Chapter 119: The Derby Boom Resumes!
After a home win over Lyon to advance to the semi-finals, Milan are already in the thick of fixtures. They will first face Chievo at the San Siro on the number nine, and then play the Milan derby against Inter Milan on the 14th.
The Milan derby will be followed by the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals.
With a dense schedule and strong opponents, a tense atmosphere is enveloping Milan. Everyone knows that from now on, Milan has entered a critical moment. Whether or not they can finish the season perfectly, they will have to play against different opponents on and off the pitch.
Tang Jue obviously felt this too, although his teammates were talking and laughing during training, he could still feel the nervousness in their eyes. If you were anyone, you would be nervous, and Tang Juezhi said that he couldn't resolve the tension of his teammates now.
Only by crossing one hurdle after another can the tension in their hearts be resolved. What's more, the right amount of tension is good for the players. To be a winner on the pitch, you have to overcome any odds yourself. Under pressure, some people choose to retreat, some people choose to face head-on, and Tang Jue chooses to face head-on!
On the 9th, in the game of Chievo, he took 30 minutes to complete a hat-trick!
Kaka also had a goal in this game. After the end, Milan beat Chievo 4-0!
Media comment: Don responded to Sacchi's attack with a hat-trick as he managed to overtake Toney and sit at the top of the scorer charts with 30 goals alone. Don is heading into the upcoming Milan derby in good form.
The next day, Juventus, who were eliminated by Arsenal in the Champions League. A 1-1 draw with Fiorentina at home. In this way, Milan's lead has reached 10 points. The Italian media believes that there are five rounds left in Serie A, which is a gap that cannot be crossed. Milan have actually won the Serie A title!
Toney scored the equaliser in this game, and he was just one goal away from Tang. There are no surprises in the Serie A championship, but the competition for the Serie A top scorer is still fierce!
Inter, who also came out of the Champions League, in order to comfort the injured hearts of the fans, the whole team made an overall effort and defeated Ascoli 2-1 away on the 10th. Catching up with Juventus in points, they took advantage of goal difference to beat Juventus and rank second in the standings!
They build up morale for the upcoming Milan derby. Apparently they did!
Victory over Chievo. Milan was not rejoicing. For them, a home win over Chievo is not a big deal, it is just a piece of cake.
Milan entered the fast lane. Five days later they had a Milan derby!
Both teams won the last round. Morale is high. In the first round. Inter lost at home to AC Milan and for Inter Milan there was no room for error. They have to beat Milan. Not only to avenge the first round, but also to consolidate his second place in the standings.
The media launched a pre-match analysis, and the Milan Sports newspaper believes that Milan will play the Champions League semifinals on the 19th, and their main focus should be on the match with Barcelona, so Ancelotti will not send all the main players to participate in the Milan derby with the Serie A title in hand.
They believe that the most likely to sit on the bench are Tang Jue, who scored a hat-trick in the last game, and Kaka, who scored one goal and provided two assists. On top of that, there will also be some changes at the back, such as Nesta who may be rested. Nesta's place could be replaced by Costa Kuta.
Stam could also be replaced by Maldini, with Cafu, who had suffered a minor injury in the previous games, should be on the pitch to find his form for the semi-final against Barcelona.
Without the Champions League, Inter will send all their main players to challenge Milan. In this game, Inter has the advantage!
Roma Sport believes Carlo Ancelotti would not be stupid enough to take a risk against Inter. For Milan, the Milan derby is a game full of temptation and full of risks. A win in the derby would cement Milan's position, but the temptation is clearly less than that of the Champions League.
In an interview with the media before the game, Mancini said firmly: "We don't care what kind of squad AC Milan sends, we only have one goal, which is to beat the opponent!" ”
Speaking to the media, Carlo Ancelotti said: "Our current squad has not yet been decided, no matter what kind of squad we send to face it, Milan will always be a strong team!" ”
Carlo Ancelotti's words suggest that he will not send his entire squad or all his substitutes for what is a high-profile derby.
The derby is scheduled for half past seven in the evening. At half past six, the media got the starting lists of both sides. Milan's starting line-up was as speculated by the media, with a big change.
The forward line is partnered by Inzaghi and Vieri. The midfielder was wrong with the speculation of the Milan sports newspaper, and Kaka appeared in the starting line-up. The other three in midfield are Andrea Pirlo, Ambrosini and Gattuso.
In terms of personnel, this is basically the strongest midfield in Milan right now. Ambrosini is well-rounded in attack and defense, and he is better in terms of physical fitness and defense than Seedorf.
At the back, Kaladze played at left-back, Cafu at right-back, and Stam and Costacuta at centre-back. This is also wrong with the prediction of Milan Sport, who thought Stam would be replaced by Maldini before the game. The goalkeeper is still Milan's current number one goalkeeper Dida.
On the whole, Milan basically sent all the main forces. Carlo Ancelotti didn't want to give up on the game, and the Milan derby was tempting for any manager.
