The Greatest of all Time

Chapter 704  Pep’s Fury and the Second Half Plan

Inside the Manchester City dressing room, the atmosphere was tense, suffocating under the weight of Pep Guardiola's fury. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The normally meticulous manager, who thrived on tactical brilliance and perfection, was pacing back and forth, his face flushed with anger.

His words fired off in rapid succession, almost like a machine gun, each sentence sharper and more critical than the last. His players, many of whom were considered some of the best in Europe, sat in silence, absorbing the full force of their manager's frustration.

Pep's high standards had been shattered by their first-half performance, and he wasn't going to mince his words.

Manchester City was down 2-0 to a rampant Liverpool side at Anfield, and it was unacceptable to the man who had spent his career building dynasties at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and now Manchester City. This wasn't the City he envisioned, and he was letting his players know it.

"Amateurs!" Pep spat, his arms gesturing wildly, eyes glaring at his players. "We're playing like amateurs out there! You give Liverpool two goals in 12 minutes, and you expect to win at Anfield? How many times have we talked about this? They will press! They will counter! And you, you play right into their hands. Twice!"

He stopped pacing and stood in front of his players, who looked more like schoolchildren being admonished by a headmaster than world-class footballers. Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Raheem Sterling, and Sergio Agüero sat silently, avoiding eye contact with their manager, knowing that there was no excuse for what had happened.

Pep's voice was quieter now but no less intense. "Liverpool didn't surprise us with anything. We knew exactly how they were going to play. We knew they would press, we knew they would counter, but we didn't respond."

"You give away the ball in dangerous areas—Fernandinho, what were you doing? Sterling, you lose it up front and don't track back. And where is the movement? Where is the energy? We are playing too slow! Too predictable! Liverpool has the best counterattack in the world, and we gift them two goals like it's Christmas!"

The players remained silent, absorbing each blow.

The stakes were monumental.

City hadn't come to Anfield to roll over, but Liverpool's energy and aggression had left them shell-shocked. This was not just any game—it was a showdown between the two best teams in England. This game could shape the rest of the season.

Pep inhaled sharply, trying to calm his tone but still seething beneath the surface. "They are faster than us, yes. They are pressing better than us, yes. But we are better with the ball. We move it faster. We control the game. You let them control it in the first half. That is unacceptable. That ends now."

Pep's mind, always working, quickly shifted from fury to action. He had seen enough from the first half and knew adjustments were necessary if City were going to claw their way back into this match.

He turned to Raheem Sterling, who had struggled to impose himself in the first half against his former club. The winger had been expected to use his pace to stretch Liverpool's defense, but instead, he had been shackled by Joe Gomez's relentless defending. Pep had seen enough.

"Raheem," Pep said, gesturing to the winger, "you're off. Leroy, you're on."

Sterling's face tightened in frustration, but he knew it was coming. He had been ineffective, and Pep wasn't one to hold back when something wasn't working. Leroy Sané, City's dynamic German winger, was now the man Pep would rely on to change the game.

"Leroy," Pep continued, his voice gaining a tactical sharpness, "Switch with Mahrez, and play on the right wing when you step on the pitch. Remember to stay wide, always wide. Pin Robertson back. Use your speed to stretch them. Every time you get the ball, I want you running at him. Make him uncomfortable."

Sané nodded, his face serious, knowing that this was a moment where his impact could change the trajectory of the game.

Pep then turned to the rest of his squad. "Listen to me. This is not over. We are Manchester City. We have been the best team in England for two seasons because we play our football. We control the game with the ball."

"In the second half, we are not playing Liverpool's game. We are playing our game. Move the ball faster—one or two touches, no more! If we sit and watch them, they will destroy us. But if we move it quickly, we break through their press."

His instructions were clear. City would not abandon their style of play; instead, they would intensify it.

The plan was simple but precise: they would dominate possession, use Sané's and Mahrez's speed on the flanks to pin back Liverpool's full-backs, and exploit the space left by Liverpool's high press. But it had to be fast.

Liverpool's counter-press was lethal, and any sloppy play in midfield would lead to another devastating counterattack.

"Watch Zachary," Pep warned, his eyes scanning the room. "He's been all over the pitch, controlling the transitions. If we let him run, we'll never get back into the game. Fernandinho, I want you on him. Don't give him an inch. You shut him down. Silva, De Bruyne, you need to push higher and keep Salah and Mane from getting the ball in space. If we lose it in dangerous areas, they will punish us again."

Pep paused, his voice softening as he prepared his final push to rally the troops. "We are not out of this. They are 2-0 up, but that doesn't mean anything if we play our football. If we do what we do best, we can turn this around. It's just two goals. Score one, and we are back in it."

The players, still quiet but now more focused, began to nod in agreement. They knew Pep's expectations, and they knew they were capable of more. They had been down before.

This was a team of champions, a team that had broken records and was already starting to redefine Premier League dominance. But they had to prove it once again.

Pep's eyes burned with determination as he looked at his players. "We are City. We fight until the end. You go out there, and you make them feel us. You move the ball faster, you keep pressing, and we will get back into this game. Now go out there and show them who we are."

The team rose from their seats, their mood shifting from quiet frustration to focused resolve. They had been outplayed in the first half, but they weren't going to let the game slip away without a fight.