Chapter 707: Champions League

AC Milan last competed in the Champions League in the 2013/2014 season, when the Rossoneri were beaten twice by Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals, and then failed to play in the Champions League next season, and returned to the Champions League this year, although many of these players are playing in the Champions League for the first time.

As with last season, there are 10 Chinese players competing in the Champions League this season, with AC Milan in Group E against Barcelona, Borisov and Arsenal. In the group stage, Juventus and Manchester City are in Group D, which also means that Zhao Wenkang and Huang Yu will play alongside Ma Junqiang and Liang Xiran, and no other Chinese players will meet in the group stage.

The strongest opponents encountered are Zhang Shujie, Yan Tao and Chen Zihua, the first two will face Messi's Universe Barcelona, and the latter will face Cristiano Ronaldo's Galaxy Battleship, and the match between these teams will also be the highlight of this season's Champions League group stage.

AC Milan's first round of fixtures was played on 17 September against BRYSOV Borisov, the weakest team in Group E, and it will not be difficult for AC Milan to beat them with Zhang Shujie, who are still playing at home.

At the press conference, which took place a day earlier, Inzaghi said: "A lot of people think Borisov is not a strong team, but I want to say that the teams that can reach the Champions League are the teams that have the quality. We've been away from the Champions League for a year and some of the players are playing in the Champions League for the first time, so it's not going to be as easy as we thought. ”

Borisov coach Yemakovic said: "AC Milan is a very well-established team, they have won the Champions League only to Real Madrid and rank second in Europe, especially this season they have a super striker like Zhang Shujie, it is almost impossible to stop his goal at the San Siro, but we will do our best." ”

On the day of the game, Inzaghi made a final explanation in the dressing room, the starting lineup has also changed a lot compared with the previous three rounds of the league, and the formation has also changed, Inzaghi used a more retro 4312, goalkeeper López, defenders Abate, Yan Tao, Romagnoli and Desiglio, midfielders Boli, Kucka, Bonaventura and Montolivo, and forwards Zhang Shujie and Baka. It is worth mentioning that Montolivo was pushed back into the midfield position, which is also the position he used to be best at. It's just that I don't know if Inzaghi's use of such a set of lineups with particularly high requirements for the midfield is suitable for the current AC Milan team.

Borisov's formation is 4231, goalkeeper Chernik, defenders Mladenovich, Milunovich, Dubra, Polyakov, two midfielders are Baga and Alekseevic, forward defenders are Stacevic, Hleb and Gordjchuk, and forward is Signevich.

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In the locker room, everything that should be said was said, and the players all walked out, when Romagnoli suddenly called out to Zhang Shujie: "Hi, Zhang." ”

Hearing the shout, Zhang Shujie turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"

Romagnoli seemed to be a little confused, saying: "That's right, after the last round of the league, thank you for speaking for me. ”

Zhang Shujie smiled: "It's okay." Every player makes mistakes and so do I, you're a defender, you're still so young, don't be beaten by that mistake. ”

Romagnoli nodded and said, "No, I will definitely try to avoid making mistakes in the future." ”

"Alright, let's stand up and get ready for the game. ”

Zhang Shujie was still standing last, and Yan Tao was in front of him. He vaguely heard Yan Tao muttering: "Why are the names of Borisov's people so strange?"

Returning to the Champions League after a year, AC Milan will definitely not just go home after playing six group games, this is not the style of head coach Inzaghi, let alone Zhang Shujie's pursuit of football. In fact, as early as before the game, Inzaghi asked Zhang Shujie, how far can the current AC Milan go in the group stage?

At that time, Zhang Shujie's answer was: "I will try my best to take AC Milan to the quarterfinals, or even the semifinals!"

He didn't say he was winning, although he also wanted to lift the Big Ears Cup again. However, he understands the current situation of Milan, even with him, the Ballon d'Or winner, and a defender like Yan Tao, who is all-round in attack and defense, he does not dare to guarantee that AC Milan can reach the final. Football is a team sport, and when you have one or two of the world's top players in the team, it can really improve the overall strength of the team, but if you want to stand in the highest hall of honor, then the players around you will also be extremely crucial. For example, Messi had Xavi and Iniesta behind him, and now Ronaldo has Kroos and Modric behind him, and Zhang Shujie has only Bonaventura and Montolivo behind him, even though they performed well, they could not become the core, and could only be a role player around the core.

Inzaghi also saw the essence, so he thought of getting Chen Zihua from Paris Saint-Germain next year, whether he could successfully poach it, and he had to see how much AC Milan could pay next year.

The first half was kicked off by Borisov, and in the first two minutes of the game, Borisov did not let the ball pass through the half, and the whole field was backwards, and AC Milan gradually pressed up after the initial caution.

Unexpectedly, there was a big problem with this pressure. Maybe the AC Milan players were not fully in shape because the game had just started, or maybe some of the players were a little nervous when they appeared in the Champions League for the first time, forgetting the manager's explanation in the dressing room, and making mistakes in the rush, allowing Borisov to penetrate the defense with a seemingly aimless long pass, and striker Signavic got a short one-on-one chance.

López also seemed to be a little distracted, he didn't expect Borisov to hit the backyard so quickly, he didn't save the ball, Signavich shook him and easily scored the ball, Borisov led AC Milan 1-0 away.

Everyone was a little stunned, the game time was 2 minutes and 47 seconds, and in less than three minutes, Borisov was ahead of Milan on the road. Chen Hui opened his mouth slightly, looking at the big screen for a while, and looking at the players on the field for a while.

Defender Yan Tao was also a little confused, the fans in the stands, you look at me, I look at you, I didn't expect such a thing to happen. Inzaghi reacted and shouted: "Don't panic, the game has just started, keep your spirits up!"

Zhang Shujie applauded his teammates and said: "It doesn't matter, there are still more than 80 minutes left in the game, we will strive to get the score back within 15 minutes, and exceed the score before the end of the first half!"

Zhang Shujie, who came for the first time, seemed to have forgotten his identity as a "newcomer" in the team at this moment, and he encouraged his teammates like an old player and captain. The camera was focused on him as he spoke, and after the game, the lip experts also interpreted what he was saying. Chen Hui also boasted: "The Milan players at that time were all very surprised, Zhang Shujie was different, he was cheering for his teammates, this player who only joined this summer, led his team like a leader, at that moment, he was more like the captain of the team than Montolivo!"

(End of chapter)