Chapter 27: Attack of Burnley (2)

Fifteen minutes before the match begins.

As usual, after reviewing tactics with the team, Hyung-min stepped onto the field, where his ears were met with the intense sound of metal music and a new chant sung by the fans in unison.

"Welcome! Welcome to the Jungle! (Welcome! Welcome to the Jungle!)"

"Kim's got fun and games! (Kim's got fun for you!)"

"Kim's got everything you want honey! (Kim's got everything you desire!)"

"Kim knows the names! (Kim knows all the big shots!)"

"In the jungle, welcome to the jungle! (In the jungle! Welcome to the jungle!)"

"Watch it bring you to your shaking knees! (Watch it bring you to your trembling knees!)"

(From Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle")

Hyung-min, with a bewildered expression, turned to Arthur as the fans adapted the song of the world-famous rock band that dominated the 1980s and '90s into a new chant for him.

"What the heck is this?"

"What do you mean 'what'? It's a chant the fans made for you," Arthur replied with a grin.

"Welcome to the Jungle?!"

Hyung-min muttered in disbelief. Up in the directors' box, Helena, who had come to watch a match in person after a long time, giggled.

"Guns N' Roses… what a nostalgic song!"

Mike Garlic, listening to the chant beside her, chuckled.

"Heh heh heh. The fans are showing their gratitude to Kim."

"And putting a dent in the away team's morale too?"

"Well, that's a given."

As the directors chatted cheerfully, Arthur urged Hyung-min from the home team's bench.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you mean, what am I doing?"

"Go out there and greet the fans! They even made a chant for you. That's not something everyone gets."

Reluctantly, Hyung-min stepped into the technical area at Arthur's insistence and awkwardly raised a hand toward the crowd.

"Wooooooahhh!!!"

The roar of the fans shook Turf Moor. Feeling his face flush, Hyung-min stiffly waved to all four stands before retreating to his spot.

Looking down at the young manager who had now firmly won over not just the board and players but the fans as well, Helena smiled.

Soon after, the players entered the field, and the referee's whistle blew.

Amidst praise from rival managers for the fierce and powerful style implemented by Burnley's new manager, the press had dubbed Burnley's high-pressing game "Jungle Football." That style reached its peak as they welcomed Southampton to their home turf.

Facing Southampton in this home match, Burnley fielded a starting eleven that had begun to solidify as their best lineup.

In goal: Nick Pope.

Defense, from right to left: Matt Lowton, James Tarkowski, Ben Mee, Charlie Taylor.

Defensive midfield: Nicholas Seiwald, who had completely displaced Jack Cork.

Central midfield: Josh Brownhill, now a fixture, alongside Hannibal Mejbri, who had edged out Jacob Ramsey.

And the attacking trio, now a growing fear for opposing teams: Karim Adeyemi, Chris Wood, and Dwight McNeil.

Hyung-min's now-iconic 4-3-3 formation faced off against Southampton's 4-4-2 setup.

Veteran goalkeeper Fraser Forster guarded the net, with a backline of Kyle Walker-Peters, Jan Bednarek, Mohammed Salisu, and Tino Livramento from right to left.

The midfield four, from right to left: Stuart Armstrong, Ole Selnæs, Oriol Romeu, and Nathan Redmond.

Up top: Ché Adams and Nathan Tella.

For Southampton's manager Ralph Hasenhüttl, the absence of James Ward-Prowse—an England international and product of the club's youth system—and Armando Broja, a Chelsea loanee who had been earning rave reviews, was a bitter blow.

Yet, the Austrian manager, who had led RB Leipzig to second place in the Bundesliga and consistently kept Southampton in mid-table despite losing key players every year since taking over in 2018, was no pushover.

Missing two key players, Hasenhüttl instructed his squad to play a defensive, stable game against a Burnley side riding a wave of momentum this season.

The plan: drop back, form two solid defensive lines, draw out Burnley's press to exhaust them, and then exploit cracks in their fatigued formation with counterattacks led by the fullbacks, midfielders, and forwards piercing the frontline.

It was a strategy that could work against a typical high-pressing, counterattacking team. But against a Burnley side brimming with confidence from their recent surge, it was tantamount to self-sabotage.

Seeing the vast open space and a retreating Southampton side, Burnley's players, fueled by the roaring home crowd, gleefully began bombarding Southampton's half.

