"We'll stick to this tactic in the second half!"
Mourinho made no changes whatsoever.
This left many people puzzled. After all, Mourinho had previously always adjusted his approach and style of play in the second half.
Why not this time?
"Arsenal has no one on the bench!" Suker responded quickly.
Making adjustments in the second half is all about targeted changes, adapting to the opponent's different styles and players.
But Arsenal only has one lineup, and they've already fielded their strongest starting eleven.
In other words, Arsenal's playstyle is all about going all out from the start.
If it works and they score, then they have a chance.
But once they fall behind or concede, their ability to adapt tactically is poor.
Mourinho is taking advantage of Wenger's thin bench and the fact that Arsenal can't make effective adjustments when they're at a disadvantage.
Of course, Arshavin and Rosický are on the bench.
But Arshavin's characteristics are similar to Walcott's.
If Rosický comes on, he'll inevitably eat into some of Fàbregas' tactical resources.
It's the same as not making a change at all.
On Real Madrid's side, there's a wealth of players with different styles and abilities, plus Suker and Kaká, two playmakers, allowing for a wide range of tactical adjustments.
This is also why Mourinho has frequently switched tactics since taking over Real Madrid.
Because Real Madrid's squad can support multiple tactics.
Except for tiki-taka, which Mourinho can't quite master, he's tried everything else.
However, Mourinho still warned:
"But we still need to be careful about their wing attacks in the second half, especially on the flanks. Arsenal might bring on both Arshavin and Walcott to try and decide the game with their speed on the wings. When that happens, Suker and Kaká need to drop back more to help the fullbacks share some of the defensive burden."
Suker and Kaká immediately nodded.
Right now, they're in a position where their defensive responsibilities are heavier.
As long as they defend well, they can secure the win.
The current Real Madrid is following this "kingly" path—their tactics and characteristics are visible to opponents and can be studied.
But even if the opponents see it and study it, they still can't stop it. That's the Real Madrid of today.
It's like playing cards: the hand is just too good. There's no need for mind games. They can lay their cards on the table, and you still can't beat them.
The halftime break ended.
For the second half, the teams switched sides.
Arsenal made some adjustments.
They changed from a 4-4-2 formation to a 4-3-3.
Jack Wilshere, who was on a yellow card, was substituted off, and Alexandre Song came on.
Their lineup now looked like this:
Midfield: Johan Djourou, Cesc Fàbregas, Alexandre Song.
Forwards: Theo Walcott, Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri.
Seeing this formation, Mourinho raised an eyebrow.
Just as he'd thought.
Arsenal had changed their formation.
They'd switched to a double pivot in midfield, further strengthening their defense, while pushing Nasri up front.
This meant Arsenal would attack aggressively in the next ten minutes.
Walcott and Nasri.
Whichever winger was more aggressive would likely be substituted around the 55th or 65th minute, with Arshavin coming on to continue pressuring Real Madrid's defense.
Arsenal's formation change was preparation for this.
However, Mourinho remained calm and unruffled, showing no signs of worry.
No matter how Arsenal adjusted, Real Madrid's current lineup was enough to counter them.
This was the advantage of having a superior squad.
Wenger stood on the sidelines, his brow furrowed.
Real Madrid hadn't made any changes to their lineup, which seemed somewhat arrogant.
But Wenger understood—this lineup was indeed enough to handle Arsenal.
"Come on, lads!" Wenger silently cheered for his players.
Suker passed the ball to Kaká, then watched as Alexandre Song chased after it, sprinting all the way to Kaká's side. When Kaká passed it back, Song immediately charged forward again.
Suker blinked.
Wasn't this guy supposed to be a defensive midfielder?
Why was he pushing so far up?
Could he even get back in time?
The answer was no—Alexandre Song couldn't get back in time.
When Xabi Alonso lofted a pass to Suker, Fàbregas had no choice but to drop back to cover the vacant space.
"Get back! Why are you pushing so far up? You always do this!" Fàbregas yelled angrily.
Sukee gave Fàbregas and Song a strange look.
So, Song was indeed playing as a defensive midfielder, but he kept leaving his position to press high up the pitch.
To the point where Fàbregas had to drop back and cover for him.
What kind of terrible teammate was this?
Suker couldn't help but Complaint.
If he were Fàbregas, he'd have smashed Song's head in by now!
Suker watched as Song sprinted back desperately, still trying to intercept the ball at his feet. Suker lightly pulled the ball away, dodging the challenge.
Song kept trying to press.
"Get back! Return to your position!" Fàbregas was furious.
Suker passed the ball back to Alonso, opting not to attack.
He glanced toward Arsenal's half. Was this guy here as a joke?
Or was this some kind of tactic?
Suker turned to look at the coaching staff and saw Wenger covering his face, shaking his head repeatedly.
