Chapter 173

The FA Cup final was held on an afternoon when the sun was shining brightly and the stands were packed with people.

Most of the fans sitting here came here to see the first Premier League World Footballer of the Year. Whether they came to support or to watch the fun, the place was bustling with people.

"Manchester United Red Devils against Chelsea Blues, the game returns to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales!" The commentator shouted loudly amid the loud background music in the stadium.

"Cristiano Ronaldo once won his first FA Cup here. Today, having just become the first-ever Premier League World Footballer of the Year, can he score again for the Red Devils?"

“The game begins!”

Ferguson sat on the sidelines, his eyes sharp as he scanned the movements of everyone on the field.

During the winter transfer window of this season, Florentino offered a high price of 120 million euros. He wanted to buy Cristiano in the winter transfer window to repair the team's lineup and make tactical changes.

But Ferguson refused. He would not allow his Portuguese player to leave his team halfway and work hard for other teams, doing thankless tasks.

Real Madrid did make some visible changes, but it wasn't enough.

This season, the club has lost the knockout round of the Champions League and was eliminated in the round of 16. It is also ranked fourth in the league, far from the first. The King's Cup has advanced to the semi-finals, which is also the first championship of the season that Real Madrid is most likely to win.

Such half-way results were far from enough for Ferguson to let go of his No. 7. He could fully imagine how the anger of those fans who had lacked a championship for long enough would be directed at the Portuguese who had just joined, even though the Portuguese could make very little room for change after joining halfway.

Florentino was very unhappy about his offer being rejected, and he was still waiting for Ferguson to change his mind, or for Cristiano to give him the nod.

He was extremely confident that the temptation he offered was enough - he guaranteed Cristiano his appearances and starting positions, and guaranteed that his salary would be the highest by a large margin so far. With these countless temptations, he didn't believe that the young man, who was only 22 years old, would not be tempted.

How much salary increase can Manchester United give Cristiano? Is it as much as he gave? Only a madman doesn't love money!

However, until the end of the winter transfer window, he still did not get the answer he wanted, and in return all he got was Real Madrid's regretful loss to AC Milan in the quarter-finals.

In the stands of that game, Florentino's face was as black as ink.

"Cristiano receives the ball in the penalty area! There are many players in the penalty area! Cristiano patiently looks for space...quickly stops and shakes off the defender! Then he turns his back and bypasses another player! Stops and shoots! The ball rubs against the gap in the crowd and cuts into the net!"

"Chelsea goalkeeper leaps to save the ball! Beautiful!" Back to the FA Cup final, the commentator glanced at the time, "In the last minute of injury time in the first half, the last shot was still blocked by Chelsea, and Manchester United fell behind the Blues by one point."

Cristiano stomped his feet in anxiety and frustration. The redness on his face from the intense exercise covered the area around his eyes, and he looked like he was about to cry.

He had very few chances to touch the ball in this game. Every time he touched the ball, two or three players would double-team him and knock him down.

This strategy, which was not a foul but actually hindered his attack, made him feel extremely frustrated throughout the game. He finally got a chance to shoot, but was blocked by the goalkeeper. This was a very uncomfortable feeling. If he had been faster and adjusted a little more...

His white shorts were almost dyed green. He lifted his pants to his thighs and walked back to the player tunnel with his head lowered. As he walked by, the fans on both sides of the tunnel booed and cheered, making it difficult to tell what was going on.

The second half of the game started quickly, and Cristiano was still the one being marked.

As soon as he started running, a strong player came up from the side and kept making small movements with his hands. Cristiano was pulled and staggered, and the ball was kicked out of the sideline by the opponent.

Cristiano looked down at his jersey and saw that the opponent had pulled it so hard that a big hole had been torn in the hem of his jersey.

He pursed his lips and tugged at his clothes speechlessly towards the referee. Wasn't it worth a whistle after all this?

"Ronaldo's clothes were torn. It was a really fierce confrontation. Ahem..." said the commentator, trying hard to hold back his laughter.

Cristiano trotted to the sidelines to change his jersey, and the sounds of spotlights and shutter clicks immediately rang out.

He quickly washed his face with water, and Ferguson whispered a few quick words of instruction in his ear.

