Things in the domestic championships at both clubs are far from the best. The reasons are different, but the essence is the same - for both Milan and Bayern Champions League is the only competition where you can still change the overall impression of the season for the better. In addition, it is likely that only a victory in the champion league will allow teams to play in this tournament next season.
The first ten minutes was expected to be marked by Milan activity. Realizing the owner's rights, the Ancelotti wards made several sighting attempts to print Renzing. To begin with, Seedorf didn’t have enough to close the flank canopy of Jankulowski for a split second, and later Gilardino didn’t very quickly manage the ball after Pirlo's subtle pass.
The debut of the Rossoneri soon came to naught. The Bavarian duet of the Ottl-Hargreaves oporniks, not disdaining tactical fouls, skillfully fettered Milan activity in the center of the field, simultaneously blocking the way the ball was delivered to the Brazilian Kaka. The Italians were forced to focus on flanking attacks. Ambrosini, who had already scored more than once this season, great hit his head after a pass Oddo, but Rensing calmly averted the threat.
Closer to the middle of the half, the game visibly leveled off. The Munich team overcame the inherent constraint of the guests and began to make permanent sorties to the gates of Dida. However, it did not work out too much. The entire central axis of the “Bavaria” performed mainly destructive functions, and the Germans did not play the flank game because of the extreme reliability of the Milan midfield. Seedorf, who formally played the left insider, with the counter-attacks of others, sank back and cut down the flank undertakings of Sagnol and Salihamidzic without problems. On the opposite edge, Gattuso performed the same trick peerlessly, preventing the Lama from performing branded slaloms.
Realizing the futility of the attacking team’s attempts in such a way, Hitzfeld instructed Schweinsteiger and Salihamidžić to shift to the center more often. However, this only led to a low-risk long-range strike by the Bosnian. The maximum allowed by "Milan" to the opponent in their half were just shots from 20-30 meters. Twice Andreas Ottl ventured on them, and once such a blow slightly puzzled Didu.
“Milan” calmly endured the vain activity of the guests and again proceeded to the offensive. At the 37th minute, Nesta, with an amazing pass, sent Oddo into the flank breakthrough, who managed to easily forward the ball into the penalty area to Gilardino. However, Rensing again emerged well done from a potential scoring situation.
Well, what about Kaka? For the first half hour, he was almost literally fettered hand and foot. But the Brazilian would not be himself - one of the best football players of our time, if he did not have the ability to subtly feel the situation in the match. Realizing that in the center he would not be allowed to walk this evening, the 22nd number of Milan moved to the left flank. It was from there that he began his jerk into the penalty area of the Bavarians, which ended in a fall after a single combat with Lucio. The referee Yuri Baskakov did not even think about appointing a penalty, and the replay only convinced us of the correctness of his decision. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who on the eve of the meeting was actively indignant about the nationality and qualifications of our referee, probably considered that these were the fruits of his psychological pressure. However, the ending of the meeting probably convinced him ...
“Milan” did not long grieve over the failed penalty. The Bavarians made a mistake when creating an artificial offside, and Andrea Pirlo, responding to the supply of Oddo, freely threw the ball over his head through Rensing - 1: 0.
It is logical that Hitzfeld did not drive his players into the attack. In the conceded goal, there is, of course, not much to enjoy, but Ottmar believed that the main goal was to avoid increasing the score. “Milan” also temporarily turned off active work ahead, noting just an unscored goal by Gilardino. Alberto did not hear Baskakov’s whistle and hit the ball into Rensing, for which he received a mustard plaster. Now the return game in Munich will be held without the participation of Jila.
25 minutes before the end, Hitzfeld decided to cheer up the game through substitutions. Sagnol and Podolsky gave way to the field Lellu and Pizarro. And it was the Peruvian who co-authored the second goal of the match! In the 78th minute, after Salihamidzic's flank canopy, Claudio dropped the ball to Van Beiten's head, which led to an equalization of the score.
The delight of the Bavarians, however, did not last long. At the 84th minute, when Kaka again collapsed in the penalty area, fighting for the ball with Lucio, it seemed that we were being shown a repeat of a similar episode of the first half. The only difference was that this time Baskakov pointed to the "point". The victim himself approached the penalty spot and calmly sent his 7th goal into the goal of the current tournament.
The score was already not very frightening for Bavaria on the eve of the return match, however, it managed to make it much more attractive. In the last minute added, the same van Beiten, habitually finding himself in the penalty area of an opponent, did not hesitate in the company of three Milanese and scored a double with a powerful blow to the near corner - and the disposition before the Munich match changed again.
MILAN Italy - BAVARIA Germany - 2: 2 (1: 0)
Goals: 1: 0 - Pirlo (40), 1: 1 - van Beiten (78), 2: 1 - Kaka (84, penalty), 2: 2 - van Beiten (90 + 3).
MILAN: Dida, Maldini, Gattuso, Nesta, Oddo, Yankulovsky (Kaladze, 86), Kaka, Seedorf (Gurkuff, 85), Pirlo, Ambrosini, Gilardino (Inzaghi, 72).
BAVARIA: Rensing, Sagnol (Lell, 68), Lucio, van Beiten, Lam, Ottl, Hargreaves, Mackay (Santa Cruz, 86), Podolski (Pisarro, 68), Schweinsteiger, Salihamidzic.
Warnings: Salihamidžić (33), Gilardino (55), Lucio (83).
Milan. "Giuseppe Meazza".
Judge: Y. Baskakov (Russia).