The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 180 CSKA Moscow

Mourinho looked at the enthusiastic Inter Milan fans and felt warm in his heart.

Yes, he did it. Despite countless obstructions and malicious attacks, he still led the Nerazzurri to successfully defend the title!

Not long after the consecutive suspensions ended, Mourinho returned to the sidelines and once again declared his dominance in the Italian domestic arena with a victory that sealed the league championship!
  Now I can finally put Serie A aside and concentrate on preparing for the Champions League quarter-finals.

"Yes, as I said before, all the conspiracies and plots against us are very ridiculous clown behavior.

I know some people must be unhappy right now, but I’m going to say it anyway.

No matter how dirty they use, they still can't stop us from moving forward!

Now that we have successfully defended our title and won the Serie A championship ahead of schedule, the coaching staff and I can now shift our focus to the Champions League. "

Winning the league title early allowed Mourinho to relieve a lot of pressure, and there was a smile on his tired face.

The season is far from over, it's just the league championship. Let's wait until the Champions League is over to celebrate.

There was no time to waste, Mourinho did not even give the first team members a half-day holiday, and they trained as usual the next day.

"I know some of you must feel that we just went through a tough battle yesterday and won the league championship ahead of schedule, so why don't we let you have a rest.

But the day after tomorrow is the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, and we are very pressed for time!

I hope that now that we have reached this point, everyone can be like me, holding on to the belief that we will win, and don't regret it after failure! "

Most of the players in the Inter Milan team do have great expectations for the Champions League.

It seems that apart from head coach Mourinho, only Eto'o, who transferred from Barcelona, ​​has won the club's highest team honor.

With more than a season of outstanding work ability, superb technical and tactical standards, and wins after wins, the Madman has already won the trust of the entire team.

It’s time to bear fruit.

On March 2010, 3, Inter Milan faced CSKA Moscow in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

The only time Inter Milan faced a Russian team in a home-and-away knockout round was in the 1997-98 UEFA Cup semi-finals.

At that time, the Nerazzurri defeated Spartak, another giant team in Moscow, by a score of 2 to 1 at home and away, and finally defeated Lazio in the final to win the championship.

In the history of the Champions League, the two sides have met twice, and Inter Milan won both games.

Inter Milan's Thiago Motta and Lucio are suspended.

The frontcourt is still composed of Pandev, Sneijder and Milito.

Leo is the core offensive organizer in the frontcourt, with Zanetti and Cambiasso behind him.

Materazzi and Samuel partnered as central defenders, Kolarov and Maicon were on both sides, and Cesar was still the goalkeeper.

On the visiting team's side, their Japanese midfielder Keisuke Honda recovered from injury in time and returned to the starting lineup.

Although this is the first time CSKA Moscow has reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

However, they have scored at least two goals in their last three away games against Manchester United, Besiktas and Sevilla, and their strength cannot be underestimated.

More than 80,000 fans packed into San Siro today.

CSKA players wore black veils on their arms as both teams observed a minute's silence before the game in honor of the victims of Monday's Moscow subway bombing.

The game officially started. With tens of thousands of Nerazzurri cheering loudly at the scene, Inter Milan took the lead in launching an offensive!
  However, CSKA Moscow played away from home after the opening game and played tough. They committed five fouls in three minutes and frequently interrupted the home team's attack.

Krasic dribbled the ball from the right and drove straight into the cross. Honda Keisuke took over from behind, but there was a slight movement on his hand and he was sentenced to a foul on Maicon.

A minute later, teenager Shchnikov knocked down Milito and almost received a yellow card.

Leo's free kick from the left side went straight and slightly missed the left post.

The moment the ball was kicked out, Leo knew it was no good, as the force and angle were not well controlled.

He spat casually, the game had just begun, and Leo needed time to get into shape.

Pandev distributed the ball in the middle, Eto'o rushed to the left corner of the penalty area, turned around and passed Berezutsky and volleyed with his right foot. Goalkeeper Akinfeev got the ball.

Then Leo made a direct pass, and Milito's low shot from a small angle on the left was hit by Akinfeev.

The visiting team was not far away from the rescue. Cambiaso dunked the defense outside the penalty area and volleyed a powerful left foot over the crossbar.

Sure enough, none of the teams that reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League was a weak team, and some Inter Milan players still underestimated their opponents before the game.

In the ten minutes since the start of today's game, CSKA Moscow really did not fall behind at all.

Materazzi tackled Krasic while defending in the backcourt, and referee Webb from England showed the first yellow card of the game.

Not long after the game started, the central defender received a yellow card, and Mourinho frowned on the sidelines.

Ignashevic's low free kick missed the wall but was confiscated by Inter goalkeeper Cesar as he fell to the ground.

Then Aldonin's long shot from the right was taken by Cesar.

Ignashevic fouled Pandev and Inter Milan got a free kick far away from the goal.

Leo did not choose to attack the goal directly, but dropped the free kick into the left side of the penalty area to find teammate Milito in the back post. But the ball was headed out of the baseline by Lithuanian player Shen Belas!

