The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 255 Playing with "Vulcan"

In last year's Champions League final, Inter Milan broke Bayern Munich's dream of winning the treble with a score of 2-0.

A season later, the two sides met again in the Champions League. Bayern's goal was undoubtedly revenge.

Meeting again after nine months, both teams have changed a lot compared to last year's Champions League final when they were competing for the Triple Crown at the same time.

Inter Milan have gone through two managers and Bayern are as much as thirteen points behind Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga.

On the other hand, the Nerazzurri are still dominating Serie A, so before the game, the outside world was generally optimistic that Inter Milan could win at home.

"Van Gaal has brought Bayern to the point of competing with Leverkusen for second place in the league, and he hasn't dismissed the get out of class yet?"

"Maybe it's because he did pretty well last season. He won the Bundesliga and the German Cup double, and also reached the final of the Champions League."

On February 2011, 2, a highlight of the Champions League quarter-finals was held at San Siro.

Inter Milan is missing Argentine forward Diego Milito, who scored in last season's Champions League final, and defense backbone Samuel is also seriously injured and continues to miss the game.

As predicted by the media before the game, Leonardo, who arranged a 4312 formation, once again allowed Bonucci to partner with Lucio, who had returned from injury, as a central defender.

Kolarov and Maicon are on both sides, goalkeeper Cesar.

Leo leads the midfield, with Zanetti, Cambiasso and Thiago Motta behind him.

On the front line, since Pazzini is not eligible to play, Eto'o and Pandev partnered with double arrows.

Bayern has the strongest lineup. Franck Ribery, who missed last season's final, starts with Robben.

Gomez, who is in excellent form this season, also started.

Muller is the attacking midfielder, Schweinsteiger and Gustavo are in the midfield.

Left back Planic, right back Lahm, center backs Badstuber and Tymoschuk, and goalkeeper Kraft made his first appearance in the Champions League knockout rounds.

I saw that there are still many familiar faces in the Bayern team. Some of them had played against each other last season, and some of them had just met Leo in the previous national team game between Italy and Germany.

The chief referee of this game is Viktor Kasoy from Hungary, the two linesmen are Eiros and Rien, the fourth official is Andus Szabo, and the bottom line referees are Fabian and Bonnar.

Under the spotlight, this highly anticipated focus battle has finally begun.

In the first minute of the game, Eto'o received a direct pass from Leo in the frontcourt and dribbled continuously. He was fouled by Bayern central defender Badstuber and was brought down far away from the penalty area.

Leo's free kick went directly into the penalty area. Unmarked in front of the goal, Cambiasso fired a semi-volley with his right foot that missed the right post!

However, after the initial wave of offense ended, the initiative on the field was instead controlled by the visiting team.

Inter Milan played very cautiously at home today. Under the request of head coach Leonardo, the players on the field would rather not score than not concede.

Because in his opinion, away goals should never be given to the opponent. After all, this is a two-round contest, and away goals are more valuable than home goals.

But after seeing the performance of the home team, there were sporadic boos in the stands.

Today, a total of 76,000 people poured into the Meazza Stadium, naturally to see a high-level and exciting game.

However, the defending champion's conservative style of play made the scene very ugly. This was a home game, and it was actually more boring than last year's Champions League final.

In the seventh minute of the game, Bayern finally entered the Nerazzurri's penalty area for the first time.

But under the tight defense of Inter Milan's defense, Schweinsteiger did not get a chance to shoot.

Leo tried to counterattack, but no one of his teammates followed.

Everyone remembers the coach's instructions and must defend with all their strength even if they give up offense.

After continuously breaking through the defenses of Gustavo and Tymoshchuk, Leo was intercepted by Lahm who came over from defense to steal the ball from his feet.

He was also helpless. It was very exciting to challenge the entire opponent's defense by himself, and it was indeed very difficult. How could he succeed every time?

However, Bayern's offense soon fell into quagmire after successfully stealing the ball.

Inter Milan began to actively fight for interceptions from the midfield. Bonucci and Maicon successively stole the ball from the feet of Bayern players.

Ribery and Robben's attacks from both sides failed to work, and their breakthroughs were easily resolved by the well-prepared home team defenders.

