Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 127

127. Carabao Cup Semifinal

“Hmm….”

Hyungmin hummed, reviewing Manchester City’s starting lineup.

Even though cup competitions become important once you reach the semifinals, Hyungmin stuck to his principle of giving playing opportunities to players who hadn’t received much game time.

Thanks to this, Burnley players didn’t have significant differences in their number of appearances, and team doctor Simon Morris and fitness coach Paulo Morais were happy managing the fitness and condition of players whose game time was well-regulated.

However, seeing the opponent field their best lineup with such determination made him uneasy.

“Wow… looks like they’re really determined to beat us, huh?”

Taejin, who was looking over Hyungmin’s shoulder, exclaimed in admiration as he checked the starting lineup.

Karolina sighed from across the way.

“The problem is that Manchester City’s bench is also filled with players who could start in the Premier League.”

The central striker was Erling Haaland.

The left and right flanks were Jack Grealish and Phil Foden.

The midfield consisted of Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva, with Rodri protecting the backline.

The defense, from left to right, was Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, John Stones, and Pedro Porro.

Finally, the goalkeeper was Ederson.

Except for Pedro Porro, a 23-year-old Spanish right-back who had improved remarkably during his loan spells over the past few seasons, everyone else was a regular starter.

Pedro Porro had even been selected for the Spanish national team this season, solidifying his position as a backup right-back at Manchester City.

Moreover, the bench was full of world-class players like Riyad Mahrez, Ilkay Gundogan, Kalvin Phillips, and Aymeric Laporte.

“Well, nothing we can do if we lose.”

Hyungmin shrugged nonchalantly and began walking towards the away team’s locker room.

It was time for the final tactical check before the game.

“Manchester City’s tactics haven’t changed with this lineup.”

Hyungmin tapped the tactical board lightly as he explained to the players looking at him.

“Does Manchester City ever change their tactics? Don’t they only have one tactic anyway?”

Taejin interjected playfully, causing laughter to ripple through the players.

Feeling the tense atmosphere in the locker room lighten slightly, Hyungmin laughed along with the players.

But his palms were sweating as he tapped the tactical board.

“However, what we need to remember is that both Phil Foden and Jack Grealish have a strong tendency to cut inside.”

The positions of the three forwards in Manchester City’s widely spread 4-3-3 formation became concentrated in the center.

“In the actual game, Phil Foden will penetrate the penalty box diagonally and attempt to attack directly with Erling Haaland, while Jack Grealish will move more horizontally, occupying the position of an attacking midfielder.”

The markers representing the three forwards, which had been in the shape of an equilateral triangle, flipped into an inverted triangle, forming two strikers and one attacking midfielder.

“In addition, Kevin De Bruyne will push into the space left by Jack Grealish on the left, and left-back Joao Cancelo will either stand alongside Rodri in the defensive midfield position or move further forward to stand in the central midfield position with Bernardo Silva.”

Next, he dragged the marker representing the right-back upwards.

“On the other hand, Pedro Porro on the right is very offensive and has excellent crossing and passing abilities. Nico, you’ve played with him in the national team, but he’ll probably fill the space left by Phil Foden on the right. Think of him as Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.”

Nico Gonzalez, who had shared all his knowledge of Pedro Porro with the manager and coaching staff, nodded.

Manchester City’s formation, which started as a traditional 4-3-3, had now transformed into a 2-1-2-2-3 formation.

That’s what makes Manchester City so scary.

They create cracks in the opponent’s defense through constant short passes and movement, and then exploit those gaps to stab a dagger into the heart.

Move, and pass.

Apart from these two major principles, they are not bound by the traditional framework of formations. A genius manager has built a squad with almost unlimited financial backing.

There are clubs in Europe that are as rich as, or even richer than, Manchester City, but none have combined such intense attacking flair and disciplined performance like Manchester City, which highlights their uniqueness.

The players listened intently to the manager’s final explanation, even though they had reviewed the content in the tactical meeting the previous afternoon.

Hyungmin looked around at the faces of the players watching him.

Almost all of them were in their early twenties, except for Wout Weghorst.

Even Jo Gelhardt, Luka Sucic, and Christian Medina were exactly 20 years old.

As the chants of both teams’ fans echoed faintly from beyond the thick walls of Wembley Stadium, Hyungmin forced a light smile for his players, who couldn’t hide their nervousness ahead of the huge game.

“Today’s game might be scary and nerve-wracking, but if we just play as we usually do, we have a good chance of winning. What is Manchester City relatively weak at?”

“Intense high pressing and fierce fighting!”

Hyungmin smiled at the players who shouted the slogan they had been repeating all afternoon yesterday.

“Those are the two things we do best, so go out there and show them the power of Burnley!”

***

“Aaaargh!!!”

“What the f***!”

As the cheers and groans of the fans echoed through the stadium, Pep Guardiola, standing in Manchester City’s technical area, clutched his head and swore.

The Manchester City coaching staff and substitute players around him were all in a state of shock, while the opposite technical area was unable to hide their joy.

First minute of the first half.

No, to be precise, it was more like the kickoff.

Nico Gonzalez, who was positioned to receive the ball rolled back by Wout Weghorst from the kickoff, suddenly unleashed a super long-range shot from far behind the halfway line, for some reason.

Was it a shot aimed at Manchester City’s players who had advanced to apply high pressing from the start, and especially goalkeeper Ederson, who had come out to the edge of the penalty box?

