Goal Off the Face
Ha Sunmoon slowly eased the tension from his body as he prepared to enter the pitch. While the medical staff assessed Ferran Torres’s condition, he had been warming up rapidly along the touchline, raising his tempo. Warming up was simple enough—just gradually increase the pace while jogging. Yet even that simple task felt nearly impossible. His entire body creaked with pain. Still, he had to follow the manager’s instructions, so he kept his mind fixed on the moment he would step onto the field.
[Sunmoon, you sure you’re all right?]
Harrison, noticing his strained expression, asked the question. Sunmoon answered without hesitation.
“I have to be. No other choice.”
[Damn. Looks like the manager likes you more than I thought. The vibe earlier suggested he was planning to ease you in later. Sorry things didn’t go the way I expected.]
“Come on, why are you apologizing? This isn’t your fault. You didn’t force me to train. I chose to do it myself. Besides… I’d already considered this kind of situation. The worst-case scenario.”
Sunmoon spoke calmly as he finished his preparations, but Harrison couldn’t help worrying. This was supposed to be his chance to impress…
“Ha, are you ready?”
Pep Guardiola called out to him.
“Yes, boss. I’m ready.”
“I’ve heard your condition isn’t great. But right now, we need you. You don’t have to run much. Just hold your position and make sure the ball keeps moving to the others. It won’t be easy, but give it a go. No need to overexert yourself. And if your body feels off, tell someone immediately.”
“Understood.”
— It looks like Ferran Torres can’t continue.
— Ha from the Far East is preparing to come on.
Fortunately, the match was already in Manchester City’s favor. After the humiliating defeat to Tottenham in the Community Shield, Kevin De Bruyne had been on a rampage. His vicious cross from the right half-space outside the penalty area had produced one own goal and two more.
“Hoo. All right. Let’s do this.”
Ferran Torres was helped off the pitch, and Ha Sunmoon stepped on.
[Honestly, the opposition isn’t much. Just relax and play your game.]
“Got it.”
As soon as Sunmoon entered, play resumed with a free kick from the spot where Ferran Torres had been fouled. It was a good position either to shoot directly or whip in a cross. Kevin De Bruyne and Mahrez stood over the ball while the rest of the team packed the box. Sunmoon began jostling with the Norwich defenders.
“Ugh…”
The moment he started battling the massive Norwich centre-backs, his body began to protest. The referee’s whistle blew sharply after a rough collision, and the brief commotion died down.
‘Hoo… This isn’t going to be easy.’
But the pressure returned immediately. The Norwich centre-backs began shoving him with their bodies. Sunmoon lowered his stance and braced, yet the effort made his muscles scream.
[Whoa… Kids these days are ridiculously big.]
Harrison remarked as he watched the 185–195 cm Norwich centre-backs. Sunmoon, now 178 cm, wasn’t short for a footballer, but against the wall-like Norwich defenders hovering around 190 cm, he felt tiny.
‘This is something I noticed even in training… They’re bigger and heavier than Dias or Stones.’
They were also far more physical and aggressive. Having played as a full-back in the comparatively less physical Spanish league with Espanyol, Sunmoon suddenly found himself in a brutal scrap against Norwich players hardened by Championship football. It felt like he was dying.
‘I should just train more and stick to full-back. This is killing me.’
Just as Sunmoon finished his silent complaint, the referee raised the whistle to his lips.
Fweeeeeeee!
The whistle sounded. Kevin De Bruyne and Mahrez, waiting over the ball, exchanged a quick glance. De Bruyne darted past the ball, and Mahrez struck it cleanly.
Thump!
The powerful shot rang out. Sunmoon couldn’t clearly see the ball’s flight, but he reacted on instinct, moving in the same direction as the Norwich centre-backs. Players jostled for better positions as Dias and Laporte surged forward for aerial challenges.
“Gahhh!”
Sunmoon was shoved aside. He tried to hold his ground, but the muscle pain prevented him from exerting full strength, and he was pushed back.
[No, Sunmoon! If you go down now, you could get hurt badly. Stay on your feet! Just focus on the next movement!]