He nodded, adjusted his breathing, took a few sips of water, and ran back to the court.

"The game has reached its final minutes, Chelsea's defense is very good, Cristiano has very few chances to break through the penalty area in this game..." The commentator watched the screen as Cristiano jogged in the frontcourt, with his feet unable to touch the ball at all, and it was difficult for his teammates to find a gap to pass the ball to Cristiano.

Chelsea's attack was interrupted by Ferdinand's long kick, he swung a long pass and passed it directly to Cristiano.

"Ferdinand made a long pass! This ball is deep!"

Seeing this, Cristiano immediately accelerated, and the ball rolled so fast on the grass that even the commentator thought it was almost impossible to catch up, and the Chelsea players behind him also slowed down.

At the final moment of the game, everyone's physical strength was almost exhausted. It was difficult for anyone to try their best to chase a ball that was about to go out of bounds in these last few minutes. The cost-effectiveness was too low.

Just before the ball was about to go out of the baseline, Cristiano chased the ball and stopped it. He stepped on the ball and applause broke out from the audience behind him. Cristiano was breathing slightly and his eyes fell on his teammates in front of the goal.

He quickly met Alan's gaze, nodded slightly, and made a precise pass through the gap between two Chelsea players, and Alan quickly moved forward.

Chelsea's goalkeeper couldn't help but run out from in front of the goal. Alan made a feint, changed his feet and suddenly pushed the ball in front of the goal, which hit the far corner of the goal!

Cristiano rushed over happily, jumped onto Alan's back, and kissed Alan's neck several times excitedly. He almost cried: "Great, Alan! Great!"

Alan staggered forward twice due to being pressed down by Cristiano. He laughed, grabbed Cristiano's knees tightly to support the weight on his back, and happily carried Cristiano to the sidelines to celebrate!

"At the critical moment! Cristiano Ronaldo made an assist and Alan equalized the score! The final is still suspenseful!"

However, the balance of the game did not tilt towards Manchester United again.

In the final injury time, Chelsea scored another goal to overtake the score, and the final result of the game was frozen at this moment.

"The game is over!! Chelsea defeated Manchester United!! Manchester United failed to win the FA Cup again at the Cardiff Millennium Stadium." The commentator took a deep breath, "Congratulations to Chelsea! For an unparalleled and wonderful game!"

Cristiano lay on the grass, gasping for breath. He covered his eyes with his arms so that no one could see his appearance.

A Chelsea player came over and wanted to exchange jerseys with Cristiano. When he saw Cristiano covering his face, he didn't know whether he should go over or not.

God, Cristiano Ronaldo can actually cry.

Fortunately, Cristiano calmed down his emotions afterwards. He pursed his lips hard to stop the urge to cry, but his eyelashes were soaked, and their long and dense eyes stuck together, which was very obvious.

He couldn't always control his emotions after losing a game, Cristiano thought to himself with a pursed mouth, he had to vent a little.

Manchester United, who unfortunately lost the FA Cup championship, must cheer up as soon as possible and prove to the fans their ability to win the championship in the next game.

Although they failed to win the FA Cup, Manchester United has won the UEFA Super Cup and the Community Shield this season. For the club, the results in the first half of the season were satisfactory, but in comparison, the losses in the second half of the season seemed even more desolate.

Fortunately, the League Cup championship was also won in the following schedule, and the Red Devils also tenaciously reached the final of the Champions League.

Final zone, Manchester United, Arsenal.

It was the first time for Arsenal to reach the final, and it was also the first time for a team from London to reach the Champions League final. The two teams, both from England, turned this Champions League final into a fierce national derby.

Arsenal coach Wenger and Ferguson stood in the coaching area on the sidelines. They exchanged glances at each other from a distance, then turned their heads away tacitly, neither of them willing to pay attention to the other.

Ferguson thought to himself, if he wanted to steal his number seven jersey, he would have to wait until his next life.

Wenger thought to himself that Ronaldo should have been Arsenal's number seven.

They even had the jerseys printed.

"The game has officially begun! We are bringing you the commentary of tonight's Champions League final at the Stade de France in Paris! Manchester United vs. Arsenal! Manchester United attacks from the left side of the screen, while Arsenal counterattacks from right to left!"

