Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 201

201: Finally, at Anfield

Thwack!

“Woooo!!!”

A player collapsed on the field, and Anfield erupted with the shouts and jeers of the crowd.

“You bastard!”

“Ignore it! Attack!”

“Get up and run!”

Even with a teammate getting taken down, the players from both teams just hurl insults; there’s no appealing to the referee.

Seven yellow cards have already been handed out to the 22 players, but unless the ball goes out of bounds, the referee barely has time to distribute them.

Liverpool’s manager, Jurgen Klopp, replaced the visibly exhausted central midfielder Jude Bellingham and left-back Andrew Robertson with Harvey Elliott and Kostas Tsimikas.

A decision to regain control of the midfield, which was losing its vitality, and to strengthen the defense.

In addition, he replaced central striker Darwin Núñez, who had been stifled by Burnley’s defense throughout the game, with Roberto Firmino.

The expectation was that Liverpool’s veteran, with his excellent link-up play, could break through the stalled attack.

On the other hand, Hyungmin replaced left-back Luca Pellegrini and right-back Gu-ga with Nathan Collins and Amar Dedić, respectively.

While the right flank was strengthened with stamina and attack, on the left, Micah Marmol, who had previously played as a central defender, switched to left-back, with Nathan Collins firmly guarding the rear, aiming to completely neutralize Mohamed Salah.

Furious but not losing their composure, the experienced Liverpool clashed head-on with the aggressive young Burnley, and the heart of that bloody battle was taking place in the midfield.

“Nicky! Back!”

“Got it! One-two!”

Patrick de Paula, after tackling an opposing midfielder and stealing the ball, passed it to Nicolas Seiwald.

The moment Liverpool’s midfielders rushed to steal the ball from Nicolas Seiwald, he passed it back again, pushing it to Patrick de Paula, who had moved to the side in the meantime.

The movement of the ball, drawing a triangle in a narrow space, and the movement to instantly shake off the pressure from Liverpool’s captain Jordan Henderson and defensive midfielder Fabinho, whose faces were red with anger, was impressive.

Before Harvey Elliott, who had fallen on the field in a collision with Patrick de Paula, could even get up, the ball was quickly connected to the front line.

“Ibrahim!”

“Got it!”

However, Virgil van Dijk suppressed Benjamin Šeško’s breakthrough with one arm, and Ibrahim Konaté, who had quickly retreated, lightly received the ball with his chest and placed it under his feet.

While Burnley’s attackers were unable to approach to press, Ibrahim Konaté passed the ball back to goalkeeper Alisson, who sent it to the front line with a powerful kick.

“Damn it!”

Burnley’s central defender, Anselmo Garcia McNulty, rushed out to challenge Roberto Firmino.

However, Liverpool’s central striker Roberto Firmino, who had already moved out of the penalty box to receive the ball, connected it to the right flank with a deft touch.

While Burnley and Liverpool’s midfielders were still entangled in the center of the field, Liverpool’s three attackers were facing Burnley’s four defenders for the first time in a while.

Liverpool’s right attacker, Mohamed Salah, who received the ball, began to break into Burnley’s penalty box with a light dribble to quickly reduce the numerical disadvantage of Burnley’s defense.

Dribbling skills that usually allow him to easily shake off one or two defenders.

However, in Burnley, only one player came out to face the attacker who still boasts the highest level in the Premier League.

“Micah!”

“Don’t come out! Just block him from cutting inside!!”

“Got it!”

Instead, Micah Marmol, after quickly exchanging opinions with Nathan Collins, who was guarding the penalty box as a central defender, lowered his upper body and intently watched the ace of the Egyptian national team and Liverpool.

After facing him throughout the game, the habits that he couldn’t instinctively read from the videos he had watched began to appear clearly in his eyes.

The position of the right supporting foot and the angle of the left foot, which change when starting a dribble and when passing.

The movements of the shoulders and hands when feinting.

Thanks to his small height, his center of gravity is low, and his changes of direction are fast, but conversely, there are also weaknesses.

“Woooo!!!”

Liverpool’s home fans poured out their criticism, but Micah Marmol calmly took a half-step back at Mohamed Salah’s feint, nullifying it.

When the opponent changes position with a large motion like this, you have to start preparing again accordingly.

“Tch!”

As Micah Marmol leisurely glared at him, Mohamed Salah, Liverpool’s world-class attacker, clicked his tongue with the ball under his feet.

To properly shake off a defender, an attacker has to draw them in one direction and then break through in the other, but the opponent doesn’t react at all.

If he pushes in, they retreat accordingly, and even if he shakes left and right, they just follow and keep stalling for time.

If time is dragged on like that, statistically, the opposing team will inevitably be able to provide more support than our team.

Rather than getting blocked here, I should quickly pass the ball around….

“Ooooo!!!”

Micah Marmol, who had noticed that the opponent’s concentration had momentarily scattered with the cheers of the crowd, stretched out his long legs and stole the ball from between Mohamed Salah’s legs.

“Damn it!!”

Mohamed Salah, who had carelessly lost the ball to the opposing team’s defender in a counterattack situation, rushed to steal the ball back, but Burnley’s young defender leaned his upper body to block his approach and lightly rolled the ball to the side with his left heel.

