Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 270



Only Noblemtl

Episode 270 End

Giovanni thought to himself,

“Even though it’s a beer cup, we’ve already won the EFL, which is a tournament, and the Europa League, which is lower than the Champions League but is the second-best in Europe after the Champions League. All that’s left are the league and FA. Honestly, if we just draw every game, wouldn’t we be the four-crown champions?”

Assuming a draw against Bournemouth in Round 37 and Manchester City win the round, they will be tied at 85 points.

And there is no problem even if we draw in the last match against Manchester City in the 38th round. Since the goal difference is overwhelming anyway, there is no need to worry about Manchester City taking the championship trophy away even if it is tied.

Even if we assume the goal difference is the same, Manchester United has the advantage based on the head-to-head principle.

In the first half, Manchester United won 1:0 against Manchester City.

And the FA Cup final is beyond words.

Because Kim was there, it was okay to go into overtime, and it was okay to go into penalty shootouts. Penalty shootouts were what Kim was most confident in.

You could tell just by watching the existing pre-show.

of course.

“It’s possible in theory, but it shouldn’t happen in reality.”

It was one of those stories where you assume the worst case scenario at your desk. Giovanni thought the odds of that actually happening were very low.

Rising Manchester United draw against Bournemouth? That’s ridiculous.

This is an unexpected event that should not happen, and if it does happen, it will be treated as a major incident that will shake up the Premier League at the end.

Of course, that won’t happen.

“…Fuck.”

And this absurd thing was on the verge of completion right before Giovanni’s eyes.

37R. Bournemouth. Old Trafford. 85 minutes of the second half. Cold sweat is running down my back, my throat is getting dry, sweat is running down my forehead, my lips are getting very dry… .

Giovanni felt suffocated as he watched the lackluster game.

Yes, in theory, you can win the title even if you draw against Bournemouth. As long as you don’t lose to Man City.

However, a point difference of just 2 points and a complete tie are psychologically very stressful.

Above all, Manchester United were leading Manchester City by an overwhelming 12 points before Kim’s injury.

If we made even one mistake and lost the championship, it was obvious whose fault it was.

“Draw wasn’t an option.”

A draw was something that should have happened only in imagination, not in reality.

In these situations, Kim, the striker who always did something, was silent.

Bournemouth marked Kim well, but more than anything, the opposing goalkeeper blocked him well.

Our goalkeeper must have been inspired by our goalkeeper, because he blocked all the shots that seemed like they were going in, and the score was 0:0 even though the game was about to end.

“Coach. I heard that Manchester City and Liverpool have won 5:0 and 2:1 respectively.”

“… … .”

The head coach’s whisper. Giovanni’s expression hardened when he heard the news. If we don’t get even one point here, we will be level on points with Manchester City.

In fact, even if they win, the difference is only 2 points, so even if they draw, they still win the championship, but Manchester United and Manchester City were in different positions.

Manchester United, who reigned as the overwhelming leader, faltered in the final minutes and were caught up.

And Manchester City, who had been steadily rising, narrowed the gap with Manchester United and eventually ended up tied.

It was obvious where I would feel more comfortable and where I would have more momentum.

No matter how much you encourage the Manchester United players, they will inevitably become psychologically discouraged, while the Manchester City players will be incredibly motivated, thinking that they have followed along and that a great comeback is possible if they just do well in the last game.

And that will obviously affect performance.

If that’s the case, there’s no reason why Kim’s first goal shouldn’t come in that game.

so,

“Leave the defense to Kim and let him attack! Get Greenwood and McTominay ready too!”

It’s a do or die situation.

Anyway, our goalkeeper is Kim.

He is not the kind of goalkeeper who would concede the first goal to a team like Bournemouth.

Giovanni trusted Kim and readjusted his tactics to a very aggressive opening.

Yes, at this point, there really isn’t much time left in the game.

The nature of the game begins to change dramatically… .

Manchester United started an attack like never before.

It was so aggressive that there were more Manchester United players than Bournemouth players in the Bournemouth box.

Then Bournemouth also hurriedly changed their tactics.

This is the so-called flexible response.

Bournemouth had been threatening and making Manchester United’s defense nervous with defensive plays and counterattacks, but now they seem to have realized that it is not the time for that and are focusing all their energy on defense.

‘please.’

Giovanni watched the game, swallowing hard.

The game was close, with one goal to go in, but it was a close game.

After regular time, there was extra time. The extra time was 4 minutes. In today’s trend of giving a lot of extra time, 4 minutes is not that long.

‘I wish there was at least a free kick.’

Bournemouth also knew what it meant to give Manchester United a free kick, so they allowed a shot but never gave away a free kick.

And so time continued to pass.

In the short time our players managed to break through Bournemouth’s defense and even make shots, but they were unable to score the most important ‘goal’.

‘Is this how other teams feel when they face our team?’

And finally the referee blew the whistle.

The final whistle. At this crucial moment, Manchester United drew at home.

The final round was an away game in Manchester.

I kept thinking that the winning team would change depending on the results of each round, and my mouth was watering.

“It was a good game.”

The Bournemouth manager came first and offered to shake hands. Giovanni nodded with a bewildered expression and shook hands with him.

