A foul came first, so the goal was disallowed.
Boos rang out across the Bernabéu, but to no avail.
The referee's performance had been of a very high standard. Up to this point, there had been virtually no missed calls or incorrect decisions.
In the 45th minute, Su Hang once again switched positions with Zidane, drifting into the attacking midfield area before making a forward run.
Zidane lifted the ball into the box with the outside of his foot.
Su Hang rose above Heinze and glanced a header on.
Van Nistelrooy attacked the far post and got a shot away, but the angle was too tight. The ball struck Van der Sar and was then safely collected by the goalkeeper.
Soon after, the match entered halftime.
The effect of Su Hang's Moment Card had long since expired.
But…
"Ding! Observing Ribéry's playing style has given you profound insight. Your dribbling, speed, and agility have increased. You have obtained 'Ribéry's Right-Angle Turn.'"
"Ribéry's Right-Angle Turn: Superstar-tier skill. The Marseille turn is a French specialty, but Ribéry reshaped it into a right-angle turn through his astonishing dribbling rhythm."
"Your dribbling, speed, and agility have increased."
"Detected possession of the Marseille Turn and the Power Turn. Skill synergy triggered. You gain the special effect 'Abstract Gyroscope.' After completing one compass-like rotation with the ball, your speed, explosiveness, ball control, dribbling, shooting, and passing receive a significant boost."
"After completing two compass rotations, the probability of knocking an opponent down increases greatly, and the probability of drawing a card from the opponent increases greatly."
Dribbling 85 +2
Speed 84 +2
Agility 84 +2
!!!
Good grief!
You could tell Ribéry was impatient—this feedback came fast, not even a second of delay.
"Ribéry's Right-Angle Turn" was an extremely powerful skill, especially well suited for wide players.
When a winger drives down the flank, it's not always possible to find a clean chance to cross or beat a man. Once the defender closes in and there's no teammate nearby to combine with, possession is often lost.
The right-angle turn changes that. The player drives toward the touchline, then uses half a Marseille turn to pivot sharply along the sideline.
On one hand, it can shake off tight marking.
On the other, even if the move is disrupted, it often still results in a throw-in high up the pitch.
And in the best case, the player completes the turn, faces the defender head-on, and launches another attack.
It's a skill that turns a dead end into an opportunity.
To fans, it looks like a winger reaches the byline, stands off with a defender for a moment, and then—"somehow"—suddenly slips out.
That "somehow" is the most exciting part.
As for the "Abstract Gyroscope" effect… that's hard to evaluate.
After all, they're all spinning moves.
Zidane pulls off a Marseille turn—beautiful to watch and brutally effective.
Zidane: I'm not the spinner here.
Ribéry executes a right-angle turn—less flashy, but extremely practical.
Ribéry: Hey, stop calling me a spinner. That's insulting.
And then Antony spins like a full-on gyroscope—no entertainment value, no practical value either.
Eyes bulging like a pair of domino twos, chin lifted—you'd think a god had descended to the pitch, but instead it's just another damn spinner making an appearance.
Moves like that would never be tolerated in a truly disciplined, tactically rigorous team.
Take that famously strict bald man in Manchester—he would absolutely never allow players to pull stunts like this. Anyone who tried would be subbed off immediately and sent to the bench to reflect.
Yes, I'm talking about… Guardiola!
Which makes the true nature and level of Ten Hag—so often described as "strict"—pretty obvious.
If you can't understand him, that's fine. Just look at whether managers of a higher level would do the same, and you'll have your answer.
Fortunately, the system's Abstract Gyroscope actually comes with real bonuses—far more useful than Antony's completely ineffective one.
...
The second half began.
In the 48th minute, veteran winger Giggs broke through down the left and delivered a cross.
Rooney feinted at the near post, and Cristiano Ronaldo struck at the far post.
The ball hit the side netting, making it look like a goal and giving Manchester United fans a moment of false celebration.
In the 56th minute, Su Hang cut inside from the left, powered past O'Shea, and squared the ball across the box.
Zidane's long-range effort forced a loose ball, but Heinze pinned Raúl and cleared first.
In the 62nd minute, a twist of fate arrived.
While contesting a header with Vidić, Van Nistelrooy landed awkwardly and twisted his ankle.
A collective groan swept through the Bernabéu.
What awful luck!
At this point, among Real Madrid's starting attackers, there truly wasn't a single player who hadn't been injured.
For a moment, the Madridistas couldn't help but reminisce about Ronaldo, who had practically coasted into the Champions League final with AC Milan.
Back when Ronaldo was at Real Madrid, the team usually only lost him to injury.
At most, one or two others might go down.
But this season, after Ronaldo left, injuries spread everywhere—and several were serious.
Turns out everyone had misunderstood Ronaldo all along.
He wasn't injury-prone—he had single-handedly suppressed Real Madrid's injury epidemic.
He was basically an anti-injury pioneer!
Even at AC Milan, it was the same.
Ronaldo played through injury at the World Cup and then underwent surgery, missing the first half of the season.
That was one of the main reasons for his departure from Real Madrid.
Yet in the second half of the season, even after returning at AC Milan, Ronaldo still couldn't play many matches, plagued by minor injuries.
But aside from him, the rest of AC Milan looked unusually healthy, no longer suffering from the constant injuries of previous seasons.
A true "high priest of the pitch"!
So even though Ronaldo's stats weren't eye-catching, AC Milan fans loved him to an almost crazy degree.
Even Kaká, the "Son of God," said Ronaldo was the best striker he had ever played with.
Even though the two of you barely played together at all!
Real Madrid brought Cassano on to replace Van Nistelrooy.
In the 69th minute, Su Hang received a long pass from Emerson, drove down the left, and was quickly closed down by O'Shea.
Stung by earlier failures, O'Shea rediscovered his pride. Fueled by Red Devils spirit, he defended aggressively, forcing Su Hang right toward the touchline.
A sense of satisfaction welled up inside him.
That's it?
World's best striker?
World's best player?
Can't even get past—
Then Su Hang snapped into a right-angle turn, sliding nearly a meter sideways along the byline. O'Shea stumbled, almost running himself out of bounds.
Before O'Shea could even reset his footing, Su Hang had already accelerated, cutting in from the side straight toward the box.
Carrick rushed over to cover.
Bang!
Su Hang got there first and whipped a low ball across the face of goal.
The pace was ferocious.
Cassano and Raúl both charged toward the ball inside the box.
Vidić planted his feet, using his right arm to hold Cassano back. Fresh off the bench and full of energy, Cassano forced Vidić to put in real effort to contain him.
Bang!
The ball struck Vidić's right foot, which he had stretched out to brace himself.
It deflected toward goal and flashed past in an instant—Van der Sar didn't even have time to react.