Inside Wembley Stadium, packed with 90,000 fans, in one corner of the crowd, two white-haired old men dressed in plain sportswear sat quietly among the sea of Chelsea blue.
They blended into the rolling crowd.
The surrounding Chelsea fans were so focused on the tense action that no one noticed anything unusual about the two elderly spectators. All eyes were fixed on the pitch.
At the start of the second half, Chelsea made a decisive tactical shift, opting for long balls.
Drogba became the focal point up front. As soon as Chelsea won possession, they would immediately send long passes to him. The Ivorian veteran would then link up play and organize the attack. This approach forced Manchester City into a passive state.
Kompany and David Luiz were both world-class central defenders, but even at his age, Drogba still posed a major challenge in direct physical battles.
Today's Drogba was more refined than ever. No longer simply the rampaging African Elephant who terrorized European football with brute strength, he had become a tactical anchor, capable of dictating attacking moves through intelligent play.
But Gao Shen reacted quickly.
He instructed Kompany, David Luiz, and Javi Martínez to converge around Drogba's zone.
It would be ideal to win the first ball, but even if they didn't, they had to control the second ball.
Soon, Chelsea's limitations were exposed.
Kalou and Ramires were too far from Drogba, and Juan Mata lacked the physicality to consistently compete for second balls.
As a result, Chelsea's attacking push was again stifled by Manchester City.
Once balance was restored, City resumed control through possession and overall quality, pressing Chelsea back again.
…
"Notice anything interesting?"
One of the two old fans was Bayern manager Jupp Heynckes.
He sat with a furrowed brow, watching the tactical chess match unfold.
"You mean Gareth Bale's side?" Assistant Peter Hermann quickly caught on.
The two had worked together since their days at Leverkusen. When Heynckes returned to manage Bayern, Hermann followed immediately. Their cooperation was seamless, built on sharp insights and mutual trust.
"Exactly," Heynckes nodded.
In today's football, inverted wingers were the trend. Their ability to cut inside and shoot gave them great impact.
With Bale's pace, strength, fitness, and growing goal-scoring ability, deploying him on his weaker side should, in theory, cause massive problems for defenders.
"But Gao Shen didn't do that. Not just because Robben is on the left—he's clearly trying something else with Bale."
Heynckes' comment left Hermann puzzled.
"What do you mean?"
"Bale started his career as a left-back, didn't he?"
Hermann nodded, still unsure. "Yes, from Southampton's academy. He was average at Spurs for a while, then after Gao Shen brought him to City, he exploded and became one of Europe's top wingers."
"Right," Heynckes confirmed.
Hermann smiled wryly. "So… what's the point?"
"Have you noticed how Bale often drops deep instead of playing high up the pitch? When he pushes forward, it usually signals City are about to step up their attack. But more often than not, he's tracking back and supporting defensively."
"You mean, he's covering the entire left flank alone?" Hermann finally caught on.
There had been players like that before—Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Dani Alves, Maicon—they all carried a flank by themselves.
"I don't think Bale is playing that traditional single-wing role. Something feels different."
Heynckes had coached Roberto Carlos during his Champions League-winning season with Real Madrid, so he knew that feeling well. But with Bale, something was off.
Especially since he had Filipe behind him.
Still, he couldn't pinpoint exactly what felt off—until the next sequence unfolded.
…
Manchester City earned a goal kick.
Neuer played it short quickly.
Drogba applied light pressure on Kompany, but the Belgian calmly passed to David Luiz.
Luiz brought the ball forward and played a low pass to David Silva near the halfway line. The Spaniard took a touch, turned, and shifted the ball left to Gareth Bale.
At that moment, Bale had dropped to the halfway line to receive. He wasn't positioned high up.
Seeing no opening, Bale laid the ball off and allowed the midfield to reset.
The ball rotated across the midfield and defense until it came to Kompany again.
But this time, City had pushed up across the pitch. Chelsea were retreating rapidly.
Kompany advanced and passed to Lichtsteiner just as he crossed the halfway line.
Kalou pressed City's right back, but Lichtsteiner calmly laid the ball off to Rakitic on the right.
The Croatian took a couple of steps forward, then sent the ball to Robben, who had dropped deep near the touchline.
Robben had his back to the line as he received it. The moment he played it back to Rakitic, he immediately turned and sprinted.
Rakitic understood instantly.
The Dutchman's run had pulled Ashley Cole out of position, opening a channel between him and Ivanović.
Rakitic played a perfectly weighted through ball.
Robben raced into the space behind Chelsea's defense, collected the pass, and cut into the left side of the penalty area.
Ivanović chased, Terry closed in—both anticipating Robben to use his lethal left foot.
But Robben surprised them by using his right.
He struck the ball low.
Cech was helpless as it ricocheted off the right post and bounced to the left side of the box.
Gareth Bale had followed the play, sprinting from outside the box. Everyone assumed Robben would finish it himself. But as the ball rebounded, Bale accelerated, reached it ahead of everyone, and fired home from the left side of the six-yard box.
The ball flew into Chelsea's net.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"
"Gareth Bale!"
"Manchester City score again!"
"In the 76th minute, Manchester City find the net for the second time!"
"2-0!"
"Goal scored by Gareth Bale!"
"Manchester City's attacking firepower remains devastating, especially on the break."
"Precise passing, great awareness, and lightning-quick execution."
"Gareth Bale's late run was timed to perfection."
"This is Manchester City football!"
…
While City players and fans celebrated wildly, Heynckes sat frozen.
Suddenly, everything clicked.
Now he understood what made Bale feel so different.
It was because Gao Shen never used him as just a one-man wing. Bale played an all-around role.
"All-around?" Hermann was stunned.
"Isn't that the same as covering the wing alone?"
"No. When we talk about a one-man flank, we're usually talking about a full-back who overlaps endlessly. But no matter where he is—defense, midfield, attack—he plays one role: full-back."
"But Gareth Bale? He's different."
"It's hard to even define what he is. He can be a full-back, a winger, or even a wide forward. He can arrive in the box like a striker. He can hold up the ball with his back to goal."
Heynckes fell silent. How do you even define a player like Bale?
What separates him from a traditional wingback is that his role changes based on the team's needs and the game situation.
That's what makes defending against him so difficult.
How do you mark someone who constantly shifts positions and responsibilities?
There's no fixed reference point.
In contrast, Robben is easier to define. He's a winger. Even if he drops deep, he's still a winger.
"We're in big trouble," Heynckes muttered, shaking his head.
Robben's dribbling and cutting in from the right were already a defensive nightmare.
Now, with Bale on the left playing this unpredictable, multi-functional role?
That posed an even bigger problem.
Manchester United, Inter Milan, Real Madrid—all had been tormented by Bale from that same side.
At Bayern, it would be Philipp Lahm holding down the right. Heynckes trusted him. But in a one-on-one situation, Bale's pace and physicality gave him a real edge.
What was even more dangerous was Bale's ability to show up in different areas of the pitch with explosive power and decisive timing.
That was the truly terrifying part.
"How did Gao Shen build such a team?" Heynckes said with a bitter smile.
It was truly revolutionary.
It was impossible to grasp where Gao Shen's ideas came from or how he constructed them.
And how had he managed to bring all these players together?
No other club could afford a squad this deep and this strong—except Manchester City.
Even if some of these players had been signed while still developing, the meticulous training and tactical shaping behind their growth couldn't be ignored.
(To be continued.)