Chapter 529: More Threatening
While Rijkaard was hesitant and unable to make a decision, Inter Milan quietly launched a counter-attack when Barcelona's successive attacks were unsuccessful and morale began to drop.
Sneijder took the ball in the middle, he and Figo performed very well in this game, if Figo is the source of attack in the front, then Sneijder is the source of creativity in the backfield, and his organization and ball handling are important factors in the entanglement between Inter Milan and the opposition in the midfield.
When Sneijder got the ball, Xavi and Deco pressed him at the same time, and for Barcelona's midfielder, everyone has to be involved in the defense, although they are better at attacking, but they will also make a good contribution in defence.
Sneijder didn't dwell on the opposition, but lifted his foot to distribute the ball directly to the left.
It was an outside instep pass, the ball drew an arc in the air, and landed exactly at the feet of Figo, who stopped the ball and then quickly took a step sideways, Oleg did not follow, because he did not know when the opponent would go from the outside again - for Inter Milan, who have a height advantage in the penalty area, the threat of a cross from the wings is greater than that of a through ball in the middle.
Seeing that Oleg was not keeping up, Figo began to break through the middle, although there was Van Bommel defending, Xavi and Deco had not yet recovered, and Perrotta on the other side was able to create enough space.
When Barcelona's defensive attention began to focus on the middle, Figo made a sharp stop and turned, raised his foot to distribute the ball to the side again!
Plugging in from this side is Zanetti! Although Inter Milan's defense is more defensive, Zanetti's forward from time to time will also pose a huge threat!
Zanetti's dribbling was excellent, although the cross was a little worse - Oleg didn't dare to slack off and pressed it, but Zanetti still controlled the ball very well, and then forced a breakthrough from the side!
Seeing that Zanetti was about to break through, Oleg could only choose to foul again - for him, it is the most troublesome to deal with the kind of wide attacker who has excellent ball control, although the opponent's speed is not very fast, but as long as he breaks through, he can create a threat!
Zanetti was thrown to the ground by Oleg, the Inter fans in the stands let out loud boos and the referee ran over, this time warning Oleg and telling him to be careful.
Oleg retreated, and Inter defenders rushed up again, and even if Barcelona didn't suffer much from set-pieces, this situation was one of Inter's rare opportunities to create chances.
Two centre-backs, two centre-forwards, Sneijder and Perrotta roamed at the edge of the box, while Figo stood in front of the ball.
Although on this side he can only pass the kind of crosses that arc inward, but if this kind of cross grabs the first landing point at the back point, whether it is a header or a direct goal, it can also create a huge threat!
Barcelona are well aware of this, defending the back post quite tightly, and Inter Milan's attacking players are also concentrated at the back post, ready to cut forward at any time.
The two players were jockeying for position, and Figo started to run after hearing the referee's whistle - he was staring at the ball as he got closer, then picked up his right foot and kicked it out hard!
It was another very good curveball, the ball did not fly high in the sky at the beginning, but it gradually became higher on the way to the highest point, and then began to fall gradually!
As he played, Toney and Adriano rushed forward and down the middle at the same time, which also had a huge impact on the judgment of the Barcelona defenders, some of whom looked up at the flying ball, and others involuntarily sprinted forward......
However, the ball flying in the air spun directly over the heads of all the players in the front and middle and flew straight to the back point!
Not all Barcelona defenders have been deceived in this way, at least two have not, one is captain Puyol and the other is right-back Oleg who has returned to the box!
Puyol judged that the ball was at the back post, but he was a step slower, and Materazzi, who was waiting in that position, also had an absolute advantage in height, which made Puyol give up the idea of going up and interfere, and instead shouted at Oleg: "Go! Defend this guy! ”
Oleg didn't hesitate, he immediately rushed forward, but when he jumped with Materazzi, he realized how big the gap was between himself and Materazzi!
Although Oleg is only a few centimeters shorter than Materazzi in terms of height, after jumping, with the help of his physical advantage, Materazzi jumped half a head higher than Materazzi, and at the same time, he jumped better than Materazzi!
Oleg could only watch Materazzi rise up beside him, face the falling ball, and quickly shake his head to attack the goal!
In the face of this first-time header attack, Valdés couldn't make a save even if he reacted quickly, he just symbolically waved his hand and saw the ball fly directly into the goal behind him!
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL-" When Materazzi smashed the ball into the Barcelona door, all the commentators in the broadcast booth at the scene, with different skin tones, shouted in different languages, and shouted loudly at the same time!
