Under the night sky of Milan…
San Siro, packed with 80,000 fans, erupted with a deafening gasp!
Kai's long pass sliced through the night air, stunning every single Milan supporter in the stadium!
The on-site commentator was speechless.
He wiped his mic and repeatedly shouted,
"Pazzesco!! Paz-zes-co!!" —
A word in Italian used to describe something wildly crazy, utterly unbelievable.
How did that ball even get through?
In the early moments of the match, Milan's defense was not yet fully settled.
Even a seasoned veteran like Nesta was still adjusting to Van Persie's movement.
But the moment Nesta took just one step forward,
his positioning changed from slightly side-on to completely back-facing the goal.
A central defender facing away from goal — a dangerous stance.
But it was just a split second.
No one could have imagined that this fleeting moment would be seized upon so ruthlessly!
Kai's long pass soared directly over Nesta's head…
…dropping right behind him!
The hardest kind of ball for any defender — the one that lands behind the backline!
In the stands, Milan fans clutched their heads in horror.
What's happening?!
The match had barely started—
and already their midfield maestro Pirlo had been dispossessed?!
Kai intercepted Pirlo, paused strangely for a moment,
then from nearly the center circle — launched a monster long ball from range!
With a subtle curve, the ball cleared Nesta's head
and dropped perfectly near the edge of Milan's penalty box!
San Siro exploded with a thunderous roar!
At the drop point—
Van Persie timed it perfectly, cushioning the ball with his thigh…
…bringing it under control right in front of him!
The Arsenal striker's eyes gleamed with excitement.
Kai's pass was hauntingly precise — ghostlike.
In the chaos of defenders and midfielders,
he had picked out the one and only Arsenal player making a run into the box!
Van Persie brought it down, surged forward…
and stepped into the penalty area!
No defenders in sight!
One-on-one!
Composed finish!!
GOALLLLLL!!!
The ball was in!! 1–0!!!
Milan goalkeeper Abbiati dove with everything he had…
…but the ball flew just past his fingertips into the back of the net!
"WTF?! That's a goal!"
"Arsenal scored!!"
The commentators were shell-shocked.
The goal had come way too fast.
The game had only just begun!
A single misstep from Pirlo near the halfway line
shouldn't have been enough to alter the scoreline so dramatically.
But that No. 10 from Arsenal, positioned just a few paces from the center circle—
—had delivered a surgical, match-breaking long pass right out of nowhere!
In an instant—
San Siro's energy flipped on its head.
Wild cheers erupted from the Arsenal section!
"Oh, my god! That pass was pure beauty!!"
"It was a stroke of genius!"
"Amazing! Incredible! We're in the lead!!"
In the away stands, Arsenal fans roared in wild celebration!
They never imagined that their first Champions League goal of the season
would come so early and so spectacularly!
They stared at Kai on the field with expressions of disbelief and awe.
"Damn right, Milan! Now this is what a true midfield maestro looks like!"
"Pirlo could never pull off a pass like that!"
The Arsenal fans were merciless in their taunts, cheering nonstop.
Their joy swept through the stands like wildfire.
On the sidelines, Wenger clenched his fist tightly…
then broke into a proud smile.
Yes! Absolutely right!
Even against a defense-hardened Serie A team,
Kai's passing was still razor-sharp!
They had completely set the tone!
When a Premier League club enters the world of Italian football,
they're meant to teach those self-proclaimed masters of defense a real lesson!
On the Milan bench, Allegri's face turned sour.
That goal—completely unexpected.
And for Pirlo to be the one making the mistake—even more so.
"Captain, that pass was unbelievable!"
Van Persie, still fired up from the goal, slapped the turf twice and celebrated with passion.
He slid on his knees straight to Kai, arms wide in jubilation!
The Arsenal players gathered in a joyful huddle.
"Remember what that goal felt like—because we're putting a few more past them tonight!"
Kai gripped Van Persie around the shoulders, his eyes burning with fire!
Hearing his words, the Arsenal squad's expressions immediately sharpened!
They pumped their fists, fired up and feeding off each other's energy:
"The captain's right! Let's smash Serie A to pieces!"
"Let's show the defending Italian champions what a youth storm really looks like!"
Arsenal was brimming with fighting spirit.
Up in the stands, Milan fans were clearly frustrated.
Pirlo's back pass had been way too casual.
It was practically a gift to the opponent!
But more than anything, what puzzled the Milan fans—
Even if Pirlo had made a rare mistake…
How had Kai appeared in that exact position like a defensive midfielder, and intercepted so cleanly?
And what baffled them even more…
Was that insane long pass he played afterward!
Nesta, a legend of Milan's back line, almost never slipped up.
Yet just one small positional error—
And Kai pounced!
It made no sense!
Could this really be the power of a so-called "genius"?
Talent so unexplainable it defies logic?
Milan fans didn't want to believe it.
They would rather think Kai's world-class assist was just dumb luck!
Back on the pitch, Pirlo raised a hand to apologize to his teammates.
He admitted the goal was on him.
But his teammates didn't blame him.
After all, Pirlo's error was just the spark.
It was Kai's final pass that set the fire ablaze.
Pirlo's expression grew solemn.
He glanced across the pitch at that black-haired figure standing near the center line.
Who exactly was this kid?
As a refined midfield maestro, Pirlo rarely showed emotion during a match.
He rubbed his face, forcing himself to forget about conceding early.
Now, he had to lead Milan to equalize as fast as possible.
Nearby, Nesta took a deep breath and slapped his cheeks:
"Time to wake up. This is San Siro!"
Gattuso rallied the squad.
Ibrahimović stood at the center circle, ready for kickoff.
He tugged angrily at his collar, visibly irritated.
Conceding a goal so early was pissing him off.
The referee blew the whistle again.
Play resumed.
Ibrahimović took the center kick.
Pato laid it back to Van Bommel,
who then passed to Pirlo.
For this match, Pirlo was playing in the No. 4 role —
as a deep-lying playmaker in midfield.
Pirlo was the most successful converted attacking-midfielder-turned-regista in the modern game.
And playing from deep allowed him to maximize his magical passing range!
Back in the San Siro stands,
Milan fans' hope reignited.
Pirlo was the soul of Milan.
They were desperate to see their midfield magician fire back
with a few of his signature dreamlike passes…
…to answer the challenge posed by that young prodigy from England!
But before long—
Milan supporters noticed a certain figure on the pitch…
And he was starting to give them a headache.
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