Chapter 48 Chapter 48 Overturn

At the start of the second half, Cagliari made two substitutions, switching to a 4-4-2 formation to strengthen their defense and counter Milan's attacks.

Milan's two goals extinguished most of Cagliari's illusions and impetuosity, and they began to play more steadily.

In the 48th minute, Cagliari had a free kick opportunity. Conte took the free kick from the left. The ball bounced after entering the penalty area. Kalac got to the ball but couldn't hold it tightly. The ball slipped between his hands and slowly rolled into the goal.

Cagliari pulled one back.

Karachi kicked the goalpost in frustration.

A deafening chorus of boos erupted at the San Siro stadium. Memories of the five-game losing streak flooded the fans' minds once more, and the enraged crowd immediately expressed their dissatisfaction with Kalac through boos.

"Conte's free kick wasn't of high quality, and Kalac easily saved it. However, a shocking thing happened! Kalac made a blunder, and Milan conceded a goal to Cagliari. This goal was a real shame, and it fully proves that Kalac is not up to the task of being the first-choice goalkeeper. Milan must bring in a reliable goalkeeper this summer."

Fino and Nesta looked at each other in bewilderment.

The two players were convinced Milan had the game in the bag at halftime, but now things have become uncertain again.

For the next ten minutes, both sides played a more solid defense, and neither team managed to convert any of their shots into goals.

In the 61st minute, Cafu replaced Favalli, and Bonera moved to left-back. A few minutes later, Gattuso was injured again and went down, and was replaced by Brocchi.

This is Gattuso's third injury in this match, and Fino is very worried. Nesta also doesn't look too good.

After Brocchi came on, Milan had another chance to score.

In the 72nd minute, Brocchi played a through ball into the right side of the penalty area, where Inzaghi received the ball and found himself one-on-one with Storari.

Storari lunged at the ball, but Inzaghi dribbled past him. Storari reached back and hooked the ball, risking being trampled by Inzaghi, and managed to get it off Inzaghi's feet.

Inzaghi immediately turned around to get the ball. In order to avoid Storari who was lying on the ground, Inzaghi lost his balance while turning. He struggled for a few moments, but still managed to get the ball while swaying. He then pushed the ball into the far corner with his left foot.

Inzaghi scored twice, putting Milan ahead by two goals again, 3-1.

After that goal, Milan's victory was practically secured. Ancelotti used his third substitution, replacing Pirlo with Gourcuff, and instructed his players not to waste any more energy, to focus on defense, and to run down the remaining time.

Milan's defense began to tighten up, and after gaining possession, they mainly passed the ball around rather than attacking easily.

But as the match was nearing its end, Inzaghi suddenly collapsed to the ground without any contact, clutching his calves and unable to get up for a long time.

Fino jumped up from his seat and immediately drew the camera's attention.

Nesta tugged at his clothes, realizing he had overreacted, and slowly sat back down. But his eyes remained fixed on the direction Inzaghi had fallen, his fists clenched so tightly his nails were almost digging into his palms.

Fortunately, it was just a false alarm. Inzaghi was not injured; he only had cramps. Even though there were no substitutions left, he persevered until the end of the match.

The score remained unchanged, and Milan won the match 3-1.

Milan achieved a long-awaited victory. Instead of leaving the San Siro immediately, the fans sang loudly at the stadium, releasing the pent-up frustration of the past month.

Fino, Nesta, and the players' families came to the players' tunnel to congratulate everyone.

Maldini picked up Daniel, put his arm around his right arm, put his left arm around Adriana, kissed Adriana's cheek, and then leaned down to talk to Daniel.

Adriana watched the father and son talking with a smile.

The gentle and patient parents, the innocent and lovely child—this heartwarming scene unfolded before Fino's eyes, and Fino smiled along with them.

A week later, Milan traveled to Turin to face Juventus in the 33rd round of the league.

In this match, Inzaghi scored twice again, following his goal in the previous league match, netting two goals for Milan.

But Juventus proved superior, with Del Piero scoring and Salihamidzic netting twice, securing a home victory over Milan and earning 3 points.

With five league matches remaining in the season, Inter Milan leads the table with 73 points, followed closely by Roma with 69 points, while Juventus is third with 64 points. Based on recent performances, the league title will likely be contested between Inter Milan and Roma, with Juventus having very little chance.

The top three teams have almost secured two Champions League group stage spots and one Champions League qualifying spot. The final Champions League qualifying spot will be contested between AC Milan (57 points), Fiorentina (56 points), Sampdoria (54 points), and Udinese (51 points).

Since being eliminated from the Champions League this season, Milan has only managed 3 points with 1 win and 6 losses in 7 league matches. At this rate, Milan is very likely to miss out on next season's Champions League.

Even the most blindly confident fans have realized that the Milan dynasty is about to collapse.

I can no longer deceive myself.

A new wave of protests is brewing among fans...

Then the club's official website released another piece of bad news: 39-year-old captain Maldini suffered a recurrence of his knee injury and will miss the remaining 5 league matches.

