[What would you say are the key points to watch in today's match?]
[First, the title race has to be at the top of the list. Also, the battle between Ho-young, who is leading the league scoring chart with 27 goals, and Berbatov, who is right behind him with 25, is another one. With so much at stake, it should be a very exciting match.]
With so much literally on the line, both teams moved cautiously.
Early in the first half.
The match drifted into a dull pattern.
[Manchester United, on the left, are slowly moving the ball around.]
Manchester United were using the pitch well.
They spread out their shape, exchanged quick and accurate passes, and kept possession.
[Manchester City's pressing is no joke either.]
[Darren Fletcher escapes David Silva's pressure. He keeps the ball safely.]
City came out aggressively from the start, but United did not panic and kept their wide shape by exchanging long passes.
[Manchester United are sticking to the basics. They are breaking out of the opposition press and, in turn, applying pressure across the entire pitch.]
[That's right. Every player is building very precise lines. It's a shape that makes controlling space extremely easy.]
A 4-4-2 formation.
It was known as the most ideal formation for controlling space, a tactic that could swallow up the entire pitch as long as the players kept moving energetically.
But theory and reality were different.
No matter how harshly they had trained, nothing could be perfect in a real match where the flow changed constantly.
And yet.
"Nani, you idiot! Stay wider on the right! You're drifting too far inside!"
One man was filling in those missing parts all by himself.
"You moron! Move more aggressively! Did you come here for training? Wake up!"
It was Ferguson shouting from outside the pitch.
He constantly barked instructions, fine-tuning his players' movements.
That was one of the strengths that had made him one of the greatest managers of all time.
"Hey! Push up! The space is open!"
Following Ferguson's instructions, the players bustled around and gradually took control of the pitch.
At the same time, Manchester City's poor team atmosphere began to show more and more clearly.
Misplaced passes, defending that lacked just a little coordination.
Without even realizing it, they were out of sync with one another, and mistakes started appearing everywhere.
United did not let that opportunity slip away.
It was around the 15th minute of the first half.
[United are slowly carrying the ball forward. They're changing their shape.]
[Rooney drops deeper, and Berbatov moves up as the lone striker.]
When attacking, Wayne Rooney dropped into an attacking midfielder role, giving them a 4-2-3-1.
"Rooney! I'll make space for you! Go yourself!"
"Okay!"
True to his status as a world-class second striker, Rooney unsettled City's back line with creative and energetic play.
Free role.
That was the role Ferguson had given Rooney.
He did not overdo it and focused only on that task as he played.
[Wayne Rooney gets past Gareth Barry and drives forward!]
Wayne Rooney's trademark bulldozing dribble.
He tore through the front line with a dribble that was rough but precise.
[Yaya Touré comes in to challenge!]
[Ah, the two players collide head-on!]
Bang!
The winner was Wayne Rooney.
His body balance was so outstanding that he was not even outmuscled by the mighty Drogba.
On top of that, his playmaking ability to create chances was also world-class.
His eyes turned forward.
There.
He spotted striker Dimitar Berbatov making a run at the top, looking for an opening.
He was certain.
Certain that a pass there would create a perfect chance.
Got it.
The moment he thought that and swung his instep.
Bang!
"...?!"
Just before his foot touched the ball, a heavy impact came from behind.
No, it went beyond heavy.
It felt as if a giant boulder had rolled in and smashed into his back.
As expected, it was Ho-young.
[By the finest of margins, Ho-young succeeds with the surprise challenge.]
A sudden battle for the ball.
The ball still had not left Wayne Rooney's feet.
What is this?
Rooney had always believed that when it came to physical battles, he would lose to no one.
But right now.
"Urgh."
It felt like that belief was about to shatter.
The physical contest with Ho-young was beyond anything he had imagined.
Physicality, positioning, strength.
Ho-young was not losing in any of them.
No, he was actually overwhelming Wayne Rooney and even controlling his body.
Then let's see.
In that brief instant, Rooney showed his wit.
He suddenly dropped his center of gravity into his lower body and pushed backward.
He meant to fall back and knock the ball forward.
Getting the ball away somewhere, anywhere, was what mattered first.
But Ho-young was not going to stand there like a scarecrow.
He also shifted his center of gravity downward, then perfectly held up Rooney's weight with his thick thighs.
Crazy!
It was shocking.
Ho-young knew exactly how to use his body and where to place his center of gravity.
It was almost like watching the physical battles of his former teammate Carlos Tevez.
And that was not the end of it.
Even while doing all that, Ho-young stretched out a foot and brought the ball under his control.
It was as if every part of his body had a mind of its own and was moving independently.
[Turnover! Ho-young wins the ball!]
Several exchanges of mind games and dynamic physical combat had taken place, but only three seconds had passed.
From then on, it was Ho-young's time.
Tap!
Counter-attack.
The moment Ho-young pushed off the ground and drove forward.
"That stupid idiot!"
Ferguson's voice rang in Rooney's ears.
At that moment, Rooney snapped back to his senses, sprang up like a roly-poly toy, and immediately chased after Ho-young.
If he let him go here, there was a very high chance they would concede.
So he threw himself in.
Since it was the last match anyway, taking a yellow card would not be much of a burden.
And then it happened.
His eyes met Ho-young's as Ho-young turned his head slightly.
"...!"
Then something even more astonishing happened.
Even from such a close distance, Ho-young moved his body aside at an absurd speed.
Thud!
