Manchester City attacked down the right once more.
Lichtsteiner made an overlapping run and linked up with Robben, pushing deep toward Manchester United's byline.
But the Red Devils' defense recovered quickly and left no space behind.
The two City players tried to break through but failed and were forced to pass back to Rakitic outside the box to reorganize.
The Croatian midfielder settled the ball, paused briefly, and didn't switch play immediately. When he saw Robben and Lichtsteiner retreat to onside positions, he quickly delivered a straight pass to Robben's feet.
With his back to goal, Robben received the ball, but Carrick stuck close and wouldn't let him turn, so he passed it back out to Lichtsteiner on the touchline.
Manchester United's defense shifted toward that side.
Even Suárez drifted to the right, looking ready to overload and force a breakthrough down the flank.
It was now the 79th minute.
The score was still 1–0.
As United's stamina declined, they continued to fall behind on the pitch.
Ferguson had already made a substitution, bringing on Smalling for Fabio to strengthen the defense on the right.
A 0–1 loss away from home still left United with hope for the return leg at Old Trafford.
Ferguson's approach was now more pragmatic. After defending for nearly 80 minutes, he seemed ready to accept the 0–1 result.
But Manchester City weren't willing to settle.
Lichtsteiner sensed the shift in United's defensive focus. With his back to the sideline, he stepped back twice to draw United's defense out, then passed the ball back to Rakitic.
Rakitic, now stationed on the right, received the ball, glanced left, and launched a long cross-field switch.
The ball sailed across the pitch, from the right edge of the penalty area to the left.
Gareth Bale hugged the left touchline and brought it down with his left foot.
As soon as he controlled it, he saw Smalling charging toward him.
Fabio was quick, and Bale hadn't been that active down the left today.
But against Smalling, Bale believed he had the edge in speed and explosiveness.
Before Smalling got close, Bale feinted toward the top corner of the box, then suddenly pushed toward the byline. With a rapid step, he shook Smalling off.
Bale caught up with the ball and cut into the box from the left.
Just as he reached his famed "Bale Zone," Ferdinand stepped up to block him like an immovable wall.
The Welshman made a quick decision, swung his left foot, and crossed the ball.
Suárez, arriving in the middle of the penalty area, shot instantly, but Vidic slid in and blocked the attempt.
The ball deflected off Vidic's leg, bounced back, and landed on the right edge of the box.
Robben, who had just been on the corner of the area, now rushed forward, shifted his left foot to avoid Carrick, and struck again with his left.
The ball curled beautifully toward the top-left corner of the goal.
Van der Sar, leaning right, saw Robben strike and dove left to save it.
But he was still half a step too late.
The ball flew into the top corner.
Blind spot!
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!"
"In the 79th minute, Robben scores again for Manchester City!!!"
"An unstoppable shot into the blind spot!"
"From Arjen Robben!"
Robben sprinted to the sideline in celebration, running full speed before sliding to his knees in front of the home fans.
The coaching staff had told him to avoid knee slides, but he just couldn't help himself.
The other City players caught up quickly and surrounded him.
Kompany and Rakitic rushed to pull Robben up, afraid that their strategic weapon might get injured again.
He was one of Manchester City's best players this season.
"Robben's goal is massive!"
"2–0! Manchester City now hold a huge advantage!"
"Ferguson looked visibly disappointed after the goal—and understandably so."
"A 0–1 loss was still manageable at Old Trafford, but 0–2 is a heavy blow. Scoring at least two goals against City at home will be a real challenge."
…
Gao Shen shouted with excitement from the touchline.
The noise from the stands drowned out his voice completely, but he didn't care.
2–0!
That scoreline was everything for Manchester City.
In fact, it was practically the knockout blow.
If they could hold this result and prepare well for the second leg at Old Trafford, they'd have one foot in the final.
An overwhelming sense of pride surged in Gao Shen's chest.
He had already led Real Madrid and Napoli to Champions League glory. If he could reach the final again and win another title, that would make three. He'd become the only active head coach with three Champions League titles.
