Manchester City quickly launched a counterattack after intercepting the ball in their own half.
Robben carried the ball forward down the right flank, with David Silva trailing in the center. After receiving Robben's pass, Bayern midfielder Luiz Gustavo stepped up to press.
Although David Silva managed to get the pass off, he was barged into by Gustavo and fell to the ground. The ball never reached his teammate Suarez.
The referee caught the foul and blew his whistle, awarding Manchester City a free kick.
Though the distance was far, Gareth Bale still came over to take it.
As expected, the shot was easily caught by goalkeeper Kraft.
David Silva saw an opportunity and called on his teammates to press high, but Bayern's keeper booted a long ball forward, aiming for Mario Gomez.
Manchester City's pressing failed before it even began.
David Silva gave a helpless smile and turned to retreat.
From the opening minutes until now, Manchester City had been patiently waiting for an opportunity.
Only six minutes had passed. It was too early to feel anxious.
That's the nature of football. No matter how well-planned a tactic is, it can't be applied at just any time or place.
Even when a team is in possession, it's easy to make mistakes under defensive pressure.
This unpredictability is what makes football so fascinating.
Sometimes, a carefully designed play might fail, while a spontaneous burst of creativity leads to a goal.
Players are used to this kind of thing.
David Silva and his teammates remained patient.
Manchester City quickly organized another attack. Rakitic attempted a long pass behind him, but Suarez was pressured by Bayern's central defender and couldn't reach the ball in time. It rolled out of bounds.
Bayern's goal kick.
…
Gao Shen stood on the sidelines, watching the Manchester City players fall back. Just as he had expected, Bayern's two center-backs positioned themselves at the corners of their own penalty area.
Based on the direction of Manchester City's attack, Badstuber was on the right corner while Tymoshchuk held the left sideline of the box, with a wide gap between them.
Kraft tried to take advantage of the moment. When the ball boy threw the ball in, he passed it to Tymoshchuk to initiate the play, then retreated to the goal line.
Gao Shen immediately shouted loudly.
"Hey, hey, that's against the rules! That's against the rules!"
The referee quickly blew the whistle, signaling Kraft to retake the goal kick.
Tymoshchuk had no choice but to return the ball to Kraft, who was forced to properly place it at the designated spot.
Gao Shen noticed Schweinsteiger running back and immediately called out to Suarez and David Silva, motioning for them to be alert.
Both players picked up on Bayern's intentions, especially noticing Schweinsteiger retreating to the box to receive the ball.
It was clear Bayern didn't want to go long, but instead wanted to build from the back.
This was a hallmark of Van Gaal's style.
Manchester City's defensive line was deep, allowing Bayern's full-backs to push up confidently.
After Schweinsteiger received the ball outside the penalty area, he continued advancing.
Suarez stood near the 30-meter mark. As soon as Schweinsteiger moved forward with the ball, he ran to close him down.
Once the Uruguayan forward moved, David Silva, Gareth Bale, Robben, and others followed.
Suarez positioned himself in front of Schweinsteiger, forcing him to pass. Unsure if he could beat Suarez, Schweinsteiger laid the ball off to Badstuber on the left.
Then he kept running forward.
Suarez turned and saw David Silva closing in, so he ignored Schweinsteiger and pressed Badstuber instead.
From a bird's eye view, it was clear: Badstuber, Tymoshchuk, and Schweinsteiger formed a triangle. Bayern's full-backs were hugging the touchlines and playing high.
Suarez was right in the center of that triangle.
His movement tracked the triangle's shape, and his positioning disrupted Badstuber's options.
Whether Badstuber tried to pass to Schweinsteiger or Tymoshchuk, there was a serious risk of interception.
This hesitation made Badstuber keep dribbling.
In Manchester City's pressing drills, forcing hesitation from the opponent is a key objective.
Suarez glanced behind him, then suddenly burst forward to press Badstuber.
He positioned himself cleverly, cutting off the passing lane to Tymoshchuk. Badstuber, who was moving forward with the ball, couldn't safely play it back, so he passed to the left-back.
Robben was nearby, while Rakitic floated near Gustavo.
Neither option was ideal.
As Suarez accelerated, Schweinsteiger also surged forward, trying to open a lane for Badstuber.
This was part of Van Gaal's mandatory training at Bayern—players must always create passing routes for their teammates during triangular buildup. Schweinsteiger excelled at this.
