Chapter 2247 - 575: The Passionate Pursuit of Dreams
He’s afraid Huang Kaiwen will study his habits through match footage.
Even if Huang Kaiwen doesn’t watch, the team still has data analysts and the coaching staff.
He’s scared.
If it weren’t for that fear, if he’d kept taking penalties to the right, he could’ve scored directly this time.
Thinking of this.
Xabi Alonso’s face slowly broke into a smile.
No matter what, he’ll keep practicing his usual right-side penalty.
Next time.
Next time he faces Huang Kaiwen, he’ll smash it straight to the right side of the goal without hesitation!
"Defend!!!"
Heynckes shouted toward the pitch.
He already had two players up and warming on the touchline.
Heynckes’ intentions for what comes next were crystal clear. He grabbed Van Bommel and Olic and said, "Tell them they have to defend. Milan are a man down, they won’t be able to hold on. As long as we drag this to extra time, we can win this match."
"Got it, coach."
Van Bommel nodded.
"In a moment you go to the right flank, have Philip move back to the left to target Messi. Fran comes off, let Conte go on as a wide midfielder."
Heynckes rattled off quickly.
"What about me, boss?"
Olic asked.
"Run!"
Heynckes said, "Use your running to create chances. Thomas is already exhausted today, I need you to get out there and run even more crazily than he does. Disrupt Milan’s attacking organization, understood?"
"Okay, boss!"
Olic nodded.
"Bayern Munich, Star of the South, you’ll never give up..."
Bayern kick off again to the singing of their fans.
Even though Milan have equalized, the Bayern supporters still force themselves to stay fired up.
Now it’s already gone beyond just Bayern’s problem.
It’s a clash between Italian football and German football.
Even more, it’s them against the whole world.
There are too many fans from all over backing Milan and Huang Kaiwen, it gives Bayern’s fans a real sense that they’re fighting against the entire world.
It’s exactly this situation that forges a stronger sense of unity among them.
Müller receives and immediately lays it back.
Xabi Alonso and Schweinsteiger spread out.
If the fullbacks aren’t pushing up, the two of them have to stretch the pitch width themselves.
Van Persie charges straight at Alonso. Alonso turns and knocks it back with one touch, then runs into the middle.
As a smart player, once he heard the coach’s instructions, he knew he should consciously cool the game down.
He always scans before receiving, so his passes tend to be smooth.
That’s because he already has it in his head how he and his teammates should move.
Timoshchuk plays another straight pass to Alonso; Alonso takes it in stride, turns, and feints a long ball.
Kroos, back to goal, stretches a leg to block, and Alonso carries the ball right past Kroos.
"He fell for it. Compared with Alonso, Kroos is still a bit green."
"Kroos’ defensive ability isn’t that strong yet, but he’s still a very talented player."
Alonso reaches the halfway line with the ball, then immediately plays it up to Müller ahead and continues his forward run.
He’s not the type of player who particularly enjoys driving the ball himself.
As Müller gets on the ball, Bayern’s attack begins to speed up.
Even if they’re consciously controlling the tempo, they can’t not attack.
Robben and Ribery both drift around Müller to offer for the ball.
Müller shifts it left; Ribery receives but chooses to move sideways with it.
Van Bommel is afraid he’ll just pull the trigger from distance, so he quickly closes him down.
Gattuso, though, sees Robben pulling over to the left and sprints straight at Robben.
Ribery doesn’t manage to release the pass; he spins and forces a shot anyway, still hitting it with high quality.
But Huang Kaiwen makes a small adjustment in his positioning, hands set in front of his waist, and blocks the ball easily.
"Push up."
Huang Kaiwen waved and shouted.
He dribbles the ball out of the penalty area himself.
He has no intention of letting this go to extra time.
Müller quickly rushes at Huang Kaiwen; Huang Kaiwen twists his body, carries it with his left foot and suddenly snaps his ankle, flicking the ball onto his right.
Right foot takes over and instantly plays a diagonal pass to Van Bommel.
The keeper fried meatballs toys with the attacking player.
The Rossoneri in the stands erupt in cheers.
Before Van Bommel can pass, Robben grabs at him and kicks twice; the second kick lands square on the outside of Van Bommel’s foot.
Beeeeep——
"That’s a tactical foul. Robben has broken up Milan’s counterattack, this yellow card is pretty much worth it."
"Right, and it’s also given Bayern the chance to make changes. Ribery and Müller are taken off, Van Bommel and Olic come on. Bayern have used up their last two substitutions; they are dead set on dragging this into extra time with Milan."
"Milan are a man down, and Nesta looks like he’s carrying a knock. If this really goes to extra time it’ll be very tough for them. But there’s hardly any time left in the second half—can Milan kill off Bayern at the death?"
"Milan take the free kick, Bayern players are pressing very aggressively, and the referee’s whistle signals the end of regulation. After a brief rest, the sides will go into extra time: two halves adding up to 30 minutes."
Huang Kaiwen supports Nesta as they walk back together.
He asks, "Old man, can you still hold on?"
"Relax. Even if you keel over, I can still play."
Nesta answered stubbornly.
His left leg now hardly dares to push off anymore.
But right now he has to keep going, because the team has no substitutions left.
The TV feed cuts to the night view of Allianz, then it’s ad time again.
The sponsors are over the moon that the game has gone to extra time.
But for both the Bayern players and the Milan players, what’s coming next is pure torment.
A match at this intensity doesn’t just burn energy; it drains you mentally as well. You have to maintain your concentration at all times, and that is incredibly hard to do.