Chapter 122 But he called me Cristiano…
Fino was aiming for the ball; his tackle was quick, accurate, and steady, without making contact with Ronaldo's supporting leg. Ronaldo lost his balance and fell down on his own.
The ball hit Rooney's shin and then rolled out of bounds.
Manchester United's attack has failed.
Cristiano Ronaldo angrily pounded the turf.
Just then, a pair of legs encased in white socks walked up to him. Ronaldo looked up and saw Fino bending down, looking at him with concern.
"Are you alright, Cristiano? I was heading for the ball, I didn't expect you to fall."
Fino extended his hand to him.
Seeing Fino's long, raven-feather-like eyelashes and her bright, beautiful, obsidian-like eyes, Ronaldo's frustration slowly dissipated.
I wanted to stay angry too, but he called me Cristiano.
"Um, I'm fine, I just lost my balance."
Cristiano Ronaldo used Fino's hand for support to stand up.
At that moment, Rooney walked over, shoved Fino hard, and said menacingly, "Who gave you the guts to tackle him at Old Trafford?"
Before Fino could react, Nesta shoved Rooney back: "Who gave you the guts to push him right under my nose?"
Kaka walked over and put his arm around Fino's shoulder, asking with concern, "Fino, are you alright?"
Fino shook his head and said to the approaching referee, "Sir, it's all a misunderstanding. Ronaldo and I have no problems whatsoever."
Then Fino and the referee looked at Ronaldo together.
Hmm, here we go again, that sincere and expectant look in his eyes. Ronaldo touched his nose, his face flushed from the exertion, and echoed the referee, "Yes, we have no problem. He didn't tackle me; I fell down on my own."
The referee ultimately only warned Rooney and Nesta before declaring play continued.
Rooney looked at Ronaldo in shock. "Dude, did you forget to take your meds?"
Cristiano Ronaldo glanced at Fino, Kaká, and Nesta opposite him, then at Rooney beside him, and sighed silently in his heart.
The Creator is unfair.
After the players dispersed, Fino covered his mouth and whispered to Kaká, "Didn't the coach say that this Ronaldo is very good at diving and getting cards? He seems quite sincere and friendly though~"
Kaka shrugged and replied, "I don't know, but he was quite friendly to me."
The score remained 1-1 until the end of the match, with Milan and Manchester United drawing in the first leg, meaning the decisive second leg would have to be played.
Ancelotti raised an eyebrow. Although a draw was somewhat disappointing, having an away goal was still acceptable.
Fino and Kaká walked side by side toward the locker room, just in time to run into the Manchester United contingent that was circling the field to thank the fans, with Ronaldo trailing behind.
Upon seeing Fino and Kaká, Ronaldo stopped.
Fino asked in a friendly manner, "Does it still hurt from that fall?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore, you didn't scrape me." Cristiano Ronaldo grinned, revealing his neat, white teeth that had been expensively straightened, making him look somewhat childlike.
Fino suddenly felt that this new Ballon d'Or winner was kind of cute, maybe he was the same type of person as Kaká, reliable on the field, but childish off the field.
"That's good." Fino nodded. "Then shall we meet at San Siro in a week?"
Cristiano Ronaldo nodded and watched Fino and Kaká walk into the players' tunnel.
"The people of Milan are so good-looking!" he thought to himself again.
"What are you spacing out for?" Rooney walked over and patted him on the shoulder.
He glanced down at Rooney's thinning hair and sighed. It seems the feng shui in Italy really does nurture people, unlike their Manchester United. Oh well, never mind.
...
Since returning to Milan from Manchester, Ancelotti has been unable to give the players a break. The 34th round league match against Catania is about to begin.
In this match, Ancelotti made extensive changes to the squad, preparing for the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final a few days later.
Beckham, Favalli, Antonini, and third-choice goalkeeper Kalac all got playing time, and Shevchenko also made his long-awaited start, partnering with Pato as a strike duo, while Ronaldinho played as an attacking midfielder.
The result of this match was less than ideal. Milan's seven-game unbeaten run in the league was ended by Catania's aggressive defense, suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat. Nesta and Pato were also injured during the match, meaning they will miss the second leg against Manchester United.
Meanwhile, Inter Milan defeated Lazio 2-0, narrowing the gap with AC Milan to just one point. With only four rounds remaining in the league, it's still too early to say which Milanese team will claim the Serie A title this season.
Ancelotti felt things were a bit tricky. The league situation was somewhat dire for AC Milan, whose remaining four opponents were Juventus, Udinese, Roma, and Fiorentina, all of whom were top-seven teams in the league, while Inter Milan's opponents were not considered strong.
Furthermore, AC Milan still has Champions League matches to play, while Inter Milan only needs to focus on the league.
AC Milan could easily slip up and lose both titles if they're not careful while competing for the championships on two fronts.
With Ancelotti filled with worries, the second leg against Manchester United arrived.
As the players warmed up, a light drizzle began to fall at the San Siro.
The rain wasn't heavy, but it felt like it was hitting Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson's heart, making him feel uneasy.
He couldn't help but recall the scene from two years ago, also the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, also at the San Siro, in the pouring rain, Milan scored three goals in a row, shutting out Manchester United, and in the second leg, they reversed the score and ultimately stepped over Manchester United's corpse to advance to the semi-finals.
This is really annoying!
He glanced at Milan's warm-up area, where Fino, wearing the home team's red and black striped jersey, was warming up meticulously.
They're so young, so young and strong. Milan really had incredible luck; it seemed like a group of veterans were struggling, but they always seemed to have a lucky star come to their rescue—first Kaká, then Fino.
He then turned to look at Manchester United's warm-up area, where Cristiano Ronaldo, wearing a blue away jersey, was stretching his thighs with Rooney, their arms around each other's shoulders.
