Chapter 154: When shooting a man, shoot his horse first; when capturing a thief, capture the leader first!
The ball saved by Patricio flew out of the penalty area, Kessié met it with a powerful shot, Chen Xiaoliang rushed forward to block it, the ball hit his chest heavily, reflected upwards, and flew out of the baseline!
Kessie and Tomori behind him raised their hands together to indicate to the referee that it was a handball!
Moreover, the place where Chen Xiaoliang was standing was still in the restricted area.
Chen Xiaoliang walked forward to warn Kessie not to talk nonsense, and Pellegrini on the side repeatedly explained to the referee that Chen Xiaoliang's hands were not open.
In front of the screen, the director quickly switched to slow-motion playback.
He Wei: "It is very obvious that Xiaoliang's hands were tightly pressed against his chest during this ball. I believe the video referee team will remind Maresca to make a fair decision."
But the referee Maresca seemed hesitant, but still chose to run to the sidelines to watch the V AR replay in person.
Zhang Lu: "This ball was 100% a hit, and the VAR shot was very clear and the angle was also very good. I don't know what the referee was hesitating about."
He Wei: "Maybe it's because the game is too important, the referee doesn't dare to make controversial decisions easily."
Zhang Lu: "Hehe, I hope so."
Maresca stared at the screen over and over again, and finally ran back to the field to make a corner kick.
Casey kept staring at Chen Xiaoliang and chattering until Ibrahimovic couldn't stand it anymore and pushed him away, and then he shut up.
Calabria prepares to take a corner kick.
In the dense crowd in the penalty area, Kessié stood next to Ibanez.
Most of AC Milan's corner kicks are aimed at Ibrahimovic. Whether in terms of heading ability or height, he is the most threatening one on the field.
In this game, whenever Ibrahimovic entered the penalty area, Mancini would closely guard him, and another central defender Ibanez would assist in defense.
At this moment, Kessie went to find Ibanez, purely to avenge the handball penalty that Chen Xiaoliang "escaped" just now.
In terms of height, Casey, who is 183cm tall, is slightly shorter than Ibanez, who is 186cm tall, but in terms of strength, he is far ahead.
The referee blew the whistle and Calabria ran up and exerted force.
The ball speed is not fast, but the arc is very obvious!
Just as everyone in the penalty area was busy judging the landing point of the ball, running, positioning, and preparing to jump for the header, Kessie rushed towards Ibrahimovic!
Ibanez, hurry up and follow!
The ball really found Ibrahimovic!
Ibrahimovic jumps! Mancini beside him also wants to jump!
Hey!
As soon as Mancini jumped, he felt a huge force surging from behind!
Kessié jumped up beside him, but jumped on his head in advance and pressed Mancini with his body, making it impossible for him to jump up!
On the other side of Ibrahimovic, Cristante's jump height was not enough to interfere with Ibrahimovic!
He just took aim at the ball and headed it hard into the far corner of the goal!
Patricio, who was guarding the near corner, subconsciously leaned sideways to reach for the ball on the goal line and his hand touched the ball!
Leo, who was lying in ambush at the back post, used his knee to hit the empty goal!
The ball went into the net!
"oops!"
Zhang Lu sighed loudly in the live broadcast room! Then he thought that maybe he himself felt that this was not appropriate for Milan fans, so he immediately added, "Good shot!"
He Wei took over the commentary: "The ball went in! Not long into the second half, AC Milan took the lead!"
"Ibrahimovic jumped high and created chaos in front of the goal with a header! Leo made a follow-up shot at the back post and the score became 1 to 2!"
"AC Milan has firmly taken the initiative on the field!"
"We can see that when Leo was celebrating, there seemed to be friction between the players of both teams in the penalty area, and there were physical movements with their hands! "
"It's Mancini and Kessié, they seem to be accusing each other of a foul!"
"Let's watch the slow motion replay!"
"Kessie looked like he was jumping up to head the ball, but in fact he was just jumping up to press down Mancini!"
"The linesman didn't make any comment. There were too many people in the penalty area and he couldn't see clearly from such a distance."
"The referee gave a verbal warning to Kessie and Mancini! He pressed the earphone with his left hand, as if communicating with the video referee team!"
"On the other side, Leo was still celebrating with his teammates, but he was obviously stealing glances at the referee!"
"This might be the corner kick tactic that AC Milan has rehearsed! Coach Zhang, what do you think? Will this ball be called a foul?"
