Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

Chapter 322 The end of AC Milan!
The first half of the game ended quickly and neither team made any adjustments to the players on the field during the halftime break.

The second half of the game started quickly, and AC Milan continued to look for offensive opportunities through active running and fierce fighting, just like at the beginning of the game.

Although this game is played away, for teams like Inter Milan and AC Milan that share the same stadium, there is no difference between home and away games.

The biggest difference is just how many fans there are in the stands cheering for them!
But sometimes, the cheers from the home team’s fans may have the opposite effect – stimulating the visiting team and making them play with even more passion!

This is the case with AC Milan. They have lost three consecutive Milan derby games and they are determined to win this game.

However, sometimes hard work does not necessarily lead to success. AC Milan's attack looks fierce, but they still have the old problem of not having many methods in positional attack. There is no fulcrum on the front line and they cannot act as a bridgehead, which makes Milan's attack unable to directly threaten Inter Milan's goal.

It is necessary to transition through the wing or the middle, and find a way to pass the ball into the penalty area through the ground or air.

However, under the opponent's tight defense, the success rate of this passing method is very low, and most of the attempts are resolved by the opponent.

There was no other way, AC Milan could only increase the number of long shots outside the penalty area, hoping to try their luck with the long-range shots.

However, the effect of long-range shots was not good either. Inter Milan pressed AC Milan's midfield very hard, resulting in the long-range shots of Kaka, Seedorf and Pirlo to be ineffective.

AC Milan's attack was blocked, and Ancelotti couldn't help but frown.

As expected, the team's offense still had the same old problems as before. They lacked the ability to engage in positional warfare and break through tough situations, and could only look for opportunities in mobile warfare.

However, Inter Milan was very targeted when defending against counterattacks. They kept a close eye on AC Milan's key passing points, disrupting and blocking the opponent's first-time pass, and preventing AC Milan from increasing the speed of the counterattack.

Without the advantage of speed, Kaka, AC Milan's biggest threat, becomes useless.

Ancelotti looked at Lin Feng somewhat depressed. In the past few years, Inter Milan did not do a good enough job in restricting Kaka.

But with the joining of Lin Feng, a player whose playing style is very similar to Kaka's, it helped them fully understand Kaka's strengths and weaknesses. Now Inter Milan has gained a lot of experience in defending Kaka.

Of course, the situation is similar for AC Milan. They have done a great job in limiting Lin Feng's offensive capabilities.

In this game, it was difficult for Lin Feng and Kaka to get opportunities to sprint with the ball and break through the opponent's defense from the midfield.

After losing this killer weapon, the effectiveness of both of them declined a lot, but Lin Feng's better passing and defensive abilities showed his value at this time, making his performance on the field much better than Kaka.

AC Milan attacked fiercely for about seven or eight minutes, and when they saw that they had no chance, they reluctantly called off the attack.

As soon as they retreated, Inter Milan came up immediately.

It's like both sides are playing a turn-based game. When your turn is over, it's my turn!
But unlike AC Milan's weak offense, Inter Milan's offensive threat is much greater!

In mobile warfare, Inter Milan has two explosive points in Lin Feng and Torres. As long as any one of them can increase their speed, it will be a disaster for AC Milan's defense.

Moreover, with Cruz, a high center forward, leading the way, even if Inter Milan fails in mobile warfare, they will still be able to fight a positional battle.

The level of offensive threat posed by both teams was directly reflected in the reactions of their respective fans in the stands.

When AC Milan was attacking Inter Milan's goal frantically, the Inter Milan fans in the stands were not nervous at all, as if they were not worried at all that the team would lose the ball.

Now it's Inter Milan's turn to fight back, but AC Milan fans are a little scared.

Why are all these players in the opponent's frontcourt so fierce? One can't be defended and that can't be restricted. It feels like there is a panic in our team's penalty area and we may lose the ball at any time.

Ancelotti couldn't stand it anymore, and in the 61st minute of the second half, AC Milan made the first substitution.

Ancelotti chose to replace Oddo with Cafu. This substitution puzzled many people and they didn't understand what Ancelotti wanted to do.

In the current draw situation, if AC Milan still wants to win, they should continue to strengthen their offense, so they should consider making substitutions in other areas, such as in several positions in the frontcourt.

But replacing him with a 37-year-old veteran, a full-back at that, can we expect Cafu to perform miracles on the offensive end?

This may be difficult!

Cafu played as a winger for a while before switching to full-back.

