In the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, Barcelona challenged AC Milan away.
Amid the cheers of nearly 80,000 red and black fans at the scene, AC Milan launched a fierce attack on Barcelona from the beginning.
This is somewhat beyond Barcelona's expectations.
According to Rijkaard's plan before the game, he hopes to control the ball through technical advantages, slow down the rhythm, ensure his advantage in the situation, and then slowly organize an attack on AC Milan.
But Ancelotti obviously does not want to see such a situation. He prefers the team to speed up the attack, especially Kaká.
The Brazilian players advance the ball very quickly, and coupled with the two forwards Inzaghi and Shevchenko, this makes AC Milan very efficient in switching from defense to offense. Coupled with Barcelona's typical offensive strength and weak defense, they
I believe that as long as AC Milan advances quickly, Barcelona's defense will be difficult to parry.
At the beginning of the game, Kaká won a corner kick for AC Milan with a dribbling breakthrough.
Just one minute later, Shevchenko broke through with the ball in the frontcourt, causing a foul on Puyol and winning a free kick for AC Milan. Pirlo's free kick created Stam's near-field goal.
Header from distance.
Unlike the fast-paced offense, AC Milan's defense restricts Barcelona's front trident very tightly, and constantly uses foul tactics to prevent Barcelona's offense and interrupt Barcelona's rhythm.
Su Dong, Ronaldinho and Messi all encountered fouls from each other one after another, but their actions were relatively clean and for defensive purposes, which left Barcelona helpless.
After entering the tenth minute, AC Milan played a high-profile game and created two threatening shooting opportunities. Although they failed to score, it was enough to make Barcelona break out in a cold sweat.
On the contrary, Barcelona, when the opening tactical plan was disrupted by the opponent, took the initiative to adopt a cautious strategy, and tried hard to slow down the rhythm and control the ball, so that in the first twenty minutes of the game, there was no
Can pose a threat to shoot.
Sudong's first threat in the game was in the 26th minute. After receiving a pass from Iniesta in the backcourt, he got rid of Kaladze and broke through with the ball. Kaladze followed closely behind and had no choice but to break away.
In the situation, he made a tackle from behind and received a yellow card, which gave Barcelona a good free kick opportunity in the frontcourt.
But unfortunately, Ronaldinho's free kick hit the wall directly.
After entering the 25th minute, AC Milan's offense began to slow down. Barcelona's technical advantages gradually emerged and the ball possession began to increase. However, facing AC Milan's defense, Barcelona still failed to create a threatening offense.
.
This made the game seem a bit stalemate.
After Ancelotti failed to attack in the opening game, he began to adopt a defensive counterattack strategy.
Barcelona's most threatening attack in the first half occurred in the 37th minute. Sudong and Ronaldinho played a one-on-one in a small area at the top of the penalty area and sent the ball to the right.
Road, but Messi's subsequent hit made Dida break out in a cold sweat, but he failed to score.
The first half ended in a draw with a score of 0-0.
…
"Not a great first half!"
The famous Spanish football commentator De La Morena summarized the performance of the two teams after the first half.
"The ball possession rate between the two sides is 51 to 49, which can be said to be in the middle, and Barcelona is even slightly inferior. It is not difficult to see that Rijkaard's tactics did not work. He originally hoped to use
Messi launches the attack from this point on the right, allowing Ronaldinho and Su Dong to show their sharp edges."
"But the result was a bit surprising. Martinho froze Messi, and AC Milan's attacking tactics at the beginning made Barcelona's rhythm a bit chaotic, and they couldn't even control the ball. This is indeed a pity."
"Of course, we have always said that what Barcelona has done better this season than last season is defense. Marcos Senna is as stable as ever in the midfielder position, so that Kaka's performance is not as good as before."
"Inzaghi and Shevchenko are the two sharp thorns of AC Milan, but unfortunately, they failed to assassinate Barcelona. This has something to do with AC Milan's diamond midfield. Kaká was restrained by Marcos Senna, and Pierre
Luo Tuo was at the end, but was frequently interfered by Su Dong, which made AC Milan's midfield run very unsmoothly."
"Barcelona's situation is not much better. Neither Messi nor Iniesta have shown their due strength. This is also related to the restrictions of AC Milan. I believe that if Barcelona's midfielder Xavi is here at this moment,
, the situation will be better, but unfortunately, Harvey is still recovering from his injuries."
"Now, we can only hope that Barcelona's performance in the second half can improve."
"Especially Su Dong, his sharp knife hasn't been unsheathed for a long time!"
…
"Control the ball, you still have to control the ball!"
In the dressing room, Rijkaard kept emphasizing Barcelona's core priorities.
He always believed that as long as they had possession of the ball, Barcelona would have a chance.
The first half was a stalemate because the rhythm was disrupted by AC Milan and the ball was lost to the opponent.
You know, AC Milan is also a team that is very good at controlling the ball.
Of course, in terms of technical advantages, Barcelona is far ahead of AC Milan.
