On the evening of November 22, Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
When the game reached the 37th minute, Real Madrid's No. 10 player tried to dribble past Yaya Toure in the middle of the frontcourt. As a result, he was forced away by the Ivory Coast midfielder and lost his balance and fell to the ground.
The ball was broken.
After Yaya Toure successfully intercepted the ball, he immediately dribbled the ball forward.
Khedira rushed to defend, but the Ivorian deftly got rid of him.
Yaya Toure quickly dribbled the ball forward, forced the ball between Khedira and Xavi Alonso, and took it all the way to the outside of Real Madrid's penalty area, attracting both Ramos and Pepe to his side.
around.
Robinho on the left, Robinho on the side, and Robben on the right are all in place.
Manchester City's counterattack was very fast, not losing to Real Madrid at all.
Yaya Toure spotted the opportunity, moved the ball horizontally, and passed the ball to the right.
Robben dribbled the ball into the right side of the penalty area, made an emergency stop, got rid of Coentrao, cut inside and hit a curve ball with his left foot.
The football drew a beautiful arc and hit the upper left corner of the goal.
Adan was beyond his reach and had no choice but to do anything.
One to zero!
The whole Bernabeu stadium was booing loudly!
Seventy thousand Real Madrid fans vented their dissatisfaction passionately.
…
Gao Shenzhuo stood motionless in front of the visiting team's coaching bench.
Before the game, the Real Madrid fans at the scene gave him warm applause and welcomed him to the Bernabeu Stadium again.
At the pre-match press conference, many Spanish media also asked him, hoping to hear his exact news about Real Madrid. However, Gao Shen repeatedly stated that he is the head coach of Manchester City and has a good relationship with Mourinho.
Friend, refuse to discuss Real Madrid.
But when it came to the game, Manchester City really showed their strength.
Judging from the attacking lineup in the frontcourt, Gao Shen ranked the combination of Robinho, Van Persie and Robben.
He originally did not plan to arrange for Robben to play, but asked Robinho and Sturridge to play on the wings, but Robben took the initiative to ask for a match, and Gao Shen had no reason to refuse.
Robinho also asked to play against Real Madrid, and he was also full of resentment towards Real Madrid.
In the midfield, Gao Shen lined up a three-midfield combination of Henderson, Fernandinho and Yaya Toure.
Neither David Silva nor Rakitic played, which is obvious enough.
Manchester City has already qualified for the group stage ahead of schedule, so there is no need to compete against Real Madrid in this game.
As early as before the game, Gao Shen said that because Manchester City is participating in the Club World Cup, the schedule is very tight and some arrangements need to be made in advance.
The implication is that they will not use all their main players at the Bernabeu.
In the defense, the combination of Felipe, Jerome Boateng, Gary Cahill and Zabaleta, plus goalkeeper Given, are enough to prove that Manchester City really did not try their best.
Mourinho also launched a fierce offensive against Manchester City at the beginning of the game, showing signs of swallowing up Manchester City in one go.
But Real Madrid is an interesting team. The more anxious they are, the more chaotic they will play.
Ultimately, they lack self-confidence.
From 2006 to now, it has not reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League for six years, which has a huge impact on the confidence of Real Madrid players.
After the opening, players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Di Maria frequently hit the goal, especially Cristiano Ronaldo. He had three shots in the first ten minutes, but none of them resulted in a goal.
Manchester City played steadily and did not rush for success, but responded with defensive counterattacks.
This is actually quite normal.
Manchester City has already qualified for the group stage, and they must win. A steady counterattack is in line with Manchester City's positioning. No one can say that Gao Shen is letting go of Real Madrid. It would probably be the same for any other team.
Unless there is a real reason to win.
But Real Madrid failed to score a goal and frequently wasted opportunities.
Finally, in the 37th minute, Manchester City seized the opportunity to counterattack and scored.
In this case, what else can Gao Shen say?
At this moment, standing in front of the visiting team's coaching bench at the Bernabeu, Gao Shen seemed to have grasped the script of last season.
At that time, Real Madrid was also in an embarrassing situation where they had to win.
No, Real Madrid's performance this season is worse than last season.
Mourinho's ban on Casillas is continuing to ferment.
Gao Shen appeared calm on the surface, but in his heart he was actually quite helpless.
I've given you a chance, but if you can't seize it, it's my fault!
Real Madrid definitely has the strength. With this lineup, who would believe that they don’t have the strength?
But the key problem is that they are unable to perform now.
On the one hand, there is a problem with the morale and confidence of the players, and on the other hand, there is a tactical problem.
When a team is too distracted by other things, it will naturally not be able to perform at its true level on the court.
…
After conceding a goal, Real Madrid launched a more aggressive attack.
The situation in this game is more serious and bad than last season, and we must win.
Now that one goal is lost, two goals must be recovered to reverse the situation.
As a result, they attacked more urgently and fiercely.
Manchester City, on the other hand, defended and counterattacked steadily, and with the presence of three midfielders, the protection of the defense was still in place.
