The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 132 The Battle of Tianwang Mountain

For the game on September 9, Barcelona arrived in Milan two days in advance.

Because you need to adapt to the competition venue and local weather in advance, do adaptive training, adjust your status, etc.

Although Barcelona is strong, they do not dare to underestimate their opponent Inter Milan.

Vice-President of the La Liga giants Josté hypocritically praised former Barcelona player Eto'o during an interview with reporters.

"Eto'o is a great player who will give his best no matter who the opponent is."

However, when talking about Barcelona's prospects in the group stage, Yost expressed optimism.

"Barcelona will try to be the first team to qualify from the group."

Stepping onto the Meazza turf again, Ibrahimovic had mixed feelings.

He clearly knows what he will face when the game starts.

Inter Milan has never treated Ibrahimovic badly, but he said goodbye to his old club without hesitation.

In the eyes of many Nerazzurri, the Swedes seem somewhat ungrateful.

At the same time, Ibrahimovic must use his performance in this game to prove to everyone that he is worth the 46 million euros Barcelona spent on him.

On September 2009, 9, in the first round of the UEFA Champions League group stage of the 16-09 season, Inter Milan sat in Meazza and ushered in last season's champion, Barcelona!

This is the heaviest and most dramatic showdown in the first round!

Ibrahimovic and Eto'o faced their old clubs immediately after the exchange this summer, and Mourinho also encountered his old club Barcelona again.

Guardiola hopes to lead Barcelona to become the first team to win the championship since AC Milan in 1990.

Messi, Henry and Alves, who were rested in the league, returned to the starting lineup.

Barcelona arranged a four-three-three formation today.

A striker composed of Henry, Ibrahimovic and Messi! It looks scary!
  The three midfielders are Xavi, Yaya Toure and Keita.

Iniesta and Busquets are on standby.

Left back Abidal, right back Alves, Puyol and Pique partnered as center back and goalkeeper Valdes.

Then looking at the home team Inter Milan, Mourinho also played four, three, and three.

Pandev, Milito and Eto'o form three arrows!

Although these three forwards are very good, but for some reason they always feel inferior to Barcelona's forwards.

Leo leads the midfield, with Zanetti and Thiago Motta positioned slightly deeper.

Left back Chivu returned to replace Thornton, right back Maicon, center backs Samuel and Lucio, and goalkeeper Cesar.

Sitting at home, Mourinho was not conservative at all. He did not choose a more defensive lineup.

The midfielder also did not prioritize Muntari and Vieira, who are relatively better at defending.

Facing Barcelona, ​​the Portuguese wanted to use offensive and oppressive tactics to defeat this "dream team" that was considered unbeatable!
  Nearly 83,000 fans poured into the Meazza Stadium just to witness this much-anticipated football feast!

Before the game, Ibrahimovic came over to say hello to his old teammates, and Mourinho even generously gave the Swede a hug.

But Ibrahimovic also knows very well that the gap between him and his teammates cannot be eliminated.

"Zlatan, how do you feel after going to Barcelona?"

Ibrahimovic gave Leo a wry smile.

Maybe the Swede was not happy after joining the La Liga giants.

"That's it. The team is indeed very strong. We just train and compete every day. There is no difference."

After gently shaking hands and hugging his long-lost former teammates, Leo did not continue to ask further questions.

Regret should not be mentioned for the time being. Maybe Ibrahimovic will have such thoughts until Barcelona is eliminated by Inter Milan in the knockout round.

What's more, even if Ibrahimovic really regrets it now that it's over, what's the point.

The weather was not good and it was raining lightly when the game started.

It seems that the battle of Tianwang Mountain will be carried out in such weather.

The game had just started, and some players on the field had not yet fully entered the state. Barcelona, ​​playing away from home, took the lead in launching an attack!
  Yaya Toure advanced with the ball and then separated. Messi passed two defensive players Samuel and Zanetti on the right and then shot low with his left foot at the top of the penalty area!
  Cesar flew sideways to block the ball!
  Can Mourinho's team stop the powerful offensive of the defending Champions League champions?

Such questions flashed through the minds of the audience.

In the third minute, Keita lost the ball when Zanetti and Motta were surrounded, and Inter Milan launched a counterattack!
  Leo accelerated past Yaya Toure, turned to avoid his tackle from behind, and then continued to dribble the ball outside the penalty area!

A direct pass passed through the gap between the two Spanish central defenders Pique and Puyol!
  I'm very happy that Valdes got the ball under him before Milito!
  A minute later, Henry counterattacked with a direct pass. Ibrahimovic and Messi moved continuously. Alves' low shot from the right side of the penalty area slid out of the far post!

Then the Barcelona midfielder passed behind Lucio, and Ibrahimovic stopped the ball on his chest in front of the goal and volleyed it away with his right foot!
  The die-hard Inter fans in the Meazza stadium did not want to look down upon this "traitor".

Suddenly, the whole stadium was flooded with boos, and even the sound of rain could not cover it up.

After Juventini, Nerazzurri in the stands today had the honor to be the second batch of fans to send "Judas" banners to Ibrahimovic.

Leo took the ball, and Yaya Toure and Keita quickly stepped forward to press for the ball.

Without stopping, Leo dribbled the ball and broke through between the two of them with a "fried ball".

