After all, Victor Ferreira was no David Moyes, who made a last-ditch push at the end of the match.
Thanks to David Silva's golden goal, Manchester City narrowly defeated Porto 1-0 away from home, securing back-to-back wins in the group stage.
Gao Shen finally let out a sigh of relief. One by one, he high-fived and hugged each Manchester City player as they came off the pitch, expressing his satisfaction with their performance. However, as soon as he returned to the visiting team's coaching booth, he received shocking news.
Real Madrid had lost!
While Manchester City were away to Porto, Real Madrid were hosting Dortmund. Both matches were played simultaneously.
Just as the match in Portugal had ended, so had the one in Madrid.
The two sides had gone into halftime level at 0-0. But not long into the second half, Dortmund launched a wave of attacks, and Götze assisted Lewandowski to open the scoring.
But the lead didn't last long. Just three minutes later, Xabi Alonso equalized for Real Madrid.
After that, the game became a stalemate again, with neither side able to score.
At the crucial moment, Klopp showed courage. In the 70th minute, he made two substitutions to bolster his attack.
In the 88th minute, Ivan Perisic, who had come on for captain Kehl, scored again for Dortmund.
The score remained 2-1 until the final whistle.
Klopp's team defeated Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu, pulling off a major upset.
When Gao Shen received the news, he was stunned.
Last season, Real Madrid hosted Inter Milan in the second round of the group stage and at least managed a narrow win.
Although it had been tough, they still got the result in the end.
But this season, they lost at home to Dortmund.
You had to consider that this Dortmund was not yet Klopp's peak side.
Players like Lewandowski, Götze, and Schmelzer hadn't reached their full potential yet.
But Real Madrid still failed to beat them.
This was quite dangerous.
"With results like this in the first two group stage games, I'm afraid a coaching change is coming," Carlo said anxiously.
After the first two rounds, the situation in Group D had become clear. Manchester City and Dortmund had both won their opening two matches, while Real Madrid and Porto had lost both. In the next two rounds, Manchester City would face Dortmund, and Real Madrid would take on Porto.
This would be the last chance to turn things around and qualify from the group.
Normally, if a coaching change is coming, it happens before such a key moment.
Take Real Madrid's current situation, for example. If they were serious about changing managers, they would need to do it now.
If they moved quickly, they could take advantage of the upcoming international break. The new manager would have time to prepare and familiarize himself with the squad. Ancelotti also happened to be out of work at the moment.
Many in the media were speculating that Real Madrid were planning to sack Mourinho and bring in Ancelotti as head coach.
It was a very suitable time to do so.
Ideally, the team would turn things around in the third and fourth rounds of the group stage. But if the situation worsened, it might be too late for a change.
However, replacing a coach of Mourinho's stature was not easy.
For example, there was the issue of compensation.
Head coach contracts generally include restrictive clauses for both parties. If Real Madrid fired Mourinho prematurely, they would be required to pay hefty termination fees. According to media speculation, it would cost no less than 20 million euros.
That was a massive amount.
But coaches were not without obligations. Most contracts included clauses that waived compensation if performance targets were not met.
Still, it was only two games into the group stage. Nothing was set in stone.
What if Mourinho won all four of the remaining matches?
So if the contract were terminated now, it would most likely involve a mutual agreement where Mourinho would step down without demanding compensation.
If Real Madrid had to pay the full penalty, it would become a serious problem.
"It's hard to say," Gao Shen shook his head and sighed.
Real Madrid's biggest problem right now was morale.
If the players had no belief, it was very difficult to lead the team forward.
At this point, it was no longer about who was right or wrong.
Only children worry about right and wrong. Adults think about gains and losses.
The most urgent need for Real Madrid was to regroup and rebuild team spirit and fighting power.
But looking deeper, a short-term reconciliation between Mourinho and Casillas seemed impossible.
"More importantly, changing managers in a hurry might not even fix the problem. Even though Ancelotti is known for managing dressing rooms well, he may not be able to control the current mess at Real Madrid." Gao Shen shook his head and sighed again.
That wasn't just speculation.
Ancelotti had been coaching for many years and his abilities were beyond doubt. But what truly made him a respected figure in European football were his years at AC Milan, especially the two Champions League titles, which earned him elite status.
But his time at Chelsea had also dealt a major blow to his reputation. Being fired by Abramovich in such a humiliating way had hurt his standing.
