Lyon, France, Olympic Stadium.
In the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, Lyon hosted Leeds United.
From the very start of the match, Leeds United pressed high, taking the initiative and dominating Lyon.
Lyon lined up in a 3-5-2 formation, and Leeds United responded by intensifying their attacks down the flanks.
Just three minutes into the game, Leeds United launched a swift counter-attack from the left wing.
Grealish moved into the half-space, received a pass from Bruno Fernandes, turned to evade Marçal behind him, and threaded a through ball to the byline.
Alphonso Davies burst forward, breezing past Marçal with incredible speed, and sent a cross from the edge of the penalty area toward the far post.
Haaland, closely marked by two defenders, pulled a clever trick. He first took two steps back, giving the impression of retreating, then suddenly accelerated forward, charging directly toward the far post.
The Leeds United left-back understood perfectly and delivered the cross exactly to that spot.
Despite being held and tugged by the defenders, Haaland, like a charging bull, got to the far post, leapt, and headed the ball into the net.
He landed hard and tumbled off the field beyond the byline.
But the ball had already hit the back of Lyon's net.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!"
"Haaland!"
"Just three minutes into the game, Haaland breaks the deadlock for Leeds United against Lyon, 1-0!"
The Leeds United players rushed off the pitch in celebration, swarming around Haaland.
A precious away goal from the Norwegian striker!
...After this goal, the game completely opened up.
Especially for Leeds United.
Their players became more active, continuously attacking Lyon's defense in the final third.
Lyon's three-at-the-back setup was exposed on the flanks, which happened to be Leeds United's greatest strength.
In the 21st minute, Leeds once again attacked down the left. Grealish and Alphonso Davies linked up beautifully, reaching the byline before delivering a cross, which was blocked out for a corner.
Haaland protested to the referee, claiming his shirt was being pulled, but Spanish referee Gil Manzano just smiled and waved him off.
Across Europe, it was well known that the Leeds United youngster was a beast.
He had the physicality of a world-class target man—strong, agile, fast, and explosive.
More impressively, he had refined technical skills.
Sound familiar? Like Zlatan Ibrahimović?
Wrong. This kid had incredible positional awareness and cunning.
Just like his goal earlier, he intentionally dropped deep to confuse the defenders, then suddenly darted forward, even positioning himself behind the center-back, making him hard to track.
At that moment, the defenders' focus was on the left wing.
But unlike Ibrahimović, Haaland didn't obsess over flashy goals.
Instead, he often scored simple, clinical finishes with extreme efficiency.
That made him incredibly dangerous.
How do you defend against such a complete, goal-hungry monster?
This season, he had clearly improved his right foot and back-to-goal play, making him even more fearsome.
Just now, Manzano had witnessed two Lyon defenders—one on either side—barely able to stop him.
One-on-one, who could?
So, the Spanish referee just smiled and waved it off, thinking, if I start calling everything, Lyon's defense will be shredded, and the tie will be over in one leg.
As a referee, fairness is important, but maintaining the spectacle and competitive balance is equally crucial.
Besides, what in this world is truly fair?
As Gil Manzano organized the players for the corner and retreated from the penalty area, he checked everything once more before blowing his whistle.
From the left corner flag, Bruno Fernandes delivered a sharp, high-quality corner to the near post.
Lyon was caught completely off guard.
They were focused on marking Éder Militão, Haaland, and Declan Rice.
But Rúben Dias, who had been lurking centrally, suddenly dashed forward, curved his run to the near post, and leapt up to glance the ball with his head.
The ball redirected and nestled into the right side of Lyon's goal.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!"
Rúben Dias turned and ran off in celebration.
One by one, Leeds United players followed.
Referee Gil Manzano could only watch them with a wry smile, reluctantly blowing his whistle to confirm the goal.
He had really tried his best.
He hadn't called the foul on Haaland. He hadn't even checked VAR. And still, Lyon conceded.
It wasn't that he didn't try to maintain balance. The gulf in strength between the two teams was simply too great.
These Leeds United youngsters were absolute monsters.
...After scoring two goals, Leeds United were fully unleashed.
The away goals rule still applied in the Champions League, so Leeds played without pressure, focusing on scoring.
