In the locker room at halftime, Holloway once again gave up the authority to explain tactics.
After briefly emphasizing a few key points, he handed the tactical board over to Kai.
Standing before the board, Kai explained the workings of the 4-4-2 formation in detail to his teammates.
"The ideal combination of two forwards in a 4-4-2 is one tall and one fast,"
"But both of you are movement-based strikers without much physical advantage, so the most important thing is that your runs must not overlap."
"Otherwise, it will seriously reduce our attacking efficiency!"
He called Zaha and Vaughan over to the side and emphasized this again.
Zaha nodded repeatedly, looking a bit nervous.
Miler thought of the injured Galvan and asked with concern, "We don't have the physical edge. How do we deal with Burnley's brute-force charges in the second half?"
Kai shook his head.
"We'll stretch the formation, make use of the width of the field, switch play often—capitalize on our strengths and avoid our weaknesses."
"The second half will be a tough battle. Burnley might be in the lead, but they're not going to ease off. We must be ready for a tug-of-war!"
Finally, Kai gathered all his teammates together.
The rallying speech segment could not be skipped!
"We've won four in a row. The entire London media is watching our every move!"
"Our goal this season is promotion—to win the championship! If a team like Burnley becomes our stumbling block, then we're finished!"
"Guys, this is Selhurst Park! Our fans are here—some of your families are sitting in the stands right now!"
"We fight for them, for our families, and for ourselves! In the second half—we fight back!!"
The Crystal Palace locker room erupted in thunderous roars again!
Each player raised his arms and shouted, eyes blazing with determination.
The old Crystal Palace would slump and lose heart once they were behind. Morale would drop off a cliff.
But now, even trailing 1–3 at home, down two goals—
The desire to win was burning brightly in every player's heart!
This was the power of a leader!
Kai's arrival had united this Crystal Palace squad like never before.
McCarthy's eyes grew misty:
"Kai, you're the perfect choice for captain! Wear the armband with pride—lead Crystal Palace in triumphant charge... You carry everyone's love with you!"
Kai tightened the captain's armband on his arm.
A fire ignited in his heart.
A 16-year-old Championship captain!
At that moment, he carried responsibilities he had never borne before.
Holloway patted him on the shoulder:
"No matter what happens, we, the coaching staff, will trust you unconditionally!"
The 15-minute halftime break flew by.
The moment Kai stepped out of the tunnel again—
The Crystal Palace fans erupted into a deafening roar!
The second half had barely started when—
Burnley sensed something was off.
The Crystal Palace players were like men possessed!
Completely different spirit from the first half!
No one knew exactly what had happened in that locker room...
On the sidelines, the Burnley manager didn't stay seated.
He and Holloway stood meters apart on the edge of their respective technical areas.
Both managers deep in thought.
On the pitch—
Trailing 1–3, Crystal Palace launched an unprecedented counterattack!
They had changed their formation!
A defender was pulled out—replaced by an extra forward!
Such a high-risk in-game tactical shift, in the eyes of the media, was a dance on the edge of a blade.
If it failed, the score gap would widen further!
But with the switch to a 4-4-2 formation—
Kai's position on the field subtly changed.
He had always played as a free-roaming midfielder, and with his "God's-eye view," he could see and understand the flow of the match every moment—switching between defensive mid, winger, and attacking mid depending on the situation.
But now—
Kai actively pushed his position forward!
A spot between the front line and midfield!
One step further, he'd be in the No. 9 position. One step back, and he'd be a pure No. 10.
A 9-and-a-half!
He activated the passive of the Cantona Module.
Combined with the God's-eye view—
In this moment, he became a truly omniscient and omnipotent playmaker in the attacking third!
Crystal Palace's front-line connections suddenly clicked into place!
In the stands, a Manchester United scout gasped in shock:
"WTF! He actually changed his playstyle mid-game... It's exactly like the King's!"
"A 9-and-a-half! That role should've been long gone from the annals of football history!"
"Genius doesn't even begin to describe him... He's a monster!"
On the sidelines, the Burnley manager also noticed something wasn't right!
But this was completely beyond his expectations.
Crystal Palace had shifted from a 5-4-1 to a 4-4-2.
4-4-2.
The very formation that Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United favored at their peak!
And the core of that formation at the time—
Was Manchester United's King, Cantona!
And now, Crystal Palace's core—
Was without a doubt—Kai!
The Burnley manager's scalp tingled.
He looked at that black-haired figure on the field—his physique, his aura, even his looks, eerily reminiscent of the King.
For a moment, he wasn't even sure if he was facing Crystal Palace...
Or the mighty Manchester United of old!
Crystal Palace's final counterattack had begun!