Boiling with them, and the whole stand!
All the Inter fans jumped up, shouting loudly that they couldn't hear clearly, and it seemed to them that the third Champions League trophy in the club's history was beckoning to them!
With two goals in less than forty minutes of the game, it's not the rhythm of a win, it's the rhythm of a sweep!
All the Barcelona fans sat in their seats, watching the Inter Milan players celebrating wildly, unable to say a word.
At this time, all Barcelona fans began to think of a year that they definitely did not want to think of again - 1994!
That season was also under the leadership of a Dutchman, the same league and Champions Cup, the same boast of the most beautiful football in Europe, the same team from Italy Milan, but that year, Barcelona lost 0-4 in the final to AC Milan, where several big players were absent, and now, the first half is 0-2! Will it be the second time after that time that Barcelona have lost in a final?
They didn't want to think about it, they didn't dare to think about it, but they still couldn't contain the thought of that time, the season that made them feel desperate......
After that Champions League final, Cruyff resigned as Barcelona coach to concentrate on running La Masia Football School behind the scenes, Romario left Barcelona, and the Dream Team began to disintegrate, and today? Is Rijkaard leaving? Will Ronaldo leave? Dream Team 2 that hasn't become a reality yet...... Will it still exist?
The only good thing for Rijkaard is that his players have not lost their fighting spirit.
After the restart, Barcelona quickly launched an attack, without Rijkaard's deployment, they also launched an attack, they did not create chances through the same back and forth scheduling as just now, because the previous attack has proved that this kind of attack is not much use for Inter Milan, but at this time, they began to threaten the door of Inter Milan with a sharper and more direct attack!
In the 42nd minute, Oleg, who had inserted the assist, crossed and shot from the wing, and the ball flew over the crossbar.
In stoppage time, Barcelona's crazy attack almost brought them a goal, Ronaldo took the ball on the side and forced the ball to cut into the penalty area, and after attracting most of the attention of the Inter Milan backline, he suddenly passed straight to the edge of the penalty area, Eto'o stopped the ball and flicked his right foot, and suddenly turned quickly! Cannavaro was thrown away by Eto'o at this moment, and Eto'o did not continue to dribble the ball after turning, but shot with his feet at the first time!
Cesar made an excellent save, the moment Eto'o shot he made a save, in the face of this kick eight meters from the goal of the outside of the instep of the ball, Cesar's reaction nerve saved Inter Milan, he almost instinctively reached out after the end, the ball touched by Cesar's fingertips changed direction slightly, and then slammed the outside of the post, popping off the bottom line!
"What a pity! Ronaldo's pass, Eto'o's shot! Barcelona's golden partner almost helped Barcelona pull a point back before half-time! They tore through Inter's defense, but they couldn't break through Cesar's ten fingers! Cesar's save could be compared to a goal! The World Cup deserves a place for him! In any case, he is also capable of competing with Dida, another Brazilian goalkeeper of Milan City, for the position of the main goalkeeper of the Brazilian national team! ”
After making this save, Cesar got up from the ground and flailed his fist, and in the match so far, he completely overwhelmed the opposing goalkeeper Valdés, and also filled Cesar's heart with pride!
"I have the ability to stand in front of the door of Inter Milan and even more capable of standing in front of the door of the Brazilian national team!" Cesar thought to himself.
This attack was the last attack of the first half, Barcelona's corner kick was not able to create much threat, when the attacking Cesar picked the ball and drove forward with a big foot, the referee's whistle sounded, 2-0, Inter Milan entered the second half with a huge advantage!
"The first half is over! Inter Milan lead Barcelona 2-0! It wasn't a one-sided final, but the odds were about the same, but Inter Milan created more dangerous attacks! They defended much better than Barcelona, one reason, and the other reason was the play of a few people! Cesar's performance in the first half completely outperformed the opponent's goalkeeper Valdés, and Figo, who had an inseparable fate with Barcelona, became the dominant player in the first half! His cross opened the scoring for Toney and then doubled the lead with a free-kick for Materazzi's header! Although he is thirty-three years old and almost thirty-four years old, Figo at this age still has unparalleled lethality! Looking at Figo's current game, is Real Madrid starting to regret abandoning him? After all, they sold Figo to Inter Milan for only two million euros...... Either way, Inter Milan have found a treasure, and now the Inter players have only 45 minutes left to win the first trophy of their careers! If Rijkaard can't make good adjustments at half-time, they will have to watch Inter Milan lift the Champions Cup! ”