But Rivaldo wasn't wrong.

After two threatening attacks, Manchester United's morale was indeed boosted.

The rest of the match was no longer dominated by Leeds United; instead, it resembled a turn-based game, with neither team giving an inch and the other exchanging attacks and defenses, keeping the fans and commentators thoroughly entertained.

Thirty-sixth minute.

Leeds United seized the opportunity.

After Manchester United took a corner kick, Neuer punched it away from the air. Modric, who was waiting on the edge of the penalty area, won the first ball. After turning around and observing for a moment, he immediately sent a long pass to the right wing to launch a quick counter-attack.

In an attempt to stop Leeds United's fast break, Ferdinand had no choice but to pull down Ribery from behind as he made a high-speed run to receive the ball.

This tactical foul undoubtedly earned him a yellow card.

"Ferdinand has received a yellow card!" Lineker exclaimed excitedly. "This is good news for Leeds United. The first half isn't even over yet, and Manchester United's center-back has already received a yellow card. In the rest of the game, Leeds United can make good use of Ferdinand's yellow card and launch attacks in the area he's defending."

Ferdinand's interference thwarted Leeds United's counter-attack, and their subsequent free kicks in the attacking third posed no real threat to Manchester United.

Most importantly, Manchester United seized the opportunity and launched a threatening attack.

Alonso's pass was originally intended for Ibrahimovic in the penalty area, but Vidic intercepted the ball halfway through. After a few quick passes, the ball was passed to Scholes.

After dodging Modric's tackle from a standing position, Scholes passed the ball to Rooney, who was coming to receive it.

At the same time.

Cannavaro also anticipated Scholes' pass, and the Italian veteran didn't hesitate, rushing straight towards Rooney, and just as he was about to reach him, he aggressively slid down and tackled the ball!

But to Cannavaro's surprise, his extensive experience proved useless at this moment.

In his calculations, he was able to tackle the ball, but Rooney accelerated again during his sprint, and the explosive power displayed by his young body caused Cannavaro to suffer!

Rooney got to the ball before Cannavaro could, and with a gentle touch, he and the ball bypassed Cannavaro's defense!

Seeing this, Kompany, who was behind him, knew he couldn't let Rooney break forward any further, so he immediately started moving to try and stop Rooney.

But Rooney did not choose to dribble forward.

Instead, after seeing Kompany rushing towards him, he pushed with his right foot and sent out a diagonal pass.

The ball rolled into the huge gap left by Cannavaro's diving forward, where Ronaldo, who had somehow drifted from the left to the middle, had already made a high-speed run and received Rooney's pass!

"Cristiano—!"

Cristiano Ronaldo's name was heard again in the Old Trafford stadium, and the fans cheered in unison, led by the commentator!

This is a standard single-handed attack.

At this moment, Rooney's pass tore open a huge gap in Leeds United's defense!

Cristiano Ronaldo dribbles the ball toward the penalty area.

Neuer also abandoned the gate immediately!

Ronaldo caught a glimpse of Neuer out of the corner of his eye, adjusted his posture slightly, and swung his right leg to shoot!

The shot was powerful and fast, and it was a half-high ball. To others, Neuer should not have had time to react.

But perhaps because he was too eager to score, Ronaldo's shot had a slight flaw: it was a little too straight.

That's exactly what saved Leeds United!

Neuer's dive was merely an instinctive movement, intended only to expand his defensive range. Whether he could actually catch the ball was up to fate.

Fortunately, God was on Neuer's side at this time.

Ronaldo's shot struck Neuer's arm, which wasn't fully extended yet, and unfortunately bounced out of bounds...

"Ah—!! Ronaldo!! Ronaldo!!" Lineker exclaimed, "Leeds United escaped a disaster! Ronaldo missed that one-on-one opportunity! And his shot was saved by Neuer!"

After the football went out of bounds.

A collective sigh rippled through the stands, with most Manchester United fans behind the Leeds United goal holding their heads in their hands, their faces filled with regret!

Ron chuckled and teased, "Looks like Ronaldo isn't wearing his shooting boots today!"

"Hahahaha." Seeing that the ball didn't go in, Lineker breathed a sigh of relief. "It seems that Ferguson will have to give his protégé a good talking-to at halftime! His performance this season has been outstanding, but he didn't put on his shooting boots in this crucial game. I bet Ferguson will be furious!"

····

Six minutes later, Manchester United came back stronger.

This was originally a Leeds United attacking opportunity, but Carrick seized the chance to steal the ball from Kaká. After stealing the ball, he looked up and looked ahead. After noticing that Scholes and Giggs were not up front, he made a long pass and found Ronaldo who was still in the opponent's half!

Cristiano Ronaldo was accompanied by Vincent Kompany, who was also retreating to defend.

However, there is one difference between the two.

Cristiano Ronaldo was sprinting towards the attacking direction, while Kompany was retreating while turning his head to observe the ball in the air.

This is why Kompany made a mistake in his judgment.

He intended to jump up and head the ball out of bounds, but he missed. The ball went over Kompany's head and landed directly in front of Ronaldo!

"Here it comes again! Another one-on-one! What's wrong with Leeds United!" Lineker screamed again. He hadn't had a moment's peace while commentating on the game today. Both teams always managed to launch another extremely threatening attack just as he had a brief respite!

The soccer ball hit the grass and bounced back into the air.

To be honest.

This kind of ball is not easy to control. Even for Ronaldo, if he wants to shoot directly at the goal, he will most likely only be able to shoot wide!

Cristiano Ronaldo's reaction was actually quite quick.

He lifted his left foot and flicked the ball into the air, past Kompany who was rushing up to intercept it.

But just as he was about to kick the ball with his right foot.

Cannavaro, rushing from the other side, was the first to appear in the trajectory of the ball. Ignoring the possibility of Ronaldo hitting him, Cannavaro leaped high and headed the ball out of bounds...