Chapter 970: Lose the game or lose face, which one should I choose?
When the game was in the 15th minute, after Manchester City successfully intercepted the ball in the midfield, Busquets quickly advanced with the ball and passed it to David Silva. The Spanish midfielder sent a through ball and accurately cut through AC Milan's defense.
The ball was like a sharp scalpel, cutting into the gap between Nesta and Thiago Silva.
Su Dong, who had been ready for a long time, started at the fastest speed, shook off Nesta and Thiago Silva, rushed into the penalty area, and chased David Silva.
Goalkeeper Abbiati left the goal and rushed towards Su Dong.
Su Dong is tall and has long legs. He took the lead and poked the ball forward, avoiding Abbiati's hands.
Just as Su Dong was about to catch up with the ball and create an empty goal, Abbiati's hands fell on Su Dong's legs, causing him to completely lose his balance and fall forward.
After Abbiati knocked Su Dong down, he immediately got up from the ground and spread his hands towards the referee Kassai, looking very innocent, while Su Dong fell on the grass, waiting for the referee's decision.
The surrounding Manchester City players also chased after him and protested to the referee Kassai, believing that Abbiati had knocked down Sudong.
This is actually a very obvious foul.
Su Dong had already taken the lead in poking the ball, but was tackled by Abbiati. This was definitely a penalty, there was no way around it.
But no one expected that after seeing Su Dong fall to the ground, Kassai immediately blew the whistle, but under the double protests of AC Milan and Manchester City players, he actually waved his hands and ran directly out of the penalty area. Su Dong was neither penalized for diving nor AC Milan was awarded a penalty kick, which made Manchester City players feel unacceptable.
"This is absolutely a clear miscarriage of justice."
"We can clearly see from the slow-motion replay that Abbiati's foul was very obvious. Su Dong had already taken the lead and poked the ball, and had avoided Abbiati's hands. As a result, AC Milan's goalkeeper directly pounced on Su Dong's legs, causing him to lose balance and fall."
"Without catching the ball, he jumped directly on Su Dong. This must be a penalty."
"Let's look at the shot from the goal side. Indeed, Abbiati didn't catch the ball, but he caught Sudon. This should be a penalty, but Kassai didn't seem to intend to give Manchester City a penalty."
"Manchester City players are very dissatisfied with this penalty, which is understandable. After all, they really need such a goal to break AC Milan's goal and break the deadlock."
"But Kassai still insisted on his decision, neither calling a dive nor awarding a penalty."
"Abbiati got away with it."
Su Dong stood up from the court, ran over to argue with Kassai for a few words, and accepted Kassai's enforcement.
He didn't know why Kassai didn't award a penalty. Maybe it was a mistake, or maybe he didn't want to make the game obviously biased so early, but no matter what the reason was, Manchester City suffered a loss.
At times like this, just protest appropriately and let the referee know.
The game continues.
…
From the very beginning, Manchester City took advantage of its midfield advantage and successfully controlled the ball and tempo of the game.
AC Milan adopted a defensive tactic. As soon as they got the ball, they immediately made a long pass to the frontcourt to find Ibrahimovic, allowing the Swedish center to cooperate with Robinho in the frontcourt, but not many troops were actually invested in the offensive end.
Nocerino, Ambrosini and Van Bommel formed a three-man defensive midfielder formation, and the protection of the defense line was obvious. It was difficult for Manchester City to pass the ball effectively, and it was difficult for the two wings to form a connection with Su Dong. This made Manchester City's entire frontcourt offense seem to be cut into small pieces, and they could only fight on their own.
Nocerino is on the right side of the midfield, and he does a very good job of protecting the entire right side. On the left side is Ambrosini, and near the front of the penalty area is Van Bommel. The strength of Su Dong, his former teammate at Bayern, should not be underestimated.
It can be said that the presence of three defensive midfielders ensures the solidity of AC Milan's defense.
But what’s more important is vitality.
AC Milan's midfield has strong physical toughness and confrontation ability, plus Kevin Boateng in front is strong and can run and steal. He has formed a strong suppression on Busquets, which makes it difficult for Manchester City's entire midfield to operate effectively.
What is more worth mentioning is that the game venue was indeed very bad. Manchester City's passing and ball control capabilities were extremely strong, but under the strong pressure from the opponent, it was difficult for them to display their skills in the poor venue. They often made mistakes and even had players slip.
Just now, the straight pass that David Silva sent to Su Dong was originally a very good opportunity. Su Dong was even about to score a goal and break the deadlock.
Who would have thought that Kassai did not award a penalty kick? It has to be said that this put Manchester City at a great disadvantage.
