Chapter 467: This is Manchester City's Strength, Zidane's Shock!
"Mahrez isn't meant to be used like this, it's such a waste!" Guardiola watched Mahrez working tirelessly on the pitch, trying to help his team, and felt a bit of regret. Mahrez is truly versatile, with excellent technique and awareness. With Leicester City's squad, he really should be developed as the central figure in their attacking front.
However, in this match, Ranieri's usage of Mahrez went completely against this idea, employing him more like a sapper, burdening him with the dirty and exhausting work meant for defensive players. It's not that this approach doesn't work at all, but a player's energy is finite. When Mahrez is overloaded with defensive duties, his capacity to contribute to the offense becomes severely limited. Already struggling for firepower, Leicester's attack became even less threatening and more predictable without Mahrez's full involvement.
Guardiola had already seen through Ranieri's little schemes. Yet, he didn't pay them much heed because he firmly believed that if Manchester City scored another goal, Leicester City's morale would collapse. Leicester's main weakness is quite clear—the midfield lacks toughness, especially missing a defensively strong holding midfielder. If they could find the right player to fill this gap, they might stand a chance at going toe-to-toe with Manchester City and perhaps find opportunities to counterattack.
But in this game, Leicester's midfield was constantly under pressure, unable to control the middle of the park, thus failing to supply their forwards effectively. Consequently, all of Ranieri's tactical setups upfront were essentially in vain. Instead of countering the opponent's strategies, it would be more effective to continue ramping up pressure in the attacking third, denying them opportunities to pass.
After Vardy missed a chance, Ranieri was quite anxious. But upon seeing that Manchester City hadn't made any adjustments yet, he relaxed a bit. It seemed Guardiola hadn't spotted his intent. However, they had waited a long time for that chance, and it was uncertain how long it might take for another opportunity like that to arise. "Manchester City has intensified their pressing upfront!" noted Zidane from the stands, observing that City's tactics had changed after sixty minutes—without any visible signals from Guardiola, indicating this was a premeditated tactical shift.
What was the purpose of this change at the sixty-minute mark? Following the intensified pressing by Manchester City, Leicester City's players found it increasingly difficult to play. The pressing forced them to speed up their passes, and as the pace increased, their accuracy dropped. Within just five minutes, Manchester City had successfully intercepted the ball four times. Given that these turnovers occurred in Leicester's half, their goal was immediately under threat. Out of these interceptions, three led to shots on goal by Son Heung-min, Raheem Sterling, and Sergio Aguero. Although no goals resulted, it left Leicester City's defense rattled, with nearly all players on edge.
Such a scenario was exceedingly dangerous. Continuing to play this way, losing the ball again seemed only a matter of time. Ranieri faced two choices: either stick to the previous tactics, hoping Mahrez and Vardy could turn things around, or make a decisive adjustment, abandoning any unrealistic hopes and strengthening their defense to withstand the onslaught.
If the score had been 0-0, Ranieri might have preferred to fortify his defense. But with Leicester trailing, merely holding off Manchester City's attacks was futile; without scoring, they were just waiting to lose. Half a second of hesitation later, Ranieri clenched his fist, resolved. Despite feeling that continuing at this pace might increase the likelihood of Manchester City scoring first, he had no other option. Falling back to defend might not hold up, especially since Vardy and Mahrez weren't particularly known for their defensive prowess. Properly reinforcing the defense would require substitutions to bring on specialized defensive players.
However, with Leicester behind, like any coach, Ranieri was loath to substitute his main attacking threats. Just then, a scene on the field solidified his determination. In the 69th minute, after a long wait, Leicester finally got another excellent opportunity. Following a successful defensive effort, Theo Walcott surged forward with the ball, evaded the opposition's challenges, and delivered a crucial pass. Mahrez, seeing the ball roll towards him, was elated—his long wait was finally over. He retrieved the ball and, after a slick Cruyff turn to shake off his marker, charged towards Manchester City's half.
The home fans at the King Power Stadium, seeing this unfold, clenched their fists and craned their necks in anticipation. This was the best chance of the second half. If they could capitalize on it, both teams would be back on even terms. On the sidelines, Ranieri and Guardiola simultaneously rose from their benches, both fixated on the field, on Mahrez. Racing forward with the ball, Mahrez also kept an eye on his teammates' movements. Vardy, Leicester's top striker and marked closely by Manchester City, had Van Dijk glued to his side, leaving him no room to receive the ball. Faced with this, Mahrez decided to take matters into his own hands. With the situation being 2-on-2, he confronted Manchester City's defenders. With Van Dijk occupying Vardy, Mahrez had only City's captain, Vincent Kompany, ahead. Although Kompany was central, Mahrez still had ample space on the flank. But as Kompany began moving towards the wing, Mahrez knew continuing forward would lead to an interception.
Thus, the best course of action for Mahrez was to shoot before Kompany could close him down, or find a better opportunity during his run—if, for instance, Vardy found space or a teammate arrived to support. Unfortunately, such a scenario was unlikely. Vardy was tightly marked, and the rest of his team, positioned too far back initially, couldn't catch up in time. Conversely, several Manchester City players were rapidly closing in. This meant Mahrez had to act fast; otherwise, he would be swamped, potentially losing even the chance to shoot.
