Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

"Play like you did in the last game, you can do it. Attack their midfield, especially behind Seedorf. Pirlo is paper in front of you, get past him, you know?"

Viana gave an OK sign.

In addition, Deng Kai gave Quaresma a gesture, meaning that Quaresma should boldly try to attack, especially with individual dribbling attacks.

In such situations, only by inflicting casualties can the opponent's offensive momentum be curbed.

Throwing frisbees is useless; Inter Milan has enough players in their backfield today, marking them closely and not giving Ronaldo and Quaresma any space to sprint.

Then, the football kick-off was launched.

Sporting Lisbon began to control the ball in their own half, only briefly touching the left and right flanks without producing any impressive combinations, and immediately passing the ball back whenever they encountered a defense.

Inter Milan fans booed, finding the way they played the game ridiculous.

Fifteenth minute.

The ball moved to the right flank. Quaresma received the ball but did not pass it back immediately. Instead, he backheeled the ball past his opponent and then dribbled forward down the right flank.

Quaresma suddenly drew his sword, and in the end, in a one-on-one situation with Cordoba, the ball went out of bounds.

Cordoba yelled at Pirlo and Farinos, thinking they had let their opponents through too easily.

Twenty-second minute.

Quaresma received the ball but was pressed by Pirlo, so he immediately passed it back.

Deschamps received the ball and passed it back.

Barzagli received the ball and passed it to the returning Duncan.

boom!

Deng Kai lofted the ball directly from the backfield to Drogba, who had dropped back.

Drogba controlled the ball with his chest and found Viana.

Viana dribbled forward and accelerated, leaving Seedorf behind.

Seedorf never imagined that Viana would be so bold.

I couldn't keep up for a moment.

Pirlo immediately covered the gap, because Seedorf often made forward runs, and Pirlo was playing like a defensive midfielder today.

The key issue is... he can't play as a defensive midfielder.

Especially defensive midfielders.

Letting him be the defensive anchor would be a complete disaster.

drop!

The referee blew his whistle and showed Pirlo a yellow card.

Pirlo just fouled Viana, otherwise Viana would have broken into the penalty area.

The surrounding fans applauded.

This reflects both encouragement for Viana's elegant playing style and dissatisfaction with Pirlo's weak defense.

They looked down on the weak and timid Pirlo from the bottom of their hearts.

With that sleepy look, do you think you're Tracy McGrady?

Viana's subsequent free kick went just over the crossbar, giving Inter Milan fans a scare.

Thirty-first minute.

Football remained in Sporting Lisbon's hands for a long time.

Their players also found their rhythm and relaxed as they kept touching the ball.

boom!

Deng Kai saw an opportunity on the right flank and delivered a long pass.

After Quaresma dropped back, Drogba moved to the right wing and found space behind Cordoba.

The ball was passed to the right flank, near the side.

Drogba almost effortlessly shook off Cordoba with a wave of his hand.

Cordoba never expected that a big guy like Drogba would be so fast.

Drogba is also strong in physical confrontations and can defeat Cordoba in every aspect.

This was the first time the "Living Yama" (a nickname for a player) had been so passive, and in the end, he could only watch as Drogba controlled the ball and dribbled into the penalty area.

Of course, if Cordoba were playing center-back, he wouldn't be in such a passive position, but he was playing left-back today. If Inter Milan's squad in recent years has been described as having a strong midfield and a solid back, then they have a position even weaker than midfield: left-back.

This hole is too hard to fill.

Some fans familiar with Inter Milan even said that what Inter Milan needs most is not Ronaldo or Vieri, but the position that Italy has no shortage of star players in... left-back.

Honestly, I've been using a source-switching app to read and follow my favorite books lately. It offers various source switching options and different reading voices. The .huanyuanapp works on both Android and Apple devices.

They should buy Maldini from AC Milan.

drop!

The referee blew his whistle again.

As Drogba charged into the penalty area, his impact was so strong that Blanc had to put up a very strong physical challenge.

But surprisingly, Drogba, who seemed silly, was actually very smart on the field.

He was easily brought down in the penalty area, earning a penalty kick.

Drogba's fall was not skillful.

If Blanco doesn't step up his game, Drogba might even get a yellow card for diving.

But Blanco wasn't fooled by Drogba's honest appearance; he was tricked.

Quaresma walks to the penalty spot.

"Oh, it's Sporting Lisbon's top young star, Quaresma. He's the team's number one penalty taker and free-kick taker."

"However, Quaresma's form hasn't been good lately. Triguera even substituted him early, which shows that his status in the team isn't as high as people think."

"Barcelona has always wanted this star player. Last year, they couldn't get him for 7 million euros, so this year they'll have to spend at least 15 million euros!"

"Of course, as an Inter Milan fan, if I had 15 million euros, I wouldn't buy Quaresma, I'd buy Viana. Or rather, if you're going to value the players on this team at over 20 million euros, I think Viana is more worthwhile!"

boom!

Quaresma takes the penalty.

But perhaps because he was too eager to prove that he didn't care, his penalty kicks were not of high quality.

It was very strong, but the angle was very ordinary.

Inter Milan goalkeeper Frey saved the penalty.

But the next moment, the ball came back and went into the net.

"Oh! It's Cristiano Ronaldo! The other Ronaldo that Deng Kai was talking about!"

"His positioning was excellent, and he scored on the rebound!"

"Frey complained that Ronaldo moved prematurely, but the referee ruled it a valid goal!"

"2-1! Sporting Lisbon pulls one back. The aggregate score is now 5-5. However, Inter Milan still has the away goals advantage, so they still advance."

"But this penalty, especially the rebound shot, was crucial, and it helped Sporting Lisbon's youth team find their rhythm."

Scoring goals is very important for a striker.

Before Ronaldo scored, most of his runs were meaningless.

It's not that he ran poorly, but that Zanetti was not susceptible to feints.

Zanetti only needs to keep an eye on Ronaldo, but he doesn't need to follow Ronaldo around.

With Sporting Lisbon's wide-circle style of play today, it would be very difficult for Ronaldo to touch the ball if he didn't retreat.

Therefore, his running was completely meaningless.

But everything changed when Ronaldo scored.

His running had to be taken seriously by Zanetti. Ronaldo's running began to have a pulling effect, causing slight changes in the positions of Zanetti, Pirlo, and a number of other players.

Thirty-eighth minute.

Viana delivered a through ball after getting past Seedorf.

Cristiano Ronaldo accelerated down the wing and engaged in a fierce battle with Zanetti.

Zanetti once tried to use his body to cause trouble for Ronaldo, but even before he had done strength training, Ronaldo's physical condition was not bad.

As they ran, Ronaldo gradually gained the upper hand.

I like playing football on the ground: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him.