I Am Jose

"Mallorca takes the lead away from home! This is Tristan's third goal in consecutive matches, while his total league goals for the first half of the season were only five! In just two matches, Tristan's goals have already exceeded half of his total for the first half of the season. This proves that José knows how to use Tristan more effectively than his predecessor Gómez. His ability to activate such a skilled striker makes José look superior to Gómez. For the Spanish national team, Tristan's rise seems to solve the concern about lacking a central forward for the upcoming European Championship this summer."

The commentators began to acknowledge José's influence in his second match as coach. Regardless of whether his father was the president of Mallorca, José had achieved victory in his first match, and now his team was leading again. It was clear that this success wasn't just a stroke of luck.

However, if we're talking about luck, Mallorca's 3-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano in the first half did have some element of fortune. Despite José's tactical setup suppressing Rayo Vallecano's offensive play, the fact that they never created good shooting opportunities showed that Rayo Vallecano had bad luck. In this match, however, Numancia seemed to have better luck.

In the previous match, young goalkeeper Franco was not heavily tested. The few shots that Rayo Vallecano managed to direct at the goal were weak and easily saved. The most threatening shot hit the crossbar, so Franco had some good fortune, especially considering the nervous tension he must have felt.

But in this match, Franco was given more opportunities to show his skills.

After Tristan scored first, Numancia's attack became more aggressive. Earlier, they had been content to fight Mallorca to a draw, as it didn't matter much to them. But now, trailing by one goal, the Numancia players knew instinctively that it was time to attack.

Mallorca's defense was solid, but solid doesn't mean invulnerable—there would always be vulnerabilities. The goal was to reduce the number of threatening shots from the opponent and prevent them from shooting in dangerous areas.

In the last match, Mallorca had successfully shut down Rayo Vallecano, partly due to their strength and partly because of luck. But in this match, that same luck wasn't with them anymore.

In the 21st minute, Numancia's forward received a pass from a teammate, controlled the ball inside the box, and shot immediately before Nadal could block him. Franco made a flying dive to block the shot, which rolled toward the sideline. A Numancia player quickly intercepted it and crossed the ball back in.