Manchester United has suffered too many injuries this season. Neville and Keane both missed the game in the second half of the season. Ferdinand also missed four or five league games due to a thigh muscle strain. He came on as a substitute on the bench in this final.

"Manchester United's starting lineup this time is very different from the lineup in last season's final. This season, Manchester United's injuries have left Ferguson with no one to use. This lineup is far from the previous championship lineup, while Arsenal's players are fully trained and in excellent form! This game looks very suspenseful."

The guest nodded and joked: "Maybe Arsenal, who have reached the Champions League final for the first time, will also win the trophy for the first time?"

"This season, Fabregas has taken over the scepter and become the new king of Arsenal. Arsenal has been leading the Premier League standings. Arsenal really has the temperament to win the championship."

"In contrast, Manchester United, who are facing a serious shortage of players this season, will find it difficult to reproduce the glory of fighting on four fronts last season. But no matter what, they have already won several championship trophies this season. This is the foundation of a wealthy club!"

As the chat between the commentator and the guests progressed, the game soon entered its first melee.

Rooney headed the ball, which hit the crossbar and bounced back. Evra took a long shot in the chaos outside the penalty area, but the shot hit the wall and was cleared again.

"The goalkeeper has already run out! It's an empty goal! I wish Evra's long shot hadn't hit the wall!"

Evra stuck out his tongue.

Arsenal quickly launched a counterattack, and Manchester United's defense was put under review. Without three veteran defenders, Neville, Keane and Ferdinand, a gap was quickly torn in Manchester United's defense.

"There's chaos in the penalty area! Fabregas fired a shot in front of the goal! Van der Sar's vision was obstructed! The ball went straight into Manchester United's goal!"

"Arsenal took the lead and scored a point!"

The loud boos against Manchester United were deafening at the Stade de France, while Arsenal fans held up huge tifos with their team logos and screamed excitedly.

The game has just passed thirteen minutes!

In the 34th minute, Arsenal players scored again, and the cooperation on the flanks once again broke through Manchester United's defense.

"Manchester United's right side is empty again! Arsenal's striker gets the ball! Fabregas makes a run forward, and Van Persie in the middle quickly runs to the back of the penalty area!"

"The ball was passed to Fabregas in the penalty area. Van Persie and his teammates pressed forward, putting great pressure on Van der Sar!"

"Fabregas dribbled the ball down the field and passed it back to Van Persie, who shot directly!!"

"The ball goes in again!!! Arsenal are two points ahead in the first half!! A very classic Gunners-Arsenal inverted triangle tactic!"

The atmosphere on Arsenal's side was unprecedentedly warm, with the entire Arsenal half of the stands filled with singing. On the other hand, Manchester United's fans were so angry after conceding two goals in a row that they started throwing mineral water bottles onto the field.

Keane and Neville, who were sitting in the stands in grey suits, couldn't help but turn their heads away to watch, pinching their brows and letting out a long breath.

"Manchester United's defense is problematic! They are too easily penetrated! If they continue like this, Arsenal will score five goals without any problem!" The commentator said with great joy, "Arsenal may really be able to win the Champions League!"

"It seems that even Manchester United with Cristiano Ronaldo can't break the Champions League defending curse." The guest sighed.

Manchester United conceded two goals in a row before the end of the first half. Both in terms of morale and mentality, they were completely overwhelmed by Arsenal.

Before the game started, the fans were looking forward to Cristiano scoring a goal, and now they are just as anxious and angry that Manchester United failed to score.

Until the end of the first half, the score had not changed. The entire field was littered with paper balls and water bottles, and security guards were urgently maintaining order in the venue.

Cristiano and his teammates strode back to the locker room. In the locker room, Ferguson turned on the microphone and scolded all the players on the back line. Cristiano noticed that Evra's eyes were blank, as if he had lost his soul due to being scolded.

He buried his head in tying his shoelaces, and Ferguson turned his anger on the striker.

The short break in the middle of the game was not enough for Ferguson to open fire. He reiterated the tactical requirements and then drove his players back to the field.

"The second half of the game begins, Manchester United and Arsenal change sides." The commentator cleared his throat. There was a bottle of champagne on his table, waiting to celebrate Arsenal's victory.