In the 11th minute, Planic made a pass from the left. Ribery reached forward with his left foot from a small angle and seemed to pass and shoot, but Lucio made a timely clearance!

Inter Milan's Brazilian central defender Lucio also played against his old club today.

He played for Bayern for five seasons and made more than 200 appearances.

Facing his old team again today, Lucio showed no mercy at all. At the same time, he didn't look like he had just recovered from an injury. His defense was quite solid.

Planic threw a sideline ball from the left, and Muller got rid of Cambiaso's mark and shot a low shot with his right foot from the edge of the penalty area but was blocked by Bonucci.

How should I put it, after more than ten minutes of the game, Inter Milan's defense was indeed pretty good.

But is this what the tens of thousands of Nerazzurri at the scene, and even all the Inter Milan fans watching the game with great anticipation behind the screen, want to see?

Of course not. Who would want to see the team they support being beaten by their opponents at their home court?

Professionals may be able to see how much effort has been put into this tactical arrangement and how well the defensive arrangements are put in place.

Fans will only feel that the scene is ugly, the offense is "constipated", and they don't know what the players on the field are playing.

For many fans, they would rather see the team lose games with a mercury-laden offense than win games with a shrunken defense.

Not to mention that if we continue to defend like this, let alone win, it is hard to say whether we can maintain a draw.

When the home team supporters on the Meah viewing stand began to boo and boo the Inter Milan players, Leo knew something was wrong.

This is also the difficulty for wealthy teams. After their fans get used to the home team's winning streak, they begin to pursue more.

The scene needs to be beautiful, the offense needs to be gorgeous, and so on.

Unlike in the past, as long as they can win in the end, they don't mind no matter how the game goes.

So under the boos of their own fans, the mentality of the Nerazzurri soldiers on the field had some fluctuations.

Some people think it's time for the team to consider strengthening the offense, while others think it should continue to abide by the coach's tactical arrangements and defend the penalty area.

The most feared thing during the game is that the eleven people on the field are not in sync, which can easily lead to confusion and give opportunities to the opponent.

"Everyone, listen to me. Since the fans have expressed their dissatisfaction, we will try to organize a few waves of offense. If the effect is not good, we will return to the previous defensive arrangement!"

At this time, it was very timely and crucial for Leo to take the initiative to unify the thoughts of the players on the field.

The Nerazzurri fans who had been waiting for a long time finally saw what they were looking forward to seeing.

Inter Milan, playing at home, switched from defense to offense and actively launched an offensive!
  Leo moved the ball coolly, turned around and passed Bastian Schweinsteiger and sent a precise direct pass!

Eto'o received the ball from the left and turned around, getting rid of Tymoschuk and Lahm's double-team and cutting into the penalty area!

However, Eto'o fell to the ground after contact with Badstuber's legs in the penalty area, but Hungarian referee Kaushoy had no intention of interrupting the game.

While Inter Milan's players were still protesting, Bayern launched a quick counterattack!
  Zanetti, who returned to defense, committed a tactical foul on Bastian Schweinsteiger and received the first yellow card of the game.

Maicon's cross from the right almost found Pandev who was fighting for the top position at the back point, but Bayern goalkeeper Kraft struck out in time and hit the ball over Pandev's head first!

In the 20th minute, Gustavo hit a long-distance low shot with his left foot from the outside of the penalty area, which rubbed the turf and missed the left post.

Inter Milan's counterattack quickly reached the frontcourt. Leo swung his right leg lightly and passed a long diagonal pass to Eto'o who was in the gap on the right!

Eto'o broke away from Badstuber's defense on the right side of the penalty area and passed low. Cambiasso's close shot in front of the goal was confiscated by Kraft as he fell to the ground.

Seeing that Inter Milan's offense was getting better, head coach Leonardo's frown relaxed on the sidelines.

There is actually nothing wrong with his idea. He does not want his opponents to have the chance to score away goals, so there is no problem in strengthening defense.

But this must not be at the expense of offense. If you don't attack, you will only give the initiative to the opponent.

Choosing to defend with all your strength will allow your opponent to attack freely.

In this way, Bayern can squander countless opportunities. As long as they seize one, all the previous efforts of Inter Milan will be in vain.

