The ga was nearing its end.
The score still stood at 0–6.
Manchester United had never found a way to deal with Manchester City at Old Trafford tonight.
Ferguson had used up all three of his substitutions, but they had no effect.
Gao Shen made two changes, first replacing Robinho with Filipe, then pushing Bale further forward.
But the Welshman didn't press too high. Instead, he road along the midfield line, maintaining his usual positioning.
This was to fully exploit Bale's pace and impact.
He wasn't suited to tight duels near the defensive line—what he needed was space to run.
Repeatedly, Bale attacked down United's right flank, relentlessly wearing down Park Ji-sung, Fletcher, and O'Shea, exhausting the entire right side of Manchester United's formation.
At the sa ti, Gao Shen subbed off Suarez and brought on Sturridge, continuing to apply pressure and wear down United's central defenders.
Manchester United did everything they could to contain Bale, even picking up two yellow cards in the process. Yet Bale remained active, although he couldn't create more chances or goals for a while.
But under Bale's repeated, high-speed sprints, United's right side, along with Ferdinand and others on the back line was utterly spent. Ti after ti, they had to chase him down and race back, completely drained.
By the 89th minute, the fourth official showed three minutes of added ti. A collective sigh of relief swept across the field.
Finally, they could be free of the monster that was Gareth Bale.
His speed was beyond reason.
Manchester United launched another attacking attempt.
Bale had dropped very deep, already back in his own half, across the center line.
United passed the ball around the back and eventually worked it to the right, where O'Shea fed Park Ji-sung.
But before the Korean could even control the ball, Bale was on him. He leaned in, used his body to shove Park aside, poked the ball forward, and burst ahead, instantly shaking off the unfortunate Korean.
Park Ji-sung gave chase, but Bale's pace made catching up impossible.
O'Shea tried to cut him off just past midfield, but Bale didn't give him the chance, he sent the ball flying past him and accelerated once more.
Old Trafford was left stunned.
Another man-ball split!
This Welsh monster looked like he had wings.
With massive strides, Bale bypassed O'Shea in the simplest, most brutal way. He caught up with the ball at the edge of United's penalty area, burst inside, and, under pressure from the pursuing Ferdinand, unleashed a left-footed shot.
The ball flew straight into the right side of Manchester United's goal.
The placent. The angle. It was exactly the sa as his opening goal.
"Goalllllllllllllllll!!!!!!"
"In the 89th minute, Gareth Bale scores again against Manchester United!"
"Unbelievable! He's been sprinting all ga long, and here at the very end, he still has the legs to complete another high-speed run!"
"Even more shocking is that while running at full pace, he was able to replicate the sa shooting technique as his earlier goal, perfectly identical. Unreal!"
"Gareth Bale, the young Manchester City winger, will beco a household na after tonight's Manchester derby—a rising star in European football!"
"He's unstoppable!"
"So far this season, Manchester City has used six different tactical systems in six matches—each with its own flair. And tonight, Bale has completely stolen the spotlight, even outshining Suarez, who scored a hat trick."
"0-7!!!"
"Ferguson's team has been utterly humiliated!"
"It's the worst defeat ever at Old Trafford!"
"And with this, Manchester City will secure their sixth straight win, marking the best top-flight start in club history!"
"Gao Shen has truly proven himself worthy of being a two-ti Champions League-winning coach. Every move he makes is masterful!"
…
Ferguson remained seated in the dugout for most of the ga.
He couldn't rember how long he had been chewing his gum.
It had long lost its flavor.
But he didn't spit it out.
Just like this match, he had already lost, lost badly but the final whistle hadn't blown. He had to stay the course, even though he knew full well that City could still score more.
There was nothing he could do. That's just the rule of the ga.
Manchester City were simply too good tonight. Gareth Bale, in particular, had been in unstoppable form.
The young left-back was virtually unchallenged all night on the left flank, repeatedly charging down United's right and wreaking havoc.
No one could stop him.
Because no one could match his pace.
Ferguson knew this scene all too well.
He'd once crafted a similar system for Cristiano Ronaldo.
Back then, he brought in Saha and Berbatov to help hold up the ball and pull defenders out of position, creating space for Ronaldo to attack with his frightening pace and explosiveness.
