December 26th, 1:00 p.m. The Home Dressing Room
Premier League. Matchday 18.
The match between West Bromwich Albion and Manchester City.
There is no football tradition in the world comparable to the English Boxing Day match.
While all of Europe is taking a luxurious winter break to rest and spend the holidays with their families, the Premier League is speeding up into a violent and chaotic rush. The pitches are muddy, the players are running on empty, and the stadiums are crammed full of fans who are looking for a break from their in-laws and the leftover turkey.
A real trial of mental strength, and this year the people who put together the schedule have given West Bromwich Albion an absolutely enormous Boxing Day match.
Manchester City had now reached the Black Country. During the whole of the summer they had been reflecting on the way they had been eliminated from the Champions League quarter-finals at the hands of the Dictator of The Hawthorns, and they were determined to get their revenge by disrupting West Brom's title defence.
Ethan Matthews was sitting in the dressing room at home and fastened his boots. His legs seemed extraordinarily heavy. The winter timetable was a meat grinder.
He took out his phone.
Group Chat: The Eastfield Boys
Callum: I've looked at City's most recent three games and found that their manager has altered his formation once more. They are now playing without a legitimate striker, opting instead for a false nine. The manager is going to drop deep into the midfield with the intention of drawing Liam Thorne out of the defensive line. If Thorne does follow him, their wingers will immediately rush in to fill the huge gap that will be left behind. Instruct Thorne to stay in his area and let Keller take on the role of false nine in the midfield.
Mason: Football on Boxing Day, sir! Crestwood managed a 1-0 victory at noon. For Christmas dinner yesterday I ate some dry turkey and had a glass of tap water so that I could run for ninety minutes this afternoon. City believe that they can out-pass you on this freezing holiday; put them into the mud early.
Mia: The pub is completely overflowing, Eth! Half of the people from Eastfield have come in here to avoid their families! That's a nice late Christmas present to give us!
Ethan: Ask Thorne to keep the line intact. Have Keller take the false nine. Okay, Dec. Mase, have fun with the three points. Harper, get a round in for me. We'll have City packing.
Ethan locked the phone. Callum's tactical assessment was clear, neat, and accurately stated. There were no abstract theories, merely a direct account of the City's movements and the specific defensive rotation needed to counter them.
Julian Vance went into the dressing room and looked at his exhausted and battered team.
"Boxing Day has nothing to do with tactics," Vance remarked, his voice breaking the tension that was building up before the match. "It's a test of who has the tougher stomach. The City side have brought their billion-pound team here and expect you to be tired. They expect you to be slow and want to pass the ball to you while you're trying to catch your breath."
Vance came to a stop in front of Liam Thorne and Ethan.
They wish to get revenge upon Europe and intend to shame you before your own fans on a holiday. Don't let fatigue overcome you. Run the match as if it were the first day of the season.
3:00 PM. Kickoff.
There was a highly charged atmosphere in The Hawthorns, caused by the holiday pints and the bitterly cold, freezing weather.
From the very first whistle the referee blew, Manchester City began their perfectly executed, almost mechanical passing. They dominated possession by moving the ball with great ease across the smooth, wet grass, aiming to stretch West Brom's defensive line.
18th Minute.
The city set the trap precisely as Declan had warned.
The false nine, which was hovering on the edge of the penalty area, suddenly moved ten yards down into the midfield to receive the pass.
Liam Thorne, acting entirely on his own experience as a centre-back, aggressively moved out of the defensive line to follow the forward with the aim of winning the ball.
That was a fatal mistake.
As Thorne moved forward, there appeared a huge and obvious gap in the centre of West Brom's defence. The City playmaker didn't turn to look; he simply played a precisely aimed, first-time pass straight into that vacant area.
The left-winger for the City was already sprinting at full speed, moving inside. He caught the pass, which completely cut the West Brom goalkeeper off, and then opened up his body to slot in a precise shot in the far corner.
GOAL.
West Bromwich Albion 0, Manchester City 1.
At the opposite end, everyone cheered in bright blue. The city manager thumped his fists on the touchline. The algorithm had functioned exactly as it should have.
Ethan took the ball from the net. He didn't shout at Thorne and jogged back to the centre circle, where he pulled the big captain and Lukas Keller together.
You can't let him follow Liam!, Ethan barked, indicating the City false nine. "That's precisely what they're aiming for! Keep the defensive line! When Lukas moves into the midfield, he's yours—step on his heels and make sure he doesn't change position!"
Keller nodded, his jaw firm. Thorne rubbed the cold rain from his eyes and nodded sharply. The adjustment had been carried out.
35th Minute.
City attempted to carry out the same pattern, the false nine going deep, expecting Thorne to follow him as if he were a magnet.
Thorne did not move at all; he remained fixed in his defensive position and completely cut off the area behind him.
The player acting as a false nine took the ball and at once became confused by the lack of pressure from the centre-back.
He wasn't able to deal with it. Lukas Keller came like a runaway train and charged the City forwards with a violent and precisely timed tackle, securing the ball completely and leaving the attacker lying on the ground.
