Chapter 89 Chapter 89 I'm waiting for Shevchenko to beat the offside trap...
In the 35th minute, Milan got a free kick opportunity. Fino crossed the ball diagonally from the right into the penalty area, connecting with Nesta who was coming from the backfield.
Nesta received the ball and volleyed it, but Pizarri caught it again.
Fino looked at Pizarri with awe. He really wanted to shake Pizarri's shoulder and ask, "Is that you, Gigi?" I know it's a bit sad that you can't play in the next league match between Juventus and Milan, but if you're injured, just focus on recovering and don't let your injury affect other goalkeepers and cause us trouble.
However, Bizarri's performance continued. In the first half stoppage time, Milan still had an attacking opportunity. After the ball was passed into the penalty area, Shevchenko passed the ball with his back to goal, and Fino followed up from the right, but his low shot from a tight angle was brilliantly saved by Bizarri.
The referee then blew the whistle to end the first half.
A cacophony of boos erupted from the South Stand as radical fan groups once again raised their protest banners high, drawing the attention of the broadcast cameras.
The small group of Catania fans, not wanting to miss out on the fun, burst into laughter and applauded.
The scene before me was truly jarring.
Fino pulled up his jersey and wiped his face. It was a scene he hadn't seen in a long time, as if he had returned to the beginning of last season.
Gilardino was so badly booed that he was heartbroken and playing at the San Siro was more difficult than playing away games.
The situation is better now, though. The South Stand clearly failed to intimidate (or intimidate) ordinary fans into joining them in the protests. Upon entering the stadium, Milan fans outside the South Stand even suppressed the cheers of the away fans. Perhaps they didn't dare directly rebel against the South Stand, but they didn't become accomplices either.
When Kaka and Shevchenko reached the sideline, they realized that Fino hadn't followed, so they turned around and waited for him.
After Fino came over, Kaka and Shevchenko sandwiched him between them, one putting his arm around his shoulder and the other around his waist, and they walked together toward the locker room.
After entering the players' tunnel, Kaka comforted them, saying, "Don't take it to heart. They were targeting our performance throughout the first half, not specifically targeting you. It's just that you were the one who took the last shot on goal."
Shevchenko knew much more than him: "They weren't targeting our performance in the first half. We clearly dominated the game; we were just unlucky. What's there to boo? They're just using this as an excuse."
Fino nodded. He understood these principles and didn't care much about the boos. What he cared about was Kaká and Shevchenko's goodwill.
"Let's keep going in the second half. With such overwhelming strength, Bizarre's luck will eventually run out."
"Go for it!" Kaka and Shevchenko responded enthusiastically.
The three of them laughed together.
Upon entering the locker room, Ancelotti saw the smiles on the faces of the three men and felt relieved.
Kaka and Shevchenko have been through all sorts of ups and downs and are used to it. He is more worried about Fino. Although the boy looks mature and steady for his age, he is still quite young.
Fino was more open-minded and composed than he had imagined.
"Don't worry about the fans' reactions. We did very well in the first half. There's not much to say about the second half; just continue with the tactics from the first half. But one thing to note is that the defense shouldn't push too far forward. On the one hand, we need to conserve energy, and on the other hand, we need to prevent Catania from exploiting the space behind our defense..."
Ancelotti gave a few brief instructions and then let the players rest on their own.
After the start of the second half, Milan's attack did not diminish at all; or rather, Milan's desire to attack became even stronger.
In the 48th minute, Kaká received a pass from Pirlo and dribbled towards Catania's half. In a one-on-one situation with Ledesma, Kaká used a brilliant turn to get past Ledesma and head straight for Catania's penalty area.
Catania's two defenders moved forward to intercept Kaká, while another defender, Silvestri, stayed in the penalty area to contain Shevchenko, who was acting as a pivot.
Kaka remained calm and took a step to the left, prompting Teric to move in the same direction to continue blocking. However, Kaka took advantage of the moment Teric opened his legs and used his right foot to pass the ball directly between Teric's legs to Shevchenko.
Shevchenko burst out from behind Silvestri before Kaká could pass the ball, successfully beating the offside trap, receiving the ball with his back to goal, and then turning to shoot.
Although the shot was taken hastily, its trajectory was extremely precise, with the ball flying straight towards the center of the goal.
Bizarri continued to perform brilliantly. He was preparing to make a save at the near post, but upon seeing the ball, he immediately moved a few steps to the right, knelt down, and pushed the powerful ball out with both hands.
At that moment, a red and black figure rushed into the penalty area, swung his right foot at the ball that had been parried away, and the ball flew straight into the top left corner of the goal like a cannonball.
It was Fino. He had been staying outside the penalty area, grappling with Biajandi. The moment the ball was saved by Bizarre, he shook off Biajandi and got to the ball.
Pizza, who had just gotten up from the ground, was powerless.
Fino scored on the rebound, making it 1-0, and Milan finally broke their embarrassing streak of failing to score.
