"Real Madrid's quick counterattack failed."
"The ball moves to the right flank and is given to Pogba. Let's see how he handles it this time."
"Pogba plays a low pass into the right side of the penalty area."
"Di María has shaken off Evra and bursts into the box at high speed. There is a chance!"
"He takes a touch and looks to square it..."
"Ah, Ferdinand heads it clear."
"Di María overran it but quickly checked back and is dueling with Evra."
"The ball is still at Di María's feet, he brings it back under control."
"Evra is tight to him."
"Di María feints, dribbles back, and shoots directly with his left foot!"
"A fantastic save!"
"De Gea with a brilliant stop."
"Di María's shot was very sudden."
"A sudden stop, a fake, a cut, then a direct left-footed shot."
"The whole sequence was very smooth and Evra did not block the angle."
"The shot had power, but the angle was narrow and De Gea flew to tip it out."
"Real Madrid corner."
"Di María has been very lively at the start of the second half, with a strong desire to score."
"I do not know what fired him up at halftime, but he is a different player this half."
"Di María's excellence on the right has lifted Real Madrid's entire attack."
"Manchester United are finding it difficult to put together anything threatening now."
"The Bernabéu faithful are giving Di María huge applause for his performance."
"Here comes the corner."
"Toni Kroos sends it in. The two at the near post cannot reach it, and then Ramos at the back..."
"The ball is in!"
"Real Madrid score!"
"2-1!"
"Ramos!"
"In the 53rd minute, Ramos heads in from a corner to turn the game around for Real Madrid!"
"Toni Kroos's corner was clever, with a very flat trajectory. Everyone thought it was going near post, but no one met it at the near or in the middle. Instead, Ramos at the back post was ready."
"This is Real Madrid."
"At the crucial moments, someone always steps up."
"2-1, the score is reversed."
…
"Real Madrid attack again!"
"Toni Kroos plays a diagonal to the left side of the final third."
"Marcelo arrives and drills it straight into the box, looking for Ronaldo and Džeko."
"Vidić gets a touch with the header and it drops on the right side of the area."
"Di María collects on the right side of the box, one on one with Evra."
"Pressing forward step by step, constant shimmies, feints, driving toward the byline..."
"He cuts it across..."
"Cristiano Ronaldo..."
"The ball is in!"
"Real Madrid score again."
"Cristiano Ronaldo finishes from the edge of the six-yard box to make it 3-1!"
"Oh my, look at that. Di María is steadying it with his right foot, then with his left..."
"That is a rabona."
"At the key moment, Di María's rabona cross from the right side of the area flashes across the face of goal, and Ronaldo pounces to score, adding another for Real Madrid."
"Evra raised his hands helplessly, as if to say, I did all I could, but you cannot defend that."
"That is Di María in this second half."
"He has created danger on the right time and again. Almost every time he gets the ball, he unsettles United's defense. Evra bears the brunt and is clearly under huge pressure."
"He earned the corner and helped create one goal, and now he has assisted Ronaldo."
"Di María has been the standout in the second half for Real Madrid, and now they are only one goal shy."
"If Di María could score tonight, it would be perfect."
"Let us look at this again."
"Di María's rabona assist was truly brilliant and imaginative."
"Ronaldo's run at the crucial moment was perfectly timed."
"3-1, Real Madrid's victory looks sealed."
…
"Real Madrid win the ball at the edge of their own box and Manchester United drop back quickly."
"Xabi Alonso launches a long pass to the right side of the final third."
"Di María brings it down with his back to goal."
"What a lovely touch, full of skill."
"Let us see how Di María handles this one."
"He turns and tries to cut inside, but Evra is tight to him."
"He stops suddenly, shakes off Evra, then cuts inside across the top of the box."
"Another feint, Evra goes to ground with a tackle, but misses."
"Di María keeps driving inside, very persistent, then suddenly stops and accelerates, bursts past Ferdinand, and shoots!"
"Curler!"
"The ball is in!"
"Di María!"
"4-1!"
"Real Madrid score again in the 78th minute through Di María!"
"This is pure individual brilliance."
"Even though Evra tugged him hard, Di María refused to go down. He carried the ball across, beat Evra and Ferdinand, then bent a wonderful shot into the left side of the goal."
"Di María's second-half performance has been incredible."
