Episode 9: Interim Manager (3)

From the kickoff, Burnley's three forwards pressed Brentford's three defenders one-on-one, while Burnley's three midfielders mirrored the pressure on Brentford's midfield trio.

A situation where all six players in Brentford's backline and midfield were locked in one-on-one battles.

Overwhelmed by Burnley's intense pressing, Brentford precariously circulated the ball among themselves before, as if following a script, hurriedly passed it to their open wing-backs on the left and right flanks.

Waiting in ambush, Burnley's full-backs—supported by midfielders and wingers—created three-on-one scenarios through coordinated defending, easily stripping the ball from their opponents.

The stolen ball was then quickly shuttled forward with one-touch short passes—a rhythm Burnley's players were growing accustomed to—sparking counterattacks.

"Nice! Well done!"

In the 11th minute of the first half, Burnley's right-back Matt Lowton teamed up with defensive midfielder Jack Cork to snatch the ball from Brentford's left wing-back Rico Henry.

Standing in the technical area, Hyung-Min clapped, encouraging his players.

Having successfully won possession, Burnley's squad—relentlessly drilled in rapid passing and movement over the past two weeks—launched an instant counterattack.

Lowton, without hesitation, passed the ball to Burnley's center-back James Tarkowski, who'd closed in nearby.

Tarkowski, with a swing of his right foot, fired the ball straight to central midfielder Josh Brownhill, positioned at the center circle.

In just two passes, five Brentford players who'd pushed forward were completely bypassed.

Meanwhile, Brownhill, receiving the ball in midfield, stabilized it with his right foot while pivoting his body.

Scanning the pitch, he spotted Burnley's left winger Dwight McNeil advancing along the sideline and immediately slotted a pass to his waiting teammate.

In precisely four touches, the ball traveled across the field from Burnley's right-back to their left winger before Brentford could react.

As McNeil received the ball with his back to goal, Brentford's nearby defender Pontus Jansson and right wing-back Mads Roerslev rushed toward him in a panic.

Unfazed, McNeil slid the ball to Burnley's left-back Charlie Taylor, who was sprinting up the sideline in support.

The moment Jansson and Roerslev hesitated, unsure whether to chase McNeil or the ball, McNeil spun and darted into the gap between them.

"Oh!"

Brentford's manager Thomas Frank, watching from the home team's technical area, let out a brief groan. Meanwhile, Taylor lofted a precise pass over McNeil's head toward the penalty box.

McNeil, matching the ball's trajectory with his run, collected Taylor's pinpoint delivery, nudged it forward, and charged into Brentford's penalty area.

Just as Brentford's goalkeeper David Raya rushed out to narrow the angle in the sudden one-on-one, his anxious face filling McNeil's vision—

A heavy impact from the side sent McNeil tumbling onto the grass.

"You bastard!"

The referee's whistle.

The furious curses of Burnley players rushing over to defend their teammate.

The shouts of Brentford players restraining them while appealing to the referee.

Amid the cacophony ringing in McNeil's ears as he lay on the turf recovering from the hit, he caught Brentford's defender Pontus Jansson—who'd desperately crashed into him inside the penalty box—clicking his tongue and muttering.

"Ah, damn it…"

After a VAR review, the referee pointed to the penalty spot and pulled a yellow card from his chest pocket—a natural sequence of events.

Burnley players cheered as they gathered near Brentford's penalty box.

Taking the ball from the referee, Chris Wood placed it on the penalty mark and locked eyes with Brentford's goalkeeper David Raya, who flailed his arms frantically to disrupt him.

The distance from the penalty mark to the goal: 11 meters.

An absolute advantage for the attacker, yet surprisingly, in professional football, the failure rate for penalty kicks is 23.6%.

That means one in four penalties is missed, with over 70% of those failures due to the goalkeeper saving it.

23.6% times 70% equals roughly 16.5%.

Statistically, the goalkeeper stops one out of every six attempts.

Of course, in that moment, none of these complex calculations crossed the mind of Burnley's New Zealand striker Chris Wood.

Once the referee confirmed both Burnley and Brentford players had retreated outside the penalty box and blew the whistle again, Chris Wood charged forward and blasted the ball past the flailing David Raya into the left side of the net.

"Arghhh!"

The net rippled as Chris Wood sprinted to the corner flag, pounding his chest and roaring, joined by his teammates piling onto him and sharing the joy with the ecstatic away fans. The scoreboard ticked from 0 to 1.

In the 12th minute of the first half, Burnley took a one-goal lead over Brentford.

Even after the restart, the dynamic didn't shift much.

Brentford's three defenders—Pontus Jansson, Kristoffer Ajer, and Bruno Valdez—kept circulating the ball in their defensive shape, looking for openings.

But Burnley's three forwards relentlessly pressed, stubbornly preventing the ball from reaching Brentford's midfielders comfortably.

Inevitably, Brentford resorted to long passes to their infiltrating wing-backs, Henry and Roerslev, on the left or right.

Like clockwork, Burnley's flank players, backed by midfield support, intercepted the ball through coordinated defending and launched counterattacks.

Conversely, if Brentford's defenders grew impatient and sent long balls directly to their strikers?

Burnley's center-backs James Tarkowski and Ben Mee, along with defensive midfielder Jack Cork dropping back to assist, swarmed Brentford's forwards Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo like hunters on a pack chase, winning headers to reclaim possession and spark counters.

By the 41st minute of the first half, Brentford's frustrated attacking attempts and Burnley's dismantling counterattacks via full pressing had become routine—until the game hit another turning point.

Pressing, pressing, and more pressing.

The ball danced precariously among Brentford's defenders, evading Burnley's predatory forwards.

Finally, unable to break through to midfield, the ball reached Brentford's goalkeeper—the only player free from the pressure.

As if venting his mounting frustration and anger, David Raya booted the ball long with all his might, sending it soaring across the pitch—straight into the chest of Burnley's center-back Ben Mee, who'd positioned himself perfectly.

Calmly trapping the ball, Ben Mee linked a short pass to Ashley Westwood, who'd dropped back to receive it.

Sensing Brentford's midfielder Vitaly Janelt closing in from behind, the veteran Burnley midfielder didn't stop the ball. Instead, he flicked it left with the outside of his left foot, simultaneously cutting left at a right angle.

A brief window before the charging Janelt could reposition.

Westwood fed the ball forward to Josh Brownhill, who'd advanced just outside Brentford's penalty box.

Taking possession right in front of the box, Brownhill—like against Everton—struck the ball softly with the inside of his right foot, sending it forward.

A pass that made fools of all three Brentford defenders rushing to block a mid-range shot and the two midfielders approaching from behind.

The low, quick ball zipped to the right, landing perfectly at the feet of Jay Rodriguez, who'd infiltrated the open space.

Just like against Everton, Brentford's defense was left in disarray as Jay Rodriguez received the ball on the right.

Unlike that game, this time Rodriguez faced the goalkeeper one-on-one, unhindered by defenders in a wide-open space.

David Raya—the unfortunate goalkeeper whose long kick had gifted Burnley the counter—sprinted out desperately, trying once more to narrow the angle.

But with no clumsy defensive foul to concede a penalty, Rodriguez subtly dropped his left shoulder, rolled the ball right, and breezed past the onrushing keeper.

All that remained was tapping the ball into the empty net.

Burnley's second goal of the match.

Beside the jubilant Burnley players and frenzied away fans, the stunned Brentford squad and the contorted faces of the home supporters vividly reflected their despair.