Chapter 76
Alan and Cristiano combined to score a quick goal less than three minutes into the game, which made the entire Old Trafford cheer.
Sir Alex Ferguson was chewing gum in the coaching booth on the sidelines, smiling and sitting back in his seat with satisfaction. He knew that buying Alan would not be a mistake. Alan and Ronnie would become Manchester United's new and strongest spears.
It turns out he was right again.
Cristiano high-fived and kissed every team-mate who trotted over to celebrate the goal, and he wasn't even sweating.
He grinned, licked the tip of his teeth, opened his arms and hugged his teammates tightly.
Pique, who rarely started the game, jumped over his teammates and stretched out his arms to ruffle Cristiano's hair: "Cris! Great! It's only been two minutes!"
Cristiano's eyes sparkled. He laughed and slapped Pique's disruptive hand away. He tilted his head to nudge Alan, who had attracted two defenders for him, and smiled with a slight breath: "Only two minutes?"
When Alan heard Cristiano's words, he couldn't tell for a moment whether the rising tone at the end of the sentence expressed doubt or some other meaning.
He was held by Cristiano, facing the fans in the stands and accepting their cheers one second, and the next second he had to be squeezed together with a group of excited teammates.
Cristiano casually and quickly touched his forehead so that he could clearly smell the scent on the other person, which was strong but not pungent, like a sweet fruity scent.
Alan didn't even think about the game time as Cristiano said. Instead, he was thinking about why Chris would use these body sprays during the game.
——He dared to say that there were not many people who smelled so good on the court, but Cristiano must be one of them.
"The game hasn't officially started yet." Cristiano's voice came into his ears.
Alan heard the voice of the boy who was five years younger than him, with an unparalleled willfulness and arrogance - he thought it was a compliment, they needed such spirit, but he could not see such an incredible and shining side in other people.
He even had a vague illusion that the blood in his body was boiling with excitement due to this arrogance.
So that's what he meant. He couldn't help but take a deep breath, grinned and nodded heavily in agreement.
"We want to score a goal!" I don't know who shouted, maybe it was a fan nearby, or maybe it was one of their teammates. It doesn't matter. What matters is that this sentence seemed to ignite a fuse in the hearts of the Red Devils.
Cristiano assisted Alan with a corner kick, who volleyed the ball in front of the goal. In just ten minutes, Manchester United led 2-0!
This was like an omen, foreshadowing a smooth and big win in the game.
This was Alan's first goal in the Premier League. His goal in the Community Shield before the season allowed him to prove his ability to Ferguson, and now his first goal in the league made him breathe a sigh of relief - he tugged at his jersey, closed his eyes tightly, raised his head and roared as if to vent his anger.
Giggs and Neville trotted up and gave him a hug. They both knew how much this first league goal meant to a striker who had transferred from a bitter rival.
They laughed and congratulated Alan in his ear. Alan opened his eyes, lowered his head slightly, and took a breath to calm himself down. He turned to look for Cristiano, and saw Chris standing outside the human wall of Giggs and others with a smile. When he saw Alan's gaze, he immediately raised his arms and smiled knowingly.
Alan pushed his teammates aside, strode towards Cristiano and gave him a big hug with a smile: "You assisted my first goal in the league."
"You know scoring a goal is amazing." Cristiano hugged Alan back, pinched the back of Alan's neck and laughed, stretched out his hand and poked Alan's shoulder, emphasizing, "You started your moment."
He emphasized the word "you", raised his slender and delicate eyebrows, patted his shoulder quickly and trotted away.
Alan laughed when he heard that. He rubbed the shoulder that was poked by Cristiano. He seemed to understand what the boy meant, but he found it even more interesting that the other party was obviously younger than him, but his eyes seemed to carry the guidance of an elder.
He shook his head, and saw Cristiano running to the side, hooking his finger at them to indicate that he wanted the ball. The fans at Old Trafford nearby were attracted by the boy's gesture and expression and shouted: "Give him the ball!", "See! He wants the ball! Give it to him!"
Cristiano was startled and stood there in a daze. He couldn't help scratching the back of his head and smiling awkwardly.
Alan threw away the illusion that flashed through his mind just now. Nonsense, Cristiano is just a little kid who shows all his emotions on his face. What Leo and Keane said is absolutely right.
Neville passed the ball to Cristiano and quickly directed the attack.
Cristiano nodded slightly and just took two steps when a defender came up to him, snatched the ball from him and gave him a subtle push with his hand.
