From the man behind the football king to the football king.

Chapter 1005: Half a catty
A huge cheer erupted at both the Old and New Trafford stadiums at that moment.

However, amidst the cheers, Harry Kane did not immediately attempt a follow-up shot. Instead, he adjusted his position before shooting, but the ball was blocked by Alaba, who had rushed back to intercept it.

"Ah! Harry Kane missed a golden opportunity! If he had seized it, Manchester United could have taken the lead... What a pity!" He Wei exclaimed regretfully.

"This is Manchester United's best chance since the start of the game! Real Madrid, be careful not to relax too much..." The Spanish commentator still gave the team a token reminder to pay attention to defense.

Real Madrid then continued their attack on Manchester United. However, this time, they failed to reach the Manchester United goal and create a shot.

As Modric advanced to the center circle, he was immediately marked by Bruno and Kanté. Bruno pressed close to Modric, squeezing out his space to control the ball.

Although he has never been a player known for his physical strength, Bruno was still able to hold his own against Modric in tackling.

Under his interference, Kante seized the opportunity to tackle and steal the ball from Modric's feet, and Manchester United then launched another attack.

The ball was passed to Rashford, who dribbled laterally and attempted a shot, but Courtois caught it, denying Harry Kane a chance for a follow-up shot.

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Courtois caught the ball and threw it to Carvajal on the wing, and Real Madrid advanced.

Real Madrid players believed that Manchester United players were already exhausted from the Premier League, and that the Manchester United players could easily break through the midfield and attack their goal directly.

This match presents Real Madrid with their best chance for revenge.

However, when Real Madrid actually launched their attack in the match, they found that the situation was somewhat different from what they had envisioned.

In their plan, Manchester United would be virtually unable to resist when they attacked, and would quickly collapse under their relentless onslaught. However, in reality, Real Madrid found themselves unable to advance beyond midfield.

The double pivot of Kante and Gundogan in midfield acted like an iron gate, effectively locking down the midfield. It was extremely difficult for Real Madrid to get through, forcing them to rely on the flanks.

However, their attacks down the flanks cannot directly threaten Manchester United's goal. When it comes to crossing from the wings for headers, although Real Madrid has players like Benzema who are good at heading, Manchester United's center-backs Maguire and Van Dijk are also very good at heading.

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Real Madrid's attack ended before it even reached Manchester United's goal. During a wide lateral pass, the ball was headed back by Maguire.

Kante received the ball and then passed it to Bruno.

Bruno turned and passed the ball to the left wing. Luke Shaw made a run down the left wing, received the ball from Bruno, and dribbled forward.

After passing the ball, Bruno didn't stay in one place, but ran forward with all his might.

Sure enough, when he ran forward, Luke Shaw was also surrounded by Real Madrid and had to pass the ball out. At that moment, Bruno was in position to receive the pass.

Luke Shaw quickly passed the ball to Bruno, who was making a run forward to receive it.

Bruno controlled the ball with the inside of his left foot, then immediately flicked it out with the outside of his right foot, passing it to Rashford in the half-space.

Rashford received the ball and immediately crossed it. The ball skimmed along the grass, bypassed the Real Madrid defenders in the penalty area, and headed straight for the far post.

Alaba was originally guarding the far post, but Harry Kane suddenly cut in from behind him and poked him with his right foot before Alaba could react!
Despite Courtois's attempt to save, Harry Kane's shot was too close to the goal, and his sudden touch made Courtois's save too slow in the face of Kane's shot. The ball rolled into the bottom right corner of the goal!

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"Aaaaaah!" Lineker shouted, "Kane!! Harry Kane! Just eleven minutes into the game, Manchester United have taken the lead at home! This lead is somewhat unexpected, because before the match everyone thought Manchester United would be crushed by Real Madrid at home..."

Huge cheers erupted at both the Old and New Trafford stadiums.

"Harry Kane's goal was assisted by Rashford, and he's in great form..." He Wei said.

After scoring, Harry Kane ran over to hug Rashford, and his teammates rushed over to hug them both.

"Was Alaba distracted while defending? He actually let Harry Kane sneak up behind him and shoot!" The Spanish commentator criticized Alaba; Real Madrid's defense just couldn't be trusted. The television broadcast gave Real Madrid coach Ancelotti a close-up; he was frowning, but didn't do anything.