‘If only I had done a little better while Kim was away…’

It was so frustrating not to have won even once in four matches. I even became depressed because I thought that was my true ability.

But what’s done is done. Giovanni pressed the back of his head and encouraged the dispirited players.

* * *

‘I’m so upset… .’

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t emotional about the draw against Bournemouth.

I feel even more upset because I feel like we drew a game we should have won.

But that’s okay.

With the strengthening of his characteristics, he no longer gets injured during training, and he is no longer as scared of Manchester City.

Holland? What can you do with something like that? You felt a wall around me and even went through a slump… .

In fact, it was a kind of self-suggestion.

I felt like I would become psychologically very discouraged if I didn’t do this.

Above all, I knew that Holland was gnashing his teeth.

[Elling! After the first half, you showed an uncharacteristic performance in the early second half, missing several goals, but you are flying high again these days. Have you completely recovered from the internal injury you received from the match against Kim?]

[I don’t want to admit it, but I have to admit it. It’s true that my performance was below expectations after the match against Man U because of Kim. It was a psychological issue. And I’m more mature now than I was then. I feel like I’ve grown more since the match against Kim.]

This was the end of such rambling.

[… … I am looking forward to the rematch with Kim. This time, I will definitely give Kim his first goal.]

Even if you harbor venom, you harbor it properly.

Well, since you got ripped off so badly last time, you probably want to make up for it somehow this time.

There was only one way for Holland to redeem himself: score against me. Then he would become a very iconic striker.

It will be famous all over the world.

First of all, that interview was done a long time ago, when Holland had just overcome his slump, so at the time I thought someone else would be the scoring champion.

But no.

Holland has reclaimed his spot as the top scorer in the EPL after scoring a goal that he had not been able to score before.

He is a real monster… .

“Kim. Today was a night that defied everyone’s expectations. Manchester United drew with Bournemouth in the 37th round, and each side shared one point. How do you feel about that?”

And it was time for my interview too.

He had nothing to say to the reporter’s question. He just said, “I’m so disappointed!” in a roundabout way.

“Manchester City won the 37th round with a 5-0 victory, and now the two teams are level on points. Of course, the goal difference is high, so Manchester United can win the game if they just draw. Are you confident?”

“I won’t say much. I’ll show you clearly in this match what it means to not be able to lose even if you want to.”

Then the reporter opens his mouth in surprise. The bizarre behavior that occasionally comes out has erupted again today.

“That’s a great start. It’s going to be a rematch with Holland, so you’re confident?”

“This is not a competition between players. It is a competition between teams. I am not particularly conscious of Holland. Manchester City has many players who are just as good as Holland.”

I gave a reply that was subtly disparaging to Holland. And I had every right to do so.

In the last game, I blocked Holland, and from the outside, I was evaluated as being better than Holland.

It was in a similar vein that Apple did not even respond when Samsung provoked Apple with an advertisement.

In order to break through the proud first place, the skills of the latecomer must be clearly equal to those of the previous one.

‘He is a striker who won the Ballon d’Or this time.’

I smiled awkwardly inside and ended the interview like that.

My interview was talked about all over the world.

The fact that a player of my level is saying something like this is drawing great attention from the world.

Kim Shin-ah also bragged about confidence, but honestly, I wasn’t very impressed.

The second half of the season was really busy because it was the World Cup season.

The 37th round ended in a draw, but with the FA Cup final and the 38th round just around the corner, we had to prepare for the game before we could even get over the disappointment of the draw.

And the next match is the FA Cup final against Liverpool.

When it comes to tournaments, that’s the area I’m most confident in.

* * *

If there was a slight variable in the FA Cup final against Liverpool, it was Kim Jun-young’s injury.

The guy got injured during training, maybe he passed the virus on to me.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a serious injury, and it was an injury that would allow him to play in the final round of the league if he tried.

Of course, Giovanni’s thoughts seem different.

Because Kim Jun-young is a typical strong-weak-weak-strong player who is weak against strong teams and strong against weak teams, they probably won’t let him play, whether he’s injured or not.

But still, you can say something to your Korean fans, right?

He wasn’t supposed to be able to play originally, but he couldn’t play because of an injury…

‘What an honorable death.’

Ugh. If I hadn’t been injured, I would have competed… .

Korean fans will probably think so.

So we started the final against Liverpool without Kim Jun-young.

Liverpool did not come out as they had promised.

It seems that the basic tactics were based on defense, as if they were referencing the Bournemouth match, but they also pressed hard when attacking.

I had to keep concentrating because if I let my guard down for even a moment, the ball would fly towards me, and the game seemed to be heading towards a 0:0 draw again.

‘Is this match going to be a draw again?’

Even if the Bournemouth match was unexpected, there was nothing we could do against teams like Liverpool and Manchester City.

No matter how well I defend against such a strong team, I can’t guarantee a win, and given Manchester United’s inconsistent performance, a draw might be the best option against such teams.

‘There will be overtime in today’s game anyway.’

I went into the game with that kind of mindset.

If that doesn’t work out, we can decide the winner by going to a penalty shootout for the first time in a while.

I feel more comfortable that way.

Because I am absolutely confident that I will be better than the opposing goalkeeper.