Robben quickly rushed to the right side of the penalty spot. Facing Gareth Bale's long pass, he straightened his chest, controlled the ball steadily, and brought it under control at his feet.
As soon as he took control, Badstuber turned and faced him directly.
The Dutchman's footwork was sharp and relentless. He feinted to cut inside, which immediately caused Badstuber to react.
Everyone knows that under the guidance of a senior coach at Manchester City, Robben developed a trademark move—cutting in from the right.
This has been a nightmare for defenders worldwide, and there is hardly a way to stop it.
Badstuber naturally didn't dare let his guard down. He took the initiative to close him down, knowing full well that if Robben dictated the play, he'd stand no chance.
The Dutchman is so quick.
What's more, his ability to cut inside and shoot with his left foot makes it tough for a left-footed defender like Badstuber to defend.
But just as Badstuber committed, he saw Robben twist his body and, instead of cutting inside, he shifted and took a light step forward with his right foot.
Damn it!
He didn't cut in!
Going down the line?
With that weak right foot?
Robben's sudden move caught goalkeeper Kraft by surprise as well. He had already anticipated Robben cutting inside and aiming for the far corner, so his position was slightly outside. When Robben instead went wide and reversed direction, Kraft was caught off guard.
The Dutchman then dribbled toward the goal line, took a few quick steps to adjust, and fired a shot with his right foot.
It was a powerful shot aimed at the near post.
Kraft reacted and dove forward.
The goalkeeper's response was quick, but Robben's shot was quicker and more powerful.
Kraft got a hand on it, but only managed to slightly deflect the trajectory. The ball curled slightly and still slammed into the right side of Bayern's goal.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"
"Robben!! Robben!!!"
"Manchester City scores again! Two goals in under three minutes!"
"My God, Robben's strike has pushed Bayern into an even more passive position."
"A rapid counterattack by Manchester City. Bayern's line was too high and left too many defensive gaps."
"Van Gaal's teams have shown this flaw several times this season."
Amidst boos echoing throughout the Allianz Arena, Robben sprinted away roaring in celebration.
As one of Manchester City's top performers this season, Robben had remained in excellent form since returning from injury.
In fact, after joining Manchester City, Robben frequently picked up minor injuries, but fortunately avoided anything serious.
That allowed him to maintain a consistently high level of performance.
More importantly, he had been focusing heavily on training his right foot.
After celebrating with his teammates, Robben ran to the visiting team's bench to give head coach Gao Shen a high five and a hug.
"Two to zero!"
"This is a terrible situation for Bayern."
"Two away goals. Even more importantly, Bayern now faces the daunting task of coming back from a two-goal deficit, or possibly more."
"But with their current defense, can they really cope with Manchester City's attacking and counterattacking strength?"
…
After conceding twice in quick succession, Bayern didn't switch to a conservative approach. Van Gaal continued urging the team to press forward.
Ribery was in fantastic form. He continuously took on two defenders on the left flank, managing to get past them and deliver a pass to Thomas Müller at the edge of the box. But Müller's shot was just off target.
Only a minute later, Manchester City countered, again down their right flank.
Robben cut into the penalty area, performed a clever behind-the-leg knock-on to bypass Pulisic and Badstuber, then laid the ball off to the right side of the arc. Rakitic arrived and fired directly.
The ball brushed just wide of the goal.
The two teams were going back and forth in a fierce, tit-for-tat exchange.
The match was thrilling to watch, but also intense and nerve-wracking.
Not just for the fans—even Bayern's top brass watching in the stands were on edge.
"Manchester City is really strong!" Rummenigge couldn't help but praise.
"If we had brought Robben back back then, forming a double-wing setup with Ribery, I believe our team would've been much stronger than it is now," Hoeness said with a helpless sigh.
But it was too late.
With Manchester City's financial clout, prying away a star from them is virtually impossible now.
Rummenigge also felt great regret. Robben had chosen to go to Manchester City precisely because of Gao Shen.
"And Gareth Bale is incredibly dangerous," Rummenigge added. "In today's European football, no one comes close to Gao Shen in team-building ability."
Hoeness agreed.
Many people think Manchester City's strength comes from spending money.
That's the view of outsiders.
Everyone in the football world knows, if spending money alone could build a team like Manchester City, why didn't Mark Hughes do it?
If money was enough, Manchester United and Chelsea are both rich—why haven't they built teams like this?
To put it bluntly, even spending money has to follow the basic laws.
