Chapter 72 Total Suppression

Fino watched as the ball flew over Burdisso and Chivu's heads toward Inter's penalty area, and began to dip as it approached the penalty line, its target Kaká on the right side of the box.

Materazzi, who was marking Kaká, immediately created an offside trap and gave a signal to Maicon on the other side.

Unfortunately, Maicon's eyes were fixed on the ball and he didn't notice Materazzi's gesture. The offside trap failed, and Materazzi's movement gave Kaká a comfortable space to receive the ball.

Materazzi was extremely annoyed and rushed back to block Kaká.

After controlling the ball, Kaka also delivered a lobbed pass, which flew over Materazzi's head towards the far post.

Ronaldinho and Maicon jumped at the same time to contest for the ball. After a brief contest of strength, Ronaldinho emerged victorious, heading the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal.

Milan are leading 1-0, with Ronaldinho opening the scoring since his transfer to Milan.

A tremendous roar of cheers erupted at the San Siro stadium, with fans waving red and black flags and the name "Ronaldinho" echoing throughout the stadium.

"Gooooal! Ronaldinho scores his first goal since transferring to AC Milan, assisted by his Brazilian teammate Kaká. We also can't overlook Cabrini's crucial pass; that long, over-the-top pass was absolutely beautiful, reminiscent of Pirlo."

Mourinho looked serious as he watched the Milan players go wild in celebration.

In this match, Inter Milan were completely dominated in midfield by AC Milan, and their passing lanes were cut off when their full-backs tried to combine with the wingers. Inter Milan were constantly on the back foot.

He was initially relieved that the defense was solid, but after holding on for 60 minutes, Milan still managed to break through.

He saw the goal clearly from the sidelines, but the trouble was caused by Fino Cabrini, who shared the same agent as him.

Even though there were no defenders around and he could have easily passed the ball, Fino deliberately stayed in place and waited for Burdisso and Chivu to get closer before passing it. His purpose was to lengthen the distance that Inter Milan's two defenders had to drop back, creating a time difference and weakening the defensive strength of Ronaldinho and Kaká in the penalty area.

Mourinho was displeased. "So young and already so cunning. Why waste your energy on palace intrigue? Your Milan midfield and attack are so crowded, isn't it worth it for you to fight like this?"

He made two substitutions at the same time, replacing Mancini, who had been ineffective for the first 60 minutes, with Adriano, and Materazzi with Cruz, removing a defender and bringing on a striker to further strengthen the attack.

At this point, Inter Milan had four forwards on the field. As for the defense, since they were already behind, losing by one goal or two goals was the same.

After seeing Mourinho's substitution, Ancelotti raised an eyebrow, then calmly continued chewing his gum.

He felt that Mourinho had lost his mind. With the midfield shut down, what was the point of bringing on strikers? Was he just going to rely on sheer numbers?

Fino, Kaká, and Ronaldinho are all fast players who can drop back into midfield to provide support at any time. Milan's goal just now was initiated by Fino dropping back into midfield.

Mourinho's substitutions hadn't even taken effect when Inter Milan suffered another blow.

In the 68th minute, Kaká was brought down by Burdisso while dribbling past his opponent, and the referee showed Burdisso another yellow card, resulting in Burdisso being sent off for his second yellow card.

Inter Milan, already trailing by one goal, could only play with 10 men.

Ancelotti remained calm and replaced Kaká with Flamini, further strengthening Inter's midfield defense, making the midfield battle even more difficult.

Mourinho, his face grim, made a desperate last substitution, replacing the more defensively oriented Vieira with the attacking midfielder Stankovic.

This substitution shocked many people, and even the commentator was quite surprised.

"With Inter Milan trailing, playing with one less player, and completely losing the game, did Mourinho choose to continue to pile on attacking power, hoping to win by sheer numbers? But Inter's midfield was already unable to contain Milan's attack, and removing Vieira, their strongest defensive player, made it even easier for Milan to penetrate."

In the 81st minute, Inter Milan finally had a shooting opportunity.

Maicon launched a long pass directly from Inter Milan's half, the ball piercing through Milan's midfield defense and entering Milan's backfield.

Stankovic received the ball and immediately took a shot. Two seconds later, Maldini and Kaladze closed in on him.

However, the shot was taken too hastily and was blocked by Abbiati.

Flamini and Adriano tugged at each other near the ball's landing point, with Adriano ultimately winning the contest and gaining possession. Unfortunately, his follow-up shot went over the crossbar and into the stands.

Inter Milan captain Zanetti complained to the referee that Flamini had elbowed Adriano in the face, but the referee ignored his complaint.

“I saw it clearly, it was definitely a very bad foul.” Zanetti waved his little chicken hand incessantly.

Inter Milan's players immediately followed their captain and surrounded the referee.

Seeing the situation was turning against them, the Milan players also surrounded the area, determined not to let the referee's decision be shaken.

