Afternoon of May 14, Wembley Stadium, London.
FA Cup Final: Manchester United vs Manchester City.
The match unfolded just as Gao Shen had expected. Ferguson was unwilling to surrender control to Manchester City, so he continued with the midfield trio of Sneijder, Carrick, and Lass Diarra, with Park Ji-sung on the left.
However, Ferguson didn't opt for a high press from the start. Instead, he opened cautiously.
This allowed Manchester City to easily take control of the ball and dictate the tempo from the beginning.
In terms of overall strength, City clearly had the advantage.
Just over two minutes into the game, City created a chance on the left. Gareth Bale broke past O'Shea and forced a corner with a cross from the byline. Yaya Touré followed with a long-range shot from outside the box—City's first shot of the match.
From there, Manchester City continued with a composed approach and created several chances in succession.
United were relatively passive but maintained a tight defensive structure, not allowing City any real clear-cut opportunities.
This was also United's biggest weapon.
As the media predicted before the match, Ferguson would likely tighten the defensive lines, let City take the initiative, and wait for a chance to hit them on the break.
United seemed to be playing just like that.
Every time they attacked, they moved forward quickly, but when they lost the ball, the midfield and back line immediately dropped back just as fast.
This forced Manchester City into a positional attack.
There was no need to explain how powerful the central defensive pairing of Vidic and Ferdinand was. They were among the best in world football.
While City had conceded fewer goals over the season, their centre-back pairing of David Luiz and Kompany excelled in passing and long balls. But in terms of pure defense and stability, they weren't quite on the level of United's duo.
Of course, even if asked, Gao Shen wouldn't make a change. He liked players like David Luiz and Kompany.
…
Yaya Touré was extremely active from the start.
In addition to that first shot, he soon tried another long-range effort from 20 meters.
Later, he even got a header inside the box, but it went over the bar.
In the 11th minute, he went for a shot from nearly 40 meters out.
It was a decent strike, but a little high.
"This kid is pumped tonight," Carlo laughed.
Gao Shen nodded.
Just the night before, after the team arrived in London, the hotel delivered a large pre-ordered cake.
It was specially arranged by Gao Shen to celebrate Yaya Touré's 28th birthday.
The Ivorian had been visibly moved and made a wish in front of the whole team—he wanted to score in the FA Cup Final.
In fact, the afternoon before departure, Yaya had approached Gao Shen to ask about playing in the Champions League Final. He wanted to face Barcelona, but Gao Shen couldn't give him a definite answer.
Javi Martínez had been solid all season. His chemistry with David Silva and Rakitić had been excellent. There was no reason to drop him for the final just to accommodate Touré.
How would the Spanish midfielder feel about that?
Just as there was no way Gao Shen would leave Touré out of the FA Cup Final.
So now, Touré was treating the FA Cup Final as if it were the Champions League Final. He wanted to beat Manchester United like it was Barcelona.
Of course, Gao Shen promised to give him as much playing time as possible.
But nothing could be guaranteed.
While Gao Shen was lost in thought, City intercepted the ball in their own half again.
Sneijder tried a pass to Park Ji-sung, but Zabaleta tackled it and fed the ball to Yaya Touré.
The Ivorian shifted to the right, took a few strides forward, spotted an opportunity, and sent a long diagonal ball straight into United's penalty area.
The pass landed on the left side and bounced into the box.
Van Persie ran in between Vidic and Ferdinand and beat both to the ball.
Goalkeeper Van der Sar came off his line decisively. His timing was perfect. Just as Van Persie stretched out his left foot for the shot, Van der Sar got his hands to it.
The ball deflected off his gloves, looped high, and dropped toward the left side of the penalty area.
Van Persie quickly chased it down, got there ahead of Ferdinand, and sent a return pass to Bale on the left side of the box.
The Welshman cut into the penalty area from the corner, controlled the ball before Vidic could close him down, and went for a left-footed volley aimed at the far post.
Everyone knows how dangerous Bale is in "Bale's zone."
But this time, the shot was saved by Van der Sar.
This was the Dutch keeper's last match for Manchester United. He showed incredible determination. After coming off his line, he scrambled back into position and managed to save Bale's powerful strike.
The entire Wembley Stadium erupted in applause.