Apparently, it wasn't a tactic.
This guy just had terrible discipline.
At that moment, Sucre remembered another nickname for Alexandre Song.
'Song the Surger'!
Arsenal's rhythm was thrown off. Already trailing, Song's antics were pushing Fàbregas to the brink of a meltdown.
This was reflected in the game—Arsenal's play became visibly disjointed.
Seeing this, Suker sensed an opportunity to score another goal.
So, he began drifting toward the central area.
Song immediately stuck to him.
The guy's physicality was impressive. Just his presence alone put some pressure on Suker .
But he was slow, covered little ground, and his one-on-one tackling was hit or miss. Even at his best, Sucre was confident he could get past him.
"Pass!"
Suker suddenly leaned back, angling himself against Song and signaling for the ball.
Sami Khedira saw this and immediately passed.
Song, panting like a bull, tried to shove Suker .
Suker's footing slipped a bit—the guy's strength was no joke.
But—
As the ball arrived, Suker lightly tapped it with his right foot, sending it wide to the flank.
There, Ángel Di María collected it and charged toward the side area.
On the wing, Marcelo continued his forward run, overlapping.
On one hand, this created space for Di María; on the other, it caused chaos in Arsenal's defense.
"Mark Suker! Mark Suker! Mark Suker!"
Bacary Sagna defended while repeatedly reminding Song.
Song hated being reminded like this, as if he was bound to lose his man.
Just then, Suker noticed Song's attention shifting toward the flank.
Suker tentatively took a small step back. No reaction.
Suker immediately darted into the space behind Song.
By the time Song realized and turned to track him, Suker was—gone!
Song panicked, turning frantically, his heart racing.
Sagna was going to kill him!
Soon, he saw Suker charging straight into the penalty area.
At the same time, Kaká made a diagonal run into the box.
Marcelo crossed the ball in.
It was floated into the box, and Sucre and Karim Benzema jumped to meet it.
Suker leapt high, but Marcelo's cross was slightly underhit.
Suker misjudged the ball's trajectory.
While still in the air, Suker felt a shiny bald head appear right in front of him.
The ball connected with Benzema's head, and with a slight flick, it flew into the net.
Swish!
"Goal!!! Benzema!!!"
"In the 58th minute, Real Madrid scores again! A header from Benzema!"
"Suker drew too much defensive attention, leaving Benzema unmarked. Real Madrid leads 2-0 away at Arsenal!"
"For Arsenal, the situation is looking increasingly dire!"
The Arsenal players looked dejectedly at their goal.
Song felt guilty—he'd failed to mark Sucre.
He expected Sagna to yell at him, but it didn't happen.
Sagna just shook his head in frustration, not uttering a single word of reproach.
To Sagna, it would've been a miracle if Song had actually managed to contain Suker.
But the situation was already very grim.
So far, Real Madrid had barely broken a sweat, yet they were up by two goals.
This bruised the Arsenal players' pride.
After all, they'd given it their all. By all rights, Real Madrid should've had to fight just as hard.
That way, even if they lost, they'd feel better about it.
But none of that happened.
Real Madrid's two goals had come effortlessly.
Benzema rushed to the corner flag in celebration.
Suker didn't join in. Instead, he turned to Kaká. "That guy's positioning is incredible."
Suker had misjudged the ball slightly, causing him to jump too high.
Meanwhile, Benzema had appeared in the perfect spot.
Of course, this was also because Sucre had drawn so much defensive attention, leaving him with limited space to move.
But Benzema's opportunistic runs had helped Real Madrid score twice.
"I don't think his goals are just luck. He has a sharp instinct for being in the right place," Kaká said.
Suker nodded.
After shedding Filippo Inzaghi's playing style, Suker only had a bit of that ghostly movement.
But he understood that seemingly random positioning, when it leads to goals, is a sign of great attacking instinct.
Suker nodded slightly.
Right now, he's more of a direct attacker.
He relies on his overwhelming skill to bulldoze through defenses.
But having a sneaky forward partner who can poach goals and assists adds another dimension to Real Madrid's attack.
Especially since this complements Suker's style perfectly—they're completely different types of players, making them highly compatible.
"The adjustments for Karim need to start now," Mourinho thought as he watched another goal like this. After seeing Benzema's clever runs multiple times, he felt it was necessary to further develop the Frenchman.
Different types of forwards, with different styles, forming a cohesive unit.
That's the kind of attack Mourinho wants.
Suker is inherently a direct attacker, using his immense skill to relentlessly pressure defenses.
But this type of player requires tactical resources—passes must be funneled toward him.
If there's another similar player in the squad, they'd have to ride the bench.
Like Gonzalo Higuaín, who's barely seen any playing time this season, mostly featuring in the Copa del Rey.
