The Run That Turned the Tide
Jürgen Klopp clenched both fists tightly the moment the goal went in. Yes! Let's ride this momentum. Can we win this match? A victory at Manchester City's home ground would be a massive prize! Just keep this going. Just like this.
What Jürgen Klopp felt right now wasn't ordinary joy. It went beyond simply scoring—he believed they had achieved a complete victory because they had won the tactical battle. The first half had felt like a back-and-forth affair. Liverpool had fielded their best eleven, yet the game remained even? That had actually been frustrating. So after the first half, he quickly returned to the locker room and changed their tactics. From the start of the second half, the momentum gradually shifted, and now the game belonged entirely to Liverpool. A tactical victory. It was the greatest kind of win a manager could experience.
And now, even though Manchester City was desperately trying to attack after conceding, the momentum remained firmly with Liverpool. Most of City's attacks were cut off in midfield. Seeing this, Jürgen Klopp became certain of complete victory. There was almost no time left, and the opponent looked powerless.
Ten minutes remaining. Even with added time, three minutes at most. If we maintain this flow, it shouldn't be difficult.
But then… Jürgen Klopp glanced toward Manchester City's bench. A player who looked like a substitute was warming up, but there was no sign they were about to make a change yet.
As expected, Pep doesn't make substitutions often. It seems he views the Manchester City players' desperate, threatening advances as evenly matched. That's actually good for us.
Just as he was growing more confident of victory in his mind, the change came.
Tadadadak!
What? That breakthrough just now!
A shift beginning from Manchester City's left flank. Suddenly, one axis of the game began to shake violently. A selfish play that was hard to believe came from Pep Guardiola's team. Instead of their usual passing game, an individual dribble burst forward, creating gaps.
The player with Korean nationality—Ha, right? Was that fullback capable of this level? Damn! If he keeps going, it'll be dangerous!
Manager Jürgen Klopp was genuinely shocked by Ha Sunmoon's breakthrough.
Watching the scene, the thought of victory vanished from Jürgen Klopp's mind, replaced by rising anxiety.
[Salah is charging fiercely from behind. You can't slow down.]
There was inevitably a difference in speed between running with the ball and running without it. Right now Ha Sunmoon had the ball, and even though Salah was only slightly faster without the ball, catching up from behind meant he would soon be overtaken.
[Arnold is in front. Be careful.]
Outside?
When Arnold moved to block the outside, thinking of Ha Sunmoon as a right-footed fullback, Ha Sunmoon smoothly cut inside instead. And then an opportunity appeared before him.
[Now! Shoot!]
The moment Ha Sunmoon curled his shot toward the far post, Arnold's fierce tackle came in.
“Uaaah!”
Piiiieeeeek!
“Hoo… hooook.”
“Referee!”
As Ha Sunmoon went down, the Manchester City players swarmed in protest. The referee, as if he already knew, kept the whistle in his mouth, calming the players with one hand while pulling out a card with the other.
So Arnold stopped him in the end. That was the limit. To suddenly pull off a breakthrough like that…
Manager Jürgen Klopp watched the situation with a rather serious expression and moved toward the fourth official.
“Wasn’t a warning enough for what just happened? It didn’t seem like it warranted a card, did it?”
But the fourth official simply smiled awkwardly and brushed it off.
“The referee made that judgment, so there’s nothing we can do. It was probably because it was a completely open shooting opportunity right before the foul.”
“Hmm… I suppose that makes sense.”
A formal protest and a light response. This kind of flow right now is bad. We definitely had the momentum… but now we’re the ones starting to waver.
Since the manager had to be mindful of what the players saw, Klopp made sure to show a protest on their behalf while thinking.
A single movement like what Ha Sunmoon had just done could change the atmosphere. If we’re not careful, we could concede a goal.
This was the feeling both Manchester City and Liverpool experienced whenever they faced each other. For a moment, they had completely seized the momentum and forgotten it, but now the sensation had returned.
A free kick in a good position earned by Ha Sunmoon’s breakthrough.
Ha Sunmoon had taken the free kick himself from a promising position, but unfortunately it flew just wide.
[Ugh… It wasn’t bad. Still, it looks like the opponent is starting to waver now?]
“Ha! Keep pressing like that! Go forward!”
And when Pep Guardiola also confirmed that Ha Sunmoon’s style could greatly unsettle the opponent, he immediately told him to continue. With almost no time left, the match had become one of simply losing or scoring something to draw. That was why Pep Guardiola had permitted the change to Ha Sunmoon’s individual tactics.
Good. The manager has given permission.
Ha Sunmoon nodded as if he understood Pep Guardiola’s words and began preparing for the next attack.
After defending once more, the ball dropped far too quickly in front of Ha Sunmoon during Manchester City’s next attack.
[Alright. Sunmoon, I’ve figured out a few things.]
Harrison quickly began speaking to points Ha Sunmoon hadn’t noticed.
[Salah’s pressing ends at the front. He’s not the type to defend after that. But when defending, it seems Salah is the one assigned to mark you, so he’s rushing back. It feels hurried.]
Ha Sunmoon recalled that even up to the moment he was fouled, Salah hadn’t reached his vicinity. They probably wouldn’t leave him completely free like before, but if he broke through quickly again, he likely wouldn’t need to worry about Salah.
Ha Sunmoon quickly passed the ball to Fernandinho and sprinted forward.
[The older players are weak against your control. It might be a bit annoying, but whether it’s Henderson or Fabinho marking you, it looks like you can break through them.]
Fernandinho didn’t pass straight to Ha Sunmoon but instead gave it to Sterling, who had come out to the left wing. Sterling thought about passing it to Ha Sunmoon immediately but instead played it to Foden to slightly shift the opponent’s attention. Foden received the ball with his back to goal before Van Dijk and Matip could close him down, then turned his body slightly and passed with his left foot to Ha Sunmoon, who was running down the side.
[Manchester City’s players are clever. They’ve eliminated the work your opposing midfielders would have to do, forcing you to break through annoyingly.]
Ha Sunmoon received the ball cleanly and drove forward. The player who came out to stop him was Alexander Arnold.
[Arnold just received a card, so he might find it difficult to control you.]
He was conscious of me going outside before, wasn’t he?
Ha Sunmoon decided to deceive the opponent once again. He continued moving toward the outside and sprinted down the flank as if preparing to cross.
Foden, Sterling, Jesus, Gündogan, and De Bruyne—five players poured into the penalty area. In response, the Liverpool players who had been on the edge of the box hurriedly rushed inside to create numerical superiority.
Arnold, who was marking Ha Sunmoon, was—as expected—conscious of the outside. Having started from a more advantageous position, he created enough distance to block the cross.
I can stop it!
When Arnold saw Ha Sunmoon about to cross with his left foot, he stretched out his leg to block it. But…
Arnold had already committed his leg and could no longer catch Ha Sunmoon.
[Fernandinho is open!]
Ha Sunmoon cut the ball back to Fernandinho.
Fernandinho’s mid-range shot was deflected by Alisson’s fingertips, hit the post, and came back out.
The ball fell in front of Gabriel Jesus, who had started on the right wing. Jesus shot straight at the goal.
Swish~!
Alisson, who had already made one save and still hadn’t gotten up, had no way to stop the ball!
[We did it!]
The equalizer came after the 90-minute mark. Only after the goal went in did Ha Sunmoon’s expression finally relax a little.
Thank goodness. Whew…