I also have a star that has descended from the heavens, but this star is about to set off for Madrid.
Because Seedorf suddenly felt discomfort in his knee yesterday, Milan made a slight change to their formation for this match. Ancelotti fielded a 4-3-1-2 formation, which is also a formation that Milan has frequently used this season.
Veteran Inzaghi has once again made the Champions League starting lineup, partnering with Fino as a strike duo, with Kaká playing deep, and the three midfielders Gattuso, Pirlo, and Ambrosini being familiar faces.
Nesta is out injured in defense, Kaladze and Maldini will partner at center-back, with Jankulovski and Zambrotta at left and right full-back respectively.
The goalkeeper is undoubtedly still Dida, the second-choice goalkeeper.
Manchester United continued with the 4-3-3 formation from the first leg, but made slight changes to the starting lineup. The energetic and active Park Ji-sung replaced Tevez, winning Ferguson's trust.
The rain did not dampen the fans' enthusiasm, with nearly 80,000 fans watching this crucial match in the drizzle. Manchester United fans in the North Stand waved their team flags enthusiastically, cheering on their away players, before being drowned out by the deafening roar of the home crowd.
Back at their home ground, San Siro, Milan played with more intensity and quickly took control. Just three minutes into the game, Kaká unleashed a long-range shot from outside the penalty area, which was saved by Van der Sar.
Manchester United then had their chance. Anderson played a through ball from midfield, and Ronaldo ran onto it on the wing before crossing it to Rooney, who was already inside the Milan penalty area. Rooney chipped the ball over Maldini before he could make a sliding tackle, and the ball grazed Maldini's torso and went into the net.
Dida couldn't make the save, and Rooney opened the scoring for Manchester United just 7 minutes into the game.
A few minutes later, Manchester United extended their lead.
Ambrosini tackled Ronaldo from behind while defending him, and the referee awarded Manchester United a free kick, which Ronaldo took himself.
The free kick was in a less than ideal position, about 37 meters from the goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo glanced at Rooney, which alerted Gattuso, who immediately fixed his gaze on Rooney.
However, Rooney was just a decoy. Instead of opting for a free kick, Ronaldo boldly took a shot from 37 meters out, the ball going through the loose wall and into the bottom right corner of the goal.
Although Dida made a save, he was clearly a step too slow. Just 15 minutes later, Manchester United took a two-goal lead at the San Siro.
Manchester United have a firm advantage in advancing with a 3-1 aggregate score.
According to the home-and-away principle, Milan must score three goals in the next match to advance; a loss or a draw will result in elimination from the Champions League.
Ferguson pumped his fist on the sidelines, then clapped while chewing gum; the game looked like it was in the bag.
Manchester United scored two goals in quick succession, catching Milan off guard.
How come we're down by two goals after only 15 minutes?
Ambrosini, who gifted the free kick, was filled with regret; if only his movement had been slightly less forceful…
Seeing the disappointment and confusion on his teammates' faces, Fino shouted, "Cheer up! We're only two goals down, and only 15 minutes have passed. We still have 75 minutes to make up for it."
Just then, Maldini, having just comforted Dida who had conceded two goals, jogged over from the backfield.
"Fini is right, we're only two goals down. What haven't we been through? Focus on the rest of the game. What's with that expression? Are we going to give up in front of over 70,000 die-hard fans?"
Maldini's words immediately jolted the somewhat dazed players awake. Yes, they were only two goals down; they would win back the same way they had lost the goal!
After the restart, Fino and Kaká combined to dribble towards Manchester United's half, with Fino on the left and Kaká on the right, standing on a horizontal line, and Pirlo behind them, forming an inverted triangle.
After getting past Fletcher, Kaká shook off Evra, who was closely marking him, and moved to the right flank. Inzaghi left the penalty area and came to the top of the penalty arc to receive the pass.
Manchester United's defense advanced ahead of the goal, leaving the penalty area to intercept, leaving Van der Sar all alone in front of the goal.
At this moment, Fino had the ball, and as Vidic closed him down, he passed the ball across to Kaká on the right flank.
When Evra closed in again, Kaká dribbled the ball, turned, and took two steps back, switching positions with Pirlo. Pirlo then went down the right flank, drawing Evra's attention, while Vidic came up to mark Kaká.
Kaka passed the ball back to the center-back position, where Ambrosini made a run forward, received the ball and played a through ball forward. Fino, with his back to Ferdinand, received the ball, turned and dribbled past Ferdinand, entering the penalty area to create a one-on-one opportunity.
Ferdinand turned to chase after him, but he was getting further and further away from Fino.
Van der Sar lowered his center of gravity, stretched out his arms, tensed his nerves, and prepared to make a save.
Fino got closer and closer to the goal, 15 meters, 14 meters, 13 meters... but Fino did not choose to shoot.
10 meters, 9 meters, 8 meters... Fino still didn't kick.
The 80,000 spectators held their breath, waiting for the outcome of this one-on-one fight.
As Fino approached the penalty area, Van der Sar rushed out and lunged at the ball at Fino's feet.
However, Fino did not panic. He flicked the ball forward with his toes, then jumped over the fallen Van der Sar and pushed the ball straight into the empty net!
"Gooooal! Cabrini broke into the penalty area one-on-one, bypassed Van der Sar, and slotted the ball into the empty net, bringing his Champions League goal tally to 12 this season! In the 19th minute, Milan pulled one back at home! This combination play in Milan's midfield and attack was absolutely brilliant. What game they played during their trip to Como two weeks ago remains a mystery, but without a doubt, it must have been a game that greatly improved their teamwork!"
The commentator made a joke, which brought a knowing smile to many fans watching on TV.
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Author's Note: Thank you everyone for your support! [droopy-eared rabbit head]
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