On the evening of November 24th, at the Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid.
In the fifth round of the Champions League Group C, Real Madrid hosted Manchester City.
When the match entered the 21st minute, Real Madrid attempted to build an attack from the left but failed. As soon as they reached the halfway line, Marcelo passed the ball to Xabi Alonso, who played it to Khedira, then to Ramos on the right.
Ramos dribbled the ball across the center line again but was immediately challenged by Robinho. Under pressure, he sent a lob pass forward, looking for Di Maria.
Former Real Madrid player Felipe was well-positioned and headed the ball back into midfield.
Robinho tracked back to the left sideline and passed the ball to Henderson.
The Manchester City midfielder stopped the ball and immediately spotted Van Persie retreating and signaling for the ball.
The pass reached Van Persie, but with Carvalho tightly marking him from behind, Van Persie quickly played the ball out to the left.
Robinho had already started sprinting down the left flank. Seeing Van Persie's pass, he accelerated forward. The Brazilian winger clearly understood Van Persie's intention and backheeled the ball behind him.
Van Persie smoothly shook off the aging Carvalho, running straight through Real Madrid's defensive line. Catching up to Robinho's pass, he stopped and then suddenly accelerated past Pepe. It was a simple but highly effective move. With his excellent sense of timing, he got past Pepe and sent a low cross from the left side of the penalty area toward the middle.
Robben rushed in, using his body to block off Xabi Alonso, met Van Persie's pass, and struck with his left foot, sending the ball into Real Madrid's net.
One to zero!
…
The Bernabeu fell silent.
From the opening minutes, Real Madrid had been launching a fierce offensive against Manchester City.
But tonight, Gao Shen's tactics were different from before.
Mourinho continued with his 4-2-3-1 formation, with Xabi Alonso and Khedira as the double defensive midfielders. Ronaldo, Özil, and Di Maria played behind the lone striker Adebayor.
Gao Shen, on the other hand, stuck with his usual 4-3-3 formation.
His midfield trio consisted of Henderson, Fernandinho, and Yaya Toure. Up front were Robinho, Van Persie, and Robben.
It was clear to everyone that Gao Shen was not going all out in this match.
He didn't even bring key midfielders David Silva and Rakitic.
As a result, Manchester City struggled to control possession in midfield.
From the start, Mourinho had been trying to take advantage of the home ground to launch quick attacks.
Manchester City didn't press aggressively but played steadily, which put them at a disadvantage in ball possession. Real Madrid dominated the ball and kept creating chances at home.
However, the only truly threatening moment from Real Madrid came from a free kick by Xabi Alonso, which assisted Ramos for a header that almost found the net. Unfortunately, the header was too direct, and Neuer made a decisive save.
Most of the other chances were long-range shots.
Ronaldo took four free kicks, but none of them posed any real threat.
The Portuguese forward was visibly anxious tonight.
After more than twenty minutes of relentless pressure, Real Madrid inevitably left gaps at the back. Manchester City finally seized the opportunity, broke through the defense, and created a scoring chance.
…
Falling behind by one goal was unacceptable for Real Madrid.
The Galacticos responded with even more intense attacks on Manchester City.
For Real Madrid, losing this match would be disastrous for their hopes of advancing from the group stage.
Mourinho would never allow that to happen.
For a moment, Real Madrid slowed the pace slightly, then began to push forward again.
The match became wide open, with Real Madrid attacking and Manchester City counterattacking. Both sides were playing at full intensity.
It wasn't until first-half stoppage time that Manchester City's counterattack was intercepted by Xabi Alonso in midfield. The Spanish midfielder immediately sent a long diagonal pass to the right flank.
Di Maria sprinted at full speed, controlled the ball before Felipe, cut inside to the left of the penalty area, shook off Gary Cahill, and curled a left-footed shot into the far corner of the net, leveling the score for Real Madrid.
One to one!
The first half ended with the score tied at 1-1. After the restart, Real Madrid continued to press forward, launching wave after wave of attacks.
Manchester City, on the other hand, maintained their steady approach.
In the 49th minute, Di Maria delivered a diagonal pass from the right, aiming for Adebayor. But Jerome Boateng tightly marked Adebayor, using his body well, and passed the ball back to Neuer.
The Manchester City goalkeeper sent the ball to Lichtsteiner on the right, who then played it forward to Yaya Toure. The Ivorian quickly advanced along the right sideline.
Robben dropped back into the open space to receive Yaya Toure's pass, turned, and drove the ball forward. Entering Real Madrid's final third, he cut inside diagonally, drawing Marcelo and Xabi Alonso toward him. Robben then passed the ball to the right side of the penalty area.
Lichtsteiner, following closely behind, caught up and delivered a low cross toward the back post.
