Chapter 102 Provocation
Let's get back to the game.
With home advantage, Roma displayed great strength from the very beginning of the match, and just three minutes into the game, they had an excellent opportunity.
De Rossi passed the ball from the center to the wing, where Baptista won the duel with Jankulovski and unleashed a powerful shot from 20 meters out on the right side of the goal.
This was a shot from a very good angle. Maldini raised his foot to block it but failed, and the ball continued to fly at high speed towards the goal.
However, behind Maldini stood the focused Abbiati, who made a diving save, firmly catching Baptista's shot and sealing the defeat of Roma's attack.
A collective sigh rippled through the stands.
Milan immediately retaliated.
Abbiati passed the ball to Jankulovski on the left, who then launched an attack from the backfield.
As Jankulovski dribbled closer to midfield, Roma's defense tightened up, with Brighi and Perrotta blocking his way.
Jankulovski calmly passed the ball diagonally to Pirlo, who continued to dribble forward under Gattuso's protection.
Pirlo advanced seven or eight meters, and when De Rossi and Riise came to intercept him, he passed the ball to Kaká, who had dropped back to receive it, and Kaká continued to dribble past his opponent.
During the three-week winter break, Kaka got plenty of rest and recuperation, his physical functions recovered very well, and his old ailments were well under control.
As long as he is healthy, he is the invincible Ballon d'Or winner.
De Rossi and Risser immediately turned back to chase Kaka, but Kaka's lightning speed caused them to fall further and further behind.
As Kaká approached the penalty area, Roma's two center-backs, Mexes and Juan, came forward to intercept him, while another defender, Cassetti, marked Fino inside the penalty area.
At this moment, Seedorf was waiting to receive Kaka's pass to his right rear. Riise gave up chasing back Kaka and instead positioned himself between Kaka and Seedorf, cutting off Kaka's pass back.
However, Kaka did not intend to pass back. He made a sudden stop and then accelerated, causing Mexes to lose his balance. He then passed the ball past Mexes. Juan stretched out his leg but could not stop it in time, and the ball went straight to Fino on the left side of the penalty area.
Before Kaká passed the ball, Fino had already retreated a distance to the outside of the penalty area to prevent Cassetti from creating an offside trap.
This retreat was very effective. At this point, Cassetti was the last line of defense in front of the goalkeeper. He dared not follow Fino out of the penalty area, otherwise the goalkeeper would be wide open.
He had already seen it; Beckham was making a run down the right flank, and Pirlo was closer to the Roma penalty area than De Rossi and the others.
When Kaká passed the ball to the left wing, Juan was shocked and immediately retreated back into the penalty area, determined to block the goal.
After regaining his footing, Mexes positioned himself between Fino and Kaka to prevent Fino from passing back from the wing.
After receiving the ball, Fino calmly observed the positions of his teammates and opponents, quickly made a judgment in his mind, dribbled past the oncoming Cassetti, and then shot inside the penalty area.
However, Cassetti didn't give him a chance to get past him, and tackled him and the ball together right outside the penalty area.
The kick was aimed at Fino's ankle. Fino sensed something was wrong as Cassetti kicked, barely managing to avoid Cassetti's spikes. After falling, he inevitably rolled on the ground to absorb the impact.
He sat up and checked his ankle. Cassetti's studs had ripped his sock, but thankfully he reacted quickly and his ankle was fine.
Fino breathed a sigh of relief, turned to look at Cassetti, and raised an eyebrow.
Is this ruthless right from the start of the match?
Before Cassetti could respond, a white figure flashed by and knocked Cassetti to the ground. It was Nesta.
Nesta was furious. As expected, there wasn't a single good guy on the Roma team. Kid, you're going to get a beating today!
Nesta grabbed Cassetti by the collar and lifted him up. De Rossi and Perrotta, seeing the situation was getting out of hand, quickly came over and pulled Nesta away.
"Sandro, calm down, calm down. He's just a bit rough on technique, he didn't mean to hurt anyone."
Roma captain Totti was sidelined today due to injury and could only cheer for the team from the stands. As for the rest of the players, no amount of face would matter to Nesta.
At this moment, the referee squeezed through, patted Nesta's arm, signaling him to let go, and then gave Cassetti a yellow card, awarding Milan a free kick.
Nesta, still looking displeased, clenched his fist and questioned the referee's decision: "He was aiming to break Fino's ankle. Shouldn't such a dangerous move have resulted in a red card?"
That being said, Fino managed to dodge it, and it was only a short time since the start of the game, and it was Roma's home ground, so the referee could only smooth things over, signaling Nesta not to get involved and preparing to take a free kick.
By this time, Fino had already been lifted up by Kakala. Fino hugged Nesta and whispered in his ear, "It's okay, Sandro, I'll get my revenge myself in a bit."
Nesta then glanced at Cassetti with a displeased expression, his eyes carrying a stern warning.
Kaka, Pirlo, and Beckham were preparing to form a coordinated wall to confuse Roma.
Kaká took the lead with a run-up, striding past the ball as he approached it, while the Roma wall remained unmoved.
