Usually, that's how it is.
If you feel the opponent growing impatient, if that becomes visible to the eye, we become more comfortable.
The saying that the more hurried you are, the more you should take a step back is true, but easier said than done.
When hurried, your movements inevitably become larger, and attacks inevitably become simpler.
Because you become consumed by the thought that you have to go forward somehow, and quickly.
From the opponent's standpoint, reading what they're thinking and what choices they're trying to make ceases to be a difficult task.
Therefore, dealing with them inevitably becomes easier.
However, this is the usual case.
Even while it was clear they looked harried... Manchester City felt like a slightly different, not ordinary, exception of a team.
Around the time the first half was already heading toward the 30-minute mark.
Fwaah—!
Fwaah—!
Short passes quickly swept through the midfield before crossing into our half.
The direction was the left flank, toward Grealish.
Usually, or rather even thinking only about our team.
When you have to carry the ball from the back to the forward flank, be it left or right, normally you would use various attacking routes.
But when hurried, those routes very often become extremely simple.
At best... a senior with a good kick like Bonaventura connects it in one go.
Or I move to the center and switch the pass to the flank.
Those are about the only two that come to mind immediately.
But... even while harried, the opponent is taking diverse routes.
Just now, to connect the ball to Grealish on the left, they used a method of circulating short passes on the right to draw us in before switching to the left.
Earlier, they had even broken through the right directly and entrusted the attack to Bernardo Silva.
Despite knowing it to some extent, we couldn't help but concede space on the left.
Honestly, if you consider various circumstances or the difference in quality between us and the opponent, the opponent has no reason to be harried, so one could argue they weren't harried from the start.
In the first leg, Man City definitely controlled the match while possessing the ball slowly, as if playing a rondo with us.
Not continuously attempting attacks like now.
Having seen Man City's usual self, this was something I could be fairly certain of.
Right now, Man City is definitely in such a harried state that you could say they're desperate to score.
Of course, I couldn't know the exact reason.
Citing that this is our home, or that there's still quite a bit of time left, feels... somewhat weak.
Anyway, the opponent is still leading in score, and they're a team with the ability to control the match as long as they're on the grass, whether home or away.
So if I were to hazard a vague guess... there are probably about two reasons.
One is pride.
A team of Man City's caliber can't be without pride and self-esteem.
Moreover, since the opponent is us, whatever the aggregate score may be.
The very fact that they have to change their style to a defensive game might be unacceptable, and being dragged behind 0-1 right now might not sit well with them either.
Which is why they're coming out offensively.
Man City is that kind of team to begin with.
And if it's the second, it's the memory of the first leg.
The opponent scored as many as four goals in the first leg.
And that was only in the second 45 minutes.
Thanks to that memory, they must think that if they simply set their minds to it, they can open our goal as much as they want.
Not attacking and only defending might actually be the stranger thing.
And... hm.
This is just my opinion, but wouldn't the memory of conceding two goals on the counter during that time also be nagging at them?
We're also a team with a punch, so they might think a 1-goal lead is insufficient and want to widen it.
Didn't they just show it?
Anyway, whatever the reason, if Man City comes out like that, it's definitely a chance for us too.
If Man City sets their mind to locking up, it'll get frustrating, but if they come out attacking like this, counter opportunities increase.
Moreover, the more hurriedly they come out, the more plentiful those chances will clearly become.
However... the reason fear comes before the thought that this is an opportunity is, after all, because the opponent's name is Manchester City.
Until now, we've really defended well.
All the defenders and midfielders, including the captain, are moving as one body and holding out.
But there's no telling how long we can keep it up.
It's not that I doubt our defense; it's just that the more attempts on goal there are, the higher the probability of conceding, which is only natural.
And the opponent is Man City.
It's normal to expose gaps when hurried, but even in that state, they're systematically targeting us.
"..."
A strong opponent.
Cannot deny it.
To the extent that I can understand why many predicted we'd lose.
In the first place, we're only one goal away from tying, yet feeling that even that is a long way to go says it all.
Thanks to that, I feel like I'm being tested on my patience.
I had said that what we need most today is patience.
Standing near the half-line watching the opponent's attack like this, I feel my barely held patience draining in real time.
To others, I might look irresponsible.
The rest of the team members are all defending like crazy, while I'm just standing one step away watching.
But the reason I'm standing here is because of the responsibility I must bear.
I have a mission to target the opponent's goal, and a responsibility to succeed in it.
That responsibility is all that's keeping my left foot tied here.
Then what about the right foot?
It must be trust in my teammates.
Because I believe they'll stop them, because I believe they'll deliver the ball to me, I can hold my position.
If I didn't have that... my patience would have already hit bottom, and I'd be over there defending with them.
Then the opponent's defenders wouldn't be near me like now, but would be joining the attack.
Our defense would clearly be even harder.
Tap—!
I subtly shift my position.
From the center to the right, I stand in a more biased position.
Then the opposing defender who had been about two steps away from me follows as well, and the opponent's left wing-back, who had pushed high up, glances behind and takes a step back.
This allows our flank defender to focus a bit more solely on the opponent's attacker.
Torreira, who had been mindful of the wing-back's position, moves to stick to Grealish, thereby cutting off the dribbling angle to drive into the center.
And the next moment.
An opportunity to prove why I'm standing here arrives.
Fwaah—!
With his avenues blocked and nowhere to go, Grealish sent the ball back.
He seemed to be trying to give it to the wing-back behind him... but apparently failed to notice that the wing-back had adjusted his position slightly while he was attempting the attack.
Swish—
Meaning a pass miss.
The wing-back wasn't in the path of Grealish's backpass, and the ball rolled through empty space all the way near the half-line.
