Time passed unnoticed as the match continued. The AC Milan players, driven by sheer willpower, managed to hold on for more than ten minutes without conceding another goal!
The conservative substitutions made by AC Milan's coaching staff in the second half seemed to have paid off, at least in terms of stabilizing the game.
At this moment, Cao Baming was still roaming all over the pitch. He moved from the left flank to the right, then back to the left forward area, weaving through the front and back lines. No one could pinpoint his exact location.
For AC Milan, Cao Baming's presence was like a ticking time bomb, capable of exploding at any moment to send the ball into their own net and further extend the lead. However, keeping tabs on him was far from easy; in fact, it was incredibly difficult.
His movements were utterly unpredictable. Just when you thought you had him locked down, in the blink of an eye, he'd appear dozens of meters away, behind another teammate who was completely oblivious to his presence.
But as the match wore on, the AC Milan players, who had maintained their youthful vigor, began to show signs of fatigue.
Their ability to keep the scoreline at bay and not be completely crushed by Arsenal was due to their sheer spirit. If they had played like Bayern Munich in the previous match, the score wouldn't be 4-2; it might have been over ten to two.
However, no matter how hard they tried, their stamina would eventually falter. Now, everyone was exhausted, and the coach had very few substitutions left, having used four already.
Even with five substitutions allowed in the Champions League final, and an extra one in case of certain injuries, having used four meant only one remained. Yet, more than one player on the field was experiencing physical issues.
Their strides had become heavy, their speed visibly declining. This decline wasn't just in running speed but also in reaction time and mental awareness, even their walking pace was affected. When stamina significantly dropped, their footwork and passing would also suffer, leading to a substantial overall performance decrease.
This was the current state of the players, but the coach was helpless. He had to carefully consider who to use the last substitution on. It seemed like whoever he brought on wouldn't make much of a difference, as multiple players were struggling. He decided to save the final substitution for unforeseen circumstances, keeping one more card up his sleeve.
However, the players on the field didn't give him that luxury. Shortly after this thought crossed his mind, an incident occurred. During a press on the wing, as Cao Baming was dribbling, a player aggressively tackled him, earning a yellow card for excessive force.
This was a yellow card, not just a simple foul. The fouled player approached the referee to argue, but he had no ground to stand on.
The next second, a sharp pain shot up from his ankle. The player himself couldn't believe it. He was the one who committed the foul, so why was his ankle in such agony? In the next moment, he collapsed onto the field, and everyone rushed over.
Cao Baming acted as if nothing had happened. If not for that tackle, he would have successfully broken through. With an open space ahead, a couple more steps would have allowed him to pass to Henry for a shot.
Cao Baming believed that if he had managed that shot, the probability of scoring wouldn't have been just around 80%; it would have been almost 100%.
It was a real pity, an extreme shame. His expression was filled with regret.
But the player who initiated the foul was undoubtedly suffering the most. He realized the intense pain in his ankle showed no signs of subsiding. When the medical staff arrived, several individuals in white uniforms surrounded him, using various methods like pain relief spray to treat his injury, but to no avail.
He only felt that the throbbing pain in his ankle was not lessening; in fact, it seemed to worsen after the treatment. 138 Reading Network.
When the medical staff asked if he could continue, the player gritted his teeth and reluctantly said, "Forget it, I can't go on. Let me off the field!"
Internally, he was in immense pain. No player wanted to be substituted at such a crucial moment, especially when the team had the momentum and was aiming to equalize and win the Champions League final.
Facing his request, AC Milan's head coach had no other choice but to comply, reluctantly playing his last card and selecting the final substitution.
Perhaps the only piece of good news for him at this moment was that only less than 20 minutes remained in the match, and now it was less than 15.
With this injury and foul incident, a few more minutes of regular time were consumed. However, the referee indicated that these lost minutes would be added as injury time at the end of the regular period. That was a significant 5 minutes.
With so little time left, Arsenal still wanted to score another goal before the final whistle, especially Cao Baming.
As the referee signaled for the game to continue, there was no hesitation. They immediately took the kick-off and swiftly organized an attack.
The ball was quickly passed between players, soon crossing the midfield.