The situation in the second half was similar to the first.
Real Madrid continued to play steadily. Atletico Madrid tried to launch several attacks after the restart, but achieved nothing.
The stalemate held until the 60th minute, when Atletico visibly grew anxious.
Interestingly, neither side made substitutions at the usual 60-minute mark, clearly trying to preserve the balance and rhythm of the game. Real Madrid in particular played with composure and patience, giving the impression that they were content to maintain this tempo with Atletico until the final whistle.
But Atletico would not accept that.
They were a goal down, so how could they keep playing like this?
As Gao Shen expected, Atletico's attacking focus was on quick counterattacks.
After Villa moved to the left, their left-sided threat improved. But Real Madrid's defending was also excellent. They controlled every point tightly and handled the details well.
It was not foolproof, but it at least prevented Atletico from getting good chances.
Atletico started leaning on set pieces.
In the 64th minute, Atletico attacked down the left in the final third. Villa crossed near the byline, but the ball deflected off Carvajal and went behind for a corner.
Almost all of Atletico's aerial threats surged forward. Miranda, Godin, and Diego Costa all entered Real Madrid's penalty area.
Gao Shen stood on the touchline with a serious look.
In the first half, Atletico attacked from left to right. In the second half it was the opposite, so Real Madrid's goal was now near Gao Shen.
He saw Ramos loudly organizing the set-piece defense, reminding his teammates about their marking assignments and not to lose their men, especially to track Atletico's movement patterns.
Diego Costa and Raul Garcia were crafty, constantly running and targeting shorter players. They were a real handful.
Since Ramos had arranged the setup, Gao Shen did not interfere.
Sometimes, players on the pitch can feel the opponent's threat more intuitively.
Koke took the corner. After a short run-up, he whipped the ball into the center of the six-yard box.
That was also Atletico's favorite delivery zone.
Simeone's approach felt like betting on probabilities, or trying to force miracles through sheer volume.
Most of Atletico's deliveries targeted the center of the six-yard box, and this one was very close to that area.
Courtois called loudly, then decisively left his line, leapt high, and calmly plucked the ball out of the air. After landing, he cradled it in one hand and gestured with the other for his teammates to settle.
At nearly two meters tall, with his arms fully extended, Courtois' reach was immense.
No one could do much about his penalty-area dominance. No matter how high they jumped, they could not reach higher than Courtois' hands, and they could not get to the ball.
While directing his teammates, Courtois was also scanning the pitch.
He saw Di Maria starting his run and immediately shouted. He rushed to the edge of the penalty area and hurled the ball forward, driving it hard and fast into Di Maria's path.
Everyone in Atletico suddenly sensed danger.
Di Maria was a flash of lightning. He reached Courtois' throw on the left channel, knocked it forward, and accelerated to chase.
Gabi sprinted across to cover inside, but Di Maria swung his left foot and played a diagonal pass into the middle.
Toni Kroos also surged forward at full speed, reached Di Maria's pass before anyone else, and, without taking a touch, returned it diagonally into Di Maria's run on the left.
Using his speed to shake off Gabi, Di Maria latched onto Kroos' return ball, strode over the halfway line, and charged forward.
Juanfran stepped up to defend, but Di Maria did not slow. He drove the ball forward, drew Juanfran into a challenge, then poked it with his left foot through Juanfran's legs and accelerated on the inside to retrieve it.
Amid a wave of gasps, Atletico's right-back was left behind.
Di Maria caught up with the ball quickly, but by then Gabi had chased back to the right side.
At the same time, Real Madrid's forwards were pushing up.
Benzema, Toni Kroos, and Ronaldo on the right were all sprinting ahead. If they arrived in time, they would create a clear overload.
Di Maria kept dribbling and surged straight into Atletico's 30-meter zone.
Seeing the danger escalate, Siqueira was the only defender left in front of the D, and Real Madrid's three supporting runners were already in position.
Hesitation would kill the chance.
Gabi gritted his teeth, grabbed Di Maria's shirt from behind, yanked him back, then slid in.
The Atletico midfielder's tackle brought Di Maria down. With the momentum, Di Maria tumbled two or three times before stopping.
The stadium erupted in boos.
Both Real Madrid and Atletico fans were booing.
One side booed the foul. The other side booed what they felt was a dive.
Referee Bjorn Kuipers blew his whistle immediately.
