Football Genius Midfielder System

Chapter 475: Chapter 476: That Long-Awaited Feeling of a King!

“Over all these Premier League seasons, I think plenty of teams have already proven one thing through experience. Trying to stop Leo simply by throwing more defenders at him doesn’t work.”

“The more players you crowd around him, the more it actually highlights how good his dribbling is against multiple defenders.”

“That’s why I don’t think Guardiola will rely on something that simple to stop him. He must have something better prepared.”

Scholes believed Guardiola had to have another tactical plan in mind. That was why he had started Grealish and used him through the middle.

From the opening whistle, Liverpool had pinned Manchester City back through intelligent passing and well-organized attacking play.

But then City’s pressing began to change.

Grealish started dropping back through the center, almost like a springy sponge cake being pressed down with one finger.

At first, the surface wouldn’t break. It would simply sink inward wherever the pressure was applied.

Manchester City’s shape began doing exactly that, collapsing inward before pressing back out again.

The 25th minute!

“Mac Allister is trying to offer Rodri an option again, but Grealish is pressing him! Rodri can’t play it into Mac Allister now. He needs another passing lane!”

Grealish’s deeper positioning was specifically designed to cut off Mac Allister and force Rodri to move the ball elsewhere.

Guardiola believed that if City could prevent Mac Allister from helping Liverpool move possession through midfield and out from the back, they could at least relieve some of the pressure.

Mac Allister kept moving, trying to shake Grealish off.

But Grealish stayed with him successfully.

Rodri looked toward Leo again.

Klopp’s current setup didn’t require Leo to drop deep to receive the ball, so he was staying much higher up the pitch.

At first, Joe Gomez looked like the only available option.

Rodri appeared ready to pass directly to him, but once the ball left the turf, it instead sailed toward Díaz.

By the time Díaz controlled it, Robertson had already surged forward.

The two began combining down the flank.

Klopp was delighted.

This was exactly what made Rodri so valuable.

“Díaz combines on the wing, then the ball comes back inside. Now Mac Allister has it!”

Grealish kept following Mac Allister, but the deeper he chased, the farther he was being pulled toward his own penalty area.

Then Mac Allister received the ball just outside City’s box and quickly moved it to Gakpo.

On his first touch, Gakpo actually chose to cut inside.

The movement was still a little forced, but he immediately followed it with a shot.

He lowered his body almost all the way toward the turf, trying to drive through the ball while keeping the effort on target.

After striking it, Gakpo completely lost his balance and dropped straight onto the ground.

Leo watched the shot fly toward the far post.

Ederson couldn’t reach it.

But the post did his job for him.

The ball crashed against the woodwork.

“Doesn’t that cut inside look familiar?”

“A Dutch player cutting in from the right. Gakpo’s dribbling still looks a little awkward, but at least he’s not getting his feet tangled anymore.”

“And that was a beautiful strike. He nearly gave Liverpool the lead!”

Leo walked over, patted Gakpo on the head, then returned to his attacking midfield position looking thoroughly satisfied.

Guardiola’s collapsing press could disrupt Mac Allister’s involvement, but it still couldn’t solve the problem of Rodri’s distribution.

Standing on the touchline, Guardiola began thinking it through.

Before the match, he had believed Mac Allister was Liverpool’s key player in building from the back.

Only now did he realize what he had missed.

Mac Allister wasn’t dropping directly toward the defenders or goalkeeper to receive the ball.

Rodri was always the one finding him first.

That meant Rodri was actually the most important outlet in Liverpool’s buildup.

Guardiola immediately shouted toward Grealish.

“Press Rodri now! Foden, stay with Mac Allister! Lock both of them down!”

Grealish and Foden switched their defensive assignments.

At that moment, Ederson played out from the back.

Stones moved between Laporte and Rúben Dias, received the ball, and carried it forward first to draw Leo toward him.

Then he passed to De Bruyne.

That gave De Bruyne a promising chance to play a through ball.

Bernardo Silva’s movement pulled Mac Allister away, opening space on the right side of Liverpool’s defense.

De Bruyne immediately threaded the ball forward, aiming behind Joe Gomez.

It was a beautiful pass with curl on it.

But Joe Gomez suddenly turned, slid across, and blocked it with his shin.

“Joe Gomez reads it perfectly and cuts out De Bruyne’s pass!”

“That’s exactly why Klopp started him. Gomez has always been a reliable option for Liverpool at both right back and center back!”

After winning the ball, Gomez drove forward himself.

He carried it all the way toward midfield before giving it to Mac Allister.

Mac Allister already seemed to know exactly what he wanted to do next.

The moment Gomez’s pass reached him, he pushed the ball straight toward Leo.

That single pass was enough to make Stones lose his position on Leo.

Leo glanced toward goal.

It was only a casual look.

But that alone made Ederson instantly tense up and set himself.

He knew perfectly well what often followed that kind of glance.

One of Leo’s terrifying long-range strikes.

But Leo didn’t shoot.

Instead, he passed to Gakpo.

Gakpo carried the ball forward and tried to cut inside again, only for Walker to block the route this time.

Gakpo protected possession and played it back to Robertson.

Robertson received it and immediately pushed the ball toward Leo.

It was almost identical to the pass Mac Allister had just used.

This was a specific passing pattern Klopp had designed for Leo.

Whenever any Liverpool player saw space opening in front of him, they were supposed to push the ball forward into that area for Leo to attack.

The pass itself wasn’t long.

It simply knocked the ball a few yards ahead, far enough for Leo to accelerate onto it.

That allowed him to use his explosive speed over short distances to escape whichever defenders were around him.

Once again, Bernardo Silva and Stones couldn’t keep up after Robertson’s pass.

Normally, the moment Leo stopped the ball, Stones and Bernardo would have about a second to recover and close him down again.

But this time, Leo reached Robertson’s pass and looked up at goal once more.

Then he struck.

A thunderous shot.

It was probably the highest Ederson had ever had to leap.

And it was also one of the most beautiful long-range goals Leo had ever scored.

It might even have been the loudest Gullit had ever shouted.

“Leo scores an absolute wonder goal!”

“Manchester City are breached! Liverpool take the lead!”

After scoring, Leo casually ran his left hand through the hair at the back of his head.

Then he strolled toward the side stand and waved to the Liverpool supporters with the ease of someone taking a walk after dinner.

He looked far too relaxed for a man playing against the league leaders.

“That long-awaited feeling of a king!”

“You can’t fake something like that.”

“It only appears in a true king.”

“And right now, that’s exactly what Leo looks like!”