Farfan's dribble was intercepted and Felipe quickly played the ball forward.
"Gareth Bale has incredible speed, and Manchester City's counterattack is lightning-fast."
The front trident's counterattack formed a three-on-four situation.
"Look at what Gareth Bale just did. He broke through Atsuto Uchida on the left flank and sent a low cross along the line!"
"Suarez missed the ball in the center, and it rolled to the far post…"
"Robben!!!"
"Dribbling with his right foot, cuts inside beautifully, directly bypasses two defenders, and shoots with his left foot!"
"The ball is in!!!"
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"
"Manchester City scores again, 4-0!"
"Only three minutes into the second half, Manchester City has broken through Schalke 04's defense once more with a quick counterattack. Robben scores again with a brilliant left-footed strike."
"This time, Manchester City's counterattack was sharp and decisive. Schalke's midfield failed to keep up, and the four defenders at the back couldn't handle the coordination of City's attacking trio."
"Four to zero! Magath really needs to make adjustments now."
"If Schalke 04 continues trying to go head-to-head with Manchester City, they could end up losing even more miserably."
…
"You're not going to keep being this stubborn, are you?"
Gao Shen glanced toward the home team's technical area with an innocent expression, muttering softly to himself.
Being stubborn is an illness. It needs treatment.
Carlo, Lucas, and Sari, who were standing nearby, heard him clearly. Their expressions turned strange.
They were speechless, thinking the same thing: Gao, could you be any more shameless?
You're obviously overjoyed inside. Why are you pretending to be so innocent?
Who do you think you're fooling?
Magath really was stubborn. Even after conceding three goals in the first half, he still tried to attack in the second half. Wasn't that asking for trouble?
But after conceding the fourth goal, Magath finally seemed to make up his mind.
In the 55th minute, American international Jermaine Jones replaced Baumjohann.
The midfield shape also shifted from the original diamond formation to a double defensive midfielder setup.
Manchester City continued to control possession, dictating the tempo of the match, and kept launching waves of attacks on Schalke 04.
However, Schalke, now focused on defending, managed to hold firm. With two defensive midfielders shielding the backline and City easing up slightly after establishing a four-goal lead, Magath's team stabilized.
In the 65th minute, Magath made his second substitution, bringing on Annan for Jurado.
This Annan was the nephew of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Once dubbed "Essien II," the Ghanaian midfielder's development so far had been disappointing.
At present, his greatest claim to fame was still being the nephew of the former UN Secretary-General.
The final thirty minutes of the match were largely uneventful, with Manchester City rotating their squad and Schalke staying deep in defense.
The quality of play dropped noticeably, and City failed to score again.
The 4-0 scoreline remained unchanged until the final whistle.
…
"Congratulations."
As soon as the referee blew for full-time, Magath walked over to the visiting team's technical area and shook hands with Gao Shen.
The German's expression was grim, without the slightest hint of a smile. It felt as though he were being forced at gunpoint, looking utterly reluctant.
Gao Shen, on the other hand, was in a great mood, smiling warmly as he greeted Magath.
He actually wanted to ask: Why did you decide to attack Manchester City so recklessly?
Or even: How do you feel now?
But in the end, Gao Shen held back his urge to gossip.
Magath's situation was already miserable enough.
The blow Gao Shen delivered tonight might just have been the one that finished him off.
After shaking hands, Magath didn't say much. He turned and walked straight into the tunnel.
From the stands, faint chants could be heard from Schalke 04 fans calling for Magath's dismissal.
But Gao Shen didn't think it would happen so easily.
It was reported that the termination clause in Magath's contract with Schalke 04 was as high as 12 million euros—an astronomical sum for a club already drowning in debt.
In other words, Schalke 04 was so broke that they couldn't even afford to sack their coach.
Unless Magath willingly gave up the compensation fee, which would mean resigning voluntarily.
But according to Magath himself, he had no intention of doing that.
Gao Shen couldn't quite wrap his head around this complicated situation.
…
"Hey, Boss!"
Raul came over with a smile, giving Gao Shen a high-five and handshake.
Gao Shen pulled him in for a hug.
"You seem to be doing well," Gao Shen said cheerfully, clearly happy to see Raul.
He had noticed that Raul was adapting quite well at Schalke 04. After all, as the team's biggest star, he naturally received a lot of attention and respect.
"I just want to score more goals," Raul replied.
Gao Shen almost wanted to joke: Why bother working so hard?
In a couple of years, you'll be overtaken by those two record-breaking monsters anyway.
Instead of grinding it out here in the Bundesliga, wouldn't it be better to head to MLS or the Middle East and make some easy money?
But then again, people need their ambitions.
"By the way, your tactics tonight were a bit strange. It almost felt like you were helping us."