Iniesta, who was sitting on the visiting team's bench, looked at the young man on the court in surprise.

Even more surprised was Barcelona's head coach, Guardiola, who unexpectedly glanced at the home team's coaching bench.

They don't plan to defend with all their strength. This is not even a defensive counterattack, but they want to fight against us?
  How dare Mourinho? However, just thirty seconds later, Leo sent a diagonal pass from the front of the penalty area, Pandev hit the left side, and Eto'o fired a shot from behind into the net!

One to zero!

Inter Milan scored the first goal!
  After Eto'o scored, he ran all the way and knelt passionately in the corner flag area!
  This Barcelona abandonment vented the dissatisfaction accumulated in his heart to his heart's content!
  He slapped his old club in the face with a goal.

Guardiola's face did not look good. He thought that Inter Milan would cause them some trouble in today's game, but he did not expect Mourinho's team to take the lead so quickly.

The game lasted ten minutes, and the visiting team tried every means to fight for possession of the ball, but failed to gain the upper hand as expected.

Barcelona kicked off and they wanted to equalize as quickly as possible.

Xavi made a pass from the right, and Messi, who was unmarked, shook his head at the penalty spot and was confiscated by Cesar who fell to the right.

Leo made a precise long pass from the backcourt, Eto'o and Maicon cooperated on the right wing, and the Brazilian full-back cut inside and fired a low shot from the front of the penalty area!
  Valdes fell to the ground and saved the ball!

Barcelona, ​​which is accustomed to controlling the game and making it difficult for its opponents to even hit the goal, felt very uncomfortable today.

Xavi got the ball in the middle and got rid of Motta's defense, but his pass failed to break through Leo.

Leo easily intercepted the ball with a hook of his right leg, and Ibrahimovic, who had already started to advance, had to stop.

"This kid seems to be getting stronger after not seeing each other for a few months?"

It was Maicon who received Leo's pass from the right wing and then dribbled the ball through at high speed!
  The Brazilian broke through Abidal and then passed the ball high!
  Milito in the middle of the penalty area was unable to complete the attack under Puyol's marking, so he had to header the ball back.

Leo followed up with a powerful volley with his right foot from the sideline of the penalty area!
  Valdes reacted quickly, flying and holding the ball over the baseline with one palm!
  Then Leo took a corner kick and Puyol made a header to clear the ball.

Barcelona could only counterattack quickly.

Alves made a 45-degree cross from the right!

Ibrahimovic stopped the ball on his chest and broke into the penalty area and volleyed sideways and missed the right post!

Alves passed the ball in the midfield, and Messi crossed into the penalty area and shook off the Inter Milan defender. His head was thrown into the goal by Cesar.

It can only be said that the spectators who bought tickets to watch the game today did not spend their money in vain.

Such a high-level confrontation can be said to be at the level of a Champions League final.

Even Inter Milan's own fans were a little surprised when they saw the situation in this game.

"Am I right? Can we compete with Barcelona like this?"

"Why do I feel that Barcelona is not as strong as they say?"

"It's not that Barcelona is not strong, it's that we are not weak either!"

In the 21st minute, Inter Milan once again attacked outside Barcelona's penalty area.

The three forwards have all entered the penalty area, waiting for Leo to pass the ball to them.

Yaya Toure wanted to take advantage of him at the front of the penalty area and steal from Leo's feet.

But Leo had the ball firmly stuck to his feet, and the Barcelona midfielder not only failed to steal it, but also kicked him in the shin pads.

Leo fell to the ground and the referee stopped the game.

The chief referee of this game is Wolfgang Stark, an old friend from Germany.

Yaya Toure still wanted to defend himself, but Stark had already shown him a yellow card.

Leo came to take a pretty good free kick at this position. Valdes nervously called on his teammates to line up a wall in the penalty area.

“It’s too close and it’s not easy to perform well.”

Leo calculated in his mind the distance between him, the wall and the goal, and at the same time observed the opponent's goalkeeper's position.

"Then let me show you the new moves I just learned from my seniors!"

A kick hit the center of the ball, and Leo's free kick flew erratically over the wall.

The ball floated left and right in mid-air, falling at an extremely fast speed as it approached the goal!

"Leaf ball?!"

"Such a big arc?"

"When did he practice this?"

"Shh!"

Even Barcelona goalkeeper Valdes, who was in good form today, was powerless and could only stand in front of the goal and watch the ball go into the net!
  Leo's free kick goes straight to the goal!

Two to zero!
  He used the falling leaf ball he just learned from Pirlo not long ago to help Inter Milan expand their lead!

In fact, before asking Pirlo, the free kick master, for advice, Leo had already practiced free kicks on his own for a long time, especially various curved balls.

After having the basics and being taught the key points by Pirlo, it is not surprising that Leo can learn the leaf ball so quickly.

After scoring the goal, Leo jogged to the stands and waved to the Inter Milan fans who were shouting his name.

Just twenty-three minutes into the game, Inter Milan, playing at home, led 2-0.

And their opponent is still the powerful Barcelona.

No matter how optimistic Nerazzurri is, they may not have thought that such a situation would happen before the game started.

Two goals behind, Guardiola's team launched a full counterattack!
  Just don't know if the Nerazzurri can withstand the fierce offensive of the visiting team?
  (End of this chapter)