The entire Arsenal team had solemn expressions on their faces. No one said a word as they followed their manager, Arsène Wenger, through the airport lobby.
"Mr. Wenger, may I ask, do you still believe that Arsenal will eliminate Inter Milan and advance to the semi-finals?" A reporter shouted. He was obviously trying to stir up trouble.
Wenger did not speak, but the muscles on his face twitched.
"The fans are demanding that Gallas be stripped of his captain's armband. What do you think about this?"
"What do you think will happen in the second leg against Inter Milan?"
"Mr. Wenger, Manager Li Ang said that you are a great manager. Do you think so too?"
Throughout the entire process, Wenger's face was as calm as water. He did not accept any media interviews or answer any questions. He just led the team to board the plane without saying a word.
"Damn it, he didn't say a word. We came here for nothing," a reporter complained.
"How could it be for nothing …" A reporter laughed and pointed to the camera in his hand.
Just as the entire Arsenal team boarded the flight to Milan, the front page of England's The Sun reported that Arsenal had left for Milan. However, the headline was not very polite: "A lifeless team!"
Accompanying the headline was a photo of the entire Arsenal team walking forward without saying a word. Their manager, Wenger, was frowning …
"It's really hard for us to imagine that such a team could achieve a face-saving result at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium. They don't look like they're going to play, nor do they look like they're going to the battlefield. It's more like they're going to the execution ground …" The Sun's acerbic description was as such.
*****
“Goooooaaaaal！”
"Balotelli! Balotelli! One to zero! Inter Milan leads Arsenal by one to zero with Mario Balotelli's goal 15 minutes into the game! "
"Just like in the first leg, Inter Milan's goal came very early. They showed no mercy and did not relax. It was a very beautiful goal. The goal was scored by Balotelli. This young lad has scored in both legs of the game!" Ferrari exclaimed. "In the first leg of the game, Li Ang brought on Balotelli when the overall situation was already set to train the newcomer. Today, Li Ang simply gave Balotelli the chance to start. He also did not let Li Ang down!"
"Although Inter Milan's lineup has been rotated, their desire to win and their strong strength made the goal come quickly!"
Just as the commentator said, with a huge lead of 7: 0 in the first round, Li Ang carried out a certain degree of rotation in this game.
The veteran goalkeeper, Toldo, was given the chance to start.
Mai Kong replaced Zanetti Zanetti.
Burdisso replaced Chivu.
In the midfield, Toni Kroes was given the chance to start. This was the German young player's debut in the UEFA Champions League. Arshavin was given the chance to rest.
In the front line, it was the partnership of Adriano and Balotelli.
Compared to the starting eleven in the first leg, Li Ang rotated five players. As the season entered the sprint stage, rotation was to ensure the players' physical reserves. This became a test of the manager's coaching standards. Of course, this also required them to win the first leg by a big score to be able to rotate without any pressure.
*****
In the fifteenth minute of the game, Mata sent an over-the-top ball. Diego Milito's header brushed back. Balotelli beat Zhu Lu to a volley and broke through the goal guarded by Almunia.
This goal also helped Inter Milan change the total score to 8-0.
Huge cheers erupted in the stands of the Meazza Stadium. In the first leg of the away game, more fans were not able to witness the team's great victory with their own eyes, which made them feel regretful. For the second leg of the game, the entire Meazza Stadium was full. With the overall situation set and almost no suspense about the promotion, such a popular market showed the enthusiasm of the fans.
Li Ang sat in the technical area and applauded a few times for Balotelli's goal. Then he turned his head and whispered something to his assistant, Banderas.
With the overall situation set, the result of this game was no longer important.
In fact, before the game, Li Ang emphasized one point in the locker room, and that was to not get injured.
This was his only request for the players in today's game.
The camera first swept across Inter Milan's technical area. The calm expression of the Inter Milan manager was presented to the television audience.
Then, the camera turned to Arsenal's technical area. The Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, sat in the technical area, frowning and not saying a word.
"Mr. Wenger's expression now is exactly the same as when he set off at the airport," a commentator said sarcastically.
*****
At the end of the first half of the game, the score was temporarily fixed at 1-0.
Inter Milan basically controlled the initiative on the field, but because of the relatively large rotation, it affected the team's cooperation and tacit understanding. In addition, Toni Kroes was still relatively young. Although the result of this game was no longer important, for Kroes, this was the Champions League quarterfinals after all. It was the young man's debut in the Champions League. Kroes' performance on the field was slightly nervous and did not have any outstanding performance. Of course, he did not make any mistakes. This kind of performance could be said to be good for an 18-year-old young man.
After the start of the second half of the game, the Arsenal manager, Wenger, made a substitution. He replaced the starting Walcott and replaced him with Rosicky.
Seeing Wenger's substitution, Li Ang first smiled and then shook his head slightly.
Walcott's speed still posed a little threat to Inter Milan in the first half of the game. Now that he had replaced Walcott with Rosicky, it was obvious that Wenger wanted to make a fuss in the midfield. It was obvious that Wenger saw Toni Kroes' immaturity and replaced him with the experienced Rosicky in order to find a breakthrough here.
However, Li Ang would not let Wenger do as he wished.
During the halftime interval, Li Ang specifically instructed Toni Kroes. Unlike the first half of the game, where he asked Kroes to try to participate in the offense, in the second half of the game, he asked Kroes to pay attention to the defense in his own half of the field while taking care of the offense. Li Ang had already predicted that with Wenger's shrewdness, he would be able to see the hidden danger in Kroes and would make a fuss here. Even so, Li Ang did not intend to replace Kroes. Instead, he chose to keep the young German on the field. It was such a rare opportunity to train.
With an opponent of Arsenal's level as a sparring partner, if Toni Kroes could successfully complete the task given to him by Li Ang, it would be an extremely precious wealth of experience for this young player.
In fact, it was not only Toni Kroes, but also Mario Balotelli. The reason why he was able to be in the starting lineup today was because Li Ang used Arsenal as a sparring partner for the young players.
Arsenal, who were determined to take revenge, would go all out in this game. It was a good opportunity to train and train their players.
In the first half of the game, Balotelli had already scored a goal, which could be considered to have fulfilled Li Ang's requirements and expectations very well. Now, it was up to Kroes to see if he could withstand the huge pressure …
*****
"Kroes looks a little nervous," Banderas said to Li Ang, "In comparison, Balotelli is a big-game player."
He believed that Toni Kroes was not as good as Balotelli on a psychological level.
Li Ang smiled and did not say anything. Balotelli was not a big-game situation. That kid was heartless …
PS: Asking for a monthly ticket. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
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