The one standing in position to catch that ball is me.
Ta-ta-tap—!
I first dash forward.
And at the same time, I stand at a crossroads where I must choose one of two options.
Whether to take possession while passing the ball back.
Or whether to go on the counterattack.
Since this opportunity came from the opponent's mistake, there are no teammates to help me.
Therefore, to counterattack, I have to do it alone.
Buying time seems like the better option.
However... for some reason, I don't want to choose that.
I trusted my teammates and held my position.
Then what about my teammates?
The fact that they could devote themselves solely to defense—wasn't that in itself an expression of their will to trust me?
The desire to live up to that trust selfishly wells up.
Fwaah—!
The moment I secure the ball, I turn toward the opponent's goal.
And I ready myself to set off on a long journey.
The destination... is the equalizer.
*
[A pass miss... There! It flows to Ri!]
[He's alone... Is he going forward? He's turned around!]
[Three defenders! One attacker! Not a few defenders remain behind mindful of Ri, but Ri seems intent on launching a counterattack!]
[If he's going to do it, he has to do it alone!]
The 30th minute of the first half.
The moment Grealish's pass miss landed at the feet of I Jian, who was near the half-line.
All Man City players begin sprinting toward their own half, and the spectators in the stands rise from their seats with hands clasped.
If one were to ask whether Grealish's pass miss was that fatal, it might not have been.
After all, it was a mistake in the attacking area, so it was far from the danger zone, and since the opponent had been devoted to defense, the attacking numbers weren't great either.
Therefore, Grealish's miss might not have been such a decisive mistake.
If only the one who received that ball hadn't been I Jian.
Ta-ta-tap—!
I Jian pushes the ball up the right half-space.
Only one defender sticks directly to him.
Nathan Aké, in charge of the left among the back three, sticks to and follows I Jian, while the remaining defenders, Manuel Akanji and Rúben Dias, run toward the box.
Even though it's a counterattack situation that must fluster the defense the most, their role distribution and movements look very efficient.
One sticks close to buy time, while the rest cut off space.
So smooth that they'd be worthy of featuring as teaching material in the counterattack chapter of a defensive textbook.
However, there's one thing anyone feels after graduating school and starting working life.
Life is a battlefield.
And that is that reality and textbooks are different.
Tap—!
"Keuk...!"
Nathan Aké, who had been following closely, suddenly begins to dance.
Because I Jian, with the ball at his feet, is hesitating, repeatedly acting as if he'll stop or not.
As if having lost his bearings in that speed control, Aké begins to flounder.
And soon.
Shhhk—!
Aké's left foot seemed to slide across the grass, and soon Aké ends up falling on his bottom.
I Jian, having completely stolen Aké's timing with the stop-start speed control, changed direction toward the center, and Aké, whose timing was stolen, turned his body late and slipped.
The choice of one sticking and two cutting space was a textbook one, but against an opponent like I Jian, they should have gone beyond orthodoxy to applied tactics.
Meaning at least two should have stuck to him.
Aké alone cannot stop him.
[To the inside!]
[Two defenders! They're holding their positions, but—!]
Like a knight who has felled the gatekeeper, I Jian charges toward the box with a menacing momentum.
At this, Dias and Akanji swallow hard and confront I Jian.
Ta-ta-tap—!
I Jian is already in a situation where his speed is fully up.
From the half-space toward the center, he drives in diagonally.
Thanks to that, a structure where he naturally faces Dias first, then Akanji next, is created.
Could Dias really say of Aké, who fell without lasting even a few exchanges, that he was the weakest among them?
Tap—!
[He's beaten him!]
It seems doubtful.
When the distance between I Jian and Dias narrowed to about three steps, I Jian made a motion as if driving to the left from the defender's perspective.
Akanji was behind Dias's right, and no one was on the left.
Naturally, Dias's center of gravity couldn't help but shift to the left.
But I Jian's choice was the right.
Thereupon, Dias lost his balance and tried to stretch his right leg, but I Jian's La Croqueta only cut through empty air.
Tap—!
Now only Akanji at the very back remains.
Akanji is known for being especially good at 1v1 defense, and possessing particularly seasoned tackling ability.
This is a situation Akanji has experienced often.
Thanks to that, he knows from experience.
That in moments like these, he must go in boldly with a tackle.
Of course, since it's inside the box the risk is great, but rather because it's inside the box the tackle can be more effective.
After all, a battle of numbers is a game of catching the opponent off guard.
From the attacker's perspective too, since it's inside the box they'd think the defender can't attempt a tackle, so Akanji's thought was to catch them off guard.
Naturally, it was a choice possible because he was so confident in his tackling.
However.
However, not even Akanji could have known that.
That the opponent opens himself to all possibilities and prepares for them, a timid personality who worries and prepares for even truly trivial things in advance.
All weaknesses can become strengths.
That saying became famous partly because Messi said it, but fundamentally because it's true.
I Jian, who worries a lot, had Akanji's tackle in mind as well.
Swoosh—
Tap—!
The reason Akanji's tackle only shaved the innocent grass was because of that.
The La Croqueta that had felled Dias appeared once more, and in I Jian's wake, only defenders fallen on their bottoms remained like debris.
The only one left is the goalkeeper, Ederson.
No matter how much Ederson is evaluated as being relatively weak in his usual saving ability.
Right now, who could blame Ederson?
Bwwaaang—!
Whooooosh—
Thwack—!!
[Gooooaaaal—!]
[He—he's done it!]
Man City crumbles against a single I Jian.
Yet the reason it doesn't particularly look like humiliation,
[The greatest genius in the world! Brings the match back to square one!]
is because the opponent was I Jian.