In terms of offensive ability, he actually has a foundation.

But he is old after all, and he hasn't played as a winger for a long time, so Ancelotti didn't expect Cafu to really do the work of a winger.

What he hopes to see is to use Cafu's excellent crossing ability to open up the situation from the wing and assist his teammates to score another goal as soon as possible.

The situation on the field is now in a stalemate. Whoever can score the second goal first will gain the upper hand, and then take the lead in making tactical adjustments and hold the initiative.

But to his and AC Milan fans' disappointment, after Cafu came on the pitch, there was no obvious improvement compared to Oddo on both offense and defense.

It’s not that Cafu’s cross is bad, but that Ronaldo and Inzaghi can’t get the ball. What’s the use of teammates passing the ball well?

Seeing that his substitutions did not have much effect, Ancelotti could only continue scratching his head and thinking of new solutions.

But as time went on, the balance of victory and defeat was rapidly tilting towards Inter Milan.

In the midweek Champions League, Inter Milan easily defeated Real Madrid. The game was one day earlier than AC Milan, so they had a longer rest time.

On the other hand, AC Milan not only plays later than Inter Milan, but also has shorter rest time.

Moreover, he advanced to the next round in overtime, playing 30 minutes longer than Inter Milan, so his physical energy consumption was far greater than Inter Milan.

The average age of AC Milan is originally older than that of Inter Milan, and now it has added negative buffs such as short rest time and high game consumption. The direct consequence is that after 65 minutes in the second half, the condition of AC Milan players on the field showed a visibly decline.

AC Milan, who were able to compete with Inter Milan in the midfield, began to gradually fall behind Inter Milan's rhythm as the physical fitness of the players on the field declined rapidly.

Seeing this, Mancini decisively started to make substitutions.

Stankovic was replaced by Figo, who continued to attack the right side.

As soon as Figo came on the court, he created a very threatening attack.

In the 68th minute of the second half, Figo broke through the wing and passed the ball. Lin Feng quickly moved forward and his shot from the edge of the penalty area was quickly caught by Dida who fell to the ground.

Two minutes later, Figo made another cross from the wing, Cruz headed the ball to the center of the penalty area, and Torres was ready to shoot with a handsome volley.

But Pirlo suddenly rushed out and destroyed the ball, and he himself was almost kicked by Torres who was unable to retract his legs in time.

Although Torres did not touch Pirlo, Pirlo still lay on the grass for a long time.

I’m tired, so tired that I feel like my lungs are going to explode!
His teammates had a similar reaction, especially captain Maldini, who was breathing heavily and was so tired that he could hardly straighten his back.

Maldini, who is two years older than Cafu, is 39 years old this year.

If it were someone else, a veteran of this age would have retired long ago. But in recent games, Maldini started and played the entire game.

Especially in the last game against Celtic, Maldini played a full 120 minutes and really fought from start to finish.

If Maldini was a dozen years younger, he could rely on his excellent recovery ability to recover quickly.

But now he is a veteran who is nearly 40 years old after all, and his physical recovery ability is not as good as before. Moreover, the interval between the two games is too short. Even a young player like Kaka can't stand the consumption of continuous high-intensity games, let alone a veteran like him?

But Maldini did not complain at all, nor did he ask for a rest.

This game was his 600th Serie A game for AC Milan and his 53rd Milan derby.

He hopes to celebrate this memorable day with a victory.

But this wish is probably difficult to achieve.

Inter Milan was more difficult to deal with than they had imagined. The opponent's morale and fighting spirit were not inferior to theirs, and they were even better in physical condition.

Two days ago, Inter Milan celebrated the 100th anniversary of the club's founding.

At this time, facing the Milan derby, everyone in Inter Milan hopes to use a victory as a gift to the club’s centenary birthday!

Seeing that the opposing players were trying to delay time by lying on the grass, Inter Milan players were immediately fed up and immediately found the referee to protest.

After listening to the protests of Inter Milan players, the referee quickly came to check on Pirlo's condition.

If you are injured, let the team doctor carry you to the sidelines on a stretcher for treatment. Don't stay on the court and affect the normal progress of the game.

If you are not injured, then get up quickly. Deliberately delaying time may result in a yellow card warning.

Pirlo was certainly not injured, so after the referee arrived, he stood up again like a "medical miracle".

Inter Milan took a corner kick, and Lin Feng stood in the corner area.

After taking a look at his teammates' positions, Lin Feng chose to kick the ball forward.