But just as Badstuber passed the ball, David Silva suddenly accelerated to press him. At the same time, Gareth Bale, who had been bothering Lahm on the left, suddenly closed in as well.
The two Manchester City players pounced together, catching Schweinsteiger completely off guard.
David Silva's pressure disrupted Schweinsteiger's first touch. As he tried to control the ball and then pass to Tymoshchuk, Gareth Bale had already arrived. Using his strength, Bale blocked him from kicking.
Damn it!
Schweinsteiger was shocked!
Bale reached in and poked the ball to Schweinsteiger's right. David Silva picked it up and surged forward. At the same time, Gareth Bale exploded into a sprint, shaking off Schweinsteiger and charging towards the left side of the penalty area, seemingly targeting Tymoshchuk's position.
The sudden shift stunned the entire Allianz Arena.
David Silva continued to carry the ball forward. Suarez and Gareth Bale were already near the edge of the penalty area.
Badstuber saw Planic tracking back and knew he couldn't afford to retreat further.
If he backed up any more, David Silva would enter shooting range.
So he held his ground at the top of the arc.
But the moment he stopped, David Silva played a through ball.
The ball glided just past Badstuber. The Bayern center-back hadn't even reset his balance—how could he possibly block it?
Suarez, who had started behind him, suddenly cut across and caught up with David Silva's pass. Before goalkeeper Kraft could come out, Suarez coolly slotted the ball into the bottom left corner with his right foot.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"
"LUIS SUAREZ!!!!"
"Manchester City strikes first!"
After scoring, Suarez sprinted out of the pitch in wild celebration.
Only then did a wave of shocked exclamations rise from the Bayern supporters at the Allianz Arena.
But the ball was already in the back of the net.
"Eight minutes in, Manchester City snatches the ball in the attacking third and capitalizes with a deadly quick counter! David Silva assists Suarez for the opener!"
"Completely unexpected! But this is Manchester City!"
On the sidelines, Gao Shen jumped up and cheered loudly.
This was exactly what he had envisioned!
He knew that as long as the plan was executed properly, Bayern would eventually slip up.
And he was right!
It gave him a deep sense of satisfaction.
"One to zero!"
"We can see how dangerous Manchester City's pressing up front was. Bayern's back line struggled with the build-up."
"Badstuber's pass to Schweinsteiger was risky, but the real killer was David Silva and Gareth Bale suddenly pouncing. Schweinsteiger never saw it coming."
"After losing the ball, Bayern's center-backs failed to close down quickly and got punished by Suarez's well-timed run."
"A textbook counterattack!"
"We have every reason to believe this was a pre-game tactical setup by Gao Shen. Otherwise, it's hard to explain the perfect coordination and shared intent among the Manchester City players."
…
They fell right into the trap!
Van Gaal sat in the home dugout at the Allianz Arena. With his vast experience, he instantly understood what had happened.
Gao Shen had deliberately targeted Bayern's buildup from the back!
Damn that sly fox!
Van Gaal cursed internally, but had to admit—this attack had hit his team's weak point.
He quickly stood up, walked to the sideline, and adjusted Bayern's tactics, pulling the two center-backs closer and asking the full-backs to drop slightly deeper.
But Van Gaal was never one to take a blow lying down. He immediately signaled the team to press harder and increase attacking pressure, especially focusing on Ribery's flank on the left.
Ribery was Bayern's current star player. In top form and highly threatening with the ball.
After the restart, Bayern quickly attacked down Ribery's wing.
The Frenchman sprinted down the flank, cut inside past Lichtsteiner's challenge, and drove into the box diagonally. But Rakitic had tracked back in time and used his body to block him. Kompany decisively poked the ball to Javi Martinez.
The Spanish midfielder turned sideways, surveyed the field, and sent a straight pass forward.
Suarez dropped deep, controlled the ball, turned, and drifted left. David Silva was already sprinting ahead, spearheading the counter. But the ball went to the left.
Gareth Bale surged forward down the left sideline with the ball.
Once the Welshman picked up speed, even Lahm couldn't stop him. All he could do was stick close on the inside.
Reaching the left side of the box, Gareth Bale swung his left foot and delivered a cross.
The ball soared from the left side of the penalty area, floated over the heads of David Silva and Tymoshchuk, and curved toward the far post.
Robben was already charging in at the back.
(To be continued.)
***
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