After signing with AC Milan, I will be the king of football!

During the halftime break, Ronaldo stood up and asked, ”I’m going to the bathroom and then grab some snacks, do you want to come with me?”

”Let’s go, I’ll join you.”

Huang Kaiwen responded and got up to leave with Ronaldo.

The two had to wait 3 minutes before they could enter the restroom.

Ronaldo struggled to unbuckle his large L-shaped belt and whistled contentedly.

Catching something in the corner of his eye, he placed both hands in front of him on his privates, took a step back, and exclaimed, ”Kevin!!! I hadn’t noticed before, but you really are God’s favorite.”

Dodging, Huang Kaiwen quickly looked down, checked that his pants and shoes were dry, and then looked up and laughed, saying, ”It’s all the same, don’t worry about it too much.”

Ronaldo:...

The two men left the restroom, bought some snacks, and returned to the stands.

Halftime, Real Madrid locker room.

Baldini, clutching a small piece of paper, looked at Carlos.

Carlos had not played much recently, and Baldini was worried about his form.

”Now we have four away goals, which is a huge advantage, but if we concede again, we could still be eliminated.”

Raul stood in the center of the locker room and said sternly, ”Being eliminated like this would make us the laughingstock of all of Europe. Sergio is right, in Kevin’s absence, we ought to perform even better. We must be worthy of the jerseys we wear!”

Ramos stood up, glanced at Diarra, and gritted his teeth as he shouted, ”Kevin is injured and didn’t even make the squad. Last match he scored 4 goals. If we get eliminated now, we might as well retire! No matter what you guys think, I’m giving it my all, even if it means running myself to death on that field, I won’t let AC Milan reach the final!”

...

Shortly after the second half began, Baldini substituted Marcelo with Carlos.

Carlos’s entry did not change the overall dynamics significantly.

Ronaldo asked, smiling, ”Aren’t you nervous?”

”Why should I be nervous?”

Huang Kaiwen retorted, ”You don’t think Real Madrid will lose to Milan without me, do you?”

You could say that Capello’s tactics at Real Madrid are unattractive.

However, Capello is formidable in crucial matches, and even when someone like me is injured, Real Madrid hasn’t lost to a strong team this season. The losses have only come against teams with no chance of competing for a spot in European competitions.

Real Madrid’s counter-attacks were very decisive.

Raul frequently dropped back to his own half to participate in defense.

In the 58th minute, Ancelotti substituted Ibrahimovic for Inzaghi once again.

A few minutes later, Milan substituted Cafu for Gattuso.

Shortly after coming onto the field, Cafu launched an attack on the right flank.

After dribbling past midfield, he played a give-and-go with Kaka before sending a cross from the baseline, which Pepe headed out for a corner.

Pirlo made a run-up and sent the ball into the middle, where Casillas rushed off his line and punched the ball clear of the box with one fist.

Guti received the ball at the arc, turned around, and sent a long pass to the right, where Cassano took the ball and ran toward Milan’s box.

With most Milan players pushed forward to join the attack, only two defenders were left.

Kaladze decisively rushed up and fouled, knocking Cassano and the ball out of play.

Guti’s free kick was just over the crossbar.

This was Real Madrid’s closest chance to score that day.

As the match went on, AC Milan’s attacks became sharper.

Nesta took the ball from the back and sent a long pass, Kaka then made a through pass behind Carlos, with Pepe quickly blocking Ibrahimovic’s path, shielding the ball out of play.

”Real Madrid used their last two substitutions, El Guerra replacing Higuain, Emerson replacing Cassano.”

”Heh, Real Madrid is defending their away goals today.”

”Today, Real Madrid’s attack line actually performed quite well, but Nesta and Kaladze as a defensive pair were outstanding. AC Milan’s fullbacks frequently joined the attack, leaving the two of them to withstand Real Madrid’s counter-attacks.”

”Yes, Kaladze was really solid today, and that foul earlier was tactical.”

”The fourth official raised the board for 6 minutes of added time. These 6 minutes will decide which team will meet Manchester United in the final.”

After Cassano and Higuain were substituted off,

Milan’s defensive pressure significantly decreased.

On the other hand, they invested more energy in their offense.

In the 93rd minute, Pirlo sent a long pass from the backline to Ibrahimovic, who chested the ball down to Kaka. De Jong jumped to block Kaka’s long shot, Kaka lifted his right foot and nudged underneath the ball, sending a lobbed pass which Ibrahimovic volleyed from just outside the small box, only for Pepe to block it over the crossbar with his foot.

Milan won another corner.

If the 4-4 score remained until the end, they would be eliminated.

So this time, most Milan players moved near the box to join the attack.

Pirlo ran up and quickly sent the ball toward the near post. Ramos darted out from behind Nesta, flicked the ball with his head toward the left flank, and Carlos raced with the ball into Milan’s half.

Now, whether or not they attacked wasn’t important; as long as they could control the ball, they could exhaust Milan.

In the Bernabéu Stadium filled with over 80,000 people, only the jeers of the Rossoneri could be heard.

The Real Madrid fans were so nervous they even forgot to breathe, fearful of distracting Carlos.

In the past four years, Real Madrid hadn’t reached the finals once, and in the last two years, they had been eliminated in the round of 16.

The Meringue fans were eagerly hoping to see Real Madrid back on the UEFA Champions League final stage.

Carlos, with the ball at his feet in the front field, made a mistake, stumbled over the ball, and chased back as Odo took the ball and turned before launching a long kick.

—Bang— The soccer ball flew past the front and was headed out by Pepe, landing right at Pirlo’s feet.

Pirlo dodged De Jong’s foot with a flick of his right foot and quickly sent a through pass behind Real Madrid’s defense line.