Chapter 1 The Pressure on the Right Flank

Yang Pan continued to dribble along the sideline, maintaining a good pace and keeping the ball at the perfect distance.

He planned to break through Xiang Tao once again.

However, this time it wasn't Xiang Tao who came up first, but Gasparoni. Gasparoni intended to steal the ball from him in the same way Yang Pan had stolen it from him before.

Yang Pan was very strong. Gasparoni's forceful collision only made him jump slightly towards the outside of the field—he actively avoided it, but the ball continued to roll forward. Yang Pan cleverly avoided the opponent's impact.

But just as he avoided Gasparoni and received the ball, he saw Xiang Tao charging head-on with fierce momentum, followed by a very aggressive sliding tackle. The distance was too close, and both of them were moving too fast. Yang Pan didn't have time to change direction and was tackled out of bounds along with the ball by Xiang Tao.

The referee's whistle blew, awarding AC Milan a free kick in the attacking zone.

Yang Pan knelt on the ground, raising both hands to signal to the referee. Shouldn't this foul warrant at least a yellow card? But the referee ignored him, and so did Xiang Tao, who simply got up from the ground and turned to run back, preparing for the defense of the free kick.

Yang Pan helplessly waved his hand and stood up from the ground, walking forward silently along the sideline with his head down. Pirlo ran over to take the free kick.

His cross was too low and was headed out by Xiang Tao at the near post.

Being broken through by Yang Pan repeatedly had made him lose face, and now he could only make up for his previous mistakes with a desperate performance.

Due to Sabato's counter-attacking tactics and Basten's focus on offense, the current situation on the field was that AC Milan was pressing Fiorentina, constantly besieging and besieging again.

Pirlo moved to the right wing to organize the attack, but Xiang Tao intercepted the ball and passed it to Krøldrup in front.

Fiorentina instantly completed the transition from defense to offense. Krøldrup didn't dribble the ball but passed it directly to Zhang Jun in the forward line.

Zhang Jun charged forward with the ball. Now there were only him and Van Persie in the forward line. More teammates had returned to their own half to participate in the defense. Fiorentina had not invested enough troops in the attack recently and could only rely on themselves.

Nesta came up to mark Zhang Jun. Zhang Jun didn't want to waste time in a one-on-one with him. Since it was a counter-attack, speed was essential. He passed the ball to Van Persie, who was following up, and then continued to run forward himself.

Van Persie took two steps and passed the ball out again, targeting Zhang Jun, who was running in front.

Zhang Jun suddenly accelerated, temporarily shaking off Nesta. In the case of off-ball movement, Nesta could definitely not beat Zhang Jun in speed—in fact, even with the ball, it would be difficult for Nesta to catch up with Zhang Jun.

Extending his left foot forward, he hooked the ball with his toe, unloading Van Persie's chip pass. The whole movement was smooth, without stumbling due to trying to reach the pass.

Nesta had just caught up from behind and planned to reach out and push Zhang Jun, interfering with his next move. But Zhang Jun unexpectedly shrank his body, changed direction, and knocked the ball towards the sideline. He pushed empty, almost staggering and falling to the ground. Zhang Jun, who had opened up the angle and space, immediately shot directly. He didn't want to dribble a few more steps and wait for Nesta to come up and stick to him.

Zhang Jun shot very cleverly, the ball bouncing along the grass towards the lower near corner of the goal.

Abbiati had moved to this side in advance, blocking Zhang Jun's shooting angle, and then bent down and fell to the ground, holding the ball in his arms. Ending Fiorentina's counterattack.

This attack was an epitome of all Fiorentina's attacks during this period. Too few troops were invested, the effect was too small, and the threat was almost non-existent. It was nothing more than warming up the Milan defenders and refreshing their minds.

Sabato's tactics were flawed, and Fiorentina was now in a very passive situation. But he still hadn't woken up and was still waiting for the Milan storm to pass.

Not all coaches are immune to making mistakes, especially Antonio Sabato, the "newcomer" who was stepping onto the UEFA Champions League final stage for the first time. In terms of experience in such a major competition, he was still inferior to AC Milan coach Van Basten.

At this moment, he was squatting on the sidelines, biting his fingers and nervously watching everything on the field.

※※※

Yang Pan felt that the pressure on the right wing was increasing, because Xiang Tao was getting more and more into the game. He was considering whether to switch positions with Ambrosini.

Dribbling on the right wing again, his speed couldn't pick up due to Gasparoni's interference. This gave Xiang Tao an excellent opportunity. Yang Pan planned to break through Xiang Tao head-on, but Xiang Tao blocked him with his body, standing between him and the ball. Yang Pan's speed didn't pick up, and he crashed into Xiang Tao's back. It had no effect at all, and he lost the ball himself.

