Chapter 583: Guardiola and Zidane Both Embarrassed
Modric was feeling a bit lost. Even though both teams had an equal number of players on the field, why did he feel like he was constantly surrounded? No matter where he received the ball, there were always at least two Manchester City defenders marking him! And whenever he got closer to the center and approached City's penalty area, four or five huge defenders would suddenly appear, trapping him completely.
Modric, despite having played countless matches, found himself unable to understand Manchester City's defense.
How many midfielders do they actually have?
On paper, it seemed like they only had David Silva, Lin Quan, and Kanté in the middle, but he kept finding Stones, Fernandinho, and other players who should have been on the defensive line marking him in midfield.
It was too strange!
Fernandinho, he could understand—after all, he used to play as a defensive midfielder, so it wasn't shocking to see him in that position.
But Stones? A center-back? Why did he keep leaving his defensive area and coming up to the middle of the field?
Manchester City only had two proper center-backs to begin with. If Stones moved up, that left just Van Dijk at the back. And ahead of Modric, there was the deadly BBC trio (Bale, Benzema, and Cristiano Ronaldo). Could Van Dijk alone hold off that kind of attacking firepower?
If Modric could see this problem, then City's coach, Guardiola, surely could as well. Real Madrid's front three were too strong—trying to completely shut them down was almost impossible.
So instead of focusing all their energy on marking the BBC, Guardiola decided to cut off the supply line between Madrid's midfield and their forwards.
As long as they could prevent Real Madrid's midfield from passing to the BBC, they could still control Madrid's attack.
Through the course of the game, Guardiola had become certain: the key battle was in the midfield. Whoever controlled the midfield would win the match.
If you couldn't control the midfield, you wouldn't be able to organize attacks or defend properly, and your opponent could launch attacks from both the wings and the center, constantly putting your defense under pressure.
On the other hand, if you controlled the midfield, the opposition would be the ones scrambling.
City's strategy was obvious, and it didn't take long for Zidane, Real Madrid's coach, to figure out Guardiola's plan.
With his chin resting on his hand, Zidane furrowed his brow, deep in thought:
Should I substitute one of the forwards for a midfielder to strengthen our control in the middle?
But that would weaken Madrid's attack. Out of the BBC trio, Cristiano Ronaldo was untouchable, so it would be between Bale and Benzema. Zidane leaned towards taking Bale off. Bale had burned through a lot of energy and had lost his edge on the wing, contributing mostly to defense at this point, not offering much in attack.
Plus, with Carvajal behind Bale, even if he took Bale off, Carvajal could still push forward, meaning Madrid wouldn't lose too much on the right side.
However, Madrid's defense on that side would undoubtedly be weakened. If City found an opening, they could easily score, and that's something Zidane didn't want to risk.
So Zidane hesitated on whether to make the substitution right away.
Zidane glanced at the bench. His gaze swept over players like Isco, Morata, Asensio, Nacho, and Kovacic.
If he were to make a change, only Kovacic fit what he needed.
Isco was more attack-focused, great at offense but not much help on defense. As for James Rodríguez, he wasn't even part of the squad anymore. If all went as expected, he'd be leaving Madrid in the summer.
The Colombian superstar, who had been snatched up from other top clubs for a hefty fee, hadn't lived up to expectations during his years at Madrid. His form had declined steadily, and Zidane had long lost patience with him. Rodríguez had barely featured this season, and there was no way Zidane would play him in such a crucial match. In fact, he wasn't even on the 18-man squad for the Champions League final.
As Zidane's eyes swept over the bench, the substitutes all straightened up, each silently pleading: "Pick me, pick me! Let me play!"
It was the Champions League final, and no one wanted to miss the chance to be part of such a prestigious game.
Especially since Madrid was in the lead—getting on the pitch would not only get them some valuable time in the spotlight, but they'd likely end up lifting the trophy, too.
Morata was eager, but his hopes were dashed when Zidane's gaze didn't linger on him for even a second. He knew the reason—Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema were still on the field, both in great form, and as their backup, there was no chance he'd be subbed in.
The performance on the wings had been lacking. Could Zidane be thinking about putting on another winger?
With that thought, Morata jealously glanced at his younger teammate, Marco Asensio. Asensio, though four years younger, was highly regarded by both the club's president and Zidane. There was a real chance Asensio would get called up.
As for Morata, as long as the two stars ahead of him—Ronaldo and Benzema—remained, his chances were slim. In Madrid's pecking order, Morata was always third in line, and the two ahead of him were simply too good.
Thinking back on the season, with Morata having spent much of it on the bench, he couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy.
In truth, Morata's performance at Madrid hadn't been bad. Over the 2016-2017 season, he made 43 appearances across all competitions and scored 20 goals, averaging nearly 0.5 goals per game. That was an impressive record, especially considering many of his appearances were as a substitute.
In La Liga, on paper, he appeared 26 times, but 12 of those were off the bench. In total, he played 1,334 minutes and scored 15 league goals. In terms of both total goals and goal efficiency, he was second only to Cristiano Ronaldo, outperforming both Benzema and Bale.
But despite his strong numbers, he simply couldn't displace the two superstars ahead of him. He couldn't take Bale's spot, and Benzema's role as the center-forward was more effective, especially with his better chemistry with the team.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Morata began to consider leaving. Though he had long dreamed of returning to Madrid while playing in Italy, a season spent mostly on the bench had made him realize that maybe Madrid wasn't as perfect as he had imagined. Morata wanted to play as a starter, not sit on the bench.
