Chapter 2249 - 575: The Heart of a Dream Chaser
Robben and another player went down with the ball near the touchline.
Seeing Robben was fine, the Bayern players immediately ran to the edge of the box, getting ready to build an attack.
"Another set‑piece chance, this time Alonso doesn’t go over, Robben stays where he is, both sides’ players are at the edge of the area—will he just chip it straight into the box?"
"Robben drills in a low cross, Alonso hits from distance, Huang Kaiwen!!!"
"Huang Kaiwen!!!"
"Huang Kaiwen claws it away, the shot deflected off Nesta’s calf and looped straight toward goal, Huang Kaiwen manages to parry it out, what a brilliant save."
"Exactly, you’ve already committed to the dive when the shot is taken, it’s very hard to adjust again after a deflection, but Huang Kaiwen’s save there really was superb."
Xabi Alonso walks over to the corner flag again.
Bayern seize the chance to lay siege to Milan.
Alonso barely takes a run‑up and whips the corner in, but Huang Kaiwen bursts off the line, springs up and claims the ball yet again.
Seeing there’s no opening, Huang Kaiwen doesn’t launch a quick kick.
Boom—
"Saint Kevin!!!"
"Saint Kevin!!!"
"Saint Kevin!!!"
Huang Kaiwen is the wall that will never be breached.
He stands in front of the goal, taking crosses and blocking shots, sending the fans’ blood boiling.
Some Liverpool supporters watching on TV are already having flashbacks.
They know far better than Bayern’s fans just how terrifying this number ten in front of goal can be.
There’s still some time left, and Bayern’s attacks are growing fiercer, but in their hearts, Bayern are already drifting away from the trophy.
With Alonso’s long shot being turned behind by Huang Kaiwen’s outstretched leg, the first half of extra time comes to an end.
Old Maldini pats every player’s arm, giving them words of encouragement.
In regulation time he would still go back to the bench to rest.
But once extra time started, he’s been standing by the touchline the whole way.
Maybe this kind of demand on himself seems ridiculous to some, but some people just have their own convictions.
His players are fighting, so he has to fight alongside them!
Inzaghi quickly hands Huang Kaiwen an Energy Bar, and Kaka takes charge of wiping the sweat off him.
The kit man pulls another pair of gloves out of the bag and hands them to Huang Kaiwen: "That pair must be soaked by now, get used to these first, you used them in training before."
"Thanks!"
Huang Kaiwen says as he chews on the Energy Bar.
The air above Munich is almost frozen solid; the fans on both sides are even more nervous than the players.
For some people, football isn’t just a hobby.
It’s a lifelong faith.
The pitch carries the hopes of too many people.
After a brief bit of replenishment, the players from both teams step back onto the field.
They all know the match is heading into an even more brutal phase.
Bayern are attacking like madmen, they’re barely even building play and are just piling bodies forward.
The Milan Players are all camped in their own half, and with no opening to be found, the Little Pig lets fly from forty metres out; Huang Kaiwen launches himself into the air and safely plucks the ball down.
Spotting a chance, Huang Kaiwen explodes forward almost instantly, and after two steps slings the ball violently with his left arm.
Van Persie sprints forward at once, but as he’s running he goes down hard on the turf.
"Ah, that’s a wasted chance."
"Looks like van Persie’s feet couldn’t keep up; he might have come off the bench, but he really has done a lot of running today."
"Bayern come storming back again, the AC Milan team can’t get back in time."
Olic takes the ball and is clean through, driving it quickly toward Milan’s penalty area.
Thiago Silva is chasing for all he’s worth, but his stamina just isn’t there anymore.
Just then a figure bursts out from inside the box and slides in hard at Olic’s feet.
The ball takes the force, ricochets off Olic’s leg onto his chest, and finally flies out toward the left flank.
After the tackle, Huang Kaiwen turns and sprints back into the box.
Olic manages to retrieve the ball near the byline, instantly turns and swings in a cross; Gomes charges in for the header, but Huang Kaiwen, only just back on his line, reaches out and tips it over the bar.
Standing on the goal‑line, Milan’s captain is still their most dependable link.
Alonso swings in another corner, and Ramos rises above Van Bommel to head clear the box.
From outside the area, Schweinsteiger’s long‑range effort smacks into Gattuso; the ball drops into the penalty area, Olic pokes at it amid the chaos, but Huang Kaiwen blocks it with a sliding leg as he goes to ground.
Nesta collects the ball on the byline and gives it to Zambrotta, who immediately hoofs it deep into Bayern’s half.
Early in the second period of extra time, Milan’s goal has come under constant examination.
Yet the scoreboard still shows 5–5.
A few minutes later Bayern launch another counter, Gomes thunders a drive from the middle and Huang Kaiwen gets down to it, Robben’s follow‑up shot is once again turned away by Huang Kaiwen.
"Huang Kaiwen!!!"
"Huang Kaiwen never lets you down in goal. Up front he’s razor‑sharp in attack, but when he’s on the goal‑line, he’s the guarantee behind AC Milan’s net."
"There isn’t much time left in extra time, and I’m sure plenty of fans are already looking ahead—yes, this match is about to head into the most brutal phase of all, the penalty shoot‑out."
"Speaking of that phase, it’s impossible not to think of the night in Istanbul—on that night Huang Kaiwen was on the goal‑line too... Bayern counter again, Huang Kaiwen charges out of the box once more, Lahm threads the ball through—can Huang Kaiwen get there, he won’t make it back to his line, Nesta!!!"
At the last moment, Nesta throws his body in front of Robben’s shot, smashing himself hard into the post.
The referee’s whistle shrills again.
Robben drops straight to his knees in Milan’s penalty area.