Xiang Tao passed the ball to his teammate and then turned to smile at Yang Pan: "Don't think that all defenders are like you, only relying on speed."

Yang Pan ignored Xiang Tao's provocation and turned to run back. He had already made up his mind to switch positions with Ambrosini.

Yang Pan's cleverness in playing football lies in his ability to assess the situation and take advantage of the opponent's weaknesses. For example, at the beginning, Xiang Tao's side was Fiorentina's defensive weakness, so he would break through unceremoniously, break through, and break through again. But once he found that the defense on this side had been strengthened and could no longer be exploited, he would switch to another place to continue creating opportunities. The field was so big that there was always space and opportunity for him to seize.

In other words, he rarely puts all his eggs in one basket. During his years in Milan, he developed the habit of thinking about the situation on the field and then judging how to act. Basten liked players who used their brains while playing, so he allowed Yang Pan's characteristics to continue to develop.

Of course, some people maliciously scolded Yang Pan for this behavior, calling it running away and cowardice. Yang Pan scoffed at this. He didn't even have the time to engage in media battles with those people and help them hype things up. He had his own style and principles and didn't need to be told what to do.

Yang Pan nodded to Ambrosini, who understood his meaning.

So, in the next AC Milan attack, people saw Yang Pan appearing on the left wing with the ball!

"Damn!" Xiang Tao looked depressedly at Yang Pan on the opposite side of the field, taking on Lahm one-on-one. He couldn't run over there. He couldn't disrupt the entire team's defense like that Bayern defender. If he really did that, Sabato would eat him alive.

Lahm's strength, like Xiang Tao's, was in offense, but his defense wasn't as fierce as Xiang Tao's, so he was struggling against Yang Pan.

Yang Pan relied on his speed to overpower Lahm, leaving him helpless. Who told him to be slow?

Cross!

Cleared out by Kehl.

Basten stood on the sidelines, shouting loudly into the field: "Change the method! Change the method!"

During this period, he was getting more camera time than Sabato, because Sabato was silent, while Basten was very active, constantly directing the team from the sidelines. He didn't know how long Fiorentina's terrible tactics would last, and every second was precious now.

Yang Pan was an important part of his wing attack tactics, but constantly making crosses from the baseline was too monotonous.

Yang Pan understood what the coach was thinking. The attack needed to be more diversified, and crossing from the baseline wasn't the only method.

Kaka began to become active. His sharp breakthroughs in the middle made it difficult for Mascherano to defend, and sometimes he even had to resort to fouls to stop the Brazilian's breakthrough.

Milan's attacking organization was handed over to Kaka. He could either choose to break through in the middle and then shoot, or make a through pass to the striker, or break through in the middle and then pass the ball to the two wings, allowing Yang Pan and Ambrosini to cross the ball. When the ball was passed to the wings, there were many changes in the attack. They could either cross directly, or hit the ball to the arc area outside the penalty area, allowing Pirlo and Kaka to complete long shots.

Whether in the air or on the ground, whether in the penalty area or outside the penalty area, AC Milan's attack was all-round and three-dimensional.

This was their attacking tactic that allowed them to dominate Serie A, with multiple attacking points and multiple attacking methods, making it difficult for opponents to defend.

Fiorentina was now coping with AC Milan's attack in a very difficult situation.

"Milan's attack! Kaka breaks through in the middle, Mascherano can't stop him, he breaks in! Pass! Castelen, shoot!"

The ball shot towards the far corner. Frey desperately dived and touched the ball with his fingers, causing the ball to bounce slightly, and then the ball flew out of the baseline, brushing the outside of the post!

"Wow! That was close! This shot was of a very high standard, and Frey also made a brilliant save!"

Frey jumped up from the ground, clapping his hands and shouting to his teammates: "Get close! What are the defenders doing? Don't let him shoot easily inside the penalty area!"

In fact, it can't be entirely blamed on the defenders, because Kaka's breakthrough in the middle was too sharp, attracting the attention of almost all Fiorentina defenders, which caused Castelen to be unmarked.

In today's Serie A football scene, Krøldrup and Kaka are recognized as the two most outstanding attacking midfielders, but their styles are very different and can bring people different enjoyment.

Krøldrup relies purely on technique for his breakthroughs. He is slow, and watching him play is like watching a dance. All his imagination is used in making movements, making people afraid to blink their eyes when watching, for fear of missing a wonderful moment.

Kaka, on the other hand, relies on speed and the most practical and simple techniques to create breakthroughs. His breakthroughs give people a sense of overwhelming momentum. The rhythm is quite fast, making the viewers' blood boil.

