn’t found the net, Dai Zhiwei was in good spirits. That last effort proved his shooting boots were working well tonight. Maybe the next chance would be his breakthrough.

Napoli, seeing Villarreal’s attacks gaining momentum, responded aggressively even on foreign soil. Gabbiadini tried to break through on the left but was forced out for a throw-in. Moments later, his cross from the left carried too much power and was easily claimed by Areola.

“Bruno spreads the play to the left, but it’s another mistake. He just doesn’t look sharp tonight,” noted the Spanish commentator after a breathless first fifteen minutes.

“Yes, the midfield battle is fierce, but with Bruno off his game, Villarreal’s midfield—already less robust than Napoli’s—has become unbalanced. They’re reduced to launching long balls from deep, but Napoli’s defenders are winning everything in the air,” his co-commentator agreed.

As they spoke, Villarreal attacked again down the left. Trigueros found the advancing Musacchio, who was brought down by Koulibaly, earning the defender a yellow card and Villarreal a free kick on the left flank.

With Bruno out of sorts, the Yellow Submarine entrusted the set piece to their “cannon” instead. After a brief exchange, Trigueros unleashed a powerful drive, but it was struck straight at Reina, whose hands were left tingling from the force of the shot.

“A shame, we’re still quite a few points short!” Dai Zhiwei shook his head in disappointment as Reina gathered Trigueros’s free kick. Villarreal lacked a true free-kick specialist; if Dai Zhiwei could unlock any set-piece skill from the system, he could take over as first-choice.

Unfortunately, the skill he coveted—curved free kicks—cost fifty points, no small sum.

“The road ahead is long and winding; I’ll just have to keep saving up. Being broke is tough!”