Breath of The Interferer - Chapter 112
Only Noblemtl
#112 – Breath of the Interferer_Key – 1690752
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An opponent I have never defeated
On November 23, Notts County faced Everton away. Cha Bum-soo, Kim Si-woong and Hector were left out of the starting lineup. They were in poor condition after returning from a national team trip. There were also significant changes in Everton’s starting lineup.
Turner was also not in good condition, but he could not bring himself to raise his carrier. If you look at the stats alone, it is not a big problem to play the carrier. However, considering the lack of experience and the psychological stability of the players, Turner, who is in bad condition, is actually better.
Notts County remain second in the league after a 3-3 draw away to Chelsea, level on 24 points but ahead of Chelsea on goal difference. The current rankings are meaningless as ninth place is on 20 points, but Notts County fans are delighted with their team’s leap forward.
On December 1st, Notts County will face Liverpool away. Notts County has won all of their matches against Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham. They even won against Manchester City and Tottenham when they were in the fourth division. Of course, only the savage knows the truth about their victory.
However, Kishin’s Notts County has no memory of winning against Liverpool. After much deliberation, Kishin excluded Gray and Jeremy from the starting lineup. The two are not suitable for Liverpool, which uses rapid breakthroughs, powerful passing, and all-round pressure as its weapons.
Kasper was chosen as the right fullback. This is because Kim Si-woong is not in good physical condition. He had a slight fever and a headache, so he was given a rest. Homan was selected as the right winger and Hector was selected as the left winger. Bonavich and Renault were selected as the attacking midfielders, but Kishin asked them to focus on defense.
The 4-1-4-1 formation is not one that Notts County often uses. Cha is physically weak and does not often benefit from physical combat. However, Liverpool’s Henderson, Chamberlain, and Emre Can are not physical players, so Cha should be able to do well without the help of Gray or Benjamin.
Liverpool has put forward their favorite 4-3-3 formation. However, Liverpool’s formation is not very meaningful, as there are frequent changes in positions and each player plays several roles. These are players that are highly coveted by the players who do not have their own tactics, but it is difficult to even dream of signing such players due to Notts County’s financial situation and reputation.
As the game began, Notts County pressured Liverpool with a strong attack. Liverpool was flustered in the beginning, perhaps because they did not expect Notts County to come out with a 4-1-4-1 formation that focused on attack. In particular, Homan and Kasper alternately crossed from the right, and in the center, Hunter, Hector, Renault, and Bonavich threatened Liverpool’s goal. When the defense was centered on Notts County’s right, Benoit came up like a ghost to the left and crossed.
In Liverpool’s attack, all but Hector and Hunter were deployed to defend. Liverpool’s two full-backs, Arnold and Robertson, also participated appropriately in the attack, making the hearts of Notts County fans sink.
‘The first team to score a goal wins.’
Many people probably thought the same thing. Liverpool and Notts County are currently in a tight match. The side that concedes the goal first will change. Then, the side that scores can respond to the opponent’s change with ease. The control of the game will go to the side that scores.
The on-site command was also quiet. Either they are doing well or there is no answer at all. Liverpool’s famous manager Klopp seems to have the same thoughts as Kishin, and he is watching the game with his arms folded silently.
As the ball went to Salah’s feet, Black’s whole body tense up. He erased all the distracting thoughts in his head and focused on the one-on-one with Salah. In the past, he struggled to block the pass and was broken through countless times. Most of the time, it was resolved well with the cooperation of other players, but there were also many times when it directly led to goals.
Black reacted quickly to Salah’s shot and blocked the ball with his left foot. The ball hit Black’s foot and rolled out. Unfortunately, the player who caught the ball was Liverpool’s Emre Can. He is the player Renault should have marked in the defensive situation, but he is now alone in a no-man’s land with the ball.
Black resisted the urge to run forward. The moment he moved forward, the ball would be poked inside and Salah would shoot the ball leisurely. Emre Can looked at Salah first, but when he saw no opening, he looked for Mane, who was marked by Kasper at the far post.
Kasper is not a player who lacks defensive skills. He has problems with defensive positioning and not being able to return in time after overlapping, but his defensive skills are not much different from Kim Si-woong’s. In addition, he is 183cm tall, so he can head the ball to Mane first.
However, he was unable to head the ball as he had intended because Mane jumped up and bumped into him. Kasper’s header unfortunately landed in front of Liverpool’s number 9 Firmino. Firmino took a shot without delay.
It was a very sharp shot, but Turner touched the ball with his fingertips. However, it was such a close shot that he only touched it. The trajectory did not change much, and the ball only had a little spin added to it.
Kishin closed his eyes without realizing it, but opened them again right away. It was because he thought the players might be looking at him. Turner, who had fallen to the ground, also got up right away and encouraged the defenders loudly. Turner used to be quiet during the game, but he showed a lot of positive changes this season.
Firmino’s defender, Cantu, was hitting the grass with his fist. Cha Bum-soo, Turner and Black approached Cantu and comforted him. Looking towards the attackers, Bonavich was talking to Hunter, Renault and Hector.
