Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 115

August 11, 2028.

Wembley Stadium, London.

With many fans eagerly anticipating the new season filling the stadium,

the match between the two teams that lifted trophies last season was about to begin.

The FA Community Shield.

A kind of opening-day festival where the league champion and the FA Cup champion face off.

In reality, the Community Shield doesn’t hold much significance.

It’s a big match because it’s a showdown between champions, but it feels more like a pre-season exhibition game.

No team goes all out to win this game.

Especially since both Manchester City and West Ham, who are playing today, had quite a few players who participated in the Euros, they weren’t named in the starting lineup.

Thanks to that, a somewhat lackluster starting lineup was being introduced.

Both teams felt like they were fielding a mix of second-string and reserve players.

However, that doesn’t mean it will be a meaningless game.

Because both teams have something they want to confirm through today’s game.

West Ham wants to confirm Bailey’s potential through today’s game.

Even if many of the main players are missing, Manchester City is still Manchester City.

If Bailey shows a good performance against Manchester City, they can have expectations for him even after the season starts.

Bailey, who knows that today is a kind of test for him, is full of motivation.

Especially,

‘I’ll become a key player like him, too.’

Bailey wants to show more because of Johan sitting on the bench.

To be honest, he’s too embarrassed to say it out loud right now.

Bailey considered Johan a rival.

Don’t they have many similarities?

They’re the same age, attackers, and from the academy.

Of course, as he said, he knows it too.

The gap is too big to call them rivals.

He’s just made it to the first team, and that guy has already achieved so much.

But, he can catch up from now on.

Because he’s been training hard while that guy was resting.

If Bailey is being tested at West Ham, Stefan Granach is being tested today at Manchester City.

Granach joined Manchester City as a replacement, not quite a replacement, for Johan.

Because of that, Granach feels he has to show a performance comparable to Johan so that there’s no regret about not signing Johan.

Perhaps because of that.

The game started to unfold in a way that was unexpectedly intense.

Both teams are being quite aggressive.

Joshua Bailey took two shots for West Ham, and Granach took two shots for Manchester City as well.

Both players are eagerly aiming for the goal.

Among them, Bailey was the first to score.

Manchester City’s defense wasn’t at its best, but even so, Bailey’s scoring scene was quite admirable.

The dribbling that broke through the left flank, and the finishing ability to take responsibility for the finish.

“Yo, that kid’s good too?”

“Hey, kid. No, Sir Johan. Aren’t you itching to get out there?”

“No.”

The West Ham bench applauded.

The main players were all sitting and watching the game with smiles.

Certainly, the Community Shield is a competition without pressure, so it’s one of the few games where you can watch with a smile like this.

However, Manchester City’s position seemed a little different.

“Huh?”

“What? Are they really trying to come out?”

The Manchester City bench started to get busy.

Around the 25th minute of the first half.

The players who were sitting on the bench started to warm up.

All of those players are main players.

Well, they can come into the game to check their condition, not necessarily to win the game.

But if that’s the intention, they usually start and get substituted out early.

The fact that they’re preparing to be substituted in means that Bailey’s goal has scratched Manchester City’s pride.

“Looks like they don’t want to lose.”

“Hmm. We feel the same way.”

After that, in the 35th minute of the first half.

Manchester City made a fairly early substitution.

Manchester City is bringing in three key players at the same time.

And, after that.

The game was suddenly reversed.

Five minutes after the substitution, in the 40th minute of the first half, Manchester City scored the equalizer.

Three minutes later, they even scored the go-ahead goal, turning the game around in an instant.

West Ham was reeling from Manchester City’s changed performance.

“Hmm…”

The players on the bench could no longer watch the game with smiles.

Among the West Ham players who started today, almost half were youth players.

To the main players, they were like much younger siblings.

As those younger siblings started to get dominated, the older brothers couldn’t just sit back and watch comfortably, even if it wasn’t an important game.

And,

That seemed to be the same for Manager Schmidt.

“You guys.”

“Yes.”

“How about playing a bit in the second half?”

“We’re good. We want to play.”

