Chapter 361: Manchester City's Counterattack
After leaving his position as the head coach of Barcelona, Guardiola took over Bayern Munich, the dominant force in the Bundesliga. In a league already dominated by Bayern, Guardiola solidified their supremacy, achieving an unprecedented four consecutive Bundesliga titles. In the Champions League, Bayern Munich reached the semifinals three years in a row.
This season, Guardiola moved to the highly competitive Premier League, leading Manchester City, who had underperformed last season, to three consecutive wins at the start of the season. They scored the most goals among all Premier League teams.
This success made Guardiola and his players very confident. They believed that they could defeat any opponent as long as they didn't face a defensive "bus" parked in front of their goal. In this match, Manchester United didn't play a defensive game, even though their coach, Mourinho, was known for such tactics.
Since that's the case, the current deficit is just a small hiccup. With their strong capabilities, the one-goal difference means nothing.
However, this conceded goal revealed a problem to Guardiola. He walked to the sideline, shouting Stones' name and signaling him to stay in the back, avoiding rash forward runs. There were still many minutes left in the game, and falling into a stalemate now didn't mean anything significant. It wasn't the time to be desperate yet.
Stones nodded, acknowledging that he needed to be more cautious in the upcoming play. Fernandinho was blaming himself, thinking that if he hadn't rushed forward upon seeing Bruno, they wouldn't have faced such issues. Otamendi patted his back, reassuring him not to be too hard on himself.
Sterling stood near the midfield, looking back at the celebrating United players. He initially thought Bruno wasn't anything special and that his team would easily win the match, making it uninteresting. But now he realized he was wrong; the game was indeed very intriguing.
He stopped focusing on his personal duel with Bruno. Instead, he felt that leading his team to defeat United would be a significant achievement.
United fans celebrated wildly, but the United players' celebration was brief. They quickly regrouped and prepared to resume the match.
City's goalkeeper Bravo launched the ball forward towards Iheanacho, and City quickly regained their composure, ready to resume the game.
With a whistle from the referee, the match restarted. City charged forward aggressively, eager to score. They didn't bother passing backward; instead, they pushed forward right from the kickoff.
City's attack surged like a rising tide. Bruno directed his teammates to retreat and defend. He didn't want his team to concede right after scoring. Meanwhile, Bruno was also considering whether they could exploit City's eagerness to equalize and score another goal.
That's Bruno for you. While other players might be content with a one-goal lead against City, Bruno was never satisfied. He didn't think a one-goal lead was a big deal and believed they needed to secure a win.
Unfortunately, City didn't give United much chance. Stones and Otamendi resolutely stayed back, and the full-backs quickly returned to defense after assisting in the attack. Clearly, they were wary of United's rapid counterattacks.
For the next few minutes, United defended with all their might, and City attacked relentlessly. Sterling became active again, with his one-on-one battles against Bruno drawing much attention. In previous duels, Sterling had emerged victorious, though Bruno was getting increasingly tighter in his marking.
This time, as Sterling attempted to dribble past Bruno with his footwork, Bruno swiftly intercepted the ball with a quick tackle.
The stands erupted in surprise. It was the first time Bruno had won a one-on-one against Sterling, and it came so easily and suddenly. Sterling was stunned, and before he could react, Gündoğan had already taken the ball, ending City's attack.
Sterling quickly mounted another attack, receiving the ball on the wing, dribbling past Rooney, and cutting inside. Seeing Bruno approaching, Sterling stopped abruptly, moved the ball to the outside, and accelerated again. This brief pause threw Bruno off balance.
However, Bruno's explosive speed was remarkable. As soon as Sterling started again, Bruno tackled him from the side. Even if it meant committing a foul, he was determined to stop Sterling.
His tackle was successful. Sterling fell to the ground, losing both the ball and his balance. The referee blew the whistle for a foul, but the City players demanded a card. However, the referee shook his head, refusing to issue a yellow card.
A commentator supporting City protested loudly, claiming it was akin to assault and deserved a red card. However, his complaints did nothing to change the referee's decision.
Bruno got up, shrugged, and ran back, not even extending a hand to help Sterling up, which drew boos from City fans for the first time. Previously, both sets of fans were too focused on supporting their teams to jeer the opposition players.
Now, seeing Sterling treated this way, City fans were upset. A commentator supporting Bruno defended the tackle, stating it was a foul but not serious enough to warrant a yellow card, emphasizing Bruno was going for the ball.
In truth, Bruno was sending a message to Sterling with that foul: next time you think about dribbling past me, think twice. As Bruno ran back, he kept his eyes on Sterling, silently signaling his defiance.
Sterling didn't notice Bruno's silent challenge, but he wasn't foolish. He felt the hostility from the tackle, understanding that Bruno wasn't friendly towards him.
Sterling got up, his ankle hurting a bit. Though there was no serious injury, the hard tackle left him in pain. City earned a free-kick about 38 meters from the goal, too far for a direct shot, so they had to cross it. De Bruyne's free-kick was cleared by Maguire, ending City's attack.
Despite leading, United fans didn't celebrate for long. After the initial excitement of the goal, they quickly fell into a deep worry: a one-goal lead wasn't safe!
United fans feared City would equalize. Even though an equalizer would just reset the game, having a lead made United fans anxious, thinking, "Since we're already leading, why should we settle for a draw?"
Indeed, since they were leading, why settle for a draw? Why remain calm if the opponent equalizes? This thought troubled not only the fans but also the players.
Although the team agreed internally to continue attacking after taking the lead to extend their advantage, the fear of conceding an equalizer lingered. They worried City's equalizer would boost their morale, allowing them to take the lead.
These concerns slowly built up in everyone's mind. Initially, it might not have shown any impact, but over time, it became a heavy burden, affecting their thoughts and actions. This was the pressure of leading.
The pressure of leading made the players overthink, and overthinking in such a match wasn't good. At the start of the game, United had a "nothing to lose" mentality, allowing them to play freely and show their best. But now they were in the lead and had something to lose.
With their roles reversed, City now had nothing to lose, while United had the burden of maintaining their lead. This United team still lacked confidence. It wasn't just the young players; even veterans like Rooney felt the pressure.
Over the past few seasons, United had struggled against City, with only one home win in five matches, including a humiliating 1-6 defeat. Every United player knew they had to keep attacking and trying to score, but they were now afraid of losing the ball and being counter-attacked.
This mental burden made their performance less fluid and free compared to earlier. Rashford, initially planning to dribble past Sagna, changed his mind last minute and passed the ball, leading to a rushed, easily intercepted pass by De Bruyne.
City quickly counter-attacked, and if not for Bruno's timely defensive intervention, the turnover could have had serious consequences. Guardiola, having experienced countless major battles over the years, quickly identified United's problem. He intensified City's attacks, aiming to exploit United's indecisiveness and apply more pressure.
During this period, United seemed a bit overwhelmed, while City thrived, showcasing their powerful offensive prowess.
(End of Chapter)
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