Reverse

Chapter 278 Three Arrows Fired Simultaneously
Regardless of what others think, Miguel Ribeiro feels very happy in Tyne, able to play with his idol and work together towards that exciting goal. He is no longer just a little fan who can only look up at his idol from the sidelines.

This feeling is hard to understand unless you truly like someone.

So what his former friend Galkin Lafayette saw was a scumbag who abandoned his old love for a new one.

He was furious about Ribeiro's betrayal, and also pained by the team's current predicament.

The second half has begun, despite head coach Papacioli making substitutions and tactical adjustments at halftime.

However, the team still struggled to make any progress in attack.

Milan's tactics remain based on counter-attacking, meaning they must defend first and then counter-attack.

It's like a fighting game. You have to defend against the opponent's moves first, then use that opportunity to counterattack, and strike a fatal blow when the opponent's moves are exhausted!
Therefore, Milan City's prerequisite for scoring is to defend against Tyne's attack.

But can they withstand Tyne's attack?
Anyway, they had already lost once in the first half.

After the start of the second half, Tyne's offensive became even more intense.

McNeil seemed to have forgotten how his team conceded two goals in a short period of time against Atlético Lille, and had not learned any lessons whatsoever.

Logically, this should be what Milan would want to see.

During halftime, head coach Papacioli gave everyone a heads-up:

"...You'll face even more pressure in the second half because Tyne are only one goal ahead, and they'll definitely try everything to extend their lead. But that's also our opportunity. If we can withstand their initial onslaught, we'll find our chances..."

However, listening to the head coach talk about it during halftime and experiencing firsthand how fierce Tyne's attacks really are are two completely different concepts.

It's like when you're watching the news on TV at home and it says a typhoon is making landfall. You see trees being blown about, billboards being blown away, and cars being hit by debris... you'll also think the typhoon is terrifying.

However, this feeling is still far from what you would experience if you were standing outdoors during a typhoon; it might be less than one-tenth of what you would feel if you experienced it firsthand.

They knew at halftime that Tyne would intensify his attack in the second half, but once the second half started, Tyne's offensive still overwhelmed the Milan players.

As a center forward, Galkin Rafael should have taken on the role of being the bridgehead for the team's counter-attacks in the second half.

Therefore, he needs to be at the forefront, and he doesn't need to retreat to the front of the penalty area when defending – when Milan is on the counter-attack, someone must be in front to receive the ball and provide opportunities for other teammates to make runs.

Because he didn't need to be deeply involved in defense, Rafael was both anxious and resentful.

Because he was not involved when the team was on defense.

The counter-attack opportunity that he and his team were waiting for never came.

Thus, a pessimistic thought inevitably arose in Lafayette's mind:

Will I still have a chance to fight back?

He looked at his former friend, Ribeiro, who had appeared in the penalty area. At this moment, he looked more like a center forward than a winger.

Ribeiro can play both on the wing and in the center, a fact that Rafael, his strike partner in Milan, knows all too well.

Although Ribeiro's back-to-goal ability is not as good as a true center forward, given Tyne's current offensive tactics, there's no need for Ribeiro to stand in the penalty area as a target man...

Their tridents were constantly changing positions.

Ribeiro is currently in the middle, so Wang Lie has moved to the right wing. What about Vitini?
He wasn't even up front, he was in midfield!
The left flank was given to left-back Anderson Nova.

In short, when Tyne attacks, it looks like there's no strategy; everyone is running around, switching positions, and it looks very chaotic.

But as the defending side, they felt that Tyne's attacks could come from anywhere and threaten their goal from anywhere...

"king--!"

The commentator exclaimed in surprise as cheers suddenly rose from the Lize Park stadium.

After receiving the ball on the right wing, Wang Lie suddenly changed direction and cut inside, creating space before curling a shot into the far corner with his left foot!
Despite Milan goalkeeper Angelo Liva leaping into the air and stretching his arms as far as he could, he still couldn't touch the ball.

The football spun wildly, cutting through the air and curling out of bounds just outside the far post...

The huge cheers from the stands turned into equally huge sighs, but the sighs soon stopped and were replaced by thunderous applause.

Tyne's fans were not upset that Wang Lie missed a scoring opportunity; they applauded and thanked Wang Lie, and also praised the team's attack.

Despite not scoring, Tyne's fans were in high spirits and full of confidence.

I think if the team keeps playing like this, scoring a goal is only a matter of time.

In their last Champions League group stage match, they defeated Atlético Lille away from home. Some people said that Atlético Lille is not a big team and that Tyne's victory was nothing special.

So now Milan must be a true powerhouse, right?

Tyne is bombarding the real powerhouses with his attacks!
※※※

Wang Lie's shot didn't result in a goal, but it had already sounded the alarm for Milan's goal.

It wasn't just Galkin Rafael who worried that the team might not even get a chance to counter-attack under Tyne's offensive onslaught; Milan City's coach, Papacholi, shared the same thought.

