Chapter 88: The Seed of Glasgow (Part 2)
[Manchester United is a bunch of useless idiots]
[I just don’t know why Bruno Fernandes is worth 80 million euros]
[I got home late and just turned on the live broadcast. Is the team wearing blue clothes Manchester United? ]
[Chen Xiaoliang is not available? Is Gerrard planning to stay in the extra time as a secret weapon? ]
[I really hate those of you who want to play with injuries. You are not on the national team, why do you have to put your career on the line? If you really play, I will give up the game! I will not watch any of your games from now on! ]
[How did Man United get second place in the league? Incredible]
[Gerrard has been at Rangers for three years, and the results of his spiritual formation are obvious. I am optimistic that he will take over from Klopp in the future]
[After careful consideration of Manchester United’s performance, I concluded the following six points: …]
[Mourinho is fired, we don’t recognize the small treble, we want gorgeous football]
[Manchester United will definitely regret putting their future on someone like Greenwood]
[Manchester United's elite players actually played like this against Rangers at home. I am really impressed]
[Gerald: What the hell are you talking about? I’m fighting the elite! ]
[If we can eliminate Manchester United and reach the semi-finals, there is still hope for the Europa League this season]
…
The short 5-minute break passed in a flash, and the referee blew the whistle! Overtime began!
Faced with the fourth substitution quota, neither Gerrard nor Solskjaer was in a hurry to use it.
There are too many unpredictable variables in the 30-minute overtime, and this substitution is their last trump card.
McAllister knew that Gerrard had made up his mind and stopped trying to persuade him to replace him with Chen Xiaoliang.
Although Manchester United was one man down, the Premier League giants who were forced into a desperate situation still showed their resilience, especially De Gea. Although he conceded a goal, Rangers' attack seemed to have given him ample opportunity to warm up, and he became more and more courageous in overtime.
The first half of the 15-minute overtime ended quickly without a break. The referee just asked the players on both sides to drink a few sips of water and then switched sides to continue the game.
Gerrard replaced Patterson with Hagi, and the last substitution was used.
Zhan Jun: "It seems that Chen Xiaoliang will not have a chance to play in this game, which is a pity for many fans who stayed up late."
Zhang Lu: "There is no way to deal with the injury. Although it seemed to be a minor injury before the game, I can still play after a closed injection, but in the long run, it is better to be safer."
Zhan Jun: "Generally speaking, if a loaned player is given a closed injection and is allowed to play with an injury, the player's parent team must be notified."
Zhang Lu: "Hehe, Mourinho is busy with his own affairs right now, so he may not have the time to care about this. I think Gerrard's substitution just now was for a penalty kick. There is indeed a gap in strength between the two sides. Although Manchester United is one man short, they have the home advantage. Rangers' attack is powerful, but they don't pose much threat."
Zhan Jun: "It will be dawn soon! Many viewers in front of the screen may just wash their faces and go out to work! I wonder if there will be any new climax in this game!"
With the running rate visibly decreasing, both teams were no longer able to launch an offense that would change the game.
In the 119th minute, Solskjaer replaced Tuanzebe with Mata.
At this point, both coaches have played all their cards for the final penalty shootout.
In the 120th minute, the referee blew the whistle and there were some boos from the stands at Old Trafford.
Players from both teams gathered on the sidelines, listening to the head coach's arrangements.
McAllister loudly announced the order of penalty kicks, while the goalkeeper coach kept explaining the details to McLaughlin.
All the players on the bench walked down, including Chen Xiaoliang.
He could feel the excitement and nervousness of his teammates, and he himself couldn't help but tremble a few times.
Barisic, who usually loves to joke, frowned and said nothing. Everyone encouraged their teammates while passing water.
Although they have always been united, Chen Xiaoliang still feels that the team has never been as united as it is now.
The referee blew the whistle and the players returned to the field one after another!
The players on the field stood shoulder to shoulder, holding each other's backs and standing in a row!
The same goes for the substitutes on the sidelines! To Chen Xiaoliang's left is Barisic and to his right is Patterson.
He could even feel that the two men's hearts were beating as rapidly as his own.
Manchester United takes the first penalty kick!
Rashford starts running and hits the bottom right corner of the goal!
McLaughlin misjudged the direction, 1-0!
Kent was the first to come on for Rangers.
Facing De Gea, the young man trained by Liverpool also scored a goal with a push shot in the lower right corner.
1 to 1!
Afterwards, Hagi, Aribo, Ivoit from Rangers and Martial, Greenwood and Matic from Manchester United all scored goals.
4 to 4!
The moment of life and death has arrived!
