TIME MACHINE: JOSÉ MARI IN PSG v AC MILAN

PSG v AC Milan is the fixture awaiting us in the Champions League. An amazing game to be approached with care, against a team that is strong in all areas. It will be the Rossoneri's third ever visit to Parc des Princes on Wednesday: the first was in April 1995 in the Champions League Semi-final away leg which we won 1-0; the second and most recent was in February 2001, in the second round of the group stage of the Champions League. It is precisely this game that we will travel back to in the Time Machine today, and the goal from José María Romero Poyón, or rather, José Mari. 

Born in 1978, the Spanish forward arrived at AC Milan in December 1999: Zaccheroni was in the dugout and the squad were playing with the shirt that featured the Scudetto won on 23 of May the same year. Raised in Seville and debuting in La Liga with Sevilla, he came to AC Milan from Atlético Madrid after playing with them for the last 2 and a half seasons. On 6 January 2000, he debuted in the Rossoneri jersey in the away game victory over Piacenza and scored his first goal against Roma at San Siro. In general, it was hard for him to be consistent while at the Club, both in terms of minutes and goals. But in the 2000/01 Champions League, he scored almost every game: in the preliminary round against Dinamo Zagreb, then he scored 4 goals in 7 appearances in the double group stage, including one against PSG at Parc des Princes. 

It was 20 February 2001, and after the 1-1 draw in the first leg, Zaccheroni's Rossoneri were looking for points in Paris to bring them closer to the next round: the game was even, but AC Milan had plenty of chances. Leandro and Serginho in the first half, Shevchenko and Serginho again in the second. The Parisians, however, broke the deadlock with a goal from Robert in the 75th minute that surprised Abbiati. The hosts now had the advantage on aggregate, and in the 77th minute, Zac throws José Mari into the mix, which turns out to be a good move. In the 90th minute, when it seemed like it was all over, the Spanish attacker is the quickest to pick up a pass from Albertini in the area. His strike catches the keeper out of position and gifts AC Milan the 1-1 result.

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