"Goooal! Kaka's powerful breakthrough and dribbling, Shevchenko's brilliant offside trap and back-to-goal shot, Cabrini's efficient follow-up shot, the three stars in Milan's midfield and attack cooperated perfectly, finally changing the score!"
Fino was very excited. That's what I was saying. There's nothing weird about it. If you can't score, just keep pressing and you'll eventually score.
Shevchenko was also very excited. He ran over, grabbed Fino by the waist, and lifted him up.
The moment his feet left the ground, Fino was somewhat surprised. Shevchenko didn't look much taller than him, yet he was so strong!
After the initial surprise came joy. This was the first time he had ever been lifted up. As a child, he had only seen other children being lifted up by their fathers, which he greatly envied. He never imagined that as an adult, this wish would be fulfilled by Shevchenko by some unexpected twist of fate.
He quickly wrapped his legs around Shevchenko, passively climbing the tree to save Shevchenko some energy. Then he put his hands on Shevchenko's shoulders, leaned back slightly, and smiled at Shevchenko.
Shevchenko tilted his head back slightly and looked at him, smiling.
Shevchenko's smile is like a melting candy, soft and sweet, completely shattering Fino's stereotypes about Eastern Europeans. He's just too adorable.
Fino was in a great mood; it was another day healed by adorable things.
At this moment, Kaka ran over and took Fino from Shevchenko's arms, and Fino was forced to switch to a different tree.
At this moment, the home fans outside the south stand began to applaud and cheer, and the name "Cabrini" gradually rang out. At first, the cheers were uneven, but they slowly became more uniform.
This made Fino even happier. He slid off Kaka, raised his hands above his head, and clapped in the direction of the three stands.
He overlooked the south stand.
Even a clay Buddha has a temper; why should he try to win someone's favor?
Next, Milan seemed to have finally unlocked their full potential and scored again.
In the 67th minute, Fino dropped back to midfield and received a pass from Jankulovski on the left wing, then broke through towards Catania's half along the left wing.
In this match, Saldo, who plays as a right winger, immediately came up to intercept.
Saldo felt a little uneasy. He wasn't confident he could stop Fino, but he hoped to slow Fino down and wait for his companions to catch up.
Seeing Saldo's exaggerated left-right swaying movements, Fino chuckled to himself. What a paper tiger, all bluster and no bravado. Is he going to play basketball?
Fino easily evaded Saldo's defense with a beautiful dribbling cut, continued his advance along the left flank, and quickly left Saldo behind.
At this moment, Fino was separated from the goalkeeper by three Catania defenders. Two of the defenders had to mark Shevchenko and Kaká closely, and only the right-back Silvestri could get out and intercept.
As Fino approached the penalty area, he ran into Silvestri.
Fino did not continue to break through, but paused briefly.
Silvestri was overjoyed. Instead of marking Fino closely to try and steal the ball, he carefully blocked Fino's shooting path, waiting for Saldo to come up behind Fino. He wasn't very confident in marking Fino one-on-one either, and he felt more confident double-teaming him with Saldo.
Coffino didn't give them a chance to double-team him. He paused for only a second or two before cleverly sending a high ball into the penalty area from the left flank.
At this moment, Shevchenko had shaken off Teric's defense, jumped high, and headed the ball to Kaká on the right side of the penalty area. Kaká calmly sent the ball into the goal.
2-0, Kaká scores another goal for Milan.
Fino glanced at Silvestri, then ran off to celebrate with Kaká and Shevchenko.
Although Fino's face was expressionless, Silvestri interpreted Fino's meaning from his eyes: I'm waiting for Shevchenko to beat the offside trap, what are you waiting for?
I'm waiting for Saldo to come up! I'm not just standing there like an idiot, I really am waiting for Saldo to come up!
Silvestri reached out his hand toward Fino, then let it fall limply to his side.
After taking a two-goal lead, Ancelotti was satisfied with the score and substituted Antonini for Shevchenko. Milan then switched from attack to defense.
Milan's goal this season is to win the double, so now that victory is assured, they should conserve their energy.
Ancelotti didn't care about the antics of the South Stand, nor did he have any intention of humiliating the other side. He had been in the football world for so many years, from player to coach, what hadn't he experienced?
He will only proceed according to his own plan; the only ones who can change his plans are the club's management...
After Antonini came on, the five defenders blocked the goal completely, and Catania didn't get any chances.
The 2-0 scoreline remained until the end of the match, and Milan secured another victory after two consecutive draws followed by two consecutive losses.
After the match, a huge cheer erupted at the San Siro as Maldini led the players around the field to thank the fans for their support.
By this time, most of the extreme fans in the south stand had already slunk away. The team had won, and their position immediately became awkward.
Moreover, the support and encouragement from Milan fans in other stands during the match made their already somewhat untenable protests even more baseless.
Maldini was in high spirits and led the players in a celebration in the locker room, with shouts that nearly lifted the roof off.
Fino didn't have time to celebrate with them. He quickly took a shower after returning to the locker room and was then taken away by club staff.
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