Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 186

186: Complete Destruction

“Anyway, both Marc Cucurella and Reece James can handle the center-back position in a back three. Since Coach Graham Potter’s formation changes flexibly during the game, it’s entirely possible for players who can perform various roles like this to play as one of the three center-backs.”

It’s a big waste if all three central defenders in a back three only focus on defense.

Although not to the extent of Sheffield United under Chris Wilder, where the central defender positioned in the very center of the back three rushed all the way up to the opponent’s penalty box, creating a completely new concept in football called the ‘overlapping center-back,’ Graham Potter’s back three was also required to actively participate in the attack.

“Since we have Ben Chilwell on the left wing-back, I think they’ll transform the formation by bringing in Marc Cucurella as a central defender and having Ben Chilwell play. Reece James will play on the right.”

“Hmm…”

Hyungmin wore a troubled expression.

“Why, are you worried about something?”

Despite his usual playfulness, Taejin, who knows when to be serious and when to joke, asked earnestly. Hyungmin hesitated, then shook his head.

“No, it’s nothing. Let’s listen to what you’ve prepared for the other positions first and then discuss it again.”

“Alright. Then, about the other positions… this is where things start to go off the rails.”

Eventually, Romelu Lukaku, a headache who failed to adapt to the Premier League, was loaned out to Inter Milan. They urgently brought in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but the veteran striker wasn’t showing the form he had during his Arsenal days.

Timo Werner, who also failed to adapt to the Premier League, was reluctantly sold back to his former team, RB Leipzig, by Chelsea’s management, incurring a loss of 22.2 million pounds.

They did sign Raheem Sterling, who was dissatisfied with his playing time at Manchester City, but he is also a small and agile type of attacker, not the style that fights with the opponent’s central defenders in the penalty box to create space for his teammates.

This was one of the points where Chelsea fans envied Burnley, who had a knack for picking tall strikers.

“Whether it’s a 4-3-3 or a 3-5-2, Raheem Sterling is going to play, right? But here’s the thing…”

Taejin, imitating the tone of a famous Korean TV show host, sighed deeply.

“In a 3-5-2, the problem is one of the two top spots. If Kai Havertz plays, the link-up play is good, but it’s not easy to put pressure with strength in the penalty box, so it’s obvious he’ll be eaten up by Anel and Anselmo [Burnley’s central defenders]. But if Aubameyang plays, well…”

“His speed and stamina have become ambiguous. And he was never the type to be good at physical battles in the first place.”

Taejin nodded vigorously at Paulo Morais’s remark from the side.

“That’s right. But if we switch to a 4-3-3, there’s no good solution. Armando Broja? He’s still clumsy.”

The Albanian central striker, who Chelsea has been cherishing since his youth, is fast, has good technique, and is even physically imposing at 191 centimeters [approximately 6’3″], but his performance is incredibly inconsistent.

On a good day, he can score a hat trick on his own, but on a bad day, even the opponent’s central defenders wouldn’t know if he played or not.

It’s still difficult to use him as a main player, so Coach Graham Potter clearly tends to use him as a substitute in the second half.

“How do you think the midfield will line up?”

At Hyungmin’s question, who had been lost in thought, Taejin switched the screen.

“The midfield will have three players whether it’s a 4-3-3 or a 3-5-2. N’Golo Kante and Jorginho will start, and the remaining spot will be taken by one of Mateo Kovacic, Conor Gallagher, or Mason Mount, depending on how Coach Graham Potter wants to operate.”

If they want to go completely offensive, they’ll use Mason Mount, an ace from Chelsea’s youth academy.

If they want to strengthen the link-up play in midfield, they’ll use Mateo Kovacic, who they signed from Real Madrid.

If they want to increase the control of the midfield, they’ll use Conor Gallagher, who made a spectacular debut while exploding his potential at Crystal Palace.

Hyungmin nodded with a more confident expression after hearing Taejin’s thoughts.

“Did you come up with something?”

Carolina, who was sitting next to him and listening, asked at Hyungmin’s expression.

“The problem with Chelsea right now is that their attack is too weak compared to the quality of their midfielders.”

“That’s right.”

Carolina agreed with Hyungmin’s point.

“Then it’s simple. We just cram in as many midfielders as possible.”

“How?”

Taejin asked with a curious expression. Hyungmin pulled Taejin’s laptop over and started manipulating the screen.

“If the midfielder is better than the player who specializes in that position, or when compared absolutely, we just put the midfielder in that spot.”

Based on Graham Potter’s main formation, 3-5-2, the players began to be rearranged.

“You’re using N’Golo Kante as a central defender? That short guy?!”

Hyungmin shook his head at Taejin’s astonished shout.

“Using a short defensive central midfielder as a central defender is a problem that Pep Guardiola already proved was possible by using Javier Mascherano during his Barcelona days.”

In fact, Javier Mascherano, who played as a key defensive midfielder for Liverpool and the Argentine national team, successfully lifted numerous trophies during his Barcelona days alongside Gerard Pique in a bizarre big-and-small central defender combination.

From Pep Guardiola’s perspective, it was a stopgap measure devised between an overflowing midfield resource where even Andres Iniesta sometimes had to sit on the bench and a relatively weak central defender resource, but it worked surprisingly well, so he adopted it as his main strategy.

Of course, the player himself, who was forced to change his position to central defender, doesn’t seem to have been very happy about it.

“And I thought it would be okay because Wesley Fofana and Kalidou Koulibaly can defend aerial balls.”

With Wesley Fofana, N’Golo Kante, and Kalidou Koulibaly lined up as the back three, Marc Cucurella and Reece James were placed as wing-backs on both sides.

“Then we can fill the midfield to the brim.”

