Fallen apart? Two goals conceded in the first half! Manchester City stood on the edge of the cliff!

The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza is higher in the center and lower on both sides, so there is a lot of water accumulation on the flanks.

Clichy had just come on the field and hadn't even warmed up yet when the ball came flying towards him.

Clichy had anticipated Candreva's next move when he spiked the ball, but his supporting foot slipped, and he fell to the ground before he could even stand properly.

Candreva was overjoyed and charged towards the penalty area with the ball!

Clichy was inwardly groaning; it had only been a dozen seconds into the game, and he couldn't afford to concede a goal.

This match marked Clichy's first start in four games, and it was against a formidable opponent like Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League, so he was highly motivated and responsible. He immediately reached behind him to pull on Candreva's jersey, trying to pull him down.

He thought to himself that even if it meant getting a yellow card, he couldn't let the opponent dribble into the penalty area so easily.

Unexpectedly, Clichy had barely stood up and taken a couple of steps when he slipped and fell down again, landing face-first behind Candreva, watching helplessly as Candreva dribbled into the penalty area.

It was too late to get up!

Candreva is experienced and a good crosser on the wing.

Although he wasn't very fast, his basic skills were very solid.

After arriving in the penalty area, Candreva attracted center-back Kompany to defend him. Without holding onto the ball for long, he unleashed a low shot into the six-yard box!

Ranocchia anticipated the ball's trajectory and was about to extend his leg to clear it when a figure darted over like the wind, and with a thud, the ball went into the net!

Ranocchia was immediately taken aback. Inter Milan had such a fast player? How come I didn't know?

Turning around, I saw that the goal scorer was none other than Bonazzoli, a former junior colleague of Inter Milan.

"Huh? When did his impact become so strong?" Ranocchia couldn't help but be secretly shocked.

An excited Bonazzoli rushed towards the North Stand!

He immediately slid down on his knees, and because the ground was slippery, he slid for more than ten meters, almost crashing into the advertising billboard area.

The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza erupted in a thunderous roar, as 80,000 fans chanted in unison, the sound soaring into the sky!

"Unbelievable! Inter Milan scored just 15 seconds into the game!"

"This is the fastest goal in the UEFA Champions League this season! Absolutely!"

"Candreva capitalized on a mistake by full-back Clichy, dribbling into the penalty area and assisting Bonazzoli to score!"

"After Icardi left, young Bonazzoli has taken up the mantle of Inter Milan's attack!"

"He's so young, the same age as Tang Long, it's truly admirable!"

"This start is truly unexpected; Manchester City must be extremely careful!"

The blame for this goal absolutely falls on Clichy; he was easily outmaneuvered by Candreva on the wing.

However, seeing Clichy get up, with his back soaked and water stains on his socks, his teammates didn't want to criticize him too much.

Because this place is just too slippery!

Manchester City's players noticed this during their previous training session.

Hearing the deafening cheers from the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Tang Long was momentarily dazed.

He was all too familiar with this cheering, especially the repeated chanting of the goal scorer's name from the North Stand, led by the DJ. Tang Long had experienced this scene countless times before when he was with Inter Milan.

However, after more than half a year away, he returned to this stadium and became the team's enemy on their way to the UEFA Champions League final!

Such a playing field is very unfavorable for passing and controlling the ball; how can it be changed?

Tang Long fell into deep thought.

Inside the VIP box where Inter Milan legends were located, everyone was raising their arms and cheering.

Materazzi even rushed to the large French windows and pounded on the glass with his fists, making a loud "thump, thump, thump" sound.

"Haha, Marco, be careful, you might fall into the stadium along with the window!" his friend Milito teased.

Through observation, many people noticed that the width of the field was reduced in this match, and the slippery surface was also a direct cause of Clichy's fatal defensive error.

These players were seasoned veterans on the field; they'd seen it all.

They immediately realized that this was definitely a tactic used by Inter Milan coach Laino!

Everyone praised Laino, with many saying that they had previously looked down on Laino, thinking he only got his place at Inter Milan through connections, but today it seems this guy really has some talent.

However, Ronaldo's fellow Brazil, Adriano, couldn't stand it anymore.

"Isn't this wrong? When have we ever seen the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza flooded with water during our matches? I don't think this is sportsmanship, and players are very prone to injuries on such a pitch, especially to their knees."

Upon hearing the word "knee," Ronaldo, who was holding a glass of red wine, trembled violently, spilling the wine onto his expensive suit.

