Dream Training : The Champions

'It's been a long time since I played as an attacking midfielder.' thought Kazuki. He looked around. The view here was definitely wider than up front as a striker. He could also clearly see Pogba who seems was returning his gaze. In the next few days, Golden Boy will be announced. Pogba was still one of Kazuki's toughest competitors.

When Southampton had the ball, Kazuki slowly brought Southampton's style of play to be more aggressive. When Rustan penetrates on the right, Kazuki will help Rustan get the second ball. This made Southampton keep the ball possesion even if they had lose the ball. You could say Kazuki's presence increased Southampton's counter-press.

In the 55th minute, Kounde lost the ball after Rafael had dropped him. Rafael passed the ball to Pogba. However Kazuki hit Pogba's body. When Pogba lost his balance. He stole the ball. The Manchester United defense prepared to face Kazuki.

Facing Johnny Evans, Kazuki leaned his body to the left. He then quickly broke through the Manchester United defense by pushing the ball to the right. Evans moved on instinct. He followed Kazuki to the right. At that time Kazuki turned around and gave a pass to Rustan.

Rustan welcomed the ball with a first time kick. The ball flew and gently entered through the left corner of the goalpost. Kazuki immediately approached Rustan and hugged him.

"Nice shot, dude."

"Your pass was great, I think you're more suited as an attacking midfielder."

The goal made Southampton equalize. The Saint managed to make the score changed to 1-1 the same.

"Take care of Kazuki! Don't let him go!" Moyes continued to give instructions from the sidelines. He looked annoyed to see Southampton score a goal. He felt that Pogba should be more active watching Kazuki.

The match resumed. In the 61st minute, Patrice Evra managed to tackle Rustan, he then gave a pass to Cleverly. Cleverly provided the ball to Pogba. Kazuki chased Pogba, but Pogba immediately sent a flat pass towards Carrick. The Manchester United midfielder received a pass from Pogba and then passed it to Anthony Martial.

Anthony Martial dribbled the ball forward. He faced Freddy. However, Anthony was able to beat Benson easily. Then he gave the ball to Pogba who had climbed forward. Just as Pogba was about to receive the pass, Kazuki appeared from behind and kicked the ball towards the Southampton defender. Hilton took the ball. Then he gave a long pass to the right side.

Rustan quickly brought the ball. His movements were too fast that he left Patrice Evra far behind. Rustan then brought the ball into the penalty box. Rio Fernand stood up and blocked Rustan. Rustan gave a lob pass forward. Osmund ran and shot the ball. Unlucky, Osmund's shot was caught by David de Gea.

In the 66th minute, Southampton got a free kick. Kazuki was brought down by Pogba in front of the penalty box. He was appointed as a free kick taker. However, at that time Rustan approached Kazuki and said that he was in good shape and wanted to take the free kick.

Kazuki accepted Rustan's request. He gave this free kick to Rustan. The referee blew the whistle. Kazuki dashed forward a moment then passed the ball he had to kick. The Manchester United players seemed to be moving at the time, but the ball didn't appear. They were surprised, at the same time, Rustan immediately kicked the ball.

The ball flew curled into the corner of the net. The ball hit the post and bounced into the goalmouth. Fortunately, Osmund was able to execute the rebound well. He kicked the ball into the goalpost. Southampton beat Manchester United with a score of 2-1.

"Goaaaaal! It only took a small poke from Osmund to make it 2-1. The accuracy of Rustan's free-kicks was quite good. His collaboration with Kazuki fooled many Manchester United players."

In the 71st minute, Manchester United attacked Southampton. Simone failed to stop Carrick's movement. He received the ball from Pogba's pass and then dribbled the ball quickly to the front of the penalty box. Carrick then gave the ball to Van Persie. Van Persie pushed the ball past the players behind him. He then turned and chased the ball.

After getting the ball, Van Persie's position wasn't ideal to shoot, so he released a pass to the front of the penalty box. Pogba received the pass, he pushed the ball forward then kicked the ball hard. At the same time Kazuki dashed from the side and slid in front of Pogba.

His body managed to block Pogba's hard kick. The ball bounced forward. Rudolf got it, but Cleverly brought down Rudolf for the referee to blow the whistle and Southampton's planned counter-attack failed.