Patterson opened his mouth and lowered his head, and was too nervous to look at the court.
Gerrard stood with one hand on his chest and the other hand on his chin, constantly pinching his chin, as if every second that passed at this moment was more tormenting than the penalty shootout in Istanbul that night.
Chen Xiaoliang was also very nervous. He imagined that if the order was changed and Rangers played away first and then at home, he could use his new skill [being good at stirring up the emotions of the audience] to ignite the atmosphere of the fans in the stadium and give McLaughlin more confidence and condition when he was standing on the goal line.
For the fifth goal, it was Maguire who came on for Manchester United!
Zhan Jun: "Coach Zhang, Maguire is very courageous for choosing the fifth penalty kick."
Zhang Lu: "He is the captain of the team. Being able to take on this responsibility at this moment at least proves that he is worthy of the title of captain."
Zhan Jun: "But if the penalty is missed..."
Zhang Lu: "That's a double-edged sword. While a hero is admired by everyone, he must also be prepared to be ruined."
Zhan Jun: "The football world is like this. You can be a hero one second and a sinner the next!"
Maguire positioned the ball, slowly stepped back, put his hands on his hips and looked at McLaughlin, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle.
The Rangers' second goalkeeper on the goal line, a Scotsman who had been playing in League One and the Championship before coming to the Scottish Premier League, tried hard to focus all his attention on the opponent in front of him.
The whistle blows, run-up, and shoot!
The Manchester United captain's kick was not tricky, but it was extremely fast!
McLaughlin used all his strength to dive sideways, but even though his right fingers had grazed the ball, he still couldn't save it.
5 to 4! Manchester United is leading!
On the Rangers side, the captain, Tavernier, stood up.
Zhan Jun: "Although he is a right back, since Gerrard came to the team, Tavernier has been the team's first penalty taker."
Zhang Lu: "It is rare for a defender to take a penalty kick."
Zhan Jun: "In previous games, his penalty success rate was very high. He scored all of his first six penalties this season! I wonder if the lucky number seven can keep his good luck going!"
Zhang Lu: "In our country, seven doesn't seem to be a lucky number, right? Six is usually used."
Zhan Jun: "Could it be that Coach Zhang is thinking of...?"
Zhang Lu: "Hey, let's not talk about this."
Zhan Jun: "Saving penalties is not De Gea's forte, let's see if the game ends here!"
Barrage:
[First Seventh Day]
[Is Zhang Lu giving a reverse poisonous message? ]
[Tavernier has been hit by DEBUFF: Zhang Hehe's Curse]
…
On the field, Tavernier heard the referee's whistle and looked at the upper right corner of the goal.
Run! Lift your legs!
The ball flew to the upper left corner! De Gea was not disturbed by him just now and judged the direction correctly!
The Spanish goalkeeper stretched out his slender body to the maximum extent! But he was still half a palm away from reaching the ball!
"boom!"
The ball hit the post and bounced out!
Manchester United players rushed to De Gea immediately, even though he didn't catch a single ball!
In contrast, Tavernier sat nearby with his head lowered silently and motionless.
The Rangers players came over and comforted the sad captain.
Along with the sparse applause from the home fans, who seemed dissatisfied with the team's performance, there was the loud singing of Rangers fans who rushed to the away game to cheer for the team in the corner opposite the Alex Ferguson stand .
Back in the locker room, Gerrard clapped loudly:
"We fought till the very end! To play like this at Old Trafford, we are the winners!
Back at the hotel, go to the lounge for a drink and a good night's sleep. Then forget about it, we still have four games to play.
But before that, remember, after you change your clothes and get ready, from the moment you walk out of this locker room to the moment you leave the hotel and get on the bus tomorrow, all of you must hold your heads up and your chests up!
We will never go home as losers!"
The next morning, Patterson woke up and found that Chen Xiaoliang, who shared the same room with him, had already gotten up and was squatting against the wall.
Obviously this is leg training. This static lower limb fitness method is of great benefit to his ankle injury recovery.
Having just lost the game and realizing the gap, Patterson thought that Chen Xiaoliang was so hardworking and he couldn't fall behind.
So after a quick wash, he also started doing elevated leg push-ups in his room, doing dozens of them at a time, while constantly yelling, "Uh, uh, uh!"
Although he looks a bit silly, Chen Xiaoliang knows how much this outstanding product of the Rangers youth training system loves football.
After practicing for a while, they heard some sinister laughter outside the door.
Patterson, confused, opened the door and saw Barisic, Aribo and Goldson smiling obscenely.
Barisic rushed in, looked around, and said disappointedly: "Where's the girl?"
