I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 282: Chapter 21: End of the Season

The Derby della Madonnina is over, and Milan continues to maintain a good momentum, defeating Cagliari 1-0 in the next match, while Inter Milan unexpectedly lost to Bologna away.

This match completely infuriated Mourinho, who, at the post-match press conference, once again criticized the results of the previous round and also talked about Adriano’s handball: ”The mistake in the last round had serious consequences, and the referee’s misjudgment cost us the top spot!”

”Adriano’s goal was a good one, he obviously didn’t intentionally use his hand to score, but Chen?”

”He used an unethical way, harming others, to steal the victory that belonged to Inter Milan.”

Mourinho had complex feelings towards Chen Zhong. On the one hand, during the opponent’s first season, when he thought he could coach Barcelona, he observed the young man and was quite impressed at the time.

On the other hand, without Chen Zhong as an obstacle,

Milan’s aging defense wouldn’t be able to withstand Ibrahimovic and Adriano.

You can feel this from the moment Adriano easily brushed past Maldini in the second half using his speed and physique; Maldini is already old, directly overpowered by Adriano’s physical presence.

If it weren’t for Chen Zhong, Kalanze would likely have started that game.

But after recovering from injury, in his first Serie A match hastily rushed back, can you imagine what kind of performance Kalanze would have?

Milan’s defensive players are generally older and not very tall, with inadequate aerial and backtracking abilities, while Thiago Silva, due to non-European quota reasons, can only register to play for Milan in the next season.

Without Chen Zhong...

Mourinho’s tirade went smoothly, but Ancelotti had no intention of responding; he focused his attention on the upcoming UEFA Europa League schedule.

In the first leg against Werder Bremen, Ancelotti implemented rotation.

Inzaghi replaced Pato, Kalanze started, and in midfield, Beckham, Pirlo, and Ambrosini were paired.

Milan, as the away team in the first leg, had a dream start, taking the lead with a goal in the first half.

But as if echoing Mourinho’s criticism,

in the second half, Kalanze made several low-level mistakes, allowing Werder Bremen to equalize in the second half.

And after this match, Milan, who had just climbed to the top of the league standings, faced the challenge of a menacing Rome, with Milan conceding two goals in the first half.

Ancelotti realized the crisis and moved Chen Zhong’s position forward to center forward; after inserting a nail in Rome’s back half, Milan’s players continuously found Chen Zhong to change the course of the match.

Chen Zhong assisted Inzaghi’s goal and also scored himself with a header, eventually fixing the score at 2-2.

Meanwhile, Inter Milan was again unexpectedly held to a draw by their opponents, and Milan still maintained a 3-point lead over Inter Milan.

In the second leg of the UEFA Europa League, Milan again faced Werder Bremen, achieving a dream start at their home field, leading by two goals before the end of the first half.

In the second half, Ancelotti unexpectedly moved Chen Zhong back to the center-back position.

Facing Werder Bremen’s fierce attacks, although they conceded one goal, they held onto the 2-1 score until the end, successfully advancing to the UEFA Europa League round of 16.

Leading the league and advancing to the next round in the UEFA Europa League.

Milan, who seemed to be ending with nothing before the winter window, now has a shot at a ”double crown,” exciting Milan’s fans.

During this period, Chen Zhong also successfully obtained a special Badge - Through Pass, achieving equivalent 75 ratings in both long and short passing, a progress that even surprised Ancelotti.

After advancing in the UEFA Europa League, Milan successively defeated Atlanta 3-0 and Siena 5-1, while facing Saint Etienne in the UEFA Europa League, they slaughtered their opponents 7-1 in the first match, securing their advancement advantage.

Perhaps too excited after the first leg of the UEFA Europa League round of 16, Milan was held to a 0-0 draw by Naples in the 29th round of Serie A, and in the subsequent second leg lost 2-0 to Saint Etienne.

However, the advantage from the first leg was too significant, and Milan still proudly advanced to the UEFA Europa League quarters, where they met Udinese in the 1/4 round.

After one draw and one loss in two matches, Ancelotti gave the main players enough rest time, defeating Lecce and Chievo consecutively with 2-0 and 1-0 scores, followed by a 3-0 easy victory against Udinese in the first leg.

Compared to Milan, Inter Milan seemed to be in a strange loop during this period, finding it hard to win matches against their opponents, once again being held to a draw in their most recent match.

Meanwhile, major newspapers began reporting on the possibility of a Milan double crown, much to the delight of Milan’s fans.

In the second leg against Udinese, they went all out in the first half, narrowing the aggregate score gap to 2:3 by leading 2-0, and Milan seemed on the brink of disaster again.