Chapter 573: Kante on the Attack
"Press him, focus on breaking him down and causing forced errors before De Bruyne gets subbed off," Mourinho instructed.
"We can accept a draw," he smiled, "but it'd be even better if we can snatch a win."
The locker room burst into laughter.
The second half began quickly, with Manchester City manager Guardiola making a decisive change, bringing on Aguero for David Silva. City's formation also shifted, with Sterling, Jesus, Aguero, and Sane forming a four-man forward line. Bernardo Silva moved back to midfield alongside Fernandinho and De Bruyne. It was clear that Guardiola was going all out against United.
Seeing this adjustment, Mourinho immediately made his own tactical changes. Kante anchored the midfield, with Fellaini and Herrera expanding their defensive coverage to support the flanks. Gundogan slightly dropped back, ready to support the three defensive midfielders. This change immediately stifled City's newly energized attack.
Guardiola shot a frustrated look at Mourinho from afar. This defensive strategy was extremely conservative, but Mourinho seemed content with a 1-1 draw.
Given the circumstances, United's 3-0 win in the first leg provided them with a significant advantage. This allowed them the confidence to adopt a defensive strategy away from home.
"A draw at the Etihad would be acceptable for Mourinho and United," Sun Jihai said. "With a draw, United can advance to the final thanks to their big win in the first leg."
"In fact, even if they lose by a score of 1-4, United would still advance. The 3-0 win in the first leg has given them a huge advantage, especially since City didn't score an away goal. It's effectively like United has a four-goal lead," Jian Jun added.
At this moment, the camera panned to a close-up of a blonde female fan yawning, almost falling asleep.
"The match is dull; the fans are getting sleepy," Jian Jun shook his head. "This game is broadcast live in nearly 180 countries and regions worldwide, but this dull scene might disappoint the viewers."
Despite the dull game, Mourinho was quite comfortable. Seeing City repeatedly fail to score made him happy. He applauded and nodded in satisfaction, especially whenever Kante thwarted City's attacks.
The director deliberately gave him a close-up, likely making City fans dislike him even more.
By the 60th minute, the score remained 1-1.
Some commentators around the world were already criticizing Mourinho's conservative approach.
Mourinho couldn't hear these criticisms, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. His job was to lead United to the Champions League final, not to please the media and commentators.
Moreover, having coached for nearly twenty years, Mourinho understood the environment well: ignore the critics. As long as you keep winning and producing good results, those who criticize you will eventually praise you, becoming your sycophants. Even if they secretly hope to bring you down one day, as long as you keep winning, they have no choice but to praise you.
Mourinho got up from the bench and walked to the sidelines, whistling sharply. This was like the starting gun going off, and United suddenly increased their midfield pressure.
A few minutes later, Gundogan and Fellaini combined to dispossess De Bruyne. United launched a quick counter-attack, with Gundogan sending a through ball to Bruno, who then crossed into the box. Harry Kane's header was brilliantly saved by Ederson, but the ball wasn't cleared far. Otamendi's clearance was poor, and Luke Shaw's follow-up shot skimmed past the post, giving City fans a scare.
"That was clearly a planned counter-attack," Jian Jun said. "De Bruyne has played too many games this season: starting every one of City's 35 Premier League matches, eight in the Champions League, and seven in the domestic cups. He's played 50 games in total, second only to Bruno among all Premier League players."
"But De Bruyne's stamina is average, unlike the tireless Bruno. He's shown signs of fatigue in recent matches. Mourinho must be aware of this and is likely aiming to capitalize on De Bruyne's waning energy, pressing hard for a quick counter-attack opportunity."
"They nearly succeeded…" Sun Jihai said with some trepidation.
After City's initial surge at the start of the second half, Mourinho's adjustments quickly took effect, and City's attacks began to wane. The match once again settled into a stalemate.
The stands at the Etihad were filled with boos. City fans were unhappy with the current state of the match. The game was dull, the score was 1-1, and on aggregate, City trailed 1-4. The fans couldn't see any clear advantage or chances for City to score, leading to growing impatience. Of course, the boos were also directed at United's defensive tactics.
The camera shifted to City's bench, where Mkhitaryan had just finished warming up and returned to the bench, receiving tactical instructions from assistant coach Arteta.
On the pitch, Fellaini and De Bruyne were once again tangled up, the two Belgians pulling each other down. But Fellaini, being the sly player he is, managed to poke the ball away just before they fell, and Herrera collected it.
Referee Felix Brych waved them to get up, indicating there was no foul, and the game continued.
"Counter-attack, counter-attack, United's counter-attack chance."
Receiving the ball from Fellaini, Kante didn't pass it to Bruno or any other player as usual. Instead, he chose to dribble forward himself.
Kante's move caught City's midfield off guard. Throughout the game, while Fellaini and Herrera occasionally pushed forward, Kante stayed mostly in United's half, moving up only slightly before passing and retreating. So his sudden forward run left City's players scrambling.
Kante charged forward.
Mourinho, seeing this, clapped vigorously from the sidelines, muttering, "Go! Go! Go!"
In United's tactical training, Mourinho occasionally had Kante make sudden forward runs, mainly because Kante rarely pushed up, and such surprise runs could sometimes yield great results.
The decision on when to push up was left to the players' judgment based on the game situation.
So this forward run by Kante was pre-planned but executed based on his own decision at the moment.
"Kante is charging forward with the ball, City's midfield is caught off guard… Fernandinho steps up to intercept, but he's bypassed," Jian Jun shouted, clenching his fists.
Fernandinho's interception was half-hearted. Not known for his dribbling, Kante pushed the ball forward and accelerated past him.
"Fernandinho let Kante through, now he's marking Bruno," Sun Jihai observed, noting Fernandinho's quick shift to mark Bruno after his token attempt to stop Kante. His experience told him that Kante wouldn't continue dribbling and would soon pass, making Bruno the immediate threat.
Mourinho stood on the sidelines, hands clenched, lips pressed tightly, eyes glinting with anticipation.
"Harry Kane is dropping back to receive… Otamendi steps up, he's anticipating Kante's pass… Good job, Kante!" Jian Jun exclaimed.
Everyone expected Kante to pass to Kane. Kante was known for his tenacity and tackling, not for dribbling or shooting. So it was surprising enough that he had dribbled this far, even more so that he had bypassed Fernandinho.
Otamendi moved to block the expected pass, but Kante instead nudged the ball forward, accelerating past Otamendi.
Otamendi turned to chase, alarmed.
At this moment, Bruno and Gundogan were sprinting forward.
"Pass!" Mourinho shouted, clenching his fists.
Bruno had drawn the attention of Fernandinho and Laporte, leaving Gundogan open.
"Cover! Mark him!" Ederson yelled, as Kyle Walker moved to cover Gundogan.
"Pass it!" Jian Jun yelled, "Open space—Walker is covering—Kante—shooting?!"
Jian Jun's eyes widened in surprise as he saw Kante lift his right foot, not for a pass, but for a shot!
The United midfielder took a shot from nearly thirty meters out, catching everyone off guard with its decisiveness.
The ball soared through the air, rocketing towards the goal with a fierce swiftness.
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