In the "Whole Market" scoring, Maicon received a high score of 7.5, just behind Eto'o's 8 points. And "Inter Channel" directly praised Maicon's performance as "overwhelming." Maicon's resurgence in Inter Milan seems to have finally given him the possibility of a pay raise and contract renewal. Rarely was Maicon's agent Carrieno so amicable in an interview; Carrieno revealed that Inter Milan Chairman Moratti had actually decided to summon Maicon to discuss the issue of a pay raise and contract renewal: "After the fatigue of the World Cup, Maicon has returned to being the player we all know. Has the misunderstanding between this player and the club disappeared? Yes, Moratti is already planning to have a good talk with this extremely important player."
"Maicon's assists are endless" -- such a strong resurgence like Maicon's, who contributed 5 assists in 5 games, left "Whole Market" no choice but to marvel. Indeed, Maicon's condition in each game has been steadily improving. Under Leonardo, this Brazilian full-back once again transformed into an unstoppable force, smoothly opening up Inter Milan's right-wing attack.
Seeing today's Maicon makes it hard to imagine that it's the same player under Benitez. Maicon's speed, breakthroughs, confidence, and defensive strength on the flanks left even Inter Milan fans accustomed to his heroic performances feeling somewhat unaccustomed. Who would have thought that a player clamoring for departure could reignite the passion for glory in less than a month?
In this match, Maicon's position was extremely flexible, not limited to his habitual right flank. In both halves, one could often see Maicon cutting into the penalty area to seek cooperation with teammates. At the 40th minute, Eto'o passed through the middle, and Maicon ran to the left side of the box, acting like a striker by laying off the ball to Chivu, only for Chivu's shot to be blocked on the line by Cesena players. At the 46th minute, Maicon's assist finally came: a trademark 45-degree cross, the ball arcing perfectly to find Chivu at the center of the box, where the Romanian deflected it into the corner! Another decisive assist, Maicon's assists seem to appear only at the most critical moments.
Right from the start, Maicon showed extraordinary determination. In the 4th minute, after easily changing direction to bypass a defender, he was brought down, winning Inter Milan a free-kick in a dangerous position. In the 19th minute, Cambiasso passed the ball to the right flank, and Maicon directly attempted a 45-degree shot, which narrowly missed the post, scaring the Cesena goalkeeper into berating his defenders for poor marking.