Even in Champions League history, only Liverpool legend Bob Paisley had done it.
But Paisley's three titles all came during Liverpool's golden era.
Gao Shen, on the other hand, would've won his three with three different clubs.
That would be unprecedented.
The thought made Gao Shen giddy. He stepped to the sideline and signaled for the players to keep pushing.
"Keep attacking! I want to see a third goal!"
Gao Shen didn't hide his ambition, roaring from the technical area.
Players nearby could hear him clearly—and so could Ferguson in the away dugout.
The old Scot turned his head and looked at Gao Shen, as if to say: Are you serious? Do you think I'm already dead?
Are we still going to have that drink or not?
…
Play resumed.
Many thought United would launch a desperate push to salvage a goal.
Ferguson did make a change, bringing on Nani for Park Ji-sung.
But what followed shocked everyone.
Manchester City, already up by two, didn't back off at all. Instead, they launched wave after wave of attacks against Manchester United.
Gareth Bale, in particular, was relentless on the left.
City knew all too well how determined and dangerous Bale was. In possession, they funneled the attack through him, repeatedly sending him against Smalling.
Even after 80 minutes, Bale's speed and explosiveness were still electric.
Poor Smalling, fresh off the bench and supposedly with a fitness advantage, was completely turned into a training cone. Bale torched him again and again.
In the 86th minute, Smalling had no choice but to pull Bale back. He was promptly shown a yellow card, gifting City a free-kick.
Ferguson raged on the sideline, yelling furiously at Smalling.
The flustered English defender glanced at Bale, then at Ferguson, utterly lost. He looked like he was about to cry.
City's free-kick landed perfectly at the edge of the box. Kompany's header crashed off the crossbar, and David Luiz's follow-up was smothered by Van der Sar.
Those final minutes felt like an eternity for United.
Manchester City kept coming.
What frustrated Ferguson even more was that Gao Shen hadn't made a single substitution the entire match.
It was absurd!
Truly... absurd!
…
Amid Ferguson's fuming, the referee finally blew the full-time whistle.
2–0. Manchester City defeated Manchester United at home with goals from Suárez and Robben, winning the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.
This was the first semi-final of the Champions League this season.
Tomorrow, Napoli would face Barcelona at the San Paolo.
That match would also attract global attention.
After all, it was a rematch of the Champions League final two years ago.
Everyone was curious to see if Napoli, post-Gao Shen and after selling several stars, could still go toe-to-toe with Barcelona.
Gao Shen wasn't concerned with that now. He was ecstatic.
A 2–0 win was a massive boost heading into the second leg.
In fact, Gao Shen believed that Manchester City already had one hand on a ticket to the final.
"We should go ahead and reserve a hotel near Wembley," he said to his staff with a grin.
The coaching staff were just as thrilled, nodding in agreement.
"I'll get in touch with Wenger. Then we can use Arsenal's Colney training ground to prepare."
As he said it, Gao Shen burst out laughing.
If Wenger agreed and announced it before the second leg, Ferguson would probably lose his mind.
Damn it, the game's not over yet. Ever heard of showing some respect?
But a 2–0 home win wasn't just a solid lead. More importantly, they hadn't conceded an away goal.
If that isn't a commanding position, what is?
Gao Shen's optimism was shared by the whole staff.
They still had to be cautious in the second leg, but the momentum was clearly with Manchester City.
Bringing up Arsenal now was a sly way to get under Ferguson's skin.
Of course, if they did reach the final, such arrangements would be necessary.
Whether it was Barcelona or Napoli, they would likely arrive in London early to prepare.
And given both clubs' rivalry with Chelsea, they probably wouldn't borrow Cobham.
That meant if City locked in Colney early, it could complicate things for whoever advanced.
It was a subtle form of psychological warfare.
Besides, there were plenty of London clubs to borrow from.
But Arsenal's Colney had the clear edge, close to Wembley and equipped with top-tier facilities. It was the ideal base.
Manchester City had a good relationship with the Gunners, and Gao Shen had a good relationship with Wenger.
After all, they shared a common rival.
(To be continued.)
***
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