The home team, on the other hand, faced a psychological burden.
Especially in the first leg, the pressure on the home side could be overwhelming.
Even with Leeds United's high pressing and relentless offense, they weren't flawless.
Lyon had their chance in the 33rd minute. When Achraf Hakimi pushed forward to combine with Sancho on the right, Lyon exploited the gap and launched a quick attack.
A diagonal ball was played into the space behind, slicing through Leeds United's defense.
Toussart arrived in the center, received a cut-back, and fired into the net.
2-1!
Lyon seemed to gain new hope.
But after conceding, Leeds showed their steel.
Instead of retreating, they increased the pressure.
Lyon, however, became more conservative, waiting for Leeds to make a mistake.
Near the end of the first half, Leeds were briefly pushed back by a counter-attack.
But Éder Militão and Rúben Dias quickly recovered, forcing Lyon striker Dembélé to shoot from distance, sending it over the bar.
The second half followed a similar pattern.
In the 77th minute, substitute Enzo Fernández received the ball and played a pinpoint through ball.
Sancho beat the offside trap and raced into the right side of the box.
He calmly slotted a low shot past the keeper.
3-1!
The Leeds United youngsters were having a brilliant night away from home.
In the 87th minute, Enzo once again delivered a through ball into the box.
Julián Álvarez, who had come on for Haaland, shielded the defender, received the pass with his back to goal, and just as he tried to turn, was brought down by a foul from behind.
The Argentine forward fell in Lyon's penalty area.
Leeds United players swarmed the referee, demanding a penalty.
Gil Manzano again waved them off with a smile.
The Leeds players were clearly frustrated.
The replay showed it was indeed a foul.
Denayer, using his height, subtly pushed Álvarez's shoulder with his left hand, causing him to lose balance while turning.
But it was difficult to spot, and no one knew if the referee simply missed it or chose not to act.
In the end, Leeds United defeated Lyon 3-1 away, with goals from Haaland, Rúben Dias, and Sancho.
With such a dominant away performance, Leeds had essentially booked their place in the quarterfinals.
But what truly amazed everyone was the quality of Leeds United's young players.
Unlike most teams, Leeds had rotated heavily this season, and numerous young stars had emerged some in cup games, others in the league—all leaving a lasting impression.
Just like tonight. After coming off the bench, Enzo Fernández delivered two brilliant passes and contributed defensively with tremendous coverage.
And Álvarez, with that impressive turn. If Denayer hadn't fouled him, it might have been another goal...
While Leeds were winning 3-1 in Lyon, in Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-1, with Neymar scoring a brace.
After that result, PSG's qualification for the quarterfinals also seemed highly likely.
Tuchel knew Dortmund inside and out. Without some defensive blunders, PSG might have kept a clean sheet and sealed the tie.
Meanwhile, at Stamford Bridge in London, visiting Real Madrid started with a high press, creating a golden chance within a minute.
Marcelo, on the left, received a pass from Toni Kroos and sent a cross toward Mbappé at the edge of the box.
The French forward controlled the ball, cut inside, and curled a shot into the right corner from the top of the arc.
1-0, Real Madrid.
Both teams traded chances after that.
But late in the first half, Real Madrid attacked again.
After winning the ball in midfield, Mbappé received it in the left half-space, then played a through ball behind the defense for Benzema.
As Mbappé surged forward, Benzema drifted wide left to receive the pass, pulled defenders out of position, then crossed into the box.
Mbappé tapped it in. 2-0.
In stoppage time, Benzema again pulled wide, received the ball, and played another through ball.
Mbappé raced into the box and scored one-on-one, completing his hat-trick.
At halftime, Real Madrid led 3-0.
In the second half, Marcelo crossed from the left, and Benzema scored a tap-in from close range.
4-0!
Real Madrid crushed Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and all but secured a quarterfinal berth.
Leeds United, PSG, and Real Madrid—three clubs under Gao Shen's management—had all charged into the Champions League quarterfinals.
This not only solidified their dominance but also brought Gao Shen growing recognition across the football world.
Of course, not everyone was impressed.
During Real Madrid's 4-0 win over Chelsea, a snide comment came from a box at Stamford Bridge:
"Does Gao Shen even understand football?"
(To be continued.)