Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 19

19: Ready to Leap

A retired veteran analyst continued explaining Watford’s conceded goal.

“When a powerful striker like Chris Wood pushes in, it’s hard to stop him without committing a foul. That’s why you try to stop him outside the penalty box. From Watford’s central defenders’ perspective, even if they recognize it’s a trap, they have to engage. They need to get him away from the goal.”

A red arrow pointing straight from the right was drawn into the empty penalty box.

“Hannibal Maybury exploited that gap.”

“Then, what tactic should be used to stop this?”

Another analyst, who had been listening to the retired veteran’s explanation, answered the host’s question.

“The most basic approach is to drop back into a deep defensive line and only attempt counterattacks with a minimal number of attacking players. The rest just keep defending. It’s a style that José Mourinho [a famous football manager known for his defensive tactics] does well.”

“Any other methods?”

“Meet force with force. If a team can press harder and move the ball faster than Burnley, Burnley could be overwhelmed. Anyway, when you meet a team with the same style, it will be decided by pressing and speed.”

The last analyst, who had been listening intently without saying anything, finally spoke.

“Whatever happens, if these results continue, clubs facing Burnley will become increasingly polarized in their approach. Either sit deep and focus on defense, or trust their own style and confront them head-on. There’s one more variable.”

“What’s that?”

“This kind of pressing tactic consumes an enormous amount of stamina. Can Burnley’s thin squad endure it throughout the season?”

***

Anfield, the home stadium of Liverpool Football Club.

With 53,394 seats, it’s only the seventh-largest in England.

However, all the players who have experienced its enthusiastic atmosphere, regardless of their team, unanimously speak of its uniqueness.

The first club to call Anfield home was Everton Football Club, which enjoys fervent support from half of the residents of Merseyside [a metropolitan county in North West England], where Liverpool is located.

However, in 1892, when Everton Football Club’s attempt to purchase Anfield from its owner, John Orrell, fell through, they moved their home stadium to Goodison Park in the neighboring area.

To fill the suddenly vacant stadium, John Orrell founded Liverpool Football Club.

Growing while maintaining a rivalry with local rivals Everton, Liverpool reached its peak from the 1970s to the 80s, winning the First Division [former top tier of English football, now the Premier League] 11 times and European competitions 4 times in 20 years.

Even from the 1978/79 season to the 1989/90 season, Liverpool and Everton combined to win 10 out of 12 seasons.

The pride of the Merseyside residents, who had risen to become the center of English football, soared.

In addition, the so-called Merseyside Derby, where Liverpool and Everton clash, rose to prominence as the most intense and passionate derby.

However, after the 1989/90 season, Liverpool went through a long period of decline, failing to win the league for 29 years, as if consumed by the burning flames of their own success.

During that time, Liverpool fans had to watch as their rivals, Manchester United, under the leadership of the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, surpassed their record of 18 First Division titles.

However, in 2010, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), the owner of the Boston Red Sox, acquired the club.

In 2015, Jürgen Klopp, who led Borussia Dortmund (BVB Dortmund) to two league titles, was appointed as manager.

In the 2018/19 season, they won the Champions League and became the champions of Europe.

And finally, in the 2019/20 season, they shook off the fierce pursuit of Manchester City and achieved a long-awaited victory after 30 years.

In the 2020/21 season, injuries plagued the team, causing the defense to collapse, barely finishing in 3rd place, but as if to avenge that, they were on a winning streak in the 2021/22 season.

Anfield was filled with Liverpool home fans who were so passionate about football that they would be second to none even in England, a country crazy about football.

And Jürgen Klopp, who had won the league title after 30 years and even the Champions League as a bonus, was a charismatic man who could further intoxicate the atmosphere of those enthusiastic home fans.

Every time the 6’3″ (191cm) tall manager, standing in the home team’s technical area, gestured to urge the players to do better, Anfield, which had been cheering passionately without a moment’s rest, reacted with even more enthusiastic cheers.

And all of this was coming to Hyungmin as a combination of headaches and heartburn caused by stress and pressure.

“Damn it…”

Hyungmin rubbed his chest, feeling his stomach ache as he watched the opposing team’s players moving on the field.

Originally, Hyungmin, a Liverpool fan, should have felt his heart swell every time he saw them, but facing them as the opposing team’s manager, they were nothing short of terrifying monsters.

Alisson, a goalkeeper with footwork as good as any field player and who had relegated Manchester City’s starting goalkeeper, Ederson, to the Brazilian national team bench.

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson, the right and left fullbacks who had each recorded an average of more than 10 assists per season for the past few seasons.

In addition, Thiago, who came from Barcelona’s youth team, won the German Bundesliga [German top league] and the Champions League with Bayern Munich, and then joined Liverpool, adding creativity and elegance to the midfield that had been criticized for being clumsy.

Mohamed Salah, considered the best striker in the Premier League, and Sadio Mané, who is slightly less well-known but is actually considered to be just as dangerous.

Diogo Jota, who pushed out Roberto Firmino, Liverpool’s usual central striker, and took the starting position.

In fact, it was a lineup filled with starters from each national team, so much so that they should have knelt down and thanked Virgil van Dijk, who is currently considered the best defender in the world, for being injured.