The Hawthorns showed their approval by roaring.
Ethan didn't pause at all. He picked up the loose ball from Keller and at once started the counter-attack. Instead of going through the crowded midfield, he sent a powerful and wide passing move to Jaden Kalu on the right wing.
Kalu charged towards the retreating city left-back, dropped his shoulder and delivered a fierce cross towards the penalty spot.
Armando was there, overpowering the centre-half from the city and charged in to head the ball, sending it crash into the roof of the net.
GOAL.
West Bromwich Albion 1, Manchester City 1.
The stadium blew up completely. Ethan ran over to Keller, lifted the German and struck him on the chest. The tactical change had eliminated the threat and at the same time produced the equalizer.
Halftime.
West Bromwich Albion 1, Manchester City 1.
The only sound in the dressing room was the heavy, ragged breathing of the players, and the Boxing Day fatigue seemed to be a physical burden on their shoulders.
You've worked out the trick of using the false nine, Vance said as he tapped the tactical board. Now the situation will become one of attrition; they're going to hold on to the ball and force you to chase it. Ethan is to control the tempo. When you win the ball, slow the tempo down and give your team a chance to recover. And when they commit too much, attack them.
The Second Half.
65th Minute.
The second half was a tough and painful struggle in the mud, and Manchester City's smooth play started to fade as the tough ground drained their legs' strength.
Ethan was giving a shift of pure, unadulterated grit. He wasn't making those beautiful, sweeping passes; instead he was carrying out the dirty work and he won the second balls, took cynical fouls in order to disrupt City's momentum, and this earned the complete resentment of the City players.
82nd Minute.
Finally, the frustration felt in the city came to a head.
The midfielder in possession, worn out from Ethan's constant movements, made a late and awkward tackle close to the right touchline. Ethan received the tackle and fell heavily onto the cold grass.
The referee awarded a foul. West Brom received a free kick.
Ethan pulled himself up. The clock was running down to ninety minutes. A draw against City wasn't a bad result, but the Dictator wanted the three points.
He picked up the ball, used his sleeve to wipe the mud from it, and then put it gently onto the turf.
Liam Thorne, wanting very much to compensate for his mistake on the first goal, ran up from the back line and, locking eyes with Ethan, gave him a slight and almost invisible nod in the direction of the back post.
Ethan lifted his left arm.
He moved forward and delivered a powerful cross, swinging it outward, directly into the centre of the City penalty area. The ball remained suspended in the cold air and neatly went past the first row of City defenders.
Thorne didn't attempt to be clever; instead he used the straightforward, fierce strength typical of the Black Country. He pushed his way through the crowd, jumped higher than the city goalkeeper's outstretched gloves, and hit the ball with a loud and powerful header.
The ball hit the back of the net with the force of a cannonball.
GOAL.
West Bromwich Albion 2, Manchester City 1.
The Hawthorns stopped being a stadium and turned into a complete madhouse.
Thorne ran towards the corner flag, took off his shirt even though it was freezing, and screamed as if his lungs would burst. Ethan tackled him from behind, buried the huge captain in the snow and mud and the rest of the team joined in.
90+5 Minutes.
For the desperate final corner the city moved the whole of their team forward, including the goalkeeper.
The ball was hit into the mixer and Lukas Keller rose proudly, punching it violently out of the penalty area and sending it high into the stands.
The referee sounded the whistle before the ball had reached the crowd.
Whistle. Whistle. Whistle.
Full Time.
West Bromwich Albion 2, Manchester City 1.
They managed to survive the ordeal of Boxing Day. When one of the world's top teams landed a blow on them, they adjusted their tactics perfectly and achieved a huge victory in the freezing mud.
Ethan left the field, completely exhausted, and blew a kiss to the wildly excited home fans.
6:00 PM. Penthouse apartment, Birmingham.
Ethan dropped himself onto the sofa, his muscles crying out in protest, and didn't even have the energy to switch on the television.
He took out his phone.
Group Chat: The Eastfield Boys
Mason: GET IN! What a huge result! Thorne saved the situation with that header. In the second half you really dominated the midfield, General. City didn't know what to do with you.
Callum: The tactical change made in the 35th minute was perfectly communicated, Eth. By giving Keller the defensive responsibility associated with the false nine, you kept the back line's structure intact. That was pure, simple and effective defence.
Mia: The pub has run out of beer! We've finished off the entire cellar in celebration! It's been the best Boxing Day ever! Now go and get some rest, Eth!
Ethan: We held the line in December, since as soon as Keller got his hands on the false nine he wasn't any good at all. Mase, I'm completely worn out now. Boxing Day is a totally different sort of thing.
Mason: You've survived the beast, friend, and deserve a celebration. Just drink some water though since you've got another game in three days.
Ethan locked his phone and leaned his head back against the cushions. The winter timetable was severe, unrelenting, and entirely without mercy. Yet when he closed his eyes, the Dictator of The Hawthorns was certain that the crown was still lying precisely where it should be.