Guardiola's urgent substitutions made some adjustments, and the players did their best to defend on the field. They no longer thought about catching up, but only hoped to concede as few goals as possible and stabilize the score.
As long as they could stabilize the score and avoid losing too many goals, according to the Champions League format, the two teams would play a return leg, and the final aggregate score would determine who advanced.
The next match would be after a considerable period, giving the players time to regain their form, which offered hope.
Watching Guardiola's substitutions, bringing on three defensive stalwarts at once, Cao Baming, though not watching the live broadcast, could perfectly imagine the situation.
Guardiola must have clasped his head in shock, and then, after making these substitutions, he would have frantically waved his hands towards the field, shouting, "Defense! Defend well for me!"
The players trained by Guardiola at Manchester City were naturally very obedient, especially in their current state where nothing seemed to be improving.
But no matter what, it was too late to do anything now. The real crisis came from a mistake by Manchester City. Rodri attempted a tackle but failed. As a result, after losing possession, he hastily played a back pass, a half-volley to his own defender, giving Olivier Giroud another excellent opportunity to intercept.
With his excellent predatory instinct in front of goal, he directly intercepted the ball and, without needing any further adjustments, shot it into the net before the opposition could react.
This goal made the score 2-0, but more importantly, this was just the beginning. The nightmare started from here.
The rampaging AC Milan became even more ferocious upon seeing the situation. In the 80th minute, they brought on Zlatan Ibrahimović to replace Giroud.
Then, within three minutes, they breached Manchester City's goal twice!
Manchester City looked as if they had left their goal wide open for the opposition. Ibrahimović, who had just come on, showed no mercy. The final two goals were scored by Ibrahimović and Agustin.
Manchester City's explosive collapse resulted in three goals conceded within a mere ten minutes, something ordinary people couldn't achieve, and even if they wanted to, it would be difficult without the opposition's cooperation!
Cao Baming mused that if the system were to assign him such a task, he wouldn't know how he could accomplish it. The difficulty was far greater than scoring three goals in ten minutes; they were not comparable at all.
The match officially ended in the ninety-sixth minute, with the final aggregate score fixed at 4-0. The unfortunate Manchester City failed to score even a single goal by the end.
Everyone who saw the result was undoubtedly surprised, considering it was Manchester City!
A while ago, media outlets and football magazines had compiled statistics on the probabilities of winning the Champions League. All teams were included to see which one was most likely to win.
The rankings from different magazines varied significantly. Some believed Manchester City should be ranked first, while others favored Arsenal, as Arsenal had won their previous two encounters against Manchester City decisively.
Fans also leaned towards Arsenal, preferring to rank Manchester City second. However, AC Milan hadn't even made it into the top five. Reaching the quarter-finals was already a great achievement, exceeding their own expectations and those of their fans.
When facing Manchester City, even AC Milan's own fans hadn't held much hope.
Now, seeing the result of this match, the AC Milan fans were ecstatic!
They were not only happy about defeating Manchester City, but also about doing so effortlessly and leaving the opposition in disarray.
No one cared about excuses like the opponent being out of form or bad luck. The fans could only see one thing: Manchester City, considered by many to be the biggest favorite to win the Champions League this season, had been completely thrashed 4-0 by the team they supported!
Imagine saying that out loud; it would be quite a statement!
At this moment, fans who had almost given up hope of winning the Champions League trophy inevitably harbored new aspirations: to win the final championship!
Cao Baming, reading the comments on social media and forums, could only say that their reactions were entirely expected.
As predicted, they started dreaming after winning just one match. He hoped they would maintain these daydreams until the final, and then they would experience the feeling of their dreams being shattered.
In fact, the true pain wasn't defeat itself, but the crushing of newly ignited hope.
If AC Milan truly fanned this hope, believing that after beating Manchester City, Arsenal would be no match for them and that they were invincible, the eventual defeat would surely be agonizing.
After all, the higher one climbs, the harder they fall. If one climbs high enough, falling isn't just about suffering; it's about being utterly destroyed.
Cao Baming watched these comments, his excitement growing as everything seemed to be developing in a more interesting direction.
However, just as he closed the news, another headline appeared on the homepage, its clicks even rivaling those of the match result!
What kind of news could generate such buzz, competing for attention with Manchester City's 0-4 loss to AC Milan! Cao Baming's curiosity was instantly piqued!
"Max's Astonishing Shooting Accuracy on Football Variety Show Leaves Cristiano Ronaldo Enraged!"
Cao Baming gasped in surprise.
"Max again?? Is he trying to ride on Cristiano Ronaldo's coattails this time?" 138 Reading Network.
Cao Baming sighed helplessly; this guy never made things easy!
Upon closer inspection, he realized that things might not be as simple as they seemed.
A famous football variety show had invited many legendary football figures, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldo Nazário, Balotelli, Carlos, Mbappé, Neymar, and others, essentially an all-star lineup.