Talent - Gaspar Breached Again!
"Talent—Gaspar's been breached again! Ha! That's just cruel!" the La Liga commentator cried out in a pained voice. Gaspar had already been dribbled past five times in a row by Ha Sunmoon. Why the hell isn't he crossing from the outside? Ha Sunmoon cut inside once more, and Gaspar, trying to block the outside, was beaten again. Realizing he'd been exposed, Gaspar's face turned ashen as he sprinted back to close down Ha Sunmoon.
[The right-back's coming. This time, Vargas at three o'clock! He's open out there. Pass it now!]
Ha Sunmoon immediately slipped the ball to Vargas, who was positioned in the half-space alongside him. Receiving it in space, Vargas curled a shot toward the far post, but his accuracy was off and the ball skimmed the outside of the post.
[Damn it. This is a quality issue with the Espanyol players. Even when everything's set up perfectly, the goal just won't come.]
After five successful dribbles but only one goal to show for it, Harrison let out a frustrated sigh. Ha Sunmoon had been thinking the same thing and was about to complain, but hearing Harrison voice it first brought him a small sense of relief.
[The right-back's been reading your crosses, hasn't he? Villarreal's done their homework on you.]
"Then it's a good thing we switched things up, right? We broke them down easily enough."
[Hmm… true, but… no! Now that you know they're keying on you, you have to stay sharp. Mix in the old patterns again. They've been skinned five times straight—think they'll keep guarding the outside?]
Ha Sunmoon had no choice but to agree. Honestly, he hadn't even needed much dribbling skill; the right-back had overcommitted to the outside, making the inside cut far too easy. But if he started watching the inside as well, these runs would become much harder. On top of that, Villarreal's right winger Pena was gradually drifting closer to him, so it was time to find a new approach.
[We've only got one more attack before the whistle anyway. Let's try the outside this time.]
Ha Sunmoon nodded.
— Villarreal are launching a counterattack. Pena feeds Moreno!
Villarreal's right winger slipped the ball to the dropping striker, who in turn played a through ball to Paco.
— Paco! He takes the ball! Espanyol center-back Bernardo closes him down, but—
Shoooooot!
Thud!
— Goooooal! Villarreal equalize with a beautiful passing move!
"Whoa…"
[Whoa…]
Both Ha Sunmoon and Harrison were stunned. The defense had been carved open in an instant.
[Bloody hell… When the team's level drops, we get sliced apart way too easily.]
The opponents were a mid-table La Liga side, and surprisingly, most of their first-team players had started. Espanyol, fielding a cup-tie squad, were visibly lacking in cohesion.
[This is bad. If we want to win, we'd better wake up.]
Ha Sunmoon nodded. From the halfway line, Jonathan restarted play by passing to Melendo. Ha Sunmoon began his usual measured advance up the pitch. Whether on instructions from the bench or not, Pena completely ignored Vargas and stuck tight to Ha Sunmoon instead.
[Oho~ They're coming at you now. What are you going to do?]
Harrison thought Villarreal's adjustment was clever. Forcing Ha Sunmoon to beat one man before facing another made things far more complicated. But—
Thump-thump.
"Hoo…"
Ha Sunmoon possessed a rather unusual trait. The heavier the pressure and the higher the quality of the opposition, the more sharply his focus sharpened. That was why he could deliver perfect crosses even when double-marked, and why he could explode out of triple or quadruple teams with outrageous dribbling. Now, as the pressure mounted once more, his talent began to stir.
After a brief tussle with Pena, Ha Sunmoon shifted his body behind the winger. Pena, momentarily losing sight of him, whipped his head around to search. By the time he spotted Ha Sunmoon a few yards away, the full-back was already moving again. The moment Pena closed in, Ha Sunmoon thrust out his hand, signaling for Melendo to play the ball forward. Melendo obliged.
[Nice!]
Pena had closed the distance, but Ha Sunmoon had already burst ahead to collect the pass. As Pena lunged to tackle, Ha Sunmoon received the ball, turned his back, and executed a Marseille turn. Pena was left wrong-footed.
— Ha! Another moment of magic! Pena's been completely fooled!
[Good heavens, kid! You're on fire again!]
Watching from above, Harrison couldn't help but shout in amazement. Ha Sunmoon immediately set about tormenting Villarreal's right flank once more.
— He's targeting the left side again!
[Right-back's closing in.]
Ha Sunmoon instinctively sensed the most advantageous moment and acted. Instead of trying to beat the right-back, he whipped in an early cross before the defender could even get set.
— Ha! An early cross!
Ha Sunmoon didn't miss the gap that had opened between Villarreal's right winger and right-back. Espanyol's striker Jonathan and midfielder Ander both charged into the box. The sharply curling delivery found Ander's head.
Thud!
— The ball cannons off Ander's head and into the net! Espanyol regain the lead just before half-time!
Seeing the goal, Ha Sunmoon clenched his fist.
* * *
"That left-back is stronger than we expected. Everything else is fine, but that side is a real problem."
"Damn it… Who would've thought that little guy would be this good…"
Villarreal's coaching staff sat with grim expressions. Their manager stared at the tactics board, his face stiff after watching his right flank collapse so completely.
"So what do we do?"
"I think… we have to go full defensive on the right."
The manager flipped through the tactics sheets, seeking a solution, and asked his coaches for input.
"Gaspar can't handle this alone. We should treat him like a top Brazilian winger and keep both Pena and Gaspar on him."
At that, the Villarreal manager nodded as if he'd heard something useful.
"Right! A Brazilian player!"
"Sorry?"
"You said we should treat him like a Brazilian, didn't you?"
"Well, yes."
The coach looked puzzled.
"Since he played a lot in Brazil, we should treat him like a Brazilian player. Let's mark him the way we'd mark Neymar."
The coach's face hardened slightly.
"He's only seventeen…"
"Does seventeen change anything? He's still a player. We need to seize control in the second half. Good. We've got a plan."
The manager showed the tactics board to his players.
"Listen up. Gaspar! Pena!"
"Yes."
"Yes."
Both players looked downcast after being involved in two goals conceded down the right.
"Why the long faces? Cheer up."
At their manager's words, they forced smiles.
"You two have nothing to be ashamed of. That left-back was simply better than we expected. Honestly, we never imagined he'd pull off those kinds of tricks or whip in crosses like that. They came prepared. These things happen."
The manager quickly defended them.
"If you defend properly next time, can you stop him?"
"Well…"
"Honestly, I'm not confident. His dribbling is just too good…"
Seeing their lack of confidence, the manager revealed his prepared solution.
"Then there's only one answer. Get rough. Stop him with fouls."
"Fouls?"
"Exactly. That kid played in Brazil. So treat him like a Brazilian player. When you're up against someone with great technique, physical play is the answer. Don't worry about him being young—just tackle him."
Though hesitant at first, the two players soon realized it was the right approach and brightened.
"Understood."
"Good! We're ahead everywhere else. If we shut down the right, we win. Let's dominate the second half and advance to the next round."
"Yes, sir. Should we focus our attacks down the left and through the middle?"
Villarreal's left winger, Cazorla, asked.
"Hmm… yes, let's do that. Commit fully to defense on the right and attack through the left and center."
"Understood!"
"Good. If we get through this, we still have a chance at a strong cup run. Let's finish strong, just like Valencia did last season."
Having heard their manager out, the Villarreal players began heading out for the second half.