From the bench, Mateo watched the chess match unfold with fascination that bordered on obsession.
His notepad filled with observations that would have impressed seasoned analysts how Bayern's full-backs pushed high to create width, leaving microscopic spaces behind for counter-attacks; how Dortmund's pressing triggers were based on specific player positions rather than time intervals; how both teams were constantly adjusting their shape in response to the other's movements like dancers locked in an eternal waltz.
The opening goal came in the fifteenth minute, and it was a masterpiece of individual brilliance that no tactical system could have prevented.
Arjen Robben, receiving the ball on the right wing with seemingly little danger, cut inside with that devastating left foot that had terrorized defenders across Europe for over a decade.
His shot was perfectly placed, curling into the far corner beyond Roman Weidenfeller's desperate dive with the inevitability of a natural law.