Zhang Lu: "It was a matter of the referee's mind. This kind of ball is usually not blown. When competing for a corner kick, if you press the opponent to jump, as long as there is no obvious pulling or pushing with your hands, reasonable physical confrontation is allowed by default. However, Kessie obviously couldn't head the ball in this case. Everyone could see that he was heading for Mancini.
But there was nothing wrong with Ibrahimovic's header and Leo's follow-up shot, they were both clean and neat. Patricio's save just now was also the ultimate goalkeeper. In most cases, Ibrahimovic's header would go straight in!"
The two had not finished their discussion yet, and the referee did not choose to look at VAR, but pointed directly to the center line!
"This goal counts! The score is confirmed to be 1 to 2, and Roma is temporarily behind at home!"
"Mourinho in the stands kept shaking his head, while Kessie kept talking to Mancini and walked back triumphantly!"
"Oh no! Maybe Kessie said something. All the Roma players gathered around him! Ibanez, who came to his senses, chased after Kessie and pointed at him and yelled at him! Captain Pellegrini was saying something to Kessie while pulling Ibanez away. Getting a yellow card at this time, especially for a center back, will only do more harm than good to the subsequent defense!"
Seeing that the other side had more people, Kessié stopped talking. Some AC Milan players also ran over to separate the two sides.
However, the referee still gave Kessie and Ibanez a yellow card each!
There were boos in the Olympic Stadium, and fans in the stands near the stadium were "caring" for the families of Kessie and referee Maresca!
Mourinho instigated the fans in the stands to boo the referee even louder. He wanted to jump off the stands and rush into the field to argue with Maresca and the fourth official!
Joao, whose personality and temperament are completely different from Mourinho, was shouting on the sidelines, signaling the players to return to their positions as soon as possible and seize the time to deal with the game!
After all, it is impossible to whistle a confirmed goal.
When you are behind in the score, you must find a way to get the ball back as soon as possible!
After the restart, Cesco passed the ball to Pellegrini behind him.
Pellegrini took a few steps and Krunic came over to harass him, so he passed the ball to Abraham on the left.
Joao couldn't help but shout a few words. Pellegrini turned around and looked at him, a little surprised.
What Joao meant was that you should transfer the ball as soon as you receive it, and don't always think about taking a few steps first and then passing it when there is no chance to break through.
Pellegrini's eyes seemed to be saying, why are you, an assistant coach, trying to steal the spotlight?
"Stop making noise! Focus on the game!"
Chen Xiaoliang saw this scene from behind and deliberately passed by Pellegrini when he was moving forward to remind him.
Pellegrini was stunned. Although he was still dissatisfied, he could only run away with his head down.
It’s okay to offend Joao, but if he offends Chen Xiaoliang, no one in the locker room who is new will take him as the captain seriously.
After receiving the ball on the left, Abraham rushed forward at high speed, but before he could run far, Calabria blocked him.
Romagnoli did not start due to leg discomfort. Calabria, as the only Italian on the field, wore the captain's armband in this game.
In the first half of the game, the two players interacted a lot without the ball, but had few opportunities to confront each other with the ball.
Thinking of Zaniolo who had been substituted, Abraham knew that his center position was gone. If he didn't perform well, not only would he be substituted, but he might not even start in the next game against a strong team.
Pellegrini asked for the ball in the middle at this time, and Abraham did not hesitate and immediately passed it horizontally.
Kessie was the defender in this position and immediately pounced on Pellegrini.
On the left, Abraham, who had just passed the ball, rushed forward without the ball, trying to make a one-two pass, but Calabria saw through his plan, followed him all the way back, and blocked the inside to cut off his route to receive the ball.
Pellegrini had no choice but to control the ball and observe.
Just with this one observation, Casey tackled the ball away from his feet!
Don’t say, this black guy talks a lot of trash and makes a lot of small moves with his hands, but he is quite good at working with his feet!
Bennacer, who was assisting in defense, passed the ball to Krunic in front before Pellegrini could chase back!
Krunic was just about to turn around to receive the ball, but Chen Xiaoliang, who was returning to defense, intercepted the ball halfway!
Seeing that the ball he had just snatched was lost so quickly, Casey complained to his teammates.
Chen Xiaoliang passed the ball to Cristante on the side, then cut in to the front right!
Cristante has been almost invisible in this game so far, and has not played a very obvious role in both offense and defense .
But he finally got the chance to start after Veretout was injured and he really wanted to play well.
