The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 144 Qualifying early!

There is no time to spare. Just after the away game against Livorno, Inter Milan will face off against Dynamo Kiev three days later.

Mourinho took the entire team to the destination of this trip, Kiev, the capital and economic, cultural and political center of Ukraine, two days in advance.

It was obviously only the beginning of November, but the temperature in Kiev had already dropped to around freezing.

This temperature difference of more than ten degrees in Milan once again made the Nerazzurri soldiers feel physically uncomfortable.

The flu has also been prevalent in Ukraine recently, but UEFA decided to continue the game as scheduled, taking into account mainly its own interests.

Injuries can be avoided, but Leo doesn't know if the flu counts.

So to be on the safe side, Leo put on the mask silently from the moment he got on the plane, even if he encountered some strange looks, he didn't take it seriously.

Except for training at the training ground, Leo also strictly wears a mask at all times.

On November 11th, Inter Milan will be a guest at the Lobanovsky Stadium for the upcoming game against Dynamo Kiev.

When entering the stadium, he always felt like a light was on his back. Leo turned his head and saw Balotelli looking at him sadly.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Boss, I've recovered from my cold, so you don't need to be so defensive about me, right?"

From Ba Shen's words, Leo heard a hint of grievance.

"Uh, no, you're thinking too much, don't you know there's a flu outbreak in Ukraine?
  It's been reported in the news, I have to be careful! "

"Oh, that's it. You haven't talked to me these days. I thought..."

Leo was a little embarrassed, God Ba was right, he had this idea in his heart.

After all, Balotelli just had the flu, and who knows if it is still contagious, so Leo deliberately reduced face-to-face communication with Balotelli.

"Okay, okay, stop talking. If you can play today, how about I try to get an assist and give you a goal?"

"Really? That's great!"

In an earlier game, Barcelona drew 0-0 away with Rubin Kazan. As long as Inter Milan wins Kiev today, they can expand their lead and lock in the top spot in the group.

Today Mourinho still arranged a four-three-three formation.

Milito, Pandev and Eto'o formed the striker.

Behind Leo are Zanetti and Cambiasso.

Samuel and Lucio partnered as central defenders, Chivu and Maicon guarded the left and right sides, and goalkeeper Cesar.

On the home team's side, top goalkeeper Shofkovsky, Nigerian midfielder Youssef, and Senegal defender Diakate continue to be absent due to injuries.

Kiev coach Gazzaev copied their starting lineup from the previous round.

The game started at 8:45 in the evening. As the sun set, the local temperature in Kiev also dropped below zero.

His breath was filled with white mist, and Leo's scalp felt numb.

"These teams have a huge home advantage."

Fortunately, Leo was mentally prepared and his warm-up before the game was very adequate.

Just one minute into the game, Leo took the ball and accelerated away from the defense before sending a through ball!

Milito moved the ball to the right with his back, and Eto'o smashed the angle and volleyed high with his left foot in front of the small penalty area!

Yarmolenko's left-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area was blocked by Cambiaso.

Maicon knocked back after a breakthrough on the right, and Leo's volley with the instep of his right foot from the top of the penalty area missed the goal post and went over the crossbar!
  A minute later, Dynamo Kiev got another long-range shot opportunity. Ninkovich's long-range shot from 30 meters away missed the left goal post.

After all, it is still their home court. Although Inter Milan has a slight advantage in attacking at the beginning, Kiev still has the power to fight back.

Amid the cheers of the home fans, they constantly waited for opportunities to counterattack.

Cesar took the goal kick with a big kick, and Milito fought in the frontcourt and nodded the ball back to his teammates.

Leo passed the ball, Pandev headed the ball, and Eto'o volleyed over from a small angle with his right foot on the right side of the penalty area!

In the 21st minute of the game, Yereomenko threw a ball from the right sideline into the court.

Milevsky, the captain of Dynamo Kyiv, leaned against Samuel with his back, and directly volleyed the ball with the outside of his right foot to Shevchenko in the middle!

Sheva got rid of the defense before the penalty point, stopped the ball with his chest, and volleyed with his left foot!
  The ball hit the leg of Cambiaso who was returning to defense, bounced high over Cesar and fell into the middle of the goal!
  One to zero!

Dynamo Kiev scored first!

This is the 48th goal Shevchenko scored in 98 Champions League games!
  This is also the Ukrainian's fifteenth goal after scoring fourteen goals for Inter Milan seven years ago when he played for AC Milan!
  Mourinho: ...

The game was still under control, and being scored by the home team was something the Portuguese expected, so the Inter players on the field did not panic.

They just stepped up their offense after losing the ball.

Leo made a precise long pass from the backcourt, Diego Milito headed the ball over, and Pandev's volley from the sideline of the penalty area was missed.

Leo dribbled the ball forward in the middle. Facing the home team's defensive player who was attacking, he quickly changed direction and passed by without even the slightest hesitation.

Leo sent a direct pass from the front of the penalty area. Milito and Eto'o kicked the wall from the right and passed the two people.

In the end, the Cameroonian pushed the ball with his right foot in front of the small penalty area without using any force and sent the ball directly to the arms of the opponent's goalkeeper Bogu.

Leo couldn't help but frown. He had created many opportunities, but the aim of these teammates' shots today was a bit poor!