Fino was waiting for a goal kick in Inter Milan's half when he saw what looked like an incident in front of his own goal. He quickly ran back towards the backfield. Inter Milan's players are so fierce, and his teammates are all so kind and friendly (?), he couldn't let his teammates be bullied.

By the time he finally reached Milan's goal, the referee had already pushed away the players who had surrounded him.

Zanetti was still arguing with the referee.

Zanetti is a nice guy and rarely speaks harshly, but at this moment he was so angry that his face was red and his little hand was almost poking the referee's face.

"Don't obstruct the normal course of the game!" The referee showed him a yellow card directly.

Materazzi, who had already been substituted off the field, was furious. He was still barefoot and started cursing loudly on the sidelines, protesting to the fourth official.

The referee, in a frenzy, showed him no mercy and immediately issued a red card, ordering him to leave the field.

Materazzi wanted to continue arguing, but his teammates covered his mouth and dragged him back. Materazzi could only grumble and carry his shoes into the locker room.

These two cards, one yellow and one red, immediately quelled Inter Milan's anger.

Mourinho cursed Materazzi in his heart, thinking he was an idiot. The referee was clearly getting impatient and was still eager to get a card.

Ancelotti was calmly chewing his gum. If you asked him what his opinion was, the answer would be that he was delighted.

Taking advantage of this dead ball situation, he used up his last two substitutions.

Bonera replaced Gattuso, bringing on another center-back to completely block the goal. Then Shevchenko replaced Ronaldinho, who scored the only goal of the match.

Shevchenko's poor performance in the first two league games made Ancelotti, who already didn't like him much, even less trust him.

Since Berlusconi's support has softened somewhat, Ancelotti naturally excluded Shevchenko from his list of starting strikers.

However, he still needs to consider Berlusconi's feelings and can't keep Shevchenko firmly on the bench. Shevchenko's playing time as a substitute will be considerable. Especially in unimportant matches, or matches where the outcome is already decided, Shevchenko should be given playing time to pad his chances.

After Bonera came on, Inter Milan's attack became even more difficult.

With the game already lost, Mourinho ultimately directed his team to hold on for the remaining time, determined not to concede another goal to Milan, even though defeat was inevitable.

The 269th Milan derby in history ended in victory for AC Milan.

Inter Milan suffered their first league defeat of the season, while AC Milan secured their third consecutive league victory.

Cold fireworks were lit again in the south stand, the red smoke like the embodiment of passion, igniting the Milan night.

Ronaldinho, who opened the scoring, took off his jersey and threw it into the stands, causing a scramble and commotion among the fans.

Fans started chanting the players' names, hoping that other players would do the same as Ronaldinho and throw their jerseys to the fans.

The players, overjoyed with their victory in the Milan derby, complied with the fans' wishes by taking off their jerseys and throwing them into the stands, eliciting cheers from the San Siro.

In the blink of an eye, only Fino remained without taking off his jersey.

Fino was a little helpless. Why did his teammates have no sense of male virtue and take off their clothes whenever they wanted?

At this point, the fans in the stands started to jeer.

"Cabrini, take it off!" "Cabrini, take it off!" "Cabrini, take it off!"...

Kaka and Seedorf also approached with ill intent, preparing to manually "help" him take off his clothes.

However, Fino had already noticed their furtive movements and gestured to stop them.

Although he doesn't have the habit of taking off his clothes in public, he's not ashamed to be shirtless at all! His muscles are incredibly well-developed—healthy, toned, and powerful!

Fino crossed his arms and grabbed the hem of his jersey, pulling it off. He then slowly straightened it, holding one end and swinging it around like a lasso.

The fans in the stands directly in front of him immediately screamed, stood up and stretched out their hands, hoping to catch the jersey that Fino threw.

After Fino threw the jersey, a tall, muscular man snatched it with his agility and waved it around happily.

Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night in Milan, though some will be disappointed until dawn, while others will revel until dawn.

The media eagerly awaited the start of the post-match press conference, and almost everyone anticipated that it would be very interesting.

This is the first Milan derby since the "Special One" took over Inter Milan, and his opponent is Carlo Ancelotti, who is only four years older than him. Both are under 50 years old, both are at the peak of their careers in European football, and both have already accumulated numerous honors, including the Champions League title. Now, they are in charge of the city derby, making them perfect rivals.

Inter Milan suffered both a loss and a loss of composure today. They are watching to see how Mourinho, the most stubborn man in the league, will save face, and how Ancelotti will react.

Mourinho certainly didn't disappoint the media; his words left everyone at the post-match press conference speechless.

“No red card is acceptable. Burdisso shouldn’t have received either of the two yellow cards. Some people are more aggressive on the pitch than others, which is a matter of personality, but that doesn’t mean they deserve to be booked. Materazzi’s dismissal from the bench was discriminatory. Cordoba and Baresi, among others, protested in the same way but were not punished. This is unfair to Materazzi.”