After the substitution, Suker partnered with Ronaldo as the dual forwards.
Seeing the alien beside him, Suker leaned in.
"Look for a chance to make a run forward!"
Asking Ronaldo to dribble past opponents now was like asking for the moon.
With his 100-kilogram weight, he had long lost his forr agility and looked downright clumsy.
Even so, his instinct in front of goal and finishing ability remained top-notch.
Put simply, just because the "Alien" couldn't run anymore didn't an he couldn't score goals.
That's the confidence Ronaldo showed when he joined AC Milan, boasting to Ancelotti: "Do you want to run, or to score?"
"AC Milan has made a substitution—Suker cos off the bench. Against Torino's parked-bus defense, can He break through effectively?"
Aldo Serena watched the match with great anticipation.
Despite there being little ti left in the match, the mont Suk ca on, every Milan fan, including Serena, felt a surge of hope.
In the Sky Sports broadcast booth, the "Red and Black Saint" Crudeli directly turned into a "Suker believer."
"Suker is on the pitch! This is Milan declaring their final battle!"
"Torino has held on for almost 80 minutes, but Suker will shut them up in 10! He'll crush their tactics!"
"This is Suker! Milan's number one striker!"
Crudeli showered Suker with unreserved praise.
Even though Suker hadn't touched the ball once, Crudeli was already hyping him up.
That's the kind of confidence Suker inspired!
In fact, once Suker was on the field, Milan fans didn't see Torino's bus-parking defense as a threat at all.
Looking at the away stands packed with shouting Milan fans, Suker couldn't help but laugh.
These guys were even more confident than he was.
He wasn't even sure he could score, yet they acted like it was a sure thing.
Still, it wasn't hopeless.
After all, Torino's defense had already been worn down, and Suk had spotted so weaknesses while watching from the bench.
Suker glanced over at Torino defender Brevi and smiled slightly.
Brevi noticed the smile—and imdiately tensed up.
Brevi: "!!!"
When the match resud, Brevi stuck to Suker like glue, not daring to slack off.
"Watch Suker!"
"Stay on him! Don't let him shoot!"
"Block his position—he's useless without space!"
The Torino defenders were communicating intensely.
Hearing this, Suker pouted.
This season, he'd gotten so used to "poaching" goals that these defenders actually thought he was just a poacher.
Did they really think that's all he could do?
Suker dropped deep to receive the ball.
Brevi thought about it but ultimately didn't follow.
Suker received the ball with his back to goal, passed sideways to Gattuso, who was overlapping down the wing, and then made a diagonal run forward.
Gattuso sent a straight pass down the line to Suker.
Receiving it again, Suker looked up.
Torino's defense was still packed tight, with hardly a teammate in sight.
Suker nudged the ball forward with the inside of his foot. Torino full-back Coco thought it was his chance and rushed in.
He stuck a foot out.
Suker stopped suddenly with an inside cut.
Coco reacted and stepped in with his left foot.
But Suker tapped the ball outward again—straight through Coco's legs.
Coco instinctively tried to close his legs—but it was a step too late.
Suker slipped past.
Coco tried to grab him, but Suker raised his hands, kept his shirt out of reach, and even used one palm to press against Coco's chest—buying himself ti to accelerate.
Shaking off Coco, Suker reached the edge of the penalty area.
To him, it felt like coming ho. He licked his lips and surged forward.
"Suker! He's at the edge of the box, dribbling laterally!"
"Torino's defense is being pulled all over the place—they want to tackle, but the ball seems glued to Suker's feet! He's giving them no chance!"
Suker dribbled laterally along the edge of the box.
When he neared the center, he looked up.
Ronaldo seed to get the signal and made a run forward.
Shaking his big hips, pumping his arms, even though he'd lost his explosiveness, Ronaldo still charged ahead—and Suker sent the through-ball.
Whistle!
The assistant referee raised the flag—offside.
Suker and Ronaldo both stopped and sighed.
The timing was off. No shot ca of it.
But Suker's dribbling still rattled the defense.
"Although that attack didn't result in a shot, it still put enormous pressure on Torino's defense!"
"For much of this season, Suker has played as a central striker, focused on finishing."
"But we may have forgotten—last season, Suker was one of the most dangerous dribblers in Serie A, even all of Europe."
"Torino's defense is going to face continued pressure."
Aldo Serena watched without blinking.
Truthfully, compared to Suker as a striker, he preferred Suker on the wing.
As a center-forward, Suker was a goal machine—with dazzling stats—but less fun to watch.
On the wing, Suker could dribble, pass, and create—making the ga much more enjoyable.
The clock hit the 87th minute.
In a tight space near the Torino box, AC Milan strung together a stunning series of one-touch passes.
Despite Torino's dense defense, Suker, Ronaldo, Pirlo, and Seedorf combined in a sequence reminiscent of Arsenal's famous passing ga.
Their rapid-fire passing left the Torino defense completely disoriented.
When Suker slipped the ball into the center, Ronaldo was already there. He touched the ball with his left foot—but his supporting leg got clipped!
Aaaahhh!!!
Ronaldo scread and fell.
The Torino players panicked.
Before they could argue, the referee sprinted over and pointed straight to the penalty spot.
"Penalty!!"
"After a brilliant passing sequence, Ronaldo found himself in a dangerous spot and was brought down just as he was about to shoot—AC Milan wins a penalty!"
"This is their best scoring chance yet!"
Suker picked up the ball and helped Ronaldo up, then stepped up to the spot.
Hoo...
He took a deep breath.
In the previous Champions League match, his penalty had been saved by Casillas. Although Kaká had scored the rebound, it still left a mark on Suk's confidence.
Now, he placed the ball on the spot.
He backed up to prepare for the run-up.
All eyes were on him.
The whistle blew.
Suker stepped forward and struck the ball hard with his right foot.
Bottom left corner!
The sa spot he missed last ti—he was going to make it right!
This ti, his shot was sharp, powerful, and perfectly placed.
The Torino keeper guessed right—but couldn't get a hand on it.
Swoosh!
The ball rustled the back of the net.
89th minute. Just before full ti.
Suker scored the penalty.
He raced to the corner flag to celebrate.
In the stands, furious Torino fans greeted him with middle fingers and angry shouting.
Looking at their twisted faces and harsh curses—
Suker laughed out loud and made a heart shape with his hands over his chest.
"Here's a heart for you!"
Woahhhhh!!!—
A wave of outrage erupted.
The insults only got louder.
Then Suker blew them a kiss.
Objects began to rain down from the stands.
"Get him back here!"
Maldini leapt to his feet and shouted toward the pitch.
Gattuso charged in and wrapped his arm around Suk's neck, dragging him back.
Suker grumbled, "I wasn't done celebrating."
Gattuso said, "If you provoke them any more, those fans are gonna jump down and beat you."
Suker, confidently: "I run fast—they won't catch ."
Then he ran over to the Milan supporters and continued celebrating.
After all, they were ahead now.
Might as well waste so ti.
In the end, AC Milan won the Serie A match.
Suker, who ca on with about 10 minutes left, scored the winning goal with a penalty and secured the victory for the team.
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