"It's still Barça controlling the ball in midfield."
"Passed to Iniesta, he carries it forward and tries to find Agüero."
"Rakitić reads it and cuts off the passing lane."
"Nice interception!"
"Rakitić launches the counterattack, Manchester City are on the break again!!!"
"Yaya Touré drives the ball forward and lays it off to the left wing."
"Gareth Bale picks it up on the left flank and surges forward."
"Xavi and Busquets are on this side, Alves is sprinting back."
"Let's see how Gareth Bale handles this!"
"Accelerates!"
"Gareth Bale is so fast!!"
"The Flying Welshman!!!"
"Neither Xavi nor Busquets can stop Gareth Bale!"
"Oh my God, just look at that pace!!!"
"He cuts inside from the left channel to the edge of the penalty area. Piqué steps up!"
"He's beaten again!!!"
"Barça are in serious danger!!!"
"Bale whips in a cross from the left, all the way to the back post!"
"Suárez jumps for it!!"
"He heads it in!!!"
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"
"3-0!"
"Manchester City lead 3-0!"
"In the 63rd minute of the second half, another lightning counter from Manchester City. Gareth Bale assisted Suárez with a header. Puyol tried to challenge for position, but Suárez leapt and buried the header!"
"My God, this was another threatening counterattack from Manchester City."
"Just moments ago we were saying City's second-half attacks lacked punch, but suddenly, their counterattacks are sharp and clinical. Barcelona have no answer."
"Without controlling the midfield, Barcelona's defensive line is completely exposed."
"0-3, Guardiola must be rethinking everything."
"A heavy defeat at home is bad news, no matter how you frame it. He needs to come up with a better and more effective solution."
"But looking at Barcelona's current squad, it seems there are very few tactical adjustments that can be made."
"At least tactically, Barcelona really don't have a better option right now."
…
When Gao Shen saw Suárez score with a header, he immediately raised both fists high in the air, as if sealing the victory.
The gesture was met with a chorus of boos and curses from over 90,000 Barça fans in the stands.
The Barcelona fans behind the away dugout even started throwing objects furiously toward the Manchester City bench, as if they wished they could stone Gao Shen to death right there at Camp Nou.
But unfortunately for them, the trick they used on Figo more than a decade ago doesn't work anymore.
"We've played really well tonight," Brian Kidd chuckled.
Gao Shen took a water bottle from Carlo, twisted the cap, and while drinking, noticed the furious expressions on every fan in the stands. It was as if each of them wanted to skin him alive, which made him sigh dramatically.
"I'm innocent!"
Carlo and Brian Kidd were briefly stunned, not understanding what he meant. But when they followed his gaze to the enraged fans behind them, they both burst out laughing.
Come on, things have reached this point and you're still pretending to be innocent?
Gao Shen ignored his assistants' reactions. He turned and glanced toward his old friend, Guardiola, feeling a rare moment of sympathy.
This wasn't the first time in Champions League history something like this happened. Juventus, for example, reached three finals in the 1990s but won only once—against Ajax on penalties. They lost the other two to Dortmund and Real Madrid. And in doing so, they upheld the 'tradition' of no team successfully defending the Champions League title after its reformation.
But Guardiola's situation was different. He was now stuck in a tactical dead-end at Barcelona.
Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Puyol, Piqué—these players had become not just symbols of the team but also the emotional backbone of Barcelona. They were unshakable figures in the dressing room.
Guardiola had strong bonds with them, but many were clearly on the decline.
Yet under these circumstances, Guardiola couldn't rotate them.
Forget selling them—he couldn't even bench them without immense pressure.
Even someone like Thiago Motta, who arrived with the pedigree of a Champions League winner, ended up as a substitute.
Puyol was the captain, and Piqué had an even stronger background.
Piqué was born into privilege. His grandfather was a former vice-president of Barcelona in charge of finance for two decades, a member of the Spanish FA's executive board, and once a UEFA representative. That kind of pedigree made Piqué's position unique.
In a team like Barcelona, rich-kid players play by different rules.
In Gao Shen's memory, Piqué held immense influence even before retiring, deeply involved with Catalan political circles and harboring big ambitions.
He likely wasn't content just being club president—he may have aspired to achieve what Laporta only dreamed of.
His background and interpersonal clout made him a central figure in the locker room.
