Chapter 180 Real Madrid vs. Milan

On October 19, Fino welcomed his old friends from Milan to the Bernabéu and received a lot of birthday gifts.

This year's Champions League schedule is the same as last year, with Real Madrid and AC Milan meeting in the third round of the group stage, followed by a back-to-back home and away game.

Fino's birthday happened to fall between two back-to-back matches, and when his friends from Milan came to play the away game, they brought his birthday presents directly, saving them the trouble of mailing them.

Fino thought to himself that UEFA was quite considerate. If he hadn't known that UEFA was going to hype up his love-hate relationship with his former club—for two years in a row—he would have actually been touched!

In this match, Real Madrid still used the 4-2-3-1 formation that Mourinho had carefully crafted this season, and even the starting lineup was the same as in the previous Champions League match against Ajax.

Casillas guarded the goal, with the four defenders from right to left being Arbeloa, Pepe, Carvalho, and Marcelo. Alonso and Khedira partnered as the two holding midfielders, Fino anchored the three attacking midfielders in the middle, Ronaldo and Di Maria played as the left and right wingers, and Higuain played as the center forward.

Nine of Milan's starting eleven are former teammates of Fino, with only goalkeeper Amelia and striker Ibrahimovic not having played with Fino before.

That's right, Ibrahimovic came to Barcelona for a while, but only stayed for a year before returning to Milan. However, this time he joined AC Milan instead of Inter Milan.

Fino guesses Ibrahimovic must be super happy right now, finally playing on the same team as his idol Nesta.

When greeting his old friends from Milan, Fino hugged Pirlo for a long time, patted him on the back, and silently comforted him.

This season, Pirlo was not happy at Milan. In the tactical system of new coach Allegri, the toughness of players is a very important indicator, and Pirlo, who relies heavily on the protection of his teammates, does not fit Allegri's tactical requirements.

However, Fino wasn't too worried about Pirlo. Pirlo is Pirlo; he's the best playmaker in the world wherever he goes. Besides, Pirlo didn't renew his contract with Milan and will be a free agent at the end of the season. A free midfield maestro will inevitably attract a lot of attention from various teams. Pirlo's problem isn't finding a new club, but rather which club to choose.

Alonso walked over and pulled Fino out of Pirlo's arms, saying expressionlessly, "Fino, get back to the team, it's time to go in."

These are the things Pirlo did and said before the World Cup final, and now he can finally return them verbatim.

At the start of the match, a minor incident occurred when a fan jumped from the stands onto the pitch, forcing the game to be interrupted.

Security personnel began arresting fans throughout the stadium.

The fan was quite agile, dodging left and right, and held his own against the four security guards, running towards Fino with his arms outstretched.

But when he was only two or three meters away from Fino, the fan slipped on the grass and fell face-first into the mud. Security personnel rushed over and dragged him off the field.

The commentator joked, "Mourinho always likes to use underhanded tactics, and today he probably watered the pitch a lot more. Unexpectedly, the first to fall victim wasn't a Milan player, but a fan..."

The broadcast camera also thoughtfully spotted Mourinho, bringing a knowing smile to viewers at home.

After the match resumed, Real Madrid and Milan were completely unaffected by this minor incident and quickly got back into the intense rhythm of the game.

In terms of player configuration, there is a significant difference in defensive strength between Milan's left and right flanks.

The two defenders on the left, Antonini and Bonera, are of average ability, and Seedorf up front doesn't seem to like defending much. On the right, Zambrotta and Nesta were key defenders for the South Africa World Cup-winning team, and Gattuso up front is also known for his defensive prowess.

Logically, Real Madrid would have a better chance of breaking through Milan's defense by attacking down the right flank, but Mourinho's tactics unexpectedly favored launching attacks from the left, utilizing the impact of Marcelo and Ronaldo.

In the 3rd minute, Carvalho intercepted the ball from Pato and passed it forward to Alonso. Alonso then passed it to Marcelo, who had made a run into the halfway line, and Real Madrid launched an attack down the left flank.

Fino and Marcelo executed a two-man combination, getting past Gattuso who was coming towards them, and then passed the ball to Ronaldo directly in front of them.

Cristiano Ronaldo dribbled down the left flank, cut inside after reaching the outside of the penalty area, and collided head-on with Gattuso, both falling to the ground. Zambrotta then stretched out his leg to control the ball.

The referee deemed it a normal physical contact and did not blow the whistle, allowing play to continue. Zambrotta immediately switched the ball to midfield.

Fino got to the ball before Seedorf could reach it and passed it diagonally to Higuain, who was near the penalty arc.

Under pressure from both Nesta and Bonera, Higuain had no chance to shoot and could only pass the ball back.

At this moment, Fino had already caught up from behind. After receiving Higuain's back pass, he passed it to Ronaldo on the left wing. Ronaldo once again went down the left wing, but was tackled by Gattuso, and the ball rolled out of bounds.

The familiar Ronaldo, the familiar cut inside from the byline, the familiar Gattuso, the familiar fall...

The same scene was repeated twice within a few dozen seconds.

