When Marcelo burst onto the left side of Bayern's penalty area and reached Toni Kroos's pass, all of Bayern's defenders crowded the central and near-post zones inside the box.
Ronaldo and Benzema were both there, ready to meet Marcelo's cross at any moment.
As Marcelo caught up with the ball and saw Rafinha turn to chase, he made a quick decision and crossed immediately with his left foot.
The ball flew over the heads in the penalty area. Ronaldo, Benzema, Vidal, Dante, and the others all leapt to challenge for the header, only to find the ball was too high.
What was that?
Was the cross overhit?
Just as that thought flashed through everyone's mind, the ball dropped toward the right side of the box.
A white shirt sprinted onto it, and as Marcelo's cross came down, he killed it with a first touch.
The control was perfect. Marcelo's cross had already begun to drop, and the touch was so clean it seemed to glue the ball to his foot.
Di Maria paused on his left foot, made a slight adjustment, then whipped his left foot through the ball.
It was a powerful shot, arrowing toward the left side of Bayern's goal.
Tom Starke moved across, trying to get his hands to it, but there was nothing he could do.
The ball flew straight into Bayern Munich's net.
"Goallllllllllllllllll!!!!!"
"Di Maria scores!"
"Real Madrid take the lead in the 19th minute!"
"An attack from the left, Di Maria's late run to the back post, a cushioned control on the chest and a fierce left-foot strike breaks the deadlock. It's 1-0!"
Di Maria sprinted to the touchline, formed a heart with his hands, and roared with excitement.
The entire Bernabéu erupted, Real Madrid fans chanting Di Maria's name.
…
Gao Shen stood in front of the home dugout. When he saw Di Maria score, he punched the air with his right fist, then clapped hard, celebrating the goal.
"Marcelo's cross was beautiful," Hierro said with a smile.
"The key was Toni Kroos's forward run," Zidane added, glancing at Gao Shen with admiration. "Looks like your pre-match talk worked."
Gao Shen smiled and nodded.
He spoke with Toni Kroos often and knew Kroos had complicated feelings toward Bayern.
How to put it?
Toni Kroos was from East Germany and grew up there. Although East and West Germany had long been reunified, there was still a gap, more or less, between people from the East and the West, especially in places like Munich.
So at Bayern, Toni Kroos always felt somewhat isolated.
He wanted to integrate, but never quite managed it, and Bayern never seemed to treat him like a fully recognized member of the team.
For example, Kroos once said that after the World Cup in South Africa, he signed a contract extension with Bayern, but regretted it after just ten minutes.
Because he felt some of Rummenigge's words were insulting, as if the contract was a gift from Bayern rather than something he had earned.
Maybe Rummenigge only meant to show a bit of humor and to pua this gifted young man, but he did not expect Toni Kroos to take it so seriously.
Of course, it is also possible that Toni Kroos was not wrong at all. Who knows?
But when facing Bayern, Toni Kroos really was fired up.
"This kid is incredibly well-rounded. He's strong in every aspect, especially the way he controls the ball. That feint was brilliant. And his ball protection. He has excellent physical strength and strong ball retention. He may look a bit clumsy, but it is hard to take the ball off him," Zidane analyzed.
Modric's greatest strength is losing his marker. His first touch and escape often change the tempo.
Toni Kroos does not excel at getting away from pressure, but he almost never loses the ball because he protects it so well.
Just like the attack just now, whether playing in Marcelo or driving forward, many midfielders could do that, including Pogba and Verratti.
But Toni Kroos shaped the first touch to draw in Schweinsteiger, then suddenly turned left, protected the ball between three defenders, and released Marcelo for the cross.
The whole sequence was the best display of Toni Kroos's qualities.
"This kid always holds back when he plays, which I really don't like. We should let him off the leash. We need more moves like that one just now, then our midfield level will go up another notch," Gao Shen said with anticipation.
Carlo laughed. "You're asking a lot of him. He's only 24."
Gao Shen and Zidane looked at each other and laughed.
Isn't that true?
Sometimes, watching Toni Kroos, not just the media and fans, even experts can misjudge him and think he is very mature, because that is how he plays.
But in reality, he is still very young.