Even if Inter successfully defended for ninety minutes, even if they made a mistake for even one second and were scored by the opponent, all the previous efforts would have been in vain.

In many cases, it is true that the best defense is offense.

When Inter Milan strengthened their offense under the leadership of Leo, their defensive pressure was also greatly reduced.

Thinking of this, Leonardo smiled bitterly in his heart. It seems that I am still not suitable to be a head coach.

Instead of waiting until the end of the season, I might as well find another job as a club manager.

It is not easy to have a clear understanding of oneself. Leonardo was not misled by Inter Milan's current excellent record and thought that he was some of the world's top coaches.

He can only be said to be qualified for his job, but it is precisely this qualification that is much better than some idiots who think they are awesome and then mess up the team with a few blind operations.

With Leo and the others, this Nerazzurri team has a high enough lower limit. As long as they don't mess with the basic results, their results are guaranteed.

Back to the game, as the Nerazzurri launched wave after wave of offensives, the Nerazzurri in the stands also ignited their fighting spirit, and the cheers came like a mountain roar and a tsunami.

Of course, Bayern's players have all seen the world and were not greatly affected.

Kolarov stepped into the outside of the penalty area and hit the goal with his left foot, but Bayern goalkeeper Kraft flew to block it!
  Neuer's injury gave the youngster from Bayern's youth training an opportunity. If nothing else, at least he performed quite well against Inter Milan today.

Leo took the corner kick to the back post, but Bonucci failed to beat Badstuber in the aerial battle.

Bayern's central defender made a header to clear the ball, and the away team counterattacked quickly!
  However, Thomas Muller's cross from the wing was firmly picked up by Cesar and did not pose any threat to Inter Milan.

Pandev broke through from the left and was tackled to the ground fiercely by Ram who flew to fight.

It seems that the referee Kaushoy did not see the severe foul caused by Ram raising his foot too high, let alone taking out the card and did not even call the foul. This made all the fans very dissatisfied. The surrounding stands booed the referee wildly.

Although no goals were scored, the rhythm on the field gradually accelerated, and the offenses of both sides continued to come and go.

Gustavo suddenly took another long-range shot from the top of the penalty area, and the ball missed the left goal post.

Inter Milan then launched a sharp counterattack, Leo scored the ball decisively, Eto'o and Maicon hit the wall on the right and then made a cross near the baseline!

The unguarded Thiago Motta directly got the opportunity to face the goalkeeper, but the Italian midfielder's shot was bravely saved by Kraft!

The Nerazzurri fans at the scene gave encouraging applause for the team's wonderful performance.

Bayern quickly responded with a long pass to the back, and Robben broke through the defense and kicked the ball from the right!

Ribery, who was ambushing in the penalty area, nodded the ball towards the goal!

But Ribery's header hit the top of the crossbar and bounced off the baseline!
  Bayern and Inter Milan each escaped.

Leo's corner kick from the right was blocked by the Bayern defender and left the penalty area. Zanetti controlled the second penalty kick and once again hoisted it into the left side of the penalty area.
  Lucio cleverly hit the ball across the face. Facing the defense of two Bayern defenders, Eto'o turned around and volleyed the ball continuously!

But this time the shot was blocked again by Kraft's brave fall to the ground!

Ribery then brought down Cambiasso in midfield and received a yellow card.

Robben and Lahm cooperated in passing and receiving on the right, and the Bayern captain reached the bottom line and passed back to the middle!
  But Gomez, who was outflanked in the penalty area, fired an incredible shot from close range in front of the goal!

Cesar was also frightened into a cold sweat. If Gomez hit the ball within the goal frame, he might not be able to save it.

Fortunately, the opponent kicked the ball too hard and sent it flying into the stands.

In the 34th minute, Bayern defender Planic was unable to hold on due to injury, and Van Gaal was forced to make substitutions.

Planic seems to have a leg muscle strain. It can only be said that it may be caused by the too fierce confrontation in this game.

Brazilian teenager Breno came on as an emergency substitute.

Breno, who became famous as a teenager, joined Bayern Munich from the Brazilian giant Sao Paulo for a high price of 18 million euros when he was years old.

