Chapter 577: The Champions League Final Begins, Zidane's Strategy
Compared to last year, Manchester City players had a clear feeling this time when facing Real Madrid again—Real Madrid had become stronger!
This Real Madrid team had sharp attacks, solid defense, and a very versatile style of play. They could break through from the wings, or use short passes to penetrate through the middle. Thanks to their improved midfield, they could even play possession-based football, similar to Manchester City.
More importantly, their signature weapon—fast counterattacks—had not been abandoned. In fact, it had been further enhanced. No wonder they had made it all the way to the final. With such strength, it wasn't surprising.
At the start of the match, both teams played very cautiously, neither rushing into an attack. After all, over a year had passed, and both teams' lineups and tactical approaches had changed. The impressions they had of each other from the past might no longer be reliable.
However, as time went on, the offensive pressure from both sides began to build.
With the BBC trio (Bale, Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo) on the field, Real Madrid had multiple points of attack. Until the last moment, it was difficult to predict who among the BBC would take the final shot.
From the early stages of the first half, it was clear that Real Madrid aimed to find opportunities from the wings. Firstly, Bale was in great form and had always been one of Real Madrid's sharpest weapons. As long as he was given opportunities, he rarely disappointed.
Additionally, in Manchester City's previous match against Juventus, most of Juventus' goals and dangerous attacks came from the wings. Since Juventus had already proven that City's wing defense had vulnerabilities, Real Madrid had every reason to exploit this weakness relentlessly.
Guardiola had prepared for the threat posed by Bale before the match. But once the game started, he realized his preparations might not have been enough.
With the arrival of Kroos, Real Madrid's midfield had fully solidified, freeing up Modrić to participate more in the attack. Once Modrić carried the ball past midfield, the threat to City's defense skyrocketed.
After the start, Modrić made several passes that almost created dangerous opportunities.
In the 8th minute, Modrić delivered a perfect through ball to Bale, who sprinted down the wing, leaving City's defenders behind. Instead of crossing from the byline, Bale cut inside and took a powerful long-range shot. The shot was of high quality, forcing City's goalkeeper to make a flying save to push the ball away.
Cristiano Ronaldo, charging in from behind, was ready to find space for a shot, but Bale chose to shoot himself. Ronaldo threw his hands up in frustration, feeling somewhat displeased.
However, Zidane, standing on the sidelines, was not angry at all. In fact, he applauded Bale. Bale's finishing ability was not weak. To treat him merely as a winger who only delivers crosses would be a waste of his talents.
From a defensive standpoint, the more options Bale had, the harder it would be for the opposing team to defend against him. To fully block Bale's threat, City would have to pull players from other areas to reinforce their defense.
On the pitch, there are only so many players. If one area is reinforced, another area's defense would weaken, giving Real Madrid's other players an opportunity.
With multiple attacking threats, Real Madrid had no fear of their players being singled out for marking because City simply couldn't cover them all.
Guardiola didn't panic. Although Bale's attack was threatening, Manchester City's defense had not made any major mistakes. If anything, the full-back was slightly careless, attempting a tackle but failing, which gave Bale the opportunity to get past him.
Fortunately, the center-backs were still reliable, especially Virgil van Dijk, who quickly blocked Bale, forcing him to abandon the idea of dribbling further and resort to a long-range shot from outside the box.
As long as the goalkeeper's vision wasn't obstructed and there was no major positioning error, such long shots were unlikely to result in goals unless they were struck with extreme precision and speed.
So, Guardiola decided to wait and see how effective City's counterattacks would be.
In the stands, Real Madrid fans were energized after witnessing their team's threatening attack, taunting Manchester City fans and shouting loudly.
The event organizers had separated the two sets of fans early on, with iron barriers and security guards in place to prevent any overenthusiastic supporters from jumping the fence to start a fight. Such incidents had happened before, and British football hooligans were notorious for picking fights—whether their team won or lost.