“I was getting antsy just watching anyway.”

At Coach Jamie’s question, the players sitting on the bench immediately took off their training jackets.

The older brothers are stepping up for their younger siblings.

Even if it’s another team, they can’t just lose to Manchester City with a smile.

“Sir Johan? What are you going to do?”

“…”

That was the same for Johan.

Johan also took off his jacket and stood up from the bench without a word.

The game that started lightly, as the saying goes, didn’t seem like it would end lightly.

*

The game caught fire unexpectedly.

The second half was about to be played with both teams at their near-best strength.

That meant that Manchester City had taken control of the game and started to dictate the flow.

Manchester City is trying to attack in various ways based on their passing play in the midfield.

Unlike last season, Manchester City, which now has a striker in the box with the signing of Granach, is not hesitating to attempt simple long ball plays or crosses from the flanks.

Manchester City’s attack was certainly threatening.

However,

West Ham’s defense has also changed from last season.

“What are you guys doing! Line up! How did you guys get 2nd in the league with this kind of defense!”

Bellamy, who was playing his first game in a West Ham uniform, kept shouting at his teammates.

Chelsea and England’s regular starter.

Bellamy’s class was certainly much higher than the existing players, and naturally, as Bellamy became the leader of the defense, the foundation was being laid.

He usually looks playful, but Bellamy is a player with a stronger desire to win than anyone else.

The reason why West Ham was able to achieve good results last season was because of their attacking power, led by Johan, not because of their defense.

Defense is rather West Ham’s weakness.

Bellamy’s presence was what could fill that weakness.

The players who played in the first half were impressed as they felt the atmosphere change drastically when Bellamy came in.

Certainly, he’s a player with a lot to learn from.

“Aaaagh! I got stepped on! I got stepped on!”

“Beeeep-!”

…But, do we have to learn that too?

Well, it’s a foul, but Bellamy, who was slightly stepped on, fell down, exaggerating as if he had stepped on a Lego.

Thanks to that, the opponent is given a warning.

It’s amazing.

In the age of VAR [Video Assistant Referee, a system to review decisions by the referee using video footage].

The right to attack passed to West Ham thanks to Bellamy’s performance.

As expected, Manchester City is pressing hard from the front.

West Ham, who had been struggling to build up since the middle of the first half due to this pressure.

However, it was different now.

Because Capello, who could break through the press, had come in.

The ball is connected to Jonathan Neeson on the right thanks to Capello.

However, it’s still not easy.

Manchester City’s defense and midfield are narrowing the gap in an instant.

Manchester City was tightening the noose as if they would never allow an invasion from the side to the center.

But, the important thing is.

The narrower their gap, the more welcome it was for West Ham.

*Whoosh!*

Neeson passes the ball back.

The ball returned to Capello, and Capello played a switch pass to the opposite side without even looking.

*Thwack!*

*Swoosh!*

The one who received that ball was Johan, who was facing the opponent’s fullback in a wide space.

The one blocking Johan is Manchester City’s right back, Juan Militto.

Militto is the league’s best right back last season and was also selected for the PFA Team of the Year [Professional Footballers’ Association Team of the Year].

In other words, he’s the best right back in the Premier League.

In fact, after he was substituted in, Bailey was not showing the same performance as in the early part of the first half.

But,

*Tap tap tap*-

Unlike when he was facing Bailey.

Militto, who doesn’t even think about rushing in, is only cautiously backing off.

Johan dribbled the ball and slowly pushed forward,

*Tap!*

He suddenly turned towards the center.

Still, Militto’s reaction was good.

Whatever the reason, he was able to keep up to a reasonable extent because he was maintaining his position.

But, the problem was what came next.

*Tap!*

Johan, who seemed to be cutting into the center as it was, cut back once again.

And at that moment, Wembley was filled with gasps.

*Thud!*

Because Militto fell straight down like he had been hit with a tranquilizer gun due to the successive direction changes that followed instantaneously.

Do the foxes dare to act like kings because there are no lions?

I can’t stand that sight.

As West Ham’s main players were brought on, the game started to heat up once again.