Chapter 072: The Cursed Central Defender
Just six minutes into the game, Peach Gilardino was hooked up by defender Juhaz in the penalty area, and AC Milan were awarded a penalty.
In the 4th round of the Champions League group stage, Zhuo Yang and his teammates sat at the San Siro to welcome a return visit to Anderlecht, Belgium. With the other three teams entangled, AC Milan, who have won three in a row, have all but confirmed a place in the group, and unlike the ups and downs of Serie A, AC Milan are clearly on the run in this season's Champions League.
The top spot in the group is definitely to be fought for, and entering the knockout round can avoid other strong giants, and there is also the advantage of the schedule of the first away and then the home, so AC Milan is not careless, and it is the right move to let good things land as soon as possible. Carlo Ancelotti fielded a mixed line-up for this campaign, with Zhuo Yang and Ji Momoko partnering in the attack, Brocki and Gourcuff in the back, and it was very surprising that the Brazilian 'parallel import' Oliveira appeared in the forward midfield position to partner Kaka.
This move is a reluctant attempt by Ancelotti, Oliveira is his strong buy, and it is not cheap, if Oliveira cannot be trained, he will have no say in the transfer issue in the future. As a Brazilian, Oliveira still has some footwork, allowing him to dodge the complicated blockades of the Italian defence and step back a little to see if he can touch the bypass.
However, in the arrangement of central defenders, Ancelotti ushered in the first blow. During the pre-match warm-up, Kaladze, who was originally in the starting line-up, unexpectedly strained his hip muscles, and AC Milan had to make an emergency change to the starting line-up, and the 31-year-old Croatian Simic became Maldini's partner.
Bonella was red carded in the last round of the game, suspended for this game, Nesta was injured in the derby, and the return date is far away, and today Kaladze was also killed, and the AC Milan central defender position has simply become a disaster area.
The centre-backs for the new season were originally dominated by Nesta and Kaladze, and Maldini moved between left-back and centre-back, and he could not always be expected to take the lead when he was older. Bonella is a reserve that is used sparingly, and as for the Costa Kuta, it is simply placed there for peace of mind.
Simic is not in the normal sequence of AC Milan's centre-backs, and although he came from a centre-back and was very good at a young age, the stumble of Inter Milan in those years has buried all his aura at centre-back. After arriving at AC Milan, Simic was transformed into a right-back, and is a very qualified right-back, but because of frequent injuries, he has barely played in the past two years, otherwise he would not have lost to Cafu in the competition for places so easily.
Therefore, Simic came to play central defender today, and there was really no way.
However, the gap between Anderlecht's strength and AC Milan is a bit big, losing 0:3 at home, and they are lambs to the slaughter when they come to San Siro, so the hidden dangers in the central defenders are not much of a problem.
After the opening, Oliveira was active, first flying Zhuo Yang's pass in front of the point, and then shooting Kaka's high-quality pass over the crossbar on the left side, living up to his reputation as a 'parallel import'.
However, in the 6th minute, Oliveira flashed. After combining with Brockie and Kaka, Oliveirase gave Gilardino an imaginative anti-offside pass, which was so subtle that Ancelotti's eyes lit up off the pitch.
Ji Momoko received the ball with a single knife, Juhaz stretched out his leg to intercept and hooked him directly into the penalty area, if there was a gun in his hand, Gilardino would definitely burst Juhatz on the spot.
Ten days ago, the Milan derby finally opened, and Yoshiko is looking forward to blossoming in the Champions Cup today, he has not scored in the Champions Cup in his life. He was not eligible to play in the Champions League at Parma, but after coming to AC Milan, he did not win anything in the Champions League last season.
Such a good one-knife ball, seeing that his wish came true from now on, but he was ruined by such a nobody, Gilardino's teeth were itchy. I have the heart to say that I will take this penalty, but who should I tell it? Captain Maldini? Don't even think about it, the horse team is the person who values the rules the most, and no one wants to ignore the interests of the team for personal gain in front of him.
Then go and tell Kaka and Zhuo Yang? They are the current offensive players of the team. But Gilardino didn't have the guts, he knew that neither of them was looking at him properly.
"Zhuo Yang, then I'm here?" Kaka twisted his neck and smiled.
"Why didn't I find out you were talking so much nonsense before?"
Kaka is the first penalty taker in the AC Milan team, and he has not missed any of the previous seven penalties, of course Zhuo Yang will not grab this job, not to mention that the relationship is so good. Kaka is not idle and has nothing to say, Zhuo Yang has not scored in the Champions Cup this season, if he wants to take this penalty, Kaka will be more than happy to give him the ball.
Yoshi's view of the problem is undoubtedly correct, Kaka and Zhuo Yang did not feel that the penalty had anything to do with him Gilardino in the slightest.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti didn't care whether the penalty was taken by Kaka or Zhuoyang, and the stats were pretty much a no-brainer. An Fat is more concerned about Oliveira's fairy pass just now, which is the meaning of him letting the Brazilian striker play the front midfield.
However, this scene was Oliveira's only presence in this game, and the game has nothing to do with him after that.
Kaka angrily pushed down to the right, AC Milan 1:0, an early lead made the game easier, even if the two masters of Sleepy and Gaba did not play, the midfield led by Zhuo Yang and Kaka was enough to crush Anderlecht at the San Siro.
In the 20th minute, Kaka received a pass from Gourcuff on the right touchline behind the halfway line, suddenly pulled the ball and turned in one go, dodging Deschacht's tackle, and then aimed at the edge of the penalty area and strode wildly. Towards the top of the arc, Van der Hag and Van Boray stepped up to flank the attack, and there was no need to worry, Zhuo Yang was already in place.
Zhuo Yang twisted the ball and went to the bottom, a large wave of defense hula and hula rushed up to him, the bottom line inverted triangle and crossed, Kaka was 13 meters away from the goal, and even had enough time for him to put a handsome pose before shooting.
Of course, Kaka is not so, he is not Zhuo Yang. The right foot shot the lonely moon like frost, and Anderlecht goalkeeper Zeka is the Huns who are waiting to be killed.
The goal was a perfect example of AC Milan's tactical character, after a series of seemingly nonchalant midfielders who fell back and forth and left their opponents dizzy. Suddenly burst out of counterattack, it took only 7 seconds from Kaka's turn into the first half to the goal, and it only took him and Zhuo Yang to destroy all the defenses. Despite the absence of Andrea Pirlo, the world's first metronome, AC Milan's control of the tempo was unmatched.
Kaka scored twice and the 2-0 score made the game easier. However, this ease comes from the midfield, and AC Milan's back line is not easy at all. It's not that the opposition is putting too much pressure on them, it's that the centre-backs seem to be cursed.
As everyone celebrated, Simic grinned in as he sprained his shoulder in a modest defense.