Chapter 379: Preseason (3)
...
An hour later...
Silence.
That was the only way to describe the atmosphere around the training pitch.
Lukas placed another ball down almost 30 yards from goal.
Ederson stood on his line, hands on his hips.
He already knew what was coming.
The whistle sounded.
Lukas took 4 measured steps before striking through the ball with his right foot.
It climbed.
Dipped.
Curled viciously over the metal mannequin wall before bending back toward the top corner.
Ederson launched himself at full stretch.
He wasn’t even close.
The net rippled.
Another goal.
Nobody spoke.
Foden simply stared at the goal before slowly turning toward Lukas.
"What the fuck is this?"
He pointed accusingly.
"You’ve got to be cheating.There has to be an aimbot in your leg."
Lukas couldn’t stop himself from laughing. "I might be. You never know."
A few yards away, Cherki slowly shook his head in disbelief.
"I’ve stopped counting."
On the touchline, Pep Guardiola stood beside Pepijn Lijnders with his arms folded, a smile gradually spreading across his face.
"We really brought a monster to this club."
Pepijn nodded.
"A real German monster."
The statistics from the session were absurd.
Whether the free kick came from the left side or the right, whether he struck it with his right foot or opened his body to curl it with his left, Lukas kept finding the corners. Roughly 70% of his direct free kicks ended up in the net. It was only training, but considering he’d converted around 55% of his direct free kicks during the previous season, nobody could dismiss it as luck anymore.
Pepijn closed the clipboard.
"Well..."
"I think that settles it."
He looked toward the squad.
"Luke will be our primary set-piece taker in for free kicks in the final third for the first month of the season. We’ll have the competition again in August."
Nobody argued. They all knew how absurd what they had seen was. Even the world class technical players with the ability to strike the ball from distance, knew there was levels to this.
Cherki picked up a ball and walked over.
"Seriously... You have to teach me."
Lukas scratched the back of his neck.
"I don’t really know if I’m a good teacher. But I’ll show you everything I can."
He placed another ball on the grass.
"Come here."
Cherki stood beside him.
Lukas pointed toward the ball.
"I usually start from this angle."
He took a few steps backwards.
"Keep your body relaxed. Don’t try to kill the ball. It’s more about where you hit it."
He demonstrated.
His foot wrapped around the outside of the ball.
It cleared the metal mannequins by inches before curling beautifully into the bottom corner.
Cherki stared at the goal.
Then back at Lukas.
Then back at the goal again.
"Yeah... You’re joking."
Lukas smiled.
"Am I?"
Even Guardiola laughed.
"Luke, make sure you teach him well," Guardiola called out as he smiled and walked out the training pitch with his hands behind his back.
"No problem, boss," Lukas replied as he rolled another ball toward Cherki.
Cherki trapped it with the inside of his foot before passing it back.
Lukas flicked it into the air with one touch and nodded it back.
Cherki cushioned the header before volleying it gently back across.
The two exchanged a few effortless touches while the rest of the squad watched, smiling.
Meanwhile the coach watched the two of them from the entrance to the building facing directly to the pitch. For Guardiola, sessions like this weren’t just about preparing for the coming season.
They were about discovering every weapon his new players possessed.
And with every passing day, Lukas Brandt seemed to reveal another one.
* * *
2 August 2025
Manchester City’s final tune-up before travelling to Italy came behind closed doors at the City Football Academy, where they hosted Championship side Preston North End in a match hidden from the public and the media.
There were no television cameras, no packed stands and no pre-match fanfare, only coaches with notebooks, analysts behind laptops and the occasional shout echoing across the training pitches.
Pep Guardiola used the fixture almost entirely as a tactical exercise. Lukas started in the No. 10 role behind Erling Haaland, with Savinho and Cherki occupying the wings. Behind him, Bernardo Silva and Nico González dictated the rhythm from midfield, while İlkay Gündoğan returned to action to add control and experience to City’s build-up play.
City dominated possession from the opening whistle, patiently circulating the ball and probing for openings as Preston defended deep. The breakthrough eventually came midway through the first half when Lukas drifted into the right half-space, waited an extra second for Rico Lewis to overlap, then slipped a perfectly weighted pass into his path. Rico took one touch before firing a low finish across the goalkeeper to give City a deserved 1-0 lead.
The second goal arrived after the break. Receiving the ball between Preston’s midfield and defensive lines, Lukas turned sharply and spotted Haaland beginning one of his trademark runs in behind. The through ball split the defence, arriving perfectly into the Norwegian’s stride. Haaland rounded the goalkeeper with his first touch before calmly rolling the ball into the empty net.
The remainder of the match was largely one-way traffic, with Guardiola rotating players freely and using the final half hour to rehearse different tactical patterns ahead of the trip to Italy. When the referee finally blew for full time, Manchester City walked away comfortable 2-0 winners.
For Lukas, it was another encouraging afternoon. He finished with 2 assists, dictated large spells of City’s attacking play from the No. 10 position, and continued to strengthen the growing belief within the coaching staff that they had signed something very special.
* * *
9 August 2025
Stadio Renzo Barbera, Palermo
The Sicilian sun had long disappeared beneath the horizon, replaced by brilliant floodlights that illuminated the historic Renzo Barbera Stadium. More than 35,000 supporters packed the stands for the inaugural Anglo Palermitan Trophy, welcoming Manchester City to Palermo in a festive atmosphere celebrating the Italian club’s 125th anniversary.
City had gone into the break leading 1-0 after Erling Haaland finished from a Rico Lewis assist in the 25th minute. Palermo had defended stubbornly throughout the first half, while James Trafford had been called into action several times to preserve the advantage.
As the teams emerged for the second half, Pep Guardiola made wholesale changes.
Lukas was among them.
So was Tijjani Reijnders.
The fresh legs immediately changed the rhythm of the match.
"Manchester City have turned to their bench," the commentator said. "And look who’s coming on. Lukas Brandt makes another appearance after an impressive pre-season. Alongside him is Tijjani Reijnders, another of City’s exciting summer arrivals."
Within minutes, City looked sharper.
Lukas drifted between Palermo’s midfield and defensive lines, constantly asking for the ball, forcing defenders to step out of shape every time he received possession.
In the 58th minute, Bernardo Silva found him 30 yards from goal.
Lukas took one touch to settle himself.
Another to shift the ball away from the closing midfielder.
Nobody expected the shot.
He struck through it cleanly with his right foot.
The ball swerved violently through the warm Sicilian air before screaming into the top-right corner.
The goalkeeper never moved.
The net exploded.
"WHAT A HIT!"
"OH MY WORD!"
"That’s outrageous from Lukas Brandt!"