In reviewing Mourinho's methods of manipulating events at Real Madrid, Allegri knew what he had to do.

For him, whether or not they reached the Champions League final this season was no longer important. What mattered was whether he could keep his job and clear the way to completely control the locker room.

He had been with AC Milan for almost five seasons, but he felt he had never truly controlled the AC Milan locker room.

The Brazilian faction, the Swedes, the locals…various factions were lined up against each other. Although it wasn't as chaotic as their neighbors, Inter Milan, it still made his job difficult.

Especially Zlatan Ibrahimović, the Swede. He seemed to be unaligned with any particular faction, but he had many privileges in the locker room. He could even talk directly to Berlusconi or Galliani, a job that should have been done by the team captain, Ambrosini.

This man's arrogant and eccentric personality made Allegri feel he was difficult to control.

Just like at Anfield, he had repeatedly violated Allegri's orders during the game, and after the game, he openly criticized him, making the team's internal conflicts public and magnified. Did he even see Allegri as the head coach?

Since he couldn't control him, the best way was to get rid of him.

But he didn't have a chance because Berlusconi liked the Swede very much.

The idea of attacking football was likely the result of Ibrahimović's bewitchment.

Allegri didn't know what kind of promises Ibrahimović had made to him while pounding his chest…

But players were, after all, players. They saw things from a different angle, and the conclusions they reached were different. How many players could consider issues from a big-picture perspective? Very few. And a selfish player like Ibrahimović was even less likely to do so.

His suggestion was devastating to AC Milan, but it was beneficial to him personally. Because if the team held the banner of attacking football high, it meant there would be more attacks. More attacks meant more chances to score goals, and naturally, there would be more goals. As the team's main attacking arrow, he could finally have a good contest with Chen Hero.

As for the fate of the team, he didn't care.

Of course, maybe he believed that his goals could save the team's fate, that they could bring the team back to life and advance to the final…

But Allegri could only sneer at such thoughts.

Did he think he was Chen Hero?

※※※

Now the situation was clear. What Allegri had to do was make full use of this situation to create a result that would be beneficial to him.

He pretended to think painfully for a long time, and then nodded helplessly: "Okay, I agree with Mr. Berlusconi. But I have one condition."

"Tell me, Massimiliano."

"If, according to Mr. Berlusconi's suggestion, we fail to reach the final, and it is a crushing defeat as I said, I hope Berlusconi promises me not to interfere in the team's affairs anymore, and…cleanse Ibrahimović."

Galliani was stunned. He didn't expect the other party to make such a condition.

Looking at it this way, it was as if he was 100% sure that the team would lose, and lose miserably…

A thought emerged in his mind.

Allegri also knew what Galliani was thinking, so he quickly added: "Of course, I won't do that kind of thing, Mr. Galliani. You should be able to trust my character. I wouldn't deliberately arrange tactics in a chaotic manner just to make the team lose the game…If you're not at ease, you can let Mr. Berlusconi arrange the tactics himself. I will follow them, meticulously, and absolutely will not modify any details. I only hope that Mr. Berlusconi can agree to my condition."

Galliani smiled: "How could I possibly suspect you, Massimiliano? Anyway, remember, the main goal is attacking football. We must bring out the momentum and characteristics of our AC Milan. We can't let tens of thousands of Milan fans see us acting like stray dogs in our home stadium, with our tails between our legs, that's all. As for your condition, I still have to ask Mr. Berlusconi…"

※※※

After bidding farewell to Allegri, Galliani went to report the conversation to the club's chairman, Berlusconi.

"He really said that?" Berlusconi was silent for a while after hearing Galliani's report, and then asked.

"Yes, he did say that," Galliani replied.

"Does he really think so little of my suggestion?"

"He said that we are no longer on the same level as Liverpool."

"Well…alright, I promise him. If the final result is really as he said, I will agree to his conditions, and I will give him all the power he wants."

Galliani did not dissuade Berlusconi, nor did he express his support. He listened quietly, as if he had no thoughts of his own.

※※※

Allegri guessed correctly that the reason why Berlusconi pressured him, demanding that the team must go all out to attack at home and completely crush Liverpool with attacking football, was indeed Ibrahimović's idea.

