Chapter 161
"Rooney dribbled through the penalty area! He quickly passed the ball to Alan! Giggs made a forward run and Alan made a cross!"
In the last minute of injury time in the first half, Manchester United had their final attack.
Cristiano couldn't help but stand up, holding his breath nervously. Arsenal was already one goal ahead of them. This was their last chance to equalize the score in the first half!
Alan made a high cross and Giggs jumped high. Almost at the same time, the Arsenal defender also jumped up to grab the ball and collided hard with Giggs.
Giggs didn't retreat at all, he headed the ball hard and it hit the net!
"The ball goes in! Alan assisted and Giggs headed the ball to help Manchester United equalize with Arsenal in the last minute of the first half!!"
Giggs was still lying on the ground. He turned over and lay on his back on the grass. Alan and Rooney ran over excitedly to celebrate with Giggs, only to notice that he was covering half of his face. It was obvious that he had just had a very strong collision with the Arsenal defender.
Giggs was pulled up by Alan. He waved his hands to indicate that he was fine. He covered his face and walked off the field with his teammates.
Cristiano quickly trotted to Giggs and noticed that Giggs' eyes were bloodshot. Within a few minutes, half of his cheekbone became red and swollen, and blood was oozing from the broken skin.
He took a deep breath and immediately called the team doctor over.
"I'm fine, let's go back to the locker room and deal with it." Giggs said to Cristiano. He smiled and stretched out his arms to hold Cristiano's neck and pressed him to his side. "My jumping height is not bad, right?"
Cristiano rolled his eyes when he heard that. He grinned at Giggs, gestured with his fingers and pinched his fingernails a little: "Just a little worse than me."
Giggs laughed and ruffled Cristiano's hair: "You nasty brat."
After returning to the locker room, the team doctor quickly examined and treated Giggs' injury. The collision caused a slight concussion, but it did not seem to be a serious problem at the moment.
Ferguson went to the locker room and made some simple adjustments to the deployment of troops in the second half.
He looked at Giggs and asked if he was still fit to continue the game.
Giggs nodded slightly: "I think it should be fine."
"If you feel adjustments are needed, let me know," Ferguson said.
Giggs responded.
After the halftime break, both teams returned to the field.
Giggs, who had just equalized the game, received special attention from the opposing players as soon as he touched the ball, making it impossible for him to pass the ball.
"Giggs and Alan were both marked by Arsenal! Arsenal's defenders are very tall, which makes it more difficult for Giggs and Alan to make quality passes!" said the commentator.
Two Arsenal players quickly double-teamed Giggs from the left and right, trying to force Giggs to stop the ball.
"Giggs is blocked by two defenders!" the commentator exclaimed, "We really can't let Giggs run across half the field with the ball. It's too much of a threat to Arsenal!"
Giggs fell heavily to the ground, and Cristiano and his teammates on the bench subconsciously stood up from their seats and protested loudly to the referee on the field.
But the referee did not blow the whistle and the game continued until the ball was kicked out of bounds.
Giggs was still lying on the ground in pain, covering his eyes with the back of his hands, looking a little painful.
The team doctor quickly came on the field, checked Giggs, and signaled to Ferguson on the sidelines to make a substitution.
Ferguson frowned, then he turned to Cristiano and patted the young man wearing a substitute vest: "Go and get ready."
When the audience noticed Ferguson's actions, they all started to get agitated.
"It seems that Ferguson plans to let Ronaldo, who has just recovered from injury, play! As the season is coming to an end, Manchester United's starting main players have all suffered injuries of varying degrees. This is really a headache. Manchester United must grit their teeth and hold on to the end, otherwise everything will be in vain!" The commentator said immediately when he saw the camera focusing on the changes on the bench on the sidelines.
Cristiano quickly agreed and went to change his jersey immediately.
Giggs's condition was that the collision just now aggravated his previous discomfort, so to be on the safe side he went off the field to rest.
After all, Manchester United's goal of winning the championship in the next few games is very clear. Both Cristiano and Giggs are trump cards in Ferguson's hand. The absence of either of them will make the game more difficult - this is why Ferguson is so cautious in using Cristiano.