If the team concedes another goal, then there will be absolutely no chance of a counterattack.

So now he has no choice but to go all out and attack, hoping to equalize the score as soon as possible.

Otherwise, he would have to make another choice—revert to the strategy he employed before conceding the goal in the first half, defending the game and parking the bus to try and lose by only one goal…

This option assumes that Milan will lose.

No head coach would make that choice; we still need to try our best not to lose, no matter what.

So Papacioli went to the sidelines and gestured to the players on the field, asking them to push their defensive line forward and their overall formation up the pitch.

He knew that by pushing the defensive line forward, he would leave a huge space behind, but he didn't have a better way to both defend and strengthen the offense.

We have no choice but to take a gamble and try our luck.

After moving their lines forward, Milan's attack became more threatening, with all three lines closer to Tyne's goal.

Rafael delivered a brilliant pass to Forsberg on the edge of the penalty area, who surged into the box and fired a shot, but Tyne goalkeeper Elliot Goetz made a diving save to push the ball out for a corner, giving Milan their first corner of the match.

This was Milan's most threatening attack so far in the match.

"Milan has launched an offensive!"

The Italian commentator's tone became more enthusiastic.

It's incredibly embarrassing for a top Italian Serie A team to be thrashed by a dark horse team making its Champions League debut.

Even if Papacholi doesn't care about his reputation, the Milan fans still do care to some extent!
Seeing Milan City finally intensify their attack and threaten Tyne's goal, Milan City fans watching on TV excitedly shouted, "Give them a taste of their own medicine! Drive those Englishmen back into the sea!!"

Not only Milan fans watching on television, but also those at the Lize Park stadium cheered loudly to support their team.

As a team with a strong defense, set pieces are an important way to score, so Milan City is also good at scoring from set pieces.

Now that the team has won the first corner kick of the match, the Milan fans in the stadium are cheering and full of hope.

Unfortunately, Milan City failed to create a shooting opportunity after the corner kick was taken – the ball was headed away by Katic.

Both sides fought for the second ball. Although the Milan City player won the ball, he was unable to shake off the defense and interference of the Tain players and could not organize an attack. He could only pass the ball back to goalkeeper Liva.

Milan's attack can only proceed cautiously again.

If the attack turns into a positional battle, it's not the style of attack that Milan City excels at.

Finally, Rafael's header in the penalty area lacked power and went straight into the arms of goalkeeper Goetz.

Possession changed hands. Although it was their turn to defend, Milan City didn't immediately retreat into their own penalty area as before, but instead maintained a defensive line pushed forward.

What if there's an opening behind you?
Offside trap!
This requires a high level of ability and teamwork from everyone on the defensive line.

Fortunately, Milan City's defense is full of understanding and coordination.

Three of the five players are key players for the Italian national team and have played together for many years.

They weren't entirely helpless in the face of Tyne's aggressive offensive.

Wang Lie quickly fell into an offside trap, although he caught up with the ball and scored in a one-on-one situation.

However, amidst the huge cheers from the crowd, the commentators did not celebrate his brace, the referee did not signal that the goal was valid, and the linesman raised his flag.

It was obvious that Wang Lie was offside, so the goal was disallowed.

The cheers from the stands were just out of habit, and soon turned into boos—many Tyne fans believed the ball was not offside.

The animation generated by the semi-automatic offside detection system was displayed on the big screen immediately during the match.

Wang Lie was indeed offside by the length of one foot.

There is nothing to say about this.

Wang Lie didn't protest to the referee; instead, he turned around and gave Isara a thumbs-up, praising him for passing the ball to him.

In the 57th minute, Tyne controlled the ball in his own half.

Milan's left center-back Lorenzo del Carlo turned to look at Wang Lie, who was right next to him, and then gestured and shouted to his teammates, reminding them to push forward and create an offside trap.

The other four defenders worked together seamlessly, pressing forward in sync with his gestures.

Seeing his teammates press forward, Del Carlo ran up himself, keeping in line with his teammates, and leaving Wang Lie in the offside trap behind him.

Wang Lie also noticed Del Carlo's move, but he did not immediately move back to a non-offside position, instead remaining at the very front.

At this point, Tyne's players were still passing the ball around in their own half.

Left-back Anderson Nova launched a long diagonal pass to center-back Luca Helic, while Milan striker Rafael, positioned at the forefront, chased after the ball towards Helic.

Meanwhile, Milan's attacking line is also pushing forward, trying to put pressure on Tain's players.

When Hlic controlled the ball, he turned towards the center, seemingly intending to pass it to his center-back partner, Matheus Katic, who was supporting him in the middle. Rafael then turned to cut off the passing lanes between the two sides.

As a result, Hlic turned with his right foot, brushed past Rafael, and turned forward!
Although Rafael was unable to stop him, it doesn't mean that Hlic is safe with the ball.

Since the beginning, three Milan forwards had been pushing forward, and Helic turned and moved forward, only to run into them head-on.