While Morata was lost in thought, Zidane called out Asensio's name. But not only Asensio's: "Asensio, Kovacic, both of you start warming up!"
Although Zidane could afford to maintain the status quo since Madrid was in the lead and had the advantage, he didn't want to get caught off guard. So, he prepared for two scenarios.
If Madrid could maintain their lead and City didn't pose an immediate threat, he would likely bring on Kovacic.
Kovacic wasn't a pure defensive midfielder. He had solid attacking skills and could contribute to organizing play, which would help strengthen Madrid's midfield without weakening their attack too much after taking Bale off.
But if the game took a turn and City quickly equalized, Zidane would need to focus on attacking, and that's where Asensio would come in.
Having made preparations for all eventualities, Zidane relaxed and turned his full attention back to the match. He was eager to see how Manchester City's attack would unfold after Guardiola's sweeping changes.
...
Up front, Mbappé seemed to be struggling to adapt to his role as a center-forward. He kept drifting to the wing, where he was more comfortable. Surprisingly, neither his teammates nor his coach seemed to correct him.
This left Real Madrid's center-backs feeling a bit confused.
Was City playing without a striker now?
Who were they supposed to mark?
Should they start marking City's attacking midfielders instead?
The odd formation wasn't just perplexing the players on the field—both sets of fans in the stands were equally puzzled.
City's formation looked strange. There was no clear center-forward in the middle, but both wingers were playing high up the pitch, causing City's formation to bulge on the wings while leaving the center somewhat vacant, like a dented shape.
This formation had a ripple effect on Madrid's setup as well. To support the midfield battle, Madrid's center-backs were pushing up higher than the full-backs, which exposed large gaps in the middle of the defense.
If Madrid was defending, this wasn't much of an issue because the team could stay compact.
But when Madrid went on the attack, their defensive shape became disjointed, and the gaps in the center were glaring. If City managed to break through Madrid's defense even once, it could cost Madrid dearly.
However, at this stage, the midfield battle was so intense that neither side could hold onto the ball long enough to create dangerous passes.
Madrid's defensive issues hadn't yet become a focus, especially since City didn't have a striker. Even if City managed to break through, there was no one up front to receive the ball.
By the 70th minute, both teams were locked in a fierce battle in the midfield.
Tackles, pressing, and counter-pressing came one after another. The fight was so intense that even Lin Quan, who was known for his exceptional ball control, couldn't keep possession for long.
If he held onto the ball for even a second too long, he was either surrounded or fouled.
And it wasn't just Madrid committing fouls—City was using rough tackles on Madrid's midfielders as well.
In the 73rd minute, Kanté fouled Kroos with a sliding tackle and received the seventh yellow card of the match.
Three minutes later, Casemiro was booked for repeated fouls on both David Silva and Lin Quan.
The referee could sense the growing tension and tried to keep the match under control, hoping to prevent it from spiraling out of hand.
But his yellow cards didn't seem to be having much effect.
Just a minute after Casemiro was booked, Fernandinho committed a reckless foul on Modric and was shown a yellow card as well.
As the referee busied himself handing out cards, some fans jokingly suggested that he should just rename himself the "Master of Cards."
With Fernandinho's yellow card, the match had now seen a total of nine yellow cards.
As the referee kept dealing out cards and reprimanding players for fouls, both coaches were on the sidelines, simultaneously protesting to the fourth official. They wanted the referee to control the game better and keep an eye on the opposing team's fouls.
"What are Madrid's players doing? Are they playing football or trying to kill someone?"
Guardiola was furious as Lin Quan was brought down yet again, this time with a foul from behind. He stormed over to the fourth official, venting his frustration.
Zidane, standing next to the fourth official, wasn't having it. "That was a clean tackle! He got the ball first, and then the player. Get your facts straight. Sometimes it's better to reflect on your own team instead of always blaming others!"
When the referee finally booked Varane for the foul on Lin Quan, Guardiola shot Zidane a mocking glance.
"Who would've thought Zidane has such sharp eyesight? Standing on the sidelines and seeing better than the referee himself. You should've been a referee instead!"
Zidane's face turned grim, feeling humiliated by the public insult. But just two minutes later, as Cristiano Ronaldo leaped into the air with a scream and crashed down in City's penalty area, Zidane couldn't contain himself either.
"Foul! Penalty! That's a clear foul, the ref should give their number 24 a red card! That wasn't football, that was attempted murder!"
Before the fourth official could respond, Guardiola, standing nearby, interjected.
"Stones' tackle was clean, and the foul was outside the box! Just because your player dove into the box doesn't mean the foul happened inside it. And besides, did the ref even call it a foul?"
No sooner had Guardiola finished speaking than the German referee, Brych, pulled out another yellow card and held it high above Stones' head.
"Heh," Zidane let out a cold laugh. He didn't say a word, but that mocking laugh alone was enough to make Guardiola feel thoroughly embarrassed.
Now, Guardiola knew what it felt like to be publicly humiliated, just as Zidane had been moments earlier.
The sting of embarrassment came like a whirlwind.
Though the referee showed a yellow card to Stones, he rejected Madrid's appeals for a penalty.
He had seen clearly that Ronaldo hadn't entered the penalty area when Stones committed the foul. Ronaldo had dramatically dived into the box after being fouled.
In the ref's mind, giving a penalty would kill the game's suspense. If Madrid scored from the spot, the match would essentially be over, and Real Madrid would finally lift the Champions League trophy.
(End of chapter)
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