The public opinion before the game was almost overwhelmingly in favor of Tottenham. The 4-1 in the first round already explained a lot of problems.
But the problem is that Tottenham suffered a second consecutive league defeat, and main player Wang Xiaodong is still enjoying sick leave.
If Inter Milan seizes the opportunity at home and scores 3-0 or higher, it might really be possible to comeback.
Think about Valencia and Athletic Bilbao back then, and you will know that a 3-goal lead in the first round of the Champions League knockout rounds is actually not that safe.
At the pre-match press conference, Martin Joel finally announced the roster.
The reporters pricked up their ears, and when they heard Wang Xiaodong's name appeared on the list of 18 people, everyone let out a sigh of relief.
To Tottenham today, Wang Xiaodong is equivalent to a "nuclear weapon."
Even if you don't use it, keep the possibility of using it at any time.
In interviews before the game, every player, whether it was Modric or Lennon, was full of confidence.
They patted their chests and guaranteed that even without Wang Xiaodong playing, they could defeat Inter Milan and qualify for the next round.
On the other side, Inter Milan's media are still hyping the possibility of Wang Xiaodong joining Real Madrid.
They know that there is no way to avoid the three-goal gap in a head-to-head match, so they can only interfere with Tottenham's morale in other ways.
Although most fans ignored Wang Xiaodong's transfer tidbits, with the increased publicity, some fans inevitably became panicked.
A few hours before the game, fans were already entering the stadium.
The Meazza stands were packed, and there were even many fans from the same city who came here to watch Inter Milan's jokes.
In fact, Inter Milan's historical record against English teams is superior at this venue.
The previous 12 games had 6 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses, including a 3-0 reversal of Liverpool in 1965 (1-3 in the first leg).
Before this game, this great victory was also used by the Italian media to cheer up the Nerazzurri, hoping that past victories would give the players confidence.
This time, because Wang Xiaodong had a cold, Ibrahimovic and the Inter Milan generals did not quarrel in the media before the game.
And after the first round of the game, the relationship between Ibrahimovic and Materazzi was very tense. Then in the following league games, Crespo was frequently questioned by his players.
Inter Milan, which can't take care of itself internally, naturally has no intention of provoking the opponent again.
In Serie A, Inter Milan still maintains its leading position.
But Tottenham have already handed over the Premier League leader.
Looking at it this way, Tottenham's pressure is not small.
Tottenham, which has just bid farewell to the third-line battle, has actually not recovered yet.
Drawing on the experience of the last game, Martin Joel's strategy is to let the players speed up the rhythm, so that the Inter Milan generals can quickly consume their physical energy in the fast-paced confrontation.
As long as your luck is not too bad, it doesn't matter if you concede one or two goals.
In Martin Joel's opinion, he has captured the "seven inches" of his opponent.
What we need to pay attention to now is how to boost our own morale.
After all, the mood after victory is different.
As the team members were warming up, the camera scanned and found Wang Xiaodong running back and forth on the outside.
Wearing long clothes and long trousers, he was jogging aside from the starting group.
This is very un-Wang Xiaodong!
Fans are used to Wang Xiaodong's chic and bold appearance in shorts, especially when he pulls up the legs of his shorts to the top of his thighs to reveal his strong muscles inside.
Nowadays, the female fans who can't live with their eyes are pouting and praying that Wang Xiaodong's illness will pass quickly.
The most important thing is that Wang Xiaodong has scored 11 goals in this Champions League.
What is the concept of 11?
Tottenham have only played 7 Champions League games from the group stage to now. Wang Xiaodong has 11 goals, averaging 1.57 goals per game!
What a terrifying number?
What a terrifying number of goals?
This has not been achieved by a striker.
All Bai Baihe fans are looking forward to Wang Xiaodong continuing to score goals and even break the record.
The 11 goals have surpassed the 10 goals of Kaká, the top scorer in the Champions League last season, and are tied with Claudio Sulzer, Gerd Muller and José Aguas in the history of the Champions League.
Only Ferenc Puskas (12), Ruud van Nistelrooy (12) and José Altafini (14) have scored more than 11 goals in a single Champions League.
In other words, if Wang Xiaodong's goal rate is used, he only needs to play three more games to become the single-term top scorer in the history of the Champions League.
With such a heavyweight honor in front of them, how can Bai Baihe fans not look forward to it?
...
The pre-match ceremony was very simple. When shaking hands, the Inter Milan players did not see Wang Xiaodong in the opponent's lineup, and they all smiled.
Mancini learned from the experience and lessons of the previous game and arranged a regular 442, allowing Ibrahimovic and Santa Cruz to partner up front.
Due to Materazzi's red card, Rivas took his place.
Zanetti, Cambiaso, Vieira and Stankovic formed a midfield partnership, and it looked like they were going to fight hard.
Sure enough, as soon as the game started, Inter Milan showed the momentum of the host country.
Under the organization of Vieira and Zanetti, the offensive transfer in the midfield and frontcourt was smooth and smooth, and the ball was hit to the front of Tottenham's penalty area in three or two strokes.
The little giant Ibrahimovic relies on his height and long legs to ferry the ball into the penalty area time and time again, and he often poses a threat to Tottenham.
Huddlestone, who replaced Wang Xiaodong, was assigned as a full defensive midfielder, the kind who would rather die than play.
In the words of Martin Joel: "I only want you to do a good job in defense. Isn't this too much to ask?"
In front of the penalty area, Huddlestone also fully played his role.
He constantly harassed Cambiasso and Vieira, like a piece of candy, preventing his teammates from easily breaking through.
But the gap between him and Wang Xiaodong is very obvious, and Vieira has enough experience to deal with his old rival Tottenham.
So after several consecutive attacks, Robinson's goal was already shaky.
Martin Joel looked at the time. If possible, he wanted Wang Xiaodong to take another break to fully recover from his illness.
Therefore, he hopes that the players can delay Wang Xiaodong's playing time as much as possible, and hope that they can hold on in Inter Milan's stormy attack and not lose the ball too early.
But things went wrong. In the 14th minute of the game, Tottenham, which had been suppressed, finally announced that the city gate had been lost.
This is a direct free kick from Zanetti.
The captain of Inter Milan pretended to hit the goal directly, but actually passed the ball backwards.
Ibrahimovic jumped high at the back post. In the zoomed-in camera, there was no defensive player responsible for interference around him.
In this way, players from both sides watched helplessly as Ibrahimovic flicked the header like a god from heaven and pushed the ball straight into Tottenham's goal.
1-0, Inter Milan temporarily takes the lead.
The cheers at the Meazza Stadium suddenly erupted, and everyone was shouting "INTER".
After scoring a goal in ten minutes, is it still far from equalizing the total score?
