Whistle!
The referee's whistle pierced the air. The second half officially began.
Bastia kicked off.
After Lukaku passed back to De Bruyne, he didn't immediately push forward to support the attack.
Bastia showed no intention of pushing for an early goal in the second half.
Leading by two goals, they prioritized stability. So, De Bruyne controlled possession, orchestrating play from the back.
Atlético Madrid, however, had no intention of letting them waste time comfortably.
Immediately after kickoff, they pressed Bastia's ball carrier aggressively. Their intent was clear: force Bastia into more passes, and more passes meant more mistakes.
Atlético's pressing proved effective. Not every Bastia player possessed elite technical ability. After all, other French clubs had long branded Bastia as "barbaric islanders" their playing style had become synonymous with raw aggression.
Julien was an anomaly in Bastia's squad history.
With only De Bruyne in midfield, controlling possession would be difficult. He himself faced constant pressure from Atlético.
Julien rushed back to support. But on his first touch of the second half, Filipe came from behind and crashed into him, sending him to the ground.
Whistle!
The referee immediately blew his whistle, calling the foul.
Julien didn't get up immediately. Sitting on the grass, he slowly retied his shoelaces.
He wasn't reckless.
Knowing the opposition would commit fouls to target him, he understood perfectly how to exploit these stoppages, waste a little time here, steal a little time there.
So, what if it wasn't pretty football? Winning was what mattered.
There were countless teams that, if they'd just wasted a bit of time in the final minutes, wouldn't have been equalized, wouldn't have been knocked out in extra time.
When a team was three or four minutes away from victory and then got equalized and eliminated, who could bear it?
Julien slowly got to his feet.
Rothen threw the ball in. Bastia's attacking presence upfront was limited in numbers, but their individual quality was no less than Atlético's.
Julien received the ball again.
Faced with Filipe's aggressive press, he performed a quick stop-and-go, completely shaking him off. This match, Filipe had become Julien's personal highway: whenever Julien wanted to pass, he passed.
Julien pushed forward along the touchline.
Simultaneously, Lukaku made a forward run into the penalty area, drawing attention from Miranda and Godín.
Gabi and Uruguay's C. Ronaldo (Cristian Rodríguez) dropped back to help, double-teaming Julien, preventing him from cutting inside.
Julien reached the byline.
Lukaku took small steps forward, raising his hand to signal for the ball.
Julien suddenly stopped, trapped the ball at his feet with a twist of his body, shifted it to his left foot, then glanced at the penalty box.
His left foot delivered the pass.
Both Gabi and Cristian assumed Julien was crossing, but instead, the ball went backward—a back pass!
De Bruyne surged forward into space. Mario Suárez failed to follow him.
Julien's pass found De Bruyne with a huge gap in front of him.
Roars erupted!
The Calderón crowd gasped. A wide-open opportunity!
De Bruyne didn't hesitate. Without touching the ball, he struck with his right foot, a curling shot aimed at the far corner.
Everyone's eyes locked on the ball.
Courtois flew across his goal. Tall with long arms, he managed to clip the ball with his fingertip.
Changing its trajectory.
Bang!
The ball crashed against the post and bounced back. Miranda got there before Lukaku, arching his body backward to scissor-kick the ball away to safety.
The Atlético fans exhaled with relief. This was a goal waiting to happen. If Bastia had scored then, the night would have been lost.
De Bruyne shook his head, clearly dissatisfied with the outcome.
But the pace of the match left no time for reflection. Atlético countered swiftly.
Though no goal was scored, both Zidane and Deschamps were visibly pleased with what they'd seen.
Zidane turned to Deschamps. "You might want to explore Julien's passing range. He played as a midfielder in Chelsea's academy system. He has talent in that area and shouldn't be limited to the wing."
Deschamps nodded. "But that depends on his willingness. Some players just prefer their comfort zone."
They traded only brief comments before returning their attention to the match.
At that moment, Bastia fans felt a pang of regret. One goal then, and the match would have been secure.
