After Real Madrid opened the scoring, the atmosphere among the fans at Borussia-Park hit rock bottom.
One moment earlier, the Borussia Mönchengladbach supporters had been waving their arms and shouting.
But the moment Modrić's long-range strike flew past Sommer and into the net, the home fans changed expressions.
The smiles vanished from every face in the stands.
Inside the broadcast studio, commentator Rob Palmer spoke into the microphone. "Conceding this early is bad news for Mönchengladbach. Real Madrid have a tradition of beating opponents by big scorelines, so Marco Rose needs to make some adjustments to his team."
On the Mönchengladbach bench, head coach Marco Rose's face was filled with impatience.
Only ten minutes of the first half had been played, and his side had conceded the opening goal.
That was something Marco Rose could not accept.
After the restart, the Mönchengladbach coach ran to the touchline and roared in a hoarse voice, "Push up! Both flanks, push up! Put more crosses in! Do not hesitate! If there's a chance, shoot!"
In the fifteenth minute, Mönchengladbach began to attack at home.
Midfielder Neuhaus had not been on the ball for long before Toni Kroos moved in to mark him.
Seeing that, Neuhaus chose not to get tangled up with Kroos.
He shifted the ball out wide to Hofmann.
Hofmann's handling after receiving the ball was simple: use his pace to take on Real Madrid's full-back.
The player matched up against Hofmann was Ferland Mendy.
Although Ferland Mendy had become a well-known full-back in La Liga, Hofmann did not take that reputation to heart.
After stopping the ball with his left foot, he tempted Ferland Mendy into stepping forward.
Then, just as Mendy rushed up in front of him, Hofmann knocked the ball ahead. Using that change of rhythm, he slipped past Mendy with ease.
After that, Hofmann strode forward down the flank with the ball at his feet.
But Real Madrid's defensive structure was a wall of steel. Not long after Hofmann beat Ferland Mendy, another defensive player came charging toward him.
That player was Theodore Bjorn.
Hofmann was wary of Theodore's defensive ability. The moment he saw Theodore coming, he played the pass without a second thought.
Bang!
Two seconds later, the ball arrived at attacking midfielder Stindl's feet. The moment Stindl received it near the top of the arc, Militão was on him.
The Real Madrid center-back used his body to lean into Stindl, preventing him from getting a shot away.
Bang! Another pass!
Stindl chose to move the ball out to Marcus Thuram on the right.
At the start of the match, Marcus Thuram had created considerable danger in front of Real Madrid's goal.
Now, with the ball at his feet again, Marcus Thuram was ready to unleash everything.
He shifted the ball with his right foot, then shaped to shoot. Simple and brutal.
The ball flew toward Real Madrid's goal like a cannon shell.
At this crucial moment, Courtois produced a world-class save. The Belgian goalkeeper launched himself into the air and got both hands to the ball.
"Courtois!" "The Belgian wall has stepped up!" "What a brilliant save!"
Rob Palmer had just begun praising Courtois' performance when what happened next left him stunned.
The ball Courtois had parried did not fly far. Instead, it dropped right in front of striker Pléa.
Faced with such a gift, the Mönchengladbach forward would not let it slip away.
Pléa gently pushed the ball with his left foot. The ball flew past Courtois and into the net.
Although Courtois was one of the top goalkeepers in the world, asking him to make two saves in such a short space of time was not an easy task.
"Borussia Mönchengladbach have equalized!"
"In the twentieth minute, the home side use Marcus Thuram's long-range strike to force a spill from Courtois, and striker Pléa follows up to score on the rebound!"
"One-one!"
After Pléa found the net, the German fans in the stands at Borussia-Park could celebrate.
The stadium became a roaring cauldron.
"Well done, Pléa! Lead us to victory tonight!"
"Marcus Thuram's performance has been perfect!"
"Keep attacking! Beat Real Madrid at home!"
Playing at home, Borussia Mönchengladbach had seized momentum.
After Real Madrid restarted play, they met Mönchengladbach's pressing. The home side were not satisfied with taking just one point.
They wanted all three.
Driven on by tens of thousands of fans roaring from the stands, the Mönchengladbach players burned with fighting spirit.
That was true of the front line. They began to press the Real Madrid players on the ball with reckless intensity.
However, every position in Real Madrid's lineup was filled with world-class stars.
Even under heavy pressure, they were capable of finding a way out.
Five minutes later, Theodore, Modrić, and Toni Kroos used a series of one-touch passes under Mönchengladbach's pressing and tore through the home side's high press.
They even created an attacking opportunity.
Bang!
Toni Kroos played a through ball and sent it to winger Ødegaard.
Since Ødegaard was the least famous of Real Madrid's front three, Mönchengladbach's back line did not pay him as much attention.
That gave Ødegaard a chance.
On the right side of the penalty area, Ødegaard received Kroos' pass, adjusted his footing, and lashed a shot toward goal.
Bang!
The ball flew straight toward the post.
"Good effort!"
"Ødegaard has had at least two excellent shooting chances tonight!"
"What a pity. Every single one has missed by the finest of margins!" Terry Gibson sighed.
Mönchengladbach launched another attack. Goalkeeper Sommer took the goal kick.
Bang!
The ball dropped above Marcus Thuram's head.
It was clear to see that Mönchengladbach's attacking focus tonight was built around Marcus Thuram.
Out wide, the tall Marcus Thuram won the first header, then knocked the ball forward with his right foot.
