Italy is actually a very superstitious country, so people here have always believed that it was not an accident that Gilardino was born on July 5, 1982, because he represented the day when the greatest footballer on the planet, Paulo? Rossi's legacy.

It was on this day, Paul? Rossi led the Italian national team to the Camp Nou in Barcelona at the World Cup in Spain, and after being tied twice, he exceeded the score for the third time. Rossi also scored a hat-trick.

It was one of the most classic matches of the World Cup, and it also laid the foundation for Italy's subsequent journey to victory.

Paul? Rossi also praised Gilardino very much, he once publicly expressed his recognition of Gilardino, and said for the first time that Gilardino is his ideal successor, "He is a perfect striker, suitable for any tactic, any formation, because he is the most perfect striker in the world." ”

A lot of people have listed a whole bunch of Paul that they saw from Gilardino? Rossi's shadow also has high hopes for him, believing that he will be the forward hope of Italy in the future.

Gilardino has been in great form in Serie A, proving himself to be a reliable goalscorer and tactical fulcrum both at Parma and at AC Milan this season, but he has a flaw that is hard to hide: European competition.

Playing in the UEFA Cup at Parma last season, scoring one goal in eight games, Gilardino has given a very poor report card as Parma's leading goalscorer, and this season he has played 10 Champions League games in AC Milan. Not even a single goal was scored, and that was undoubtedly the point of everyone's suspicion of him.

There is no doubt that soft-footed shrimp will not become a big climate, and those players who can only breathe on the weak team and hold their breath when they meet the strong team will never be able to become real superstars.

Gilardino himself understands it, so he is determined to prove that he is not a soft-footed shrimp in this crucial match.

So. When Ancelotti signaled that he wanted to adjust his tactics, Gilardino knew that his chance had come, and he knew very well that Ancelotti would have to play long balls when short passes did not work. That's his chance.

Soon, he got a chance.

Stam launched a long pass directly from the backfield, Gilardino and Big Inzaghi crossed positions, turned their backs to Hyypia, predicted the landing point, stood in position first, and stubbornly carried the Finn with his body, stopping him behind him. When the ball came, he jumped high and headed the ball behind him.

Liverpool's defence was pressed high and by the time Gilardino crossed behind, Inzaghi was already in action.

The striker, who survives on the offside line, has a very keen sense of smell for the ball behind him, and rushes forward as soon as he takes the opportunity, just like a fox who is cunning to the extreme.

"Dangerous, a long counter-attack from AC Milan. Gilardino header ferried, big Inzaghi successfully countered offside ......"

For a while, all the fans in the entire Anfield stadium were suddenly taken aback, because what they saw was that behind Liverpool's defense, there was a large gap, and Inzaghi easily unloaded the ball. Brought into the restricted area.

In the business seats at Anfield Stadium, even if he was as calm as Galliani, after seeing the success of Inzaghi's anti-offside, he excitedly rushed out of his seat and waved his fists. SHOUT OUT LOUD, "GOALLLLLLLLL!" ”

Everyone knows that if this goal is scored, Liverpool is not just 3 goals behind, according to the Champions League knockout game away goal principle, even if Liverpool chases 3 goals and chases 3:3, they still lose, unless they can score 4 goals in one breath and stage the Istanbul miracle again.

However, everyone said, it was the miracle of Istanbul, a miracle, is it so easy to reproduce?

Big Inzaghi's speed is actually not slow, it is very rhythmic, especially when he stops the ball, he is very stable, he stops and enters the penalty area, and directly faces the Spanish goalkeeper Reina, who has also abandoned the goal for the first time when Big Inzaghi stopped the ball, without the slightest hesitation.

Reyna is a strange goalkeeper, with equally obvious strengths and weaknesses, especially his speed and explosiveness, which are absolutely second to none among all the top goalkeepers, which makes his sudden attacks often easy to cause the disbelief of the opponent's lone player. ..., because they have never seen a goalkeeper who strikes so fast, almost as soon as he stops the ball, and he pounces on him after a slight step, and the attacking players will find that the step that was just right now seems to be a little bigger. What to do?

He could only hurriedly get up on his feet, as if Big Inzaghi was now, and wanted to push from close range, but Reina chose to pounce as soon as he saw his swinging leg and took his shot directly into his arms.

"Wow!!!"

The whole Anfield stadium is completely boiling!

All the Liverpool fans rushed out of their seats and shouted at the pitch, many chanting Reina's name.

It could almost be said that his save saved Liverpool!

If the goal is scored, then Liverpool must score four goals in this game to have a chance to reverse AC Milan, which is almost unimaginably difficult, and Reina, at this moment, is playing the role of Liverpool's savior, just like last season's Champions League final, the big heart goalkeeper played well in the crucial game.

Yang Cheng was also a little caught off guard by AC Milan's sudden attack, but he quickly calmed down, and his first reaction was that Hyypia couldn't defend against Gilardino, not only did he fail to defend the first point, but also let Gilardino smoothly cross the header, and Carragher didn't pay enough attention to Inzaghi's movement, which was a big problem.