In fact, in Gao Shen's previous life, Ancelotti's first season in charge of Paris Saint-Germain was also questioned.
He took over in January 2021 when PSG were leading Ligue 1, three points ahead of Montpellier. But after PSG were eliminated from the Europa League group stage, manager Antoine Kombouaré was sacked, and Ancelotti came in to save the season.
Six months later, PSG fell three points behind Montpellier and ended up finishing second.
At that time, Ancelotti still had the glow of success from his Chelsea tenure, but in this timeline, Ancelotti had not performed well at Chelsea and was seen more as a failure.
Though he had been a major success at AC Milan, his underwhelming spell at Chelsea had caused people to question him.
Given the current chaos in the Real Madrid dressing room, which was full of superstars and cliques, could Ancelotti really manage it?
That was a serious question.
Gao Shen's suspicions were soon confirmed.
The Spanish newspaper AS reported that after Real Madrid's home loss to Dortmund, Mourinho heard boos at the Bernabéu.
Real Madrid fans had had enough of him.
But the Portuguese coach remained defiant. He stated that he would never resign and that he firmly believed in his ability to turn things around. He reiterated one key message:
"In my team, there is only one indispensable person, and that's me!"
It was clear that Mourinho had chosen to fight it out to the end with Casillas.
Marca reported that after the defeat to Dortmund, Real Madrid's board and senior executives held an emergency meeting at the Bernabéu to discuss the situation.
"Many within the club remain cautious about firing Mourinho, including technical director Valdano, who has long been at odds with the coach. Valdano made it clear that now is not the right time to make a change."
Marca revealed that after Real Madrid failed to qualify from the group stage last season, Valdano had advised Florentino not to change coaches midseason. But after the season ended, he pushed for a change, only for the board to back Mourinho.
"For that reason, Valdano even offered to resign, but Florentino refused to accept it."
Now, once again at a critical moment, Valdano was opposing a coaching change.
"He believes that there are many players represented by Mendes in the Real Madrid dressing room. If the coach is changed, it could trigger a chain reaction. Things might end up worse than they are now."
"Especially Cristiano Ronaldo!"
"Sources close to Ronaldo say the Portuguese superstar is already considering leaving Real Madrid. There were even reports that he personally called Ferguson to discuss the possibility of returning to Manchester United."
Marca reported that since joining Real Madrid, Ronaldo had gone three straight seasons without a major trophy. He was extremely frustrated with his time at the club and had had enough of life without silverware.
Manchester United were determined to challenge their arch-rivals Manchester City. If they could bring Ronaldo back, it would be a massive boost. The only obstacle was the transfer fee.
On September 28, the day after the Champions League group stage match, Real Madrid president Florentino appeared at the Bernabéu alongside several senior executives for a press conference. He solemnly clarified to the public that Real Madrid's management had always supported Mourinho and had no intention of changing managers. He dismissed outside rumors as baseless.
Regarding the internal conflicts within the Real Madrid dressing room, Florentino stated there were none.
"I understand that when the team is in trouble, outsiders who don't know the full story tend to make all sorts of wild speculations, but those are irresponsible."
"I can say with full responsibility that everyone at Real Madrid supports Mourinho. We all firmly believe that he can lead the team out of this difficult period."
Casillas?
"Yes, he's injured. Out of consideration for the player's health, the coaching staff has decided to let him recover properly."
Florentino made no mention of past disputes or tensions, dismissing everything as outside gossip.
There were no conflicts within the Real Madrid dressing room.
But this kind of statement didn't carry much weight.
AS editor-in-chief Alfredo wrote in his column: "The Bernabéu has heard boos again!"
"What Real Madrid fans want is not more cover-ups. They want action to resolve the ongoing locker room conflicts and address the problems the team is facing right now."
"Are we really going to wait until Real Madrid fall into the Europa League?"
"Can the fans accept that?"
Alfredo's pointed questions struck a nerve with countless Real Madrid fans and journalists.
If Real Madrid really dropped into the Europa League, it would be an absolute disgrace.
And when that day came, the fans' anger would not only be directed at the players and manager, but also at the board.
In 2006, Florentino had been forced to step down.
Now, he could step down again!
At this moment of public uproar, Florentino finally got through to Gao Shen on the phone.
(To be continued.)