Reckless spending is just blind waste!
But Gao Shen's brilliance lies in his ability to spend wisely.
That's truly remarkable!
Yet, the more outstanding he is, the more uneasy Bayern's top management becomes.
At this moment, Bayern launched another attack on the pitch. Ribery drove the ball from the left, broke past Lichtsteiner, and cut inside diagonally. Despite Kompany's close marking, he forced a cross into the box, but David Luiz got in front of Gomez and cleared it out for a corner.
Ribery went over to take the corner himself. Chaos erupted in Manchester City's penalty area.
In the confusion, the ball was cleared to the edge of the box. Schweinsteiger, who had previously miscontrolled a ball, quickly ran onto it and took a first-time shot that threaded through a crowd of players and flew into Manchester City's net.
Neuer's view was blocked and he had no chance to react.
Two to one!
…
Two to one, Bayern pulled one back!
This reignited the crowd at the Allianz Arena and gave Bayern's players a much-needed morale boost.
But Manchester City responded quickly.
Less than five minutes after conceding, Javi Martinez intercepted a pass in midfield and played a through ball to Suarez up front.
The Uruguayan striker took the ball, turned, and shook off Tymoshchuk's challenge. He suddenly accelerated with the ball, charged forward, then stopped just outside the box and slipped a pass to Robben sprinting down the right.
But Robben had already gone too far forward.
The Dutchman reacted fast, stopped abruptly, turned around, used his body to shield off Pulisic, and passed the ball back toward the arc.
David Silva arrived, controlled it with his left foot, then immediately curled a left-footed pass toward the left edge of the box.
The ball floated over the defenders and flew toward the left side of the goal.
"Three to one!"
"Brilliant! Manchester City scores again!"
"Four goals in just about twenty minutes between the two teams!"
"My God, tonight's game has been truly spectacular. Neither side is holding anything back!"
"But this end-to-end game puts Bayern at a disadvantage, especially since they're playing at home!"
…
With the match blown wide open, players on both sides started finding their rhythm.
Even after going down 3-1, Bayern stuck to their aggressive attack. Manchester City, in turn, responded each time with swift counterattacks. The game was wide open.
But in terms of attacking quality, Manchester City had the edge.
In the 32nd minute, Bayern tried to build an attack through Altintop on the right, but the ball was intercepted by Felipe.
The Brazilian left-back quickly launched a counterattack. Gareth Bale carried the ball and combined with David Silva for a one-two, slicing into the left side of Bayern's box at full speed.
Outside the penalty area, Bale saw Tymoshchuk rushing in and slipped a through ball behind him. Suarez darted past Badstuber, got in behind Tymoshchuk, and before Kraft could react, calmly slotted it in with his left foot.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"
"Four to one!"
"Suarez scores again!"
"Manchester City's attack has been relentless tonight. Bayern has shown plenty of fight, but Van Gaal's team is clearly outclassed in positional play. Gomez and Altintop are making too many passing errors."
"Manchester City manager Gao Shen looks absolutely fired up and hasn't stopped cheering."
"Yes, 32 minutes in, it's 4-1. Five goals already. This is easily the most exciting half hour in this season's Champions League so far."
"Both teams are going all out in attack."
"But like we said earlier, this kind of game hurts Bayern more, especially at home."
"But now, it's a bit too late to change anything."
…
Yes, it's too late!
After Suarez's second goal, the Uruguayan clearly set his sights on a hat trick.
Just three minutes later, he stormed into Bayern's penalty area again, creating havoc and nearly bagging another goal.
The entire Bayern defense was rattled. There was danger everywhere in their box.
Even so, Van Gaal refused to retreat and continued to push his team forward.
In the 45th minute, Ribery won a corner on the left and once again caused chaos in the box. Schweinsteiger got a header off, but Neuer made a save.
The subsequent corner failed to pose any threat.
After Manchester City restarted with a goal kick, the referee made a small time adjustment and then blew the whistle to signal halftime.
Four to one!
Manchester City went into the break with a three-goal lead and four away goals.
Everyone knew the match was essentially over.
Not just this leg, but the entire quarterfinal tie was likely decided.
If Bayern managed to overturn this result, Gao Shen might as well retire and head back to Spain to claim Juan Carlos's throne.
The only question now was whether Bayern would get another goal in the second half.
Or… would Manchester City keep pressing forward?
(To be continued.)
***
For every 200 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on patreon to read 30+ advanced chapters: patreon.com/Blownleaves.