The local player faction dominating the dressing room could be a good thing—or a very bad one.
It all depended on how the team was performing.
If you're winning, even problems can be spun positively.
But once you start losing, everything unravels.
In Guardiola's autobiography, Gao Shen once read a line that stuck with him. Guardiola said he left Barcelona for emotional reasons. He simply couldn't betray the old guard he had built so much with. So he resigned.
But even that decision sparked a conflict with club president Rosell and assistant coach Vilanova.
Gao Shen had long suspected that what was happening behind the scenes at Barcelona was a power struggle between interest groups.
In the end, Guardiola walked away.
Which, in hindsight, proved that Gao Shen was absolutely right to turn down Barcelona's offer.
Even Guardiola, a local hero, couldn't manage that dressing room. How could he, an outsider, possibly survive it?
If it had come to that, his own reputation would've been completely destroyed.
…
Down by three goals, Guardiola made changes.
Fàbregas came on for Agüero, and Thiago Motta replaced Sánchez.
This shifted Barcelona into a back-three setup.
Puyol, Thiago Motta, and Piqué formed the new back line, while Vargas and Alves moved up to play as wide attackers.
Busquets and Xavi held the midfield, with Fàbregas and Iniesta pushing forward, and Messi leading the line.
One clear result of this tactical switch was an immediate improvement in midfield control.
With Fàbregas, Iniesta, Busquets, and Xavi—plus Messi—Barcelona's control in the midfield and final third surged. Their passing and ball retention looked much stronger.
Flank play also improved, with both fullbacks participating actively in the attack.
This led to a wave of aggressive attacking play.
Gao Shen had to react quickly. He instructed defensive midfielders Rakitić and Yaya Touré to drop deeper, replaced Robben with David Silva, and switched to a 4-1-4-1 formation to bolster the team's defensive solidity.
Once Manchester City managed to stabilize, Gao Shen thought to himself that after the match, many media outlets and fans would probably criticize Guardiola for not making this switch earlier.
They'd say: Look, once they switched to a back three, the attack became smoother, midfield control improved, and even Manchester City struggled. Why didn't they play like this from the beginning?
To that, Gao Shen had only one response: Haha.
If Guardiola had started with that formation, Barcelona might've suffered an even worse beating from City's quick counters—especially with the defensive holes left on the wings.
The reason he dared to make this switch now was because he had survived City's early second-half burst and finally regained possession and rhythm. Only then could he take the risk.
If you really believe in it, why not use it from the start?
…
Barcelona's attack was aggressive, but Manchester City's defense was rock solid.
After all, Gao Shen spent three years coaching in Italy. His defensive setups weren't just for show.
If pushed, he could have his team defend a full 90 minutes without conceding.
Of course, this wasn't an ideal approach. It was too passive, and one mistake could unravel everything.
Still, Barcelona's onslaught was loud and intense—but they couldn't break through.
In the 76th and 83rd minutes, they created two dangerous chances inside the box.
One was from Messi, the other from Fàbregas, but both were neutralized by Neuer.
The German keeper was outstanding.
Manchester City found themselves in a difficult spot. Though they had several counterattacks, none truly threatened.
But in the end, the Blue Moon held firm, securing a 3-0 win at Camp Nou and keeping a clean sheet.
3-0. Manchester City shut out Barcelona!
Gao Shen conquered Camp Nou again!
…
When the final whistle blew, Gao Shen felt as though he could hear the sound of crying from the stands.
This scoreline had basically sealed Barcelona's fate.
But Gao Shen knew what to say afterward.
Whether in the dressing room or in front of the media, he would repeat the same message:
3-0 is the most dangerous scoreline in football.
Don't doubt it!
This match exposed Barcelona's weaknesses in brutal detail.
But beating Barcelona isn't easy.
Weaker teams can't even force those weaknesses to appear. Even if a stronger team exposes them, they may not be able to exploit them.
Still, this was a turning point.
Gao Shen believed Barcelona's difficult days were just beginning.
As the final whistle echoed, Guardiola walked over and shook his hand, showing the grace expected of a home manager.
But it was clear he looked dejected.
It wasn't just about the loss—it was the helplessness behind it.
"No matter what, I'd rather lose to you than anyone else," Guardiola said, trying to comfort himself.
Gao Shen was quietly moved.
But this… is professional football.
(To be continued.)
***
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