784 Two Away Goals

"George Wood dribbles the ball and breaks through! He breaks into the penalty area! Against Samuel's and César's defense... He shoots! Oh, but the ball hits the goalpost... Wait a minute! Matías Fernández! He shakes off Burdisso's defense, shoots high in the air sideways and ---GOOOOOOOOOAL!!"

The football hit the back of the net hard. César flew to the spot but to no avail...

Fernández, who had scored the goal, looked very excited as he ran toward the corner flag. He pulled his jersey and roared. He was finally able to relieve his frustration.

Although he had scored the goal, the man who got the most attention was George Wood. The television coverage cut to a close-up of Wood immediately after the goal, which even led some viewers to think that George Wood had scored.

Fernández helped Nottingham Forest to score and take the lead again. But the thrilling part of the goal was not his shot, but George Wood's previous consecutive attempts at the goal. "It was a pity he was unlucky. The ball hit the post. Otherwise it would have been one of the most memorable goals of his career!" The commentator gave high praise to George Wood.

Even Tony Twain felt it was a great pity that Wood had failed to score. Then he remembered that he should applaud Fernández's shot...

Who was the happiest person to see Wood perform like this? It was not the excited commentator nor Tony Twain who held his head in his hands in disbelief at what he saw. It was not even the Nottingham Forest fans but Albertini, sitting in the box above the pitch.

When Demetrio saw Wood dribble the ball past several people in the midfield, he had already risen from his seat. When Wood finally took a shot at goal, he could not help but shout "goal" in advance, but unfortunately, the football hit the goalpost in the end.

But that was not the most important thing. Albertini was very happy that he saw a different George Wood from the one he had seen before. It could even be said that he was more outstanding than the George Wood he had imagined.

Albertini wanted Wood to become a defensive midfielder who could control the entire team's pace of offense and defense, just like AC Milan's Pirlo. But judging by his performance in this game, he was getting closer to a combination of Kaka and Pirlo...

He could use the passes to dispatch the team and also had his own ability to dribble the ball forward to break through at the same time. It was just formidable!

Watching the game with Albertini was his good friend, AC Milan's iconic figure, the retired Paulo Maldini. He laughed when he saw Albertini this excited. "It looks like your feelings for Nottingham Forest run really deep."

"Other than AC Milan, it's them." Albertini continued to clap. "After all," he said, "I also got the... oh."

He had wanted to say he had won a Champions League title there, which was something he never dared to think about. Suddenly he realized that the championship title had been snatched from this man next to him.

Maldini did not care. "It's okay. The championship title belonged to the side that played better. I just feel sorry that last summer, Galliani did not bring Wood to San Siro."

Albertini laughed, "He's going to become the Paulo Maldini of Nottingham Forest."

He finally ended the applause after several minutes and sat down again. The game on the field had restarted.

Maldini shook his head. He was not convinced. "Nottingham Forest is not AC Milan."

Albertini seemed to think that his good friend had a point. He said, "To put it another way, if Tony stays at Nottingham Forest, then I think George will stay there too."

"I was thinking... Galliani had set his heart on getting Wood, but he'd never thought of this method—poach Tony Twain along with George Wood."

Albertini laughed when he heard Maldini's idea. "Don't you know about the personal feud between Tony and Galliani?"

"I heard a little. But I think... This kind of thing is of little importance in some respects. If AC Milan can offer better pay and other conditions than Nottingham Forest can, I think that even the unpleasant thing between Tony Twain and Galliani can disappear.

Albertini continued to laugh and shook his head as well. "You don't know Tony, Paulo. He is sometimes very emotional. His personal feelings represent everything. In addition, AC Milan cannot give him anything else other than a higher salary. As for him... As far as I can see, he's not particularly a fan of money."

Maldini disagreed. "At the very least, we can give him a higher transfer budget. I know he not only has no money to buy players at Nottingham Forest but also needs to sell players to make money for the club. Have you ever seen such a Champions League manager? I would have quit my job long ago if I have to work in that kind of place."

"Paulo, do you think Galliani and President Berlusconi will allow Tony to buy the players he wants to buy, and not get involved like obedient kids?"

That remark stumped Maldini. He had not really thought about it like that, but he could see that Demetrio was absolutely right. At AC Milan, the real decisions about which player to buy rested with Galliani, the expert negotiator, Braida, or possibly his father, Cesare Maldini. There was even a big chance that it could be Berlusconi. But it would not be the manager.

When he saw that his good friend did not say anything, Albertini patted him on the shoulder and said, "Even though there's not much money at Nottingham Forest, Tony can do what he wants and lives like a king. At AC Milan, he can earn a lot of money, wear the golden crown, look like the king, but he cannot decide on many things. The distinction is decisive. So, don't think about this impossible thing, Paulo. We don't all want President Berlusconi to leave his post. Just enjoy watching the game."

