Facts proved that once Kaka, Milan’s biggest game-changer, left the pitch, the gap between AC Milan and Ascoli wasn’t quite as enormous as everyone had imagined.
In the 63rd minute, Ascoli finally recovered from the beating they’d taken in the first half and rediscovered some fighting spirit.
A four-goal deficit had basically guaranteed that Milan would be leaving their stadium with all three points.
But simply giving up without a fight clearly wasn’t Ascoli’s style.
The move started with Coppola.
After saving a long-range effort from Shevchenko, the goalkeeper quickly released the ball to Cudini.
Cudini carried it forward himself.
He beat Sheva’s press, continued charging up the pitch, and then combined through quick one-twos to get past Pirlo and Ambrosini.
Suddenly, he was at the edge of the penalty area.
Maybe Milan’s defenders had relaxed too much with a four-goal lead.
Or maybe nobody expected Cudini to shoot.
Either way, Stam and Nesta didn’t close him down quickly enough.
Cudini took advantage.
He set himself.
Shot.
By the time Milan’s centre-backs realised the danger and tried to block, the ball was already flying past them.
Into the net.
Ascoli 1-4 AC Milan.
A consolation goal.
At least for now.
Milan’s defence didn’t change much after conceding.
On the touchline, Ancelotti sat calmly with his arms folded, chewing gum as usual.
Well, there was no furious shouting this time and no dramatic reaction.
Then, in the 75th minute, Milan nearly conceded again.
This time, Quagliarella received a through ball from Cristiano and exploded forward.
His sudden acceleration left Stam behind.
With no other option, the Dutch defender reached out and brought him down right on the edge of the penalty area.
Yellow card.
And Milan had been lucky.
If Quagliarella had managed to take one more step into the box, Stam might have been looking at a red card and a penalty.
Ascoli continued pushing forward in the remaining minutes and created several more attacks, but none produced another goal.
At the other end, Shevchenko and Gilardino remained lively.
But without Kaka, the supply into the final third had dropped noticeably.
Pirlo could still create chances, of course.
But even he couldn’t produce a perfect defence-splitting pass every single time.
Eventually, the referee blew for full time.
Ascoli 1-4 AC Milan.
Milan left the City of a Hundred Towers with all three points.
…
On the flight home, Kaka settled comfortably into his seat.
“System, calculate the rewards.”
[Host scored 4 goals in this match.
Points +4]
[Host completed a four-goal haul.
Points +2]
[Current Point Balance: 41]
Six points from one match.
Not bad at all.
He was now only nine points away from being able to purchase either another Comprehensive Physical Therapy session or another Specialised Enhancement.
If things went well, two matches.
If things went slowly, maybe four.
Either way, another upgrade wasn’t far away.
Kaka leaned back in his seat, feeling extremely pleased with life.
The next few opponents on the schedule weren’t particularly strong either.
Hah~ Perfect.
More opportunities.
More goals.
More points.
He had absolutely no fear of being called a stat-padder.
Football wasn’t basketball.
You couldn’t pile up goals and assists while your team somehow kept losing every week.
If you were producing numbers in football, chances were your team was winning.
So as far as Kaka was concerned, the solution was simple.
Farm stats.
Farm them flagrantly.
As long as he kept doing that, Milan’s results couldn’t possibly be bad.
Russell Westbrook could average a triple-double and still fail to win a championship.
But if Kaka averaged two or three goals per match?
Then he would damn well be universally recognised as the King of Football.
Hell, even one goal per game would probably be enough.
…
The emphatic victory in the opening match left both the squad and the supporters in high spirits.
When Milan returned home, a huge crowd of fans even gathered at the airport to welcome them back.
Kaka couldn’t bring himself to let people who had waited so long go home empty-handed.
After checking with airport security and the team staff, he stayed behind for a while to sign autographs and take photos.
Those lucky supporters immediately posted their pictures and signed memorabilia online.
Naturally, everyone who had decided not to go to the airport regretted it bitterly.
Back at the training ground, Ancelotti gave the squad a few brief instructions before dismissing them.
Milan’s next match wouldn’t be until September 10, when they would host Siena at the San Siro.
Siena were sometimes jokingly compared to a miniature Juventus, not because they were remotely as strong, but because their black-and-white striped shirts looked similar.
As for their actual level, they were roughly in Ascoli’s category.
With more than ten days before the next match, Kaka took the opportunity to check on his growing business interests.
More importantly, he wanted to make absolutely sure his father hadn’t accepted any ridiculous endorsements on his behalf.
He had no intention of ending up in some painfully embarrassing commercial, standing there with an unnatural grin while holding a brightly coloured packet of throat lozenges.
Even his face couldn’t save everything.
And if he became one of the biggest stars in football, that kind of advertisement would follow him around forever.
In the original timeline, Kaka had at least been well paid for some questionable endorsements.
But now?
He wasn’t short of money.
Protecting his image was far more valuable.
…
September 10 arrived quickly.
AC Milan welcomed Siena to the San Siro.
Ancelotti once again used his familiar 4-3-1-2, while Siena lined up in a 4-4-2.
The match unfolded almost exactly like the season opener against Ascoli.
Kaka attacked relentlessly in the first half.
Goals, assists, headers, shots, through balls.
Everything!!
Siena’s defence was completely overwhelmed.
In the third minute, Pirlo lifted a long pass over the midfield.
Kaka brought it down with his thigh, took one touch, and immediately shot.
The ball flew straight into the corner.
Goal.
Against teams with obvious weaknesses in defence, Kaka was beginning to realise something.
Even though his dribbling had reached an elite level, sometimes there was no reason to bother beating three players when he could simply shoot from distance.
His long-range shooting was terrifying.
With an overall Shooting rating of 91, a huge portion of that ability clearly came from strikes outside the box.
That didn’t mean he was poor from close range.
Not at all.
It was just that compared with his long shots…
ehm..
Everything else looked ordinary.
After taking the lead, Milan attacked again in the 12th minute.
Another ball from Pirlo.
Seedorf flicked it on with his head.
Kaka met it immediately.
Without controlling the ball, he delicately lifted it over the defensive line.
Gilardino reacted fastest.
He burst through and finished cleanly.
2-0.
Then, in the 37th minute, Kaka struck again.
A familiar scene.
Receiving the ball near halfway.
Turning.
Accelerating.
And then…
Full speed!
He knocked the ball ahead and exploded after it.
One defender tried to lean into him.
Gone.
Another stepped across.
Gone.
Siena’s defence was scattered everywhere as Kaka powered straight through the middle.
He reached the penalty area.
A defender committed to the sliding tackle.
Kaka waited until the last possible moment and cut the ball back.
Shevchenko arrived.
One touch.
Bang.
“Goaaaaaaal!”
At halftime: AC Milan 3-0 Siena.
Kaka’s work was done.
Ancelotti substituted him off, and he spent the second half watching comfortably from the bench.
Milan eventually completed a 4-0 victory and collected another three points.
Kaka had once again lit up the San Siro.
One goal.
Two assists.
Shevchenko scored twice.
And new signing Gilardino also opened his account.
Another comfortable night for Milan.