He controlled the ball for a while, then made a long pass, pretending to pass it to Chen Xiaoliang on the right, but actually passed it directly to Cesco in the middle!
Roma's striker had not been able to receive the ball for a long time, but in the one-on-one confrontation with Tomori, he gradually figured out the defensive habits and rhythm of the English central defender!
In terms of speed, Cesco knew he could not beat Tomori, and he might not be sure of winning headers.
It was the corner kick that just now that gave Cesco an idea because of Kessié's little move of pressing the opponent.
If there is no chance of winning in the air, then he will play on the ground. When standing on the ground, his height is obviously taller than Tomori!
Facing the flying ball, Cesco did not choose to jump, but instead aimed at the landing point and leaned his body against Tomori, not just leaning on him, but also leaning back!
Tomori only felt that Cesco's weight and the strength of his upper body were pressing on him, and he could only hold Cesco back with force!
Cesco stopped the ball with his chest and immediately passed it to Chen Xiaoliang on the right!
The pass between them was fast and accurate.
Chen Xiaoliang starts!
What is the 17 speed bonus used for? It is used to tear open the defense in offense!
Theo, who was responsible for the defense along the way, knew that he had an accurate cross and had repeatedly assisted his teammates, so he also ran as fast as he could!
Chen Xiaoliang dribbled the ball as usual, without any tricks. He just dribbled the ball 10 meters and then sprinted at full speed!
So, the two speed maniacs ran side by side on the sidelines!
Equally matched!
The closer they are to the ball, the more physical confrontation there is between the two!
Chen Xiaoliang, who started 0.1 seconds earlier, caught up with the ball. Theo pushed him to the outside. Chen Xiaoliang took another step and rushed forward again!
Theo had no choice but to continue chasing at full speed!
At the baseline! Chen Xiaoliang fell to the ground and passed the ball to the middle!
However, the ball was passed at full speed, and the landing point was average, and Tatarusanu jumped up to catch it!
Chen Xiaoliang stood up and ran back, panting.
Theo was also panting, his chest rising and falling noticeably, and he was amazed in his heart: This kid can actually run so fast! It's rare to find someone who can run as fast as me!
In the whole Serie A, maybe only that beast Osimhen from Napoli can run faster than both of us!
Chen Xiaoliang looked up at the big screen. 53 minutes, enough time. He had to continue with his plan.
Theo had not yet recovered from his previous sprint, and the hand-thrown ball that Tatarusanu threw to Tomori was passed to his feet again.
Theo had to dribble the ball forward slowly.
A sprint just ended and now they asked me to organize an attack again. Even the donkeys in the production team wouldn’t be used like this!
But there was no way, because this point was the starting point of Milan's attack.
Mkhitaryan came over to defend, but Theo accelerated and got rid of him!
Seeing Theo's renewed strength, Leo immediately moved towards the middle. Theo led the ball all the way to the left side of the penalty area and passed it to Krunic. At this time, Roma was already ready in the penalty area. Seeing that Ibrahimovic had no space to receive the ball, Krunic took a powerful long shot, but the ball was slightly higher than the crossbar.
Roma took a goal kick and the offensive power returned to them.
"Pass it to me."
Chen Xiaoliang whispered something to Christante and ran to the right again.
Cristante didn't know what he wanted to do, and he didn't have the time to think about it. After all, he was the coach's favorite and the apple of his eye, so he just had to do whatever this guy said.
The goal kick was passed to Krittante's feet. Without wasting a moment, he directly passed the ball to the right side accurately.
In terms of defense, it is an indisputable fact that Cristante is slow, but when it comes to passing and long shots, this guy has real skills, otherwise how could he join the Italian national team and win the European Cup.
Chen Xiaoliang received the ball. Theo, who had just passed the ball, had just retreated to the center line. Chen Xiaoliang brought him to his side and accelerated again!
So, the two of them sprinted side by side again, just like the previous scene!
This time Theo was prepared. Before Chen Xiaoliang was about to dribble the ball for the second time, he stretched out his hand to block him, then made a sideways tackle and cleared the ball out of the sideline.
Chen Xiaoliang had no expression on his face. Throwing the ball out of bounds was not his job, so he returned to his position in the backcourt.
In the next 10 minutes, every time Roma gained possession of the ball in the backcourt, Chen Xiaoliang would ask for the ball on the wing, and his teammates would pass it to him seeing his determination.