Or was it just a long shot to shake off the tension?

No one knows the truth, but the rapidly flying ball cruelly ignored the desperately outstretched hand of Ederson, who was frantically sprinting towards his goal, and passed straight through the goal line.

As the Burnley players all jumped on top of Nico Gonzalez, who himself had a bewildered expression, and celebrated wildly, Pep Guardiola felt a cold sweat running down his back, realizing that the game had gone wrong from the start.

Frankly, the first goal conceded was more due to luck, or misfortune depending on your perspective, rather than our team making a mistake or the opponent playing well.

However, in football, there are strange games where such luck explodes heavily on one side in the very early stages, and the rest of the game ends without being able to do anything about it.

And strangely, from Manchester City’s perspective, when facing Burnley, if the first button is buttoned wrong, the game goes wrong endlessly from then on.

The renowned manager tried hard to shake off the anxiety he felt as the game he had prepared with the best lineup crumbled from the start.

And he failed.

***

“Nice!”

“Luka! Here!”

Luka Sucic.

Burnley’s central midfielder, 20 years old this year.

An elite prospect who followed the textbook Red Bull course, from the RB Salzburg youth academy, through RB Salzburg’s youth and reserve teams, and a two-season loan spell at FC Liefering in the second division, before debuting for the first team.

The Croatian Football Association, which had been watching his potential, gave him the opportunity to gain experience by participating in the Qatar World Cup as a member of the national team.

Of course, he spent most of his time watching the game from the bench, except for a brief substitute appearance at the end of a game where the outcome was already decided, but that was still a valuable experience for the 20-year-old prospect.

And there, he was able to see his friend and teammate Karim Adeyemi in action.

From RB Salzburg to Burnley.

He was just one of the very talented players he saw every day at the dorm and training ground, but seeing his friend single-handedly carry the German national team, a football powerhouse, to victory filled his heart with emotion.

Croatia was unfortunately eliminated in the round of 16, losing to Germany, but Luka Sucic returned to Burnley with a renewed determination.

Someday, I will become a player who contributes that much to my club and my country.

I will become a player who performs at his best on the biggest stage.

With that resolve, Luka Sucic sharply watched Rodri, Manchester City’s defensive midfielder, who was lunging at him to steal the ball.

“Chris, go!”

As he loudly called out the name of his teammate Christian Medina, who was moving forward to Rodri’s right, he could see Rodri flinching and slightly tilting his line to the right to block the pass.

If so, then he could just lift his right foot and do this.

“Oh!”

“Heh.”

Luka Sucic smirked at the bewildered groan of Rodri, the mainstay midfielder of the Spanish national team, and turned to the opponent’s left flank, running forward at full speed.

And instead of a pass that was expected to go past Rodri, a backheel pass flowed behind him.

With all of Manchester City’s players momentarily caught off guard by the unexpected back pass, Nico Gonzalez, who received the ball from behind, also smirked.

For the past six months, they had been eating, drinking, sleeping, and training together every day in the same dorm.

“Chris!”

That was a feint, this time it’s real.

Nico Gonzalez passed the ball to Christian Medina, who was penetrating forward past the stopped Rodri’s right.

“Luka!”

And Christian Medina, without stopping, immediately passed to Luka Sucic, who had passed Rodri on the opposite side.

Burnley’s movement, which started with Luka Sucic’s back pass, formed a tilted triangle and was now connected to Luka Sucic, who was standing at the very top.

Only a few seconds had passed.

None of Manchester City’s players had been able to move out of position, but Burnley had already broken through the defensive line formed by Manchester City’s Rodri and Bernardo Silva.

One of Burnley’s pattern plays, planned by Karolina and instilled through numerous training sessions.

“Don’t both chase him!”

With the defensive line in danger of collapsing, goalkeeper Ederson, who was watching the situation from the back, shouted to the two central defenders guarding in front of him.

As Manchester City’s central defender duo, Ruben Dias and John Stones, who were instinctively trying to chase after Wout Weghorst, who was retreating, flinched at the goalkeeper’s shout, John Stones, who had advanced unlike the stopped Ruben Dias, shouted to his teammate.

“I’ll go!”

But the final defensive line of Manchester City, which had been well maintained in a straight line, could not avoid being distorted.

As if aiming for that gap, Luka Sucic’s short and sharp pass was stabbed into Burnley’s right winger, Jo Gelhardt, who had shaken off Manchester City’s left-back Joao Cancelo on the right flank and was diagonally penetrating the penalty box.

“Jo!”

A shout sent after the pass.

The opposing team’s full-back desperately chasing from behind, and the opposing team’s central defender moving to block in front.

And behind them, the opposing team’s goalkeeper, who was slightly coming forward to narrow the remaining shooting angle, caught in reverse motion.

With three players moving to block him, Jo Gelhardt, who found the ball flowing in front of him, gently touched the bottom of the ball with his left foot.

A feeling closer to scooping up rather than kicking or hitting.

“Ugh!”

The gently rising ball passed straight through the upper left corner of the goal, slowly passing by both Manchester City’s central defender Ruben Dias, who was uttering a horrified cry, and the fingertips of goalkeeper Ederson, who had come forward and jumped up to somehow clear the ball, caught in reverse motion.

“Aaaargh!!”

The young prospect, who had scored a chip shot that he would remember for the rest of his life against the strongest team in the Premier League, roared while pounding his chest with his fist, while Pep Guardiola covered his face with both hands in despair in the technical area.