However, the two have one thing in common. Their breakthroughs can attract enough defensive attention and then pass the ball to teammates in open positions. This is one of the most important skills of an attacking midfielder. If an attacking midfielder only knows how to dribble with his head down and dribble all the way into the goalkeeper's arms, then he might as well be a striker.

Now AC Milan is on top, so Kaka is performing more impressively than Krøldrup. Krøldrup's current job is more to pass the ball with one touch, quickly handing the ball to Zhang Jun and Van Persie in front, and then launching a quick counterattack. His dribbling skills cannot be used in the current situation at all.

Pirlo makes a through pass, Kaka spreads his legs, letting the ball leak between his legs, while quickly turning around. Mascherano reaches out to pull, Kaka is too fast, he doesn't hold on.

Turning around to chase again, he has already been squeezed behind by Kaka, and has no choice but to trip Kaka.

The referee's whistle blows, he runs over, takes out a yellow card, and Mascherano receives his first yellow card.

Mascherano helplessly appeals to the referee. He admits that he fouled, but giving a yellow card is too much, right?

The referee shakes his head and pats Mascherano's arm: "Tackling from behind, not hitting the ball, but hitting the person. You're lucky I didn't give you a red card."

Milan sends out the free kick, and the game restarts. Kaka has already set his sights on Mascherano's side. He knows that Mascherano, who has received a yellow card, will definitely be cautious in defense, and this is his opportunity.

Once again, he rushes past Mascherano like lightning. The Argentine didn't keep up at first and originally planned to reach out and pull, but remembering that he had just received a yellow card, he retracted his hand that was halfway out. Letting Kaka go.

Kaka gets rid of Mascherano's defense. He doesn't make a through pass in the middle, but flicks the ball to the left wing with his left foot.

Yang Pan rushes up to stop the ball and dribbles forward. Because it's difficult for Lahm to defend him alone, Sabato also asks Bonera to assist in the defense. Yang Pan successfully attracts two defensive players to the wing, so that the defensive strength in the middle of Fiorentina becomes weak. So Frey shouts loudly, asking Mascherano to also actively return to the front of the goal to defend.

Yang Pan shakes his feet, making people think that he will continue to break forward. Lahm, because of his lack of speed, naturally has to rely on moving forward in advance to block him. So he runs forward first, but Yang Pan flicks the ball behind him with his heel, and Lahm misses.

But it doesn't matter, there's Bonera. Bonera has been guarding Yang Pan, and seeing him flick the ball back, he steps forward to intercept the ball.

He successfully intercepts the ball!

But... but Yang Pan moves quickly, hooking his foot and stealing the ball back from Bonera's feet.

The ball bounces under Bonera's feet and flies out. Yang Pan uses his hand to push Bonera aside and then rushes out.

"He's broken through!" The commentator shouts.

Yang Pan glances at the penalty area and then chooses to cross!

Frey and Fiorentina's defenders are highly tense, intending to disrupt his cross. But to their surprise, the ball draws a very obvious arc, but it turns from the penalty area to the outside of the penalty area.

Pirlo, who has been waiting outside the penalty area, takes the opportunity to swing his foot and shoot!

Direct volley!

The ball flies to the right side of the goal. Frey dives to the right, but he doesn't hit the ball. The ball doesn't fly into the goal either. Instead, it is blocked out by Milan striker Gilardino in the penalty area, and the ball bounces out of the penalty area again!

"Too bad! Their own people blocked this shot!"

But, a blessing in disguise?

Kaka appears outside the penalty area, facing the rebounded ball. He shoots with a sideways volley!

Frey has just landed on the ground at this time. There is a large area of open space behind him, with no one guarding it. As long as Kaka's shot stays within the range of the goal frame and is not blocked out during the flight, then it is almost certain to go in!

"Swish!" The sound of the ball hitting the net.

"It's a goal!! goooooooooooal!! 2:1, AC Milan takes the lead! Kaka! Kaka!"

After scoring, Kaka raises both hands, extends his index finger, and looks up to pray to God, thanking him for his blessing. Then he reaches out and vigorously pats the Milan team emblem on his chest.

The Milan fans in Auf Schalke are boiling again. The team has now taken the lead by one goal after being one goal behind. What an inspiring performance this is!

They are proud to be Milan fans!

Until this goal went in, Basten was truly excited. He jumped up high and waved his fist vigorously in the air.

Sabato slammed his fist hard on the ground, knowing where the problem was. He was so stupid!

Excited Milan players are running around him celebrating, while Fiorentina's players are at a loss. They played well at the beginning, but why did they stop playing after conceding a goal?

At this moment, there is only one voice in the sky above Auf Schalke: "Milan! Milan! Milan!!" These supporters seem to see a brand new Milan dynasty being established.