It started to drizzle on the field, and the field became more slippery, which was undoubtedly a further blow to Manchester United, who were two points behind. Compared to Manchester United, which had to play more actively, Arsenal only needed to maintain their advantage on the field in the second half.

Although the night rain in Paris was not heavy, the raindrops were dense. Soon, all the players on the field were soaked.

With his white shorts sticking to his thighs and his red jersey perfectly outlining his muscles, Cristiano ran back and forth on the field over and over again, filling the gaps in Manchester United's defense.

"O'Shea's feet slipped! The ball missed! Arsenal's chance!"

The commentator leaned forward slightly, took a deep breath, and shouted quickly.

Cristiano reacted very quickly and rushed forward from the wing, and before the Arsenal players arrived, he kicked the ball to the right.

He made a quick gesture towards Scholes, and Scholes strode forward with the ball!

"The ball is still in Manchester United's hands, Ronaldo is very fast in getting it back! Scholes attacks from the right, Ronaldo is waiting for an opportunity to move in the middle! Look at this round of attack!"

Scholes passed the ball to Rooney, who dribbled the ball a few meters deep into the penalty area and then quickly passed it back to Cristiano who was making a forward run.

There were three or four players surrounding Cristiano. He quickly glanced around and saw that Rooney and Alan were pressing in front of the goalkeeper. He immediately kicked the ball high. Rooney jumped up with all his strength, turned his head suddenly, and knocked the ball into the net.

"GOOOOOAL! Rooney scores with a header! Manchester United breaks the deadlock!" The commentator and guests shouted excitedly, "Manchester United finally scored thanks to the attack initiated by Ronaldo!"

Rooney's goal greatly inspired the fans in the stadium and gave them a glimmer of hope.

Cristiano happily grabbed Rooney's short stubble a few times: "Well done Wazza!"

Rooney laughed happily and felt great.

In the 70th minute of the game, Arsenal's attack in front of the goal was cleared, and O'Shea made up for it by launching a long pass and sounding the clarion call for a counterattack.

After receiving the ball in the middle, Alan passed it to Cristiano in front of him without stopping, and Cristiano quickly accelerated.

"Let's see if Arsenal can defend against Ronaldo's attack again!"

Arsenal's defense made it difficult for Manchester United to enter the penalty area. Cristiano was intercepted in the penalty area several times, or the ball was kicked out of the baseline to clear.

Cristiano ran very fast, but Arsenal's positional defense was even tighter. The two defenders kept a close eye on Cristiano's position, making it difficult for him to approach the penalty area.

He took small steps and quickly switched his left and right feet, allowing the ball to fly flexibly under his feet, causing the defensive players in front of him to shake sensitively, fearing that Cristiano would suddenly run behind him with the ball.

"It seems that Arsenal has studied Ronaldo's playing habits thoroughly..." The commentator was speaking when his voice suddenly stopped!

Cristiano suddenly stopped. He did not choose to break through, but directly shot from a long distance!

"The ball goes in!!! A world-class goal!!! This distance!!! Yes, it is Ronaldo's shooting range!!"

"But it's still surprising! He didn't choose to take the ball into the penalty area to a safer position! Instead, he shot directly! This shot was so sudden! Arsenal's goalkeeper didn't have time to react and save the ball!" The guest slapped the table excitedly, gasping and shouting, "In the 72nd minute of the game, Ronaldo scored the second goal for Manchester United! He tied the score!!"

Arsenal fell silent for a moment. In less than twenty minutes, Manchester United equalized the score they had created in the first half.

And this is not the end.

"It looks like the game will be dragged into overtime, but there are only three minutes of injury time. Sir Alex Ferguson protested to the linesman that the injury time has been shortened!" The commentator took a look at the situation on the field and couldn't help laughing.

Manchester United was like a wild beast that never knew fatigue and would never stop attacking. Even in the last minute, the Red Devils still spared no effort in attacking Arsenal's goal, as if they wanted to win the game in one go.

Cristiano dribbled the ball as fast as he did at the beginning of the game. Arsenal's defense was shattered after 90 minutes of high-intensity review, and they had to use tactical fouls to prevent Cristiano from approaching their penalty area.