Whack!

And Nathan Collins, who had rushed to support, powerfully kicked the flowing ball and sent a long pass parallel to the sideline towards the front line.

“F***!!”

I don’t know how many times I’ve cursed already.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s face, looking at the ball passing over his head as he ran forward to rejoin the attack, was filled with despair, but Virgil van Dijk had more urgent priorities than taking care of his young teammate’s mentality.

“Mark number 9!”

“Got it!”

He sent his central defense partner, Ibrahim Konaté, to mark Benjamin Šeško, who had scored the equalizing goal, and turned his head to the left to check if Kostas Tsimikas, who had been substituted in as a left-back, was properly checking Burnley’s right attacker, Adam Hložek.

After confirming that Burnley’s attack was being properly contained, he checked Dwight McNeil, where the ball was headed again, but….

“Ah, damn it.”

A sigh escaped him.

It was a mistake to assume that a cross would come straight into the penalty box like before.

Burnley’s young gem, who had received Nathan Collins’ long pass cleanly, immediately dribbled the ball with a whirlwind-like dribble into the center of Liverpool’s penalty box as soon as he confirmed that no one was coming to challenge him.

“Ah, damn it, damn it, damn it!!”

Virgil van Dijk moved his large body and began to sprint towards the goal at full speed.

A movement that intersected with Alisson, who was already rushing out of the goal to block the shooting angle.

The goalkeeper blocks the opposing attacker, and the defender covers the vacated goal again.

In that way, one of the world’s best defenders, who boasts a near-unbeaten record at Anfield, ran at full speed, but Burnley’s youth academy ace was merciless.

Thud!

The ball, kicked by Dwight McNeil with the outside of his left foot with a clear reverberation, soared with a fierce backspin.

A height that neither Liverpool’s goalkeeper Alisson, desperately reaching out his hand, nor Virgil van Dijk, who had stopped running and was making a futile expression, could reach.

The ball, which had passed Liverpool’s last two defenders, began to descend towards the goal again, drawing an elegant trajectory.

“Ahhh, no!!!”

As the home fans clutched their heads and screamed in despair, the ball narrowly missed the top of the goalpost and fell into the goal.

“Uwaaaa!!!”

Amidst the Burnley fans screaming like crazy, shedding tears and screams, Burnley secured their first victory against Liverpool in 360 minutes since the start of this season, or a whopping 450 minutes including the pre-season UEFA Super Cup.

At the point when 13 minutes of added time had passed in the second half.

It was the latest goal in Premier League history.

***

“Haa… Haa….”

I poured all the strength, mentality, and concentration of my entire body throughout the game.

A shadow fell over Micah Marmol, who was exhausted and collapsed on the grass with the final whistle, breathing heavily.

“You did pretty well today, kid.”

The ace of Liverpool, wearing a frustrated expression, came into Micah Marmol’s view, who squinted to avoid the glare of the stadium lights.

“Would it be okay to exchange shirts?”

“Of course.”

The ace of the Egyptian national team, who exchanged shirts with Micah Marmol, who got up in a hurry, wore a smile that looked more like a grimace.

“I won’t be blocked as easily as today next time.”

“Of course. I’ll block you more 확실하게 [hoksilhage – definitively] next time.”

“Hehehe.”

Mohamed Salah, as if he didn’t dislike the young prospect’s provocation, smiled and moved towards his teammates.

Micah Marmol, who had countered because he had rushed in first, but didn’t even properly register what he was saying, looked down at the red uniform in his hand with a slightly dumbfounded expression.

It wasn’t the first time he had exchanged shirts, but it was the first time that the opposing team’s world-class attacker had approached him first and asked for his shirt.

What do those players do with the opposing defender’s shirt?

Do they hang it on the wall and throw darts at it while chewing on their anger?

As he slowly walked towards the cheering away team’s bench with such thoughts in his dazed head, a giant figure rushed towards Micah Marmol.

“Micah!!”

“Coach!”

Although he is not short at 182 centimeters [approximately 5’11”], the difference between a brother and a younger sibling was clearly revealed when the giant figure exceeding 190 centimeters [approximately 6’3″] lifted him up.

Taejin, who lifted up the young prospect who had played brilliantly in today’s game and put him down, patted Micah Marmol’s shoulder and shouted.

“You were really great today!”

“Ah, thank you.”

Taejin shook his head at Micah Marmol, who was smiling awkwardly.

“I think it’s almost the first time Mohamed Salah has been completely shut down like that. Everyone is going crazy right now.”

“Ah, Mohamed Salah wasn’t in good form today, so I was able to block him well.”

Taejin tilted his head at Micah Marmol’s statement.

“…No?”

“Yes?”

“Mohamed Salah was fine today. You just blocked him well.”

“…?!”

Micah Marmol, making a bewildered expression at the coach’s words, turned his head, and his eyes met the manager, who was finishing a reporter interview over there.

At his dumbfounded expression, Hyungmin smiled and mouthed a word towards him.

The word that the young manager’s lip shape represented was one.

Maldini [Paolo Maldini, an Italian former professional footballer widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time].