Football Genius Midfielder System

When Leo appears in front of you with that mischievous grin, there are only two possible outcomes. Either he takes the ball from you, or he takes the ball from you and then mocks you for it.

Foden was lucky enough to get the first.

He changed direction sharply, trying to use his coordination and agility to get past Leo, but Leo was always one step ahead. With perfectly timed physical contact, he knocked Foden off balance and won the ball cleanly.

It was just like the first time he had faced a young Foden years ago. Even now, dealing with Foden still looked effortless for Leo.

The moment Leo won possession, Trippier, who was supposed to be playing at right back, rushed toward him.

Rice and Henderson both stayed in front of the back line.

England's main approach was actually defensive.

It was completely different from their previous matches. Southgate wanted to beat Spain by defending.

Trippier had no chance of winning the ball from Leo by himself.

Leo carried the ball toward the middle, quickly created distance from Trippier, then calmly laid it back to Rodri.

Rodri passed it on to Busquets, and with Busquets at the heart of their possession, Spain controlled the tempo extremely well.

Kane wasn't pressing Busquets.

Trippier was still the one doing it.

Seeing that, Scholes finally began to understand.

"So that's why Saka and Trippier are both starting. The right flank mainly belongs to Saka, while Trippier is functioning more like an extra midfielder when England defend."

"Southgate clearly still doesn't fully trust Henderson and Rice. Otherwise, he wouldn't be asking Trippier to do this."

"And by setting them up this way, Southgate is basically telling Spain, 'I'm going to defend and hit you on the counter.'"

"You want the ball? Fine, have it. But I've got Kane and I've got Saka. Those are two very dangerous attacking players. Give England even one good counterattacking opportunity, and they can threaten De Gea."

Scholes wasn't quite sure what to make of the approach.

"It's hard to say. But this kind of football is often what wins trophies. It might make the final a quieter, more cautious match, but it also reduces the chances of simply handing the trophy to your opponent."

Spain soon used Busquets' control in possession to draw England's midfield and defensive lines higher up the pitch.

Henderson knew Leo far too well.

They had been teammates for years, so Henderson kept watching Leo's eyes.

He knew that whenever Leo wanted to pass, he would look toward his teammates. Not just in one direction either. His peripheral vision would always be checking the rest of the field.

Whenever Henderson noticed Leo's gaze shift, or even the slightest change in his body shape, he immediately shouted instructions to his England teammates.

"Trippier, cover Walker's right side! Olmo's about to make a run in behind!"

"Maguire, drop back! Get ready for the high ball! Don't let Lin lift one over you! Rice, step up!"

"Foden, get back and help defend! Drop even deeper!"

England were devoting almost all their attention to Leo.

The moment he started carrying the ball, every England player became completely focused on him, watching his every movement.

It was the first time Leo had ever been studied by this many players at once during a match.

Usually, he was the one observing his opponents.

This time, England were the ones treating him as the center of everything.

Whatever happened, they were determined not to give Leo an opening.

In the 13th minute, Busquets carried the ball forward with such ease and composure that he hardly looked like someone playing in a UEFA European Championship final.

Spain's movement flowed continuously.

Rodri, Leo, Morata. Every run connected naturally with the next, while Busquets' passing kept pushing the entire attack forward.

Busquets found Leo.

Leo clipped the ball toward Sarabia.

By the time Sarabia controlled it, Luke Shaw was already closing him down.

Henderson was covering Morata's running lane, while Rice stayed tight to Leo.

Trippier was also moving closer to Leo.

England had every one of Spain's attacking players well covered.

Until Rodri appeared.

Rodri again.

Only moments earlier, he had been sitting deep as a defensive midfielder.

Now he had pushed up into central midfield.

He received the ball from Sarabia, rolled it around the back of his own body, then immediately switched play to the left for Olmo.

Spain completed the switch.

Olmo drove forward with the ball, and Kyle Walker stepped out to defend him.

Saka hadn't tracked back, while Trippier had moved centrally to help deal with Leo.

That left Walker with no choice but to pull wide.

That was exactly why Olmo had carried the ball toward him.

Once Walker was dragged out, Olmo didn't try to beat him.

Instead, he passed inside.

In a three-center-back system, the three central defenders need to stay compact around the penalty area. Otherwise, gaps begin to open.

Now that Walker had been pulled away, Stones suddenly had to cover both the middle and the right side.

A few seconds later, Leo appeared behind Rice.

Rice was already shouting.

"Lin's making his run!"

"Lin's in the box! Someone come help me mark him!"

Henderson chased after Leo.

At Liverpool, he had never needed to chase Leo like this.

And it had been a long time since Henderson had experienced what it felt like to face him in an actual match.

Leo received Olmo's pass and delicately lifted the ball toward goal.

The shot carried heavy spin, curling toward the far post.

Pickford tracked the dropping ball while backpedaling, then leaned backward and managed to claw it away from goal.

It had been inches from going in.

Pickford somehow kept it out.

Sarabia was waiting at the far post and tried to shoot, while Morata also went for the rebound.

But Maguire got his knee to the ball and knocked it behind.

Spain had a corner, but at least Morata had been prevented from turning in the rebound.

"Excellent defending from Maguire!"

"But England still lost Leo."

"They've put almost all their attention into stopping him, and somehow they still couldn't keep track of him!"

Olmo prepared to take the corner.

England were still watching Leo.

At this point, nobody dared claim they could stop him.

Every Premier League star on the pitch was remembering what it felt like to face Liverpool.

What it felt like to face Leo.

Scholes' expression changed slightly.

Against the Netherlands, England had looked confident.

Against Spain, they suddenly looked hesitant and cautious.

"If England play like this, they're not beating Spain."

"I know a lot of these players have faced Lin more than once."

"Kane, Pickford, Maguire, Stones, Walker, Luke Shaw. They're all Premier League stars."

"And over the past few years, every one of them has been dominated in the Premier League by Liverpool with Lin leading the way."

"Now they've reached the UEFA European Championship final, and they're going to be dominated by him again."

"It started in the Premier League, and now it's followed them all the way to the UEFA European Championship final."

"Years have passed, and they still can't escape Lin's shadow."

...

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