Chapter 121: That strand of fireworks
Midweek, the Europa League reignited its fire as Inter Milan faced AC Milan in the second leg of their intense encounter.
AC Milan found themselves in a precarious position, so they opted for an aggressive approach from the outset. Inter Milan's coach, Cooper, had anticipated this and instructed his team to focus on defense in the first fifteen minutes, determined not to concede.
Gattuso and Ruicosta's ability to advance with the ball, coupled with Shevchenko and Inzaghi's effectiveness in the frontline, created several threatening attacks for AC Milan, but they were all thwarted by Inter Milan's resolute defense.
In the 10th minute, Inter Milan seized a promising counterattack opportunity. Zanetti intercepted the ball in midfield and swiftly passed it to Di Biagio to orchestrate the attack.
At this moment, Wang Feng sprinted forward rapidly. Di Biagio, understanding the situation, delivered a through pass behind AC Milan's defensive line. Wang Feng accelerated to reach the ball, but Maldini arrived just in time to tackle him.
Maldini's challenge was clean, as he made contact with the ball before bringing down Wang Feng. Laursen quickly cleared the ball, disrupting the attack.
Wang Feng, feeling frustrated, sat on the turf to adjust his socks. Maldini approached him and extended his hand, saying, "Wang, I won't make it easy for you in this match."
Wang Feng smiled, shook his hand, and got up, replying without hesitation, "Let's see about that."
AC Milan continued to dominate the game. In the 14th minute, Laursen swiftly passed through the midfield, and Ruicosta, after carrying the ball forward, suddenly took a shot from distance.
The shot, both in angle and power, was perfect. It bypassed Cordoba and Materazzi and reached Inzaghi near the edge of the penalty area.
Inzaghi, utilizing his experience, shielded off Samuel's defense and then chipped the ball towards the right side of the penalty area. He quickly followed up, shooting fiercely towards the bottom right corner.
Goalkeeper Toldo remained focused and managed to deflect the ball with his fingertips, pushing it out for a corner. It was AC Milan's most threatening shot since the beginning of the match, leaving Inter Milan fans sweating in the stands.
AC Milan earned a corner kick, with Ruicosta standing in the corner area. He raised his left hand high, and inside the penalty area, both teams' players were engaged in intense battles, refusing to give an inch.
Ruicosta delivered a curved corner kick into the penalty area. AC Milan failed to win the first ball, as Materazzi headed it away. The ball flew towards the edge of the penalty area.
Gattuso rushed forward to win the ball, opting to take a direct shot. However, his attempt was blocked by Samuel. The ball rebounded to the top of the penalty area, with ample space around.
At this moment, Shevchenko had already moved out of the penalty area in search of an opportunity. Seeing the chance, he hurriedly ran towards the dropping ball. After controlling it with his chest, without letting the ball touch the ground, he executed a side volley.
The shot was elegant, piercing through Inter Milan's defense like a bullet and finding its way into the net. Shevchenko opened the scoring for AC Milan, truly living up to his nickname "Atomic Bomber"!
The Giuseppe Meazza Stadium erupted with joy as AC Milan fans realized they were just one goal away from advancing to the Europa League semifinals, stepping over the bodies of their arch-rivals!
On the coaching bench, Cooper became restless. Despite detailed pre-match preparations, he hadn't expected the opponent to score so early in the game.
At this point, Inter Milan only held a slight advantage with two away goals. There were still nearly 75 minutes left in the game, and anything could happen.
After scoring, AC Milan continued their offensive pressure, making it difficult for Inter Milan. The home team wanted to regain control of the game's pace but struggled to do so.
It wasn't until the 35th minute of the first half that Inter Milan organized a threatening attack. The first was initiated by Di Biagio's left-sided breakthrough. He sent the ball into the penalty area, but neither Wang Feng nor Vieri could get to it first, and Maldini successfully cleared the danger.
The second attack saw Wang Feng dribble past Serginho on the right flank, cutting into the penalty area. Faced with Serginho's challenge, he passed to Recoba at the far post, but the latter's shot was blocked by Abbiati.
The first half ended with a score of 0-1, with neither side able to score again.
As the second half began, although AC Milan maintained dominance on the field, they failed to score again. They were still in a disadvantageous position. As time passed, the players' mentality inevitably changed, and unrest spread among the fans in the stands.
This provided Inter Milan with an opportunity. In the 85th minute, Inter Milan launched an attack from the back, with Zanetti diagonally passing to the left for Dalmat, who then found Di Biagio in midfield.
Di Biagio advanced while observing the players on the field. Suddenly, he sent a long pass that crossed the entire pitch and landed directly at the feet of Wang Feng on the right flank.
AC Milan's defensive focus had initially been on Di Biagio's side, so the sudden shift caught them off guard. After receiving the ball, Wang Feng, with only Serginho nearby, initiated a run towards the goal, using a feint to bypass Serginho and entering the penalty area.
Once inside the penalty area, Wang Feng didn't hesitate to shoot. With other defending players closing in, his shot headed towards the far corner of the goal.
Abbiati leaped desperately, stretching his body to the limit and managing to touch the ball with his fingertips. However, the ball's momentum remained unchanged, deflecting off the inside of the post and bouncing into the net.
"Goooooooooooooal!! The ball's in! Wang Feng! Wang Feng!"
"Give him the slightest chance, and he can be deadly. That's the best striker in Serie A!"
"The score on the field is now 1-1, with Wang Feng scoring a crucial goal for Inter Milan!"
After scoring, Wang Feng dashed out of the field in excitement, sprinting along the stands and basking in the cheers of the fans. But at this moment, an unexpected incident occurred.
Many disgruntled AC Milan fans threw fireworks towards Wang Feng, and one hit his shoulder. He felt a sudden pain, then stooped down, holding his shoulder.
Chaos ensued both on and off the field, with a large number of security personnel stepping in to maintain order. The rioting fans were quickly subdued, and team doctors rushed to check on Wang Feng.
Although the injury was not serious, Cooper decided to substitute Wang Feng. This incident caused a thirty-minute delay before the match resumed.
With little time left in the game, the remaining minutes felt somewhat dull. Clearly, experiencing such an event had affected the mentality of both sets of players.
The final score remained 1-1, with Inter Milan winning 3-2 on aggregate and advancing to the Europa League semi-finals. Their next opponent would be Feyenoord from the Eredivisie.
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