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

Chapter 1009: Single Match Determines the Victory

Although the fear of being dominated by Bruno made Real Madrid's players somewhat dazed and wavering after conceding two goals, they are, after all, a powerhouse team, and powerhouse teams are not so easily defeated.

After an initial period of disorientation, many Real Madrid players gradually recovered. They realized that they were only two goals behind, and if they were destined not to win away from home, then lowering their expectations and accepting a draw was perfectly acceptable.

Even a draw is impossible, so scoring another goal to make it 2-3 is entirely possible. Two away goals would be a huge advantage when returning home.

Therefore, Real Madrid showed no intention of retreating into a defensive posture. Having already fallen behind by two goals, holding on to the score until the final whistle wouldn't have made much difference; it was better to push forward and attack.
Just two minutes after Rashford's shot was saved by Courtois and went over the bar, Real Madrid won a free kick in the attacking third. Toni Kroos took the free kick, sending the ball directly into the penalty area. Carvajal leaped high to head the ball towards the goal, but De Gea caught it.

Two minutes later, Real Madrid won two consecutive corner kicks, but Benzema's header in front of the goal went over the bar.

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This four-minute onslaught gave many Real Madrid fans watching on television hope of turning the tide.

What I fear most isn't conceding a goal, but rather being unable to recover after conceding, becoming despondent, and giving up on oneself. In that case, even God couldn't save you.

Seeing Real Madrid's series of attacks, the Spanish TV commentator was also very excited, constantly cheering for Real Madrid: "...For Real Madrid right now, although they are still two goals behind, as long as they can score one more goal, the situation will be fundamentally reversed! At that time, Real Madrid will have two away goals in hand, so even if they lose 2-3 to Manchester United in the end, it will be a completely acceptable result!"

This plan sounds good, but in reality, plans are always meant to be changed.

Just one minute after Benzema headed the ball high, Bruno launched a long pass from the backfield to Rashford.

Rashford dribbled the ball toward Real Madrid's penalty area.

Amidst the deafening cheers of the fans, Rashford dribbled into the penalty area and was then pushed to the ground from behind by Tony Kroos.

As Rashford fell to the ground with his arms outstretched, the referee blew his whistle.

Penalty kick!

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"Rashford dribbles past two players! Beautiful! He's in the penalty area... Hey! Hey! He's down! Penalty! Yes, it's a penalty!!" Lineker shouted excitedly.

With Manchester United already leading Real Madrid 3-1, they've now been awarded a penalty, and everyone knows what's going to happen next.

Rashford fell to the ground, while Tony Cross, who had pushed him from behind, raised his arms and looked completely innocent.

He turned to look at the referee running over, and pointed to the penalty spot as he blew his whistle. This gesture meant that he hadn't blown his whistle to give Rashford a yellow card for diving, but to award a penalty!
He quickly ran to the referee and explained, "I only touched him lightly. His fall was too exaggerated. It was a dive!"

However, the referee did not accept this explanation. He insisted on his decision, ran all the way to the penalty spot, stood still, and raised his arm.

This is practically finishing blow to Real Madrid!

The referee's decision greatly displeased Real Madrid. Toni Kroos naturally insisted that his action had not reached the point of being a foul. Other Real Madrid players also gathered around, and the team captain Carvajal spoke to the referee on behalf of the team. They all believed that Rashford's fall was exaggerated and suspected that he had dived.

Ancelotti was also furious on the sidelines, waving his arms and shouting, eventually attracting the attention of the fourth official, who asked him to calm down.

But it's not easy to stay calm. After suffering a series of setbacks, Real Madrid was quite tenacious, and their attack finally started to improve. But at this crucial moment, they were awarded a penalty. It would be hard for anyone to stay calm in that situation.

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On the other side, the area in front of Manchester United's coaching and substitute benches was filled with jubilation, and the Manchester United fans in the stands were already singing happily.

In the Champions League, especially in the semi-finals, any victory is hard-won, let alone a resounding one. For any team, such a victory is like celebrating Christmas.

If the opponent is a world-class powerhouse like Real Madrid, then everyone will undoubtedly be ecstatic.

For Manchester United, beating Real Madrid is nothing new.