It was a stunning, perhaps even legendary save.
Had that gone in, Manchester United would've been in serious trouble!
Even Gao Shen on the touchline couldn't help but applaud Van der Sar's effort, though he was also frustrated his side hadn't taken the lead.
Everyone knows how lethal Bale is from that area.
"Van der Sar is really…" Gao Shen kept shaking his head.
There wasn't much more he could say about a player like that.
Gao Shen stepped to the sideline and signaled his players to stretch their attacking width more.
City had attacked too often through the middle or with long balls. It was time to utilize the flanks and bring out the best in the two wingers.
The central area was too crowded. Continuing to force play through the middle wouldn't create much.
They needed to stretch the defense wide and then come back inside.
"Arjen, demand the ball more!" Gao Shen shouted to Robben, who was closest to him.
He felt Robben had been a bit quiet tonight.
Maybe that was due to Yaya Touré being so active.
Whether it was long shots or long passes, Robben hadn't gotten many chances.
…
Time kept ticking.
Manchester City remained in control, pressing United constantly.
United weren't completely toothless, but their two or three counterattacks failed to create real danger. It looked like City were overwhelming them.
But that wasn't necessarily a good thing.
The dominance was too obvious, yet the scoreline hadn't moved. That's always risky.
Gao Shen watched the pitch carefully. If anything started to go wrong, he was ready to tell the players to slow the tempo and tighten their defense.
In the 34th minute, City intercepted the ball again in their half and pushed forward. But by the time they reached United's half, the Red Devils had regrouped and were back in shape. City's players looked frustrated.
Yaya Touré got the ball and Gao Shen signaled for him to hold it.
Moments ago, he had attempted another long ball into the box. It was dangerous but hard to convert.
And realistically, could Van Persie beat Vidic and Ferdinand in the air?
Hearing Gao Shen, Touré carried the ball forward and passed to Hazard.
Hazard, playing in the attacking midfield role, controlled it laterally, took a couple of steps forward, dribbled past Carrick with a feint, then passed it right to Robben, who was hugging the sideline, and followed up with a forward run.
His role wasn't just link-up play but also shadowing Van Persie during attacks.
Robben brought the ball inside, accelerated, and cut past Evra while continuing his dribble across the pitch.
At that moment, Robben was still outside the box and not in a shooting position, so United's defense stayed composed. Sneijder moved in to contain him, giving Evra time to recover, and Carrick was back in the middle.
Sneijder went in for a sliding tackle but mistimed it.
Robben adjusted his stride with quick touches, tricking Sneijder into going to ground. He neatly skipped past and found a brief moment of space. He glanced at the box and sent a long diagonal cross with his left foot.
The ball curled from the right side of the box toward the edge of the six-yard box.
Van Persie made a quick run, got behind United's two center backs, and just before Van der Sar arrived, volleyed the ball back into play.
The Dutch striker, a natural left-footer with superb control, used his body to shield the ball from Van der Sar.
Though the keeper had use of his hands, it would've been hard to win the ball unless he fouled Van Persie.
But Van Persie didn't try to control or shoot. Vidic was already closing in fast.
Van Persie made a quick decision. Realizing he'd missed the best chance to shoot, he swung his left foot and played the ball back into the space Vidic had just vacated.
Hazard arrived right on time and smashed a one-time shot at goal.
There was no goalkeeper in front of the Belgian now, and he drilled the ball into the Manchester United net.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"
"34th minute, Hazard! Eden Hazard opens the scoring for Manchester City!"
"A brilliant attacking sequence!"
"Robben cut inside from the right and whipped in a diagonal pass with his left. Van Persie volleyed the ball back, and Hazard arrived from deep to strike it home. Manchester City's attack was well-organized, fast, and precise. United's defenders couldn't touch the ball and had no way to stop it!"
"One-nil!"
"This goal is huge. It breaks the deadlock that had held for over half an hour."
"If Manchester City lift the trophy at Wembley today, Hazard's goal will be priceless!"
"Of course, this goal also owed much to Robben's incisive cut-in and Van Persie's intelligent lay-off."
"City's attack was dynamic and fluid. Despite United's solid defense, they couldn't hold on."
"This was textbook attacking football!"
(To be continued.)