Cristiano lost his balance and staggered forward to regain his balance. He immediately raised his hand to alert the referee of the opponent's small action, but the referee ignored it.
When Alan saw Cristiano's ball being intercepted, he immediately sped up and pressed forward.
He was very fast. With a subtle push of his shoulder, he immediately pushed the man away with great force and took back the possession of the ball.
Seeing this, the other Birmingham players immediately surrounded Alan.
Alan did not linger on the ball at his feet. He just made a fake move and then pushed the ball quickly with his feet. The ball flew low and quickly along the grass and returned to Cristiano's feet again.
Cristiano took two quick steps to catch up with the ball, and the two of them cooperated so quickly that the opposing players didn't have time to react at all.
"Cristiano Ronaldo got his ball back! Haha, look at him, he's obviously smiling and happy!" said the commentator.
His partner touched his nose, unable to resist the urge to complain, and said: "You look like an old father now, my friend."
"Haha, sorry, sorry." The commentator coughed lightly, got back to the point, put his attention back on the game itself, and stared at the red figure in the screen, "Look at him! Ronaldo seems to not need any time to speed up, he just takes the ball and rushes into the opponent's defense at an extremely fast speed!"
"He's so agile! He dodged into the other side's restricted area in just a few moves!"
“Hit the door!!”
"The ball was saved! The position was perfect!"
Cristiano looked at the flying ball, gritted his teeth in annoyance, and waved his arms angrily. He wasted a good opportunity.
He should adjust the angle before shooting, he could do better, he thought so, took a deep breath, exhaled vigorously, and waved his arms heavily again to vent his dissatisfaction with himself.
Giggs trotted over and patted Cristiano on the head as if to comfort him. Alan followed behind and clapped his hands to indicate that it was nothing.
Alan looked at Cristiano with amusement and some confusion as he saw his obvious annoyance. It was normal for a ball to be blocked.
Even though he also felt it was a pity, that was a good opportunity, and Cristiano's quick change of direction was even more beautiful, dodging the double-team of the opposing defenders.
It's just that the last kick was too straight, but it's not Chris' fault. The defenders tried their best to defend him.
Alan didn't realize how much his thoughts had changed - he was so upset about conceding the goal within three seconds that the only thought left in his mind was to comfort and encourage.
It was a pity to lose a ball, but he would give him another one, he thought to himself.
The fans at Old Trafford were shouting Cristiano's name loudly, and singing "Ronaldo! Ronaldo!" in unison on the sidelines, encouraging the big boy who had a frustrated look on his face.
Cristiano is the kid that Old Trafford has watched grow up, he is their child!
These fans are almost completely biased in giving their tolerance and tenderness to Cristiano.
Cristiano heard the cheering voice in his ear. He blinked and turned to look at the stands. He subconsciously smiled, and then the cheers from the stands became more enthusiastic.
"We love Ronnie! Ronnie loves us!"
Cristiano's smile became much bigger. He almost forgot that he also had a group of people who would tolerate and encourage him even if he lost the ball.
He put his hands to his mouth and blew a kiss to the stands, then pointed to his chest with a smile, nodded continuously and said loudly: "I will give you a goal, I promise, I will!"
Alan also heard it and couldn't help but look at Cristiano.
Cristiano quickly trotted past him and said to him as he ran: "That was a great pass!"
Alan smiled and trotted along beside Chris. He raised his hand to cover his mouth and said in a low voice, "Is that how you promised the fans? What if..."
"Nothing will happen. I will try my best and I believe the result will be what I want." Cristiano also covered his mouth, but his eyes were shining.
Alan raised his eyebrows, a little stunned, until he was gently bumped by Neville. He heard Neville say to him with a hint of sarcasm in his voice: "You have to get used to this brat. He is just like that."
Cristiano is a natural striker, and commentators would say he has a keen nose and amazing talent, which is true, but what they don't know is that he is also an extremely smart and thoughtful observer.
He carried the ball to test the opponent's left-back and look for the opponent's weakness. If the opponent was a tough opponent who was difficult to break through, he would change his strategy and test the opponent's right-back.
Cristiano is like a cheetah with a beautiful physique. He crawls and probes, one by one. He is always surprisingly patient with his targets, as if he is playing with his prey and then ambush them unexpectedly.
If the opponents are really tough ones, he can still cooperate with his teammates and they can always find a weakness for him.
"Ronaldo connected the attack route in the midfield! He passed the ball to Alan Smith! Oh my God, he runs so fast! I dare say his speed of running without the ball is one of the fastest among all players at present!"