This is why Rijkaard dared to ask the team to take possession of the ball.
"We don't compete with our opponents at a fast pace. We slow down the pace first and slowly consume the opponent's energy. We will have a chance." Tenkat also firmly believes that Barcelona has an advantage over AC Milan.
Everyone in the locker room also expressed their opinions one after another, and they all gave their own judgments based on the situation they encountered in the first half.
"I think if the score remains zero to zero, AC Milan will definitely come out to play. Their physical exertion is greater than ours and they are older than us. In this regard, we have an advantage. Ancelotti will not think
It’s going to take the game into overtime.”
Su Dong's idea was also recognized by his teammates. They all felt that AC Milan would not want overtime.
Entering overtime, AC Milan's advantage will be smaller, and Barcelona's advantage may be larger.
"We should make good use of their idea. When they press out, we should take the initiative to retreat and hit them behind." Rijkaard said with a smile.
As a head coach, he is quite depressed.
Every time he met Ancelotti, his old teammate, he felt defeated.
Last season's Champions League final was blown out in the first half, and it was the same in the first half of the two games this season. The tactics were completely suppressed, which made Rijkaard very depressed.
"Then if they really press forward, where should we look for when we counterattack?" Marcos suddenly asked.
There was a sudden silence in the locker room.
Everyone looked at each other, and many people looked at Su Dong, and then looked at Ronaldinho and Messi.
Under normal circumstances, it would definitely be Su Dong, without a second sentence, but in recent times, Su Dong's luck in scoring goals has indeed not been very good, and his footwork has been a bit unsatisfactory.
Messi did not perform well tonight and will definitely have no chance. Ronaldinho is very excited tonight...
Rijkaard saw everyone's reactions and he was also hesitating about this question.
Looking for Su Dong? Or looking for Ronaldinho?
Su Dong also noticed the reactions of his teammates and coaching staff. He also knew what everyone was hesitating about, but he still took a deep breath, stood up, looked around everyone, and said loudly: "Pass it to me!"
Everyone in the locker room was stunned.
"Su, are you sure?" Rijkaard asked with concern.
Su Dong smiled confidently, "Don't you believe me?"
Everyone was stranded.
If it was in the past, I would definitely believe it, but now...it is indeed somewhat shaken.
"I believe it!" Messi stood up.
"I believe it too!" Iniesta also stood up, "No one is more eager to win than Su. If he says it can be done, it will be done!"
"Yes, I support you, Sue!" Marcos Senna also responded.
At the critical moment, Su Dong's best friends finally spoke out.
Some people support it, and since Su Dong is the number one star in the team, others will naturally follow suit.
"Su, I didn't doubt your intentions, I just..." Rijkaard walked to Su Dong and explained softly.
"I understand." Su Dong nodded.
This is human nature because Rijkaard wants to win.
Dutch Black Swan has never been a person who has the courage to make decisions. On the contrary, he has always been worried about gains and losses.
This is also an old habit of his on-the-spot command.
…………
…………
The game restarts in the second half.
Barcelona struggled to control the ball from the start.
Their skills are more delicate, their ball control ability, passing and cutting coordination, especially their ability to shoot the ball with one kick, are much higher than AC Milan. This makes it difficult for AC Milan when they try their best to control the ball.
The only way to stop it is to rob it.
The person passing the ball always consumes less energy than the person grabbing the ball.
So Barcelona played very patiently, not in a hurry, taking possession of the ball slowly, slowing down the pace and letting AC Milan grab it.
In view of AC Milan's lack of long-range shots, once Barcelona lost the ball, they immediately retreated to the penalty area, strengthened the defense in the middle, and boldly contracted. This made AC Milan's several counterattacks in the second half unable to threaten.
The threat of Kaka has also been greatly reduced.
Gradually, as time goes by, it can be clearly seen that AC Milan is gradually pressing forward, getting closer and closer.
Barcelona continued to shrink, firmly control the ball, and launch long passes whenever they had the opportunity.
AC Milan had already taken precautions against this. Barcelona's two long passes after 60 minutes failed to create a threat.
This made Su Dong, who was at the front, couldn't help but shake his head and wave to his teammates behind him.
This kind of long pass is not good, it lacks pertinence, is not accurate enough, and has no threat.
Messi immediately gestured towards his teammates, indicating that he would retreat to receive the ball. Iniesta also said that he could catch the ball.
Ancelotti's tactical sense is also very keen and he sensed Barcelona's long pass intention.
So, he immediately asked Stam and Nesta to pay attention to Su Dong and watch him no matter what.
But Ancelotti did not give any instructions regarding the pressure in the frontcourt.
The reason is simple, he really needs to score!
Considering AC Milan's average age and the consumption of the game, entering overtime, the chances of winning will be even lower.
This is a conspiracy everyone knows about Barcelona.
Ancelotti can only gamble.
Let’s see whether the Rossoneri scored first, or whether Barcelona’s counterattack was effective earlier.