※※※

Another ten minutes of the game had gone by while Albertini and Maldini discussed in the box why Twain and Wood could not come to AC Milan.

Mourinho was furious at the goal Inter had conceded. He had been out of his seat for ten minutes and stood on the sidelines to supervise and direct the game with a serious face.

He knew how good Nottingham Forest's counterattack was. He was certain that his players were aware of it too. In that case, what was the problem?

The problem lay with George Wood.

He had not been in the English Premier League for a few years and Wood had got better. Mourinho had never seen this outstanding show of dribbling the ball to bypass a few players before in the Premier League. He suddenly plugged in ahead and did an out of character individual breakthrough. He did not pass the ball, resulting in the collapse of Inter Milan's entire line of defense. Everyone's attention was on Wood, and they neglected the other Forest players. And they eventually lost the goal...

Did Inter Milan concede to Nottingham Forest in terms of overall strategy or George Wood's individual play?

This was really a difficult question to answer.

Therefore, what was Mourinho angry about? Of course, he was furious that he conceded two goals at home! What did it mean to let Tony Twain obtain two away goals? That meant that Forest were halfway to the quarter-finals!

But what was the use of anger now? Their opponents had already scored the goals. His team could only find a way to score a few more goals and minimize their away goal advantage.

However, was Inter Milan really confident of scoring more goals with twenty minutes left in the game against Nottingham Forest's die-hard counterattack style?

※※※

Tony Twain crossed his legs in the technical area. He was enjoying the match now.

The voices of the Inter Milan fans in the stands behind them became softer. It looked like the Inter Milan fans had been hit hard by Nottingham Forest's second goal.

The score of 1:2 and the Forest team's two away goals were like a huge boulder, pressing on the hearts of the home fans. When they wanted to open their mouths to shout something for the team, they would feel short of breath and their chests would feel tight.

What they did not understand was why Nottingham Forest had suddenly become unrecognizable because of a change in the manager. They had not seen it in their previous games. It was reasonable to say that the strength of the players in the current Nottingham Forest team should be not as good when compared to the previous team which they had played against.

How did they break out with such amazing energy when Twain took over?

Could it be possible the man who always liked to provoke a war of words before a game and was derided by the media as a clown had a mysterious aura?

※※※

The television commentator, who knew Tony Twain well, had already declared that the game had entered a dreary stage.

"Nottingham Forest is in the lead in the away leg and have even scored two goals. Who can give me a reason that Tony Twain will not defend? And once Nottingham Forest is determined to hold fast, there are not many teams in the world that can breach the goal. Maybe Inter Milan can be successful? I do not know. But I'm sure of one thing: Inter Milan must work very, very hard to score goals. Even so, even if they beat Nottingham Forest by 3:2, Tony Twain will leave the Meazza with a smile..."

With such a conundrum placed in front of the Inter Milan supporters, it did not make them feel good. It was no wonder that the voices at the Meazza Stadium became much smaller.

The Inter Milan players launched a fierce attack on the Nottingham Forest goal with fury in their eyes as if they had collectively taken the same medicine. They attacked wave after wave, each stronger than before.

George Wood did not have a chance to show his offensive talent again. Even Ibišević quickly became the third center back and frequently used his physical superiority to break the siege in front of the goal.

Mourinho brought on Adriano to replace Giuseppe Rossi, who had been inundated by the Nottingham Forest players. Meanwhile, he also repeatedly waved on the sidelines to signal for the team to press on continuously. At this point, he did not care if there were a lot of gaps behind the team, because Nottingham Forest simply could not fight back!

Adriano came on and created a few chances for the team. However, there were too many people in the Nottingham Forest penalty area.

Inter Milan had also reduced their own offensive space to the lowest level as they besieged the Forest team. It was really not conducive for them to shoot and score goals. As the game wore on, more Inter Milan players began to try long shots.

The voices of the Inter Milan fans suddenly grew louder when the game was ten minutes away from injury stoppage time. Although the score was still 1:2, they were not willing to give up. Even if there was little time left, they had to fight until the last minute. Now their highest wish had changed from "a victory" to "an equalizer."

Even with this wish, Tony Twain did not want them to make it happen. He replaced Fernández with Cohen, who was better defensively, and then substituted Woodgate for Şahin. He was now playing the 5-4-1 formation with three center backs. It was abundantly clear that they were going to cling fast to defense.

Until the injury time, Inter Milan still did not break the Nottingham Forest goal. Just when it looked like the game was about to end in this way, a sudden change took place in the game!