Inter's starting lineup is: goalkeeper Toldo, and the four defenders are Favalli, Materazzi, Córdoba, Zanetti; The four midfielders are Stakovic, Cabiasso, Pizarro and Figo; The two strikers are Ade and Martins.
For Inter, this is the strongest squad right now. It shows Mancini's determination to take Milan. Before the game, the organizers sent a large number of police officers to the San Siro stadium for safety reasons. The Milan derby in last year's Champions League was so hot that Dida was even injured by an angry Inter fan with a firecracker.
Now the situation of the two teams is completely different, Milan have just reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. Inter were unexpectedly eliminated. The organizers are worried that Inter fans will make trouble in this game. In addition, Milan's Serie A title is basically in hand, and Inter Milan has to fight for a place that directly enters next season's Champions League and directly advances.
One of the main points of the game will be whether Inter can beat Milan and secure their position as second in the league.
All 7,000 tickets allocated to Inter were sold, and they had to cheer on their soldiers. This made the Inter Milan executives in the wind and rain suddenly happy, and they thought that Inter fans would not go to the scene to watch the game.
Seven o'clock in the evening. San Siro was almost full. The north stand of the San Siro belongs to Inter. They form Inter's English letter "INTER" in the stands to show their presence.
Echoing the North Stand is the South Stand by Milan fans, who have turned it into the famous "Lion's Den", a red one. It's a huge Milanese flag. There are two giant lion heads on the team flag!
It's a festival for Milan fans!
The game hasn't started yet. The fans of both sides have already started fighting, and they are competing with songs. Milan! Milan! and "Crazy Inter" came and went, and fans on both sides turned the San Siro into a huge stage with a lot of excitement!
Seven fifteen minutes. Players from both sides walked out of the tunnel of the players!
The singing of the fans on both sides is even more majestic!
The derby is on the horizon!
Long guns and short guns on the sidelines were aimed at the players of both sides, and the second leg of the annual Milan derby ushered in. The hero of the last game against Inter was sitting on the bench at this time, and Tang must have to accumulate energy for Barcelona's game.
Last night, Carlo Ancelotti called and told Tang Jue that he would not be sent to start today's game, and Tang Jue was slightly disappointed. Carlo Ancelotti then explained to him that it was mainly a conflict between him and Materazzi in his last Milan derby. Carlo Ancelotti fears that Materazzi will retaliate against him again on the pitch.
Tang Jue's first injury since entering the professional league was a tackle from Materazzi. Since then, he has had a feud with Materazzi. With the big game against Barcelona just around the corner, Carlo Ancelotti didn't want to hurt his team's top scorer.
At half past seven, the game officially began!
The referee sent by the referee committee is "bald" Collina, who is known for his fairness. With a whistle from Collina, the Milan derby officially begins!
Milan, sitting at home, began to advance towards Inter's half amid the huge shouts of the fans!
Vieri, who had enjoyed great success at Inter, was unusually active, scoring his first goal in the fifth minute. In the fifth minute, Ambrosini took the ball on the side, and Vieri, who was ambushed in the Inter penalty area, beat Materazzi and hit the ball!
Toldo, Italy's No. 2 goalkeeper, kicked hard with his right foot like a gibbon after Vieri's header. Get the ball off the crossbar in the blink of an eye!
After getting up from the turf, Toldo shouted at his guards: "Watch him! ”
He was so unhappy that he had just started the game and allowed Vieri to grab a header. Ten seconds later, Materazzi pressed Vieri and headed Pirlo's corner out of the box, which was considered to be a tribute to Vieri.
As the game progressed, Inter slowly reversed their passivity and launched an attack on Milan's left side. The main reason is that Figo is on this side, the former world footballer, although he has passed his peak state, but his prestige is still there, and no defender dares to underestimate him.
In the fifteenth minute, Figo played a cross-pass with Carbiaso and went through a one-two, and he took the ball on the left side of Milan and ran wildly!
Karadze didn't give up, he followed closely behind Figo!
At a distance of three meters from the baseline, Figo suddenly cut inside!
If Figo succeeds, he will get into the Milan penalty area. This is a very dangerous thing for Milan!
A fierce flash flashed in Karadze's eyes, and he lowered his center of gravity to disrupt Figonetze's attempt with a tackle!
Figo was once the best right midfielder in the world, and his flashy dribbling was once talked about by fans. Time is a sharp knife that slows down Figo's pace, and in his peak form, Figo can easily get past Kaladze's tackle.
However, the current Figo does not have this ability. However, the former Mr. Footballer in the world has become older and his physical fitness has declined, but his skills are still there!
The center of gravity falls to the left, and the right foot suddenly pushes the football to the left!
Karadze failed to shovel the football at Figo's feet, and the football was still at Figo's feet!
The next moment, Figo advanced into the Milan penalty area!
The air in the stadium is getting tense! (To be continued......)