Chapter 189
The media's momentary fanning of the "locker room" issue was like a joke after dinner, and no one cared about it after a few days.
Everyone's eyes are focused on the upcoming UEFA Champions League round of 16. Can Real Madrid, which is carrying the curse of the Sixteenth Man, break the curse after signing many football superstars in the summer window this year? And their opponent is AC Milan, which is not weak at all.
"Real Madrid is playing against AC Milan at home, and the Bernabeu Stadium is full!" The sidelines were packed with live media, and it was very lively here.
Cristiano and his teammates were waiting to enter the player tunnel. The players from both sides looked at each other in the narrow tunnel. Maldini and his teammates and Kaka nodded slightly and greeted each other.
"The starting lineups of both teams have been announced. Real Madrid made some adjustments to the lineup due to Ruud van Nistelrooy's absence due to injury, and AC Milan also made some adjustments. Inzaghi did not appear in the starting lineup. He was replaced by Swedish striker Ibrahimovic, who was loaned from Barcelona this year!"
The commentator was introducing the starting lineups of the two teams, and his partner interrupted and said: "Since joining AC Milan, Ibrahimovic has contributed 14 goals to the team, including 10 shots, 3 assists and one point, which is a very good result."
"Ibrahimovic has strong personal offensive ability, delicate ball control, and is very brave and good at confrontation. His 1.9-meter height and strong physique make him like a chariot on the court!"
"AC Milan currently has Ibrahimovic and Shevchenko, and they are very threatening on the offensive end. Real Madrid, on the other hand, is missing Van Nistelrooy, the king of the small penalty area, and they are a bit alone on the offensive end," the commentator agreed.
Everyone agrees that Benzema is still unable to replace Van Nistelrooy.
"Mourinho's main tactical core seems to have not changed. The game is about to start. The theme song of the Champions League is playing over the Bernabeu stadium. The atmosphere is very warm!"
The referee blew the whistle and AC Milan took the first step.
The cheers above the Bernabeu were deafening!
Both teams played particularly actively, and after getting the ball, they shot at the opponent's goal decisively and quickly.
"Modric takes the ball in the midfield and passes Seedorf's block with his back! Maldini quickly retreats!" On the big screen, the short Croatian dribbled the ball and turned flexibly, controlling the ball delicately under his feet. One second before Maldini retreated, he passed the ball accurately to Cristiano in front of him.
Cristiano got the ball and immediately tapped it forward, and the ball jumped in an arc and quickly transferred directly to Benzema's feet.
Gattuso and Nesta are very familiar with Kaka and Cristiano. Once the two have a chance to go in a straight line, they will immediately cut back to interfere. Therefore, when Cristiano got the ball, he did not take a few more steps with the ball, but directly sent the ball to his teammate's feet.
"Ronaldo linked up the attack, Benzema got the ball and quickly brought it into the penalty area!"
There were suddenly fewer defensive players guarding Cristiano's side, and they all focused on Benzema.
Benzema quickly glanced around and noticed out of the corner of his eye that Cristiano ran silently behind him.
He trotted forward two steps with the ball. The goalkeeper was guarding right in front of the goal and was not fooled by Benzema's feint.
The Frenchman felt a little regretful when he saw this, as the defensive players in front of him quickly crowded up.
"The penalty area is in chaos! There are too many people! Very confusing! There are at least four players in front of Benzema! He took too long to adjust and find an opportunity to shoot, and the space left for him has been almost compressed by AC Milan's players!" said the guest regretfully.
"There's a fight in front of the door!"
Benzema did not hesitate any longer and suddenly kicked the ball back, and the ball bounced back unexpectedly in the sight of the defensive player.
"Ronaldo! Benzema passed the ball backwards in the penalty area, and it landed at Ronaldo's feet with incredible accuracy! Ronaldo made a slight adjustment and shot directly!!!"
Neither Nesta nor Maldini expected the kick to be so sudden, and they braked suddenly and turned to block Cristiano.
However, the Portuguese player adjusted his shot very quickly, without any unnecessary movement or hesitation. After a slight adjustment, he immediately kicked the ball cleanly!
The ball brushed against the gaps in the human wall and drew an extremely sharp line in the air!
"Oh my God! The ball is in! The ball is in!!! A lightning goal in 80 seconds? Real Madrid took the lead in their home stadium!" The commentator's screams were clearly audible throughout the entire broadcast room, "Ronaldo broke the record for the fastest goal!!"
His partner paid close attention to the referee's signal, and only when the referee made a gesture did he slam the table excitedly: "The goal is valid!"
"There is no controversy, no offside, Ronaldo's lightning goal in the Champions League knockout round broke the record for the fastest goal in La Liga!" said the commentator.
The audience stands at the Bernabeu were like a white wave. The American fans wearing white home jerseys leaned forward excitedly and nervously when Cristiano got the ball, and the next second, the ball scored! Everyone was so excited that they stood up and cheered almost at the same time! The scene was shocking!
As soon as Cristiano scored, Benzema took advantage of the distance and ran over as fast as he could and hugged Chris: "We scored a goal!"
Cristiano nodded happily. He put one hand around Benzema's neck and patted the Frenchman's sweaty neck with his palm. With the other hand, he opened his arm and smiled to greet his teammates who were rushing towards him: "Kaka!"
