Chapter 380: Resilience
After conceding the third goal, Liverpool attempted to mount a comeback. Despite being three goals down, their pride as a top team wouldn't allow them to surrender so easily in front of their arch-rivals.
Liverpool's coach, Klopp, stood on the sideline personally directing his team. During Manchester United's goal celebration, he pulled his team's offensive core, Coutinho, aside to give him specific instructions, urging him to be more active in the attack. To ensure Coutinho could focus on offense, Klopp specifically told him not to participate in defense.
Twenty-four-year-old Coutinho had joined Liverpool at the last moment during the 2014 winter transfer window. Over the past two years, he had grown into Liverpool's offensive core. However, in today's match, his performance had been far from impressive, even bordering on failure.
As the team's playmaker, he hadn't created any significant offensive threats for Liverpool. His presence on the field was almost nonexistent, often appearing as if he wasn't even there.
What was causing this?
It was Manchester United's number eight, Bruno Fernandes, standing nearby, just five meters away from Coutinho. Bruno, who was two years younger than Coutinho, was responsible for neutralizing him.
Liverpool was attacking while Manchester United was in defense. Bruno's role in defense was to clear threats before they reached the backline. If he couldn't neutralize the threat, it would fall to the defense, and if they failed, it would be up to the goalkeeper, De Gea. If De Gea couldn't stop it, it would be a goal.
In simple terms, Mourinho's Manchester United defense functioned like a series of filters. The first filter, including Bruno, was the front-line players. Next was the dual defensive midfielders, Kante and Fellaini. Then came the backline, and finally, goalkeeper De Gea. The idea was to filter out the threats layer by layer, from the easiest to the hardest to deal with. If the first few layers did their job well, only clear chances would reach De Gea.
Saying Coutinho had no performance at all would be unfair. He had moments, but every time he tried to make a move, Bruno, the first layer of the filter, neutralized him. By stopping the attack at its inception, Manchester United effectively killed the danger before it could fully develop.
Liverpool was eager to pull one back to have a chance in the remaining forty minutes. Coutinho glanced at Bruno nervously but remembered Klopp's special instructions. He raised his hand to signal for the ball.
As the ball was passed to him, he felt Bruno closing in. This was his greatest fear. If his opponent just marked him without pressing, he could maneuver and trick them or pass the ball away. But under tight pressure, he couldn't make any moves.
As before, he lost possession. Bruno charged in from behind, and Coutinho couldn't even control the ball, which bounced off his foot and away.
"Damn!" Coutinho thought, as he tried to chase the ball, only to see Bruno's figure dart past him and get to the ball first. It was the same outcome again—he was dispossessed by number eight.
However, this time, Coutinho refused to give up easily. He chased after Bruno, grabbing his shoulder to pull him back. But their physical difference was apparent: Coutinho, at 1.72 meters and 68 kg, was dwarfed by Bruno, who stood at 1.83 meters and 77 kg.
It resulted in a comical scene: Bruno appeared to be running with someone hanging on him.
Realizing this was futile, Coutinho attempted a sliding tackle, but Bruno had anticipated this and passed the ball a second before Coutinho could make the tackle. Since Bruno no longer had the ball, tackling him would be a clear foul.
Coutinho wasn't the type to resort to dirty play, so he let Bruno go. Bruno used this opportunity to launch another attack. The ball reached Rashford on the left wing, who crossed it into the box. Ibrahimovic's powerful shot from eleven meters out hit the crossbar.
"Another attack from United... Ibrahimovic!! Oh, it hit the crossbar!"
"Look at this shot... just missed! It bounced off the crossbar... Oh!"
The shot jolted everyone in Anfield to their feet. Manchester United fans were ready to cheer again, while Liverpool fans were terrified.
Klopp's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open as Ibrahimovic took the shot. For a moment, he thought his team had conceded again. Luckily, the crossbar saved them, but Klopp's mood didn't improve. His team was completely outplayed, and he couldn't understand why.
In terms of strength, Liverpool wasn't far behind Manchester United. In terms of player fame and club heritage, Liverpool was on par, if not superior. Both teams had been in excellent form, with United on a seven-game winning streak and Liverpool also doing well in the league.
Why, then, was his team so outclassed on the pitch and the scoreboard?
Klopp couldn't figure it out, and without understanding the problem, he couldn't change the situation. Facing wave after wave of United's attacks, he felt helpless.
This helpless feeling didn't last till the end of the match. Manchester United's relentless attacks soon woke Klopp up. He decided to make changes, substituting midfielder Lallana for striker Sturridge.
Lallana was known for his technical skills, speed, and agility, often compared to a young Gascoigne in England. Klopp hoped this "little Gascoigne" could use his skills to break through United's defense and create scoring opportunities.
With Coutinho completely shut down by United's number eight, the middle was off-limits. Klopp had to focus on the wings. He also replaced Firmino with twenty-one-year-old Belgian forward Origi. Despite Firmino's efforts, he looked like a headless chicken running around aimlessly.
Despite the substitutions, Klopp wasn't confident about the match. All he could do was wait and see if the changes would have an impact.
In reality, a coach's influence on a match is limited. They set the tactics and make adjustments, but the players execute them. If the players underperform, no matter how brilliant the tactics or adjustments, it won't make a difference.
For a coach, it's a results-driven profession. If the results are good, all the previous processes are deemed correct. If the results are bad, even the same processes are considered wrong.
Klopp made his changes in the sixty-fourth minute and waited for them to take effect. Unfortunately, what he got was his team conceding a fourth goal three minutes later.
Manchester United's right-back Valencia threw a long ball, which Bruno received near the center circle. He made a direct pass, and Rashford broke through Liverpool's defense. Faced with the onrushing Karius, he calmly slotted the ball past him from the edge of the box.
4-0!
"The fourth goal! Manchester United scores their fourth! Marcus Rashford! This nineteen-year-old prodigy, who turns 19 at the end of the month, has scored his third Premier League goal this season!"
"This young striker, who rose to prominence in the second half of last season, continues to perform excellently in his sophomore year. This season, Rashford has scored five goals and provided four assists in all competitions for United. His impressive performance makes him a top contender for the 2016 Golden Boy award."
"The assist came from Bruno, his fifth in the Premier League this season, putting him at the top of the assists chart."
"Interestingly, another strong contender for the Golden Boy award is Bruno's teammate in the Portuguese national team, Renato Sanches. Sanches transferred to Bayern Munich for €35 million this summer and has been impressive since joining."
(End of Chapter)
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