In fact, starting with the 2017 European Super Cup, Manchester United has achieved a four-game winning streak against Real Madrid.

However, all four victories were hard-fought for Manchester United, with very close scores. The 2017 UEFA Super Cup was a relatively easy 4-2 win for Manchester United; then, the Champions League final that season was a thrilling 4-3 affair at the Kyiv Olympic National Stadium, arguably one of the most exciting Champions League finals in history.

In the subsequent 2019-2020 Champions League Round of 16, the score was 2-1 for both legs, with Manchester United narrowly winning both matches.

Manchester United have never achieved a victory as resounding as today's against Real Madrid.

Now, at their home ground, Manchester United are poised for a resounding 3-0 victory, virtually securing their place in this season's Champions League final.

Manchester United could even win the Champions League title this season because of this semi-final, which would be their fifth consecutive Champions League title, equaling Real Madrid's record for consecutive wins since the competition's inception.

What could be more exhilarating than stepping over your opponent's corpse to equal or even surpass their record?

………………

Rashford was pulled up from the ground by Bruno and then embraced.

Eighty percent of the credit for this goal goes to him; he earned the penalty entirely through his own individual ability.

Commentator Gary Lineker exclaimed upon witnessing this, "This young prodigy has displayed his talent to the fullest in that attack! Two consecutive dribbles were absolutely brilliant; he single-handedly toyed with Real Madrid's entire defense..."

"This season, apart from a period of outstanding performance at the beginning of the season, Rashford's performance was quite poor for a time. Some people say that Mbappe's departure caused Rashford to lose his competition and become lazy, or even decadent... However, as the season approached its end, this Manchester United academy graduate gradually regained his magic, which is undoubtedly a huge boost for Manchester United, who are aiming for a sixth consecutive Premier League title and a fifth consecutive Champions League title!"

………………

Rashford's outstanding performance earned Manchester United a penalty.

No matter how much Real Madrid's players protested, they couldn't change the outcome.

Finally, Bruno stood at the penalty spot to take the penalty kick.

“Bruno…” Lineker lowered his voice, as if afraid of disturbing Bruno, “Bruno once set a record of 63 consecutive successful penalties, making him the most prolific penalty taker in football history. However, his record was just ended by Alisson in the match against Liverpool last week. Today he has another chance to take a penalty, I wonder if he can score…”

The words had barely left his mouth when the referee's whistle blew.

Bruno glanced at the goal ahead, then began his run-up. A few steps later, he swung his leg and kicked the ball!
As he kicked the ball, Courtois lunged to his left.

However, he misjudged the direction. The ball didn't fly towards him at all; instead, it skimmed along the grass towards the center of the goal. Courtois, who had already dived out, could only turn around and watch helplessly as the ball rolled into the goal he was guarding for the fourth time...

"Aaaaaah! Bruno!!" Lineker roared hoarsely, "He did it! After missing a penalty a week ago, Bruno withstood the pressure and calmly scored today against Real Madrid!"

After the ball flew into the goal, the cheers that erupted at both Old and New Trafford were so loud that it felt like they could lift the roof off.

4: 1!

This marks the third time that Manchester United have scored four goals in a single match against Real Madrid!
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"Goal! Bruno has scored his 9th Champions League goal against Real Madrid! He has become the player with the most goals against Real Madrid in the Champions League! Manchester United has a three-goal advantage over Real Madrid, which basically secures their place in this year's Champions League final! This is something that no one could have imagined before the match. You know, before the match, the outside world generally favored Real Madrid. It really feels a bit unreal..." He Wei said.

Online, most Real Madrid fans remained silent.

Real Madrid didn't play as well as Manchester United in this match, so losing is normal.

Only a very small number of die-hard Real Madrid fans are still arguing about whether the penalty should have been awarded, believing that Manchester United were thieves who benefited from the referee's unfair treatment. They argue that without home advantage and the referee's intervention, they would never have been able to defeat Real Madrid.

These people have completely forgotten that even without that penalty, Manchester United were already leading Real Madrid 3-1...

However, such people are a very small minority. Their complaints on the internet are often not even seen and simply disappear into the vast amount of data on the internet.

(End of this chapter)