"Stop him!!""We can't keep up!!""Hit him! Hit him! Take him down!"
Simunic was shouting himself hoarse.
Seeing ssi charging toward him, the lanky Simunic knew he stood no chance one-on-one against a player like ssi. He was basically dood.
Just then, soone ca in from the side and slamd into ssi, poking the ball away at the sa ti.
"Kaká!! A crucial interception!"
Aldo Serena roared in excitent.
ssi stumbled a few steps and fell to the ground, breathing heavily. From the first half onward, ssi had been dribbling and breaking through nonstop.
Attempt after attempt, run after run—he was always just one step away from scoring. ssi was full of frustration.
One more push!ssi used his elbow to prop himself up and imdiately got back into the pressing effort.
Kaká was about to be surrounded by Barcelona players.
His energy was also running low. Without even looking up, he took a guess at Suker's position and launched a long ball.
Boom!The ball soared high and dropped into Barcelona's half.
Damn it!Seeing the ball flying in the opposite direction of his run, Suker couldn't help but curse under his breath.
He pivoted and sprinted toward the ball's landing point.
Zambrotta arrived first and was about to control the ball when Puyol's anxious voice rang out.
"Pass it! Quick! Pass it! He's coming!"
Zambrotta quickly passed the ball laterally to Puyol.
Just then, Suker suddenly changed direction and slid in for a tackle.
The ball rolled just past his foot, stopping at Puyol's feet.
So close!Suker shook his head in frustration.
Puyol, on the other hand, broke out in a cold sweat. If Suker had intercepted that ball, their goal would've been in danger again.
"Xavi!"
Puyol passed the ball to Xavi.
Xavi received it, turned around, looked left and right, and once again passed the ball to ssi.
At this point, ssi's fighting spirit was burning. His desire to attack was overwhelming.
So naturally, the team kept feeding him the ball.
ssi glanced behind him before receiving the pass with his back to goal.
Gattuso was glued to him, ready to interfere at any mont.
ssi ran forward to et the ball, and Gattuso followed. Suddenly, ssi dropped his shoulder again.
But Gattuso didn't fall for it this ti. He kept his balance—only to see ssi shoot straight past him on the left side.
"Shit!"
Gattuso turned and chased after him at full speed.
Suker watched from up ahead, beyond anxious.
ssi didn't use feints. All his movents existed in a space between deception and execution, constantly adapting to defenders' reactions.
Like this ti—when Gattuso didn't shift his weight, ssi just accelerated right past.
Had Gattuso leaned the other way, ssi would've spun in the opposite direction.
That was the hardest part about defending ssi.
After completing the turn, ssi sprinted toward the penalty box.
His rapid footwork and quick touches made it impossible for Gattuso to ti a tackle. He could only run alongside, watching helplessly.
"I'm here!"
Simunic rushed over.
Right then, ssi used a quick flick move to blow past Simunic as if he were a training cone.
Simunic even blocked Gattuso's running path. ssi sidestepped and took the shot.
Bang!"Dida!! What a reaction! He's been pulling off brilliant saves all ga long, repeatedly denying Barcelona's shots!"
Dida smothered the ball under him.
ssi held his head in frustration.
A great goalkeeper is half a team.
And no one expected Dida to explode with this kind of performance.
Not just ssi—even Suker up front shouted out in admiration: "Beast!!"
And truly, he was.
Dida had played like a god in this match.
In the first half alone, he made multiple crucial saves.
Not only did he stop direct free kicks from Barcelona, but he repeatedly denied their attempts on goal.
If AC Milan were to win this ga, Dida's performance would be absolutely pivotal.
Holding the ball, Dida gestured with his hands to calm everyone down and slow the tempo.
anwhile, Suker jogged back toward midfield.
Barcelona still had a hungry look in their eyes.
Dida didn't dare pass to the full-backs—it might allow Barcelona to launch an imdiate high press.