This injury has made Maldini, who had already considered renewing his contract for another year, reconsider his decision. Despite the pleas from the club, his teammates, and the fans, Maldini only agreed to wait and see how his knee injury healed before making a final decision.

Fino was heartbroken. He could return to play in the next league match, but Maldini had bid farewell to the season. If Maldini decided not to renew his contract, Fino would never have the chance to play alongside him again. Even if Maldini held a farewell match in the future, given their relationship, it would be difficult for Fino to receive an invitation.

A melancholic Fino continued to produce content, posting several videos he edited for Maldini on fan forums—yes, he's learned video editing.

At this point in time, the forum was filled with lamentations, almost all of which were sentimental posts. The comments under each post were filled with emojis such as "hug," "crying," and "heartbroken," which made Fino feel even worse.

Time marches on relentlessly, for no one.

On April 20, Milan hosted Reggina in the 34th round of Serie A. Fino and Pato both returned to the lineup, and Milan's attack finally looked less thin.

With the league entering its final stages, every match is crucial. Ancelotti has deployed his signature 4-3-2-1 Christmas tree formation, hoping to secure all three points.

Kalac guarded the goal, Cafu, Nesta, Kaladze and Favalli formed the front defense, Gattuso, Pirlo and Brocchi controlled the midfield, and Kaká and Seedorf followed behind Inzaghi to form the attacking triangle in the front.

Fino and Pato sat on the bench, waiting for their turn.

Ancelotti did not rush to include the two in the starting lineup. Given the choice, he preferred to let the recovered players come off the bench and gradually regain their form, especially Fino, who had been away from the field for a month and a half.

Milan's attack was very fierce today; they launched an attack just one minute into the game.

Pirlo delivered a long ball from the right flank, targeting Inzaghi lurking in the Reggina penalty area, but Reggina's defender Aronica didn't give Inzaghi a chance to receive the ball, clearing it with a header before Inzaghi could reach it, sending the ball out of the penalty area.

Reggina's other defender, Chirillo, lost possession of the ball, which was then stolen by Brocchi.

Brocchi intercepted the ball and dribbled into the right side of the penalty area. Before Aronica could block him, he volleyed from a tight angle, but unfortunately the ball hit the side netting.

Then, Milan had another attacking opportunity. Kaká was tripped by Modesto, who was closely marking him, as he dribbled into the penalty area, and the referee awarded a penalty.

Kaka took the penalty himself, unleashing a powerful shot that found the left side of the goal. Reggina's goalkeeper, Campaniolo, guessed the wrong way, and Milan took a 1-0 lead.

For the next ten minutes or so, Reggina were under constant pressure from Milan. Milan had several shooting opportunities, with three shots on target, all of which were successfully saved by Campaniolo.

Reggina only had two shots on goal. Midfielder Vijani took a right-footed shot from 18 meters out, but the angle was too straight and was easily saved by Kalac. Forward Amoruso's shot was blocked by Nesta.

After half of the first half, Milan's attack did not slow down. Inzaghi, Kaká and Seedorf took turns attacking Reggina's goal. Reggina's defense was struggling to cope and was at risk of conceding another goal at any time.

In the 33rd minute, Seedorf cut into the penalty area from the left and was tripped by Vijani, resulting in another penalty.

The second penalty was again taken by Kaká, and Campaniolo once again guessed the wrong way, allowing Kaká to score and give Milan a 2-0 lead.

In the 40th minute, Reggina pulled one back.

Tognozi and Barreto combined to pass the ball to Milan's half, and then a long pass sent the ball into Milan's attacking third. Brienza received the ball, dribbled past Kaladze, and made a brilliant pass to Amoruso. Amoruso's header was cleared out of the penalty area by Nesta. Barreto, who had moved up from midfield, won the competition with Favalli, controlled the ball, and unleashed a powerful right-footed shot that sped into the far corner.

The score remained 2-1 until the end of the first half.

Milan extended their lead early in the second half.

It was Pirlo's cross from the right flank again, and the ball's trajectory was exactly the same as the attack at the start of the first half. Seedorf got to the ball and fired a powerful shot, which hit the post and bounced back into play. Inzaghi burst out from behind Valdes and scored from 6 meters out.

Milan lead 3-1.

The commentator exclaimed in amazement at Inzaghi's recent stunning performance.

"This is Inzaghi's fifth goal since returning from injury, and five goals in three games. Inzaghi's form is so outstanding that people forget his age. The Inzaghi running on the San Siro now seems not to be the 34-year-old Inzaghi, but the Inzaghi from the 2002/03 season who made 49 appearances and scored 30 goals in all competitions. There is still almost half a game left in this match. I wonder if Inzaghi can score another goal. If he can, then he will have scored two goals in three consecutive games."

Unfortunately, Ancelotti did not give Inzaghi the chance to score a second goal. After Inzaghi helped Milan extend their lead, Ancelotti immediately signaled Fino to warm up and replaced Inzaghi with Fino five minutes later.

Applause erupted at the San Siro, for Inzaghi's outstanding performance and for Fino's return from injury.

Fino and Inzaghi gave each other a polite high five on the sidelines before passing each other.