As soon as Gao Shen finished, Raul gave a bitter smile, looking a little embarrassed.
Boss, could you not phrase it like that?
Anyone who overheard might think Schalke 04 was fixing the match.
"He had a talk with me before the game. I reminded him to be careful, but he still chose to press forward. I guess the pressure's been getting to him lately," Raul sighed.
Unless you've been in that position yourself, you can't truly understand the kind of pressure a head coach faces.
It's the same reason no one understood why Guardiola would suddenly make a baffling decision before the Champions League final.
It's not just the pressure from the club's management. There's pressure from the locker room, the media, and the fans.
Worst of all, the head coach has to shoulder all of it alone. No one else can bear it for him.
"To be honest, Schalke 04 can't compare with Real Madrid," Raul admitted, his expression darkening.
Though he came up through Atletico Madrid's youth system, Raul had spent nearly his entire career at Real Madrid. His deepest memories of professional football were all tied to that club.
Leaving Real Madrid so suddenly required time to adjust, both mentally and emotionally.
Especially when moving from Real Madrid to a club like Schalke 04.
"There's a huge gap between the strength of our starting lineup and the quality of our bench. If we focus on doing well in the Champions League, it's hard to maintain form in the league. But because of the club's debt, we're under pressure to perform in the Champions League, at least to make it out of the group stage…"
Gao Shen raised his eyebrows in surprise. Wow, you're aiming to qualify from the group?
Looking at Raul, Gao Shen couldn't help but laugh. "So, is this your revenge against Real Madrid?"
If Schalke 04 wanted to make it out of the group stage, they would have to fight Real Madrid head-on.
"Boss, can't we just knock out Manchester City instead?" Raul shot back.
Gao Shen chuckled. "Don't forget, we've already won two in a row."
As he spoke, he raised two fingers in front of Raul with a grin.
Raul's expression turned sour.
Because at the same time, results from the other group match had come in.
Thanks to Ronaldo's goal, Real Madrid had defeated Inter Milan 1-0 at home.
This left Manchester City at the top of the group with two straight wins, while Real Madrid, with one win and one loss, sat in second place.
Inter Milan and Schalke 04 each had one draw and one loss, but because Schalke had conceded more goals, they dropped to the bottom of the group.
The situation was eerily similar to their position in the Bundesliga table—Schalke 04 in last place.
Raul had come to Schalke 04 hoping to score more goals in the Champions League. But after this heavy defeat, he couldn't help feeling confused and frustrated.
"Don't worry. In the next two rounds, I'll do my best to help you beat Inter Milan," Gao Shen patted Raul on the shoulder and encouraged him.
But Raul still looked a bit uneasy.
Could Schalke 04 really bounce back from this crushing home defeat?
More importantly, in the next round of the group stage, Raul would be leading Schalke 04 to the Santiago Bernabéu.
It would be his first time stepping into the Bernabéu as an opponent of Real Madrid.
Raul himself didn't know how he would handle that moment.
…
After crushing Real Madrid 5-0 at home in the first round, Manchester City followed up with a 4-0 away win over Schalke 04 in the second round.
Two wins from two, with zero goals conceded. A highly impressive start.
Both British and European media were full of praise for Manchester City's performance.
In fact, even before the season began, many had predicted that Manchester City would be this year's Champions League dark horse. With Gao Shen at the helm—a manager known for his ability to navigate cup competitions—and as the reigning Premier League champions, City was always going to be a serious threat.
Gao Shen didn't say much about Schalke 04 or Magath during the post-match press conference.
Although Magath expressed his dissatisfaction with Manchester City's approach after the game, claiming City's victory wasn't as easy as the score suggested and blaming Schalke's defeat on bad luck…
Gao Shen, on the other hand, was pleased with his team's performance but reminded everyone that two wins at the start meant nothing. The real test was still ahead.
If Manchester City wanted to progress from the group, the next two matches against Inter Milan would be the key.
Those would be the third and fourth rounds of the group stage.
"I don't know how others see it, but in my opinion, we still had some problems in the first two group matches. I believe my players can, and should, perform even better."
Gao Shen emphasized that the Champions League is the highest level of competition in world football.
"It demands complete focus and full effort in every game and every minute."
Clearly, Gao Shen was still trying to keep a low profile.
But with two dominant victories, it was impossible for Manchester City to avoid the spotlight. They had easily become the most eye-catching team in the opening rounds of the group stage.
Naturally, the media and fans went wild with the hype, and the attention on Manchester City skyrocketed.
Some media outlets even began touting Manchester City as one of the favorites to win the Champions League this season, a situation that left both Gao Shen and the club feeling a mix of pride and concern.
It was understandable.
Gao Shen had always believed in one saying: Born in adversity, die in comfort.
As a head coach, being a little more worried is always a good thing.
(To be continued.)