Hearing Harrison’s warning, Sunmoon fought desperately to keep his balance. Somehow he managed to stay upright, stumbling like a drunk before regaining his footing.
‘Good. Now what?’
Thud!
At that moment, something slammed hard into his face. Pain exploded through him and he toppled backward.
“Agh!”
He hit the ground with a heavy thud. As Sunmoon clutched his face in agony, cheers erupted around him.
[Huh? Nice one, Sunmoon!]
‘What?’
Struggling to his feet, Sunmoon found his Manchester City teammates rushing over to help him up.
“Whoa! Ha! That was brilliant!”
“Scoring on your debut!”
Still dazed, Sunmoon heard Harrison quickly explain what had happened from above.
[Sunmoon, Mahrez’s shot hit the post and came straight back at your face. It bounced off you and rolled straight into the net.]
‘Ah!’
“Whoa… Waaaaah!”
Sunmoon celebrated anyway, jogging toward the away supporters and acknowledging the Manchester City fans, marking the beginning of his City career.
‘Got lucky there.’
Still, a goal was a goal. Pep Guardiola clenched his fist in delight.
‘Fortune’s smiling on him. When a young player scores like this, it helps him settle in faster. This is perfect.’
Though he preferred to introduce players gradually and build them up carefully, seeing Sunmoon score immediately made the manager even more eager to use him.
[You all right? Just hang on for ten more minutes. We’re almost there.]
“Hah… hah…”
Sunmoon wanted to run hard, but he simply couldn’t sprint anymore.
‘This is too much. My whole body hurts. Even standing still makes everything throb… What do I do now? There aren’t any more substitutes left…’
Constantly moving up and down the pitch to link play had drained him completely. If he kept going like this, his legs would soon give out entirely.
‘How… should I play?’
In that moment, he recalled the false-nine role Pep Guardiola had described. Clara had once mentioned it briefly while praising Barcelona’s living legend, Lionel Messi.
‘Clara said Messi doesn’t run much.’
Yet Messi still created the most important moments.
‘Then maybe I should try playing like that too. After all, the manager didn’t ask me to score goals. He gave me permission. He told me not to run too much.’
Having made up his mind, Sunmoon decided he would focus solely on keeping the ball moving for his teammates. He scanned the pitch.
‘Left wing is Foden, right wing is Mahrez. Both players who can take care of things themselves. Both better than me.’
He considered who would benefit most from the ball.
‘Foden, being left-footed, is playing on his natural side—a classic winger. Mahrez, on the other hand, is an inverted winger used in the modern game. Mahrez is better for a direct shot on goal, while Foden is better for combination play.’
“Riyad, I’m planning to run as little as possible from now on and just focus on linking play. Keep an eye on my position. If a pass can lead straight to a goal, go to Mahrez. If it needs one more touch, go to Foden.”
— Laporte receives the ball from Ederson and passes to Fernandinho. Fernandinho then finds De Bruyne.
‘All right, let’s try this.’
As the ball reached De Bruyne, Sunmoon deliberately raised his hand and began drifting deeper. Seeing him signal so obviously, one of the Norwich centre-backs stepped out to mark him.
“Judge the distance for me. Which side is easier to receive on?”
[Mahrez is still too far away to receive and finish.]
Following Harrison’s advice, Sunmoon gave a slight nod and checked Foden’s position.
‘Okay.’
With his hand raised, Sunmoon called for the ball. De Bruyne immediately played it to him—no signature through ball this time, since Sunmoon had his back to goal.
— Ha drops deep. De Bruyne finds him.
The moment he received the ball, Sunmoon played a first-time flick with his heel into the space in front of Foden without even looking.
— Incredible. Ha’s first-time pass puts it perfectly for Foden!
Foden read the situation instantly, chased the ball, and without breaking stride delivered a low, driven cross. Mahrez, arriving in the centre at just the right moment, met it with his foot.
— Mahrez shoots!
Swish!
The ball flew into the top corner.
“Yes! That’s it!”
Pep Guardiola wore a deeply satisfied expression at the quality of the play his players had just produced. He knew Sunmoon had taken a slight risk, but since it had worked, there was no reason to worry.
‘Excellent. Looks like I’ve found another player I can trust in the false-nine role.’