Chapter 112 I'll see who dares to bully you
Carrying the momentum from advancing to the Champions League quarterfinals, Milan played very aggressively in this match.
Within minutes of the start of the match, Milan had already launched several attacks on Siena's goal, putting a lot of pressure on Siena's defense.
In the 6th minute, Pirlo lobbed the ball into the penalty area from the right wing. Fino controlled the ball with his chest and prepared to turn and break through.
At this moment, Siena's penalty area was crowded with people, and the attention of several defenders was drawn to Pato and Inzaghi. The player closest to Fino was the attacking midfielder, Harja, who had dropped back into the penalty area.
Halja panicked a little, and in a moment of madness, he shoved Fino from behind.
Fino was caught off guard and pushed to the ground. He rolled over to absorb the impact and then sat up.
The referee's whistle blew immediately.
Halja looked annoyed.
Fino looked at Halja with disbelief. The game had only just begun, and to push someone from behind in the penalty area was incredibly reckless! Strictly speaking, this could have been a penalty and a red card.
Siena's right-back Zuniga quickly came over to Rafino, hoping to earn some points for Halja with the referee.
Fino grasped Zuniga's hand, and just as he was about to use it to stand up, a red and black figure rushed over and pushed Zuniga to the ground.
"Try pushing him from behind again!" Nesta said sharply.
Fino quickly pulled at Ranesta's shorts to stop him from continuing.
"Sandro, Sandro, I'm alright."
Nesta bent down and helped Fino up, placing his hands on Fino's shoulders, and said firmly, "Don't worry, Fino, I'm here. I'll see who dares to bully you!"
Fino was touched and could feel the sense of security Nesta provided, but...
“But you pushed the wrong person. It wasn’t Zuniga who pushed me, it was Halja,” Fino whispered.
"Uh..." Nesta was a little embarrassed.
There were too many people in the Siena penalty area just now. Nesta only vaguely saw a dark-skinned person push Fino down before rushing over. He didn't even see clearly who pushed him. Seeing Zuniga, who was also dark-skinned, on Rafino, he instinctively assumed it was Zuniga.
At this moment, the referee walked over, saw the chaotic scene, and his lips twitched.
Given that the match had just begun, he raised his hand slightly and handled it gently. Neither Nesta nor Halja received a card, only a warning.
However, the push from behind inside the penalty area disrupted a very threatening attack, and a penalty was inevitable.
Milan's first-choice penalty taker is Kaká. When Kaká is not on the field, Pirlo usually takes the penalty, or the front team discusses and decides on the penalty.
Pirlo held the ball with both hands, flicked it between his fingers, and looked at Fino, who had won the penalty: "Fino, are you going to take it?"
Fino shook his head, uninterested: "Come on, but remember to treat me to dinner after you get the goal bonus."
Pirlo chuckled and said confidently, "Then you can start thinking about what to eat now."
Place the ball, run-up, shoot!
Pirlo unleashed a powerful right-footed shot that found the bottom left corner of the goal, giving Siena's goalkeeper Curci no chance to save his team.
Fino raised his hands above his head to applaud Pirlo's brilliant performance.
Ancelotti stood calmly on the sidelines, merely clapping perfunctorily. This was just Pirlo's basic routine; there was nothing to get excited about.
But soon, the composure on his face vanished.
Two minutes later, Abbiati collided with his teammate Favalli while making a save. After receiving treatment, he was unable to continue the match and had to be replaced by Dida.
This was Dida's first league appearance of the season. Abbiati has been healthy and in good form, while Dida and Kalac have had few opportunities to play.
After Milan's goalkeeper was substituted, Siena seemed to think it was a good opportunity and became more aggressive in their attack, launching a series of aerial bombardments at Milan's goal. In just over ten minutes, they unleashed four shots, but their accuracy was worrisome, with none of the four shots hitting the target, giving Dida no chance to perform.
Despite Siena's relentless attacks, Milan did not choose to back down but instead went head-to-head, engaging in fierce battles with Siena. Fino, Pato, Inzaghi, and others took turns attacking Siena's defense.
The game has now entered stoppage time in the first half.
Milan launched an attack from the left flank. Ambrosini played a through ball to Jankulovski, who had moved into Siena's half. Jankulovski then passed the ball to Pato on the left side of the penalty area.
As Pato dribbled into the penalty area, he was caught in a combined attack by two Siena defenders. In the ensuing scramble, Portanova cleared the ball out of play, giving Milan a corner kick.
Pirlo took the corner from the left corner flag. Nesta won the header against Brandon and headed the ball towards the far post, where Inzaghi volleyed it into the net with his left foot.
2-0, Milan take a two-goal lead away from home.
The second half has begun.
With a two-goal lead, Ancelotti decided to bring Kaká on to find his form, Inzaghi off the field, and Fino back to the forward line.
In the 54th minute, Milan launched an attack from midfield. Pirlo passed the ball to Kaká, who then dribbled past his marker.
Kaka hadn't played a competitive match in a month and a half. When Ancelotti saw Kaka with the ball, he clenched his fists and stared intently at Kaka, waiting for Kaka's performance after his recovery.
Kaka's dribbling was still elegant and fast, and he soon ran into Vergassola.