"Would you like to remind him?" Paul? Baier asked, frowning.

Yang Cheng shook his head, "No, they know it in their hearts!" ”

He is referring to Hyypia, of course, and they include Carragher.

Of course, AC Milan is unintentional to attack Liverpool, so from this point of view, the attacking side is more advantageous.

But he believes his players can do it, whether it's Hyypia or Carragher.

…………

…………

Hyypia at the time of Gilardino's leap. He already knew it was bad, but he couldn't do anything about it.

AC Milan obviously consciously wanted to play against him, Yang Cheng originally arranged to mark Gilardino was Carragher, the Englishman is more energetic, heading, bounce, speed and physical confrontation are also better, Hyypia is experienced, focused, and more suitable for helping to defend. Deal with Big Inzaghi.

But just now, the two obviously changed positions.

"Is this a mockery of my age?" Hyypia looked at the back of Gilardino who longed to go back, and thought a little indignantly, "If so, then you will definitely regret it!" ”

Although he was not young, he never felt it. He should be a burden to Liverpool's backline, on the contrary, at the age of 33, although not too young for a central defender, he is definitely not old enough to be bullied casually.

And Hyypia knows very well that if he can't get Gilardino, then AC Milan will definitely target him, and Liverpool's tactics will be greatly reduced.

Tactics on the football pitch are just that. One link after another, one link went wrong, and it affected the whole game.

Yang Cheng didn't say anything, but Hyypia knew that this was the boss's trust in him, and he wouldn't let the same mistake happen a second time, because he didn't know if Reyner could save the second single knife.

"Don't care, man!" Captain Steven Gerrard clapped his hands vigorously in midfield. Boost the morale of your teammates, "It was just an accident, don't take it too seriously!" ”

The fans in the stands are also supporting the team as always.

…………

…………

Reyna threw the ball directly to Reese on the left, who launched an attack along the left.

Compared to AC Milan's switch to playing long balls, Liverpool's attack is more on the wings.

Yang Cheng knows Ancelotti, and Ancelotti also knows Yang Cheng, and both know each other very well. So Yang Cheng resolutely played on the wing, and Ancelotti's full-back decisively gave up attacking and chose to defend.

But as Yang Cheng said in his pre-match analysis, the 442 diamond midfielder position looks beautiful and can also play to the strengths of AC Milan's midfielder. It looks creative and aggressive, but it can't hide one of the deadliest problems, defending and protecting in the middle, especially at the edge of the box. AC Milan's backline is tight, but the midfield gives Liverpool a lot of space, because only one Gattuso is not enough, Rui? Costa dropped back to play in midfield, and while his playmaking skills and skills were on display, his defensive problems were also serious.

Tasotti wants to use Ambrosini, is he going to play 4321 tactics, three back Gattuso, Rui? Costa and Ambrosini, the former is in defense, the Portuguese is responsible for organizing and passing, Ambrosini is doing everything, and Kaka and Seedorf are ready to go forward and participate in the attack, retreating to meet Rui? Costa's pass. As a result, the entire midfield has become flexible, but Carlo Ancelotti also has a big problem, that is, AC Milan's forward line has never been able to find a striker who can disrupt the opponent's entire defence.

Why is Yang Cheng's main striker Drogba, and Larsson and Kuyt can only be used as backups?

Because Drogba can do a lot of things that would normally require a partnership of two strikers, and in many cases, he can single-handedly mess up an entire backline.

It was as if this time, when he saw Reese advancing with the ball from the left, he immediately chose to move closer to the left, pulling the entire defensive focus of AC Milan to the left, as both Stam and Kaladze had to watch out for Drogba.

The two central defenders must have scolded Drogba in their hearts for being restless and running around all over the game, so that they all had to follow, but when Drogba was on the left outside the penalty area and got a pass from Xiao Xiaoluo, Stam immediately posted it.

The bodies of the two collided the moment Drogba received the ball, and the front chest was pressed against the back, but Stam clearly felt that he was like hitting a mountain, and it was difficult to shake Drogba's body.

Then I saw that the Ivorian turned around, and with a slight knock of his long legs, the ball crossed the gap between Stam and Costacout and rolled directly to the bottom left corner, while the little Ronaldo who passed the ball was already quickly past Costacuta and won the ball on the left side. Quickly leaning towards the middle, he sent the ball to the middle with a low flat kick.

Gerrard cut in from behind and shot at the ball!

Bang!!!

The whole stadium could hear it very clearly, and everyone could even feel the tremor coming from the beam, as if the air of the entire stadium was responding to the vibration of the beam.

"Gerrard's shot couldn't hold the ball down, it's a pity, if this powerful shot was a little bit right, Dida wouldn't have been able to save it!" The on-site commentator also said regretfully.

