There were countless ways to deal with fighter-type defenders, but among them, the most effective was to consume the opponent's space.
In other words, to completely control the opponent's play.
For a forward who also has to focus on scoring, it was extremely difficult.
Runs in behind, off-the-ball movement, vision, and more.
There were already so many things he had to pay attention to even under normal circumstances, so there was hardly any room left to worry about the space of the opposing defensive midfielder as well.
In other words, it was an area that could not be handled with ordinary talent.
And in another sense, it was something only Ho-young could do.
[Ho-young's movement has become hard to track. He had been moving forward, but now... how should I put it? Maybe restless would be the word?]
Ho-young's movement, which had been focused on tight high pressing, changed.
At first glance, it might have looked restless, but that was not really the case.
It was movement so tireless that it felt as if he had split his body into four.
That also meant he was using up an enormous amount of stamina.
On top of that, because the grass was so long, the physical toll was even greater, but Ho-young was conserving energy by moving only into the positions that mattered.
[I know what this is.]
[What do you mean by that?]
[This is the amount of time it takes Ho-young to understand the match. The amount of time it takes him to grab it in his hand and start shaking it. That time is over now. From here on, it is Ho-young's game. And the first sacrifice will be Pepe.]
That was exactly right.
In modern football, space is absolute.
If there is no space, it means a player becomes restricted, and it goes hand in hand with being unable to play the football he wants.
And that was exactly what was happening now.
Everywhere Pepe tried to go, Ho-young got there a step earlier and erased his presence completely.
No matter where the ball broke, Ho-young got there first and snatched it away, putting psychological pressure on Pepe.
"Damn it. There isn't a single spot where I can receive the ball."
Pepe's face stiffened.
He was supposed to push the opponent away, but instead he was the one being driven back.
That was when it began.
Real Madrid stopped sending the ball through the middle and started moving it out wide.
And Pepe's aggressive, energetic play began to shrink.
"My presence is useless now."
Pepe had been deployed as a defensive midfielder to target Ho-young.
That card became useless in just 15 minutes.
All because of Ho-young alone.
"He understands the game far better now than he did when he was at Madrid."
Because of that, Pepe chose not to engage directly and instead took a step back.
He usually enjoyed rough and brutal football, but he was not stupid enough to charge recklessly at Ho-young.
"No matter how confident I am in a physical battle... this is impossible."
That was the key word Real Madrid had prepared for today.
Patience and understanding.
If they wanted to show everything they had prepared, they had to respond calmly.
Even if danger came.
[The center has become congested, so the ball is being forced out to the flanks. This must be putting a lot of pressure on Real Madrid.]
[That's right. For Arbeloa and Marcelo, who had spread wide, that means there is even more space for them to cover. And Manchester City are not the kind of team that will see that and let it go.]
A crisis came for Real Madrid.
Once the ball started moving out wide, Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard pressed hard on both flanks and forced Madrid's line deeper.
In that gap, Ho-young switched with Adebayor and pushed into the front line.
[Manchester City's shape is changing with real menace. Real Madrid's defenders have to stay fully alert here. One small mistake and they will concede immediately.]
"Ramos! Tighten the spacing more on the right! You have to help Arbeloa!"
"Damn it. It's not easy here either!"
An emergency.
Real Madrid tried to communicate and play their way out of danger, but Manchester City's momentum was overwhelming.
[Real Madrid are struggling even to circulate the ball. At this point, it might be better for them to abandon the possession game and switch to a defensive counter-attacking approach.]
[That is not easy either. They have handed all the key spaces to Manchester City and cannot play their own football at all. They have turned themselves into rats trapped in a jar.]
Manchester City pushed even harder.
While Thiago Silva and Vincent Kompany adjusted the line, the full-backs on either side, Clichy and Zabaleta, also pushed up and pressed the flanks even more tightly.
It took no time at all for Real Madrid's left and right sides to be devastated.
That left only two places where they could circulate the ball, the back line and the central area further forward.
[Well, even the midfield is not looking good for them. Manchester City have pushed the entire line up, and Vincent Kompany has stepped into the third line. That has been possible because Thiago Silva and goalkeeper Joe Hart have been controlling the line behind him.]
With that, together with Iniesta and Fellaini, they took control of midfield.
For a Real Madrid side that had come prepared in a 4-3-1-2, overcoming the numerical disadvantage was difficult.
To make matters worse, Ronaldo's defensive work was nowhere near Ho-young's, which only added to the problem.
[The pressure on Real Madrid is getting heavier and heavier. Pepe has effectively had both feet tied. The only ones still able to move are Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira.]
Xabi Alonso, whose passing was excellent but whose resistance to pressing was weak.
Sami Khedira, who had outstanding physical ability and football intelligence, but was particularly vulnerable under pressure.
That combination only gave more force to Manchester City's tactical plan.
In the end, all that was left was the back.
"Stay calm! Let's keep our heads!"
"Iker! Be ready!"
It was just as Marcelo, in possession, passed the ball back to Casillas behind him.
[Ho-young bursts forward at incredible speed!]
[Ah, that was close!!]
As if he had anticipated everything, Ho-young charged in, forcing Casillas to hurriedly clear the ball away.