The combination of Yaya Toure, Fernandinho and Henderson is also quite good in terms of tactical execution.
The first half ended with Manchester City leading by one goal.
After a change of sides in the second half, Real Madrid opened the game for more than a minute. Di Maria dribbled the ball in from the right, passed Felipe, and volleyed the ball low with his left foot, barely grazing the post.
Slide out the door.
After that, Real Madrid launched another fierce attack on Manchester City.
In the 50th minute, Mourinho made the first substitution of the game, replacing Khedira with Higuain.
As a result, Real Madrid adopted a single defensive midfielder tactic. Higuain and Adebayor formed a double forward, plus Ronaldo and Di Maria, as well as the No. 10 player in the attacking midfielder position, and the frontcourt
The attacking lineup is already the strongest combination Real Madrid can field.
But many times, a team's offense cannot be accomplished simply by stacking numbers.
Gao Shen has always said that Mourinho is actually not good at coaching offense. Whether it is midfield organization or offensive cooperation in the frontcourt, they are not his strengths. His real strength is defense.
Therefore, when Mourinho's team chooses to press out and play, it is often the time when they are most easily defeated.
This time is no exception.
After the substitution, Gao Shen immediately made adjustments. Yaya Toure moved forward and suppressed Xavi Alonso.
The whole world knows that Xavi Alonso is a top defensive midfielder, but his biggest weakness is his lack of ability to escape. Once he is caught in the opponent's pressure, his passing ability will be limited.
At this time, someone needs to help him.
It is obvious that Real Madrid at this time is thinking about how to attack forward. No one wants to look back and look at Xavi Alonso. Even if Di Maria actively retreats to respond, he is too far to the right.
The effect is also very little.
Finally, in the 67th minute, Yaya Toure successfully suppressed Xavi Alonso with his body, stole the ball, rushed forward with the ball, and launched another counterattack.
This time he quickly sent a diagonal pass to the left side of the frontcourt and handed it to Robinho.
The Brazilian dribbled the ball all the way forward, and suddenly stopped outside the penalty area. When he was about to hit the goal, he suddenly passed the ball directly behind him.
Van Persie crossed into the left side of the penalty area from behind and volleyed with his left foot, once again breaking the goal guarded by Adan.
Two to zero!
Real Madrid's young goalkeeper lay down on the grass, obviously having completely lost confidence and hope.
On the court, Real Madrid's players were also all disenchanted.
If they had only conceded one goal and were still confident of recovering it, now that they had conceded the second goal, they were completely in despair.
Mourinho immediately made substitutions and brought on two players at once. He had the momentum to fight to the death.
But at this time, the spirit of the Real Madrid players on the court had lost.
The entire Bernabeu Stadium was booing loudly, and many Real Madrid fans even stood up and demanded that Mourinho be dismissed and Florentino be held accountable!
…
The game is not over yet.
Real Madrid president Florentino was still sitting in the stands in the administrative area, watching the game with a livid face, turning a deaf ear to the overwhelming boos, curses, and calls for him to dismiss get out of class and take responsibility.
It's not that he didn't hear it, it's that he couldn't respond.
During this period of time, he has been deeply regretful.
This was something that rarely happened to him as an adult, because in the past, he had always made correct and rational choices.
Back then, between Gao Shen and Mourinho, he made the wrong choice!
Now, it's time for him to pay for it.
And the price paid was too painful.
It is basically certain that Real Madrid will stop in the group stage and will become a third-tier team in the Champions League next season.
What?
Might not be able to play in the Champions League next season?
Florentino never worried about this, because other teams in La Liga simply couldn't shake Real Madrid and Barcelona.
If the chaos is such that Real Madrid will not be able to play in the Champions League next season, then it will be natural for Florentino to step down.
Tonight, the only good news comes from Zidane.
Before the game, he got a very precise piece of information from a friend at L'Equipe. Manchester City's mediation in the Premier League failed. Not only did Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool refuse, but also some mid- and lower-tier teams.
They all rejected Manchester City, saying that if Leeds United were promoted to the Premier League, Gao Shen would no longer be able to coach Manchester City.
But based on Leeds United's current performance in the English Championship, promotion to the Premier League seems to be a high probability event.
"After this game, Jorge and I will go have a chat?" Zidane suggested.
Florentino was a little moved, but quickly shook his head and refused.
"The more sensitive this moment is, the more we must keep our distance and not cause him any trouble."
Zidane was a little surprised and turned to look at Valdano.
The technical director nodded slightly, "Florentino is right, keep a low profile and talk about it after the season is over."
Zidane thought about it and agreed.
In fact, they all know Gao Shen's character very well.
If there is really no way to continue coaching Manchester City, given the current dire situation of Real Madrid, as long as you give him enough trust and support, I believe he will be very willing to return, especially since Florentino has personally called him.
But the current situation is really worrying, much like the 2005-2006 season.
If Florentino is eliminated from the group stage, can Florentino survive until the end of the season?
Will it be like that season, when he couldn't handle the pressure just after the winter break and was forced to step down again?
