On the evening of April 2, at the Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid.
In the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, Real Madrid faced Juventus at home.
When the match reached the 31st minute, Marcelo dribbled the ball down the left and played a one-two with Ronaldo, but the pass was intercepted by a Juventus defender. Ronaldo turned around, shielded the ball, and laid it back to Toni Kroos.
The German midfielder turned with the ball, held off his marker, and passed it back to Ramos.
Juventus' two forwards pressed Real Madrid's center-backs simultaneously. Quagliarella closed down Ramos immediately, but the Madrid defender quickly passed across to Pepe.
Another striker, Matri, immediately pressed Pepe.
Yes, in this match, Conte unexpectedly chose Matri to remain as a fixed point, with Quagliarella roaming, and Juventus relying more on long balls to counterattack.
Pepe controlled the ball, evaded Matri's pressure, and sent it wide to Carvajal on the right.
The Real Madrid right-back controlled the ball and advanced. Before Marchisio could close him down, he quickly passed to Di Maria, who had dropped deeper.
The Argentine controlled the ball with his back to goal and played it across.
Modric surged forward, received Di Maria's pass, cut diagonally in from the right half-space toward the outside, and dribbled quickly.
Di Maria also turned and sprinted forward at full speed.
Modric, dribbling at top speed, entered the Juventus box from the right edge of the area. Though Chiellini leaned into him and forced him off balance, Modric still managed to cut the ball back.
The pass rolled toward the right edge of the six-yard box. As it bounced, Di Maria, arriving at full pace, struck it first time with his left foot.
The shot flew at lightning speed straight into the goal.
Although Buffon reacted quickly, the shot was too sharp for him to stop.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!"
"Di Maria scores!!!"
"Real Madrid break the deadlock!"
"1-0!!"
"In the 31st minute, Real Madrid broke down Juventus' defense on the right. Modric with the assist, Di Maria with the finish. A brilliant attacking move."
"After failing to find space on the left, Real Madrid switched play to the right and carved open a gap."
Amid thunderous cheers from the Bernabéu, Di Maria sprinted to the touchline and made a heart gesture toward the camera.
His teammates chased after him and celebrated the goal together by the sideline.
This is the Champions League quarterfinals!
…
On the touchline, in front of the home bench, Gao Shen raised his fists high in excitement as Di Maria scored.
1-0!
This lead was crucial for Real Madrid.
Before this match, Real Madrid had just rotated heavily after the international break and had nearly been held to a draw by relegation-threatened Zaragoza away. It was Higuaín's late goal that saved them.
That goal not only helped Real Madrid keep pressure on Barcelona, but also allowed them to approach the Juventus tie with a more relaxed mindset.
But Conte's starting lineup was somewhat unexpected.
Matri was deployed as a stationary target, with Quagliarella moving around, and Juventus leaned on long balls to counterattack.
Real Madrid stuck to their pre-match plan, dominating midfield and pressing Juventus back. But since the Bianconeri's wing-backs dropped deep, their shape resembled a 5-3-2, which frustrated Madrid's early attacks.
Real Madrid had nearly 70% possession and 13 shots, but only 4 on target.
It was clear how much defensive pressure Juventus had been under.
But Juventus' attack was no better. In the first 30 minutes, they had just 2 shots, none on target.
From the sidelines, Gao Shen kept urging his players to stay patient, control possession, maintain rhythm, and stretch Juventus' defense.
When playing possession football, patience was vital.
Impatience could easily lead to mistakes.
And it was the constant shifting of play and rotating wing attacks that finally created the crack in Juventus' defense, leading to Modric and Di Maria's combination.
"Stay calm!"
"Don't rush, control the tempo and keep the ball!"
"Xabi, slow it down in midfield."
"Pull the back line tighter."
Gao Shen paced to the technical area, giving continuous instructions.
These were cautious adjustments.
He was mainly worried about Juventus counterattacks.
If this were away from home, Gao Shen would not mind going all-out against Juventus. But at the Bernabéu, he could not allow them an away goal. So after scoring, Madrid had to slow down.
In truth, if Gao Shen had not been cautious about the back line, Real Madrid's attack would have been even fiercer.
But he knew, once Juventus scored an away goal, the situation would get complicated.