'AC Milan managed to create a good chance to score. But Liverpool were not to be outdone, and the Reds almost opened the scoring with a powerful shot from inside the AC Milan penalty area from Steven Gerrard, which hit the crossbar. ”

Gerrard knew it was hard to have it when he got out of the way. But he still shook his head in disappointment and scolded, "***!" ”

But when he walked back, he still gave Xiao Xiaoluo a thumbs up, and then waved his hands constantly, signaling his teammates not to be discouraged, and at the same time encouraging the fans in the stands to give more cheers.

"Now after the first 15 minutes of trial and research. Both teams have found each other's loopholes, AC Milan is obviously going to use a long pass to hit Hyypia, while Liverpool is trying to create an article on the wing, and then plug in from the middle, both teams are trying to create chances, just see who can score the opponent's goal first! ”

But is that really the case?

…………

…………

When Dida took the kick, Gilardino wanted to get stuck in position like he did last time. But he found that when he moved, the old fox Hyypia had already predicted the landing of the ball before he did, and was in front of him.

"Boy, the same trick can only be used once, and the second time it won't work!" Hyypia's hands were firmly spread out, holding him behind him. Gilardino squeezed him desperately behind him, only to find that Hyypia was not moving.

A 1.84.76kg player wants to shake a 1.95.88kg player. That's a tough thing to do, especially when a short player is blocked by a tall player, and the difference of 11 centimeters and the weight of 12 kilograms is enough to give a short player a bit of a shadow. ..., to talk about the bounce and heading skills, the two should be about the same, but Hyypia is experienced, although his speed and agility decline with age, but he can use awareness, experience, and his own judgment and reaction to make up for his physical shortcomings.

The rarest thing about Hyypia is that he is stable enough!

Steadiness has always been a hallmark of Hyypia, so when Gilardino saw Hyypia in front of him, he hoped that Hyypia would make a mistake, but the Finns were right, the same trick was okay once, and twice was redundant.

As Hyypia and Carragher regained their sense of the game, re-stabilized the situation, and resolved long passes from the back of AC Milan again and again, AC Milan's attack was stopped by Liverpool. Essien and Davies ran hard in midfield, with the two players almost everywhere, especially Davies, who was very excited for the game and built a solid defensive line with Essien, who would be stopped by any pass that entered the area.

Kaka is almost difficult to get the ball under the freeze of two players, and even if he does, it is difficult to show his strength.

One of these two guys is an old treacherous and experienced person, and he is small, has a low center of gravity, and is very annoying, and the other is a terrifying physical fitness, often with a little physical contact, Kaka himself will mess up.

With Kaka frozen, AC Milan's attacking trident was scrapped, and with the loss of a solid high ball fulcrum up front, AC Milan's formation seemed to have been cut into two incompatible areas by Liverpool.

At the back, AC Milan could keep the ball but couldn't pass it forward, while up front, Kaka, Inzaghi and Gilardino were isolated as they struggled to get passes from behind.

When the cage of the trapped beast fight is firmly secured, it is time to start collecting!

Why did Yang Cheng put the battlefield in AC Milan's half, and also gave AC Milan the opportunity to control the ball?

Quite simply, once a break is formed here, it can be played directly into a counterattack.

So after the midfield tightened the cage, Drogba, Ronaldo, Robben and Gerrard in the front field began to counter-attack and harass, especially Drogba and Gerrard, who used a wide range of runs to limit AC Milan's two central defenders and Rui? Costa, while the two wingers were aimed directly at AC Milan's two flanks and were ready to attack.

In the 18th minute, midfielder Davies jumped out diagonally, cut off the ball passed to Seedorf's feet, and after deducting Seedorf who was countering on the spot, he passed the ball to nearby Gerrard with his left foot.

Suddenly cut off the ball, AC Milan hurriedly organized the defense, Gattuso's task was to buffer at this time, so he pounced on Gerrard for the first time, but his pounce was a little too fierce, and Gerrard shook it off at once.

Rui? Costa opted for a standing position, and Gerrard chose to pass the ball as soon as he shook off Gattuso.

Gerrard's diagonal pass from the middle to the two wings is still very characteristic, although the accuracy is not necessarily accurate, but the side has enough area for the player to adjust, and at this time it is the wide player chasing the ball, a slight deviation is not a big problem, you can rely on the receiver to adjust when sprinting forward.

Ball on from Rui? A diagonal line crossed Costa's side, halfway between Costacuta and Stamm, almost sticking to the left side of the penalty area and heading towards the bottom line.

The moment Ronaldo passed the ball through Gerrard, he stepped on the accelerator, like a Ferrari that had suddenly accelerated, and instantly passed the Costacuta, and the AC Milan veteran could not stop the Portuguese who was sprinting head-on, and he saw that Ronaldo had received the ball before he even finished turning.

Stam leaned over, but the Portuguese took advantage of the situation to go forward, and then accelerated to catch up, so he passed Stam all at once, in this case, unless the Dutch fouled, it was difficult to stop Xiao Xiao Luo, and he could only watch Xiao Xiao Luo rush over, grab the ball before the football went out of the bottom line, and passed it to the front of the penalty area.

Both Drogba and Kaladze rushed up from behind. (To be continued)