"Block him!"
Ambrosini shouted, sprinting toward Messi and extending his right foot to block. Just as Messi flicked the ball sideways, Ambrosini stepped forward and crashed into him.
"Now!"
SMACK!Both players fell to the ground.
The referee signaled no foul, and the ball came to Seedorf.
Seedorf dribbled and spun, executing a Marseille turn closely past Iniesta, then pushed the ball forward with his right foot.
Kaká moved up to receive. Without looking, Kaká flicked the ball.
The ball sailed over Yaya Touré into the space behind.
There, Suker moved laterally, slightly jumping, and chested the ball down.
Suker landed, twisted his foot, and launched a fierce charge toward the penalty area.
"Suker's coming!"
Barcelona defenders were on high alert.
Their backline tightened, and some players rushed to slow Suker down.
But Suker feinted, cutting inside with a simple move and used acceleration to break through.
"Suker got past him!"
Suker was now at the right side of the penalty area.
He glanced at the goal—his shooting angle wasn't great, but stopping now would lose the chance.
Without hesitation, Suker shot hard.
BANG!He aimed for the near corner, but Valdés made an excellent save.
He split his legs and used his left leg to block the ball away.
The ball flew toward the right sideline; Suker kept accelerating.
Back facing the penalty area, Suker crouched to protect the ball, waiting for teammates to join the attack.
Zambrotta kept pushing Suker outward, but pushing him completely off wasn't easy.
While they wrestled, Pato rushed into position.
"I'm here!"
Suker passed the ball to him.
Pato crossed the ball.
Kaká ran forward and headed the ball.
BANG!The header was straight at the goal, but Valdés caught it firmly.
AC Milan's counterattack didn't result in a goal.
"Fall back! Fall back!" Suker shouted."Defend!"
They had no time to regret the missed chance; Barcelona's counterattack was a constant threat.
Sure enough, Barcelona quickly restarted, trying to counterattack.
If Milan had reacted slower, they wouldn't have caught up.
"Damn it!" Guardiola frowned, watching Suker, Kaká, and Pato sprinting back to defend.
Since the second half began, Milan's counterattacks became fiercer, and their choice of passing lanes improved.
Kaká played a key role here, distributing well and controlling the rhythm, helping Milan gain advantages in counters.
But such chances were still hard to turn into goals.
Kaká looked back toward the opponent's defense while retreating.
He knew the current threat level wasn't enough to score.
He remembered his original task:
Create a one-on-one opportunity for Suker.
No need for breakthrough passes slicing through the whole defense—but he had to make space for Suker to have a one-on-one chance.
If that happened, Kaká believed Suker would score.
Thinking this, Kaká kept scanning Barcelona's half, especially their defenders.
Thuram was a possible weak point.
He liked to press high.
If he pressed up, the space behind him would open.
The question was how to lure Thuram out without moving Suker.
"The match pace has increased; both teams are speeding up the game," the commentator said.
"They are no longer satisfied with a stable score—they must score."
"Messi's breakthroughs remain crucial for Barcelona; he constantly threatens Milan's defense."
"For Milan, they must maintain defense but maximize Suker's ability."
CLAP!Using excellent positioning, Maldini and Ambrosini jointly stole the ball from Messi.
The ball rolled to Nesta.
Nesta quickly passed it forward to Seedorf.
The pass was powerful—as if Nesta wanted the troublesome ball as far away from him as possible.
Seedorf saw Barcelona players closing in from both sides.
He took a fake step and let the ball slip past.
The triple press from Barcelona was immediately broken.
Kaká near midfield reacted instantly.
He dribbled and spun.
With this good chance Seedorf created, Kaká had to perform.
He sprinted toward the attack, aiming clearly at Thuram.
Barcelona's defense was surprised.
Kaká was dribbling and breaking through—a rare sight this season.
Thuram watched, then rushed toward Kaká.
Just as expected!
Kaká was pleased inside.
Thuram wasn't one to wait passively; he had to react to Kaká's charge.
Kaká took advantage of Thuram being drawn out and slipped a diagonal pass.
The ball went to the center, where Suker suddenly appeared and one-touched it into Kaká's front rib area.
Kaká used his speed to dash past Thuram and speed toward the ball.
This quick one-two pass immediately created a dangerous situation.
"Thuram is out of position! Milan's chance!"
Kaká charged down the baseline, drawing attention to himself.
Then, he crossed—no, passed to the far post!
The ball landed precisely in front of Suker.
Suker, near the right goalpost's small box line, chested the ball.
At this moment, he saw Barcelona defenders' panicked expressions.
He knew they had disrupted Barcelona's defense.
Before the ball hit the ground, Suker nudged it past Zambrotta's head toward the back.
Suker accelerated.
When Zambrotta turned, Suker faked a shot and, catching the descending ball, flicked it outward.
Another change of direction! Zambrotta was dizzy.
He felt like he was spinning in place!
Meanwhile, Suker shifted the ball to his right foot, adjusted his steps, and poked the ball with his toe.
At that moment, the entire Camp Nou held their breath.
They saw Suker's calf twitch.
They saw Zambrotta spinning around, lost sight of the ball.
They saw Valdés diving right.
But the white net rippled!
The ball slipped under Valdés's arm and into the goal.
54 minutes!
AC Milan scored a goal from a fierce counterattack!
Roar!!!!!!
On screen, Suker charged to the corner, jumped fiercely, and pumped his fists in celebration.
At this moment, all Barcelona fans went silent.
A small group of Milan away fans went completely wild.
"Goal!!!!!! Goal! Goal!"
"Suker! Oh my god! The continuous feints in front of goal—how can he be so calm! How can he be so calm!"
Aldo Cerella held his head.
His mind was full of Suker's tricky moves.
The goal was so close—but Suker resisted shooting immediately!
That patience allowed him to shake off defenders.
That's what it means to be the key man!
Suker had once again extended Milan's lead with a precious away goal.
AC Milan now led 3:1 on aggregate against Barcelona!
With an away goal advantage, Barcelona would now need to score three goals to advance.
Even a draw meant Milan's progression!
The situation was completely opened up!
The tense battle had been torn apart!
AC Milan's eternal key man!
Suker had once again created a winning situation for Milan.
In Milan, fans gathered at bars were erupting into cheers.
Countless people jumped up, shouting excitedly.
They were thrilled like children.
At this moment, victory felt within reach!
"Things have gotten bad—AC Milan has further the aggregate," the Spanish commentator's voice was full of frustration.
"This situation is extremely unfavorable for us. There's still 30 minutes left, but a three-goal deficit… Can Barcelona really pull this off?"