Chapter 235 That Year I Put My Hands in My Pockets, Not Knowing Who My Opponent Would Be (Part 2)
As the score became 1-3, there was a glimmer of hope in the eyes of the Roma players.
It's only 53 minutes, there's still plenty of time until the end of the game. Give it a try, maybe a miracle will really happen!
Since Zaniolo rushed out of the net with the ball in his arms at the first moment, less than half a minute passed from the goal to the next kick-off.
"Beep!" Paul Valeri blew the whistle again. This was the sixth time the ball was kicked off from the center circle in this game.
Milan coach Pioli on the sidelines loudly reminded the players to retreat in time and get into defensive positions, but many players didn't think so.
It's just a trick, what's the big deal?
There were only three shots in the entire game so far, and the ball possession rate was appalling. One goal was conceded due to a momentary distraction. If they had tried harder in the frontcourt to score a few more goals, it would have been over.
Judging from their behavior, there are many Milan players who think this way.
Not only did Tonali and Kessie play further and further forward, but even Theo seemed to have forgotten that he was a left-back. He moved forward and occupied Leo's winger position, while Leo took Giroud's position in the penalty area like a center forward.
It was the veteran Giroud who frequently retreated to get the ball and passed it to his young teammates.
In the 55th minute, Tonali got the ball on the right side of the frontcourt . He wanted to take a long shot, but he found that his position was too far away from the goal and the angle was too small. Even Pirlo in his prime could not do such an outrageous thing to shoot from such a place.
Giroud retreated again, ready to receive Tonali's pass at any time, but the two wingers, Salemakos and Leo, had already taken up positions on the left and right in the penalty area.
Especially Leo, who kept waving. Not only the Roma defenders, but even the Roma fans in the stands saw that there was someone desperately trying for the ball.
Seeing that Leo was eager to play, Tonali thought that if he couldn't score a goal, it would be nice to get an assist.
So, under the defense of Veretout, he directly passed the ball to the back point at a 45-degree angle.
Leo's strengths are speed, short-distance explosiveness, and the ability to change direction during rapid advances.
Standing still like now and competing one-on-one with Mancini for a high ball is really not his forte.
Tonali's pass was very accurate, but the long distance and overly obvious intention allowed Mancini to keep close eyes on Leo.
The ball fell behind and both men jumped at the same time, but Mancini used his obvious aerial advantage to squeeze Leo out of the way and headed the ball out of the penalty area.
Tonali watched the ball being easily blocked by the opponent and couldn't help but shake his hands to express his frustration.
Leo in the penalty area was full of dissatisfaction. He chased after the referee Paolo Valeri and kept saying that Mancini had pushed him when he was competing for the ball in the penalty area.
Paolo Valeri ignored him completely, and Roma had launched a counterattack. Leo chased him for a while and was too lazy to chase him anymore. He continued muttering to himself while walking.
At this time, the ball had come to Zaniolo's feet on the right, but the double-team of Theo and Kessie left him with no space to break through, so he had to pass the ball back to Celik behind him.
Seeing that there were many people on this side, Celik used the same trick again and transferred the ball to the left side in a large area.
Calabria, who was prepared, jumped up and knocked the ball out of bounds.
Pellegrini immediately sent a quick pass from the sideline, Malaysia passed the ball to the middle, and Veretout and Cristante passed the ball back and forth looking for a passing opportunity.
Seeing that Tonali and Kessié had already returned to defense, if the ball was intercepted if passed again, it would be no joke if Milan counterattacked with so many players in the frontcourt. Chen Xiaoliang withdrew from the penalty area and gently waved to Cristante to switch positions with him and enter the penalty area.
He himself took the ball from Veretout's feet.
With the ball at his feet and positioned on the right side outside the penalty area, Chen Xiaoliang raised his head and instantly scanned the positions of all the players in the offensive third zone.
All four Milan defenders in the penalty area moved inwards, Kessié was looking at him in front of the penalty area, and Tonali was in the middle ready to assist at any time.