Materazzi immediately retorted, "Adriano, I disagree with your statement! Before every UEFA Champions League match, UEFA officials come to inspect the stadium's condition. If it's unsuitable for the match, it can't take place. The fact that this match can be played proves that UEFA officials believe there's no problem. We've played quite a few UEFA Champions League for Inter Milan before; you can't be unaware of this, can you?"

Adriano, who was not good with words, was rendered speechless by Materazzi's retort.

Ronaldo smiled and tugged at his sleeve, gesturing for him to sit down.

"Don't rush, the game has only been going on for less than a minute, let's watch it slowly."

Despite falling behind early on, Ronaldo remains confident that Manchester City will advance.

No other reason than that Tang Long is in Manchester City!

Ronaldo firmly believes in Tang Long's ability.

He believes that Manchester City's overall strength is superior to Inter Milan's, and with Tang Long anchoring the midfield, advancing will definitely not be a problem.

Luck won't always be on Inter Milan's side, or on Manchester City's side.

Moreover, Tang Long had played in Serie A for a year, so he was absolutely familiar with the playing style of Serie A teams.

After being hit hard at the start, Manchester City's players gradually began to adapt to the conditions of the pitch.

They found that the central part of the field was less wet than the flanks, so they made corresponding adjustments when running and passing based on the field conditions.

After adjustments, Manchester City gradually stabilized and took control of the game, becoming the team in possession of the ball.

After stealing an early goal from their opponents, Inter Milan began to retreat according to their established tactics, focusing on a defensive counter-attacking strategy.

However, the impact of the pitch conditions on Manchester City is not limited to the slippery turf;

The width of the pitch has been reduced from 68 meters to 64 meters, making it very difficult for Manchester City players to control the ball!

Don't underestimate this mere 4-meter reduction; it has severely hampered Manchester City's attacking prowess.

As Cruyff once said, football is an art of space.

He divided the stadium into chessboard-like squares, comparing the players to chess pieces moving between the squares.

The length was reduced from 68 meters to 64 meters, which is only a 6% reduction in proportion.

This 6% may not seem like much, but it has greatly helped Inter Milan in defense!

"Great, excellent, better than I imagined!"

Inter Milan coach Laino mentally shouted "Good!" three times on the sidelines.

He found that after the field was reduced in this way, his team's players could form a closer formation in defense, and the distance between the three lines could be compressed, reducing the existence of gaps.

Meanwhile, Manchester City manager Pellegrini looked worried on the sidelines.

Manchester City's possession-based tactics utilize the width of the pitch by passing the ball from left to right and from right to left, maneuvering the opponent's formation through the fluid movement of the ball.

This is commonly known as utilizing the width of the court!

One very important point here is that the opponent's formation must move along with the movement of the ball.

In many teams, even when the game is static, professional players can steadily occupy their positions, maintain good distance between the three lines, and effectively block and cut off the passing lanes.

Once the team starts moving, if even one of the ten players fails to keep up with the group's pace and makes a mistake, an opening will inevitably appear behind him. This is the point that Manchester City needs to capitalize on in their possession-based tactics!

However, as the midfield commander, Tang Long discovered that due to the reduced field size, even if the ball was played to the left and right flanks, the damage to Inter Milan's defensive players' formation was greatly reduced.

Because their running distance has decreased compared to before, but the number of defenders remains the same, Inter Milan's formation is still relatively compact, and they haven't been able to stretch the team out through passing and possession.

Adding to the poor field conditions, even though Tang Long was able to pass the ball steadily by combining his footwork with the field conditions, other players couldn't do the same.

26th minute of the first half.

After receiving a cross from Sterling on the wing, Tang Long, relying on Kovacic, passed the ball back to the supporting defensive midfielder Delph, and then made a forward run.

He had great faith in Delph's vision in midfield and actively sought to combine with Delph through passing and cutting.

Delph initially intended to pass the ball directly to Tang Long, but found that Inter Milan's players were all clustered together in the middle, making the area very densely packed.

In that instant, he lacked confidence in his footwork and decided to pass the ball to Sterling, who was defending less on the wing.

But that pass went too far!

He failed to control the ball, and after bouncing off the ground, the ball accelerated forward with a whoosh.

Sterling's legs aren't long to begin with, and despite his best effort, he only managed to bump the ball but didn't stop it properly.

