Sitting in the stands, Zidane and Valdano both had wry smiles and solemn expressions on their faces.
As professional footballers, they know better than anyone else the problems exposed in this game.
After Mourinho replaced Pepe, and after Manchester City's fierce opening attack, Real Madrid gradually gained a firm foothold, but by this time, the score was already 5-0.
Afterwards, Manchester City stabilized their position and played more patiently, hoping that Real Madrid would take the initiative to attack.
But Mourinho's team has lost this spirit after adopting a three-midfielder style of play. Even if it creates threats several times, it is mostly opportunities created by the players' personal abilities, and it is difficult to form a shot.
Score.
If no accident occurs, the game will basically end at 5-0.
"The strength gap between us and Manchester City is not as big as it seems from the score." Zidane shook his head and said helplessly.
Valdano nodded, but replied: "Compared with Manchester City's midfield, the gap is far greater than the score."
Zidane was stunned for a moment, then nodded with a wry smile, acknowledging Valdano's words.
From the perspective of overall strength, it is impossible for Manchester City to have an advantage of five goals more than Real Madrid, especially on the front line.
But as Valdano said, in the midfield, Real Madrid seriously lost ground and was definitely more than five goals behind, especially in the first half. If Manchester City had been better at seizing opportunities, Real Madrid might have been kicked out.
Shameful score.
Just like Manchester United last season.
Real Madrid's midfield problems are multifaceted. Except for Xabi Alonso, whether it is No. 23 or Khedira, they are obviously not worth a step behind Manchester City.
This is just personal strength.
After three people formed the midfield, Manchester City achieved the effect of one plus one plus one being greater than four, or even greater than five, while Real Madrid's one plus one plus one was not as good as three, or even worse than two.
This difference is very obvious.
Now, both Zidane and Valdano actually know very clearly that what Gao Shen said before is right, and Mourinho also knows it, so he replaced him during the halftime break.
No. 23, switched to playing as a defensive midfielder.
It can be said that this substitution is more convincing than anything else.
"Now, the most important thing is stability." Zidane sighed and said.
What he fears most now is that Florentino changes coaches in a rage. This is definitely the most serious mistake.
With the current situation of Real Madrid, they must remain stable no matter what, otherwise, this season will be wasted.
Valdano also let out a long sigh, "Don't worry, after I go back, I will explain my rights and interests to Florentino. You can also help me by saying a few words. We are indeed inferior in skills and there is nothing to say."
Zidane smiled bitterly, but this skill was inferior to others, which was exactly what Real Madrid was least willing to admit.
You have spent so much money and brought in so many stars, but your skills are not as good as others. If you say it, you will be laughed to death?
But sometimes, that's exactly what happens.
"Gao Shen said before the game that we are a team good at counterattacking, and it turned out that he was right again!" When Valdano said this, he smiled bitterly and sighed again.
When they really pressed forward to attack, Real Madrid exposed its own shortcomings.
Especially the problem of lack of control in the midfield.
"Sometimes, I really feel that there is no one in this world who understands me better than Gao Shen and is more suitable for Real Madrid."
"Who says it's not?" Zidane nodded. He is also one of the people who knows Gao Shen best. "But it's too late to say this now."
Valdano looked helpless. He couldn't even guess what Florentino would do after losing this game, or would he change his mind?
If there is anyone in today's world football who can compete with Guardiola's Barcelona, it is only Gao Shen!
But everything Gao Shen got in Manchester City, including his power, trust, and contract benefits, all of which have no advantages at Real Madrid. How can we invite him to return?
"In this battle, we were completely defeated!" Zidane gritted his teeth and said, "But it is not without gain. At least it proved that there is still a big gap between us and the top teams. Next, we will face Barcelona.
, we can’t be careless.”
"What I fear most is the Champions League." Valdano said worriedly.
Zidane was stunned for a moment, then he understood and became worried.
Inter Milan is not easy to deal with at all, especially since they have a superstar like Ibrahimovic.
Based on the problems that Real Madrid exposed when facing Manchester City, the situation in the group stage is very worrying.
…
Mourinho has been sitting in the visiting team's coaching bench, watching the game silently.
He reached out and grabbed his chin, and suddenly found that his beard was a little prickly.
How unlucky!
Nothing goes as planned!
This game was lost, and it was lost miserably.
As the head coach of the team, he should be responsible whether it is tactics or execution.
He didn't want to escape, so he replaced No. 23 at halftime.
This German attacking midfielder really makes him have a love-hate relationship.
If you say he is good, that pass is really admirable, but if you say he is not good, it is like the way he played in the first half was because of Mourinho's repeated instructions before the game.