Kaka hugged Cristiano. He was happy that Cristiano scored so quickly, but also a little regretful that the assist for this goal did not belong to him.
But he occupied the closest position to hug Cristiano, so anyone else who wanted to hug Chris to celebrate had to do so between him and him.
Kaka thought happily in his heart, see, this is the advantage of speed, even if he is not the closest one, he is still the first or second one to celebrate with his lover the fastest.
Benzema is ignored.
AC Milan conceded a goal less than two minutes into the game. Ancelotti stood outside the court and shook his hands heavily, stroking his forehead. He knew that they could not miss the Portuguese player for even a second.
But can he blame his players? cannot. They have tried their best to defend Real Madrid's offense in the penalty area.
But that's how it is on the court. Even if there is only a one-second gap or omission, as long as the opponent's players seize it, they are doomed.
That's the situation right now.
Ancelotti took a deep breath and noticed that Mourinho next to him was grinning happily. His joy and anger were completely shown on his face. Anyone could see that he was very proud at the moment.
Ancenotti couldn't help but roll his eyes. All the damn Portuguese are the same.
AC Milan launched a crazy and quick counterattack. Near the end of the first half, AC Milan got a corner kick.
Seedorf came to the penalty spot to take the corner kick. His eyes fell on the wall of people. Shevchenko and Ibrahimovic both looked at him, and he took a deep breath.
This might be their last chance to tie the score in the first half.
"Seedorf shot straight in front of the penalty area! Ibrahimovic headed the ball high! The ball was saved by Real Madrid goalkeeper Casillas! Shevchenko made a follow-up shot from outside the penalty area!"
“The ball goes in!!”
The ball hit the ground straight and fast into the blind corner of the goal. Casillas, who had just saved a header, had no time to turn around and make another save. Although Ramos had noticed Shevchenko's intention, his toes were still a finger's distance away from the ball!
The ball hit the goal right in front of his eyes.
"AC Milan equalized the score!!! In the last 40 minutes of the first half! AC Milan seized the opportunity!" The commentator said in surprise, "The two teams are closely tied in the score, it seems that the second half of the game will not be too boring!"
The partner quickly reviewed the wonderful goal just now: "Let's take a look at how the ball went in! Seedorf took a corner kick, the ball fell to the front point, Ibrahimovic grabbed the first point, and a header was blocked by Casillas, and Shevchenko predicted and shot to score! It was really wonderful!"
AC Milan celebrated after scoring. Ibrahimovic felt a little regretful. He touched his head and looked towards the goal of Real Madrid. He raised his arms and said to himself, "I can definitely break Casillas' goal."
Gattuso smiled upon hearing this and said: “Oh I like your attitude, keep it up, we need you to break the goal.”
Excluding the time for celebrating goals, foul penalties and emergency treatment of players' injuries, there were a total of four minutes of injury time in the first half.
Mourinho loudly asked his players to hold on for these four minutes. This was the time when AC Milan was most motivated, and there was no need for them to collide and fight.
However, there were still problems on this end of the defense. The running positions of Ramos and Pepe created an obvious gap. Ibrahimovic was like a shark that smelled the scent. He immediately rushed forward with the ball and tore through Real Madrid's defense!
"Ibrahimovic breaks into the penalty area alone! There's only Casillas! Too dangerous!" The commentator gasped and leaned forward nervously. "Ibrahimovic shoots hard! The ball goes straight into the blind corner! Beautiful!"
"AC Milan scored two goals in just ten minutes! They overtook the score! Real Madrid is in danger again!"
Ibrahimovic excitedly rushed to the audience and slid on his knees to celebrate. He pointed at Gattuso and laughed happily - what did he say? He will break Casillas' goal!
Mourinho's face suddenly turned extremely ugly.
Ancelotti pounded his thigh with delight and roared, his chubby face flushing with excitement.
He looked to the side and saw that the Portuguese coach had his lips tightly pursed. There was no smile on his face at all, and he looked as gloomy as if it was the eve of a rainstorm.
Ancelotti raised his eyebrows when he saw this. The Portuguese man, whose emotions were all written on his face, was really pleasing to the eye.
The referee blew the whistle to end the first half, and the players slowed down and walked off the field.
Cristiano pursed his lips tightly. They didn't score any goals in the next forty minutes and instead conceded two goals in a row. It was really uncomfortable.
Kaka patted Cristiano's waist gently and whispered, "Cris."
Cristiano responded, but he didn't say anything, just said to Kaka: "I need to think about it, Kaka, I'm fine, but I need to think about it."
Kaka responded, he also had to find some changes. In the eyes of old friends like Maldini and Seedorf, his behavior pattern was like a transparent answer sheet, which was clearly visible. No matter what he wanted to do, his former teammates could always predict his behavior one step ahead.
His playing style and pattern are just like him, and his former teammates know him very well.
Cristiano took a deep breath. They still had forty-five minutes. If they were lucky, they might be able to drag the game into overtime. They had time, but they had to make some changes.
Cristiano and Mourinho had the same idea. Mourinho issued instructions in the locker room, mobilizing the fighting spirit of the entire locker room.
"Okay, everyone, let's get back to the game and start the second half!"
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