Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 216

216: Nemesis

[…Ah, this is really…]

[…I don’t know what Coach Antonio Conte was thinking. No, I think I know what he was thinking, but I don’t know if he thought it would work.]

Late night.

As befits a country obsessed with soccer, it’s a strange time of day when all channels show only soccer-related programs.

In a special studio of a mega-broadcasting company that owns the Premier League broadcasting rights, they were taking time to look back on April.

The hottest topics were, of course, Liverpool, who were running away with the Premier League lead, and Burnley, who were chasing behind them.

The host and panelists were excited that the gap, which seemed impossible to close, had narrowed slightly.

[…At first, Burnley’s players and Coach Hyungmin Kim seemed embarrassed. As the game progressed, I think they thought, ‘What a windfall!’]

[…Anyway, they can go all-out on the attack without the burden of defense. Karim Adeyemi is gone, but it’s dangerous to use a defensive tactic against Burnley, who have Benjamin Sesko and Lorenzo Lucca.]

Due to the successive injuries of players, Tottenham’s Antonio Conte pulled out a 4-4-2 formation.

Everyone was shocked by the formation that he had never used since coming to England. Four central defenders were put in the back four, four central midfielders were put in the midfield, and Harry Kane and Lucas Moura formed a two-striker partnership.

Whatever the process, Tottenham, who were in a fierce battle for fourth place, were determined to take one point against the second-place team in the league.

But the result was a total failure.

The back four, with its concentration of central defenders, was solid in defense but continued to have problems supplying passes to the front line in the build-up process. The midfielders, concentrated in the center in a square shape, left the flanks empty, leading to counterattacks.

Decisively, as the attacking team continued to be isolated with an awkward formation that they were using for the first time, Harry Kane, who started as a two-striker, kept coming down to the midfield to distribute the ball.

So, in a situation where neither attack nor distribution worked well, Burnley, who had been leisurely trying various attacks throughout the first half to find a solution, scored in the second half with a brilliant combination play between Benjamin Sesko and Dwight McNeil.

Looking only at the score, it was a close victory for Burnley, but the underlying statistics told a different story.

[…Burnley dominated possession with 67% to 33%. Burnley also dominated shots with 23 to 3… Is this even possible? Two teams in the top 4 of the Premier League played a game, and the number of shots taken during the 90 minutes was 20 different?!]

If it hadn’t been for the saves of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who was burning with fighting spirit as he approached the twilight of his career, the score difference would have been much greater.

[…Burnley’s goalkeeper, Bailey Peacock-Farrell, didn’t even get to touch the ball a few times. The total number of touches was less than 20. But Hugo Lloris seems to have kicked the goal kick more than 20 times.]

[…Anyway, Burnley finished off a great April with wins against Tottenham and Manchester City. 5 wins and 1 loss in 6 games! In fact, excluding the 1 win and 1 loss against AC Milan in the Champions League quarter-finals, they won all of their Premier League games. On the other hand, Liverpool…]

[…Coach Jurgen Klopp was very disappointed.]

On the large screen behind the host and panelists, highlights of Liverpool’s last game of April appeared.

Against Liverpool’s red uniforms, which were pouring out fierce attacks, almost all 10 field players of Everton were in the penalty box, desperately defending in their blue uniforms.

Shots were fired one after another, but as Everton’s defense and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford continued to make saves, a sense of futility and embarrassment gradually appeared on the faces of the Liverpool players.

Eventually, with the referee’s whistle, Everton’s coach Frank Lampard and the players roared on the sidelines.

It was the moment when coach Jurgen Klopp, who had expressed frustration in the technical area throughout the game, saw his team draw against Everton in the second half, following a similar result in the first half.

[…Whatever the process, Liverpool ended up giving Burnley two points. The gap, which was five points, has now narrowed to three points.]

[…On the other hand, Burnley won 2-1 against Manchester City, who were considered a difficult opponent. Surely… there seems to be such a thing as a nemesis.]

One of the panelists shook his head and said.

Liverpool were held back by their nemesis, Everton, while Burnley have emerged as Manchester City’s nemesis over the past three seasons.

[…Is it something that exposes weaknesses in their style? Burnley’s record against Liverpool, who show the same intense pressure as themselves, was not good, but they showed very good results against pass-oriented teams like Manchester City, who value possession.]

The conversation began to shift from talk about results to a serious discussion of tactics and formations.

Behind the studio, the staff quickly put up standard formations for Burnley and Manchester City on the screen.

[…As you can see, Burnley shows a strong pressing game that pressures all the way to the front line, centered on a solid midfield led by Nicolas Seiwald and Patrick de Paula. In particular, their way of utilizing central strikers has been excellent over the past three seasons.]

[…That’s right. Last season, central strikers Benjamin Sesko and Taejin Jeong focused on linking up play, creating many opportunities for Karim Adeyemi, who was active on the right flank, but this season, after Karim Adeyemi’s transfer, the central strikers tend to finish the opportunities themselves.]