At that time, Ibrahimović made the request when he met with Berlusconi. It just so happened that Berlusconi also wanted the team to defeat their opponents with attack, and he agreed with Ibrahimović, so he agreed.

However, what Allegri didn't know was that, like him, the Swede also made his own request—if AC Milan could ultimately advance to the final with his method, then it would prove that Allegri was an incompetent and timid head coach. How could such a coach lead the team to glory and victory? Therefore, firing such a head coach was the correct decision!

Ibrahimović's request was to drive Allegri out of AC Milan.

While those AC Milan fans were still worried about Milan's fate in this season's Champions League, no one knew that the fate of their beloved club was not so simple, but had become a bargaining chip in the power struggle between the coach and the player.

They were still looking forward to and fantasizing about AC Milan defeating Liverpool at home and completing a stunning comeback.

0:2 was not the end of the world.

These days, the media was not only criticizing Allegri, or exposing and hyping up internal conflicts in Milan, they were also actively cheering for Milan.

They cited a lot of historical data to prove that losing the first leg was not the end of the world.

For example, in the Champions League knockout stage, teams that lost the first leg advanced to the next stage of the competition 34 times, and there were even two times when teams that lost the first leg at home advanced. The biggest comeback was completed by Deportivo La Coruña in the quarter-finals of the 2003-2004 season. In the first leg, they were惨敗 (cǎnbài, miserably defeated) by AC Milan 1:4 away, but in the second leg at home, they unbelievably won 4:0.

The Milan media even went so far as to reveal their own scars just to cheer the team up—if you lose 1:4 in the first leg away from home, people can still win 4:0 at home! At that time, the strength of Deportivo La Coruña was obviously weaker than that of AC Milan, and the gap between the two was much larger than the gap between AC Milan and Liverpool today. If people can stage such a miracle, why can't we?

※※※

In this chaos, Liverpool arrived in Milan, for the purpose of advancing to the final.

During this period, AC Milan coach Allegri announced closed training, and no one could see AC Milan's preparations. Only various rumors kept coming out, making everyone more and more confused and bewildered. Yesterday, some media said that Allegri said that he would stick to defensive counterattacks at home, and today another media claimed that Allegri, under pressure, had decided to switch to attacking football to destroy Liverpool with attack. One moment it was defense, and the next moment it was attack, making everyone completely confused and not understanding what was happening behind AC Milan's closed training. Therefore, they could not analyze how big the team's chances of winning against Liverpool at home were.

On the other hand, Liverpool came to Milan, Italy, with the power of defending the Premier League title, appearing aggressive, which made many people feel shaken, and not knowing whether their team could withstand Liverpool at home.

Especially Liverpool's main striker Chen Hero, who said very arrogantly when interviewed by reporters at the airport: "We are here to advance to the final, and we will not accept any result other than this."

A Milan reporter felt deeply insulted and retorted: "Don't you worry about any accidents happening in the end if you speak too much?"

Chen Hero waved his hand: "There are no accidents, I think AC Milan should think about how to win the league title this season."

His remarks made the AC Milan fans grit their teeth, and if Chen Hero was in front of them, they might have rushed up to beat him up.

Faced with the provocation of Liverpool's Chen Hero, Allegri did not react at all.

The disgruntled Milan media mocked Allegri for being a truly spineless guy, so scared of Liverpool that he didn't even dare to speak. It seemed that his passive tactics at Anfield were not accidental, but a true reflection of his inner cowardice!

※※※

Ibrahimović was in a good mood these days.

AC Milan conducted closed training, and the result was practicing attack, and nothing but attack. This made him know that his approach of putting pressure on Allegri through Berlusconi had been successful. Under the pressure of the higher-ups, the coach had to change his mind.

This showed that he had taken the lead in the battle with Allegri, winning the first round.

Next, as long as he could lead AC Milan to defeat Liverpool and advance to the final, then he believed that his reputation in Milan would be soaring, and Allegri would not be able to compete with him, and Berlusconi would also keep his promise and drive Allegri out of Milanello!

At that time, he would become the true leader of AC Milan! Any coach would have to consider his feelings, and could no longer ignore his feelings like Allegri did!

This is the end for going against me, Massimiliano Allegri!