Cruz got the first point, but his position prevented him from shooting directly at the goal, so he headed the ball into the center of the penalty area.

Barzagli got the second spot, but his shot went wide due to interference from the defender.

Seeing the ball go out of bounds, the Milan fans in the stands finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the kick kicked by Dida was caught by Inter Milan players. Zanetti saw Lin Feng's position and quickly passed the ball to him.

Lin Feng ran faster with the ball while observing the positions of his teammates.

Seeing that there was only one defensive player next to Torres, Lin Feng passed the ball to him without hesitation.

He did not pass the ball directly to Torres' feet, but passed it in front of him.

Torres understood what he meant, and the moment Lin Feng passed the ball, he used his super explosive power and speed to overtake the defender in front of him and rushed into the left side of the penalty area and received the pass from Lin Feng.

At this time, less than ten seconds had passed since Dida kicked the ball out. Inter Milan's counterattack speed and efficiency were simply outrageous!
Torres knew that he was not in good shape in this game, so he did not hesitate after breaking into the penalty area and shot as soon as he received the ball.

Dida used his hands and feet to try to block the shot but failed to touch the ball.

However, just when he felt despair, he heard a "bang" and the ball hit the post and bounced out.

Dida was quick-witted and quick-handed. He quickly caught the ball before Torres could make a follow-up shot and fell to the ground.

There was a commotion in the stands, and Inter Milan fans were stunned, unable to believe that the ball did not go in!

AC Milan fans were breathing heavily, looking like they had survived a disaster.

"Torres is in really bad shape today!"

"Well, my luck is a bit bad!"

Not only the fans were surprised that Torres didn't score, even the commentators from various countries found it unbelievable. It would have been fine if he missed those opportunities in the first half, but this time he had a one-on-one chance, but he still didn't score, and his ball was blocked by the post after passing the goalkeeper.

This luck is really bad!
Another person with bad luck was Inter Milan's left-back Grosso. He didn't accomplish anything in this attack. He just ran forward for a distance and suddenly stopped with a painful expression, covering his thigh.

This made Mancini's heart skip a beat, and he quickly asked the team doctor to check his condition, and then confirmed that he had strained his thigh muscles.

Mancini cursed inwardly and had to replace him with Maxwell.

Seeing Inter Milan's passive substitution, AC Milan seemed to have seized the opportunity and launched a fierce attack on Inter Milan's left.

In the 75th minute, Cafu successfully broke through Maxwell and made a cross from the right. Barzagli headed the ball away, but Milan continued to attack after getting the ball.

When Ronaldo was about to shoot at the top of the penalty area, he was tackled to the ground by Samuel, and AC Milan got a free kick opportunity very close to the penalty area.

Pirlo chose to shoot directly, kicking a rapidly spinning falling leaf ball with the inside of his right foot 21 meters in front of the goal.

After passing the human wall, the ball hit the junction of the left goal post and the crossbar, making a loud bang and bouncing out of the bottom line.

Inter Milan's goalkeeper looked at Pirlo with some fear. The angle of the opponent's ball was really tricky. If it was a little bit to the inside, he would really have no way to deal with it!

Seeing Pirlo's free kick hit the crossbar, there was another cry of surprise from the stands, but this time it was Inter Milan's fans who were terrified while Milan's fans were beating their chests and stamping their feet.

Although Pirlo's free kick almost helped AC Milan regain the lead, it still could not cover up the hidden danger of AC Milan players' serious decline in physical fitness.

Seeing the team's condition continue to decline, Kaka was extremely anxious.

In the 77th minute, Kaka dribbled the ball into the left side of the penalty area. With no space, he tried to force his way through, hoping to change the situation with his personal strength.

But Zanetti didn't give him any chance and cleared the ball very cleanly.

AC Milan then took a corner kick, but it did not pose a threat. Instead, Inter Milan seized the opportunity and launched a quick counterattack.

Although AC Milan immediately tried to stop Lin Feng's counterattack.

But it was too late. Before they could tackle, Lin Feng had already passed the ball.

After receiving the ball, Cruz knocked down the exhausted Jankulovski with his body, then broke into the right side of the penalty area. Facing the interception of another Milan defender, he knocked the ball back at the bottom line.

Torres rushed over and scored with a right-foot shot into the far corner from 10 meters in front of the goal!

Inter Milan finally reversed the score 2-1!
Torres finally didn't waste the opportunity!
(End of this chapter)