Pirlo then repeated the action. Since Pirlo had always been the one taking Milan's free kicks, the Roma wall jumped up in unison. They thought that Kaká in front and Beckham behind were just smokescreens, and that Pirlo was the real taker.
Pirlo also took a long stride over the ball, but Beckham, who followed closely behind, was the real taker.
By this time, the wall had already jumped to a certain height. Beckham unleashed a low shot towards the wall, the ball grazing past the wall's feet and heading straight for the goal. However, Roma's goalkeeper Doni reacted very quickly behind the wall, using both hands to keep the free kick out of the net.
In the 16th minute, Zambrotta made a brilliant clearance. De Rossi sent a long pass from the middle to Mexes on the left side of the penalty area. Before Mexes could receive the ball, Zambrotta performed a flying bicycle kick, knocking the ball towards the middle. Nesta then passed it to Gattuso.
Milan launched another attack.
Maldini patted Zambrotta on the shoulder and laughed, praising him, "That's cool!"
Zambrotta himself felt pretty cool, and asked Maldini with a grin, "How does it compare to Fini's bicycle kick that sealed the victory against Juventus?"
Maldini joked, "You're still a bit lacking; you need to practice more."
Zambrotta made an exaggerated expression of displeasure, glancing sideways at Maldini, but he couldn't keep his expression in check and started laughing himself.
I knew Maldini would favor the young talents who came from his own youth academy.
Nesta, the honest guy next to him, stood on tiptoe to watch the attack in the middle of the field and casually remarked, "Why are you, a defender, comparing yourself to Fini? Fini is so great. He probably scores more goals in one game than you do in an entire season."
Zambrotta was truly speechless. Was he even speaking human language? Praising Fino was fine, but why take a jab at me? Besides, we're both defenders, with roughly the same number of goals. While you were trash-talking me, didn't you get shot yourself?
Before Zambrotta could even come up with a retort, a huge chorus of boos erupted from the stands.
Fino scored!
He not only scored a goal, but also got revenge for himself.
At that time, Milan's Jankulovski broke through from the left flank. When facing De Rossi's interception, Jankulovski passed the ball to Kaká in the middle. Kaká received the ball and immediately passed it to the wing again, targeting Fino, who was also on the left flank.
At this moment, Fino is positioned outside the penalty area. He now faces two choices: either pass the ball across to Seedorf on the right, or cut inside from the left wing himself.
Seeing Cassetti coming to intercept him, Fino decisively chose the latter.
Fino was always tolerant and rarely held grudges, but he wasn't someone to be trifled with. A foul aimed at crippling him—it would be too much of a fool not to retaliate.
Fino dribbled the ball inside into the penalty area and began to approach the goal, whereupon Cassetti came to meet him.
At this point, Cassetti already had a yellow card, and since this was inside the penalty area, he dared not tackle recklessly as before, otherwise he would inevitably face a red card and penalty.
Fino seized upon Cassetti's predicament, which is why he actively sought an opportunity to confront him.
Facing the oncoming Cassetti, Fino lowered his left shoulder, creating the illusion that he was about to break through from the left, causing Cassetti to shift his weight to the right to block. At the same time as lowering his shoulder, Fino used his right foot to gently flick the ball to the right, and then immediately shifted his weight to the right.
After realizing he had been tricked, Cassetti quickly shifted his weight back to his left side. This sudden change in his center of gravity, without any prior preparation, almost caused him to lose his balance.
But that wasn't all. Before he could regain his balance, Fino flicked the ball to the right and pulled it back with his right foot, continuing to lower his shoulder to the left, assuming a stance to break through from the left.
Cassetti, in his haste to catch up with Fino, completely lost his balance and was thrown heavily to the ground.
Fino was finally satisfied and lobbed the ball to Kaká on his right back before calmly jumping over Cassetti.
Roma's two center-backs, Mexes and Juan, came up to block Kaká at the same time. After receiving the ball, Kaká did not choose to shoot, but continued to pass it to the unmarked Fino on the wing.
Fino comfortably took a shot, the ball grazing Doni's fingertips and going into the far corner of the goal.
Milan are leading 1-0 away from home.
Cassetti slammed his fist on the turf a few times in anger, then turned to look at Fino, who was celebrating a goal with Kaká and Seedorf, his anger level rising sharply.
He scrambled to his feet, strode over, and grabbed Fino's jersey from the chest.
Fino immediately grabbed Cassetti by the collar of his jersey and asked with a smile, "What, can't accept defeat?"
Cassetti gritted his teeth and forced out a sentence: "You did this on purpose."
Fino remained relaxed, continuing his provocative smile: "You're allowed to sneak up on my ankles, but I'm not allowed to make a proper breakthrough? If you're bad, practice more. You're almost retired and still have such a temper? You're just getting older and more temperamental, not improving your skills?"
As he spoke, he used his other hand to push Kaka and Seedorf apart. "Don't let those two silly brothers block the referee's view."
Fino did it on purpose. Cassetti already had a yellow card, and Fino not only wanted to dribble him down but also try to get him off the field. Even if he got a yellow card for it, it was a one-for-one trade.
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Author's Note: Thank you everyone for your support~ [Let me see...]
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