Alan ran with the ball to the sideline outside the restricted area. He saw Cristiano coming up quietly from a distance - in an ideal position - Alan curled the corners of his mouth, and at the same time, a strong sense of anticipation and excitement surged in his heart. This kid really knew where he should appear. Cristiano might really be able to score another goal! ?
He glanced in front of him and saw that the players on Birmingham's defense were all closely marking him while he had the ball.
Alan made a sudden stop and changed direction, and the opposing player was caught off guard and slid out due to inertia. He kicked the ball and passed it to the middle, and Cristiano rushed forward like lightning!
"GOOOOOOOOOOOAL!! Cristiano Ronaldo!! Header!! The ball went into the upper left corner of the net!! Ronaldo, scored twice!"
"Manchester United 3-0!! In the first 40 minutes of the first half, Manchester United scored a goal almost every 10 minutes!"
Cristiano cheered on the spot, then ran towards the audience stands with his arms open. He looked up at the entire audience, grinning and excitedly hugged those screaming and cheering.
Alan also ran to his side, no one was more surprised than him!
One moment he was still worried that Chris was prematurely promising the fans an unguaranteed goal, and the next moment, he witnessed with his own eyes the assist for the goal!
The feeling of being involved is surprising and incredible!
Alan turned Cristiano's face and stared into his eyes with excitement and surprise: "You did it! Cristiano! You really did it!"
Cristiano's face was deformed by Alan's pinching, like a swollen goldfish. He laughed and leaned back to avoid it, but was immediately surrounded by Keane and Ferdinand who came from behind. His cheeks were slightly red from being slapped by the older brothers.
Compared to the hot atmosphere here, Birmingham seemed to be stunned.
In just one first half, three goals were scored against them? ! The goalkeeper was almost in despair.
And this isn’t even the end.
There were four minutes left in the first half, and six minutes including injury time - the injury time in the first half would not be too long, at most two minutes - and Birmingham's coach was calling on his players to defend the final score of the first half.
But obviously the coach's roar didn't have much effect, Cristiano was in surprisingly good shape today.
For Birmingham, the best defense is offense. After the goalkeeper confiscated the ball, he kicked it out. Birmingham seized the last two minutes and launched an attack on Manchester United's goal.
All of Manchester United's main players actively returned to their own area. Van der Sar jumped up and hugged the ball that flew into the penalty area. He looked left and right and saw Cristiano staring at him actively.
The world-class goalkeeper suddenly remembered how it felt to be ordered to do extra training by Cristiano a few days ago. He knew how much trouble Cristiano could cause to the opposing goalkeeper.
Van der Sar rolled the ball along the grass and sent it to Cristiano's feet.
"Cristiano has the ball again! God, he can still run!!" The commentator exclaimed, and couldn't help but stand up and follow Cristiano's posture of running straight from his own penalty area to the opponent's penalty area.
"Cristiano hits a quick counter attack!!"
Birmingham players gritted their teeth and chased after him. Cristiano and Neville exchanged the ball several times. He shook off the opposing player and after crossing the midfield, the ball returned to Cristiano's feet again.
Neville also found it difficult to keep up with Cristiano's speed. He looked at Cristiano's back with some disbelief and excitement. Their number seven was even speeding up! He can run even faster!
The Birmingham defenders could only see the figure in a red jersey with the white number 7 on it breaking into their own penalty area as if he was in an empty space, and they were left with nothing but exhaustion and powerlessness, because this number 7 was such a good runner!
"Cristiano has a one-on-one chance!" the commentator shouted excitedly, "The goalkeeper took the initiative! Cristiano faked a shot and fooled the goalkeeper! Shoot——!"
The black-white-elf stabbed the ball straight into the net!
"Goal! Cristiano Ronaldo! Hat-trick in the first half!" The commentator's voice was almost hoarse, "Unbelievable! It was only the first half! Manchester United took a 4-0 lead! This is definitely the best gift the Red Devils have given to the fans since the new season!"
There were waves of crazy screams and roars from the audience stands. Cristiano scored a hat trick!
——"Ronaldo! Ronaldo! Ronaldo! Our golden boy!"
The referee blew the whistle to end the first half of the game!
Cristiano walked towards the opponent's goalkeeper. He wanted to shake hands with him - he was a young goalkeeper whose experience and mentality were easily penetrated. But he obviously forgot that Ronaldo in this world was only 20 years old, even several years younger than the opposing goalkeeper.