Before Manchester City fans could react, their players took matters into their own hands.
In the 10th minute, Manchester City launched a fast counterattack down the wing. Lin Quan, De Bruyne, and David Silva combined passes to break through Real Madrid's defense. Lin Quan, dribbling to the edge of the penalty area, faced Ramos' challenge, and perfectly timed a nutmeg pass through Ramos' legs to find Agüero behind him.
It was a beautiful pass, but Real Madrid's other center-back, Varane, made an equally brilliant defensive play, tightly marking Agüero and not allowing him to shoot directly.
Agüero, nearly pushed off-balance by Varane, could only attempt a half-turn hook shot. The quality of the shot wasn't great—it wasn't fast, nor was it well-placed.
The goalkeeper didn't see Agüero's shot immediately, and by the time he reacted, it was almost too late. However, just as the keeper seemed to give up, Agüero's shot went over the crossbar...
Now, it was the Manchester City fans' turn to sigh in disappointment, while the Real Madrid supporters gasped in relief.
"That was close! That striker is really dangerous. Even in such a tight situation, he managed to get a shot off," the Madrid fans thought.
And as for their number 10? To remain so calm when facing Ramos, and to find the perfect moment to nutmeg and pass—that was truly impressive!
Despite Manchester City's weakened squad, they didn't seem significantly weaker. Based on that attack alone, they were fully capable of breaking through Real Madrid's defense.
At this point, both sets of fans began to feel tense, anxiously watching the match. After each side launched one dangerous attack, the probing phase was over, and the tempo of the game suddenly accelerated.
Whenever either team gained possession, they immediately tried to push the ball forward, hoping to outpace their opponent with quick play.
In the 12th minute, Modrić carried the ball forward and, seeing Benzema make a run into space, quickly played a through ball to him. Benzema took the shot without hesitation, sending the ball into the net.
Excited, Benzema rushed to the sidelines, sliding on his knees in celebration, as the Real Madrid fans erupted into applause and cheers.
But as Benzema received the ball, Manchester City's defenders had already raised their hands, signaling offside. The linesman hesitated and didn't raise his flag immediately, but after Benzema scored, he did.
The goal was disallowed!
Benzema was left in disbelief, struggling to accept the decision. However, the slow-motion replay on the big screen showed that Benzema's offside was fairly clear. Just before Modrić played the pass, Stones had stepped forward, creating an offside trap that left Benzema in an offside position.
Even though the goal was ruled out, Benzema's offside goal served as a wake-up call for Manchester City's defense. They couldn't just focus on defending the wings—they needed to be extra cautious in the middle as well.
Although Benzema wasn't as famous as the other two members of the BBC, he was still one of the top five forwards in football, and not someone to be underestimated!
Real Madrid seemed to have found the right approach to attacking. They tried several more times through the middle, but unfortunately, none of those efforts succeeded.
On the one hand, Kanté closely marked Modrić, making it difficult for him to deliver the same killer passes as before.
On the other hand, Van Dijk and Stones tightened their marking on Benzema. Under the watchful eyes of City's iron-clad defenders, Benzema, like a tiger without teeth, turned into "Benzecat," temporarily losing his threat.
By the 20th minute, the score was still 0-0, despite both teams creating a decent number of chances. Manchester City had already taken five shots, while Real Madrid had seven. However, aside from Benzema's disallowed offside goal, neither team had managed to break through.
But then, in the 20th minute, the situation on the field took a dramatic turn.
Real Madrid intercepted the ball in midfield, and Kroos sent a precise pass to the right wing, finding the advancing Carvajal. Carvajal faked a cross but instead played a cut-back pass to Cristiano Ronaldo, who was positioned just outside the penalty area.
Manchester City's defense had made a serious error—while focusing on retreating, no one had picked up the striker, leaving Ronaldo with space.
Ronaldo, known for his world-class finishing, was left unmarked. Without any interference, his shot was of incredibly high quality. The goalkeeper made a symbolic dive, but there was no way he could reach it.