He had been tracking Gabi and Di Maria from the side and slightly behind, keeping them in sight, so he clearly saw Gabi's actions.
The Dutch referee ran over, but before he could act, Atletico players surrounded him.
They realized the danger at once.
Gabi was not the last defender, but he had committed a tactical foul from the side and behind.
Everyone could see that if the ball had been released, it would have been Benzema, Toni Kroos, and Ronaldo running at Siqueira alone, and Real Madrid would have had a near-certain scoring chance.
Gabi's foul was clearly tactical.
Real Madrid players also rushed in. Captain Ramos shoved an Atletico player and looked furious, shouting repeatedly and accusing them of trying to intimidate the referee.
Tempers flared, and the situation threatened to spiral.
Simeone was roaring on the touchline. He also understood the danger.
Only Di Maria was still lying on the turf, waiting for the referee's decision.
…
"We can clearly see from the slow-motion replays from multiple angles that this was a tactical foul from the side."
"Now it depends on the referee's decision. This should be a red card."
"But we also notice that Kuipers' officiating has been a bit lenient tonight. With Atletico trailing, will he still choose to show a red card?"
"We have to say Real Madrid's tactics tonight have been excellent, and the players have performed very well. Throughout the match, Atletico have barely created any clear, threatening chances."
"On the contrary, Real Madrid keep creating danger."
"Now, even outside the penalty area, they have been stopped by a tactical foul."
"Gabi is the core of Atletico's midfield. If he is sent off, Atletico will be in serious trouble and the match could lose suspense."
"We see Kuipers separating players, and he shows a yellow card to Ramos first to warn the Real Madrid captain for escalating the situation."
"Ramos has slightly lost his composure. He keeps explaining himself, but Real Madrid players are pulling him away."
"Real Madrid need to stay calm. Whether it is a red card or not, they have to accept the outcome."
"Kuipers calls Gabi over, and we see the referee produce another card."
"Red card!"
"In the 64th minute, referee Kuipers shows a red card to Atletico's midfield organizer Gabi."
"This means Atletico will play the final half hour with ten men."
"We can see Gabi was mentally prepared."
"I believe that when he reached out and slid in, he knew what might happen."
"If Gabi had not intervened and allowed Di Maria to release the pass, Atletico could have conceded a second goal."
"It was a difficult choice, 2-0 down or lose the midfield brain. Clearly, Gabi chose to trust his teammates. Even without him, Atletico still have a chance to equalize, or even turn it around against Real Madrid."
…
Real Madrid fans cheered, and Atletico fans roared back.
The noise inside the Estádio da Luz grew even louder.
Gabi walked toward the tunnel with his head down. Simeone met him on the sideline and gave him a hug.
Gao Shen shook his head helplessly.
"Gabi took the hit for Atletico at a critical moment," Gao Shen said, sounding a little unwilling.
Given the situation, it was understandable that Gabi accepted the red card.
If Real Madrid had scored again, Atletico would have been finished.
But now?
Although they did not get the ideal yellow card outcome, would losing one player have a huge impact on Atletico?
Not necessarily.
Because Atletico were already set up to play on the counter.
Now that Gabi was off and they were down a man, they would become even more resolute. If Real Madrid grew careless, Atletico might even nick a goal.
Diego Costa, Koke, and Villa all had strong individual ability.
"Atletico are really tenacious," Zidane said, impressed.
Gabi's act looked like he was blocking the opponent's momentum, and also like he was fighting to the end.
It was heroic, and it would further fire up Atletico's players, bringing more suspense to the game.
Gao Shen was helpless too, and he sincerely admired the iron-blooded team Simeone had built. They were truly formidable.
He still remembered that when he transmigrated, Simeone was coaching Atletico, and he had steadily elevated a team that was not originally that strong into La Liga's third powerhouse, on equal footing with Real Madrid and Barcelona.
For that alone, Simeone deserves respect.
"We still have to be careful of Atletico's counterattacks. Now that we have a numerical advantage, we need to play even more steadily," Carlo reminded.
He was always cautious.
Gao Shen nodded, walked to the touchline, and signaled to the players to keep it steady, do not rush, and stay patient.
Simeone made substitutions, replacing Raul Garcia with Jose Sosa.
Villa was withdrawn for Alderweireld, two changes at once. Alderweireld went to left-back, pushing Siqueira forward.
Atletico switched to a 4-4-1.
Gao Shen was also preparing a change, and Isco began to warm up.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)