The second half began after a surprisingly short halftime talk from Pep Guardiola.
The City players had barely even sat down before Pep was already standing back up again near the tactics board. He did not raise his voice. He did not start lecturing them with long speeches either. The game was going largely according to plan. Fluminense had moments, but City were controlling the dangerous spaces and creating the better opportunities.
Pep only made a few quick tactical adjustments, reminded them to stay patient whenever Fluminense pushed higher, then stepped aside and allowed the players to continue their own conversations amongst themselves.
As they walked back out through the tunnel and toward the pitch, Lukas drifted beside Rayan Aït-Nouri for a moment. With one hand over his mouth, he quietly muttered something to the Algerian fullback while gesturing subtly toward the far side of the box. Aït-Nouri listened, nodded once, then pointed toward Doku before replying briefly.