However, after landing in the Bundesliga, Breno's development did not go as smoothly as many people expected.

He did not perform convincingly at Bayern and was briefly loaned to Nuremberg for half a year last season.

Breno's performance in Nuremberg was as unsatisfactory as ever.

This young Brazilian defender who is good at heading the ball, strong, fast and equally good with his left and right feet has never fulfilled his talent.

On the contrary, because he has a very bad temper, he often conflicts with others on the court.

But no matter what, he is still a member of the Bayern team. It will still be a few months before Breno personally set fire to the villa where he lived and was named the "Vulcan".

"We will attack Breno more later and use him as a breakthrough point."

Ribery made a long diagonal pass of more than 40 meters from the left, and Muller broke into the penalty area and volleyed a shot from the front point but was confiscated by Cesar.

Then Muller passed back from the left side of the penalty area, and Ribery cut in to the front of the penalty area and volleyed but Lucio blocked it!
  Maicon's cross was blocked by Breno and Inter Milan got a corner kick.

Leo sent the ball to the area defended by Breno. Bonucci, who was fighting for the header, beat the youngster Breno who came on the bench to hit the goal with his head!
  It's a pity that it was slightly tilted and rubbed against the uprights, and then it went out of line.

In the 42nd minute, Tymoshchuk's volley from outside the penalty area was blocked by Motta's back.

Immediately after Inter Milan counterattacked, Leo made a direct pass. When Maicon reached the bottom line, he did not choose to pass the ball to Eto'o at the far end, but kicked the ball himself!

Maicon's volley from a small angle on the right side of the penalty area missed the near post.

The first half of the game was coming to an end, and the score was still tied at zero to zero.

In the 45th minute, Ribery's low shot from the edge of the penalty area was blocked by Robben's pass.

Then Ribery scored the ball, and Schweinsteiger's powerful long-range shot from outside the arc was blocked again.

In the stoppage time of the first half, both sides were no longer interested in playing. When they were about to return to the locker room to rest and fight again in the second half, Leo caught the ball.

Right next to Gustavo, Leo received the pass from his teammate, and now he distributed the ball directly to the left without too much stick.

Kolarov took two steps forward and met Ram who was pressing forward. The Inter Milan left back, who failed to break through, saw Leo who was inserted in the middle and raised his hand to ask for the ball and immediately passed it.

Leo took the ball outside the penalty area and encountered Breno's defense.

As mentioned before, Breno, the Brazilian "genius" defender, is fast and strong. These are his advantages.

Otherwise, Bayern would not have foolishly spent more than 10 million to buy such a young man who has not proven himself in mainstream European competitions.

The game time was running out, and Leo had no time to play house with Breno.

I saw Leo slow down a little, speed up the moment he got close to Breno, and at the same time lift the ball over the opponent's head!
  The Bayern central defender wanted to use his physical strength to block Leo, but Leo turned around in advance and passed him lightly!

It's not that Leo is afraid of physical confrontation. If they really collide, Leo will definitely not be at a disadvantage now.

It's just completely unnecessary. Leo prefers to play with his brain. This is his advantage over most players.

After easily getting rid of Breno's defense, Leo adjusted the ball with his left foot in front of the small penalty area, and then volleyed hard with his right foot without being marked!
  Although Bayern's goalkeeper Kraft had tried his best to save, Leo could not miss such an opportunity.

"Shh!"

The sweet sound of the ball entering the net sounded, and the entire San Siro stadium was excited!
  Amid the cheers and applause of tens of thousands of fans, the first half of the game came to an end!

One to zero!

Inter Milan takes the lead temporarily with Leo's goal!
  Thanks to Leo's goal at the end of the first half, the Nerazzurri were able to enter the halftime break with a one-point advantage.

Originally, Leonardo prepared a lot of tactical deployments to deal with possible changes in Bayern.

But when he saw Leo's goal, he had already given up his previous plan with a wry smile in his heart.

"Everyone have a good rest and just continue to play like we did in the first half in the second half."

Only one minute into the second half, Bayern created an excellent scoring opportunity!
  Lahm launched an attack from the right, and Robben dribbled the ball inside to face the blockage of Kolarov and Cambiasso and forced a cross!