Salemacols on the left side has also retreated to his position, and only Leo on the right side is completely out of sight.
But Celik also did not press forward. At this time, he was almost near the center line, ready to receive the pass and organize the game, or return to defense as soon as possible.
If we don't consider the return, there are only three options:
1. Pass the ball to the penalty area, looking for Cesco;
2. Go to the right side and make a strong pass;
3. Long shot.
Obviously, the success rate of the first method is too low. Cesco's position is a bit deep and too close to goalkeeper Maignang. Even though he is 195cm tall, he cannot jump over the goalkeeper who can use his hands.
Although the second method has a higher success rate, it will place Chen Xiaoliang's position on the sideline near the baseline. Once the opponent counterattacks after failing to win the header in the middle, he may not be able to keep up with the opponent's full-line advancement in the first time.
It seems that the only option is to take a long shot. Even if the shot misses, he can still see if there is any attacking opportunity at the second point, and it will not affect his ability to switch from offense to defense immediately.
All of the above were completed in the moment he stepped on the ball.
In a flash, Chen Xiaoliang was on the right side, pretending to kick a cross with his right foot, attracting Casey to stretch his legs to block, then he immediately tapped the ball with his right foot, tapped it to the left, lightly flicked it with his left foot, took another step to the left with his right foot to create a gap for shooting, and followed up with his left foot and swung it towards the middle of the ball.
Although he is quite skilled with his left foot, it is not his main foot after all, and Chen Xiaoliang also understands that his ability to cut inside and shoot long shots is far from the level of being able to hit the target wherever he points. Therefore, he only used 100% of his strength in this kick, pursuing speed and strength, but not angle.
Just as he shook off Kessie and was about to shoot, Milan's two central defenders in the penalty area consciously moved their bodies to block the shooting route.
After the ball was kicked out, it flew to Tomori's side. The English central defender, who like Abraham also came from Chelsea's youth training system, subconsciously raised his right foot to block it!
It would have been fine if he hadn't blocked it, but once he did, the goalkeeper Maignan, who had already dived sideways, was so frightened that his face turned pale!
The ball, which was originally a powerful low shot, bounced up instantly and flew above the goal!
Poor Maignan, his center of gravity was already on the ground, so he had to use his right hand to support his body and his left hand to lift it up, but how could he lift it up? !
The ball flew into the goal like a lob shot!
Roma's players were stunned! Chen Xiaoliang himself was stunned!
Going in already?!
It was Mourinho who kept shouting "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!!!" on the sidelines before the players reacted.
Zaniolo rushed into the goal again and picked up the ball. He kissed the ball as he ran and prayed silently in his heart, "Just one more goal! Please give us some more luck!"
If scoring a goal only gave Roma's players a little light in their eyes , then this goal truly made them realize that they had inadvertently walked to the doorstep of returning from hell to heaven!
Just one more step forward and they would be able to knock on the door to heaven that seemed so far away just three minutes ago!
He Wei: "It was an incredible process! Roma scored another goal in the 56th minute. In just three minutes, they scored two goals in a row, making the score 2-3!"
"Tomori's superfluous kick turned the long shot that seemed to pose no threat into a falling leaf ball with a tricky angle. Maignan looked at the ball with regret. Strictly speaking, he had little to do with Milan's two goals conceded in the second half!"
"The camera on the scene was given to England coach Southgate who came to watch the game today! In view of Manchester United's poor performance in the league this season, many people in England support withdrawing Maguire from the national team and letting the younger Tomori replace him!"
"I wonder what Southgate feels after seeing such a performance today!"
"Sir Ferguson, who was also in the stands, was beaming with joy . He must have been familiar with such a goal. Ten years ago, on December 9, 2012, in the Manchester derby, when the two sides were tied 2-2, Van Persie took a free kick. The ball, which was originally a low shot, flew up and changed direction after hitting the foot thrown by Nasri, who was acting as a human wall. Joe Hart made a second reaction in time but was still out of reach. Manchester United also defeated the noisy neighbors with that goal!"