Boom!Dida sent a long ball forward.
Suker rushed to the ball's landing spot.
He jumped with Puyol to fight for the header, but neither won cleanly. The ball bounced off Suker's shoulder and landed in Barcelona's defensive half.
Keeper Valdés passed the ball to left-back Abidal.
Barcelona back on the attack.
At this point, the ga clock hit 70 minutes.
Suker chased Abidal.
But he was just one man. Barcelona easily worked the ball forward using their triangle-passing structure.
AC Milan quickly retreated and regrouped into a dense defensive formation.
Suker stopped chasing and turned to watch his own half, waiting for the mont to strike on the counter.
Ancelotti frowned and kept glancing at Guardiola.
This guy really has nerves of steel.It's already 70 minutes and he still hasn't made a substitution?
Ancelotti was preparing to make a substitution to keep suppressing Barcelona.
But Guardiola had no such intention.
anwhile, multiple AC Milan players were clearly tiring. They wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer.
On the other hand, Guardiola surveyed the pitch.
Compared to the first half, Barcelona was performing more steadily in the second.
So he didn't need to change anyone.
At this point, they held more tactical advantages.
Then, sothing unexpected happened—AC Milan's midfield line began to push up.
Kaká, Gattuso, and Pirlo simultaneously closed in on ssi, trying to block his lateral dribble.
But ssi suddenly backpassed and instantly turned 90 degrees and sprinted forward.
Behind him, Xavi gave the ball a gentle tap.
It floated past the three defenders and landed right in front of ssi inside the box.
"Crap!"
AC Milan's defenders sounded the alarm.
They all rushed toward ssi—but it was too late.
Just then, ssi suddenly leaned back and sat down on the turf.
WHISTLE!!
A sharp whistle pierced the air.
The referee ran toward the box.
He headed straight for Gattuso.
First—a yellow card!Then—a bright red card!
Minute 74: Gattuso is sent off.
BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!
San Siro erupted.
Gattuso was ejected.
AC Milan's players instantly surrounded the referee, arguing, but it was pointless.
The referee was firm—it was a pull from behind.
The slow-motion replay showed it clearly: Gattuso had indeed tugged ssi's shirt.
But what else could he do? He was the closest defender. If he didn't pull ssi back, it would've been a sure goal.
Gattuso walked off silently with his head down.
In truth, he had already done more than enough in this match.
He had limited ssi for nearly 80 minutes. If not for the red card, it would've been a perfect ga.
But that's the pressure ssi creates.
Red card penalty combo!
ssi stood at the spot.
At that mont, everyone's eyes were on ssi and Dida.
Dida took a few deep breaths. He had been in god-mode all match—maybe he could save this one too.
Both teams' players lined up on the edges of the box, ready to rush in for a rebound.
"This is Barcelona's chance to pull one back. Can ssi deliver?"
Aldo Serena clenched his fists nervously.
Then ssi began his run-up.
Every heart skipped a beat. All eyes were locked on him.
Bang!
ssi aid for the lower left corner. Dida—
"DIDA SAVES IT!!!——"
Dida guessed right and pald the ball away!
Both teams' players exploded toward the rebound.
But Suker got there first. He sprinted to the ball and, twisting his waist, volleyed it straight out of bounds.
After the clearance, Suker turned and ran toward Dida.
"BEAST!!!——"
He grabbed Dida's head and roared.
He saved it!
He actually saved it!
The two-goal lead was still intact!
Dida once again shut the door on Barcelona.
anwhile, the faces of Barcelona's players darkened.
They had thrown everything into attack—but still couldn't break Milan's wall.
ssi knelt on the ground, clutching his head.
He was clearly devastated by the missed penalty.
Whistle!
76th minute: AC Milan makes a substitution.
Pato and Jankulovski off.
Maldini and Simic on.
Seeing AC Milan make changes, Barcelona responded imdiately.
ssi and Henry off.Bojan and Deco on.
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