During these 10 minutes, the same scene of dribbling the ball to accelerate and Theo sprinting appeared three more times.
It was not until the 65th minute that Chen Xiaoliang made another cross from the bottom, Cesco headed the ball high, and Tatarusanu passed the ball to Theo again, who kicked it back directly.
Chen Xiaoliang achieved his goal.
Physical recovery card
Theo's legs were already a little weak at this time. In less than 10 minutes, he made four full-speed sprints of about 50 meters and two high-speed dribbles to organize the offense. No matter how strong a professional player is, he has to stand there and relax for a while.
Stamina recovery card 3→2
Chen Xiaoliang was actually tired too, but as this line of numbers appeared, his legs no longer felt sore, his breath no longer seemed to be blowing, and all his fatigue was swept away!
In the 66th minute, AC Milan launched an attack from the middle.
Theo was still moving slowly in the back, and only Leo was moving on the left. He was trapped in the double-team of Mkhitaryan and Karsdorp. Without Theo's support, he could not move at all.
Karsdorp, who originally had to face the attacks from Leo and Theo in turns, now only needs to focus on Leo. The pressure on defense is greatly reduced, and the quality of defense is also significantly improved.
In the second half, due to a change of sides, Theo's side moved to the opposite side of the court away from the coaching seats.
Pioli also saw that Theo's physical strength had been greatly consumed by Chen Xiaoliang, but after looking at the running distance of the game counted by the assistant coach, which was only 7,600 meters, he decided to wait.
After all, Theo is too important to the team's offense. AC Milan, which is jokingly called "lame" by fans, has a much less threatening offensive organization on the right than on the left.
Theo is taking a breath now, so Casey can only make up for it on the left.
After AC Milan passed the ball in the middle for a while, there was no outlet on the left, so Bennacer had to pass it to Salemakos on the right.
Binya was not polite and all his chances were on the right side. He finally had a chance to defend and he ran a few steps with Salemacols and intercepted the ball.
Chen Xiaoliang is reaching for the ball again? !
Biniya was stunned!
Everyone on the field could see that Theo was exhausted by him, but he still had the energy to ask for the ball?!
As a member of the newcomers department with little say in the locker room, Binya was determined to carry out the leader's orders. However, he did not have Cristante's accurate long pass, so he had to pass to Ibanez and then let his teammates pass the ball sideways.
Chen Xiaoliang received the ball and Leo chased him from behind, but Chen Xiaoliang ignored him and ran forward with the ball.
Theo cursed in his heart while running over with legs filled with lead to block Chen Xiaoliang.
Chen Xiaoliang kicked the ball under Theo's crotch with his foot, and then he sprinted again!
This time , Theo 's acceleration was not as good as before, and even his turning speed was obviously not as fast as before. He was overtaken by Chen Xiaoliang in an instant!
Seeing that the situation was not good, Casey immediately rushed over to prepare for defense, but how could he catch up with someone that even Theo couldn't catch up with!
When Cesco saw that Chen Xiaoliang had finally broken through the right side, he knew that his chance had come and excitedly made a forward run in the middle!
There was no one in front of Chen Xiaoliang. He took the ball to the right side of the penalty area, waited for a while, and then kicked a low pass!
"The ball was passed to the middle, but the angle was not very good!"
"After the ball bounced off the grass, it turned a corner!"
"Cesco shovel shot from the middle!"
"Tomori interfered with him and seemed to be pulling him!"
"Cesco didn't touch the ball!"
"Back point! Abraham follows!"
"Shoot at the empty goal!"
“The ball goes in!”
"Abraham excitedly ran to the stands and shouted to the fans to celebrate!"
"The Olympic Stadium was boiling! After more than 20 minutes of frustration, we finally got our reward!"
Zhang Lu: "Pioli should take the main responsibility for this goal. Theo was rushed all over the place by Xiaoliang. He did not make timely adjustments. He should have made up for the defense and made substitutions. Now Theo is obviously unable to keep up with Chen Xiaoliang."
He Wei: "Coach Zhang is right, but I think this is Pioli's first time playing against Mourinho's Roma, and it's also his first time facing Chen Xiaoliang. Being able to sprint at such a high speed without expending any physical strength, it takes time for any head coach to adapt and accept it."
Zhang Lu: "AC Milan's left side is completely useless now. Theo has no energy left and can't attack forward or defend back. 80% of AC Milan's attack comes from the left side. His loss affects both offense and defense. It depends on how Pioli adjusts."
