“Goooooal！！！！ Ronnie! Ronnie! Ronnie! "The commentator excitedly shouted Ronnie's name three times.
"Five to three! Five to three! On Arsenal's home ground, Inter Milan now leads Arsenal five to three! They're playing a crazy game! "
"Ronnie! He's like he's passing a wooden stake, he's cycling past Senderos. This is a decisive goal! Inter Milan has taken the lead again! "
"Ronnie! Ronnie! Ronnie! Let's cheer for Ronnie, cheer for Inter Milan! It's almost impossible for Arsenal to make a comeback now!! "
At this moment, in Milan, countless Inter Milan fans were cheering wildly.
"Victory!" Half of Milan was roaring to the sky!
With fifteen minutes left before the end of the game, Inter Milan was leading Arsenal by five to three. Inter Milan was getting closer and closer to a great victory.
Ronnie was brought off by Manager Li Ang after the goal. With a two-goal lead, Ronnie was allowed to leave the field to rest and conserve his energy.
*****
When Ronnie left the field, Highbury was divided. Inter Milan fans were cheering for Ronnie, while a portion of Arsenal fans were booing wildly. A portion of Arsenal fans were silent, and a small portion of Arsenal fans could not help but applaud. 'Alien's' performance today was perfect. Two passes and one goal, shining through the entire stadium.
The substitute for Ronnie was Agüero.
At the same time, Li Ang also brought on Cambiasso to replace Modric.
Three minutes later, he used the last substitution. Stankovic replaced the veteran, Figo.
The intention of this tactic was obvious. It was to continue to strengthen the fighting in the midfield and contain Arsenal.
Therefore, even though Arsenal tried their best to attack and pursue goals, they were unable to score again until the whistle sounded at the end of the game.
Instead, during the injury stoppage time, Agüero scored a goal for Inter Milan. However, the goal was disallowed by the referee. Stankovic, who passed the ball to Agüero, received it from an offside position.
The slow motion showed that the referee's decision was very accurate. Even though Stankovic was only offside by half a body, he was indeed offside!
The final result of the game was 5: 3. Inter Milan, the Italian Serie A powerhouse, defeated the English Premier League powerhouse, Arsenal, 5: 3.
The Nerazzurri took the lead in the Champions League semifinals.
*****
This game became a topic of interest for sports media and fans all over Europe and even the world. Even for a long time later, this game was repeatedly mentioned and considered to be the most exciting Champions League semi-final game in recent years.
This match was Highbury Stadium's last home European match. Highbury Stadium, which carried countless memories and dreams of the Arsenal fans, was about to become history. The Arsenal people wanted to use the victory and the tickets to the UEFA Champions League final to mark the end of this great stadium. However, it was a pity that they suffered an extremely heavy defeat!
The headline used by The Guardian was "Highbury Is Crying …". The newspaper believed that this painful defeat, along with the label of "Highbury Stadium's last European match", would forever be engraved in Arsenal's history …
In addition, Arsenal's loss was published on the front page by the Manchester media, who gloated over Arsenal's misfortune. The Manchester City Evening News mocked Arsenal and Wenger to the extreme.
Even in London, the fans of Arsenal's rivals, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, were extremely sarcastic towards Arsenal.
*****
Mourinho, who had fought with Wenger many times this season, did not forget to make sarcastic remarks about the French professor when he was interviewed by the media. "A score of 3: 5 is really hard to imagine … Mr. Wenger, maybe you should consider your holiday arrangements in advance."
In response, Arsenal's manager, Wenger, angrily responded, "The knockout stage is a two-round game, a 180-minute game!"
Wenger's old rival, Manchester United's godfather, Ferguson, was not idle either. Sir Alex did not directly make sarcastic remarks about Arsenal. Instead, he expressed his admiration for Inter Milan's outstanding performance.
The live broadcast of the game had captured Ferguson watching the game from the stands of the Highbury stadium. Therefore, when the English media asked the Manchester United godfather which player in the Inter Milan Team left the deepest impression on him. Alex Ferguson blurted out, "Juan!"
This also caused a burst of excitement in the media. Juan?
There were two Juan's in the Inter Milan Team, Juan Carlos and Juan Mata. Which one did Sir Alex take a fancy to?
The media began to speculate and hype, and the Manchester United fans were even more interested. Whether it was Carlos or Mata, the Manchester United fans were now very fond of them. They could not wait to pull both of them into their bowl.
And the Chelsea manager, Mourinho, was shocked. That old Scottish man also took a fancy to 'Juan'? Was it the one he had taken a fancy to?!
*****
The English side was full of wails and chaos.
The Italian side was also full of ice and fire.
In the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, AC Milan lost to Barcelona led by Ronaldinho at home, casting a shadow over their hopes of advancing to the finals.
And Inter Milan's away victory over Arsenal by a score of 5-3 made the Italian media boil.
5-3 in the away game!
This meant that if Arsenal wanted to make a comeback in the second leg, they had to score more than 3-0, or win by a net of two goals with a score of more than 6-4.
"… Considering the current strength and state of Li Ang's Inter Milan, for Arsenal to make a comeback at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium is almost as difficult a task as straightening the Leaning Tower of Pisa." — Milan Gazzetta dello Sport: Inter Milan has one foot in the Stade de France …
Not only Milan Gazzetta dello Sport, but the other Italian media also gave praise to Inter Milan and Li Ang. Even Turin Sport, which had a bad relationship with Li Ang, had to praise Li Ang with the comment "Li Ang beat Wenger."
Milan TV repeatedly played Inter Milan's five goals at Highbury after the second day of the game, and the ratings were quite gratifying. It showed the excitement of the Inter Milan fans at this time. They tirelessly wanted to relive the game over and over again.
*****
Three days later, in the 35th round of the Serie A league, Inter Milan, who had already won the title ahead of time, faced Reggina at home.
Li Ang made a large rotation of the team, but with the goals of Borriello, David Silva, and Cordoba, Inter Milan still beat Reggina by a score of 3-0 at home.
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