First, in the third minute of the first half:

Southampton's left-back Kyle Walker-Peters sent a cross, but Burnley's center-back Ben Mee, who had pushed up just below the center circle, headed it away.

The headed clearance fell to Chris Wood, Burnley's central striker, who had dropped deep, dragging Southampton's center-back Jan Bednarek and midfielder Ole Selnæs with him just above the center circle.

With Burnley compressing the space between their forward and deepest defender to less than 20 meters, Chris Wood stabbed a rough pass forward. Hannibal Mejbri, Burnley's central midfielder, darted in and controlled it with precise footwork.

"Stop him!"

Southampton's midfielders Ole Selnæs and Oriol Romeu shouted in unison, having lost track of the dribbling opponent.

As Hannibal charged toward the penalty box, Southampton's center-back Mohammed Salisu lunged with a desperate tackle.

Just before the collision, the young Manchester United prospect—making a growing impact in Burnley's rise—executed a high-skill move, sharply cutting right at full speed to evade the sliding tackle with ease.

Mohammed Salisu, carried by momentum, slid helplessly across the slick grass, staring in vain at the opposing midfielder and the ball slipping past him.

Ignoring his fallen counterpart's crumbling resolve, Hannibal gently tapped the ball with the inside of his right foot.

The softly spinning ball rolled smoothly across the turf, landing perfectly at the feet of Burnley's right winger Karim Adeyemi, who was sprinting into the open space on the right.

Southampton's left-back Tino Livramento rushed to intercept Adeyemi as he accelerated down the sideline with the ball.

But the moment the opposing defender stepped out of the penalty area, Burnley's young star confidently swung his left foot, delivering a low cross toward the penalty mark.

With the right-back who started the counter, the two center-backs who tried to halt the move, and the left-back attempting to block the cross all dragged out of the box, Southampton's back four was in tatters.

Burnley's homegrown ace Dwight McNeil strolled unchallenged into Southampton's deserted penalty area.

It was more relaxed than a training drill.

McNeil calmly took the ball with his left foot and, with another swing of the same leg, rifled it into the bottom left corner of the net.

Southampton's lone goalkeeper Fraser Forster dove desperately, but the ball had already crossed the line.

Then, in the 15th minute of the first half:

A pattern play unfolded on the left.

Burnley's left-back Charlie Taylor played a long ball forward, which Dwight McNeil chased down to the corner flag in Southampton's half with a dribble.

"Don't get too close!"

Southampton's center-back Jan Bednarek shouted, trying to organize the defense, but right midfielder Stuart Armstrong had already committed to a lunge.

McNeil shifted the ball left, easily skipping past Armstrong, and lofted a cross into the chaotic center of Southampton's penalty box, where players from both teams were tangled up.

Inside the box, excluding the goalkeeper, seven Southampton players and four Burnley players were present.

Eleven bodies leapt toward the ball or each other.

But unlike the ten players jumping for the airborne ball, Burnley's right winger Karim Adeyemi read the landing spot, turned, and sprinted backward.

"Tino!"

At goalkeeper Fraser Forster's command, left-back Tino Livramento, back on the ground, dashed toward him.

Facing the oncoming defender, Adeyemi feigned a cross by slightly lifting his left foot, baiting the Southampton man closer.

Anticipating a repeat of the earlier goal—expecting a left-footed cross or shot—Livramento shifted slightly left to block the angle.

In that subtle moment, as the defender adjusted and locked his movement, Adeyemi instead played a right-footed backpass to Burnley's right-back Matt Lowton, who was charging into the penalty area.

Lowton, taking Adeyemi's place, immediately whipped a cross toward Southampton's goal.

Mohammed Salisu, Jan Bednarek, and Kyle Walker-Peters—Southampton's three defenders—were each marking Chris Wood, Hannibal Mejbri, and Dwight McNeil one-on-one.

Goalkeeper Fraser Forster parried the low, powerful cross, but unluckily, it fell right to Chris Wood, who was tussling with Salisu.

Burnley's veteran striker didn't miss such a golden chance, smashing the ball into the net with a fierce right-footed shot.

However, Southampton—under the seasoned guidance of a manager who had kept them steadily in the Premier League's mid-table for years—was no easy prey.