"And at this moment in the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Roma fans have completely taken back this sacred home ground that belongs to them!"
“If the shouts and cheers of Milan fans still dominated when the score was 1-3 just now, then the decibels of Roma fans have completely overwhelmed them at this moment!”
At this moment, not only Riise, but also many old Milan fans in the stands and in front of the screen were thinking silently in their hearts that "that thing" must never happen again.
Once this kind of thing happens, it is enough to become a joke for five, ten, and soon twenty years. Whenever various classic reversals are counted, commemorated, ranked, and reviewed, "that thing" will always and must occupy a place. And because it is the Champions League final, it often occupies second place in the rankings, and there are very few games where it can still occupy the position.
Totti was not involved in the incident, nor was he a player for Milan or Liverpool, but with the score at this point, he couldn't help but think of the incident and couldn't help but steal a glance at Maldini who was sitting on his right.
Old Ma, who was chatting just now, now had a serious look on his face and had completely lost interest in socializing with the celebrities around him.
The Milan legends sitting in the rows in front of them, including Pirlo, Gattuso, Nesta and others, were also silent one by one.
As for Riise on his left, he didn't even need to glance to know that he had already stood up and cheered with all his might, as if he loved the young Roma team in front of him more than himself, the Roman prince.
Milan was anxious, from the coach to the players, and even the substitutes warming up on the sidelines, everyone was anxious.
This can be seen from the way the ball was kicked after the second kick-off from the center circle.
Pioli kept shouting "Attention! Attention!", but he didn't know what he wanted the players to pay attention to, let alone whether the players on the field listened.
The substitutes who were warming up on the sidelines, such as Bennacer, Bakayoko, Rebic, etc., kept shouting to their teammates on the field, "Hurry! Hurry!"
Under the constant urging, 8 of the 10 players except goalkeeper Maignan rushed into Roma's half, and the remaining two central defenders also stood near the center circle.
This desperate style of play immediately put tremendous pressure on Roma - but also an opportunity.
In the 58th minute, Theo made a cross, Leo suddenly made a forward run from the left side of the penalty area, received the ball to the front point and shot. Patricio was unable to save the ball, but fortunately the ball hit the outside side net.
Then Patricio's long kick was headed back by Tomori, and Milan launched another strong attack. Tonali forced a long shot outside the penalty area, but was blocked by Chen Xiaoliang's flying tackle. Tonali was not convinced and chased the intercepted ball, ready to shoot again, but when he turned around and saw Chen Xiaoliang, who looked terrifying as if he had gone crazy, had stood up and blocked in front of him again, he still passed the ball to Calabria on the right.
Seeing that there was no good point to pass the ball in the penalty area, Calabria passed the ball forward to Salemacols, trying to make a two-pass combination with him to break into the penalty area.
Unexpectedly, Salemacols got the ball and rushed towards Malaysia.
Roma's Dutch full-back first used his upper body to hold up the Milan winger who was trying to break through at full speed, then seized the opportunity to push the ball with his butt and swept it with his left foot, hitting the calf of Salemachos and sending it bouncing out of the baseline.
Patricio immediately ran to the goal post and asked the little ball boy standing outside the boundary for the ball. Although the home ball boys were only twelve or thirteen years old, they were all young fans from youth training schools or local die-hard fans. They naturally knew the intention of their goalkeeper reaching out to them and quickly threw the ball over.
Patricio received the ball and immediately put it on the penalty area line and kicked it towards Zaniolo on the right.
Why the right road?
Because Patricio had long discovered that Theo not only pressed very hard along the way, but his wing partner Leo never returned to defense since the second half!
Zaniolo started running as soon as he got the ball, and Theo ran at full speed behind him to catch up.
However, the distance between the two players was more than ten meters during the transition from offense to defense, so Theo barely caught up until he reached the front of his own penalty area.