For a playmaker, 24 is just the threshold of his prime, far from the true golden years. Toni Kroos still has plenty of potential to unlock.
What about Modric?
He is nearly 29 and already as mature as they come.
"From the way things look now, over the next few years, as long as our players stay disciplined, it will be hard for any team to match us in midfield," Zidane said happily.
Especially after seeing Gao Shen open this door for Toni Kroos tonight, the German midfielder would soon step out of his constraints and into a new realm.
That is what people call complete enlightenment.
…
After Real Madrid broke the deadlock, the flow of the match shifted quietly.
Especially for Bayern Munich. They had wanted an early goal, but not only did they fail to score, Real Madrid struck first. That was a heavy blow.
Even so, their approach did not change.
For Bayern away from home, a 1-1 result is usually very good. Back at the Allianz Arena, they could play with more composure.
So Bayern stuck with their initial plan and kept attacking Real Madrid.
Even with the lead, Real Madrid stayed steady, continuing with their opening tactics and counterattacking Bayern whenever the chance appeared.
Toni Kroos, Xabi Alonso, and Modric also took turns pushing forward, harrying and squeezing Bayern's midfield.
This allowed Bayern to have nearly 80 percent possession, which was very high.
But possession is only one side of the story. The danger created did not match their share of the ball. The truly threatening attacks all came from Real Madrid. Bayern mostly kept the ball, recycled it, and recycled it again, but could not create real danger.
Their tempo did not vary much, and they struggled to penetrate Real Madrid's defense effectively.
In the 27th minute, Real Madrid launched another quick counter from the left.
Toni Kroos, Marcelo, and Ronaldo tried to combine behind Bayern's back line, but when it did not break, they recycled to Toni Kroos outside the box.
At that moment, Bayern's defensive shape had tilted toward Real Madrid's left, leaving the right side completely open.
When Toni Kroos received Ronaldo's return, he stood side-on with his back toward the left touchline, took the touch, then switched play with a direct diagonal.
The ball flew across the pitch and dropped perfectly on Real Madrid's right.
Carvajal advanced, took Kroos's pass cleanly, and dribbled toward the right corner of the penalty area.
Di Maria curved his run from the right side of the penalty spot, pulled out of the box, and pointed ahead, signaling for Carvajal to play it into his path.
Di Maria is left-footed. Once he gets the ball and turns, he is a danger.
Especially with that left-foot strike.
At the start of the season, Gao Shen bet that Di Maria would hit 20 goals and 20 assists, which caused quite a stir.
But as the season went on, the Argentine winger showed stunning form. He not only surpassed 20 assists, becoming the assist king among Europe's top four leagues, he also raised his goal tally. His form was off the charts.
In this situation, how could Bayern possibly allow Di Maria to receive the ball on the edge of the area?
Dante tracked Di Maria out, but beside him Benzema made the opposite movement, darting diagonally into the box.
Almost simultaneously, Carvajal struck the ball with his right foot.
David Alaba rushed across, but before he could get there, Carvajal's clipped pass dropped toward the right side of the penalty spot.
Benzema arrived, cushioned it on his chest, and moved forward. Before the ball hit the turf, he swung his right foot through it on the volley.
Vidal was pinned behind Benzema, and Tom Starke came off his line, but Benzema's strike was quicker, flashing past Starke and into the right side of the goal.
"Goalllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!"
"2-0!!!"
"Real Madrid score again!"
"Benzema with the goal!"
"What a surprise. Real Madrid switched it long in an instant. Carvajal's delivery from the right, and the crossover movements from Di Maria and Benzema disrupted Bayern's defense."
"It was just like the cross-run between Lahm and Götze earlier, but Real Madrid's combination was even more dangerous this time."
"2-0!"
"In under ten minutes, Real Madrid are two goals up, both from counterattacks."
The Bernabéu was a sea of noise, Real Madrid fans in full voice.
Benzema and his teammates sprinted to the touchline to celebrate, while Bayern's players looked dejected and frustrated.
They had all the possession, yet struggled to create real danger.
It looked very similar to Barcelona in recent years.
Could it be that Guardiola's football is really out of date?
(To be continued.)