He powered past Marcelo. The next second, Theodore rushed into Marcus Thuram's path.
When Marcus Thuram saw Theodore coming, a trace of panic rose in his heart. In their earlier exchanges, Marcus Thuram had gone up against Theodore Bjorn.
The moment he saw Theodore appear in front of him, his first thought was to pass.
At that instant, the ball seemed to become a hot potato.
The young Marcus Thuram wanted to get rid of it fast.
But Theodore gave him no such chance.
The moment Marcus Thuram lifted his foot to make the pass, Theodore's sliding tackle arrived.
Theodore's boots reached the ball first.
Theodore won possession from Marcus Thuram with effortless ease. Borussia Mönchengladbach's attack ended in failure.
"Stop Real Madrid's No. 10 from passing!"
"Foul him if you have to!" On the touchline, Marco Rose saw Theodore win back the ball and roared at his players.
For a moment, Kramer, Neuhaus, and Stindl all charged toward Theodore at the same time.
Their purpose was clear. They had to stop Theodore from releasing the pass.
But Theodore chose not to pass at all. Instead, he carried the ball himself.
With a quick touch from his right foot, Theodore surged forward.
With Bale-like explosiveness powering him, he carved a path through the three players.
His terrifying acceleration was displayed to the fullest in that moment. Whether it was Kramer, Neuhaus, or Stindl, none of them had time to react.
They could only watch helpless as Theodore flashed past them.
In the stands, the Mönchengladbach fans were stunned. Every one of them stared at the pitch in disbelief.
"What? Real Madrid's No. 10 is way too fast…"
"Three defenders couldn't stop him from breaking through… unbelievable!"
"I feel like this Norwegian star is faster than Gareth Bale!"
"Trash! Three men couldn't defend one player!"
While the Mönchengladbach fans criticized their own team's defending, Theodore had driven straight through the middle and into the attacking half.
Before long, Theodore was facing Mönchengladbach's back line head-on.
Near the edge of the penalty area, center-backs Ginter and Nico Elvedi appeared in front of him.
The two defenders came at him with aggression. Their main objective was to halt Theodore's advance.
Ginter committed to a sliding tackle, intending to take both Theodore and the ball out together.
In that split second, Theodore reacted.
He stopped his forward stride, then lifted the ball with his right foot. The ball sailed over the heads of both Ginter and Nico Elvedi.
One second later, it arrived in front of Ødegaard. Now Ødegaard had a one-on-one chance against the goalkeeper.
Although Sommer rushed off his line, Ødegaard's shot was aimed at a sharp angle.
Most importantly, the ball was struck with tremendous speed.
Sommer was not given a real chance to react.
Bang! Like a cannonball, the ball flashed past Sommer and smashed into the net.
2–1. Real Madrid had taken the lead once again.
"Ødegaard!"
"Among all things, Ødegaard stands above the rest!"
"Ødegaard has scored!"
"He has attempted three shots tonight, and persistence has paid off. Ødegaard has found the net!"
"Real Madrid are ahead again!"
After scoring, Ødegaard broke into a brilliant smile.
The Real Madrid players rushed toward him and celebrated. Theodore and Ødegaard embraced tightly.
Theodore was happy for Ødegaard.
The two of them were teammates in the Norwegian national team, and their relationship was good.
Once Real Madrid reestablished their lead, Mönchengladbach grew anxious.
During the final ten minutes of the first half, under Marco Rose's instructions, the Mönchengladbach players launched wave after wave of attacks at Real Madrid.
Kramer, Stindl, and Marcus Thuram out wide all attempted shots during this period. Unfortunately, the results were poor.
Every effort flew into the stands and failed to trouble Courtois' goal.
After forty-five minutes, the score stood at Real Madrid 2, Borussia Mönchengladbach 1.
After the second half began, Real Madrid committed more players to the attack.
Theodore began appearing in advanced areas.
Zidane had instructed the Madrid players during halftime to strengthen their attacking push.
After this match against Mönchengladbach, Real Madrid would face Barcelona in El Clásico. Zidane wanted this match to lose its suspense.
That way, he could substitute his key players and shift all his focus to the battle against Barcelona.
Zidane demanded that Real Madrid extend their lead to two goals before the 60-minute mark.
In the 54th minute, Real Madrid found an opportunity down the flank.
On the left wing, the young Vinícius received Modrić's long pass.
This time, Vinícius did not accelerate. Instead, he waited.
Only after Theodore charged into the Mönchengladbach penalty area did Vinícius choose to make his move.
In truth, Vinícius had not produced anything eye-catching in tonight's match.
For most of the game, he had been peripheral.
But now, after receiving the ball out wide, Vinícius had a chance to show his attacking talent.
In front of Mönchengladbach full-back Lainer, Vinícius began doing stepovers.
The instant Lainer stretched out his foot, Vinícius knocked the ball forward. Using his speed advantage, Vinícius broke through down the wing.
Very soon, Mönchengladbach's second line of defense arrived. Defensive midfielder Kramer appeared in front of Vinícius.
In addition, the other holding midfielder, Neuhaus, moved across toward him.
Seeing that he was about to be trapped in a double-team, Vinícius changed his attacking plan.
He crossed it.
Bang! The ball flew toward the goalmouth.
Vinícius' cross was of good quality, dropping above Theodore's head.
For Theodore, this was a chance that had to be scored.
Bang!
Leap.
Contact.
A powerful snap of the head.
Everything came together in one fluid motion.
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