This is not going to work, we have to think of a way. There was not much time left in the first half. Kiev, which was leading 1-0, retreated to their own penalty area. They wanted to keep the game until the end of the first half.

Inter Milan's head coach Mourinho also accepted the score and was ready to scold these players after returning to the locker room at halftime.

Leo was assigned to the left, Chivu dribbled the ball and was knocked down. Inter Milan got a free kick in the front left of the penalty area.

The first half also entered stoppage time. Leo stood on the penalty spot, and Dynamo Kyiv players lined up in the penalty area.

His right foot hit the middle of the ball hard, and Leo's free kick drew a moving arc at the Lobanovsky Stadium!

Bogu started moving when the ball flew over the head of the wall, jumped up and stretched his body to save!
  But the falling ball still passed the fingertips of the Kiev goalkeeper's left hand and went into the dead center gap on the upper right side of the goal!

Leo's falling ball once again helped the team score directly!

One to one!

Inter Milan tied the score at one to one before the end of the first half!

Mourinho touched his chin and smiled bitterly. He had already thought about what to say just now, but now he had to reorganize his words.

"I was going to criticize a few players severely for their poor performance in the first half, but Leo's goal saved you.

Now the score is one to one, we only need to score one more goal to win this game.

I want to tell you, don't cry after the game, if you want to do something, do it on the court.

You have to know at the end of the game that you gave it your all. "

After saying this, Mourinho paused, then picked up the marker and stood next to the tactical board, and began to deploy the next tactics.

"At the beginning of the second half, control the ball first and don't rush to attack. The opponent will definitely attack.

If the opponent presses too high and there is a hole in the defense, then we will use a counterattack to break through their defense!
  It doesn't matter if there is no chance. How long can their physical strength sustain a high-intensity confrontation?

We waited for work and waited until the last ten minutes of the game to exert our strength and give them a fatal blow! "

After being "encouraged" by the head coach in the locker room and adjusting the tactics for the second half, the Inter Milan players returned to the field.

Thiago Motta, who returned from injury, came on as a substitute for Cambiasso.

After the start of the second half, the Nerazzurri followed Mourinho's plan and patiently controlled the ball in the midfield.

If Dynamo Kyiv wants to attack, they can only create opportunities through active running and pressing.

After losing the ball, Inter Milan's defense immediately shrank, leaving no room for the opponent to hit the goal.

In this way, the physical exertion of the players on the home team is indeed greater than that of Leo and the others.

Pandev stayed in the frontcourt and ran back and forth to divert the energy of Dynamo's defensive players.

In the 75th minute, Balotelli came on as a substitute to replace Pandev, whose physical strength had declined.

It's time to blow the attack horn!

Leo, who had been recharging his energy for twenty minutes, dribbled the ball from the left and cut in at high speed, breaking through two defensive players and then slanting the ball into the penalty area!

Milito stopped the ball with his right foot in front of the goal and shot with his left foot into the lower right corner of the goal!
  Two to one!

Inter Milan reversed the score!
  The home team seemed to sense something was wrong, and head coach Gazzaev replaced Milevsky with Gusev.

However, they have already fallen into the trap Mourinho prepared for them, and now it is impossible to figure it out.

Leo made a direct pass from the center, Balotelli made a pass from the left, Milito missed the point, and Eto'o at the far post shook off the defense and followed up with a sweeping shot that went slightly wide!
  A minute later, Leo's overhead ball was sent to the right side of the penalty area, and Eto'o volleyed high without stopping.

It seems that Eto'o has bad luck in scoring today, so he would be better off passing the ball to the other two forwards.

In the 83rd minute, Mourinho replaced Samuel with Muntari.

Motta received Leo's pass in the middle and passed through. Balotelli passed the ball with his back and heel.

Muntari's left-footed low shot from the left corner of the penalty area!

The home team's goalkeeper Pogu missed the ball, and Milito's zero-angle volley in front of the right baseline was blocked by Pogu with his leg!
  Leo didn't know when to get in front of the goal and easily hit the net!

Three to one!

Inter Milan sealed the victory!

Mourinho's face on the sidelines showed a smile of victory.

Unwilling to be reconciled, Dynamo Kiev tenaciously launched attacks one after another in the final stage of the game, but they were all resolved by Inter Milan.

At the end of the game, Mourinho's team came back to win 3-1 on the road!

At the same time, they have won all four games in the first four rounds of the Champions League group stage and accumulated 12 points to qualify from this group in advance!
  "I think we did it, we were the first to qualify from the Champions League group stage."

In an interview after the game, Mourinho first responded to Barcelona's previous remarks that they would be the first to qualify.

Although he didn't laugh out loud, the madman's expression and voice revealed his mood at the moment.

“Dynamo Kyiv plays very fast football and attacks with very strong defensive counter-attacks.

I don't think there's anything good to say about the goal conceded in the first half. The home team has such strength.

We are in a very difficult group, let alone Barcelona, ​​the other two are also very capable teams.

So being able to qualify from such a group two rounds ahead of schedule, I'm proud of the whole team's performance!
  Of course, there are still two rounds of the Champions League group stage, and we will try our best to advance to the knockout rounds as the group leader! "

(End of this chapter)