This is why in Champions League knockout ties, the home team often plays conservatively, while the away team attacks with more risk.
After returning to his seat, Gao Shen listened to reports from his assistants.
Real Madrid's strategy was clear. In possession, they controlled and stretched the play, probing Juventus. Out of possession, they pressed high and aggressively.
Under Madrid's pressing, Juventus' midfield could not keep the ball.
When building out, Benzema pressed Bonucci, forcing Barzagli and Chiellini to take more touches. But since their passing was not reliable, they dared not advance the ball too much.
Modric's advanced positioning was the reason he could arrive near Pirlo just in time during the earlier move.
Real Madrid's wing advantage was also obvious, with Marcelo already showing signs of his sharp form.
Juventus, however, were being forced into long balls, relying on Matri to hold up play. But Pepe and Ramos dealt with aerial balls well.
This was the problem with Juventus' frontline.
Conte's idea was clear. Matri as a tactical center forward, holding up long passes, with Quagliarella running in behind to launch the second attack.
But Matri was not a true target man. His strengths were finishing and poaching, not holding the ball. As a result, Juventus' counterattacking plan was ineffective.
If Juventus had lined up in a 3-5-1-1, they would not have had an advantage, and might even have been more passive.
All of Gao Shen's pre-match plans were based on Juventus using 3-5-1-1.
He also knew well that in his previous life, Juventus only truly rose again after signing target men like Llorente and Mandzukic. Before that, they were still a level short.
As for Pirlo, while Modric was pressing him hard, the Italian was visibly frustrated.
For neutral fans, it might look like Pirlo's passing was unusually slow, dragging Juventus' counterattacks and buildup. Was he out of form?
But the reality was different.
Pirlo simply could not find passing options.
There was no one offering support.
This was Juventus' main problem. Their passing combinations could not open space.
Under Madrid's pressing, their technical level was exposed. To improve accuracy, they had to shorten passes, but shorter passes meant no penetration.
If they tried to expand their passing range, Madrid's pressing forced more errors.
It was an unsolvable dilemma.
By contrast, with superior technique, Real Madrid's passing was more accurate and their range wider. This stretched Juventus constantly.
The Bianconeri were struggling to defend.
Not only that, Real Madrid's defensive structure was compact and targeted.
…
In the 42nd minute, Juventus finally countered after an interception in midfield.
Pirlo found space at last and launched a trademark diagonal long pass to the right side of Madrid's penalty area.
Matri got there first, controlled the ball ahead of Pepe, and shielded it with his body.
But Real Madrid's recovery was swift. Carvajal had already tracked back.
With Pepe closing behind him and Carvajal arriving, Matri was trapped.
So the Juventus striker turned back and passed to left-back Peluso, arriving late into the attack.
Peluso looked up and delivered a cross into the box.
Quagliarella and Ramos both leapt to contest it, but Ramos won the duel and cleared with a header.
Quagliarella fell after landing, but the referee waved play on.
Xabi Alonso collected the clearance, controlled it, turned, and pushed forward.
Benzema dropped deep across the halfway line, raising his hand for the ball.
Ronaldo immediately made a cutting run, taking the central striker role and charging Juventus' defense.
Xabi Alonso passed to Benzema.
The French forward controlled it, spun left, and advanced. As he crossed halfway, he spotted Marcelo surging down the wing at full speed.
When he reached Juventus' 30-meter zone, Benzema released Marcelo.
The Brazilian left-back chased the ball down and drove straight into the left side of the penalty area. Without waiting for Isla to close in, he whipped in a left-footed cross toward the six-yard box.
Ronaldo sprinted in at top speed, beat Bonucci to the ball, and powered a header toward goal.
Buffon, stationed on the left side of goal, dived desperately, but it was too late.
The ball crashed into the net.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!"
"CRISTIANO RONALDO!!!"
"2-0!!"
"Real Madrid double their lead!!!"
"Ronaldo outmuscled Bonucci and scored with a close-range header. Another deadly blow from Madrid!"
"Once again, Juventus' defense was torn apart down the wing."
"Conte's three-man defense has been brutally exposed at the Bernabéu tonight."
"In the last 15 minutes of the half, Real Madrid scored twice."
"This should be a huge concern for Conte and his Juventus players."
(To be continued.)