Just as Sterling was about to adjust, Santon stretched out his long leg and intercepted the ball!

Before the match, Laino conveyed to the whole team the idea of resolutely playing a defensive counter-attacking style, and he also emphasized one point: play less ground and more high balls, be as fast as possible, and never be slow, because opportunities are fleeting.

Even without Laino's instructions, Santon, having experienced the treble-winning season, could judge the best time to pass the ball based on his rich experience on the field.

Bang!

Santon made a long pass, passing the ball to winger Obi!

Obinnay, a Nigerian player, didn't make many appearances for Inter Milan last season. It was Tang Long's assist that helped Obinnay break his four-year goal drought since arriving in European football.

On that day, in his hometown village in Nigeria, Obi even set off fireworks and held a bonfire party. The men, women, and children of the whole village danced around the bonfire to celebrate, and his father was moved to tears.

This season, Inter Milan has few big-name players, so young Obi has become a key rotation player.

Laino started Obi in this match because he valued Obi's exceptional speed and explosiveness.

Although Obi's footwork is rough, in such a slippery field, good dribbling is useless; his strength lies in his ability to run and charge!

Tang Long, who was in the distance, saw Santon pass the ball to Obi without hesitation and knew that things were going badly. He immediately chased back with all his might.

However, no matter how fast Tang Long chased back, a person's running speed can never match that of the ball.

Inter Milan's full-back on this side is France Sagna.

His speed isn't slow either, but he's still a step behind Obi!

Seeing that Obi to violently run over him, Sagna knew that his only chance was to immediately use a sliding tackle; once Obi ran over him, there would be a huge gap behind him.

Unexpectedly, due to the slippery pitch, Sagna's sliding tackle had very little friction, and he slid out much faster than before, as if he were sliding on ice rather than on grass. With a whoosh, before he could even reach the ball, Sagna had already drawn the sideline himself.

The unassuming Obi was genuinely stunned by the situation, and even slowed down. He glanced back at Sagna, who was baring her teeth at the sideline.

"Run, Obi, sprint!"

Bonazzoli, who had cut in at high speed through the middle, roared, and only then did Obi react, regaining his senses and continuing to charge forward.

After pulling Ranocchia to the wing, Obi, knowing how formidable Ranocchia in one-on-one defense against his former captain, dribbled the ball haltingly and dared not linger, passing the ball to Bonazzoli in the center.

Ranocchia's delay allowed Manchester City's defenders to gradually return to their positions.

Although Bonazzoli was facing a one-on-one situation, Delph, who was chasing him from behind, was only about 10 meters away.

Bonazzoli felt a surge of tension as he looked at Manchester City captain Kompany, who stood before him like a black bear, his center of gravity lowered and his gaze fixed intently on him.

What to do?

Should I pass the ball or dribble past him?

If I pass the ball, there's no one to receive it right now; if I get past them...

This is Kompany, you know! How could I possibly get past him?

Just then, the sound of Delph's footsteps chasing after them was getting closer and closer.

Bonazzoli didn't know who was chasing him, but he certainly knew it was an Inter Milan defender tracking back.

In that instant, courage triumphed over fear, and he immediately accelerated, swinging his body to engage in a one-on-one duel with Kompany!

Left, right, left!

Bonazzoli used Pendulum Dribble against Kompany!

Bonazzoli first gently pushed the ball forward, then quickly shifted his weight to the left, swaying his body significantly to the left and lowering his shoulders, as if he were about to force his way through from the left.

Seeing this, Kompany quickly moved to the left, attempting to block his path.

Just as Kompany shifted his weight, Bonazzoli made a telepathic move, turning to the right!

The body twists to the right at an extremely fast speed, the whole person is like a nimble dancer, the center of gravity shifts to the right side in an instant.

His gaze was firm and focused, fixed on Kompany's movements, his legs moving as if springs were installed, struggling to maintain balance and exert force quickly on the slippery surface.

Kompany was startled by the sudden change of direction, and his body reacted a beat slower.

Bonazzoli seized the fleeting opportunity, pushing the ball to the left again and successfully breaking through Kompany's right side, rushing towards the goal like a bolt of lightning!

Despite only creating half a body distance, Bonari's shot against Caballero was very clever.

A curling shot that found its near foot – that's quite rare!

This unconventional move caught Caballero off guard, and the ball went into the net!

2-0!

Inter Milan lead 3-1 on aggregate!