As a world-class head coach, Mourinho is very aware of his coaching advantages.
That is, when the team loses the ball, it can use a rigorous defensive position to ensure the safety of its own goal; when it seizes the ball, it can attack the opponent's goal in the shortest possible time.
Of course, this is a more professional statement.
To put it simply, the former is defense and the latter is quick counterattack.
Therefore, Gao Shen said before the game that Real Madrid is good at defensive counterattacks, which is absolutely correct.
Mourinho knows very well that although he was born in Barcelona and studied under Louis van Gaal, what he has not learned the most is controlling the ball.
Originally this was not important to him.
He mostly uses space to suppress the opponent's possession of the ball.
But tonight, Real Madrid's midfielder did a poor job of occupying the space, especially No. 23. On the contrary, Manchester City almost maximized the space and at the same time gained enough passing and ball control advantages.
Mourinho knows very well that he has done something wrong!
"It's such a shame to admit that you lost, especially to a thirty-year-old youngster!" Mourinho breathed out heavily, raised his head, closed his eyes, and complained loudly.
The crowd was so loud that except for the visiting team's coaching bench, no one could hear what Mourinho was saying.
Faria, Karanka and others were surprised.
Unexpectedly, the unruly Mourinho would also admit defeat.
…
The referee finally blew the whistle to end the game.
Gao Shen raised his fists high on the sidelines.
Behind him, Manchester City's substitutes rushed onto the pitch.
The entire Intihad Stadium was filled with cheers from Manchester City fans. More than 50,000 fans all stood up and gave the team warm applause and cheers, affirming their performance tonight.
Gao Shen waved his fists vigorously until he was hugged by the assistants behind him. Then he turned around and hugged his team one by one, and then high-fived and hugged the players running down the court.
Although they only defeated Real Madrid, they were even happier than winning the championship.
Everyone knows that Real Madrid is the most special team in European football.
After everyone had finished celebrating, Gao Shen stood on the sidelines with his hands on his hips and stood very straight.
In fact, he was secretly relieved.
Before the game, he was confident of winning, but he never expected that it would be a big score.
But by halftime, he was basically certain.
After leading 5-0, in fact, if he continues to strengthen his offensive, he may score another goal, but he may also be penetrated by Real Madrid's counterattack.
Therefore, Gao Shen chose to play it safe.
In his opinion, five to zero is perfect enough, better than six to one or seven to two.
He has never been the kind of person who is obsessed with scoring goals.
On the contrary, as a standard Virgo man, he prefers a perfect victory score of five to zero.
"congratulations!"
Mourinho's voice came from the side.
Gao Shen turned his head and saw that Mourinho had walked beside him at some point. He immediately smiled and stretched out his hand to shake Mourinho's hand.
"Thanks, Jose."
"You played at a high level tonight, but we played at a terrible level, especially in the first half."
"Yeah, you guys played well in the second half."
It's good here, but more emphasis is placed on defense.
In fact, if Mourinho adopts a three-midfielder style from the beginning, the scene will be ugly, but the score should not be too bad, and the winning or losing will be about one goal. If everything goes well, there will be two goals.
But Mourinho conceded three goals in the first half.
"Actually, we were in conflict between offense and defense throughout the game, and we lacked control." Mourinho saw it very accurately.
Gao Shen nodded, "You are good at using space, especially the speed of Cristiano Ronaldo and Di Maria. Giving them space can definitely give us a fatal blow, so we have always paid attention to this."
Tonight, Manchester City's two full-backs were more focused on defense.
As Mourinho said, Manchester City relies on its control in the midfield and then breaks through Real Madrid's defense again and again.
"This is a big defeat, but it's not a humiliation!" Gao Shen said with a smile.
Mourinho nodded, "It is a lesson, reminding us that we have done very poorly in many places and we have to continue to work hard, especially there are five games left in the Champions League group stage and there is still a Barcelona team in the league.
"
In terms of control, Barcelona is stronger than Manchester City, and their offense is also very sharp.
Visiting Camp Nou will definitely be a huge challenge for Real Madrid.
After this game against Manchester City, Mourinho finally saw clearly and could give up his illusions and focus on defensive counterattacks.
I believe that neither Real Madrid's management nor the fans will oppose his decision anymore, which can be regarded as a blessing in disguise.
But if possible, Mourinho would rather not have this blessing than lose so miserably.
"The group stage has just begun, our competition is not over yet, and you still have to be a guest at the Bernabeu!" Mourinho calmed down and provoked again.
Gao Shen tolerated it and did not fight back, but laughed.