Cristiano returned to the sidelines as quickly as possible. He quickly raised his legs high to warm up while waiting for Giggs to be helped off the field by the team doctor.
Ferguson walked to Cristiano and whispered to him: "Don't give them a chance to counterattack. Take the rhythm in your own hands. I want to see something different."
Cristiano nodded and agreed: "I will, Boss."
Ferguson pointed to the diamond studs on Cristiano's ears and said: "Take these fancy little things off."
Cristiano quickly turned his head and took off the earrings.
Giggs walked to the sidelines and the fans gave the Manchester United hero a warm applause.
He clapped his hands gently with Cristiano: "Go ahead, Ronnie."
"Watch me teach them a lesson." Cristiano winked at Giggs and quickly trotted onto the field.
Ferguson and Giggs sat back in their chairs. He looked at Giggs and said, "The ambulance is outside. Let's go get a check first."
"I want to finish watching this game first," Giggs said. This is the final and the game is tied. Even if he is put in an ambulance, he will jump out and run back.
Ferguson looked at the team doctor after hearing this, and the doctor nodded to indicate that this little time was not a big deal.
There were only thirty-two minutes left in the regular season.
As soon as Cristiano came on the field, the fans in the stadium began to sing Cristiano's name loudly. The prince of Old Trafford is finally back!
"As long as Ronaldo can drag the game into overtime and prevent Arsenal from scoring, Manchester United will have won half the battle. Arsenal's injuries this season are too serious, and the bench is very empty. There are not many candidates who can be replaced in overtime, and the players' physical strength has reached the limit. Relatively speaking, Ronaldo, who came on as a substitute, has just started warming up. Overtime is his best time to attack!" said the commentator.
His partner said: "Don't forget that the other players of Manchester United are also close to their physical limits. Even if Manchester United has an advantage in extra time, the disadvantages will outweigh the advantages. It can only be said that they will have a slight advantage over Arsenal."
"There are only 30 minutes of regular time left. We have to make sure we don't lose the ball in the face of Arsenal's crazy counterattack and score a goal to win the game. This is too difficult. Our opponent is Arsenal." The commentator smiled and said, "Anyway, let's just watch the game—"
The camera just happened to focus on number seven on the field.
Cristiano started running actively as soon as he came on. He had been holding back for too long and could no longer hold back.
"Ronaldo steals the ball! Look at this first! Manchester United's chance!"
Cristiano neatly intercepted the ball, stopped suddenly and dribbled past the Arsenal player in front of him. He then turned quickly and passed the ball with his heel without even looking, sending the ball directly to Neville's feet.
"Heel! It completely blocked the opposing defender's view and gave it to Neville!"
As soon as the ball left his feet, Cristiano immediately moved forward.
Neville and Ferdinand passed the ball backwards in tacit understanding, separating the players on the midfield flanks, and then made a long pass to the other side, sending the ball straight to the half court!
"Great pass! Alan took the ball and ran straight into the penalty area, and Ronaldo and Rooney also quickly moved forward to the front point!" The commentator's eyes were fixed on the big screen in the broadcast room.
Alan cut into the penalty area and shot, but the ball was saved by the goalkeeper, who failed to hold it and it flew out of his hands.
Rooney and the Arsenal players who were closer immediately rushed forward to compete for the follow-up shot. Rooney's follow-up shot was blocked by the opponent's leg, and the ball flew directly into the stands.
Cristiano failed to touch the ball but he applauded Alan Rooney.
This is the rhythm, this is the morale, they are going to bring full threat and fear to the opposing team.
"Regular time is about to end, and the linesman gives seven minutes of injury time!" The commentator took a look at the injury time and widened his eyes in surprise. "In the second half, Manchester United and Arsenal had team doctors take turns to come on the field and replace players. It took a lot of time. There are seven minutes of injury time! It depends on whether the two teams can hold on to the end!"
The fans in the stadium began to cheer for their home team again. In the last seven minutes, the overtime was decided. All the fans held their breath and watched the field nervously.
Giggs couldn't help but stand up. He clenched his fists and fixed his eyes on his teammates on the field.
"Keane cleared the ball with a long kick! It was close!! The ball was almost scored!" The commentator gasped, and the players on the Manchester United bench on the field also held their heads in their arms and breathed a sigh of relief.