In the 22nd minute, Leo scored the ball, and Pandev cut inside to the outside of the penalty area and suddenly hit a curved ball with his left foot that hit the top of the crossbar.

Kolarov's position was too high, and CSKA Moscow's counterattack hit him behind.

Keisuke Honda dribbled the ball to the right side of the penalty area and knocked back, and Krasic followed up with a shot higher.

A minute later, Shchnikov threw a sideline ball from the left. Mammaev turned around and cut across to the front of the penalty area. His arrow missed the near post.

In the 30th minute, Mamev's long-range shot was blocked by Inter Milan defenders again. Krasic split the frontcourt and Nesid volleyed from a small angle on the right side and went over the crossbar.

Thirty minutes into the game, CSKA Moscow actually gained an advantage at the Meazza Stadium, and their offense was impressive.

Inter Milan had an opportunity to counterattack. Leo's long pass from the backcourt accurately found his teammate who was advancing quickly.

Eto'o picked up speed and got rid of the visiting team's defensive players who were chasing behind him, and faced the attacking Akinfeev alone!

The Cameroon Cheetahs used a change in speed and rhythm to successfully dunk the visiting team goalkeeper and shoot into the empty goal!

The Russian central defender Ignashevich, who was struggling to catch up, flew to the ground and tackled back, but he was still half a step too slow.

The ball is in!
  Inter Milan broke the deadlock on the field!

Eto'o's condition improved and he scored consecutive goals, breaking all doubts with his performance on the field!

The Cameroonian kneeled down passionately after scoring the goal, and the San Siro audience cheered for him by shouting Eto'o's name!

When the visiting team kicked off, Leo stole the ball from Krasic in the backcourt. The Serbian tripped Leo and was given a yellow card by the referee.

He will also be suspended and miss the second round due to accumulation of yellow cards.

Leo distributed the ball in the middle, and Eto'o dribbled the ball inward at high speed and broke through two defensive players into the penalty area!
  But his left-footed volley in front of the goal hit the CSKA Moscow center back and missed.

In the 38th minute, Leo was carrying the ball when he was brought down by a flying tackle from Aldo Ning with bright shoe spikes.

So Aldonin also received a yellow card, and he and Krasic will miss the next game back to Moscow's home court.

But they had tried so hard to defend Leo, but it still didn't have much effect.

In the stoppage time of the first half, Leo took the ball in the middle and ran 30 meters past multiple defensive players before passing the ball in front of Milito.

Milito stopped the ball at the front of the penalty area. He cleverly passed Berezutsky with his outside instep and then quickly shot a low shot with his right foot into the lower left corner of the goal. Goalkeeper Akinfeev was caught off guard!

Two to zero!
  Inter Milan expanded its lead before halftime!

Leo assisted Eto'o and Milito to score goals, and Inter Milan entered the halftime break with a two-goal advantage.

“The opponent’s goalkeeper played very bravely today, but our team’s offensive players were even better.

Continue to play like this in the second half and don't give the opponent a chance to score away goals! "

After the start of the second half, Inter Milan intentionally slowed down the pace, but CSKA refused to let it go.

The away team even has a strong tendency to turn against the visitors.

In the 47th minute, Mamefu shot high with his right foot from the left!

Two minutes later, Krasic stole the ball from the right and cut inside. Samuel stepped forward in time to intercept the ball.

In the 51st minute, Krasic made a forward pass and Alexei passed a ground ball. Fortunately, Materazzi was very focused and fell down before shoveling the ball out of the baseline.

Then there was another powerful right-footed volley from Neshid, which was lifted over the crossbar by Inter goalkeeper Cesar with one palm.

CSKA Moscow, which was lagging behind, launched a wave of offensive attacks at the beginning of the second half.

Fortunately, Mourinho had already prepared and made arrangements in advance. Inter Milan never allowed the opponent to score the goal.

In the 65th minute, Leo broke out from the encirclement of three visiting team defensive players!

A scalpel-like direct pass was handed over to the left side of the penalty area easily and freely.

Pandev threw away the opponent's defender and broke through to the small penalty area to form a single shot. He passed the goalkeeper with his left foot and pushed the goal with his right foot from a small angle!

Three to zero!
  Inter Milan seals the victory!

Leo also smiled. He really had a good time today. The three players on the front line each scored a goal, and he performed a hat trick of assists.

Of course, the game is not over yet, but the morale of the visiting team has dropped. On the contrary, the leading Nerazzurri do not want to miss the opportunity to further open the score.

Inter Milan's frontcourt continued to penetrate. Eto'o scored the ball on the left side of the penalty area. Milito broke into the penalty area to face the goalkeeper. Under the interference of the defensive player, he forced his kick to volley and missed the near corner.

In the 89th minute, Cambiaso shot furiously from outside the penalty area, and Akinfeev made a miraculous save!

Eto'o stopped the ball and shot again, but Akinfeev tried hard to block it again!

Entering stoppage time, Pandev's left-footed long shot from the front of the penalty area was received by Akinfeev.

At the end of the game, Inter Milan defeated CSKA Moscow 3-0 at home!
  The next round of the match between the two teams will start a week later on April 4 in Moscow.

(End of this chapter)