Once Ronaldo got going, he was nearly impossible to stop.
Before last season's clash against Gao Shen's Napoli, Ferguson had used that strategy 16 tis and never scored once.
But it wasn't because the tactic didn't work. On the contrary, it wasn't because they could stop Ronaldo.
But the Portuguese didn't seize the opportunity, at least not in the way Ferguson had hoped for various reasons.
Not until the seventeenth attempt.
Now, as Ferguson sat in silence, he couldn't help but wonder was this poetic revenge?
Gao Shen was using the sa tactical design Ferguson had once used against him, repeating the blow again and again.
Gareth Bale today was exactly like Ronaldo last season.
Ferguson suddenly felt a twinge of regret.
He had been desperately searching for Ronaldo's successor, trying to fill the void left by the Portuguese superstar. That's why he spent a massive €25 million to bring in Antonio Valencia.
But who would've thought that Gao Shen spent just €15 million to dig out Gareth Bale and tonight, Bale had used the exact sa thod Ferguson once used to humiliate Gao Shen, now turned back on him at Old Trafford.
Ferguson couldn't believe this wasn't deliberate.
"This kid's too ruthless!"
…
The match was almost over.
In injury ti, Manchester United's players were physically and ntally drained.
Yet many of Manchester City's players were still full of energy.
Like Sturridge, who had co off the bench, and Gareth Bale, who had played the full 90 minutes.
In the second minute of stoppage ti, Sneijder tried a through pass into the penalty area, but Javi Martinez blocked it. The Spaniard quickly chased the loose ball and released it down the left to Filipe.
The Brazilian full-back surged forward with the ball and reached Gareth Bale just ahead of Park Ji-sung.
Bale received the ball with his back to the pitch, standing tight along the left touchline. He stopped the ball sideways and imdiately accelerated, not giving Fletcher a chance to close him down.
Even after 90 minutes, his burst of speed was explosive.
But this ti, O'Shea and Fletcher closed him down together. Instead of driving forward, Bale threaded a left-footed pass into the left inside channel.
Sturridge, sprinting onto it, cut into the left side of the penalty area, drawing Carrick and Ferdinand's attention.
The English striker was sharp, he stretched out a hand to hold off Carrick and ca to a complete stop just outside the box, slightly left of center.
At that mont, Carrick was directly in front of him, Ferdinand right behind, and Vidic positioned off to the right.
With O'Shea still out of position, United's left side was exposed.
Sturridge paused, read the situation perfectly, and slipped a subtle left-footed pass behind the defense.
And Gareth Bale was already there.
Sprinting in from the left corner of the box, he blazed past O'Shea and t the pass perfectly with his left foot.
A first-ti shot.
Sa angle. Sa position. Sa clean, composed strike as his previous two goals.
The ball rocketed toward the far post.
Foster, planted at the near post, could only watch as the ball flew past him—again.
"Goallllllllllllllll!!!!!!"
"That's the eighth goal!!!"
"My God—Manchester City has scored EIGHT goals tonight!"
"Gareth Bale completes a hat trick!"
"This is madness! Manchester City has gone completely insane tonight!"
"Unbelievable, Bale has scored a hat trick in the Manchester derby, and on top of that, he's also registered assists. Simply phenonal!"
"The Welsh youngster dominated the left flank, tearing Manchester United's right side to pieces. Even in the final monts of the match, he still had the legs to explode into the box with that kind of pace and power."
"0-8!!!!"
"This is the most humiliating defeat in Old Trafford's history! It's also the most crushing loss of Ferguson's managerial career and it happened at ho!"
"All three of Bale's goals were nearly identical. There's no way this wasn't part of Gao Shen's pre-match strategy, City kept feeding passes into that sa zone over and over."
"And Bale delivered, every ti—composed, clinical, ruthless."
"You can't deny that this was a calculated tactical setup by Gao Shen."
"Watching that mont when Bale surged past O'Shea again to storm into the box, I can only bow my head in admiration."
"Just look at Bale's expression after the goal, as he turned to glance at O'Shea, you could almost hear him say: 'My strides were too big, O'Shea. Please forgive !'"
(To be continued.)
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