Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 41

41: Why is Rose Derby here?

The exact spot Burnley was aiming for.

“Ugh!”

Manchester United’s center-back, Raphael Varane, who passed the ball, and Scott McTominay, the defensive midfielder who was supposed to receive it, both yelled simultaneously.

Instead of Hannibal Mejbri, who couldn’t play due to being a Manchester United player, Jacob Ramsey, who started as a central midfielder, intercepted Raphael Varane’s pass intended for Scott McTominay.

“Karim!”

Immediately after winning the ball, Jacob Ramsey passed it to Burnley’s right-winger, Karim Adeyemi, who was surging in from the right, and then sprinted towards Manchester United’s penalty box himself.

Burnley’s young, energetic players quickly exploited the vast space in front of them, sprinting forward on the counter.

Manchester United’s players, who had been relentlessly attacking, were caught off guard by the sudden counter-attack near their own goal and scrambled to recover.

Manchester United’s left-back, Luke Shaw, rushed to close down Burnley’s right-winger, Karim Adeyemi, who was dribbling the ball at high speed down the right.

“Jacob!”

The moment Luke Shaw got close enough that he couldn’t turn back, Karim Adeyemi didn’t hesitate and passed the ball sideways to Jacob Ramsey, who was making a run into the penalty box on the same line as him.

Jacob Ramsey, receiving the ball, shrugged off Scott McTominay, who was trying to mark him closely, with a shoulder check and a deft touch, and charged towards Manchester United’s goal.

Scott McTominay, Manchester United’s defensive midfielder, couldn’t stop Burnley’s central midfielder, who had already built up a head of steam.

The moment Manchester United’s center-backs, Raphael Varane and Harry Maguire, converged to block Burnley’s penetrating central midfielder.

Jacob Ramsey, with a clever backheel pass, laid the ball off to Burnley’s right-winger, Karim Adeyemi, who had drifted to the left edge of the penalty box, and then moved out of the way.

“Block the shot!”

Manchester United’s goalkeeper, David de Gea, barked instructions to the defenders.

Luke Shaw was rushing back from behind.

Scott McTominay, abandoning Jacob Ramsey, turned to pressure Adeyemi.

Raphael Varane and Harry Maguire advanced and spread wide to cut off the shooting angle.

Karim Adeyemi, who had drawn the attention and movements of five Manchester United players, grinned and crossed the ball instead of shooting with his favored left foot.

The ball, arcing at a height that was just awkward for David de Gea to intercept or punch clear, was aimed at Burnley’s central striker, Chris Wood.

Harry Maguire, who was supposed to be marking him, had been drawn out of position to block Jacob Ramsey and Karim Adeyemi, and Manchester United’s right-back, Victor Lindelof, was being occupied by Burnley’s left-winger, Dwight McNeil, who was trying to make a run from the left.

The tall New Zealand striker, who had once again found himself in a perfect, unmarked position, didn’t waste the opportunity.

Whack!

Chris Wood scored his 13th goal of the season, beating goalkeeper David de Gea, who was completely wrong-footed.

“Yes!”

Against the backdrop of booing home fans and Manchester United players protesting to the referee and assistant referee for offside, Hyungmin clenched his fist and cheered for Arthur, who was running towards him.

After Manchester United conceded the equalizing goal, the game became a tighter affair, rather than the previous one-sided attack by Manchester United.

When Manchester United regained possession, they attempted to deliver precise passes into Burnley’s penalty box through Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba, and Luke Shaw, who had pushed forward to support the attack.

On the other hand, Burnley, with their energized midfield trio, pressed Scott McTominay and Manchester United’s center-backs, aiming for a quick counter-attack after winning back the ball.

After both teams traded attacks three or four times.

A turning point came again in the 24th minute of the first half.

Manchester United’s Harry Maguire intercepted a long pass aimed at Burnley’s central striker, Chris Wood, and passed it to Bruno Fernandes, who was already advancing into central midfield.

Burnley’s center-back, Nathan Collins, blocked Bruno Fernandes’ through ball to Cristiano Ronaldo, who was making a penetrating run, with a sliding tackle.

“Well done!”

Hyungmin and Arthur shouted from the sidelines, praising the young player’s excellent defending, but their praise was short-lived.

Unfortunately, the ball deflected off Nathan Collins and landed back in front of Bruno Fernandes, who was continuing his run.

And the Portuguese attacking midfielder delivered an elegant right-footed pass to the feet of Manchester United’s left-back, Luke Shaw, who was sprinting towards Burnley’s penalty box from the left.

The moment Burnley’s defense, caught off guard by the sudden switch in the opposing team’s attack from left to right, was thrown into disarray.

“Cristiano!”

The England international left-back called out to the legendary striker leading the team’s attack and sent another cross into the penalty box.

