Chapter 43 Injury and Elimination

After Fino successfully cleared the ball, the fans who had been on tenterhooks finally breathed a sigh of relief and cheered loudly, applauding and applauding Fino's successful clearance.

The commentator, however, was very worried about Milan's situation.

"A dramatic moment occurred in Milan's penalty area. After Hleb's shot was saved by Kalac, Diaby immediately followed up with a shot. At this moment, Maldini and Kalac were still on the ground and had not yet gotten up, and the other three defenders could not catch up in time, leaving Milan's goal wide open. Fortunately, Cabrini came back and blocked the follow-up shot. This was the third time Cabrini had appeared in Milan's penalty area in the past ten minutes or so, and he has been very active in tracking back in this match."

"For the past twenty minutes, Milan has been under constant pressure from Arsenal, barely holding on. Milan needs to find a way to strengthen their attack. Trying to draw like in the first leg is not advisable. If the game goes into extra time, Milan, with their relatively high average age, may not be able to withstand it. Moreover, Milan's defense is already shaky under Arsenal's onslaught, and they may not be able to hold on until extra time."

Even without listening to the commentary, fans watching the game at the stadium or on television could see that Milan's defense was already shaky.

Despite the fans' concerns, Milan, with their rich experience and excellent teamwork, managed to withstand Arsenal's onslaught for the first 60 minutes of the match, keeping the score at 0-0.

At this point, the veterans' physical disadvantages gradually became apparent, but Ancelotti dared not make any easy substitutions. The starters were all playing so hard, so how could he dare to bring on the substitutes?

Maldini was exhausted, but he had to grit his teeth and persevere. Milan needed his interceptions and passes, and even more so, his presence on the field to stabilize the team's morale.

Being young doesn't mean you won't get tired. The relentless attacks quickly drained Arsenal's players' energy, and as they grew fatigued, Arsenal's control of the midfield loosened somewhat.

Milan's midfield play became smoother, and their counter-attacks increased, suggesting the situation was improving.

But then, Arsenal caught Milan off guard.

In the 84th minute, Pirlo made a mistake under Arsenal's pressure. He was dispossessed by Hleb while controlling the ball in the center circle. Fino, who had already penetrated into Arsenal's half and was waiting to receive the pass, suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and immediately retreated to midfield, dragging his increasingly heavy legs.

But it was too late. After receiving the ball, Fabregas changed direction to get rid of Gattuso who came to intercept him, and took a long shot from 28 meters in front of the goal.

Although the long-range shot was at a tricky angle, it wasn't very powerful. In particular, Nesta had already slightly grazed the ball when he came to clear it, which further reduced the ball's speed. Given Kalac's ability, he could have easily saved it.

For some reason, Karachi's reaction speed dropped significantly, and he watched helplessly as the ball grazed the turf and rolled into the net, hugging the left goalpost.

Arsenal are leading 1-0 at the San Siro.

The scene erupted in uproar.

"After being dominated for over an hour, Milan's players seemed to be stunned. Despite the favorable situation, they started to drift off. Pirlo made an uncharacteristic mistake, giving Arsenal an opportunity. Kalac was a step too slow and failed to stop Fabregas' shot, giving Arsenal the lead. Milan was completely on the back foot. They needed to score two goals in the next few minutes to advance. Even a draw would mean being eliminated by Arsenal due to fewer away goals."

San Siro was in despair. Even with added stoppage time, there were only seven or eight minutes left in the game. With severely depleted energy and a completely disadvantageous situation, scoring two goals in a row was almost an impossible task.

Some fans covered their mouths and began to sob.

After scoring, Arsenal became much more composed, and the pressure shifted entirely to Milan.

Milan did not give up. Despite growing increasingly anxious under pressure, they continued to organize attacks.

In the 87th minute, Gattuso and Oddo combined to intercept the ball from Diaby's feet and immediately passed it to Pirlo to organize the attack. According to Milan's usual passing route, Pirlo would pass the ball to Kaká, who would then dribble past his opponent.

Kaka's performance today was not good; injury affected his form. In addition, Wenger continued with the tactics from the first leg, using Flamini to limit Kaka, and this arrangement worked surprisingly well.

Kaka's attempts to dribble past opponents were repeatedly thwarted, and his mistakes increased. Flamini reminded him of Mascherano of Liverpool in last year's Champions League final.

Kaka is now being closely pressed against Flamini, with a slight tug-of-war between them.

Pirlo passed the ball to Fino, who dribbled past his marker and connected the midfield and attack.

Fino's heart was pounding. He was dribbling the ball while breathing heavily. His throat was dry and itchy, and the feeling of nausea was getting stronger and stronger.

This was the longest race he had ever run, and his legs felt like lead, each step heavy. He felt he had reached his physical limit and was only holding on by sheer willpower.

Flamini hesitated for a moment about whether to switch his defensive focus away from Kaká and move up to press Fino, but ultimately decided that Kaká was still the greater threat. Fino, who had been running back and forth for almost the entire match, was clearly exhausted, and Senderos had already come up to intercept him. It was more important to stick close to Kaká and not give him any space to receive passes.