The weight of his handshake now is not comparable to that of Ronaldo, who won numerous top scorers in his previous life.
The opponent even refused the handshake and left the court dejectedly with his lips pursed.
Cristiano touched the tip of his nose and was soon hugged by his teammates.
During the halftime break, the broadcast room replayed Cristiano's three goals in a row:
"Look at Ronaldo's goals! The first goal was scored with his left foot, the second was a header, and the third was scored with his right foot! Oh my god, he really doesn't have an inferior foot! He can shoot with both his left and right feet!"
"Hat trick in the first half, three goals, three different ways of scoring! This is a complete one-man show by Cristiano Ronaldo!"
Ferguson also hugged his No. 7 boy tightly during the half-time break. He patted Cristiano's neck and said loudly: "Very good, Ronnie, very good! Keep up your form! Their goalkeeper was confused by you! I want you to keep playing like this in the second half!"
"Okay, Boss!" Cristiano smiled with his eyes curved and responded loudly.
His face was covered in sweat, as if he had been caught in the rain, and his hair was soaked, with the little curls curled up against his forehead. He looked a little funny and seemed to be very well behaved, completely different from the way he looked when he was playing football on the field.
Ferguson's heart softened. He caught a glimpse of reporters and cameramen sneaking in outside the locker room, as if they wanted to take pictures of some "secrets" in the locker room.
He immediately stood up in anger and slammed the locker room door back.
Damn it, Ronnie can't be seen like this in front of those guys outside.
After the fifteen-minute halftime break, Birmingham players returned to the field. They didn't seem to have changed much, but the coach immediately exercised his right to make substitutions within a few minutes of the start of the second half.
Forwards, Birmingham's coach replaced two forwards. They have nothing to defend anymore, they have to attack!
No matter how the opponent changes the lineup, Cristiano only has eyes for the ball.
Rooney's urgency to score a goal in the second half was almost obvious. He had to score one and he looked at Cristiano frequently.
Cristiano saw Rooney running to the front court, running diligently and frequently to tear apart the opponent's defense.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and gestured to Rooney, who then kicked the ball to him. Chris pretended to run into the penalty area with the ball and pretended to move forward.
Birmingham's defenders and goalkeeper almost subconsciously marked Cristiano the moment they saw him enter the penalty area.
However, Cristiano kicked the ball with his heel and it bounced to Rooney who was very close to the penalty area.
Rooney didn't even let the ball fall to the ground. He had an excellent view and Cristiano attracted at least four targets for him!
Rooney raised his foot and fired a low shot towards the goal!
"Five to zero!!! Rooney shot low and Ronaldo assisted!! Manchester United scored again!!"
Rooney excitedly slid to his knees and slid to the edge of the field, pointing at the audience and shouting, "Look at him!" He's a shooter too!
Alan ran quickly to Cristiano and hugged Chris who assisted him, and then the two of them came to Rooney.
Rooney waved excitedly at Cristiano. Cristiano grinned, pounced on Rooney as if playing a prank, grabbed a handful of Rooney's hair, and was then pulled up by Alan.
Victory was already a foregone conclusion, and the three of them simply jumped up and down in the corner of the court, waving and calling for other teammates to come over.
Ferguson smiled at his three young players celebrating together on the sidelines, and the atmosphere was pretty good.
He planned to replace Cristiano and Allan in about ten minutes. The two were in good shape and needed to conserve their strength for the next game. As for Rooney, he needed the young man to perform better and be more convincing.
However, before they could wait for ten minutes to make a substitution, something unexpected happened on the field.
"Hiss! Cristiano was knocked down! He sat on the ground covering his face! Blood flowed out from between his fingers! He is seriously injured!" The commentator suddenly exclaimed.
In the replay, Cristiano jumped up to compete for a header, while the opposing player raised his foot high, and the tip of his shoe touched the ball and hit Cristiano's face at the same time.
It was a complete accident, but it turned out terribly.
Cristiano was also a little confused, with a burning pain on his face and his head.
He subconsciously pressed the painful spot of the wound with his hand. With a little force, more blood rushed out from between his fingers. His left eye was soon blinded by the flowing blood.
Alan, Ferdinand and Giggs were the fastest to run over. Ferdinand directly knocked the Birmingham player away, while Giggs gasped and immediately signaled to the sidelines to ask for help from the team doctor.
Alan squatted down and didn't know what to do. He took a breath and whispered, "Oh my God, Chris, are you okay? Take your hand away so we can see where you are hurt."
