Chapter 335: It's time to score
"Audience friends, welcome to the final of the 2002-2003 UEFA Champions League!"
"We're now broadcasting live from Old Trafford in Manchester, England. Pen Γ fun Γ Pavilion www. ο½ο½ο½ο½ο½ο½ γ ο½ο½ο½ο½β
"This match is played against Atletico Madrid from Spain and AC Milan from Italy. β
"Both teams are traditional powerhouses in La Liga and Serie A, and they have been the best teams in Europe this past season, especially Atletico Madrid, who have risen to prominence under the leadership of young coach Gao Han from China after a relegation nightmare. β
"Now we can see that both teams are coming out under the leadership of German referee Merck. β
"The stadium was packed to the full, with more than 70,000 fans in attendance, and it was a spectacular spectacle. β
"The fans of both teams were also very fanatical, very passionate in the stands, competing with the team anthems of both sides, but when they came together, we couldn't hear what was singing, but we could feel the power. β
"This is the head coach of both teams, Gao Han, who is only 27 years old, and Carlo Ancelotti, who is 44 years old. β
It is worth mentioning that, unlike Gao Han, Ancelotti is a professional footballer, having won three Serie A titles, two Champions League titles, and two Toyota Cup titles as a midfielder. β
I believe that he is not unfamiliar with such a final scene at all, and it looks relatively relaxed. β
On the contrary, it is the young Gao Han, as the youngest manager in the history of the Champions League, but he led the team to the final, and it is quite positive to have such a performance, but the lack of experience is the biggest weakness of him and Atletico Madrid. β
"We all know that the Champions League final is not only about strength and fighting spirit, but also about experience. β
"Okay, both teams are already preparing, the captain of both teams, Maldini and the youngster Torres, are ready to come over and guess the side, and the game is about to start. β
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"Oh, they chose to attack from left to right!"
After Maldini pointed out the right to guess the edge given by AC Milan, Unai Emery on the sidelines exclaimed.
According to the legend, the field design of Old Trafford has a certain inclination, high on the left and low on the right, so every time Manchester United plays at home, it will choose to attack from left to right.
Of course, this is just a legend and has not been confirmed by actual evidence.
However, AC Milan continued the usual characteristics of Manchester United, opting to go from left to right in the first half.
In this way, Atletico Madrid gets the right to serve.
Gao Han shook his head, how could it be so magical?
He walked straight to the sideline and clapped his hands vigorously, drawing the attention of the players.
"Guys, remember what I said, steady, steady, steady, steady. β
The players all nodded in unison.
How to conduct the game, Gao Han didn't know how many times he had repeatedly told him before the game, they all knew it.
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With the whistle of referee Merck, in the roar of the fans, the much-anticipated Champions League final officially kicked off.
Atletico Madrid took the lead and Torres played the ball to Villa, who slotted it to the back.
Carvalho was in no hurry when he got the ball and passed to Xavi Alonso, but soon the Spaniard returned to the right for Dario Srna, but the ball was back at Carvalho's feet.
The back-and-forth back-and-forth made it difficult for AC Milan to organise pressing.
Gao Han stood on the sidelines, nodded straight at it, "Just kick like this, take your time, don't worry." β
Left, right and behind, the coaching staff's assistants were also staring at the pitch or at their laptops, studying the progress of the game and analyzing the situation.
Kaka dominated the attack up front and soon found a gap to play the ball to the edge of the box.
As soon as Torres rushed over, before he could stop the ball, Maldini was just right to get stuck in position, intercept the ball directly, and then clear it with a kick.
The first attack, failed to get into the box.
But Gao Han still applauded, "Very good, take your time, don't rush." β
The ball still fell to Atletico Madrid, but AC Milan were not too happy and soon regrouped their defence under the command of Maldini and Nesta.
This left Atletico Madrid having to pass back to the midfield and continue to wait patiently for their chances.
In the third minute, Jankulovski seized the opportunity on the left and crossed with his left foot, but Nesta got ahead of Villa and headed the ball out of the box, once again defusing Atletico Madrid's attack.
"These two central defenders at AC Milan are really strong!" Cantarero couldn't help but praise.
"The key is to be very stable. Unai Emery agrees.
Nesta is recognized as the No. 1 central defender in football at the moment, and can be called the existence of the central defender, after joining AC Milan, he continued his peak performance in the Lazio period.
As for Maldini, as a legend in European football, he is not young, but he has maintained his form quite well, he has a lot of experience, he is very comfortable with any situation, and as the captain of the team, he also plays a leading role.
What's more, the two cooperate very tacitly.
It was as if in the eighth minute, Xavi Alonso found an opportunity, a long-range pass from the backfield, Villa received the ball, dribbled along the left rib, and before Nesta could intercept, the cross went to Torres.
Torres had the nerve to keep the ball from lingering and scrambled before Maldini crossed into the box.
But this time, Nesta was very accurate, and after pressing Villa with her body, she broke the ball with a preemptive kick and only gave Atletico Madrid a throw-in.
The excellent defending of the two central defenders earned them a round of applause.