It's only been ten minutes since the start, so it's a bit too early to do anything.

The Spanish commentator was still reassuring and encouraging Real Madrid fans watching on television: "Manchester United's goal was somewhat unexpected, with luck playing a bigger role. As long as Real Madrid players can adjust their mentality, equalizing the score won't be a problem..."

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When the game restarted, Real Madrid's performance confirmed the Spanish commentator's assessment. The goal conceded didn't throw Real Madrid into a panic. Trailing, they pressed forward, putting even more pressure on Manchester United's penalty area.

In the 24th minute, Benzema took a free kick from 30 meters out, but De Gea made the save.

Manchester United capitalized on Real Madrid's pressing forward to launch counter-attacks.

In the 33rd minute, Greenwood forcefully dribbled past Ferland Mendy on the right wing and broke into the penalty area. Under pressure from Mbappe, he slid in and shot, but the shot went slightly wide.

After transferring to Real Madrid, the Frenchman finally became the starting left winger he had always longed for. However, in today's match, he failed to perform well in the left winger position, instead showing his skills on the defensive end first.

The two sides went back and forth like this, reaching a stalemate. Both sides had a chance, but neither side seemed to have a particularly good chance.

In the 40th minute, Mbappe crossed from the left wing, Luke Shaw headed the ball away at the far post, and Toni Kroos, outside the penalty area, got to the second ball and took a long-range shot, but the ball was blocked by Van Dijk's body.

In the 42nd minute, Real Madrid threw the ball in from their own half and launched a quick counter-attack.

However, when Real Madrid's attack reached the edge of Manchester United's penalty area, it was blocked by Manchester United. Maguire had already controlled the ball at the edge of the penalty area, but he was so focused on looking ahead that he completely ignored what was happening around him, and Mbappe successfully dispossessed him from behind!
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"Maguire... made a mistake!!" Lineker exclaimed.

Mbappe intercepted the ball and quickly passed it to the far post, where Benzema, unmarked, easily slotted it into the empty net...

"1-1!! Benzema! He's equalized for Real Madrid!" the Spanish commentator roared excitedly, pumping his fist. "Real Madrid have finally equalized before halftime! Now they can go into halftime with a more relaxed mindset! Benzema's goal was absolutely crucial!"

“Maguire—” Lineker sighed, “This mistake was absolutely fatal! The morale we had finally built up was completely destroyed by this one mistake…”

His biggest concern is the impact of mistakes on the team.

Before the match, everyone was worried for Manchester United. After scoring in the opening eleven minutes, Lineker breathed a slight sigh of relief. However, after that goal, Manchester United failed to score again, and now, at halftime, their own mistake allowed the opponent to equalize.

What impact will this goal have on the team? Will it damage team morale and cause the team to revert to the state that everyone was worried about before the match? Will Manchester United, which already has internal conflicts, split up during halftime?
Although only one goal was conceded, perceptive people can already imagine a lot of things.

"Towards the end of the first half, Manchester United's players became somewhat distracted. Maguire's mistake was clearly due to a lack of vigilance... You have to understand that in such a high-level match, even a second of carelessness can be fatal!" He Wei also criticized Maguire's performance.

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The players were overjoyed to be replaced by Real Madrid players; this was a precious away goal, worth two goals!
This goal was like a reassurance to them.

If we set aside the idea of ​​"revenge," then getting an away goal was their most basic objective, and now that objective has been achieved.

Maguire, who had conceded a goal due to his own mistake, looked extremely frustrated. He stood there with his hands on his hips, motionless, and the phrase "dumbfounded" was the most apt description of him.

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea was also frustrated by Maguire's mistake, but he still came over to comfort the errant Maguire: "Don't take it to heart, I'm also responsible for that play, I didn't warn you in time that someone was behind you..."

Maguire shook his head, sighed, and remained silent.

After the match restarted, Real Madrid, riding the momentum of their recent equalizer, launched another fierce attack on Manchester United's goal. During this period, Manchester United could only retreat to defense and were unable to mount any real attacks.

Of course, there's not much time left in the first half. Just keeping a clean sheet in that short time is enough; don't even think about scoring another goal and regaining the lead...

Ultimately, the score was 1-1 at the end of the first half, with the two sides temporarily tied.

(End of this chapter)