In the second half, the game changed sides and the expressions on the faces of the Milan players after taking the field were much more serious than in the first half.
For an aging team, the last thing Milan wants to see is not having an advantage in the first 45 minutes.
Both the starting players and the substitutes are older, and as time goes by, the advantage will only come to Tottenham's side.
Now that we know that we can't suppress the opponent and that the opponent has his own scoring methods and abilities, it's better to just kick out and attack the opponent.
Use your strong field control ability to compress Tottenham's offense and shots, so you may be able to win the final game.
So we saw that in the first few minutes of kick-off, Milan continued to launch attacks, catching Tottenham off guard before they could react.
Under Ancelotti's instructions, all Milan players burned their energy and wanted to give Tottenham a heads-up.
After seeing the opponent's intention, Martin Joel hurriedly ordered his players to defend across the board and exhaust the opponent's energy first.
In the 52nd minute, Milan was still slowly moving in the midfield. Suddenly Pirlo pulled the ball back. Seedorf on the same side did a one-two and directly dribbled the ball through the center line.
Seeing Pirlo running with the ball, Malbranque was rushed by his opponent before he could react.
In desperation, the French midfielder accelerated decisively. After catching up with Pirlo, he stretched out his hand and pulled him down from behind.
While receiving a yellow card, Malbranque was a little discouraged when he looked at the penalty area just around the corner.
This position seems a bit close to the goal.
"In the 52nd minute, Milan received a well-positioned free kick in front of Tottenham's penalty area."
"The free kick was only 23 or 4 meters away from the straight line from the goal, and it was on the right."
"Faced with this free kick, Tottenham formed a five-man wall. Wang Xiaodong stood in the second position from the outside, and on the side was South Korean player Lee Young-pyo."
"This free kick is in an excellent position. Pirlo is standing in front of the ball at the moment, adjusting the position of the ball himself."
"It looks like he wants to attack directly."
The free kick that appeared at the beginning of the second half obviously aroused the interest of many fans. While the fans stretched their necks to look around, they were also cheering for their own players.
Looking at the entire European football world, Pirlo is also a good free kicker.
This free kick master's wonderful stunts are completely different from Wang Xiaodong's. The Italian's falling leaves still scare many goalkeepers to this day.
"Gazzetta dello Sport" once called Pirlo's free kick an "elevator free kick" that "quickly rose to the sixth floor, but quickly dropped to the first floor."
Such a description made Robinson frown.
On the one hand, he had to stand in the gap between the wall and the goal post to guard, and on the other hand, he was worried about his opponent kicking the ball over the wall.
But right now, he has to give his teammates full credit.
Preventing the opponent from scoring is never the goalkeeper's responsibility alone.
At this moment, Modric came behind Wang Xiaodong and asked quietly.
"DONG, do you want me to lie down behind you?"
As Wang Xiaodong's close partner, Modric specially complemented the Chinese team's Asian Cup winning journey. Among them, the "living corpse" defense behind the human wall was still fresh in his memory.
Without even looking back, Wang Xiaodong shook his head.
"What? You think I'm not tall enough?" Modric was a little dissatisfied.
"No." Wang Xiaodong whispered, "That guy can't play like that."
Wang Xiaodong, who is also a "free kick master", naturally has his own basis for his speech.
Pirlo's free kicks are characterized by softness, elegance, arc and rapid descent, while free kicks taken from the foot of the wall require speed, power and explosiveness.
Therefore, Wang Xiaodong expected that Pirlo would never kick a ground ball.
Not only that, Wang Xiaodong was also sure that the guy must be sizing up the height of the wall at this moment, determined to kick to a height that seemed very low, but that the wall could not jump even with all its strength.
If that's the case, Robinson is in danger.
Wang Xiaodong frowned, he already had his own plan.
With more than 10,000 fans watching, the referee quickly blew his whistle.
Milan doesn't have to guess who will take the free kick, as long as it guards against Pirlo's key kick.
Seeing the Italian rushing to the ball, whether it was Lee Young-pyo, Bale, or Robbie Keane, everyone subconsciously jumped forward to block the opponent's shooting angle as much as possible.
Only Wang Xiaodong in the human wall stepped with his right foot and retreated suddenly.
Bo~
Pirlo, who was running in place, put one leg up, and under his control, his right foot was suddenly rubbed to the side of the inner instep, and the ball was instantly pushed out.
After touching the ball, Pirlo's follow-up action was very short, because he used skill rather than brute force.
This also resulted in his taking free kicks extremely gracefully, like playing a violin.
Bell and Lee Young-pyo, who were rushing forward, jumped hard. Looking at the ball flying above their heads, they couldn't help but feel a sense of despair in their hearts.
Five centimeters, just five centimeters away, they can touch the ball with their heads.
But these five centimeters are beyond their reach.
"Pirlo rubbed..."
"The ball went over the wall..."
"Wang Xiaodong???"
Huang Jianxiang's voice was full of questions.
Meanwhile, there are hundreds of commentators around the world covering the game.
Wang Xiaodong, who retreated rapidly, took less than three seconds to retreat to the goal line. At this moment, Pirlo's free kick just arrived as promised.
In the zoomed-in lens, Robinson's swooping figure has begun to fall. His outstretched hand did not even touch the corner of Wang Xiaodong's clothes.
In other words, Tottenham's goalkeeper is completely a decoration at this moment.
The only person standing in front of the ball was Wang Xiaodong.
boom!
Wang Xiaodong, who was struggling to retreat, aimed his eyes directly at the ball falling in the air, took the last step and jumped back with all his strength.
Without any protection, he jumped high and blocked Pirlo's inevitable goal with his forehead.
The change on the field came so suddenly. When the Tottenham players turned their heads, Wang Xiaodong had fallen from the air, plunged into the goal, and became entangled with the net.
At this moment, the entire Stade Louis II let out a low cry.
"Oh my God, it's...DONG???"
No one expected that Wang Xiaodong, who was originally standing on the wall, would retreat to the goal line and block Pirlo's free kick with his head.
Just when the fans were amazed by Wang Xiaodong's ultimate save, a red and black figure suddenly came out of the crowd.
No one stopped or reacted.
Seeing Wang Xiaodong in the goal leaning back due to inertia after falling and raising his legs high, Kaka calmly jumped up and tapped his forehead lightly.
Bo~
The Brazilian headed the ball easily into the goal with a header.
"What the hell? Why did this ball come back?"
Wang Xiaodong, who had just fallen on his butt, subconsciously hugged the ball with both hands. He looked at the ball that plunged into his arms, and his mind was filled with questions.