Alonso took a corner kick from the left. Fino withstood Bonera's pressure, jumped up and headed the ball out of the penalty area. Di Maria received the ball and shot directly, but the ball hit Nesta.

Real Madrid's first attack after the start of the game ended in failure.

In the next ten minutes, Real Madrid's left flank was in constant turmoil. The Marcelo-Ronaldo left-wing connection, assisted by Fino, continuously attacked Milan's defense, with wave after wave of attacks that kept the fans entertained.

In contrast, Milan's counter-attacks were much weaker, and they often lost possession before the ball even entered Real Madrid's half due to pressure from Alonso, Khedira, and Fino.

Ronaldinho, who was once unstoppable, has seen his performance plummet this season, while Ibrahimovic and Pato have also become somewhat invisible under the pressure of Real Madrid's defense.

Real Madrid had almost complete control of the game.

In the 13th minute, Ronaldo once again made a run down the left flank, but his cut inside failed. He then exchanged positions with Fino, with Ronaldo moving towards the center and possession being transferred to Fino.

Fino dribbled back a few steps, crossed from the wing, and Ronaldo received the ball and was about to shoot when he was brought down by Bonera.

The referee ruled that Bonera had committed a foul and awarded Real Madrid a free kick.

The free kick was located inside the penalty arc, a very dangerous position for Milan. Milan players immediately surrounded the referee, hoping he would change his decision.

The referee's attitude was very firm, completely ignoring Milan's trolls. There was absolutely no problem with awarding a free kick for that foul. If Ronaldo had dribbled forward a little further, he would have been in the penalty area, and that would have been a penalty.

As Milan fans surrounded the referee, Ronaldo was already happily measuring his steps, while the live camera zoomed in on Fino's face.

The commentator exclaimed, "Cabrini has become even stronger since leaving AC Milan. Although Real Madrid struggled to gel after rebuilding last season and ended up empty-handed, Cabrini's performance still earned him recognition. Especially at this summer's World Cup in South Africa, Cabrini not only dragged Italy into the knockout stage, but also carried them all the way to the final, and with his brilliant penalty shootout saves, brought the World Cup trophy back to Italy."

"And AC Milan, having lost Cabrini, is gradually declining. In the past two seasons, although Milan has brought in strong reinforcements like Robinho and Ibrahimovic, they still give the impression of being past their prime. Looking at the familiar but aging Milan, one wonders what Cabrini thinks..."

After Milan formed a defensive wall, Ronaldo walked to the penalty spot.

Milan's wall was positioned slightly to the right, focusing on defending the right side of the goal, while Amelia was positioned closer to the left post, focusing on defending the two left corners.

After a run-up, Ronaldo unleashed a powerful shot that pierced through Milan's wall, the ball passing between Ibrahimovic and Seedorf who were dodging to the sides, and quickly nestled into the right side of the goal.

The ball was powerful and fast, and Amelia, who was on the left side of the goal, didn't even have time to react—even if he had reacted in time, it would have been too late at that distance.

Real Madrid are leading 1-0 at the Bernabéu.

An excited Ronaldo opened his arms and rushed toward the stands. After running a few steps, he slid to his knees and stood up. Just as he opened his mouth to let out a cool roar, Pepe, who had caught up with him, tackled him from behind onto the grass.

He stubbornly lifted his head from the grass, opening his mouth to continue shouting, but Marcelo pressed down on him again, and his shout was immediately cut off, only a weak "Eh..." came out.

After Real Madrid celebrated their goal, Milan restarted the game from the center circle.

Just seconds after Milan kicked off, they lost possession under pressure from Real Madrid's midfield. Fino cut off the link between Pirlo and Seedorf, and launched a long pass forward from the center to Higuain.

As Higuain dribbled close to Milan's penalty area, Nesta made a beautiful sliding tackle to dispossess the ball, and Gattuso regained possession and kicked the ball towards midfield.

The ball landed near the left sideline of Real Madrid, and the nearest Milan player was Pirlo.

Just as Pirlo was about to touch the ball, Fino rushed in from the left flank, knocking Pirlo to the ground, and then pushed the ball directly to Ronaldo in front of him.

Ignoring Pirlo, whom he had knocked down, Fino immediately sprinted towards the front, cutting diagonally towards the center as he went.

He and Pirlo are now on opposite sides, and since they are each serving their own masters, they should not show any mercy.

Cristiano Ronaldo dribbled the ball at high speed down the wing, cut inside past Zambrotta on the outside of the penalty area, and crossed the ball to Fino as Nesta and Gattuso closed in.

Fino received the ball and immediately took a shot. Bonera reacted quickly, blocking the ball's path. The ball hit Bonera's shoulder and bounced upwards, continuing its flight towards the goal.

At this point, Amelia had already made a save. Falling to the ground, Amelia was powerless to stop the ball and could only watch helplessly as it slowly grazed the crossbar and went into the net.

In less than two minutes, Real Madrid scored two goals in quick succession, and at this point, only 15 minutes had passed since the start of the match.

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Author's note: Thank you everyone for your support! [cheering emoji]