The ball hit the back of the net, and the score became 1-0. Real Madrid had struck first!
Unlike Benzema's earlier attempt, Ronaldo's goal was clearly onside. With three or four Manchester City players in front of him, there was no chance of an offside call.
The referee quickly pointed to the center circle, signaling that the goal was valid.
Ronaldo, ecstatic, ran to the sideline, jumped into the air, and performed his trademark celebration with his back to the crowd, facing the field.
The Real Madrid fans in the stands all joined in, shouting in unison, "Siiiuuu!" while the Manchester City fans responded with loud boos.
Although they jeered, the fact remained that Real Madrid had scored first, putting Manchester City in a difficult position.
Ronaldo, in high spirits, paid little attention to the boos from the opposing fans. Since his transformation into a pure striker, some had labeled him a "poacher" and said he didn't deserve to be ranked alongside Lin Quan and Messi as one of the top three superstars.
But among all the forwards in the world, how many could score as consistently as Ronaldo?
And more importantly, this was a Champions League final goal, worth its weight in gold!
Perhaps he wasn't as good at dribbling or taking on players as the other two, but as long as he could score goals and help his team win, that was enough!
After falling behind, Guardiola gathered a few of his defenders and gave them instructions.
Real Madrid was very good at counter-attacks, especially against a team that was caught out after launching an attack of their own. This was a real test for the defense.
He warned his players not to focus only on retreating to their defensive positions, but to always keep an eye on the players in front of and behind them. They shouldn't be too focused on the ball, or else they might leave the players they were supposed to mark completely free.
Of course, Real Madrid's previous attack had been executed beautifully, especially Carvajal's pass. The timing and precision of the pass were excellent.
Manchester City had been so focused on Bale, the most vocal and threatening player, that they neglected to watch for the overlapping full-back. This was something Guardiola himself hadn't reminded them about.
It seemed Zidane had played a bit of psychological warfare, tricking City into focusing too much on Bale, leaving them vulnerable elsewhere.
Guardiola couldn't help but wonder: Was Zidane deliberately setting a trap at the start by having Bale aggressively attack City's wings, only to distract City and make them overlook the other threats?
If that were true, Zidane was indeed a fearsome opponent!
Guardiola's suspicions weren't unfounded. Zidane was, in fact, a clever strategist.
After all, anyone who could leave Real Madrid on good terms was not an ordinary person.
After leading Real Madrid to three consecutive Champions League titles, Zidane had recognized the problems within the team and stepped down at the height of his success, without clinging to power. That was something not many could do.
When Cristiano Ronaldo scored, Zidane was even more excited than Ronaldo.
Even though he had carefully planned a series of tactics, the fact that they worked and Real Madrid took the lead still felt surreal to him.
After all, the opponent was Manchester City!
They were the only team in Champions League history to win three consecutive titles and had now reached the final for the fourth straight year.
Facing such an opponent, everyone at Real Madrid, from top to bottom, felt immense pressure—especially Zidane as head coach.
Although Real Madrid had won the long-awaited La Liga title this season, for a top club like Real Madrid, a single La Liga title wasn't enough to quench their thirst.
What the club wanted was the coveted 10th Champions League trophy to add to their history books.
That was the ultimate task for a Real Madrid coach! But neither Mourinho, Ancelotti, nor Zidane himself had been able to achieve it despite numerous attempts.
Last year, Zidane had even led his team to the final, only to suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of Manchester City.
Now, facing the same opponent again, despite Real Madrid's improvement compared to last season, Zidane still felt unsure.
The reputations of Guardiola and Lin Quan—one a genius coach, the other a genius player—combined with Manchester City's past glories, were enough to make anyone nervous.
Though Zidane had an illustrious career as a player, in coaching, he was still a relative newcomer, and his resume wasn't as impressive as Guardiola's.
(End of Chapter)
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