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

Chapter 1036: Cause and effect reincarnation?

However, Manchester United’s last extra time in the Champions League is a wonderful memory.

It was the 2017-2018 Champions League final, where Manchester United faced Real Madrid, a team at the height of its power and aiming for its first three consecutive Champions League titles since the competition's reforms. Despite playing with a man down in regular time, Bruno's 88th-minute goal made the score 3-3, forcing overtime.

In the 115th minute of extra time, it was Bruno again who assisted Ibrahimovic to score a goal, completely killing the game and ending Real Madrid's dream of winning three consecutive Champions League titles, while also winning Manchester United's fourth Champions League title in history.

In that game, Manchester United chose a defensive counterattack tactic despite being one man down, and this was the key to their ultimate victory.

Now, Manchester United once again faced overtime in the Champions League final. Mourinho once again chose a defensive counterattack tactic when the players were in poor physical condition.

Liverpool continued to bombard and got a corner kick in the 98th minute.

Arnold's corner kick was hit by De Gea, but the ball landed outside the penalty area and did not fly far.

Henderson, who was at the top of the penalty area, stopped the ball and took a long shot, but it was too high again.

………………

In the 100th minute, Liverpool launched an attack from the right side. Arnold dribbled into the penalty area and passed the ball back near the bottom line. Thiago in the penalty area was originally unguarded. He also pretended to kick the ball, but when the ball really rolled over, he feinted and let the ball slip through his crotch!
This was beyond the expectations of Manchester United's defenders. They could only watch the ball being sent to the top of the penalty arc, where Henderson followed up and shot the ball with great force!

This time the ball was well pressed, and no more high-altitude shots were fired. But De Gea was once again brave, diving sideways and blocking Henderson's powerful shot with both fists!
"Henderson—De Gea! World-class save! Liverpool's attack has been fierce lately, and Manchester United's goal is in a state of panic and in imminent danger..."

When many people saw this scene, they couldn’t help but think: If this continues, Liverpool may score a goal soon!
The first half of extra time was basically Liverpool besieging Manchester United. Manchester United didn't even have a single shot and could only defend themselves without any ability to fight back.

In such a situation, it is natural to worry that they will lose the ball.

Especially Manchester United's own fans, watching their team being beaten by the opponents, were worried that they would lose the ball at any time.

If we lose the ball in overtime, it's all over!

The Manchester United fans in the stands were silent, their hearts beating fast, while the Liverpool fans in the stands raised their arms, singing and cheering, cheering for their team.

………………

It was the 104th minute of the game, only one minute left before the end of the first half.

Manchester United fans can finally relax for a while, as the first half of this fatal overtime is about to end, and the second half will be Manchester United's world!

After the rest, Manchester United will bombard Liverpool in the second half. As long as we can score a goal, the opponent will completely collapse!
Liverpool won a free kick in the backcourt and all the players rushed forward. Obviously they knew that they might not have many chances left.

Koulibaly took the free kick and kicked the ball forward. The ball flew high in the air and headed straight for Manchester United's penalty area.

The one at the forefront was not the center forward Origi who came on as a substitute, but Diaz.

When the football fell from the air, he stopped it steadily under his feet, but he still couldn't turn around and get rid of Cancelo's defense.

Seeing Diaz stop the ball, Salah, who was running forward, suddenly accelerated and rushed towards Manchester United's penalty area.

Diaz also noticed Salah's acceleration. Since he couldn't turn around, why not pass the ball to Salah?
To threaten Manchester United's goal you don't have to turn around yourself, as long as someone can threaten you!

Thinking of this, Diaz gently pushed the football behind him with the sole of his foot.

He was afraid that if he pushed too hard, Salah would not be able to catch up with the ball and would be intercepted by De Gea. But if he pushed too hard, the opponent's defender would also intercept it.

It is really not easy to strike the right balance. It may seem like a simple move to flick the ball, but it actually contains hidden meanings.

………………

Diaz's move was actually a little light. Seeing the ball rolling behind him, Cancelo gave up on Diaz and turned around to pounce back.

Van Dijk, who was not far away from him, was faster than him. He had already got behind him and kicked the ball!
At this time, Salah's explosive power was demonstrated to the extreme. He suddenly accelerated again during the high-speed sprint and kicked the ball away with one kick.

