Vs AC Milan (3)

As the referee's whistle echoed across the San Siro, sharp and final, the two teams slowed, then stopped, then began the slow walk toward the tunnel. The end of the first half had come, and with it, a release of tension that had been building like steam in a sealed chamber. Lecce's players moved in silence, shoulders sagging slightly, boots scuffing against the grass as they made their way off the pitch. The scoreboard above glowed in harsh red and white: 1–0. Just a single goal separated the sides, but it felt like a cliff already climbed, like a war had already been fought and survived, barely.