Now, leading by only two goals, they felt a creeping unease.
Bastia's defense was Ligue 2 level. This season, they'd only added Sidibé, who himself had spent last season in Ligue 2 with Troyes.
Fortunately, Bastia's attacking incursion had involved few players, and with Atlético's superior numbers in defense, the pressure in the final third rose quickly, trapping them in positional play.
"Defense! Defense!" Hadzibegic called out urgently, gesturing for his players to retreat.
Even Julien fell back into the defensive zone.
Bastia's formation had shifted to a defensive 5-5-0.
Full defensive commitment!
Seeing this setup, Simeone's expression darkened. Against most opponents parking the bus like this, he might have felt unconcerned. But Bastia, in just over an hour, had made one thing crystal clear: their counterattack was lethal.
De Bruyne had created a chance just moments ago. Yes, he'd missed, but who could guarantee the next opportunity wouldn't find the net?
Moreover, the current scoreline was 1-3 that clearly favored Bastia.
On the pitch, Atlético players probed for weaknesses in Bastia's dense defensive line.
But there were too many Bastia defenders!
And once settled into this structured defense, the counterattack—Atlético's favorite weapon had no room to operate.
Suddenly, Rothen shouted angrily at Adrián: "What are you doing?!"
Kanté had pressed Adrián, sliding the ball away. Both players went down, but when Adrián got up, he put weight on Kanté.
Rothen saw this, so as soon as Adrián stood, he rushed over.
Rothen understood Kanté's character. He'd stand up for his teammates.
After all these years of his career, Bastia had given him redemption.
For this reason, that former talented midfielder, the Ligue 1 assist king had willingly transformed into a dedicated defensive midfielder.
Adrián had been frustrated with his performance all match. Hearing Rothen's words, he shoved away the hand Rothen extended to hold him back.
"Ah!"
But Rothen saw the movement and leaned forward. Adrián's raised arm caught Rothen's face directly.
Rothen cried out and fell to the ground, clutching his face.
The referee had been nearby, watching Atlético's throw-in, but now he turned to see Adrián striking Rothen.
Angoula, Choplin, and others immediately rushed over, shielding Rothen while also shoving Adrián.
Atlético players naturally reciprocated. Players from both sides flooded toward the scene.
A brawl seemed imminent.
Julien arrived at the scene, pulling back hot-headed teammates like Angoula, speaking quietly: "Watch it. Don't get cards."
It looked like he was restraining them, but he wasn't actually limiting their movements. The shoving continued.
However, once Angoula completed his push and an opponent tried to retaliate, Julien pulled him away.
Julien shouted, "Calm down!"
Whistle! Whistle!
The referee quickly blew his whistle, separating the players, but before this was resolved, chaos erupted on the sideline.
The two coaches were arguing.
Simeone and Hadzibegic started with heated words, but their assistant coaches went further, directly confronting each other with harsh language.
The fourth official hurried to mediate.
"Boooooooooooo!
BOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
The crowd booed and hissed, their jeers directed at Bastia.
The TF1 commentator addressed the situation: "This is a manifestation of pressure. Both sides are under immense stress, tempers are running high, and it takes just a spark.
However, Bastia players must keep their emotions in check—no cards, please. Bastia is defending now, they're already under tremendous pressure. If they pick up yellow cards, they'll become hesitant in defense, and afraid to make necessary tackles."
Bastia's players understood this perfectly.
Though agitated, they calibrated their actions with precision. They'd waste time, rattle their opponents, and do it all without risking suspension.
The commotion quickly settled.
The referee pulled out his yellow card.
The first went to Adrián, followed by one each for both head coaches and assistant coaches.
Five cards in total.
The coaches received four of them.
After pushing teammates back, Julien spoke quietly. "Stay sharp. Their attacks will intensify. We must break up their rhythm, cut it to pieces."
Rothen, still covering his mouth, replied quietly, "Don't worry. I know what to do."
Julien nodded.
He completely trusted Rothen and his experience.