As expected by Gao Han and the media, Atletico Madrid quickly took advantage of their own passing and possession of the ball after the opening, mastered the possession of the game, and patiently organized an offensive towards AC Milan.
The Rossoneri's first threatening attack of the game came in the 10th minute, when Andrea Pirlo won the ball down the middle and crossed diagonally to Rui Costa, who took the ball and splayed straight behind him, before Inzaghi slotted into the box from the edge of the box.
But the moment he received the ball, the linesman raised the flag, the referee blew the whistle, and it was offside.
Soon, Atletico Madrid launched two more waves of attacks, first Dario Srna stepped forward to cross from the right, and Torres grabbed the first spot at the edge of the small penalty area and headed the goal.
But with Maldini's interference, the ball couldn't hit the target.
Only Villa dribbled the ball into the penalty area on the left rib, but it was tackled by Nesta in a very timely manner, and once again it was in vain.
For the difficulty of the game, Gao Han and the coaching staff have also been mentally prepared, constantly walking to the sidelines to boost the morale of the players, and constantly calling on the players to continue to maintain this rhythm, not careless, nor anxious.
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From the outset, the entire Old Trafford stadium was enveloped in a tense atmosphere.
Although neither team could score, the game was unusually tight.
This is like a master making a move, seemingly calm, but the dark tide is surging, between gestures, it seems to be ordinary, but it seems to be a fatal move.
"Gattuso was a bit out of the way in this game. JosΓ© RamΓ³n de la Morena frowned.
As a die-hard fan of Atletico Madrid, in order to better enjoy the game, he even asked Radio Serre to arrange someone else to narrate on his behalf, while he sat in the stands in the media area and watched the game quietly.
Matayana also saw it, "I guess it's also a matter of mentality." β
"In this kind of competition, no matter how big the stars are, it is inevitable that they will be nervous, Gattuso is not performing well, AC Milan's midfield, especially in the left rib area, is much weaker, and Villa, Kaka and Deco are all starting to consciously play this way. β
De la Morena smiled slightly, this is a favorable situation for Atletico Madrid.
From the start, Atletico Madrid looked young, but in fact they played very steadily, which was not easy.
It is not difficult to see that Gao Han has carefully arranged for this game for a long time.
Ideally, as long as Atletico Madrid continue to maintain this momentum, it is only a matter of time before they tear apart AC Milan's defence.
But the football field is changing rapidly, and any accident can happen, so you can't be careless.
"Nesta and Maldini are really good, and Costa Kuta, AC Milan have a really strong defence, if we had changed to another team, I guess we would have scored a goal a long time ago. Matayana shook his head helplessly.
"Get old and strong!" De la Morena couldn't help it.
If there is one more difference between AC Milan this season and last season, it must be the addition of Nesta at the back.
The addition of the world's strongest central defender has greatly improved AC Milan's defense, which can be called a bug-level central defender at the back.
Andrea Pirlo dropped back to play in midfield and brought Rui Costa and Seedorf to the wings, with AC Milan's formation looking more like a four-to-five formation, and the clash of duties between Andrea Pirlo and Rui Costa was resolved a lot.
Ambrosini and Gattuso acted as thugs and were also able to unleash Pirlo's playmaking abilities.
Judging from these, Ancelotti deserves to be a master tactician in Serie A.
On the pitch, Atletico Madrid dominated the field, seized the weakness of AC Milan, and began to increase offensive investment.
Especially the pressing up front.
Captain Fernando Torres was very aggressive, forcing a foul on AC Milan's left-back during a run of Kaladze, and then counter-attacking on the spot, quickly splitting the ball down the middle.
Kaka got ahead of Ambrosini and Andrea Pirlo, grabbed the ball and crossed into the box.
Villa calmly cut in quickly from the left flank and headed in front of goal.
But at the critical moment, Dida made an incredible save, hitting Villa's close-range header and punching it out.
This time, the beautiful defense made the AC Milan fans cheer in unison.
Villa knelt in the penalty area, holding his head in his hands and his forehead against the turf, looking annoyed and remorseful.
"Oh, that's a shame!" Matayana patted his thigh even harder.
De la Morena jumped up from his seat and pointed to the court, "This kind of ball can be saved?
The Atletico Madrid fans in the stadium were also heartbroken.
What a great opportunity!
But as a result, I didn't get in!
Not only the fans, but also the players on the pitch looked frustrated.
After the opening kick-off, they didn't know how many chances they created, but they were all just a little bit away from scoring.
Especially this time!
"Okay, don't think too much, give me attention!"
The cry of Gao Han from the sidelines was clearly heard in the field.
Deco quickly tossed towards the corner and prepared to take the corner.
"It's just a little bit off. De la Morena said nervously.
Matayana was preoccupied with the game, only nodding slightly.
Yes, he also felt that he was very, very close to the goal, even ......
With a bang, Deco sent in a corner.
There was chaos in the box, but Nesta calmly judged the first spot, grabbed the position before everyone else, and cleared the ball with a header.
The ball didn't fly far and landed in front of Rui Costa on the right.
The Portuguese didn't wait for the ball to hit the ground and went straight to the cross.
The audience suddenly exclaimed.
Counterattack!
AC Milan's counterattack!(To be continued.) )