Suker stopped in his tracks, watching the ball fly out of bounds past the goal line, and slowly let out a breath of relief.
Arsenal's offense in this match was much sharper, especially in how they handled Milan's high pressing.
They dropped their wingers deeper, creating more passing options and numerical superiority in certain zones to relieve the pressure of the high press.
"Seedorf! You were too slow!" Suker shouted as he turned.
If Seedorf had immediately closed down Hleb, Arsenal would have been trapped again by the press.
But Seedorf didn't press tightly enough.
That's the inherent risk of a high press — it's a collective defensive strategy, and if there's a gap in one area, the entire structure falters.
"My bad!" Seedorf instantly raised his hand to acknowledge responsibility.
He didn't try to shirk the blame, and indeed, he had been a step slow.
However, he hadn't expected Arsenal's wide player to drop so deep.
Seedorf didn't dare press too far up, worried about leaving too much space behind.
But that hesitation allowed Arsenal to escape the pressure.
On the sideline, Wenger also exhaled slowly.
His team's overall performance was better in this match, and clearly, those small tactical adjustments were paying off.
Milan had applied high pressing successfully in the first leg, so it was expected they'd do the same here.
But Milan couldn't sustain that level of pressing for long.
That gave Arsenal more room to maneuver.
Letting a possession-based team dictate midfield rhythm is a nightmare!
"Disrupt them!" Shevchenko roared as he charged forward.
This time, he pressed with even more aggression.
As he closed in, he became increasingly ferocious.
Gilberto had one hand fending off Kaká, and the other trying to hold off Shevchenko.
But Shevchenko powered forward with a hard shove — both players went down.
Yet Kaká came away with the ball!
"Kaká!! Run!!"
Still on top of Gilberto, Shevchenko turned and shouted furiously.
Kaká turned with the ball and sprinted forward.
At the same time, Suk pushed up into Shevchenko's position, and Seedorf overlapped on the flank.
"Milan on the attack!!"
Suker and company drove forward, pushing Arsenal's defense back.
Kaká approached the penalty area. Sensing danger, Arsenal's left-back Ashley Cole couldn't wait any longer.
If he retreated further, Kaká would enter shooting range.
Cautiously, he stepped forward, waiting for his chance to tackle.
Kaká kept dribbling, occasionally lifting his head to scan for teammates.
Seeing Kaká glance up, Cole seized the moment.
"Now!"
He lunged, stretching his right foot out to tackle.
But Kaká deftly tapped the ball aside and lightly hopped, slipping past from the side.
"Kaká!! He's past him!!"
Cole missed the tackle, and Kaká drove deeper.
Arsenal's back line was thrown into chaos.
Suker started to run, but Touré grabbed his shoulder.
The two tussled and surged forward together.
Kaká reached the byline. Without hesitation, he whipped the ball across the box.
"Let go!!"
Suker and Touré grappled fiercely, neither yielding.
As the ball neared, Suker hurled himself forward, stretching out his foot in desperation.
Swish!Suker's toe grazed the ball.
He turned, eyes wide with hope.
The ball skimmed past the left post and flew toward Arsenal's left side of the penalty area, where Eboué controlled it.
"Suker goes for the slide! Ah~~~ The ball didn't hit cleanly, grazes the post! Arsenal now launching a counterattack!"
Eboué quickly passed to Fàbregas and shouted, "Counter!!"
Milan couldn't fall back in time — a perfect opportunity for Arsenal to counter.
Suker scrambled to his feet, but Touré clung to his jersey with a death grip.
Suker struggled.
"Let go!"
Touré held even tighter.
Suker fought to free himself, twisting to watch the field.
Fàbregas had just turned with the ball when — boom — he was floored.
Pirlo had stepped up and taken him down!
BEEP!!
The whistle blew. The referee rushed toward Pirlo and pulled out a yellow card.
Pirlo accepted it without complaint.
It was a tactical foul, plain and simple.
"Pirlo!! Hell yeah!!"
Still on the ground, Suker cheered excitedly.
Pirlo's foul was perfectly timed.
Suker, Kaká, Seedorf, and Shevchenko had all surged forward — they couldn't get back immediately.
If Fàbregas had turned to face goal with the ball, Milan would've been in serious danger.
"Get back!!"
Suker and the others rushed to retreat.
They re-formed their defensive line.
Milan fans in the stadium exhaled deeply in relief.
Despite Pirlo getting booked, it was a necessary yellow.
Meanwhile, the match had reached the 30-minute mark.
Suker licked his lips — the game was being played at a fast pace, but Milan still held the overall rhythm.
Arsenal wanted possession!But Milan wouldn't let them dictate midfield easily.
Arsenal wanted goals!But Milan countered with constant running and chain-defense tactics to resist the pressure.
"Five minutes left!!"Suker shouted, "Hold the line!"
Bang!!
Shevchenko slid in and cleared the ball out of bounds.
"We held it!!" Shevchenko pumped his fist.
He and Suker kept yelling, urging their teammates to stay sharp.
And as their shouts echoed, time ticked away.
In the final five minutes, Arsenal grew more and more anxious.
They kept running, trying to find a goal.
After the poor result in the first leg, they needed three goals to qualify.
But with the first half nearly over, of course they were panicking!
"Henry with the long shot!!"
BANG!!
Dida dove to push the ball out for a corner.
"FXXK!!"
Frustrated, Henry cursed aloud.
In the final minutes, desperate to score, Henry even started firing from distance.
It showed just how cornered Arsenal was against Milan's ironclad defense.
On the bench, Maldini and the others held their breath.
Hold on!
They had to hold on!
Maldini clenched his fists tightly.
Inzaghi and others were visibly anxious too.
Not being chosen to start in such a big match stung a little.
But they were a team.
All for one, one for all.
He didn't want Milan to lose.
So they had to endure!
"Oh no!"
Maldini suddenly jumped up.
Milan manager Ancelotti's jaw clenched, and he started chewing his gum faster.
On the pitch, after Henry's aerial duel, the ball dropped right in front of Fàbregas.
He was in a dangerous shooting position.
Fàbregas didn't hesitate.
He struck the ball fiercely.
BANG!!
It flew toward goal. Dida didn't react in time.
But then — surprisingly — Kaká appeared at the near post!
He stuck out his right foot and blocked the shot.
The ball deflected off his ankle and flew out of the box. Gattuso booted it out for a throw-in.
Just then, the referee's whistle blew for halftime.
"Kaká!!!! Miraculous clearance at the near post, perfectly covering Dida's blind spot!!"
"My God, Kaká saved Milan from disaster!!"
Kaká sat down on the pitch.
His back was cold with sweat — that shot had been dangerously close.
"WAAAHHH~!!!!"
Someone tackled him to the ground.
From the yell alone, he didn't even need to look.
"Beautiful! Beautiful, man!!"
Suker ruffled Kaká's hair in excitement.
"Tusso's gonna kiss you when we get back!"
"Get lost!" Kaká yelled. "Who the hell wants Tusso's kiss!"
The others swarmed around, excitedly patting Kaká on the head.
This time, Kaká had truly made a heroic play.
"And that's the end of the first half! Still 0–0!"
"Arsenal hasn't scored an away goal. They still need three to qualify!"
"Milan, though shaky at times, has held firm!"
"We look forward to the second-half performances from both teams!"
Italian commentator Aldo Serena removed his headset and pumped his fist.
"Fantastic!!"
Clearly, Milan's performance had fired him up as well.