※※※

After Ibrahimović received the ball, Adriano and Quaresma, as well as his other teammates in better positions, raised their hands to ask him for the ball. But he did not pass. He chose to force a breakthrough and cut inside.

Just moments after he crossed the line of the penalty area, he was tripped by Tiago!

Meanwhile, a shrill booing rang out at the Meazza Stadium.

Everyone nervously turned to look at the referee. One gesture from him at this moment might just determine the fate of both teams...

"He points to the penalty spot!! My God! Inter Milan has a narrow escape!!"

The Inter Milan players might have just complained that Ibrahimović acted alone again at the crucial moment, but now they were all cheering the Swede and embracing him.

Whereas Tiago, who had been indicating to the referee that he had not committed a foul and that Ibrahimović had dived, was angry. He rushed up to hold the referee's hand and tell him that it was a dive!

It was not only Tiago who was angry. The rest of the Forest players were also angry. They rushed to the referee and surrounded him.

No one could understand why the referee would make such a decision. Putting aside whether Ibrahimović dived, no one could determine such a matter without a slow-motion replay. After all, it had happened so fast. But they all clearly saw that the physical contact between Tiago and Ibrahimović was outside the penalty area...

Even if Tiago had fouled the Swedish player, it should be a free-kick, not a penalty kick!

The players were furious on the pitch, while Twain held back the fourth official to express his displeasure. "How can this be a f**king penalty kick?"

"Please mind your language, Mr. Twain."

"Then please get the referee to pay attention to his eyes! A last-minute penalty kick! He's got some balls!!"

Dunn saw that Twain was getting more agitated the more he rebuked the fourth official. For fear that the fourth official was going to report him to the referee and have him kicked out of the game, he hurriedly gave Kerslake a look and the two men rushed over to drag Twain against his will back to the technical area.

Twain was still complaining. "He's got some balls! Takes special guts! His balls are exceptionally big!"

"This is a pretty controversial penalty. One must know that it takes courage to give the trailing team a penalty kick nearing the end of the game. It takes guts. The referee must have some hard evidence but let's take a look at the slow-motion replay… Oh no, it's outside the penalty area! This is a miscalculation!"

What was the point of the commentator saying that? Once the referee decided on a penalty, he would not change his mind easily.

He stood on the penalty spot with a serious face and waved his hands to disperse the Forest players who surrounded him. The Inter Milan fans were already shouting slogans in praise of the referee from the stands.

Twain snorted. "Forget it! Even if they were to equalize, we still have two away goals!" He decided not to argue with the fourth official. Otherwise the gains would not make up for the losses if he were to argue till he was forced to be in the grandstand. No, there was basically no "gain" at all. It would all be "lost."

The Forest players on the pitch saw that no matter how they begged, the referee would not change his penalty decision. Not only that, Tiago who fouled and Woodgate, who protested the loudest, were both given yellow cards.

They could only choose to accept the result and withdraw from the penalty area.

Mourinho was delighted that his team was lucky enough to get a penalty kick in the final minute. But he did not show it too much. He and Twain had the same idea: even if they scored the goal, they would only equalize. The fact that Nottingham Forest already had two away goals could not be changed like this penalty kick.

Ibrahimović himself took the penalty kick. Amidst the Nottingham Forest fans' boos and the Inter Milan fans' cheers, he equalized the score at 2:2.

The Inter Milan players embraced excitedly to celebrate the new lease of life after the goal. The Nottingham Forest players were still holding the referee back, wanting to say whether the penalty kick should have been awarded. But this time their tone was much better with no worries about getting a yellow card. Because it was no longer possible to change the score.

Everyone at Inter Milan was celebrating, with the exception of Mourinho.

Twain found Mourinho looking at his side, so he spread out his hands and shrugged at his other man to deliberately taunt the other side. Sure enough, Mourinho soon averted his eyes.

When Twain saw Mourinho like this, he also forgot that the other team had just used the penalty kick to equalize the score. He just grinned.

In any case, he maintained his personal unbeaten record against Mourinho. As long as the record was kept, he could remain strong against Mourinho. If Mourinho wanted to reverse the situation, he would be knocked over by him, and never be allowed to bring about the reversal.

The game ended in a raucous environment, with Nottingham Forest still complaining about the referee's last-minute "bold penalty" as they left the Meazza Stadium, while the Inter Milan fans expressed concern about the fate of the team's second leg.

As for the reporters? After finishing the interviews in the mixed zone, they all hurried to the scene of the post-match press conference, looking forward to a good show there. It was Mourinho's first face-to-face press conference with Tony Twain since Mourinho left England. It would simply be outrageous if there were no explosive content!