After conceding a goal, Kasper and Beno became more active in the attack. Liverpool’s counterattack involved at least two of Salah, Mane and Firmino. Kishin called Cha Beom-soo and gave instructions.
“Let Black mark Salah. If Salah is not there, let him mark Firmino. Mane is not in good condition, so put him last in the rankings.”
But Kishin soon regretted his decision. Notts County had only four defenders to counterattack five players. Renault dribbled and lost the ball to Henderson. Benoit quickly returned, but Kasper failed to return.
In that situation, Mane received a penetrating pass from Chamberlain, dribbled past Turner, and scored a goal. It was a situation where it was almost certain that a goal would have been conceded even if Mane had been marked and another player had been missed, but Kishin blamed himself for it, thinking it was his own misjudgment.
“When you cross in the second half, aim for Bonavich, not Hunter.”
Hunter was tied up by Dutch central defender Van Dijk. Although their physical and physical abilities were similar, their ability to take up space was too different. All the threatening headers came from Hector or Bonavich. Today, Kishin had hopes for Bonavich, who was sharp in positioning.
Fortunately, unlike Mane’s time, this time Kishin’s choice was correct. Bonavich headed Kasper’s cross to score a goal. Liverpool, who had been taking a slightly defensive stance, suddenly changed and strengthened their attack again.
Liverpool have at least one game every season where they score three or four goals and then lose or draw. Most of these disasters happen away from home, but they do happen at home. As the saying goes, a person who is surprised by a pot lid is surprised by a pot lid, and Liverpool immediately went on the offensive after Notts County scored a goal with difficulty.
Henderson’s accurate long pass found Mane. Mane dribbled from the left and drew Cantu in. Cantu cooperated with Kasper’s defense as he had been broken by Mane more than once. Firmino, who was marked by Cantu, was defended by Black, and Salah was marked by Beno. Fullback Arnold, who had come up to overlap, was not defended.
Mane passed back to the tight defense of Cantu and Kasper. As soon as fullback Robertson received the ball, Cha Beom-soo tackled and pulled the ball away. Although it was from the side, it was such a clean tackle that the referee didn’t even look at the whistle.
Cha Bum-soo immediately passed the ball to Renault. Renault, with his excellent dribbling, was the most reliable. Emre Can and Chamberlain immediately approached Renault. Then Salah and Firmino also ran behind. When Renault struggled to get rid of the two defenders and passed the ball, most of the Liverpool players had already returned to their own half and switched to a defensive posture.
Renault’s ball was passed to Kasper. Salah returned to defending, while Firmino and Mane remained in the Notts County half to press. Cha Bum-soo moved towards Kasper, but Firmino blocked the pass to Cha Bum-soo. Kasper had no choice but to pass to Cantu.
Cantu passed the ball back to Black, who passed it to Beno. Although he escaped Liverpool’s pressure, Liverpool were already waiting for Notts County to attack the defence. Beno passed the ball to Hector, who came down to receive the ball.
As a midfielder, Cha Bum-soo has to receive the ball from the defenders and pass it to the attackers. However, Firmino always follows Cha Bum-soo around and interferes. So the defenders have to find the attackers with long passes or the attackers have to come down and receive the ball.
‘We need a top-class midfielder.’
He wrote it in large letters on a new page of his notebook, folded the page, and marked it specially. Gray is getting better, but he has a weakness in that he is not very quick-witted. In one-on-one defensive situations, he makes quick decisions with instincts like an animal, but he is unable to grasp the situation of the game and make strategic decisions.
Benjamin has a wide range of activities and is good at defense, but he is very lacking in offensive ability. However, when there are two of them, Cha Beom-soo participates in the attack, but in today’s game, only Cha Beom-soo was played.
We need players who can play both defense and offense, like Manchester United’s Pogba or Matic, or Chelsea’s Kant. Cha Beom-soo is unable to develop his attacking talents because he only plays a defensive role due to the team’s circumstances. If we recruit a solid midfielder, Cha Beom-soo can develop his attacking talents. If that happens, Notts County will become even stronger.
Hunter kept an eye on the movements of Bonavich and Hector while fighting for position with Van Dijk, the key player in Liverpool’s defense. And he wondered why Van Dijk was gritting his teeth and fighting for this position.
‘It’s difficult for the goalkeeper to get out, it’s possible to shoot directly with a header, and it’s the best position to pass with a header to Hector and Bonavich, as well as Renault and Romann.’
Hunter has been positioned with the goal of scoring so far. Whenever that happens, the opposing defenders just mark him and don’t bother to push him out. Sometimes, Hunter instinctively takes a position. At those times, the opposing defenders try to push him out of that spot.
‘So that means you’re not afraid of predictable attacks. It’s a good thing you were born a genius.’
If he had said this out loud, it could have caused Van Dijk to be injured and replaced. In the second half, the sorcerer had chosen Bonavich as the attacking spearhead, so Hunter focused on creating space for Bonavich. And then he had an unexpected realization.
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