Van Persie escaped from Carvalho and calmly slotted the ball into the left side of Real Madrid's goal.
Casillas had no chance to stop it.
Two to one!
Counterattack! Another successful counterattack!
Every time Real Madrid pressed forward, they inevitably left space at the back.
With these gaps exposed, the situation became much easier for Manchester City.
The real issue was that Real Madrid's midfield lacked control.
Although they held slightly more possession than Manchester City in this game, their attacks were consistently broken up, allowing City to bypass the midfield and confront the double pivot or even the backline directly.
Real Madrid's midfield defense, especially Özil, contributed very little defensively.
This was the same problem in the first leg between the two teams, and it remained an issue here.
For the second goal, Neuer directly found Yaya Toure. The Ivorian had at least two or three seconds without a defender in sight, forcing other Real Madrid players to leave their positions to fill the gap.
While they managed to plug that hole, they couldn't cover the space Robben left behind when he dropped deep.
You can't defend both ends at once—that's the reality of football.
…
Falling behind again, Mourinho began making desperate substitutions.
He first replaced Pepe with Higuain, switching to a two-striker formation and adjusting the defense to a back three.
This was Mourinho's typical response, substituting a defender for a striker whenever he was behind.
Gao Shen remained calm.
As one of his assistants put it, "You play your game, I play mine."
There was deep meaning in that statement.
It meant never allowing your opponent to dictate the tempo, always sticking to your own rhythm.
The more you think about it, the more you understand the weight of these words.
Otherwise, why do people say that the great leader elevated the art of war to the level of ideology?
Manchester City refused to fight head-on with Real Madrid. They played at their own pace, calmly and steadily.
Real Madrid may have been anxious, but City were not.
They slowed down the tempo whenever possible, focusing on ball control.
This style of play clearly frustrated Real Madrid.
Even before the match began, Real Madrid was destined to face a tough battle, because their opponent was not just Manchester City, but also time and Schalke 04.
Far away at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Schalke 04 continued to show resilience at home, drawing 1-1 with Inter Milan, though their match was still ongoing.
Former Real Madrid player Huntelaar had scored for Schalke.
And now, back at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid were trailing 1-2.
If the match ended with this scoreline, Real Madrid's situation would be dire.
In the final group match, they would have to face Inter Milan away from home, and survival might not even be in their own hands.
So for Real Madrid, the only acceptable result was to beat Manchester City at home.
But against Manchester City's playing style, Mourinho had no effective solution.
After the 75th minute, Gao Shen made his first substitution, bringing on Sturridge.
The English forward, known for his speed and explosiveness, posed a huge threat on the counterattack. After coming on, he played on the left, while Robinho switched to the right.
In the 80th minute, Gao Shen replaced Robinho with Adam Lallana, shifting the formation to a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield, with Lallana playing as the attacking midfielder.
Mourinho responded quickly, taking off Adebayor for Pedro Leon. Ronaldo moved up front to partner Higuain, Di Maria shifted to the left wing, and the right wing was handed over to Pedro Leon.
But even with these adjustments, Real Madrid still couldn't find a breakthrough.
Time kept ticking away, and Mourinho still couldn't figure out a way to break through Manchester City's defense. Real Madrid's attacks looked aggressive but lacked real threat.
Most of their efforts were long-range shots.
…
Gao Shen stood motionless in front of the away team's technical area.
Whether the Real Madrid fans in the stands were booing, cheering, or shouting insults, he remained unmoved.
He had nothing more to say about the current situation.
What could he say?
Even with a rotated, weakened lineup like this, Real Madrid still couldn't find a way through. What more could he do?
Should he open up his defense and hang a banner that says: "Welcome to Score"?
"Mourinho's offense hasn't improved at all over the years," Gao Shen commented, clearly disappointed.
It was still the same old tactics.
Fall behind, then replace a defender with a forward.
If football were really that simple, what would be the point of having a head coach?
Regardless of the result, Gao Shen maintained his composure.
As Manchester City's head coach, he wasn't looking to exploit Real Madrid's difficulties. He stuck firmly to his own philosophy and match plan, leaving even the conspiracy theorists with nothing to say.
In this situation, if Mourinho's team couldn't break through Manchester City's defense, Gao Shen could only shrug.
The truth was, the more anxious Real Madrid became, the more mistakes they made.
Manchester City nearly scored again on the counterattack.
Although it was only enough to make Real Madrid fans break out in a cold sweat, it was exciting nonetheless.
After that, Real Madrid's attacking momentum clearly dropped. They seemed frustrated and drained.
Years of underperformance in the Champions League had left the team lacking confidence, almost as if they were under a curse.
Mourinho might be a madman, but breaking that curse was no easy task.
Worse still, over in Germany, Schalke scored again!
(To be continued.)