A header into bare ground.
Rooney threw himself into the air and crashed down face-first.
[Woooow, Ho-young completely toys with Rooney and goes past him!]
[Incredible. To evade him in the opposite direction from that distance. That's outstanding instinct.]
Instinct.
That was what the commentators believed.
Because avoiding that from such close range was, by all common sense, impossible.
But it was not instinct.
He had read Rooney's movement exactly and avoided it with a quick decision.
Dynamic vision (W+3), taken from Schumacher.
That made the impossible possible.
Even for Ho-young, it was a very mysterious experience.
It almost felt as if Rooney's movements were moving in slow motion.
[Wayne Rooney]
[Possessed Talents: Bad Boy on the Ground (T), Bad Boy's Physical Battle (SU), Astonishing Balance (SS-), Fantastic Dribbling (S+), (More...)]
(You can acquire one talent if the conditions are met.)
(If you acquire a T-grade title, you can gain part of its senses. However, you must be over 18 years old to acquire it.)
(Talents of S grade or higher can only be acquired after achieving the hidden conditions.)
(Condition 1: Win the EPL title)
(Condition 2: Score in this match)
(Hidden condition: Opens when you acquire at least 1 talent)
Lying sprawled on the ground, Rooney could only stare at Ho-young's back with stunned eyes.
Ho-young breezed past Rooney and surged forward.
It was right then.
[United's shape changes!]
United did not panic and set up the defensive tactic they had drilled to exhaustion.
The moment Ho-young burst forward, the six players who had been forming a hexagon around him all rushed in at once and narrowed the space.
This was the basic tactic United had prepared.
If Ho-young got the ball, rush him no matter what and take away the space.
Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Nani, Patrice Evra, and Gary Neville all closed in from every direction, cutting off the space Ho-young could use before anything could happen.
As a result, they paid little mind to the weakened flanks and forward areas.
Their objective was only one.
You can't let Ho-young play. Sure, it'll leave gaps elsewhere, but that doesn't matter. It's far better to stop one Ho-young than let six other players run free.
The players focused only on Ho-young in order to carry out Ferguson's words.
East, west, south, north.
They surrounded him from all sides and built a net to prevent him from making any kind of play.
No matter what happened, they would not face Ho-young one-on-one and would steer him away from dangerous areas.
That was enough.
Got him.
Michael Carrick, who was blocking the way ahead, was all but certain.
No matter how great Ho-young was, breaking through spacing this tight would be impossible.
There was no way he could endure it without passing.
And yet.
Tap!
A path that had not existed opened up.
"What!"
"Ha...!"
The air.
He had clearly been trapped with nowhere to go.
But Ho-young created that path himself.
He flicked the ball up, placed it neatly on his forehead, and ran forward while bouncing it like a seal.
As he did, gaps began to appear on their own.
It was not enough to stop him from reaching dangerous areas.
Every place he was on the pitch was dangerous to begin with.
"That crazy bastard!"
"Damn it!"
The players who saw it right in front of them simply could not believe it.
It was a sight so unbelievable that they questioned their own eyes whether a human being could really do such a thing.
But it was clearly happening.
[Ho-young once again shows an extraordinary play today! He's come back even stronger than before! What on earth happened to him!]
The reason Ho-young could do it was simple.
Talent integration.
Not long ago, he had integrated Peak Concentration (SSS-) with other mentality talents, allowing it to grow into Peak Mental Strength (SSS+3).
In other words, his mental strength had reached the limit of human capability, and the effect of that was showing now.
With concentration and judgment close to the divine, Ho-young was creating a path.
Startled, United's line wavered slightly, and Ho-young did not miss that moment.
Boom!
He lofted the ball high into the air and then sprinted forward, breaking into the space behind the defenders.
Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Nani, Patrice Evra, and Gary Neville.
It was a play that turned all six of them into scarecrows at once.
[Ho-young lifts it up and Ho-young makes the run! Ho-young is doing everything by himself!!]
[The timing is absolutely perfect! Ferdinand and Vidić try to follow, but they can't keep up!]
El Pistolero's Line Breaking (SU), acquired from Suárez not long ago.
El Niño's Line Breaking (U), acquired from Torres long ago.
And the talent born from combining those two, Immaculate Line Breaking (W+2).
Ho-young targeted the timing like a ghost and nullified the compact line United had built.
On top of that, his burst of pace was too quick, so there was nothing Ferdinand and Vidić could do.
And then.
Tap.
[Waaaah!]
[Does he have magnets on his boots? He brings the ball down so lightly!]
Ho-young brought down the high ball he had chipped up himself with ease.
Rather than controlling it, it looked as if he were pulling it in with a magnet.
It was the effect of Non-Flying Dutchman's First Touch, which still remained unintegrated because of the limit.
And only one thing remained.
Slide.
Ho-young's eyes turned forward.
The path ahead was wide open.
Edwin van der Sar stood calmly in goal, but it did not matter.
Ho-young simply had to strike it the way he always did.
[Ho-young, he shoots from distance!]
Swish!
The Ultimate Long-Range Shot (W+3), which had also absorbed Gerrard's long-range shooting.
In a situation this perfect, it would have been stranger if it had not gone in.
[Gooooooal! Manchester City take the lead!]
[This might be a goal that shows the very limit of what a human being can do! I still have goosebumps just saying it! It was incredible!]
1-0.
And so, with shock hanging over the stadium, the match moved toward the second half.
(To be continued.)