"Ronaldo was dragged to the ground! The referee awarded a free kick!! It seems that this is Manchester United's last scoring chance in the regular season!" the commentator exclaimed.

"This angle is not good, it's too small. It might be difficult to shoot directly. It requires some tactical coordination." The guest analyzed.

Cristiano and Alan were both standing near the penalty spot. They looked at each other, covering their mouths and whispering something.

"It looks like the two are discussing tactics." The commentator nodded in agreement.

"It doesn't matter if this ball doesn't go in. You're the only one who can kick it. Don't feel pressured." Alan said to Cristiano, covering his mouth.

"Well, if it goes in, you have to carry me around the field to celebrate, how about that?" Cristiano joked.

"It's not like I haven't done that before, I'm kicking you." Alan rolled his eyes, what a childish brat.

If the dozens of commentators on the scene knew what the two were talking about, they would definitely be shocked.

Neville sat nervously in the audience, pinching his fingers hard: "Damn, I really wish I was on the court, at least I wouldn't be so nervous now. What are Ronnie and Alan discussing? Did the boss tell them some strategy and tactics?"

Keane looked at the two boys on the field with their heads down. They didn't look very nervous. He narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Don't think too much. This is not Ronnie's style."

Neville: “…” That’s right.

"The referee signals for kick-off! Let's see how Manchester United is going to cooperate—" The commentator leaned forward, and as he was speaking, he saw Cristiano running up—

"Shoot directly!!!! No coordination!!! Just shooting!!! An unstoppable shot!!!" The commentator took a breath and saw the ball hit the goal directly at a small angle. A tricky and violent shot directly killed the game! !

"Ronaldo ended the Champions League final with his trademark rocket free kick!!"

"Come back from 2-0 down to 3-0!!! Manchester United tactically lost two goals in a row, but now they are 3-0 up!! Defend the Champions League!!!"

"When Ferguson doesn't have any good players in the lineup, it is enough for him to have Cristiano Ronaldo! He is the key player who decides the game!!" The commentator and guests' voices were hoarse.

No one expected that such a dramatic and bold score of "coming back from 2-0 down to 3-0" would appear in the Champions League final!

This game is a classic! Arsenal played in their classic style, winning the first half cleanly and beautifully, while Manchester United showed the fans the Red Devils' indomitable willpower in the second half, catching up and surpassing the score!

"Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice! Manchester United successfully defended the Champions League! Congratulations to Manchester United! Congratulations to Ronaldo! Paris will hold the star-studded trophy for Manchester United tonight!"

In the end, Cristiano did not let Alan carry him around the field to celebrate. He was pinned down by his teammates and club staff and could not move at all!

Neville and Keane were so excited that they couldn't help but jump up from their seats and ran straight to the field!

"Viva Ronaldo!"

Ferguson rescued his little Portuguese from under the human pile. He happily hugged Cristiano tightly. The boy's face was squeezed so hard that it was deformed and his lips were pouting, but he was laughing happily and didn't dodge at all.

Media reporters also swarmed in from the sidelines and poked the microphone in front of Cristiano: "Ronaldo! Congratulations! What do you want to say to the fans after defending the Champions League?"

Cristiano blinked when he heard that. He took the water cup handed to him by the staff, bit open the water outlet and sipped it. He adjusted his breathing, thought for a while and smiled: "I don't have much to say. I'm very happy. I think those fans who have been criticizing me should not be able to criticize me anymore in this game, right?"

The reporters smiled knowingly when they heard this. Ever since the FA Cup defeat, the fans have never stopped booing, and the brace in the Champions League final was undoubtedly a beautiful counterattack.

He was a key contributor to Manchester United's Champions League title defence.

Cristiano's star was so dazzling that it completely overshadowed Rooney who scored the first goal, but the team's defense and beautiful results were enough to make people forget these small details.

Rooney didn't care what the reporters said. He happily held the big-ear cup on his head with both hands and rushed to the camera to take several photos.

"Come on Ronnie! Let's take a photo!" Rooney called out loudly.

Cristiano ran over with a big grin on his face. There was still a drizzle in the sky, and the raindrops reflected the golden ribbons, as if it was falling golden rain.

"Glory, Glory, Man United!" Everyone shouted in unison and raised their hands high.

Manchester United! Defend the Champions League!