"We even have to wonder what kind of spark Gao Shen gave him at halftime."
"Throughout this half, Di María has been the most threatening attacker on the pitch for Real Madrid."
"Look at that, Evra really tried everything, even resorting to a foul, but he just could not stop him."
"Di María was relentless, insisting on cutting inside. The moment he went past Ferdinand really tested his strength, and the final curler was outstanding."
"This is Di María."
"Angel wings from Real Madrid."
"The entire Bernabéu is chanting his name. Real Madrid fans are making no secret of their love for Di María."
…
After Di María scored, Gao Shen spread his arms in delight and applauded loudly.
This season, Di María's form had dipped slightly, which was not what Gao Shen wanted to see.
He would rather the Argentine demand more of himself, and preferably keep raising his standards, so he can keep improving.
Di María is very fast, has excellent footwork, and a complete skill set, but he also has a trait many top players lack, durability.
He is hardly ever injured.
Do not underestimate that, because for a professional, injury is the biggest enemy.
Ask yourself, if Robben had not been injured so often, how high would his ceiling have been?
What could Ribéry have achieved without frequent injuries?
Whether people admit it or not, Ronaldo and Messi are both extremely durable and rarely injured. That has allowed them to stay at the highest level from debut to now and remain the best in the world.
Just think, what if Ronaldo and Messi suddenly suffered frequent injuries at the critical stage of their careers?
Di María is already 25. His achievements now are higher than in Gao Shen's previous life, but still short of Gao Shen's expectations. He hopes Di María can climb even higher.
Because he is durable, as long as he sets higher standards for himself, he can reach astonishing heights, even challenging at the top of the Ballon d'Or list.
This is really not impossible.
At Real Madrid, as long as Di María performs at his best, it is entirely possible.
"This kid really needs to be pushed," Gao Shen said happily.
Zidane and Carlo both nodded repeatedly.
Back in Naples, they watched Di María grow.
In recent years at Real Madrid, Di María had not progressed much and had stagnated somewhat, but last season he grew a lot and this season had dipped a little.
Gao Shen now has higher demands of him, which is also a kind of encouragement.
That is not a bad thing.
Sometimes people need external pressure to maintain self-discipline.
At Real Madrid, no matter how well Di María plays, Ronaldo is still the top star.
If no one pushes him, Di María might simply play within himself.
Now, Gao Shen pushed him a bit, and once he took it seriously, he came alive.
"Honestly, he is very complete. If he works harder, he can break into the top ten, even the top five for the Ballon d'Or. I think it is possible," Zidane was very optimistic about Di María.
"So we have to keep his temper in check."
Hearing this, Zidane and Carlo could not help glancing at Gao Shen again, feeling the head coach's smile was a bit mischievous.
"Are you trying to set a trap for him to jump into?" Zidane knew Gao Shen well.
Usually when he smiled like that, he was up to something.
"Please, do I look like that kind of person?" Gao Shen looked innocent.
But Zidane, Carlo, Hierro, and the others all wore skeptical expressions.
Do you not look exactly like that?
"It is impossible to have a normal conversation with you. I cannot be bothered."
With that, Gao Shen walked straight to the visitors' bench.
Soon, Jesé ran out to warm up.
It was 4-1. Real Madrid would keep attacking Manchester United, and the players had performed well, so they should be rewarded, which would motivate them even more.
Not long after, Gao Shen replaced Di María with Jesé.
As the Argentine walked off, all the Real Madrid fans at the Bernabéu rose to their feet to applaud and cheer him.
This is the highest honor and reward a Real Madrid player can receive.
Gao Shen also applauded on the touchline and welcomed Di María off.
In that moment, Di María was like a hero returning in triumph.
The Argentine smiled broadly, hugged Gao Shen, and thanked the head coach for everything he had done.
Gao Shen praised him warmly.
Di María then high-fived and hugged Zidane and the others one by one before returning to the bench.
On the pitch, Real Madrid continued to maintain pressure on Manchester United, especially down the flanks.
After Di María went off, Real Madrid lost their sharpest blade, but they still posed real danger on the wings.
Manchester United were on the back foot for the entire second half and had only one shot, which was off target.
In the end, Real Madrid came from behind to beat Manchester United 4-1 at home.
But the real big news came after the game.
(To be continued.)