Free Web NovelChapter 2077: Chapter 539: The War of the Wise
Not only Barça, but the Spanish National Team also got closer to this tactic.
Whether in the club or the National Team, Fabregas played very uncomfortably.
Once again, Sanchez, facing Zambrotta’s defense, tried to cut inside with a fried meatball move, but Thiago Silva rushed up quickly, not giving him any chance.
Sanchez had no choice but to pass the ball to Fabregas.
With no one drawing the defense, Fabregas nudged with his right foot and was ready to charge into the penalty area himself.
Nesta slid in, and the ball was out of Fabregas’s control.
Thiago Silva muscled Sanchez off and passed the ball to Buffon.
Buffon sidestepped the pressing Fabregas and quickly distributed the ball to the right wing.
Seeing Huang Kaiwen wasn’t on the sidelines, Ramos still passed it to the left in the frontline.
This pass wasn’t as accurate as before, but luckily Torres was fast and headed it to Messi early.
Seeing Kaka start, Messi easily nudged the ball over.
Kaka sprinted diagonally with the ball, and Busquets charged directly at him.
In a flash, both of them fell to the ground.
Busquets, habitually covering his face and rolling, looked even more miserable than Kaka, who was fouled.
"This is not good, Kaka seems injured."
"AC Milan players are very agitated, Huang Kaiwen, oh Huang Kaiwen, even now he pushes Messi over to check on Kaka, afraid Messi and Barça might clash, Huang Kaiwen on the field is passionate when needed, calm when required."
"The team doctor is supporting Kaka towards the sideline, he probably can’t hold on, wow, Kroos’s warm-up speed is really quick... Red card, Busquets received a red card, from the slow-motion replay, it looks like he intended to foul, but didn’t mean to stomp directly on Kaka’s ankle, Kaka’s speed was faster than he expected."
"Yes, this time he thought the ball would pass but not the player, but Kaka was too quick on his feet, he didn’t react in time, stepping on Kaka’s ankle, it seems he might have sprained it too, it’s unclear how serious it is, Busquets is limping towards the sideline, Luis Enrique didn’t even speak to him."
"Things have changed dramatically on the field, Busquets’s red card, and Kaka’s injury puts Barça at an even greater disadvantage."
"Kroos indeed came on, but Guardiola is also calling van Persie, what’s the reason?"
Guardiola stood on the sidelines with arms crossed.
As a former Barça coach, he understands Barça far deeper than most.
Barça’s fouls are no less than other teams because the ball is at their feet due to high possession, making it look cleaner.
High pressing teams, if they don’t foul to break an opponent’s counterattack, will be defensively torn apart.
Xavi and others had plenty of hand and foot actions in midfield.
So Guardiola wanted to substitute Huang Kaiwen.
Barça had no intention of making substitutions.
Xavi moved to the defensive midfield position, with Fabregas dropping back to central midfield.
After Sanchez moved to the center.
Barça’s attack showed some effectiveness.
Fabregas, back in midfield, was quite agile in movement, and since Keita stopped targeting Huang Kaiwen, they finally organized some dangerous attacks.
In the 28th minute, Fabregas sent a long rolling ball from the left bypassing Kroos directly to Sanchez, who during a run, executed a through ball behind Nesta.
Iniesta ran to the baseline and got the ball successfully, but no shooting angle was left.
Milan’s experienced defense had a watertight position.
Buffon sealed the near post, and Nesta cut off his link with Sanchez.
Iniesta pulled the ball and stood on the baseline, waiting for teammates to support.
But Fabregas simply couldn’t shake off Ramos, taking several hits while moving, Iniesta wondered if he was injured.
With no choice, Iniesta suddenly shifted, creating an angle and twisted to forcibly shoot.
Nesta extended his foot and directly deflected the ball out of bounds.
"Your greatest understanding always comes from your enemy, Barça is preparing for a corner kick, Huang Kaiwen stood at the backfield, and he presumed it would be a tactical corner without thinking."
"Xavi at the corner flag also hesitated a bit, it’s clear he wanted to aim for Fabregas initially, Xavi stepped back... a direct run-up into the penalty area! Indeed, it won’t work, AC Milan’s aerial advantage is quite clear, the ball was headed to Huang Kaiwen, and Huang Kaiwen prepared a long pass while being pressed by Fabregas, passed to De Bruyne."
"De Bruyne! That long pass was accurate too, in recent games I’ve noticed this young player’s passing ability is quite good."
"Yes, De Bruyne, loaned out last season, scored 3 goals and provided 8 assists, often seen making direct long passes to the forwards."
"The cooperation between Messi and Torres! Ah, this time Messi could have dribbled by himself, but his intention to pass to Torres was seen through."
"AC Milan’s counterattack turned into Barcelona’s counterattack, hence end-to-end running is a crucial training component."
Huang Kaiwen passed the ball out but didn’t advance.
He rested in his half, catching his breath.
Seeing Barça ready to attack again, he quickly ran towards the midfield.
Fabregas pushed the ball forward, and Sanchez lightly tapped it forward past Rakitic for a person-ball split.
But at that moment, Sanchez’s eyes widened in horror.
Because he realized the ball was about to be lost!
Just now, Sanchez had noticed Huang Kaiwen.
