On April 30th,
AC Milan hosted Fiorentina at home.
This was the 34th round of Serie A.
Both Milan and Fiorentina had received point deductions at the start of the season.
Milan was docked eight points, while Fiorentina suffered a harsher penalty of 19 points.
Yet Fiorentina showed great resilience, still managing to finish sixth in Serie A despite the heavy deductions.
This season, aside from AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Roma, Fiorentina was one of the best-performing teams.
In the first half of the season, Milan had narrowly beaten Fiorentina away thanks to a goal by Suker.
Fiorentina's stable defense had caused Milan a lot of trouble back then.
Suker's explosive second-half performance ultimately secured Milan the win.
This time, Milan played with much more comfort.
Thanks to Kaká's outstanding form, Suker did not need to expend so much energy.
On the pitch, Suker moved from the left wing to the center.
Kaká cut in from the right side, and Suker immediately followed up to advance.
Kaká showed strong desire and actively drove at Fiorentina's defensive line with the ball.
Thanks to Kaká's brilliant play, Fiorentina had to divert some of their attention from Suker.
This gave Suker more opportunities up front.
After a series of Kaká's breakthroughs down the flank, he curled a cross toward the center.
The ball flew in, and Fiorentina's defenders immediately searched for Suker.
But by then, Suker had already rushed to the near post.
Meeting the ball, Suker didn't stop his feet and flicked his head toward the goal.
Bang!
The ball flew close to the near post and slipped inside the net.
61 minutes on the clock.
Suker's header put AC Milan in the lead with his first goal of the match.
"A killer strike!"
"This is Suker's intimidation—he only needs a tiny chance in front of goal to convert."
"Fiorentina's defense had been battling Suker for a full 60 minutes but still couldn't stop him."
"And Suker's tally is now 34 goals!"
"Yes! He broke Shevchenko's single-season Serie A goal record. Suker is now the top single-season scorer in Serie A history."
Fiorentina's defenders looked grim.
They had tried their best to mark Suker but still failed to contain him.
Just one chance, and Suker scored—a clear sign they hadn't fully shut him down.
Milan's early goal made things worse for Fiorentina.They had hoped to at least earn a draw with solid defense, but now the game grew increasingly passive for them.
At the 65th minute, Milan made substitutions.
Kaká and Suker came off;
Simic and Ronaldo came on.
From then on, Milan prepared to defend.For Ancelotti and Milan, just one goal was enough—they would shift to defense and rely on it to secure the win.
On the bench, Suker and Kaká sat down with a sigh.Suker took a large gulp of energy drink, easing his dry throat.
"Did you watch Manchester United's game yesterday?" Suker asked.
Kaká nodded: "They won 2-1 over Chelsea. Rooney and Ronaldo both scored; they are United's biggest firepower."
"Modrić's passing was also key. Against Chelsea's ironclad defense, they played even better."
Suker shook his head.Manchester United was stronger than he remembered.Modrić's arrival had brought a qualitative change to their midfield.The whole was much greater than the sum of its parts.
If the usual trajectory holds, the next Champions League semi-final second leg would be Kaká's moment to shine:"The Holy Son storms the night to cut down the Red Devils!"
But although Kaká was in excellent form, this United squad was much stronger than normal.Once again, Modrić made their midfield run smoother, greatly increasing the threat from Rooney and Ronaldo.
This explained Manchester United's fierce Premier League competitiveness right now.
For Milan, Suker and Kaká had to cooperate perfectly.
Before their defense could be breached, they needed to take the lead first.
They could not be dragged around by Manchester United as in the previous leg.
While they chatted, the match on the pitch was entering its final stages.
Milan's cautious defense gave Fiorentina no chance to overturn.From start to finish, Fiorentina was completely suppressed.
Although the match had only one goal and relatively slow tempo, no Milan fan saw any problem.
In Italy's defense-first football culture, this was very different from Spain's style that values entertainment.
Of course, fans still wanted to see exciting matches, but all that mattered was winning.
Put simply, fans cared more about victory than style.
In the evening, inside Milan's tactical room, Ancelotti stood before the board and said:"Paolo can't play in the next game. Kaladze and Nesta need to handle the defense."
Maldini was sidelined due to injury, which put some pressure on the Milan players.
Losing a spiritual leader on the field before such an important match against a strong opponent was not good.
But they all understood Maldini's physical condition.
He had persisted this long and they could not ask for more.
Ancelotti's eyes flicked between Nesta and Gattuso.
Finally, he gave the captain's armband to Nesta.
Although Gattuso had more experience, his impulsive personality was a problem.
Last time he wore the armband, if Suker hadn't calmed him down, he would have gotten a card.
To keep Gattuso level-headed, Ancelotti had to make this decision.
Gattuso felt a little dissatisfied but didn't show it.
For Suker, it didn't matter who wore the armband—as long as they won.
After the Champions League so far, Suker had gained some benefits.
Most of his skill cards were platinum and no longer gave much boost.
He had gotten two attribute cards, both applied to speed.
His agility had dropped to 88 due to increased muscle density.
Suker felt no need to raise agility now—it was sufficient, and that attribute was a bottomless pit.
Once other stats were higher, he could fill agility later.
Everything was ready; now they only awaited the second leg of the Champions League semi-final.
Both Manchester United and Milan attached great importance to this match.
Especially Milan—they had to reach the final.
Only then could they have a chance for revenge against Liverpool.
For the next three days, Milan trained in closed sessions.
No scenes or news about training leaked to the outside.
On May 1st, the Milan team gathered in the tactical room to watch the Chelsea vs. Liverpool Champions League second leg.
The match was intense.
Chelsea used Drogba's power to repeatedly attack Liverpool's goal.
But Liverpool's midfield, led by Xabi Alonso, frequently pushed the ball forward, supplying ammunition.
Finally, in the 77th minute, Pennant, who just joined Liverpool this season, struck a low shot that pierced Chelsea's goal.
That goal gave Liverpool the victory and sent them into the Champions League final.
Liverpool became the first team to qualify for the final.
Their opponent would come from Manchester United and AC Milan.
Media and fans were highly interested and excited.
Many even hoped Milan would make the final more than Manchester United.
After all, with the heat surrounding the 'Istanbul Night,' whether Milan could successfully exact revenge on Liverpool was a very hot topic.