In addition, Jürgen Klopp’s tempo control and passing game, which he transplanted to England, completed the pressing football as a team with gegenpressing [a tactic in which a team, after losing possession of the ball, immediately attempts to win back possession, rather than falling back to regroup].

When the fastest and most intense pressing in the Premier League was combined with the fastest and most threatening attack, Burnley’s players couldn’t come to their senses.

The time had passed since the kickoff, and it was the 25th minute of the first half.

The number of times Burnley players had touched the ball could be counted on one hand.

When they tried to build up from the back, they were harassed and dispossessed by Liverpool’s three attackers and three midfielders, who pressed so closely that they couldn’t breathe, or the ball was kicked out of bounds.

Even if they somehow connected with Josh Brownhill or Hannibal Maybury, who were relatively good at passing in Burnley, they were under so much pressure that they couldn’t even turn towards the opponent’s goal.

In the end, Burnley was being dispossessed and allowing shots without even crossing the halfway line once.

It was only thanks to the dedicated defense of goalkeeper Nick Pope and the defenders that they hadn’t conceded several goals already.

In a frustrating situation where Burnley couldn’t even get a shot on target, let alone enter the opponent’s penalty box, Liverpool finally cracked Burnley’s solid defense.

“Ugh, what is he doing?”

Arthur, who was standing next to Hyungmin, clicked his tongue.

Burnley’s left-back, Charlie Taylor, who was trying to stop Liverpool’s right-winger Mohamed Salah from breaking through, crashed into the opponent, and the referee was pulling out a yellow card amidst the boos of Anfield.

“If he had been broken through, he would have faced the goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation. It was a good decision. It was a good decision, but…”

Hyungmin muttered.

Before Hyungmin could finish speaking, Liverpool’s Thiago, who was waiting to take the free kick, passed the ball to Liverpool’s striker Diogo Jota, who was running right next to the wall set up by Burnley players.

“Ah!”

As Hyungmin and Arthur exclaimed at the same time, Jota, who faced Burnley’s goalkeeper Nick Pope at the same speed, lightly kicked the ball to Pope’s right, shaking the net.

“Uwaaaaa!!”

As the Liverpool home fans, who had finally seen Burnley’s goal breached after relentless attacks, cheered so loudly that Anfield seemed to be lifting off, Arthur grabbed his head in frustration.

At that moment, Hyungmin, who was about to make a similar gesture to Arthur, suddenly shouted.

“No! It’s offside!”

The assistant referee’s flag was raised high.

Liverpool players rushed in to protest, Burnley players tried to confirm the offside, and the referee, caught between them, blocked one ear and communicated with the VAR [Video Assistant Referee] assistant referee.

The referee in the black uniform, who had been pushed and shoved, finally raised his whistle.

And as all of Anfield, the players, and even the bench held their breath, the referee blew the whistle with a gesture towards the goal.

“Whew, I’ve aged ten years!”

Amidst the boos of the home fans, Hyungmin and Arthur stroked their surprised hearts, and the game was restarted at 0-0 with Nick Pope’s free kick following the offside decision.

However, the indicators did not improve much over time.

Hannibal received a yellow card in the 2nd minute.

Charlie Taylor received a yellow card in the 25th minute.

James Tarkowski received a yellow card in the 41st minute.

The Burnley players, who had collected three warnings in the first half alone, were becoming increasingly intimidated.

On the other hand, Liverpool, who recorded 10 shots, 5 shots on target, and as many as 8 corner kicks during the first half, recorded an expected goal (xG) [a metric that measures the quality of a shot based on several variables such as assist type, shot angle & distance from goal] of 1.44, but were frustrated by Burnley’s stubborn defense.

Eventually, with the start of the second half, Liverpool made subtle tactical changes following the instructions of manager Jürgen Klopp.

The intensity of the press remained the same.

However, instead of launching a quick counterattack before Burnley’s defense could form, they chose to slowly probe Burnley’s defense by patiently circulating the ball.

They couldn’t easily take the ball away, and when they did, the counterattack was immediately blocked.

As Burnley’s players grew tired of frustration, anxiety, and fatigue, the crack that Liverpool was aiming for occurred.

“Ugh!”

Hyungmin screamed, covering his head.

Hannibal Maybury, who had been involved in the defense near the corner flag on Burnley’s side, recklessly crashed into Liverpool’s left-back Andrew Robertson, who was trying to break through next to him, and knocked him down.

The young midfielder, waving his lion’s mane, argued for his innocence, but the referee, who had checked with VAR, unhesitatingly pulled out a yellow card, and then pulled out a red card again.

In the 56th minute of the second half, Hannibal, who had already collected a warning in the first half, was sent off for accumulating warnings.

As the promising player with his head drooping weakly walked off the field, Hyungmin, who had no time to comfort him, quickly looked back at the bench and sought alternatives.

Burnley, who were already at a disadvantage, now had to face 11 players with 10 players.

Liverpool, as if to take full advantage of the numerical advantage they had gained, moved even the goalkeeper to the vicinity of the halfway line and launched an all-out attack.