The long ball dropped into midfield, where Fellaini, standing 194 centimeters tall, won it and gave City possession.
That was the moment Manchester City took control.
At the same time, it was the moment their attack began.
A bombardment.
As if stretching out a body that had been crouched up, all 10 outfield players moved busily, each fulfilling his role.
Everything clicked into place.
Pepe, Khedira, Alonso, and Ramos all focused on marking Ho-young, but that only became a bad move for Real Madrid.
[Iniesta tries to break through!]
[Iniesta bursts into the second line in an instant!! The space has opened right up!]
It was not that they could not do it before, they simply had not needed to.
But now Ho-young was tying up four men by himself.
The other players, including Iniesta, were going beyond the roles assigned to them and carrying the ball forward.
Everything was unfolding exactly as Ho-young had planned.
And then,
[David Silva and Iniesta attempt a quick one-two! They have turned Sami Khedira into a training cone!]
Khedira, who had won the 2010 South Africa World Cup and joined Real Madrid in the winter transfer window, was helpless against the Spanish chemistry and allowed the breakthrough.
And then it happened.
[Gareth Bale clips it delicately! It goes over Pepe's head!]
[Ho-young is onto it!!]
Near the penalty area.
Ho-young set off toward Bale's clipped lofted through ball from the right.
Peerless speed and line-breaking movement.
He even neutralized the offside trap laid by Real Madrid's back four and took the ball with his forehead.
Then,
Boom!
He struck the dropping ball powerfully with the instep of his right foot.
And he did it right in front of goal.
"...!!"
No matter how monstrous Casillas' reaction speed was, in that moment he could not move so much as a finger.
The result was a goal.
Thud!
[Goooooooal! It's in!! Ho-young gets the equalizer!]
1-1.
Manchester City had restored parity, and in an instant the entire flow of the match changed.
From that point on, City kept control of the game and dictated the tempo.
The match itself seemed to be sitting in Ho-young's hands.
Even so, true to a Real Madrid side that boasted the best defensive line in the world, they somehow kept holding out.
But in the 44th minute.
Manager Pellegrini instructed the players to make a tactical change.
The plan was to defend deep with everyone and then catch Manchester City off guard with a sudden counterattack.
Just one blow.
If they could make that one attack count, they could turn the situation around.
For that, Ronaldo moved up to the front line, forming a front three.
They widened the spacing between the players and aimed to target Manchester City's empty spaces with a more direct passing attack.
It was a tactic that barely matched Real Madrid's team identity, but it was worth trying once.
But it was a massive mistake.
[Late in the first half, Real Madrid push their line up.]
[But Manchester City are not going to sit there and take it.]
As expected, Ho-young dropped deeper and actively joined the defending.
As a result, the ball that needed to move into the first line was cut out in midfield, and that immediately led to a Manchester City counterattack.
[Ah, what a sight! Every player is charging forward like mad!]
Rather than short passing, they opened the attack through direct passes played in a single movement.
Just twice.
Tap, thwack!
Fellaini passed to Ho-young, and Ho-young immediately returned it to Fellaini, creating a perfect scoring chance.
[Fellaini receives it! The shooting angle has opened right up!!]
[He shoots immediately!]
[Ah, Casillas saves it! He keeps it out as if by a miracle!]
Fellaini's long-range shot was unfortunately punched away by the goalkeeper, but the second ball was still alive.
And then.
Tap!
Standing right there was Ho-young, the very same player who had just returned the pass to Fellaini.
Casillas threw himself belatedly, but it was far too late to stop Ho-young's toe-poke.
Thud!
[Goooooooal! Ho-young scores again! His second goal tears Real Madrid apart!]
A goal that plunged the Santiago Bernabéu into silence.
At the same time, it was a goal that signaled Manchester City's path to the final.
But Ho-young did not celebrate.
He simply returned quietly to the halfway line, showing respect to his former fans.
And so, the first half ended 2-1.
[Even so, Madrid can say they were lucky. If you include the chance Adebayor missed, it could easily have been 3-1.]
[That's right. The score is only a one-goal difference, but the flow of the match has tilted far too much. And considering the second leg still has to be played in Manchester, this is a very uneasy start. For Real Madrid, this half-time is their last foothold for a comeback.]
Half-time.
The faces of the Real Madrid players as they entered the tunnel were utterly miserable.
But the one angrier than anyone else was President Calderón.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
With his face twisted in fury, he went up to the president's box.
Then he plugged earphones into both ears.
But only silence flowed through them.
"This can't be happening."
Normally, he should have been hearing the away dressing room tactics discussion, but all that came through was meaningless chatter from the Manchester City players.
The wiretapping plan he had prepared with such confidence.
Thanks to that, they had at least been able to hang in during the first half. Without it, they would have been crushed.
But now, somehow, even that no longer seemed possible.
"Did they notice after all?"
At this point, he had no choice.
The final hidden card.
"If the players cannot do it, then I will have to step in myself."
If they conceded again, it would be over.
He had to abandon any empty hope of winning in the second leg.
That was why Calderón had put his life on this match.
"Fine. Let's settle this once and for all."
And so, carrying the fate of two men, the match raced toward its end.
(To be continued.)