Veteran players were crucial to any squad. Youth-driven rosters had advantages like relentless energy, raw talent, creativity. But they had drawbacks too: they played well when ahead and crumbled when behind. They didn't know how to control tempo.
When to commit a tactical foul, when to waste time, these lessons were learned through seasons of experience.
Play resumed.
The Calderón crowd continued their jeers at Bastia players, hurling abuse. Red-faced supporters screamed insults.
Of course, Julien didn't speak Spanish and didn't understand what they were saying, but it certainly wasn't complimentary.
But the Atlético ultras took it further, directing primate-like sounds at players like Kanté, Sidibé, and Mané. They sang "Retiro Park," their group's notorious anthem, filled with vicious slurs against people of color.
The Atlético Ultras, they were both the club's most devoted supporters and a constant headache for management.
Ultras groups were a double-edged sword.
On one hand, they were custodians of club history and values, organizing activities like charity events, tribute matches that bound the local community together, creating belonging. This emotional connection was the foundation of long-term club development.
During matches, they unified the crowd with organized chants, flags, and banners, creating a "fortress at home" atmosphere, just like Bastia.
A significant portion of the club's revenue came from them too: season tickets, merchandise, and apparel.
Moreover, ultras often held management accountable, opposing excessive commercialization or threats to tradition. The classics included Manchester United fans protesting the Glazer family ownership and Arsenal fans opposing inflated ticket prices.
These were acceptable forms of ultras culture.
But there were many unacceptable ones.
Extremist elements could provoke riots, racial discrimination, or violent clashes, as seen in English football hooliganism or Italian derby violence. These damaged club reputation and invited sanctions and points deductions, stadium bans.
Their monitoring of club decisions could also become overbearing control. They resisted necessary reforms, like stadium relocations or sponsor choices, hindering modernization.
Most importantly, their exclusionary attitude and "moral blackmail" promoted a fetishized "purity," feeding irrational emotion. After losses, they'd overreact, hurling abuse at players and coaches.
This wasn't Atlético Ultras' first misbehavior. In October 2009, after manager Aguirre's departure, thirty fans from Atlético Ultras were actually permitted to enter the club's closed training facility and, standing in front of the players, expressed their vehement displeasure, essentially playing the role of online trolls before their time.
It was the first day of new manager Flores' tenure. The players barely knew their new boss's face when they endured this humiliation.
Such incidents were exceptionally rare in Spanish football history.
You cannot appeal to reason with extremist fans.
From his previous life browsing football news, Julien had seen similar elements in fan circles, those certain fans who'd criticize no matter what.
Play continued.
Bastia indeed stick to their game plan: disrupting the match's flow through minor fouls and time-wasting tactics.
Atlético fans were furious, shouting "dirty players."
Bastia's supporters remained unmoved. They only wanted the match to end.
Their team's actual level? They weren't blind to it.
Forget about how the match looked. As long as they won, nothing else mattered.
By the sixtieth minute, Simeone couldn't contain himself. He made both remaining substitutions at once: Bellerín and Falcao entered.
Simeone withdrew the goalscorer Koke and Adrián, who already had a yellow card.
Adrián left the pitch still seething, passing Simeone without acknowledgment and heading straight to the bench.
Koke and Simeone high-fived and embraced.
Koke was disappointed with his own performance.
Applause erupted from the Calderón crowd, this was for Falcao.
"Falcao is on! The Colombian striker is Atlético's attacking killer. After joining from Porto for forty million euros, he's been prolific. With Agüero and Forlán gone, he's carried the attacking load. Tonight's display against Chelsea with his hat-trick showcased his world-class finishing. Bastia's defense is in for a much tougher evening."
The TF1 commentator expressed concern: "Simeone's gone to two strikers. He's deploying his ultimate weapon. The question is whether Bastia's Ligue 2-level defense can hold up."
When Falcao entered, Hadzibegic gestured from the sideline, signaling his players to stick to the game plan worked out in the locker room.
Julien, watching Simeone's all-out assault with two strikers, couldn't help but wonder: would his opportunities increase?
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