Soccer: I became Bruno Fernandes.

Chapter 299: The 34th Goal of the Season

"Brilliant! Bruno threads the ball through Napoli's defense."

At the same time, Immobile made a sudden run, breaking through Napoli's backline.

"Ciro Immobile! He's behind the defense and has the ball!"

"Immobile! Onside!!"

"It's a one-on-one!"

Napoli fans in the away section of Friuli Stadium held their breath. If Udinese scored a second goal in the first half, Napoli would be in serious trouble.

Guidolin took a deep breath, watching closely. He had confidence in Immobile. With such a clear chance after beating the offside trap, Immobile wouldn't miss.

As Immobile was about to shoot, a defender came flying in, taking both ball and player down inside the box. It was Napoli's center-back, Koulibaly!

The ball flew up, brushing past the post and out of play.

"Penalty!" Guidolin raised his hands, shouting loudly.

The stands erupted with roars for a penalty and a red card. Everyone looked at the referee.

The referee initially shook his finger, signaling no penalty, and gestured for Immobile to get up. As Napoli fans cheered and Udinese fans protested, the referee seemed to receive a signal from the linesman. After a moment's hesitation, he blew his whistle, pointed to the penalty spot, and showed Koulibaly a yellow card.

"The referee, after consulting with the linesman, changes his decision to award a penalty and gives Koulibaly a yellow card."

This decision unsurprisingly displeased both Udinese and Napoli.

Guidolin believed Koulibaly, as Napoli's last defender besides the goalkeeper, deserved a "penalty and red card" package.

Sarri, on the other hand, was furious, believing Koulibaly's tackle was a clean defensive play.

Koulibaly's importance to Napoli's defense couldn't be overstated. Receiving a yellow card this early in the match could spell trouble later on.

The slow-motion replay clarified the incident: as Koulibaly slid in, Immobile kicked the ball first, which then hit Koulibaly's foot and popped up. Koulibaly's follow-through took Immobile down. The penalty call was justified, but Guidolin's call for a red card wasn't accurate since Napoli's Izaghi was positioned further back, meaning Koulibaly wasn't the last man. Additionally, the referee's decision to avoid a red card could be seen as an attempt to balance the game.

Regardless, the "yellow card and penalty" decision stood.

Bruno took the penalty kick. His shot wasn't perfectly placed, but it still went under Gabriel and into the net, putting Udinese up 2-0.

However, the penalty decision fired up Napoli. They launched a series of attacks and managed to pull one back in the 31st minute. Napoli launched an effective attack, with Callejón running behind the defense to receive a long ball. His shot from a tight angle was blocked, but Higuaín pounced on the rebound, volleying it into the top corner to make it 2-1.

This was Higuaín's 65th goal in his 100th Serie A match, making him the third player since 1956 to score 30 goals in a Serie A season.

But before Napoli could build momentum, they were struck again.

Udinese restarted from midfield and launched another attack. This time, Bruno moved to the right and exchanged passes with Immobile. Bruno drove the ball to the byline, stopped suddenly, dodged Jorginho's tackle, and passed the ball to Immobile, who lofted it to the center of the box.

Widmer received the ball, drove into the box, and was tripped by Napoli's left-back Ghoulam. The referee blew his whistle and awarded another penalty to Udinese.

Ghoulam was furious, believing it was a normal defensive move and that Widmer had dived. He protested to the referee.

The referee, unfazed by Ghoulam's protests, firmly pointed to the penalty spot.

Two penalties in less than ten minutes enraged Napoli. Their players surrounded the referee in protest, hoping to influence his future decisions.

On the sideline, Sarri was equally furious, convinced that Napoli was being treated unfairly. He verbally lashed out at the referee, which the fourth official overheard and reported.

The referee, after hearing from the fourth official, rushed to the sideline, brandished a red card at Sarri, and sent him to the stands.

This was a severe blow to Napoli. Already down by two goals and now losing their coach, their situation worsened.

Bruno took the second penalty and scored with ease. Unlike the first attempt, he made sure to strike it precisely, leaving Gabriel no chance even though he guessed the direction correctly.

3-1!

By the 35th minute, Udinese had restored their two-goal lead. This was Bruno's third goal of the game, marking his third hat-trick of the season in Serie A. His league tally rose to 34 goals, extending his lead over Higuaín by four and putting him just one goal shy of the 66-year-old single-season record held by Nordahl.

With a 3-1 lead, Udinese eased their attacking pressure. Neither team scored in the remaining minutes of the first half, going into the break with the same score.

However, Udinese intensified their attack at the start of the second half. Bruno, aware that a two-goal lead wasn't secure enough, continued to push.

With the ball at his feet, Bruno feinted left, intending to move centrally, but suddenly cut back and flicked the ball past Ghoulam, accelerating past him.

"Brilliant dribble!"

Ghoulam, unable to let Bruno go, pulled him down. The referee blew his whistle, showing Ghoulam a yellow card.

Udinese earned a free-kick near the sideline. Bruno's delivery was headed out by Albiol. Allan attempted a bicycle kick to clear the ball, but Badu intercepted and passed to Kuzmanović. He sent a through ball to Widmer, who was outside the box.

Allan and Jorginho closed in, but Widmer protected the ball, looking for a passing route. With both midfielders occupied, there was space elsewhere. Just then, Koulibaly tackled from the side, catching Widmer's ankle.

Widmer fell, clutching his ankle in pain. The Friuli Stadium erupted, calling for a red card. While Koulibaly's challenge wasn't worthy of a red, it should have earned him a second yellow, sending him off. But Koulibaly quickly bent down, pretending to console Widmer, though Widmer ignored him.

Koulibaly smiled wryly at the referee, who simply gave him a verbal warning, not a yellow card.

(End of chapter)

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