Jorginho, who lacks mobility but has excellent passing ability, is placed in the defensive midfielder position. Above him, Conor Gallagher compensates for the lack of mobility with his overflowing activity, and Mason Mount adds sharp attacking power that surges from the midfield.

“It’s still unavoidable that the attack is lacking, but that’s not a problem that can be solved in the short term. So, we defend the rear solidly like this, gain an advantage in the midfield battle, and then, with that possession, we expect Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz, and Mason Mount, who goes up from the midfield, to create something in attack.”

With just one player changed, the aspect of the game changed dramatically.

Considering Graham Potter’s emphasis on possession and the flexibility of the players’ roles, as well as the importance of winning at home but absolutely avoiding defeat.

Taejin scratched his head, unable to hide his surprise at Hyungmin’s point.

“It makes sense… but what are we supposed to do then?”

“What do you mean, what are we supposed to do?”

Hyungmin wore a wicked smile.

“We just have to crush them.”

***

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

“Uwaaaaa!!!”

While the home fans, who occupied more than half of the stadium, fell into silence, cheers erupted from the away fans’ section, which was dyed dark red, along with the sound of drums.

“Damn it, how did you predict this?!”

While the Burnley players surrounded Luka Sukic, who scored the team’s third goal with a wonderful long-range shot, and celebrated, Taejin, who jumped out of the bench and enjoyed the joy of scoring, exclaimed.

Chelsea, who started the game with the lineup that Hyungmin had predicted during the analysis meeting, was literally being crushed.

From the beginning, it’s difficult for any team to completely take control of the midfield as planned when combative midfielders like Nicolas Seiwald and Patrick de Paula play together.

With Nicolas Seiwald, who can easily block a numerical disadvantage of about 3 to 1 on his own, and Patrick de Paula, who has considerable defensive power and activity, playing together, Chelsea’s midfield, composed of Jorginho, Conor Gallagher, and Mason Mount, collapsed completely.

It doesn’t make sense for Conor Gallagher to make up for the gap between Jorginho, who lacks mobility, and Mason Mount, whose attack is better than his defense, against Burnley.

In the end, N’Golo Kante, who started as a central defender to support the collapsing midfield, and Kai Havertz, who started as a central attacker, were dragged into the midfield battle, and eventually, the center of Stamford Bridge’s field turned into a space where five Chelsea players and two Burnley players were fighting.

It would be okay if they could somehow secure the initiative in the midfield even with five players invested.

However, Chelsea couldn’t keep up with the activity of Burnley’s twin black holes even with more than twice the numerical advantage.

They appear before they can even pass the ball, attacking from the front and from the back or sides, so they immediately lose possession, which immediately leads to Burnley’s counterattack.

And thanks to Chelsea’s attack, where Raheem Sterling is isolated alone, Burnley can leisurely pour both of their fullbacks into the attack.

If you include Luka Sukic, who leaves the midfield battle to the other two and focuses only on linking up, there are as many as six Burnley players facing Chelsea’s four defenders.

On top of that, Benjamin Sesko, 20, who claimed before the game that 32-year-old Kalidou Koulibaly was already aging and 22-year-old Wesley Fofana was still inexperienced, was devastating the penalty box.

Hyungmin and the coaching staff wore absurd expressions at the young striker’s remarks, but the Burnley attack, assimilated with his spirit, was mercilessly smashing Chelsea’s defense.

The first goal was a collaboration between Dwight McNeil, who connected a pass from Burnley’s left defender Luka Pellegrini, who charged up from the left side, with an elegant cross, and Benjamin Sesko, who blatantly jumped up and connected it with a header.

The second goal was in the same scene as before. Benjamin Sesko’s assist, who slightly dropped the ball to the side, avoiding Chelsea’s two central defenders and goalkeeper who jumped in front of Benjamin Sesko as if not to be fooled by the same trick twice, and Dwight McNeil, who ran into the penalty box immediately after sending the cross, scored with a powerful left-footed shot.

And the third goal that just went in was a long-range shot by Luka Sukic, who received Dwight McNeil’s cross, which curved more sharply than usual, near the penalty arc and leisurely shot without any check, while the Chelsea defense, not knowing what to do, was standing as if nailed in place.

Chelsea, who recorded 3 shots, 1 on target, and 0 goals while the opposing team recorded 11 shots, 5 on target, and 3 goals in the first 43 minutes, were in a self-destructing mood.

Gloomy spectators, a gloomy bench, and gloomy players.

Coach Graham Potter was trying hard to encourage the players, but he couldn’t hide his miserable expression behind his beard, as if he knew that his secret weapon of starting N’Golo Kante as a central defender had become a self-destructive move.

“Well, we were lucky. We could have changed our minds. But I thought this was the best move even when I thought about it.”

Hyungmin answered calmly even to Taejin’s admiration.

“Actually, this is more of a problem with the balance of the squad than the coach’s problem… it’s something that the football director and the club management should solve.”

Perhaps Coach Graham Potter only sighed after taking office at Chelsea and checking the state of the attack.

One aging striker, one fresh prospect, one attacking midfielder who is not actually a striker, and one short striker.

No matter how you combine them, there is no way to break through the defenses of the Premier League’s top teams.

In the end, since they can’t approach it in a standard way, they have no choice but to use tricks, and if they are caught like today, they will be miserably defeated.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

At Taejin’s question, Hyungmin shrugged his shoulders, as if sympathizing with the opposing team’s coach more than he thought.

“Since the other side will come out with tactical changes after halftime, I have to tell them again that if they lose their minds in the second half, we’ll kill them all.”

“Hehehehe. That’s right.”

The disgraceful performance in the second half of the Arsenal game in the 12th round of the Premier League is still vivid in his memory.

At the coach’s words, his friend and coach smiled in the same way and held out his palm.

Clap!

A clear high-five sound rang between the two.