Rooney was stunned for a few seconds before he screamed and ran over: "What the hell is going on!?"
He quickly glanced at Cristiano's bloody hands, his mind buzzed, and he heard the Birmingham player next to him explain: "Oh my God, I am your witness that I didn't mean it..."
Rooney found his target and immediately grabbed the man by the collar: "Is it you?"
Neville was anxious to see what was going on with Cristiano, but when he turned around, Rooney was fighting again. He quickly stood up and ran over to separate Rooney from the opposing player: "Don't be impulsive! Do you want to get a card? The focus is on Ronnie!"
With a gloomy face, Keane pushed away the Birmingham players who came over to stop the fight and almost started a fight. He looked at Ferguson on the sidelines. Ferguson strode towards the linesman, pulling the linesman's hand and roaring something.
The team doctor came on the field quickly and saw a bloody cut at the left corner of Cristiano's eyebrow, and the surrounding area became red and swollen almost immediately.
There was a noisy buzzing sound in Cristiano's ears. It took him several seconds to hear what the team doctor was saying. He slowly shook his head following the doctor's instructions to make sure he didn't feel like vomiting.
He felt fine, and the emergency treatment from the team doctor stopped the bleeding from his wound.
It's nothing, it's much less severe than the injury he had at Real Madrid, when he was still able to play.
After making sure the wound had stopped bleeding, Cristiano looked up and asked his teammates who were surrounding him: "Do I look okay?"
"You look terrible," Ferdinand said coldly.
"You won't say that when I score a goal." Cristiano smiled. He touched the wound carefully, took a breath of cold air in pain, and bared his teeth.
Ferdinand and Giggs roared in surprise the next second because of Cristiano's words: "Are you crazy?! The boss will not allow you to play again! There is no need!"
Sure enough, Ferguson implemented the right to change players without hesitation or negotiation.
The team doctor wanted to use a stretcher, but Cristiano refused. He didn't want to be carried away and he was perfectly capable of walking.
He pursed his lips, supported himself on the grass and stood up. He immediately felt a little dizzy, but he still stood very steady. He pressed the corners of his mouth tightly and waited for the dizziness to pass for one or two seconds without leaving any trace. Then he walked to the sidelines.
There was a huge roar of energy from the audience, and everyone stood up and applauded the young boy's performance.
Cristiano blinked and he heard those people calling him affectionately, calling him their child, and telling him loudly that he was the best.
He felt his eyes getting hot, and then he found it unbelievable - his long career taught him not to cry because of an injury, but this time he seemed to have returned to the beginning.
He heard those people's encouragement and cheering, his teammates also gathered around him to see him off the field, and Sir Alex Ferguson stood anxiously at the edge of the coaching area waiting for him to come over.
Cristiano's eyes were burning with heat, and he pressed the corners of his mouth down, not wanting to cry at this time, as this would make him look like he was crying because he couldn't bear the pain. He was not that delicate.
He tried to look up and hold back his tears, raised his hands and simply clapped in response to the fans in the audience, and sniffed hard.
But it was clear that his tear glands were never under control. When Sir Alex Ferguson grabbed him, nervously checked his wounds, and told him that an ambulance was waiting outside: "Don't be afraid, Ronnie."
Ferguson pursed his lips with an unpleasant look on his face, but still tried to soften his voice. He pressed Cristiano's shoulders tightly and pressed Chris against his chest, as if this could try to give him strength:
"We will be at the hospital as soon as the game is over. You will just go for a check-up, a more detailed examination, and then take care of your wound. You don't want to leave a scar, right?"
Cristiano couldn't help but want to smile when he heard the old lord's tone as if he was coaxing a child.
Ferguson looked at his beloved No. 7 trying hard to laugh, and his anger was about to rush to his head again, but he tried to restrain himself, took a few deep breaths and asked again: "Does it hurt, Ronnie?"
Ferguson knew he was asking a stupid question, but he couldn't help it, just like an ordinary grandfather asking his grandson if he was hurt after falling down.
Cristiano finally couldn't hold back the tears that had been in his eyes and fell. He whispered to the old man, "It hurts, Boss."
Ferguson was speechless for a moment. Cristiano had been injured several times, but he had hardly ever seen Cristiano cry because of pain!
Damn the game! He should have replaced Ronnie ten minutes earlier! Ferguson thought viciously in his heart.
He patted Cristiano's shoulder hard, and after two seconds, he pursed his lips and urged the boy in a low voice: "Queiroz will accompany you to the car, go quickly."
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