The San Siro roared to life under the lights, a living, breathing colossus of sound. Flares burned red in the upper stands like angry stars. Flags waved wildly, covering sections of the crowd in black and red. The energy rolled across the grass in pulses, feeding into the players on the pitch.
Alex Walker stood on the sideline with his arms crossed, jaw tight, eyes unblinking. The pitch glowed under the floodlights, and his players held their shape like soldiers trained for siege. Lecce were lined up in a compact 3-5-2, no fancy tricks, no risky openings. Just discipline. Resolve. They were not here to be tourists in football's cathedral. They were here to fight.
AC Milan, decked in their iconic red and black, moved like a machine with golden gears. Each pass was crisp, confident. From the start, they were patient, almost surgical. They didn't rush. They didn't panic. They simply began to probe, to test, to stretch Lecce's structure and look for the first crack.