Muller ran into the gap between the two central defenders and took off with a beautiful head flick. The ball bounced in front of the goal and flew out of the baseline.

After almost being scored by his opponent, Leodo glanced at Muller. Although he was his opponent, the opponent's running level was indeed worthy of Leo's applause.

If Inter Milan and the Italian national team could have a forward with as "ghostly" movement as Muller, Leo's assists could be at least a dozen more.

Eto'o's turning shot from the edge of the penalty area was blocked by Kraft.

Then Bonucci made a mistake in a cross pass from the backcourt and handed the ball directly to the opponent's forward Gomez!
  Gomez stole the ball in the middle and almost ended up with a single shot!

Fortunately, the Bayern center hesitated a little, and Bonucci made up for his mistake by chasing back and making a tackle in time.

Bonucci, who almost caused a catastrophe, was still frightened. Just as he was stunned, Inter Milan's counterattack had already hit the opponent's penalty area!
  Leo dunked past the defensive player at the top of the penalty area and passed the fake shot, cleverly pushing the ball to the right side of the penalty spot!
  Eto'o forced the goal with his right foot under Breno's marking!
  The ball was blocked by Kraft with his legs!
  Inter Milan once again got a chance for a corner kick.

Leo stood in the corner flag area and made a gesture, and his teammates in the penalty area who were preparing to grab points understood his intention.

The half-high ball was accurately delivered into the penalty area. Lucio, who was fighting for the top spot, was closely guarded by his younger brother Breno, who is also from Brazil. He suddenly leaned over and headed the ball towards the top!
  Lucio hit the lower left corner!
  Kraft, who played brilliantly in this game, was helpless, and the ball went into the net from under his nose!

Two to zero!
  Inter Milan expands its lead!

Lucio scored his first goal of the season!

While the Brazilian center back of the home team ran wildly to celebrate the goal, the Nerazzurri in the stands also cheered.

If you listened carefully, many fans began to shout in unison, "Three to zero!"

Robben dribbled the ball past the defensive players in front of the penalty area and reached the right side of the penalty area. Finally, under Zanetti's pressure, he forced his right foot to shoot and hit the goal post.

Eto'o was brought down by Tymošchuk while dribbling the ball in the midfield. The referee Kashay did not say anything.

Leo stepped forward to protest to the referee on behalf of his teammates, but was shown a yellow card.

The game lasted seventy minutes, and the score was two to zero.

Neither Van Gaal nor Leonardo seems to have any intention of making a substitution.

Gomez and Muller cooperated in the frontcourt and rushed into the penalty area before Bonucci intercepted the ball, but the ball was thrown under him by Cesar.

Inter Milan counterattacked, Leo passed the ball, and Eto'o forced a shot in the penalty area under the blocking of multiple Bayern defenders, but Kraft fell to the ground and blocked it!

Pandev's follow-up shot into the empty goal was incredibly high over the crossbar!
  The game entered the final stage, and the Nerazzurri received consecutive free kicks and corner kicks, but failed to score.

Of course, the visiting team never gave up. Even if they couldn't win, it was still an acceptable result for them to score an away goal.

Ninety minutes of regular time ended and the game entered stoppage time. Inter Milan's defensive players showed a slight relaxation.

Robben suddenly cuts in from the right side of the penalty area and hits the goal!
  The Dutchman's iconic left-footed volley caused Inter goalkeeper Cesar to miss the ball!

Gomez followed up with an easy push into the near corner!
  Two to one!

Mr. Thirty Million Gomez scored with a complementary shot!
  When the game was about to end, Bayern Munich came back!
  Although a little disappointed, the defending champion had no choice but to accept this result.

At the end of the game, Inter Milan narrowly defeated Bayern Munich 2-1 at home.

And this is only the first round of the contest between the two teams. The next trip to Bayern's home court will be the decisive battle!
  "Our performance was impeccable until Gomez's goal at the last minute.

It's a pity that we failed to keep a clean sheet in this game, but I am confident that we can advance to the next round of the knockout round on the road! "

　Today is my thirty-first birthday. Looking back over the years, I have achieved nothing, so I can only comfort myself by reading novels. I hope that one day I can write works that satisfy myself and make everyone like them.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)