But Benzema is different.
He's willing to play a supporting role for Suker, constantly setting him up, acting as a pivot, and yielding resources.
Combined with his positioning and attacking instincts, he could become the shadow lurking behind Suker.
When the time comes, he can deliver the fatal blow!
Just like now—everyone was focused on Suker, while Benzema found a crucial pocket of space and scored.
"It's time for substitutions."
As soon as Mourinho finished speaking—
Arsenal made the first move.
Walcott came off, and Arshavin came on.
Wenger was reluctant to sub off Nasri.
But that's understandable—Nasri can dictate the tempo of Arsenal's attack.
However, this didn't change much tactically.
Seeing Arsenal's substitution—
Real Madrid quickly responded with changes of their own.
Suker and Marcelo came off.
Álvaro Arbeloa and Ricardo Carvalho came on.
Real Madrid strengthened their defense and removed Sucre, signaling their intent to shut up shop.
With the second half of the season underway, Mourinho needs Suker to stay fresh.
So in games where victory is all but secured, he won't waste Sucre's energy.
"Let's go!"
"Let's go!"
Suker and Arbeloa exchanged a firm high-five as he left the pitch.
Assistant coach Rui Faria personally handed him a towel.
"Great game!" Faria gave Suker a thumbs-up.
Suker sighed. "Too bad I couldn't get a hat-trick."
Faria grinned.
You had your second goal stolen by Benzema, and you're still thinking about a hat-trick?
But if Suker had stayed on, as Arsenal's energy waned, his relentless stamina might've allowed him to bag two more goals and complete the hat-trick.
Still, it wasn't necessary.
Suker is already leading the Champions League scoring charts, and with the game all but won, there's no point in wasting his energy.
Suker sat on the bench, wiping his sweat.
He felt someone staring at him.
Suker turned and glared. "What are you looking at?"
Dani Carvajal flinched and looked away, pouting.
The Suker he'd seen in person was nothing like the idol he'd imagined.
Especially during their recent interactions—his personality was... downright extreme!
But credit where it's due—his ability is terrifying.
That's Fàbregas!
That's Arsenal!
He knew Real Madrid should be stronger, but he hadn't expected this kind of dominance.
Playing away, Arsenal barely had a sniff of goal.
While this wasn't solely Suker's doing, his presence up front was so oppressive that Arsenal became hesitant and increasingly disjointed.
Carvajal understood Arsenal's defenders.
If he had to face Suker , he'd be terrified too.
Time ticked on.
In the 80th minute, Arsenal launched a frantic assault. They didn't want to lose at home, so they ramped up the pressure.
Moreover, with Suker off, their defensive burden had lightened.
But even so, against Real Madrid's compact low block, they struggled to create chances.
They desperately lofted crosses into the box, hoping van Persie could work his magic.
But van Persie was marked tightly by Sergio Ramos, while Darijo Srna consistently cleared or intercepted the deliveries.
No ammunition reached the forwards!
The attack couldn't gain traction!
In the end, their efforts yielded nothing.
Before they knew it, stoppage time was over.
The score remained 0-2.
"The match is over. Arsenal's performance in this Champions League fixture was far from ideal. They wanted to make a statement at home, but Real Madrid made them look ordinary."
"We can't say Arsenal played poorly. In fact, they gave it their all, but Real Madrid was just too solid—both defensively and on the counter."
"Mourinho has instilled a brand-new tactical system in this Real Madrid squad, and after their transformation, they've shown a frightening level of dominance."
The British commentator sighed. "The result isn't the main issue—it's the performance."
"With players like Fàbregas, van Persie, Nasri, Walcott, and Arshavin, Arsenal created far too few chances!"
"This isn't the Arsenal we know. Real Madrid controlled the tempo, and Arsenal looked utterly out of sorts."
"Losing at home is a bitter pill to swallow, but we can look ahead to the next leg. Hopefully, Arsenal can regroup and salvage some pride away from home."
In the post-match interview area, Suker was cornered by British reporters.
"Arsenal marked you tightly today, limiting you to just one goal. Any thoughts on that?"
"How would you evaluate this match? How would you assess the pressure Arsenal put on you?"
"Arsenal had 66% possession. Doesn't that mean they posed a significant challenge?"
Suker finally understood why Mourinho had been so short-tempered during his time in the Premier League.
These British reporters were unbelievably stubborn!
"Limited to just one goal"?
Real Madrid didn't even break a sweat—did they not see that?
"Possession"?
What does that even matter?
They still got shut out!
Suker had no interest in engaging further. He didn't bother responding and simply walked away.
He wasn't going to entertain people who annoyed him.
They could think whatever they wanted!
Next leg, he'd beat them again—see if they'd still be so stubborn!