Benjamin Sesko, who scored two goals against Manchester City, now has 31 goals.

His positional rival, Lorenzo Lucca, has 29 goals.

With at least five games left, the two strikers have scored a combined 60 goals in all competitions.

[…Actually, shouldn’t we say that the central strikers did well? Lorenzo Lucca was a complete sensation this season, and Benjamin Sesko’s skills have matured…]

[…Does that make sense!]

The panelist who had been continuing the conversation sharply cut off the other panelist’s words.

[…It is true that Burnley’s scouting team and football director made an excellent choice in selecting Lorenzo Lucca, who had been wandering around in Serie B [Italian second-tier league], but in reality, if you look at the movements of Burnley’s players, they are showing very sophisticated detailed tactics to create opportunities for the central striker. Let’s take a look at the goal scene from the last Manchester City game.]

As the screen changed, the goal scene from the last game between Manchester City and Burnley began to play.

[…A little more forward. Just a little more. Ah, there! Stop it.]

The panelist, who approached the paused screen, pointed out the players’ positions.

[…People often think that when you look at Burnley, the full-backs [side defenders] come up to the front line to create width, and the wingers [side attackers] go into the center to attack the space left by the central striker.]

As the host and panelists gathered in the studio nodded, the middle-aged panelist shook his head violently.

[…That’s the play that Burnley showed for the past two seasons. Look at this season.]

Dwight McNeil on the left and Adam Hlozek on the right, who were playing as wingers, were spread out so wide that they were almost stepping on the sidelines, while the full-backs who had come forward were folding inward and lining up with midfielder Sebastian Szymanski, who had penetrated near the penalty box.

[…In this way, Burnley’s five players are surrounding the penalty box, putting pressure on Manchester City’s defense. Nicolas Seiwald and Patrick de Paula have already taken control of the midfield, so there is no worry about being counterattacked. Look at the movement of the central striker here.]

Burnley’s central striker Benjamin Sesko pretended to go out of the penalty box, pulling out Manchester City’s central defenders John Stones and Aymeric Laporte.

Inevitably, the gap between Manchester City’s full-backs, who were checking Burnley’s wingers, and the central defenders, who were checking Benjamin Sesko, widened.

[…And from there, Burnley shakes up Manchester City’s defense by moving the ball from side to side like this.]

Through a quick one-touch pass, the ball was passed from Adam Hlozek on the right flank to Sebastian Szymanski, and then to Dwight McNeil, who was waiting on the left flank.

Manchester City’s defense, which had been leaning to the left, was startled and shifted too far in the process of readjusting its position to the right.

While Manchester City’s central defenders were unable to decide which side to support, Benjamin Sesko, who had been watching the situation carefully, turned his body and penetrated back into the penalty box.

[…It seems that this was already a practiced play. At the same time as Benjamin Sesko’s movement, Dwight McNeil sent a low cross straight to the center of the penalty box.]

If it were Lorenzo Lucca, he could have sent a higher cross more leisurely and then overwhelmed it with his overwhelming aerial ability, but if it were Benjamin Sesko, it would be better to send it low, trusting in his speed.

The ball, which flew with the instantaneous judgment of Dwight McNeil, who is called Burnley’s jewel, was hit squarely by the foot of Benjamin Sesko, who was running in, and was shot into Manchester City’s goal.

[…Burnley is good at winning the ball through strong pressure and launching quick counterattacks, but they are also good at circulating the ball, shifting it left and right, and then stabbing it in directly.]

[…But their passing play is not as sophisticated as Manchester City or Coach Graham Potter’s Chelsea.]

The first panelist nodded at the other panelist’s point.

[…Of course. But Burnley doesn’t need to have such sophisticated passing play. After all, the key is forward pressure and counterattacks. They only need to be able to circulate the ball and create space as much as they need to when they need to. It’s enough if you have a clear advantage in their primary tactics and can replicate other teams’ advantages to the extent necessary.]

The host and the remaining panelists, who were listening to the panelist’s passionate argument, slowly nodded their heads.

[…So, in the case of Liverpool, they are stronger in forward pressure and counterattacks than Burnley, and their passing play is better than Burnley, so can we assume that they will continue to be at a disadvantage?]

The first panelist shrugged at the host’s question.

[…You could see it that way. Anyway, Burnley was only able to win against Liverpool when the team’s organization reached a certain level or higher. But they can be considered almost a nemesis to teams that play possession soccer.]

[…Hmm…]

Some of the panelists still had expressions that were not completely convinced, but they did not seem to have any intention of raising objections to the analysis in the big picture.

[…Anyway, if Burnley has emerged as the nemesis of teams that play possession-based soccer, then the next game will be really exciting.]

The host said with a smile.

[…Because they will meet Barcelona, the home of possession soccer, in the Champions League semi-finals.]