Kaka did not choose to break through head-on, but instead passed the ball to Fino, who was supporting him on the left flank, and Fino continued to advance with the ball.
Ancelotti raised an eyebrow, wondering to himself if Kaká was having a mental problem, afraid of getting injured and avoiding confrontation, or simply wanting to cooperate with Fino? He needed to observe further.
Before he could finish thinking, Fino had already dribbled past Zuniga and made a short pass from the left flank to Pato in the middle.
Pato unleashed a powerful shot from 28 meters out, the ball nestling into the net just past the right post.
Milan are leading 3-0 away from home.
After scoring that goal, Milan showed no signs of slowing down; instead, they became even more aggressive.
A few minutes later, Milan launched another attack on Siena's goal.
The attack started from the left flank again. Pirlo passed the ball directly to Fino, who dribbled down the wing. After attracting two Siena defenders, Fino suddenly passed the ball back to Kaká in the penalty area.
This was a very good opportunity. Kaka was only 8 meters from the goal, and goalkeeper Curci was guarding Fino on the left side of the goal. Siena's goal was wide open.
However, facing an open goal, Kaká missed a shot, the ball grazing the crossbar and flying towards the stands.
Kaka looked down and rubbed his face in frustration.
Fino came over and hugged him: "It's okay, Richie. You haven't played for too long. You'll have to get back into form slowly."
In the 65th minute, Siena finally pulled one back.
Maccarone controlled the ball, turned, cut past Zambrotta, and fired a low shot with his left foot into the bottom right corner of the goal.
Milan immediately retaliated.
Ambrosini roamed to the right wing and combined with Pirlo in a one-two pass to break through Barusso's interception.
Then, under Ambrosini's cover, Pirlo calmly passed a through ball from the right flank, targeting Fino on the right side of the penalty area.
Fino backed down Del Grosso, who was marking him, controlled the ball, and then with a light turn, switched positions with Del Grosso, facing the goal himself.
Without hesitation, he immediately took a shot, and Curci had no time to react, only able to watch helplessly as the ball sped into the near corner.
4-1, Milan lead by 3 goals away from home.
With more than 20 minutes left in the game, Ancelotti was satisfied. He asked Beckham to warm up and prepared to substitute Ambrosini for a rest.
However, Ancelotti's substitution plan was disrupted just two minutes later.
After the restart, Kaká injured his ankle when he was vying for possession with a Siena defender. He was limping and looked very uncomfortable.
Ancelotti dared not be careless and had to urgently use his last substitution, replacing Kaká with Ronaldinho.
Fortunately, after diagnosis by the team doctor, Kaka's ankle problem was not serious; it was a minor injury that would not affect his subsequent training and matches.
Ancelotti breathed a sigh of relief, comforting himself that he knew it; he and Milan couldn't be that unlucky. The Ballon d'Or winner, who had been recovering from an injury for a month and a half, couldn't possibly have to start recovering again after only 25 minutes of playing.
Kaká's injury also served as a wake-up call for Ancelotti, who quickly signaled to his players to switch from attack to defense and hold onto their gains for the remaining time. With the season coming to an end, maintaining physical fitness and health is even more important.
Following Ancelotti's instructions, Milan tightened their defense, and the midfielders began to drop back into their own half, leaving only Fino and Pato near the Siena penalty area to await counter-attacks.
Trailing by three goals, Siena seemed to lose their fighting spirit, and Milan quickly slowed down the pace of the game.
In the 82nd minute, Pirlo, Ambrosini, Ronaldinho, and others passed the ball around in their own half, while Siena's players didn't press hard and resignedly allowed Pirlo and his team to waste time.
When the ball reached Ronaldinho's feet, he noticed the lack of defense in front of Siena's goal and tentatively launched a long diagonal pass.
The ball traveled a full 60 meters, crossing most of the pitch from Milan's backfield and into Siena's backfield.
Fino subtly adjusted his position on the left flank, estimating the ball's trajectory. After the ball descended, Fino controlled it with his chest and then dribbled towards the Siena penalty area.
Ronaldinho's pass caught Siena off guard, leaving them with only Portanova and Ficagna as center-backs and goalkeeper Curci in their penalty area.
Ficagna positioned himself in front of Pato, attempting to cut off the passing lane between Fino and Pato, while Portanova met up with Fino.
Fino made a sudden stop and acceleration to get past Portanova, then dribbled past the onrushing Curci and scored with a right-footed shot into the empty net.
5-1, Fino scored twice, and Milan played another high-scoring game.
"Goooal! Cabrini scores his second goal, extending Milan's lead again in the 83rd minute. Ronaldinho's 60-meter long pass was amazing, and Cabrini's shot after rounding the goalkeeper was equally brilliant. The superb combination between these two geniuses brought us an unparalleled visual feast. This goal is definitely the best goal of this round of the league."
"So far, Cabrini has scored 20 goals in the league, currently leading the top scorer list, surpassing his 18 goals last season. With 10 rounds left in the league, given Cabrini's scoring rate, the Serie A Golden Boot is almost certainly his. As for the final goal tally, let's wait and see!"
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Author's Note: Thank you all for your support! [Let me see...]
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