Even if Zaniolo was alone in the past, after this entire season and after escaping death and chasing two goals, he knew that now was not the time to let his own selfish desires overshadow the team's glory. He kicked the ball to Cesco in the middle with his right foot!
Sesco received the ball and moved to the right, preparing to stop and pass to create distance and shoot directly, but Tomori, who had just assisted the own goal for some unknown reason, was waiting for the opportunity to make up for it. He did not take any chances and stuck to Sesco closely.
Even if Cesco is very skilled with his feet, his height and weight mean that the frequency of his small steps cannot be as fast and agile as that of a player around 175cm tall.
Seeing that forcing his way forward might waste the counterattack opportunity that he had worked so hard to get, Cesco used his left hand to separate Tomori, stepped on the ball with his right foot, and was about to turn around when he heard someone calling him from behind!
It's him!
Cesco turned slightly, and used the outside of his right foot to sweep the ball backwards! He passed it back to Chen Xiaoliang who was running towards the penalty area like the wind!
However, both of them were a little too anxious about this ball. Cesco passed the ball too hard, and Chen Xiaoliang also caught the ball too hard while running at high speed, and the ball stopped more than 2 meters away. The direction of the ball was also not good, and it rolled to his left front, which completely ruined his plan of taking two steps and taking a long shot outside the penalty area.
But there is no time to worry about so much now. The right thing to do is to get the ball back first.
Chen Xiaoliang ran to his left front, and as he stopped and turned, Tonali, who was chasing him from behind, also closed the distance with him.
Tonali had no idea that Chen Xiaoliang was only thinking about taking a long shot outside the penalty area, and he thought that he deliberately stopped in a direction away from Tomori in order to break into the penalty area!
Tonali reached out to pull Chen Xiaoliang's back, but as soon as he exerted force with his hands, he was almost knocked forward by Chen Xiaoliang's forward force.
Seeing that Chen Xiaoliang was about to rush into the penalty area with one foot, Tonali got hot-headed and used his hands to push the ball out with both feet crossed!
Suddenly, the two men fell to the ground one after the other!
"Hello!!!"
Mourinho on the sidelines jumped up suddenly and rushed towards the fourth official immediately!
"Penalty!!! Penalty!!!"
Futi gently reminded him: "Foul from behind, there is also a red card..."
Mourinho woke up from his dream:
"Red card!!! Red card!!!"
On the other side, Pioli was furious, and his assistant coach Murelli rushed over:
"What are you clicking on! Outside the penalty area! Stop putting pressure on the referee, you're a liar who can only cheat for penalties!"
Mourinho's anger suddenly rose. If he was embarrassed to lose his temper when the score was 0-3, he would be called a "big mouth". But now that the score was about to be 3-3, when would he stop scolding?
"What the f*ck are you talking about? When I won the Champions League, you didn't even have your f*cking coaching license yet. Go back now and stop embarrassing yourself here!"
Seeing the tension rising, the fourth official immediately called on his colleagues to separate the two and warned them to return to their designated command areas, otherwise they would be punished to go to the stands.
Paolo Valeri did not dare to be careless. If he still had some sympathy for the weak and helped Roma a little when the score was 0-3, then now he had to be extremely cautious seeing that this penalty would completely determine the outcome of the game.
Referees like him, like those players who are determined to be selected for the World Cup roster, have been called up by FIFA to referee the World Cup, but after all, it is only May now, and there is still a full six months until November.
If there are major misjudgments or controversies in the past six months, just like players will be abandoned by the head coach if they make major and low-level mistakes, they will also be abandoned by FIFA and other referees will be chosen to replace them.
After repeated communication with the video referee team, Paul Valery was still worried and ran to the sidelines to check the VAR himself.
Once... twice... three times...
Give me a different angle.
Once again... twice... three times...
Finally, he took a deep breath, turned around, ran back to the court, made a square gesture with both hands, and pointed to a certain place on the court!
