Inter Milan fell tragically: the expected result Unexpected cruelty

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Recommended reading time|5 minutes

For this night in Istanbul, the title of Orhan Pamuk's book "My Name is Red" no longer applies. In the final 18 years ago, the main color of the match was red, and the red ribbon wrapped around the big ear cup also became a painful memory for AC Milan fans; Now, 18 years later, sky blue and blue and black mingle in the stands, and blue and black fans have a slight numerical advantage, just like the actual scene in this game. Unfortunately, the louder side did not celebrate and the better team did not win. Inter ended up in runners-up, which was expected, but the process was much more brutal than expected.

Tactics, change and destiny

The pre-match Ataturk Stadium had a warm opening ceremony for the final. Fireworks lit up the sky over Ataturk Stadium and the light show ended quickly, leaving only a thick smell of gunsmoke, and fog blanketed the stadium, adding to the tension of the final. The melody of the Champions League theme song also became a piano play, the keys were beating like huge raindrops, and the celebration seemed a little too long, and the competition began with such a piano sound, creating a somewhat treacherous sense of drama.

The first theme of the multi-act play is tactics. Haaland's powerful left-footed shot into the sky sounded the opening whistle for the match in a real sense, but thanks to the wide area of Ataturk's sidelines, fans had no fear of being hit with the ball. Inter Milan did not carry out a tight human target after the opening game, as some tacticians predicted, Bastoni and Damien rarely took the initiative to grab, they preferred to passively wait for De Bruyne and Gundogan to press the attack; Çalhanoğlu and Barrera also did not press City's back, partly due to an important change made by Guardiola: Stones pulled heavily on the flanks and actually played a role as a right-winger.

Stones and Bernardo Silva took turns holding the ball on the wing, with Di Marco appearing quite solid; Grealish tried a few breakouts on the other side, and Dumfries didn't give him much chance. After some bland openings, the second act of the play enters, the theme: change. De Bruyne was replaced by Foden due to injury in the 36th minute, which greatly affected City's attacking quality (he sent Haaland a brilliant ball before he left the pitch); Inter Milan made City's attack chaotic thanks to their regular defense, and after the first 55 minutes, Inzaghi Jr. made a substitution: Romelu Lukaku replaced Dzeko! At this moment, the blue and black world felt a wonderful intuition: holding the big ear cup is no longer a fantasy, but a real possibility.

Two minutes after Romelu Lukaku came on, Inter brushed shoulders with the goal. A low-level mistake in the Manchester City defence saw Lautaro face Edersson from a tight angle in the box, but his shot was too routine and was blocked by the Brazilian goalkeeper. Lautaro failed to show his decisiveness in the final and Inter, who wasted chances, were punished in turn. Drama in Act III: Destiny. Manchester City took a corner, the ball came near the penalty spot, the Spanish battleship Rodri blasted the gun, and the blue-black walls of Constantine collapsed.

Lose the championship and win applause

It is clear that in a duel in which neither side can technically overwhelm its opponent, fate has made its own choice. The 1.75m Di Marco tried a header in a row, the first hitting the crossbar, the second being rejected by his teammates - again Romelu Lukaku! Cologne's nightmare recurred three years ago, but this time the stakes are heavier. Passing goals twice and conceding goals in between, Inter's rhythm was briefly chaotic, and then immediately regrouped. Gosens came off the bench, Inzaghi Jr. played the last hole card, and Inter had another chance before the end: Romelu Lukaku's header in front of goal! This time, Edsson blocked the ball with his leg.

Lautaro said after the game that perhaps the Brazilian goalkeeper himself did not know how to save the ball. Where have you heard this? Yes, Dudek in 2005 had a similar transcendental experience. Istanbul is a city of magic, but that magic never seems to favor Milan's team. In the end, the Champions League final ended 1-0 for the fourth year in a row, with Neuer, Mendy, Courtois and Edersson – the goalkeepers of the four winning teams – playing decisive roles in each of the four finals. Perhaps never before has this role been more important in the history of the Champions League as a competition.

Inter lost the game, but as the face of Italian football, they delivered a very outstanding answer. Inzaghi Jr.'s side played extremely calmly in the first half of the game and showed a strong determination to fight hard when the score was behind, creating more chances than their opponents throughout the game. Although no one doubts that Manchester City are the strongest, most in-form and most dominant team in Europe this season, Inter have done much better than Bayern and Real Madrid in the face of such formidable opponents, which is worthy of hat hating and gives Inter the courage to start again next season.

Author: Shen Tianhao (from Istanbul)

This article was originally published in the Sports Plus app

The image comes from the Internet