If Milan City successfully intercepts the ball, they can directly threaten Tyne's goal!

However, it was precisely because Milan's midfielders pushed forward that the distance between them and their own defensive line was widened, creating a huge gap between the defensive and midfield lines.

The experienced Pisano knew this was an opportunity, so he sped back to meet Helic and provide support.

Milan's left-sided center-back, Del Carlo, noticed Pisano's movement in front of him. He knew it would be very dangerous if Pisano received the ball in that space. So he accelerated to catch up, trying to pressure Pisano and prevent him from easily receiving the ball and making passes.

Pisano wasn't the only one going to support Helic; defensive midfielder Isara was also moving closer to him.

He was even closer to Helitch.

If Hlic wants to play it safe, he can pass the ball to him.

Of course, the result of passing the ball to him will most likely be the same: the ball will continue to be passed around in the backfield.

However, with Milan's forward line pressing high up the pitch, the space for passing the ball around in the backfield was actually quite limited.

Therefore, Helic did not choose to pass the ball to the defensive midfielder Isala, but instead passed it forward to Pisano.

Just as the ball was passed to him, Milan's center-back Del Carlo accelerated forward. As Pisano received the ball, he also marked the Argentine midfield maestro closely behind.

Pisano felt the pressure from behind and instead of passing the ball immediately, he chose to keep it at his feet.

He was waiting, waiting for the Milan City player next to Barnabas on his right to come and defend him.

Sure enough, Milan midfielder Daniele Rezak, who was originally responsible for defending Barnabas, saw that Pisano did not pass the ball immediately and assumed that he was tied up by Del Carlo. At this time, he went up to support him and had a high probability of winning the ball back.

He immediately abandoned Barnabas and joined Del Carlo in flanking Pisano.

Seeing Rezak appear beside him, Pisano then passed the ball sideways to Barnabas, who was standing on the sideline about five meters away.

Seeing this, Rezak had no choice but to turn around and pounce on Barnabas again.

Barnabas didn't give him another chance to get closer; after a slight adjustment, he kicked the ball forward.

He was looking for Ribeiro, who was making a forward run!

The Portuguese player started making a run as soon as Pisano received the ball. He first ran back, seemingly to support Pisano, but after seeing Pisano pass the ball to Barnabas, he immediately turned back and rushed forward!

It's about sprinting at full speed, not running slowly.

Barnabas knew what to do when he saw him charging forward.

"Barnabas... a long pass over the top! Great ball!"

Luo Jin shouted excitedly.

Because he saw Ribeiro had already surged ahead of Milan's entire defensive line, leaving left-back Anelli behind!

"Tain's attack! He's broken through Milan's defense!"

The stadium at Lize Park erupted in cheers and shouts that shook the heavens!
As Ribeiro charged forward, he turned his head to look at the middle lane and saw Wang Lie and Vitini sprinting. Although they were currently behind him, they were both accelerating!
"Tyne fires three arrows at once!"

The football bounced forward after landing on the 30-meter line. Ribeiro chased after it and stopped it. He then swung his right foot as if to cross the ball. Milan's left-back Anelli, who was chasing back, dared not leave the ball unattended and slid in to block the cross.

Ribeiro's move was a feint; after swinging his right foot down, he cut the ball back and simultaneously stopped and turned abruptly!

After turning around, he immediately used the outside of his left foot to gently flick the ball to the left, causing the center-back Rosetti to miss!

Wang Lie raised his arm and charged into the penalty area. The two remaining players on Milan's defense, center-back Gavitto and right-back Pedro, rushed towards Wang Lie like moths to a flame—they believed that Ribeiro would definitely pass the ball to Wang Lie again!
Indeed, after creating space, Ribeiro pushed the ball sideways towards the center, targeting the advancing Wang Lie!

So Gavitto and Pedro flanked Wang Lie from the left and right, simultaneously extending their legs to both disrupt the tackle and interfere with Wang Lie's shot.

At the same time, goalkeeper Liva moved to the near post, lowered his center of gravity to reduce the gap in his groin, and opened his arms to expand the defensive area and block Wang Lie's shooting angle.

However, Wang Lie did not shoot. Instead, he sprinted to the edge of the penalty area and stepped over the ball with his foot!

This feint knocked down three Milan players – Gavitto and Pedro were pulled forward by the momentum, and goalkeeper Riva instinctively tried to make a save but missed!
The ball was left behind, and there was only one person there!

"Vitini—!!"

With no one marking him, Vitini handled the ball like a dessert after a meal, making it easy for him to finish!

He maintained his balance, twisted his hips and swung his legs, and easily pushed the ball that Wang Lie had let slip into the empty net.

It's just like that shot on the hole of a golf ball.

"2-0!!! Fifty-eighth minute! Tyne leads Milan by two goals! Vitini has also scored!"

The cheers that had been growing louder and louder since the three arrows were released finally reached their decibel peak at this moment!

(End of this chapter)