Mahrez quickly made a decision—to cut inside and shoot.
"Ah, a good choice!"
"Yes, his teammates can't support him, Vardy is tightly marked, Mahrez has to do it himself!"
From the commentary box, both commentators understood Mahrez's decision. Given the overall suppression of their formation, Leicester City couldn't afford to deploy many players upfront.
This meant that during counterattacks, their players had to rely on individual skills to break through.
Although modern football increasingly emphasizes teamwork, we still see top stars, with their exceptional individual skills, single-handedly altering the outcomes of games.
Leicester's opponents have such a player.
Guardiola saw Mahrez's choice and his eyes lit up with anticipation.
He was eager to see Mahrez's performance; cutting inside to shoot is a crucial skill for a top winger.
Among such players, the very best have been coached by Guardiola himself.
Thus, using these players as a benchmark, it's easy to gauge Mahrez's true skill.
Once Kompany realized Mahrez was about to shoot, he moved into action.
He placed his hands behind his back, intending to step forward to block Mahrez's shooting angle.
Kompany was unsure of the opponent's dribbling skills, but having a dribbling wizard in his own team, he was very cautious when facing an inside shot, never rashly committing himself, never giving the opponent a chance to bypass him.
Therefore, blocking the shooting angle and reducing the shooting accuracy was the best choice.
Seeing Kompany's movement, Mahrez realized his intent and shifted the ball sideways, keeping it out of reach.
He aimed to find an angle to target the corner of the goal for a quality shot, but Van Dijk also reacted, abandoning Vardy and stepping forward to close the gap toward Kompany.
This put Mahrez in a difficult position.
Vardy was offside, making a pass to him impossible.
And with no teammates immediately behind to support, if Mahrez didn't shoot now, he would get sandwiched between the two defenders.
He managed just enough of a swerve to shoot directly.
Mahrez was lucky, though both Kompany and Van Dijk tried to block with their bodies, the ball squeezed through them.
But Mahrez's luck wasn't perfect, because right in the gap was Manchester City's goalkeeper, Navas.
With no angle for a corner shot, Mahrez's straight shot was comfortably saved by Navas.
After catching the ball, Navas saw Kroos retreating near the penalty area and tossed the ball to him on the ground.
Seeing Navas's action, Manchester City players, who had been retreating, suddenly halted and reversed, sprinting towards the opponent's half.
Because of Leicester's push forward during the attack, a quick counter was now Manchester City's best chance to score.
Kroos, understanding this, turned and surveyed his teammates' positions, then launched a long pass towards Leicester's left flank.
The pass seemed a bit strong, not landing directly at his teammate's feet but over the heads of both the defender and his teammate, dropping behind them on the grass.
Perfect pass, Toni!
Son Heung-min, sprinting forward and seeing the ball's landing spot, couldn't help but mentally give a thumbs-up.
The pass was spot on!
Had it gone directly to his feet, he would have had to slow down to control it, making it hard to shake off the opposing fullback.
But with Kroos's pass landing behind the defense, Son didn't need to slow down at all; he just needed to speed up to reach it.
In contrast, the opposing fullback, facing away from the ball, would have to turn around to contest it, and even a quick turn takes time—a second or half a second was enough for Son to create a gap.
The opponent realized this too and went straight in, pulling Son down with a wrestling move.
Son was floored, thinking, is this football or wrestling?
Is this even allowed?
Hey, why don't I hear a whistle for a foul?
The referee had the whistle in his mouth, ready to blow, but when he saw Manchester City's number 9 speeding in to collect the ball, he immediately opted for a play advantage gesture and signaled the game to continue.
Aguero, receiving the ball, was immediately pressed by the defenders.
Not daring to keep it long, he quickly shifted the ball to the middle.
De Bruyne, already positioned, took the ball and instantly threaded a through ball back into the box.
It was almost a replay of the first half's action, even the passer was the same.
Of course, the receiver was the same too, Sterling appeared like a ghost in the box, received De Bruyne's pass, and effortlessly slotted it home for his second goal, making it 2-0.
The King Power Stadium fell silent, the Leicester fans in disbelief as the ball rolled into their net.
The transition from attack to defense had been so swift, too fast for anyone to react.
Just seconds before, they were the ones attacking, even close to equalizing.
But in less than ten seconds, their opponent had scored their second goal of the game.
Not only were their hopes of an equalizer dashed, but their deficit had also widened.
"Wow, terrifying counter-attacking speed!"
From the stands, Zidane felt a chill watching Manchester City's second goal.
The efficiency of Manchester City's counter-attack was chilling.
Top teams love to seize counter-attacking opportunities, and how they handle these transitions tests a team's true strength.
After all, elite teams are strong, and once set, positional attacks can hardly break them.
But once the game opens up, vulnerabilities appear.
In clashes between top teams, whoever can best exploit these gaps wins the match.
And now, Manchester City had shown Zidane their fearsome capability to seize opportunities.
If Real Madrid faced this Manchester City unprepared, it would likely spell disaster!
Indeed, beneath the fame, there lies true prowess. This defending champion, Manchester City, is genuinely formidable.
This visit wasn't in vain; the match was well worth the watch!
(End of Chapter)
Friends, if you want to read chapters in advance, subscribe to my patreon.
You can also buy the book if you are only interested in reading the novel.