Juventus - Milan 1 - 0
89' Dhorasoo o.g.
The game dominated by dull, unspectacular football by Juventus who kept
tight at the back while Milan had 65% ball possession and fired 16
shots on goal, 3 absolute cannons denied by Buffon, 2 others deflected
inches wide of the post. At the other end, Zlatan was twice denied with
thundering shots from the corner flag in true Rivaldo fashion while
Nedved had 8 shot attempts, all of them blocked by Nesta/Maldini. Most
dominant on the pitch was Kaka, who outsmarted Emerson on several
occasions, one of them leading up to a controversial situation in the
box when Sheva chested down the pass and was clipped by Zebina from
behind. The referee booked Sheva for passive diving. Shortly
thereafter, a corner kick in favor of Milan, cleared by Cannavaro, who
launched a long ball for Ibrahimovic, the latter being 20m offside at
the time. The linesman was playing tetris on his mobile phone and was
caught out. Ibrahimovic pulled 7 fakes on Dida before the latter gave
up and stepped aside but he did agree to lob the ball for Ibrahimovic
who wanted to score from a bicycle kick. The lob was good but the kick
was less good, the ball was taken home by the young Milanista in the
uppermost row of the stadio. In the closing moments of the first 45,
Crespo came one on one with Buffon thanks to a gorgeous through ball
from Rui Costa but squandered it as he beat Buffon but not Chimenti.
In the 2nd half, Milan kicked off with a more offensive mentality,
effectively playing 2-3-1-4 as Cafu and Serginho pushed forward but
failed to track back. Taking advantage of the positional supremacy,
Kapo raced into the box and crossed for Del Piero who failed to connect
with the ball. At the other end, a cross from Serginho was received by
Sheva who powered a header on goal. But Buffon was equal to it and as
the rebound fell to Kaka, the referee inadvertently cleared the ball
into row z. Another corner kick was given for Milan moments later when
Cafu's header hit the post. The rebound was struck by Gattuso but it
was no good as Zlatan positioned himself in the air upside down to take
the ball down elegantly and pushed it out wide for Zebina. He then
tripped over Rui's foot as he was walking away for which the Portuguese
was sent off. Rui at the time was on the floor in agony after Cannavaro
clattered into him in an aerial challenge. In the 74th minute,
Camoranesi outfoxed Cafu and skipped into the box where he was
confronted by Nesta and fell under the challenge. Del Piero's spot kick
was saved by Gattuso who raced into the box. The referee booked Gattuso
and signaled a retake. Dida covered his eyes as Del Piero hit the post.
Precise on 80 minutes, Capello swapped Del Piero for Zalayeta, who
greeted all the Milan players on the pitch. Moments later, Zalayeta
played a back heel to Kapo but the Frenchman arrived late and the cross
was stolen by Maldini who launched Gattuso. Gattuso fed Crespo who
missed his ball reception but recovered as Thuram struggled to control
it as well, and fired between Canna's legs, hitting the bar. 5 minutes
from time, on the speakers in the Delle Alpi came "the Final Countdown"
to which Buffon started dancing. On 86 Zalayeta controlled a pass from
Thuram before he dribbled Nesta and Maldini but his lob was saved by
Dida who never came off his line. The goal kick was received by
Serginho at the corner flag but no offside was called. The Brazilian
crossed into the box as Tomasson was in route but the Danish striker
missed the ball. Instead it was recovered by Zambrotta who launched a
final attack before full time. Tacchinardi to Emerson, Emerson to Kapo,
Kapo to Nedved, Nedved to Ibrahimovic. Milan's defence was shattered as
Zlatan stood face to face with Dida. As he was about to take the shot,
Dhorasoo raced in to clear but inadvertently played the ball past his
own keeper. Ancelotti came running up and tried to strangle Dida but
Maldini pulled them apart. The 14 minutes of injury time saw Milan in
possession without exception, as Juve lined up inside their own penalty
box. 23 shots were fired, all of them off target, Buffon was still busy
getting his groove on.
Questioned about his team's performance, Capello was moderately
satisfied. "We struggled a lot through Milan's offensive pressure but
we showed strength in scoring the winning goal just before the whistle.
Ancelotti should learn to relax, those young people are too hot headed."
:D
Making people laugh is hard work I tell ya, I got a mediocre response to this one.. :redface:
Well making me laugh right now is a huge achievement, if that helps...