Shane Carter made another interception.
His reading of the game today was excellent.
It was the same pattern again: he anticipated the opponent's pass correctly, stepped in to cut it out, and then immediately accelerated to carry the ball over the halfway line.
This time, AC Milan's players were clearly prepared for Shane's passing.
They retreated while still fighting, preparing to set up their defensive line in the final third.
At the same time, they kept a tight watch on Atlético's two forwards making runs into the box.
Shane carried the ball past the center circle.
Seeing that there was no great passing option ahead of him,
he did not rush.
Instead, he kept driving forward.
After all, most of AC Milan's players were already trailing behind him, kicking up dust.
And because they were trying to deal with Atlético's two forwards, Milan's back line did not dare push up too far either.
That gave Shane a lot of space.
But he also knew that once he entered a dangerous area,
the opponent would close in on him immediately.
After all, AC Milan still had plenty of defenders back there.
Shane looked up at the field ahead.
Abbiati was retreating.
Until now, because AC Milan had been pushing forward as a unit, Abbiati could not stay on his goal line either; he had to keep a proper distance from his defensive line.
But after Shane's sudden interception, he had no choice but to backpedal while facing his own goal.
He couldn't just turn and run toward the line, because he needed to keep the ball within his field of vision.
Shane had assessed everything.
The space around him was so open that he had plenty of room to prepare.
He took a touch, set himself, stepped into his run-up...
Only then did AC Milan's players realize what he was about to do.
Before this,
the ball had been too far from goal.
So the Milan players' first instinct was to check whether there were any Atlético players nearby.
They all assumed Shane's first choice would be a pass.
But now,
as soon as they saw his body shape,
they realized something was wrong.
It was too late!
From roughly thirty-five or thirty-six meters out,
Shane struck it from distance!
He curved the ball with the instep, sending it into the air at high speed, arcing in a rainbow across the sky...
"SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!"
The commentators roared.
...
On television screens across China,
fans heard He Wei's commentary.
"Shane Carter, excellent interception, carrying the ball over midfield and driving forward..."
At that point,
his voice was still relatively normal.
Then suddenly,
He Wei's voice shot up sharply, and his speech quickened.
"Shane Carter!! A direct long-range shot!!!"
That shout snapped many drowsy Chinese fans awake in front of their televisions.
...
Abbiati panicked.
He had only just retreated to around the penalty spot.
He accelerated backward, eyes fixed on the football dropping quickly from above.
The arc on this shot was huge.
He immediately realized the danger.
But at that moment, he could no longer get back onto his line to make the save.
The ball had already come down, and Abbiati had to throw himself at it.
The ball flew just above his fingertips.
Abbiati's face darkened.
Then he heard the sound of the ball brushing against the net...
AC Milan's goalkeeper turned his head.
The ball had already smashed into the net...
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!"
The commentary box exploded with cheers.
"Two-nil! Two-nil! Shane has scored! That is his 11th Champions League goal of the season!"
"The aggregate score is now 4-1! If AC Milan want to turn this around, they need to score three goals from here and make sure they don't concede again—but that is almost impossible. Just look at Shane's form. How can AC Milan possibly do that?"
"I can guarantee you this: if AC Milan keep pushing forward, scenes like this will happen again and again!"
The commentators shouted with raised arms.
Their voices were swallowed by the noise of the crowd.
The Calderón seemed to be experiencing a small earthquake.
The stands were shaking.
The entire stadium was shaking.
The cameras mounted in the stands captured Atlético Madrid's celebration, but even that footage trembled under the force of the deafening roar.
Atlético Madrid were truly just one step away from the quarterfinals now!
And on the AC Milan side,
the players looked blank.
Allegri lowered his head helplessly.
The chance of Milan turning this around had fallen to virtually zero...
...
AC Milan's players no longer dared push up too aggressively after that.
The first half ended.
Atlético Madrid led 2-0.
After halftime began,
and after making adjustments during the break,
AC Milan gathered their courage once again and launched an attack.
But very quickly,
Atlético Madrid used one counterattack to completely extinguish AC Milan's hope of a comeback.
Griezmann received a long ball from Shane in the back line, went through one-on-one, beat the goalkeeper, and rolled the ball into the empty net.
"Three-nil! Atlético Madrid have sealed the tie!"
Commentator Mario shouted.
The Atlético fans in the stands waved their arms, stamping their feet in excitement and making the whole stadium shake.
In the end,
Atlético Madrid beat AC Milan 3-0 at home, 5-1 on aggregate, and advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals.
"Full time! Full time! AC Milan are out of the Champions League quarterfinals..."
"Atlético Madrid have beaten AC Milan 3-0 at home and advance emphatically by a 5-1 aggregate score!"
"Atlético Madrid are sweeping across Europe like a storm, and the man driving that storm is their midfield core, Shane Carter!"
"Congratulations, Atlético Madrid!"
While the commentators roared,
the camera locked onto Shane on the pitch.
Shane felt a little regretful.
Even though they had advanced with a 3-0 win, the difficulty rating for this match had only been given a "half," so the final reward didn't really excite him.
But the victory and the quarterfinal berth were already enough to make him happy.
"Quarterfinals! Quarterfinals! Quarterfinals!"
In the stands at the Calderón,
Atlético fans shouted as one.
Below them, Shane took off his shirt and tossed it into the crowd, revealing an even more powerful upper body.
He raised his fists and celebrated together with the supporters.
This was his first Champions League campaign.
Getting to the quarterfinals in one go was certainly not the time to stop.
He wanted to go even further.
Quarterfinals.
Semifinals.
Final!
What an exciting stage this was...
Read ahead with 70+ chapters now with daily updates!
@patreon.com/Authorizz