The ball found Cristiano Ronaldo, who had managed to shake off James Tarkowski, who was marking him closely.

You can’t be considered a Premier League-caliber striker if you squander this kind of opportunity.

And the legend from Portugal, who had returned to the club where he had made his name, didn’t hesitate and fired a shot with his favored left foot.

It rippled the back of the net.

“Goal! Another goal~! It’s Manchester United’s number 7! The great name is~!”

“Cristiano Ronaldo~!!!”

While the home fans were celebrating, Arthur kicked the ground in frustration.

“Oh! They scored again!”

Hyungmin, who had been surprisingly calm with his arms crossed, shook his head.

“No. I think that might be offside.”

Unlike the cheering home fans and Manchester United players, the Burnley players focused all their attention on the referee, who had run to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) monitor.

After a lengthy video review, the referee finally returned to the field and signaled for offside, disallowing the goal.

Opportunity comes after crisis, like a law of football.

So, good teams navigate crises effectively and capitalize on opportunities.

Conversely, bad teams crumble under pressure, fail to seize opportunities, and sometimes even manage to turn opportunities into crises.

Fortunately, Burnley was playing like a good team during the first half.

After the referee’s offside decision, the game resumed.

Once again, Burnley’s midfielders, with Scott McTominay as the sacrificial lamb, won the ball and quickly launched an attack down the right.

Burnley’s attacking pattern involved central striker Chris Wood drawing out Manchester United’s center-backs, right-winger Karim Adeyemi exploiting that space, and right-back Matt Lowton providing width on the attack.

“Jacob!”

Matt Lowton, receiving the ball, sprinted along the sideline and, as he approached the corner flag, played a short pass to Burnley’s central midfielder, Jacob Ramsey, who had made a run from the goal line to receive it.

Jacob Ramsey, seeing the ball rolling low across the grass, decided to meet it at the same speed rather than stopping it.

He cleverly redirected the approaching ball by letting it pass between his legs, lightly flicking it with his left heel to guide it towards the inside of the penalty box.

He also planned to turn his body to the left, rotating 180 degrees, to evade the close attention of Manchester United’s left-back, Luke Shaw, who was closing in from behind on the right side.

Thwack!

With a sickening sound of shin guards colliding with bone, Luke Shaw, who had completely misjudged the trajectory of the ball, forcefully struck Jacob Ramsey’s right leg from behind.

“Ugh!”

“Gasp!!!”

Luke Shaw groaned, realizing his mistake, and the crowd at Old Trafford gasped in unison.

Even as his right foot was kicked out from under him, Jacob Ramsey grinned.

The sound of the referee’s whistle, faint in his ear as he lay sprawled on the grass, was as beautiful as an angel’s song.

***

With Chris Wood converting the penalty to score his 14th goal, giving them a 2-1 lead against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Burnley’s locker room was buzzing with energy.

Hyungmin, watching his players excitedly chattering for a moment, stepped to the center of the locker room and lightly tapped the standing tactical board.

“Okay, focus for a moment!”

“Focus! Focus!”

“The coach says to focus!”

Hyungmin hesitated for a moment at the players’ reaction, which was a little slower than usual, but eventually chose to smile.

It’s understandable that they’re excited, considering they’re the underdogs taking the lead against a strong team, especially in an away game.

However, if he rashly dampened that excitement, they could be dominated by an angry opponent throughout the second half.

If this were Burnley under Sean Dyche [former Burnley manager known for a defensive style], they would have retreated into a deep-lying two-line defense with all 10 outfield players camped inside their own penalty box from now on.

However, Hyungmin didn’t have the inclination or the ability to implement such a strategy, so he decided to constructively redirect the players’ energy.

“Okay, everyone did well in the first half!”

The sound of players excitedly praising themselves and each other echoed in the locker room for a moment.

“We’ll approach the second half the same way we did the first. But we need to be careful. Manchester United has been embarrassed in their home game, so they’ll come out with a vengeance in the second half.”

Hyungmin slowly scanned the locker room, trying to make eye contact with each of the seated players.

“Concentrate when defending, and be sharp when attacking, just like in the first half! Manchester United’s organization isn’t fully developed yet, so they’ll struggle to play with precision. If we exploit that weakness, we can win.”

“Alright!”

James Tarkowski, who had taken over as captain in place of the injured Ben Mee, responded as the coach finished his instructions.

“Let’s go show those Manchester guys the spicy taste of country bumpkins!”

“Alright!”

The players cheerfully ran out of the locker room, agreeing with the temporary captain’s rallying cry.

Watching the Burnley players rush out, Hyungmin exchanged glances with Arthur.

“Is that okay? They seem a little too hyped up.”

“It’ll be okay. Maybe?”

Hyungmin, leaving the locker room and heading towards the pitch, pondered for a moment after the game.

Maybe, should I have said ‘perhaps’ instead of ‘maybe’?