When Van Dijk came over, he didn't touch anything, not even Salah's leg. He wanted to foul, but Salah didn't give him such a chance!

"Salah--!!!" Zhan Jun screamed.

When Salah poked the ball, it wasn't the kind of casual forward movement he made to avoid Van Dijk. If he wanted to win a penalty, he could have done this: after poking the ball, he definitely wouldn't be able to catch up, and then he could have dragged his leg behind him, hooked it around Van Dijk's leg, yelled, and fallen to the ground.

By doing this, the penalty kick is almost certain to be awarded.

This is the surest way to score a goal.

But Salah didn't do that. He seemed not to have thought about the penalty at all. He just gently moved the ball forward, not far from him, just enough to avoid Van Dijk's tackle.

Then he stepped over Van Dijk's leg and caught up with the football in one step!
At this time, he was facing De Gea alone, it was a one-on-one situation!

………………

Everyone held their breath and watched what happened near the penalty spot in Manchester United's penalty area.

De Gea once again struck in time. He has played the role of Manchester United's savior countless times in this game, and this time, all the hopes of Manchester United fans can only be placed on him!

He blocked the near corner, and if Salah wanted to shoot, he could block the angle as much as possible.

And if Salah did not shoot at the first time, as long as he hesitated for a moment, he could force Salah and the ball to the bottom line, compressing Salah's shooting and dribbling space and minimizing his threat.

Salah, who caught up with the ball, did take a light step diagonally forward, and it seemed that De Gea's defensive strategy was successful.

But at this moment, Salah kicked the ball in the opposite direction with his left foot.

Salah's kick was not very powerful, with almost no warning and it was very sudden, so the force of the kick was not very great.

Logically speaking, this was a failed shot. How could such a weak shot pose a threat?

But Salah's shot was brilliant, because the direction of his shot was opposite to his own running direction, and also opposite to the direction of De Gea's key defense.

The football rolled along the grass from the side of De Gea to his back. Because it was so sudden, De Gea could not react at all. He could only make a "lasting struggle" with his leg dragging behind him, but it was just a symbolic struggle. In fact, it was impossible for him to touch the football at all.

The football was not fast, it passed De Gea and rolled towards the goal behind him.

Due to inertia, De Gea's whole body was in a stiff state. He wanted to turn around and pounce again, but his brain was able to do so, but his body did not obey his command.

So in a somewhat strange scene, the football slowly but steadily rolled into Manchester United's goal.

………………

"A killer goal! Salah's killer goal!" Zhan Jun shouted. "What a beautiful goal! It was a shot that seemed to come with ease. Although there was no power involved, the effect was unexpectedly good! Salah! He redeemed himself! In the 115th minute of the game, he regained the lead for Liverpool! This was a fatal blow to Manchester United!"

"Karma has its cycle, and no one can escape it! Four years ago at the Kyiv Olympic Stadium, Manchester United was on the defensive for most of the game. But Bruno assisted Ibrahimović in overtime to score against Real Madrid, completing the decisive blow against the Galacticos and ending Real Madrid's dream of winning a third consecutive Champions League title!"

"Four years later, it seemed that something like this would happen again at the Stade de France. But this time Manchester United was no longer the lucky side, because they were the offensive team for most of the match and were the more favored side. However, the development of the matter was particularly interesting. Also in overtime, a goal was scored, but it was not scored by Manchester United, but by Liverpool. And Manchester United's miracle of winning the Champions League for five consecutive times may very well be ended because of this near-game-winning goal!"

………………

Salah was very excited after scoring the goal. He opened his arms, accelerated to the sideline, then slid to his knees, and then stood up by inertia. Just in front of the sideline, he waved his fists to the Liverpool fans in the stands.

Other teammates also ran up and celebrated the goal with Salah.

Throughout the Stade de France, Liverpool fans cheered and applauded loudly.

Although there were still fifteen minutes left in the game, all Liverpool fans felt as if they had taken a reassurance pill, thinking that victory in this game was certain, very certain.

Manchester United suffered this blow and their morale was severely low. How could they possibly compete with Liverpool, which has high morale?

What awaits them next is a major collapse!

The Manchester United fans in the stands held their heads in their hands or covered their faces, looking very frustrated and painful.

Losing the ball in overtime could be the last straw that breaks the camel's back!
(End of this chapter)