Fino dribbled the ball and tried to advance towards Arsenal's attacking third. Facing Senderos's challenge, he instinctively made a combination of pause and acceleration, deceiving Senderos into shifting his center of gravity, and then passed the ball into the penalty area.

Thanks to his hard work and practice, even when he was so tired that he felt dizzy and about to collapse, his body still retained muscle memory.

His passing motion had become slightly distorted, but fortunately, Inzaghi, who is known for his excellent finishing, was in the penalty area.

Inzaghi shook off Sagna and Gallas's defense, and without stopping the ball, he took a shot, which flew towards Almunia's left side.

Almunia quickly leaped to his left and slapped the ball away with one hand.

The ball flew towards the left side of the penalty area, where theoretically only the retreating Clichy was located.

But Almunia, who was already lying on the ground, saw a scene that terrified him: a red and black shadow appeared next to Klich.

After passing the ball, Fino continued to advance towards the Arsenal penalty area, where Inzaghi was the only Milan player left, facing Arsenal's two defenders and goalkeeper alone. He needed to go and help him.

Before Inzaghi could shoot, Clichy had already retreated to the vicinity of the penalty area. Fino gritted his teeth and tried to accelerate, hoping for a rebound opportunity that might not come.

When Almunia's save came flying towards him, he mustered his last strength to leap high and win the aerial duel with Clichy, heading the ball into the empty net.

Milan equalized 1-1.

Amid cheers from the fans, Fino's body plummeted to the ground.

He felt so tired, even breathing was exhausting, his mind was numb and blank, and he just wanted to fall into a deep sleep.

As he fell, Fino lost his balance. The outside of his left foot touched the ground first, and he crashed heavily to the ground.

Fino felt a sharp pain in his ankle. He instinctively let out a hoarse cry, then arched his back, hugged his foot, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He knew he was injured, but he didn't even have the strength to ask his teammates or opponents for help.

Inzaghi, who had been watching the ball closely, noticed Fino's situation and immediately ran over and knelt down to check on him.

He asked anxiously, "Finnie, are you alright? Did you hurt your foot?"

Fino hugged his feet and lay on his side on the ground. He opened his mouth, but his dry vocal cords could no longer produce a sound. He closed his eyes in pain, tears and sweat streaming down his cheeks.

Inzaghi immediately stood up and waved to the bench, beckoning the team doctor to come onto the field, then squatted down next to Fino, helpless.

He dared not touch Fino's feet, fearing it would cause further injury, and could only gently stroke Fino's hair and cheeks, hoping to make Fino feel better.

When Fino and Inzaghi appeared on the screen, the fans' cheers abruptly stopped, turning into worry.

Milan's players had already surrounded him, and Clichy anxiously explained that he had not intentionally hurt Fino, and that it was just normal physical contact.

But no one was paying attention to him at that moment; everyone was watching with concern as Fino was carried away on a stretcher.

"Cabrini equalized for Milan, but paid the price with an injury. Replays show that Clichy's move was clean; Cabrini fell on his own. He gave it his all in this match, pushing himself to the limit on both ends of the pitch, covering a distance conservatively estimated at over 15,000 meters. The final header exhausted his last bit of strength, and after losing his balance, his left foot landed on the outside of his foot. In slow motion, you can see a clear dislocation in his ankle."

Pato was brought on as a substitute.

With a do-or-die determination, Milan intensified their attack once again. If they could score just one more goal in the next few minutes, they would advance to the quarterfinals.

This was a glimmer of hope that Fino had won by burning himself out; they couldn't afford to waste it.

But no miracle happened. When stoppage time reached its final second, the score remained 1-1.

Arsenal advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals by eliminating defending champions AC Milan on away goals.

After the final whistle blew, the players scattered dejectedly on the ground, some sitting and some lying down.

Pirlo and Nesta leaned against each other, his head bowed, his hands covering his eyes.

He was extremely upset, not just because of the loss. If it weren't for his mistake, Fino might not have fought so hard to get injured, and they could have dragged the game into extra time and prepared for a penalty shootout.

He was so consumed by self-blame that he never considered that even if the game went into extra time, the aging Milan team would have had a hard time withstanding Arsenal's attack for another half hour.

Maldini did not let himself wallow in disappointment and sadness. He touched his captain's armband and went over to shake hands with the Arsenal players.

Ancelotti sighed. Milan's chances were already slim, and to manage a draw after being dominated for almost the entire match was at least a consolation for the fans.

What troubled him even more was that Fino was injured. After the team doctor examined him, he told him to be prepared, as Fino's injury was not minor.

There are still 12 rounds of league matches left in the season. What should we do for the remaining matches?

The commentator sadly announced Milan's elimination.

"With the aggregate score tied 1-1, Arsenal advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals on away goals, while defending champions AC Milan were unfortunately eliminated. Milan must rebuild; they can no longer rely on their veteran players and younger ones. The veterans are a given, and even the relatively younger Pato and Kaká are increasingly plagued by injuries. Now it's Cabrini's turn. Cabrini's injury is largely due to his excessive playing time after the winter break; his body was too fatigued, which had already sown the seeds of future injuries..."