Chapter 363 – Where is Suker?

Suker retreated while keeping a close eye on Inter Milan's defensive line—especially that guy, Srna.

Sure enough, the guy's eyes were locked onto him the whole time.

Although he appeared to be watching Seedorf, most of his attention was clearly on Suker.

Seeing this, Suker didn't hesitate any longer and drifted toward the center.

As Suker moved centrally, Gilardino reluctantly moved to the wing to make room for him.

There was no choice.

After being sidelined for half a season due to injury, Gilardino had to accept that Suker had firmly taken over as the core of the attack.

At this moment, Suker suddenly dropped a few steps deeper and signaled for the ball.

"Watch out!"

Srna immediately called out.

Zanetti also pressed forward instantly.

Kaká responded by pushing the ball toward Suker's feet.

Suker held off Zanetti with his back, then used the inside of his foot to drag the ball inward and, while still absorbing pressure from Zanetti, managed to turn and unleash a powerful right-footed shot.

Bang!

The ball whistled just past the goalpost.

"Ohhhh~~ Suker! What a dangerous shot! Just a bit lower and Inter Milan would've been in real trouble!"

Commentator Aldo Serena exclaimed, "This is the ability of AC Milan's leading striker, the style of the most efficient forward in Serie A right now!"

"Right after Inter Milan struck first, Suker responded without hesitation with a quick turn-and-shoot to answer back!"

Although the shot didn't result in a goal, it still gave Inter a huge scare.

Zanetti looked at Suker with growing concern.

He had given everything in that challenge—pulling, dragging—but still couldn't stop him.

On Suker's end, there was a flicker of frustration in his eyes.

As expected, the second time around, you couldn't fool them so easily.

Still, he didn't lose heart. As he retreated again, he waved his hands upward, rallying the home crowd for more intense support.

With Suker leading the call, San Siro once again erupted with a thunderous roar.

WAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH——

The atmosphere heated up, and the match began to take on an increasingly fiery tone.

"Once again, it's Crespo dropping back for the ball. With Cambiasso out injured, Crespo has taken on the role of linking play. Pirlo closes in, and the two engage in a fierce tussle. Crespo tries to emulate Suker's turn, but Pirlo brings him down!"

"Inter Milan wins a free kick in the attacking half!"

Inter Milan set up for the free kick.

Ibrahimović and others lined up along the edge of the penalty box, the towering attackers preparing for a header.

They were exploiting AC Milan's weakness in the air.

Bang!

Inter took the free kick.

As expected, the ball was lofted into the penalty area.

"The box is in chaos—Zlatan Ibrahimović! He got to it!! This ball..."

Aldo Serena gasped.

He saw the ball slip under keeper Dida's arm and head toward the far post.

With a clang, it ricocheted off the post and bounced out.

The penalty box was thrown into disarray again.

Maldini roared, then cleared the ball with force.

Pirlo barely managed to stop it, but the ball came at him too fast to fully control.

Still, he lunged and swept a pass forward from the ground.

He got the ball to Gilardino.

Gilardino met the ball and immediately sent it toward the penalty area.

Suker charged forward, trying to jump amidst a triple team of Zanetti, Cordoba, and Srna.

But before he could even leap, a big hand pressed down hard on his head.

"Srna, you dirty bastard!"

Suker cursed as he went down.

He spread his arms and looked to the referee. The ref ran over but motioned for Suker to get up.

Suker blinked, then jumped up in protest.

"That was a foul!"

He pointed to his head.

"They held me down!"

The referee shook his head, saying he didn't see anything.

Suker was furious. Just as he was about to argue, the ref had already turned and signaled for Inter to restart play.

Suker could only fall back.

Though Suker backed off, the AC Milan fans weren't having it.

"Foul! That was a foul!"

"Penalty!! Damn it! Are you blind?"

"The ref is blind?"

"You need a guide dog too?"

"That's a red card!"

"That's a penalty!!"

AC Milan fans screamed in outrage.

But the referee ignored it all.

Inter seized the opportunity and launched another counterattack.

The ball once again found its way to Crespo, who replicated the earlier lob pass.

Ibrahimović surged forward.

As the ball dropped, Ibrahimović leapt and smashed a header.

Smack!

Dida got a fingertip on it, but that was all.

The ball deflected off his hand and into the net.

Swish!

The ball hit the back of the net.

In the 14th minute, Inter Milan struck first thanks to Ibrahimović's goal.

"Ibrahimović! What a header!"

"He's the one who breaks through AC Milan's defense—once again, it's the Crespo–Ibrahimović connection showing lethal finishing power! And today, against AC Milan, they've stepped up once again!"

"Excellent header! Excellent pass!"

"Inter takes the lead—this is the first time in several seasons that they've gone ahead in a derby against AC Milan. It seems to signal the end of AC Milan's dominance!"

"Inter fans! Shout it loud—who scored for us?!"

At Milan's holding facility, two jail cells respectively held groups of Inter and AC Milan fans—these were the instigators of previous fights in Milan.

Now, Inter fans were watching the match on TV, fists raised, ecstatic.

"Zlatan! He is God!"

"Amazing! Hahaha! Crush those AC bastards!"

"Goal! Goal! Goal!"

While one cell was celebrating wildly, the AC Milan fans in the other were gloomy.

"It's just one goal. What's the big deal?"

Bob shouted irritably.

This was overheard by an Inter fan in a Zanetti jersey, who shouted mockingly: "One goal is all we need to beat you!"

Then he led a chant:

"Where is Suker?!"

"Where is Suker?!"

All the Inter fans joined in the jeering chant: "Where is Suker?!"

The AC Milan fans were about to explode.

Even though they couldn't see the smug faces of their rivals next door, they could easily imagine their gloating expressions.

Bob stared intently at the TV screen, where the camera showed Suker retreating.

Even though Milan was behind, he still believed Suker could lead a comeback.

"Just wait and see," Bob growled.

At the San Siro, Inter fans roared with joy.

Their cheers were drowned out by AC Milan fans' boos, but that didn't dull their excitement.

It had been a long time since they'd felt such joy from a goal.

With Juventus relegated and AC Milan weakened, they believed their time had finally come.

Indeed—

It was the era of Il Grande Inter once more!

With that thought, the Inter fans cheered even more wildly.

On the pitch, Suker walked back to the center circle while the referee took the ball to place it for kickoff.

Watching the Inter players still celebrating, Suker turned to protest.

"Aren't they celebrating for too long?"

The referee ignored him.

Suker's face twitched.

That bald bastard must've been paid off!

The ref still didn't respond—until Maldini walked over and said a few words. Then, the referee finally urged the Inter players to return.

Suker watched their smug expressions with a steely gaze.

Had these guys forgotten how badly he beat them last season?

He turned to Kaká.

"Kaká!"

Kaká looked over.

"Slice them up! Look for chances to pass me the ball!"

Kaká nodded firmly.

His expression showed he was angry too—just not as obviously as Gattuso, because Kaká was too good-looking to look furious.

...Then again, Gattuso looked scary even when he wasn't mad!

Finally, after a long delay, the match resumed.

Suker restarted play and immediately charged toward Inter's defense.

But this time, after surveying the scene, he signaled to Gilardino to stay high on the line while he himself strolled back deeper.

Both Suker and Kaká had been tightly marked.

So Suker dropped back to change the setup—taking on the role of attacking midfielder.

Now Milan had two attacking midfielders in Kaká and Suker.

Let's see how Inter plans to deal with that.

——