"Zhang Shujie was injured and took a one-month truce!"

This was the headline of the Milan Sports newspaper on the second day of the game: "It is a pity that Zhang Shujie's injury report has come out, and in the next month, he will not be able to play, and he will also miss two Champions League semi-finals, which will be fatal for AC Milan." However, if he recovers in time, he could still play in the final round of the league, with AC Milan now only one point clear of Juventus, and if Milan want to win five consecutive titles, they will have to hold on to that slim advantage in Zhang's absence. ”

Without Zhang Shujie, AC Milan will definitely be greatly reduced in the offensive line. Dybala was a little lucky, because Zhang Shujie's truce gave him a chance to win the league top scorer award.

In the two rounds of Serie A on April 24 and April 29, the Rossoneri, who lost Zhang Shujie, only scored three points with one win and one loss, and only scored three goals.

However, unexpectedly, their rivals in the league, Juventus, also won one and lost one, with Dybala scoring two goals in two games and tied with Zhang Shujie for the top scorer. However, Juventus are still in second place in the standings and have not been able to catch up with Milan's distraction.

The Torino Sport newspaper said: "Juventus is evil." Such a good opportunity did not overtake Milan to reach the top of the standings, do they think that without Milan without Zhang Shujie, there will be a chance for them to overtake again in the future? But don't forget, AC Milan's midfield has no problem at all, Chen Zihua and Xu Ziyi have enough ability to stabilize the overall situation. ”

Thanks to Juventus' "humility", AC Milan continues to be at the top of the league table. With the Champions League semi-finals just around the corner, AC Milan meet their old rivals: Paris Saint-Germain.

Unlike before, this time, AC Milan did not have Zhang Shujie, but Paris Saint-Germain did have Neymar. The French press called it the best chance for revenge in Grand Paris. They can't run into AC Milan every time they lose Zhang Shujie, so they must seize this God-given opportunity.

The first leg was played at the San Siro Stadium, and just four minutes into the game, Chen Zihua gave the visiting Grand Paris a disadvantage with a brilliant long-range shot. However, it was the visitors who scored first, with Neymar setting up Kylian Mbappe for the first goal of the game in the 32nd minute, the only goal of the first half.

In the second half, the two teams attacked and defended each other, in the control of the midfield, AC Milan still has a great advantage, the presence of Chen Zihua and Xu Ziyi allowed AC Milan to get more possession, but in the front of the chances, Paris Saint-Germain is more than AC Milan, Neymar and Mbappe let Paris have more shots. Andre Silva and Cutrone missed two great chances in a row, squandering the brilliant passes of Xu Ziyi and Chan Zihua.

Until the 76th minute of the game, Xu Ziyi slanted on the left, Cutrone's shot was saved, and Kessie followed up with a follow-up shot to equalize the score. But the 1-1 scoreline is not safe at all for Milan, who need more goals.

Paris Saint-Germain seem intent on holding on to this 1:1, in their opinion, Zhang Shujie is not there, AC Milan's ability to grasp the opportunity has obviously dropped a notch, and the players of Grand Paris also believe that they will definitely be able to bring this 1:1 score to home.

But people are not as good as heaven, at the last moment of injury time, Xu Ziyi shot a long shot 24 meters outside the penalty area, penetrating the city of Paris Saint-Germain, and the score became 2:1, this time Xu Ziyi's third Champions League goal this season, and Chen Zihua tied for the third scorer in the Champions League in the team. His goal came crucially and gave AC Milan a home victory.

Although a 2-1 win at home did not guarantee a smooth qualification for AC Milan, it gave them more confidence when playing away. As long as they can draw at the Parc des Princes, no matter what the score, it will be AC Milan who will reach the final.

It's just that from the perspective of Paris Saint-Germain, they only need to play a 1:0 at home to advance with an away goal advantage. In terms of the nature of football matches, there is not much difference between a draw away from home and a 1:0 win at home, so the probability of both teams reaching the final is theoretically five to five. However, because AC Milan has no Zhang Shujie, and the lineup in Paris is extremely complete, there are actually more people who are optimistic about Paris.

"Milan Sport" was a little worried: "From the perspective of the course of the game, AC Milan's 2:1 did not allow them to relax, not because the score was too small, but because of the goal. Both goals were scored by midfielders and the two starting strikers wasted too many chances, with Andre Silva and Cutrone missing at least three must-have goals, and if they could have capitalized on one of them, the situation would have been very different. ”

"Milan Sport" said that the situation of AC Milan is indeed a bit grim, but at present, the team can only play step by step like this. In the next league, AC Milan consolidated their top spot in the standings with a 1:0, and Xu Ziyi scored in two consecutive games. Andre Silva and Cutrone missed another chance to give Inzaghi a headache.

This is a kind of "sequelae". Zhang Shujie's absence has left AC Milan in need of a midfielder to score goals at a crucial stage of this sprint, which is not a good thing. But what can Inzaghi do? Can he still use magic to make Zhang Shujie recover immediately? He also knows the problems of the two strikers in the team at present, Andre Silva has always played Zhang Shujie's wingman, and now let him temporarily score goals for the team as the first striker, he can't change roles for a while. This is a bit similar to Real Madrid's Benzema, who assists Ronaldo too much, and when it is his turn, he is a little uncomfortable.

Cutrone is still young because of his youth, although he has also played a lot of games for Milan over the years, but in many important games, he is not Inzaghi's first choice, often playing more substitutes, and now let him take the lead, it is also a little difficult for him. These problems are very obvious in the last two games, after the team's attack through the midfield, once it hits the front, Milan's attack is a bit chaotic, and it is the two midfielders who usually solve the problem, which is really to the second leg of the semi-finals, AC Milan is really in trouble.

Inzaghi can only pray for more blessings, as long as he passes the semi-finals, then Zhang Shujie is very likely to come back in the final, and all the offensive problems of AC Milan will not be a problem!

(End of chapter)