In contrast, there was a chorus of frustration and regret on the Arsenal bench next door.
Cristiano started quickly, speeding up visibly to catch up with the ball that was almost out of bounds.
"Ronaldo's physical advantage is obvious!! He runs very fast!!"
Arsenal's defenders gritted their teeth and tried their best to catch up with Cristiano. There were only two defenders in front of Cristiano, and Cristiano ran across half the court quickly with the ball!
Seeing that Cristiano's offensive trend was unstoppable, the two defenders immediately retreated and tried to delay Cristiano's attack until their teammates could return to defend.
However, as the space in front of them expanded, it gave Cristiano enough opportunities to turn around.
Cristiano turned around and nimbly avoided one of the men, then quickly glanced in the direction of the goal.
The defender facing Cristiano in front of him suddenly had his eyelids twitching, and he suddenly had a sense of uneasiness.
The defender rushed forward to press, but it was too late. Cristiano fired a powerful shot directly from near the center circle of the half court!
The ball flew through the air at an extremely fast speed, falling straight into the net like a rocket! Arsenal's goalkeeper had just moved to the side when the ball fell directly into the net, leaving no time to react!
The whole stadium suddenly exploded with excitement!
"A long-range shot from the center circle!!! A world-class goal!!! Ronaldo in the third minute of injury time!! The score was extended to 2-1!" The broadcast room was also boiling with excitement. The commentator's voice was filled with noisy electronic sounds like a microphone and electric current splitting, and the screams seemed to pierce the eardrums.
"Ronaldo announces his return to his best form with this world-class goal from far away!!"
Giggs and other teammates on the sidelines involuntarily took a breath, opened their mouths slightly, and were stunned for a second before they suddenly reacted. They were so surprised that they wanted to rush onto the court!
Ferguson raised his arms suddenly, his whole face flushed with excitement and joy. Like a child, he pointed in the direction of Cristiano and said to the staff next to him proudly and complacently: "That's my boy! See!"
The situation and atmosphere on the field suddenly became tense, like a bowstring ready to be released. Arsenal conceded a goal in the final stoppage time, and they had to attack desperately, which led to more loopholes on their defense.
"Ah, how did the ball slip through? Manchester United has the ball again! Another counterattack!"
Ferdinand passed the ball to Cristiano who was waiting on the wing. Cristiano broke through the opponent without any hesitation and rushed straight into the opponent's penalty area.
"Foul!! Arsenal committed a foul in the penalty area! Too hasty! This hand movement should not be done at this time - referee, penalty, give Manchester United a penalty!"
Cristiano was hit in the face by an elbow from the opposing defender. He grinned and licked the broken corner of his lips with his tongue. A slight stinging pain and the smell of blood made him grit his teeth and sniff lightly.
He sat on the ground, pulled up his socks that had been kicked below his knees, and waited for the referee's decision.
It was a penalty kick. Alan came over and pulled Cristiano up from the ground. He looked at the broken corner of Cristiano's lip and smiled softly: "Disfigured."
Cristiano poked Alan with his elbow: "Nonsense. I'm still the best looking one."
He knew that Alan was asking him to relax. As the team's first penalty taker, this penalty would undoubtedly be taken by him.
This was most likely the last scoring opportunity in the finals. They were already leading Arsenal 2-1 with only two minutes left in the game. This penalty kick was the one that made it impossible for Arsenal to equalize.
"Ronaldo took a run-up and shot! So easy! He fooled the opponent's goalkeeper and hit a low, fast ball that went straight into the dead corner of the net! A high-quality penalty!"
"Manchester United 3-1!!! In the last seven minutes of injury time, Ronaldo scored twice!!! Helped Manchester United win the FA Cup!!"
When the referee blew the whistle to end the game, all the players and staff on the Manchester United bench rushed over in ecstasy, even Giggs couldn't help but run over!
Cristiano was grabbed by the thighs by Alan and Ferdinand, and lifted up: "We have Ronaldo!"
"Congratulations to Manchester United! Congratulations to Ronaldo! He scored a goal in open play and a penalty in 39 minutes, completing his double!!"
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