Chapter 409: Frustrated Pandev

"The current record holder for most goals in a single Serie A season is Shevchenko, who scored 32 goals last season, breaking Luca Toni's 31-goal record from the 2005/2006 season!"

"But this season, a new and even more formidable challenger has emerged!"

"Suker now has 30 goals in 30 rounds. In his first year as Milan's attacking core, Suker has stormed into the 30+ goals club—and with 8 league games remaining, he still has the chance to boost his tally and even break the all-time Serie A single-season scoring record!"

Aldo Serena commented emotionally:

"Serie A has welcomed one of the most terrifying strikers in history!"

On the pitch, Suker was still celebrating energetically.

Scoring so early in the match gave him a huge rush of joy.

Of course, it was a heavy blow for Lazio.

"Come on! Wake up!"

"The defense is too soft!"

"Keep an eye on Suker!"

Lazio goalkeeper Peruzzi shouted in frustration.

Conceding so early had massively increased the pressure on him. Even though he tried to stay calm, just watching the backs of Suker and Kaká sent a chill down his spine.

Those two are in frightening form!

"Not again…"

Pandev clenched his fists in anger.

In the recent Euro qualifiers, their back line had been shredded by Suker.

And now, it was happening all over again.

Pandev felt they should be more decisive, more aggressive.

So, he prepared to drop deeper and help out—waiting for a counterattack opportunity where he could use his dribbling and speed to threaten Milan.

Meanwhile, Suker had finished his celebration.

Milan's goal celebrations often included weird antics—but not with Suker. He and Pirlo were usually the ones causing the antics, so when they stayed calm, everyone else did too.

After returning to midfield, Suker high-fived Maldini.

"Nice one!"

Maldini ruffled his hair and gave him an encouraging smile.

For Maldini, whenever Suker scored, he would always run over to celebrate with him—partly to encourage him, and partly as a form of recognition.

From the sideline, Ancelotti returned to his seat. With Milan scoring first, the match was already leaning heavily in their favor.

Sure, it wasn't impossible to mount a comeback—but it wasn't going to be Lazio.

Ancelotti was sure of that.

The match resumed.

Lazio restarted play from the center circle.

After conceding, Lazio became much more cautious.

Compared to Milan, they'd been slower to get into game rhythm, but that early goal had shaken them into alertness.

Still, Lazio didn't push too aggressively.

They slowed the pace—they weren't built for fast-tempo football anyway.

They didn't fight hard for possession, instead focusing on solid defending and waiting to counter.

They pulled back into their own half, shoring up defensively while watching for opportunities.

Milan, now leading away from home, had no need to rush.

Pirlo strolled around leisurely, shifting the ball left and right. Up front, Suker and Kaká were basically walking.

The only one who looked anxious was Inzaghi.

He wanted to score!

Since Suker had become the main striker this season, Inzaghi's chances had plummeted.

As mentioned before, it was like only Suker knew how to use Inzaghi. Nobody else could unlock him.

Seeing how eager Inzaghi was, Pirlo thought about it—and decided to try something.

"Push up!"

Pirlo shouted, prompting Milan to push the formation higher.

This compressed the space between Pirlo and Inzaghi—perfect for tight through balls.

Inzaghi waited with anticipation. Pirlo, after shaking off a marker with a quick turn, threaded a pass through.

It was a nicely angled ball—but unfortunately, not very deceptive.

Lazio had been alert.

As Inzaghi chased it down, he was instantly marked and suppressed.

Unlike Suker, Inzaghi's slight build made it hard to shield the ball effectively.

The ball was intercepted by Stefano Mauri, who pulled it away under pressure and turned to launch a counter.

"Inzaghi couldn't get a shot off—Pirlo's pass was too obvious!"

As the commentator spoke, Mauri fired the ball ahead to Pandev.

Pandev sprinted forward, controlling the ball and charging toward Milan's penalty area.

"Fall back! Fall back!"

Maldini shouted, retreating while locking eyes on Pandev.

But Maldini didn't press forward—he knew if he tried to tackle, he'd likely get beaten, and he wasn't confident in chasing Pandev down.

So, he continued backing off, keeping him in front.

As they neared the penalty arc, Maldini closed in.

He wasn't going for a tackle—just applying pressure and narrowing the shooting angle.

Maldini used his body to block off most of the right-side shooting lane. If Pandev tried to shoot that way, it would likely hit Maldini.

That left only the left-side shot, which Dida could cover from a tight angle.

Maldini may not have had the physical edge anymore—but his experience was elite.

Boom!

Sure enough, Pandev fired straight ahead.

Dida didn't even need to dive.

He bent his knees, brought his hands low, and absorbed the shot cleanly into his chest, subtly leaning back to cushion the impact.

The ball was safely caught!

Dida exhaled and gave Maldini a thumbs-up.

A perfect defensive sequence.

Maldini motioned to slow things down.

"That guy just shoots blind."

Suker suddenly said.

"Shoots blind?" Kaká was puzzled.

Suker nodded:

"Pandev doesn't even look up before he shoots. We always glance at the keeper's position, but he just powers through blindly."

It sounded nice to call it

"power brings miracles."

Less nicely, it's just shooting like a headless chicken.

"Predictable instincts."

Kaká understood.

A lot of players shoot that way—no look, pure muscle memory.

Suker and Kaká also do that in high-pressure moments, but most of the time, they observe first for efficiency.

But not Pandev.

He's the classic wild card.

When he's off? Absolutely useless.

When he's hot? Even the gods better watch out.

Right now? Not a good day for him.

That shot said it all.

As time passed, Milan stayed calm and methodical.

They didn't give Lazio many chances and slowly ground down the clock.

Ancelotti and Milan's veteran core were cunning—they knew how to win matches.

After a few defensive exchanges, the first half quickly flew by.

Halftime whistle blew.

Serie A Round 30: Lazio 0–1 AC Milan (HT).

In the Lazio locker room, the coach was shouting instructions—pointing out errors, emphasizing team cohesion.

"Oliveira, warm up!"

Ricardo Oliveira jumped up.

He ran out to start warming up. Since the second half of the season began, he'd rarely gotten chances.

Partly because of Ronaldo's arrival squeezing his tactical role.

And partly because in the race for points, the team needed to rely on core starters.

Ancelotti watched Oliveira's back and shook his head slightly.

He'd given him many chances earlier in the season—but Oliveira just hadn't adapted to Serie A or the demands of a top club.

Oliveira wasn't suited to being the star—nor could he be a good supporting piece.

Then again… maybe Ancelotti had just been spoiled by Suker.

After all, last season, Suker was the perfect role player.

This season, Suker had become a world-class star.

Ancelotti's earlier assessment was still true:

"Suker can be the protagonist—or the supporting cast."