Football Genius Midfielder System

Chapter 477: Chapter 478: Back in the Golden Boot Race After Just Two Matches!

Guardiola kept checking the clock.

For the first time, he found himself wishing halftime would arrive sooner.

The collapsing press wasn’t working well enough, and Guardiola desperately wanted those extra minutes at the break to come up with another defensive solution.

Strangely, though, time seemed to be crawling.

Guardiola stood on the touchline looking as though he were directing his players, but in reality, every so often he would glance up at the clock or ask one of his assistants whether it was almost halftime.

The 43rd minute!

“Mac Allister, just push higher up. Let Alisson play directly from the back.”

“Stop worrying about the way they’re pressing. It doesn’t matter. They can’t stop us from playing out!”

Grealish had already been running himself into the ground trying to carry out his defensive assignment, pressing either Mac Allister or Rodri.

But Alisson and Van Dijk could also distribute directly from the back.

Grealish was starting to run out of energy because even if City’s front three could all execute the same collapsing press at once, Liverpool had far more than three players in midfield and defense who could play the ball out.

Alexander-Arnold could pass too, and with exceptional accuracy.

Every time City pressed down on the player Liverpool looked ready to use, that player simply moved the ball somewhere else.

Then another Liverpool player would take over the buildup, with almost the same effectiveness.

“Alexander-Arnold is up against Foden and plays it back to Alisson. Grealish charges forward!”

“Alisson gives it to Van Dijk, Van Dijk pushes it into Rodri. Look at how hard Jesus is running, but Rodri simply slips it to Mac Allister.”

“Liverpool are practically passing according to the way City press them. Every time City push down, Liverpool bounce straight back up. They absorb the pressure, then push the ball out again.”

“City can’t break through them. That’s the key!”

Guardiola had already realized why the collapsing press wasn’t working.

They simply weren’t pressing hard enough.

If they couldn’t break through Liverpool’s surface, then Liverpool would keep springing back.

Worse, every time City pushed them down, Liverpool seemed to rebound with even more force, producing cleaner and more effective buildup.

Manchester City’s pressing was actually helping Liverpool play better.

Rodri passed to Mac Allister.

Mac Allister immediately moved it left to Díaz.

Díaz didn’t try to take Walker on.

Walker’s defending really was that good.

Instead, Díaz immediately passed to Núñez.

This time, Núñez decided to shoot himself.

Ederson dived toward the far corner and pushed the shot away.

Manchester City’s goal was still under constant pressure from Liverpool.

After Guardiola asked his assistant for the time for what felt like the hundredth time, the referee finally blew for halftime.

The Etihad fell almost completely silent.

You could practically hear the Manchester City players breathing through the screen as they walked back toward the locker room.

Every one of them looked exhausted.

Then the camera found Leo.

Of all the players on the pitch, he was the only one who wasn’t gasping for air.

If anything, he looked as though he couldn’t wait for the second half to begin.

And yet the statistics showed that this 23-year-old had not only been the best player on the pitch, but had also covered more ground than anyone else.

“Tell me, how are you supposed to play against someone like that?”

“Hopefully Guardiola can come up with something else during halftime. He’s already done a very good job, but Liverpool and Leo have simply been better.”

Klopp made only one substitution.

Salah replaced Díaz.

Gakpo moved over to the left, while Salah took his place on the right wing.

Cancelo, who had already spent the first half dealing with Gakpo’s attacks, would now have to face a completely fresh Salah.

Inside the Manchester City locker room, Guardiola explained his new second-half plan to Cancelo.

“Our pressing has worked to some extent, but not enough because we haven’t broken through Liverpool’s buildup.”

“We need more pressure.”

“And Cancelo, you can give us that.”

“In the second half, don’t worry so much about staying back defensively. When the forwards press, go with them.”

“Use your speed and attacking ability to add another man to the press.”

“We need to completely cut off Liverpool’s buildup from the back, then hit them on the counter.”

“Last season, we took the lead against Liverpool and then let them equalize. It happened in both matches.”

“Now they’re the ones ahead.”

“But we’re not going out there just to equalize.”

“We’re going to turn it around.”

Guardiola made no substitutions.

The second half began.

The 59th minute!

“Alisson gives it to Van Dijk in Liverpool’s half. Manchester City are still using the same pressing system, but Cancelo is flying forward now!”

“Guardiola wants his fullback joining the press as well?”

As Cancelo charged forward, Grealish, Foden, and Jesus all pressed at the same time.

Manchester City immediately created far more intense pressure against Liverpool’s buildup.

Guardiola had barely begun to think it was producing the effect he wanted when Leo spotted the opening.

Cancelo had pushed forward.

Stones had moved over to deal with Salah.

That effectively left only Bernardo Silva tracking Leo.

De Bruyne was still nearby, but compared with Leo, neither of them had enough pace.

As long as Salah could keep Stones occupied on the right, Leo could attack that same side and run onto a long ball from the back.

Liverpool didn’t need to keep playing short passes anymore.

Leo immediately took off.

At first, he didn’t look behind him.

He curved his run around Salah, shook off Bernardo Silva, and accelerated down the right.

Only then did he turn his head toward Alexander-Arnold.

Bernardo Silva was undoubtedly one of the hardest-running midfielders around.

Unfortunately for him, he was chasing the hardest-running midfielder of all.

“Alexander-Arnold launches a long ball from the back!”

Alexander-Arnold’s passing ability must have come at the expense of his defending.

Otherwise, there was no explanation for how accurate it could be.

Leo had only glanced back once during his run.

By then, Alexander-Arnold’s long pass had already sailed beyond Stones and Bernardo Silva before dropping perfectly onto the white line at the right edge of the penalty area.

Laporte was Leo’s teammate with Spain.

He knew Leo extremely well and had a good idea of what he would do next.

So Laporte sprinted toward the dropping ball and threw himself into a full leap.

If he couldn’t stop Leo on the first touch and allowed him to take possession, there would be no second chance.

Laporte jumped.

Leo, approaching from nearby, took a few quick steps and launched himself into the air as well.

He reached the ball just above Laporte and headed it first.

The touch was perfectly weighted.

Leo knocked the ball only a short distance forward, just enough to send it bouncing beyond Laporte.

Then Leo landed.

The moment his feet hit the turf, his knees bent sharply under the downward force.

A split second later, they straightened again.

He sprang forward.

Leo and the ball seemed like two springs of different sizes, one high and one low, one to the left and one to the right, both bouncing past Laporte.

Ederson saw Leo preparing to control the ball and immediately rushed off his line.

He wanted to smother it before it reached Leo’s feet.

But Leo, who had looked ready to bring the ball down, suddenly chipped it instead.

Ederson had only just started coming out.

That tiny window was enough.

Leo lifted the ball toward the center of the goal, dropping it over Ederson and into the net.

“Seven goals in two matches!”

“Kane and Salah are leading the Premier League scoring charts with only twelve!”

“After missing so many matches through injury, Leo has forced his way back into the Golden Boot race in just two games!”