Fortunately, whether it was Su Dong, Guardiola on the sidelines, or Javi Martinez and others on the back line, they all remained calm, remained patient, continued to control the ball, and waited patiently for opportunities.
AC Milan's defense was very solid and continued to maintain its defense.
…
Allegri was relieved when he saw the game resume.
He actually knew it was a penalty.
The reason is simple, and anyone who has played football knows it.
At that time, Su Dong was dribbling the ball forward, and that kick made the ball go towards the baseline and avoid Abbiati's hands, so Abbiati definitely did not touch the ball, otherwise the ball would have changed direction, and Su Dong's sudden fall was definitely not without reason.
The only reasonable explanation is that Abbiati did not catch the ball, but knocked down Su Dong.
Kassai estimated that there were two rounds of matches, and considering AC Milan was playing at home, no penalty was awarded, which benefited AC Milan.
Allegri still felt a lingering fear when he thought of this.
"This Su Dong is really scary. He can seize the opportunity when there is a slight gap. And the passers of Manchester City are also good enough. They actually seized the opportunity to pass the ball."
Sometimes, Allegri has to admire Guardiola's ability to coach players, especially his ability to pass and control the ball.
Manchester City's passing and penetration have really forced many European powerhouses into a desperate situation.
Either you are slaughtered or you have to defend yourself strictly. There is no third way.
The former lost the game, the latter lost face, what do you choose!
Both Ferguson and Wenger had chosen the former and chosen to fight Manchester City to the death, but they were both slaughtered.
Allegri didn't want his team to lose to Manchester City by a large margin in the first leg, so he chose to defend.
It is conceivable that even though they defended very well, deployed three defensive midfielders, and even Kevin Boateng participated in the defense, Manchester City still seized the opportunity and created a threat.
"Damn it, it's like mercury pouring out of the ground, impossible to guard against!" Allegri cursed in frustration.
The cards he has now are like this. He can only arrange this lineup and play this way. What else can he do? As the head coach, the only thing he can do is to arrange the most competitive tactics based on the team's lineup.
Manchester City is still too strong! …
The Italian team's defensive ability is world-famous.
When a strong Serie A team is determined to adopt a defensive tactic, it is not easy for any team to break through their goal.
Manchester City's organizational penetration and scoring abilities are excellent, and they even put AC Milan in danger during the game.
But it is not easy to really break through AC Milan's goal, especially since Abbiati performed so bravely tonight.
Manchester City repeatedly attacked AC Milan's penalty area and even threatened the goal, but they always lacked the finishing touch.
For example, in the 28th minute of the first half, Su Dong seized the opportunity and was about to volley the ball, but Nesta also kicked the ball at the same time, causing Su Dong's close shot to hit Nesta's leg and change direction, and was cleared by Thiago Silva.
After that, Manchester City tried hard to launch threatening attacks, but AC Milan's defense was really well organized.
With four defenders, three defensive midfielders, and Kevin Boateng who suppressed Busquets, AC Milan sacrificed all its offensive and passing and controlling play and focused on defense.
In the first half, the home team's ball possession rate was less than 70%.
This was also thanks to the poor field conditions, which led to Manchester City making multiple passing errors. Otherwise, AC Milan's possession rate would have been suppressed even lower and even more pitiful.
In terms of the number of shots, Manchester City also had ten shots, so it can be said that they had no chances, but AC Milan was too tenacious and their defense was really too good, basically not giving the opponent any chance to face the goal directly.
Nesta is old but experienced and still capable. Thiago Silva performed at his best, making many accurate predictions and always taking the initiative to resolve Manchester City's offensive crises. The only obvious weakness was that he failed to beat Su Dong in several one-on-one headers.
But the Brazilian central defender has a very good sense of positioning and always blocks Su Dong from making direct shots.
Van Bommel did not have the high spirits he had in Bayern Munich. His performance was not very flamboyant, but rather cautious. His performance in the defensive midfielder position was not outstanding, but it was very important that he completed many effective interceptions and resolved Manchester City's attack.
Faced with this almost iron-clad defense, Manchester City really didn't have much to do but to constantly consume their opponents, hoping to create opportunities after AC Milan players' physical strength declined and mistakes were made.
But in the second half, the game was still very close. AC Milan's players were very experienced and did not make too many mistakes. The whole team was in good shape and played at the highest level in recent times.
This is not surprising.
AC Milan has a wealth of experience in the Champions League, and the players in the team are all experienced stars who naturally know how to adjust their status in this kind of game.
This makes it difficult for Manchester City's attack to aim at the goal, and naturally it is not easy to create a threat.
The game remained deadlocked until the last minute.
Manchester City was eventually tied 0-0 by AC Milan away from home.
The two sides shook hands and made peace.
(End of this chapter)
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