In the 77th minute, Manchester United attack was more ferocious. Pogba managed to beat Kazuki in an aerial duel. He then gave the ball to Cleverly. Cleverly passed the ball to Patrice Evra. Evra sent the ball forward and Christopher Ron received the ball. He then sent the ball back to Cleverly who had freed himself from Rudolf's guard.

Cleverly received the ball. He looked to the right and crossed the ball to Anthony Martial. The ball went to the end of the pitch, so Anthony and Benson race to reach the ball first. Anthony managed to reach the ball. Then he gave the ball to Rafael. Rafael dribbled the ball into the penalty box.

Rafael confronted Hilton. He changed the direction of the ball. Then, the Manchester United right-back sent a flat pass horizontally to the left side of the penalty box. Van Persie was about to welcome Rafael's pass, but Dean Smith grabbed the ball first. He then throws the ball forward.

Simone received a pass from Dean Smith with his chest. Then he sent a long pass to the right side. Rudolf ran as hard as he could with the ball. He kept pushing the ball forward as he slowly passed Rio Fernand. Then Rustan dribbled the ball into the penalty box.

With a narrow angle, Rustan forced himself to shoot towards Manchester United's net. David de Gea saved the Manchester United goalpost again.

In the 85th minute, David de Gea caught Kunde's shot. He threw the ball to the right. Rafael da Silva received the ball. He pushed the ball aside and dodged Kounde. Then, Rafael dribbled the ball into the middle and gave Pogba a pass. Pogba was heavily guarded by Kazuki, so he quickly passed the ball to Cleverly. Rudolf frantically tried to steal the ball from Cleverly. But the player tricked Rudolf and got past him.

Cleverly brought the ball to the front of the penalty box. Then he provided a breakthrough pass to Anthony Martial. Anthony moved, he then passed Benson and gave Van Persie a pass. Robin Van Persie leaped and took a volleyball kick. This time his shot managed to break into the Southampton net.

This goal was also the end of this match. Manchester United drew 2-2 against Southampton.

In a press conference, The Sun started the conference with boos for Manchester United. A reporter from The Sun said, "Congratulations to Mr Moyes for holding off current leaders Southampton. This was a very good achievement considering Southampton had beaten a lot of big clubs."

Moyes who heard that was certainly angry. He took the microphone and said "We had a lot of chances but luck was not on our side. I think this draw was luck for Southampton not for us."

"How do you think Southampton was lucky when one of their players, Ryan Jr, has to be out for two months when Pogba only gets a yellow card. What do you think of the referee's assessment of this game?" asked The Independent. News of Ryan's condition has reached the media. This made them sure that the storm of injury will hit Southampton.

"I will not comment on the performance of the referee. It is not my right to comment on it." Moyes knew that the referee's decision regarding Ryan was in their favor. In addition, the FA always punishes coaches who criticize the referee's performance.

"Despite not scoring goals, Kazuki's performance in this match was quite good. Does Manchester United regret not signing him last summer?" asked The Guardian.

"We have a lot of good players. I think adding one or two more will not change Manchester United's problem. Players are not the problem," said Moyes. He tried to protect the players he coached even though some players did oppose his rule at Manchester United. However, he did not know his words were a blunder.

The Sun excitedly asked, "If players are not the problem, do you admit that you are the problem itself?"

Moyes tried to explain what he meant, but The Sun and other sports magazines continued to berate Moyes with questions until Moyes finally decided to walk away from the press conference.

In contrast to the chaos during the interview with Manchester United. George and also the media seem calm in discussing Southampton.

This draw allowed Manchester City to surpass Southampton in the table, if The Citizen was able to achieve full points when visiting Tottenham Hotspur. Although George admitted that he was disappointed, this result was actually what he had predicted.

Kazuki really carried this team all the way to the top of the table, but football was a team game. Without quality partners it was difficult for Kazuki to continue to bring victory to Southampton.

However, rather than the outcome of this match, he was more worried about the storm of injuries. George had rotated as much as possible but the risk of injury was always there no matter how often George rotates. However, he could not control everything on the football field.

Without Ryan's presence, the burden on the attacking midfielder fell to Bennett. But Bennet needed a substitute. The only way was to pull Kazuki back and let Osmund play in the front. Osmund's replacement was Theodore who can be called occasionally.

However, if another player got injured again, it will be difficult for Southampton to maintain their form like in the first half of the season. Some players like Rustan, Simone, Okhalo, Hilton and Dean Smith was really hard to replace.. Even if there was a replacement then the quality was definitely worse.