Chapter 57: Wingless Phoenixes Fly Together — The Red Devils Never Give Up
Xia Qi came on and Arsenal's morale soared.
But possession belonged to Manchester United.
United restarted; after a few passes the ball reached Ashley Young.
Ashley Young is nicknamed "Yang Bu Guo," but undeniably, beyond dribbling,
his speed, crosses and shots are strong — especially in a contract year, he's almost irreplaceable even for Cristiano Ronaldo.
While Xia Qi was off the pitch, Young and Antonio Valencia's wings had brought Arsenal a lot of trouble.
Now Ashley Young accelerated down the flank!
Bacary Sagna stepped up to block; Young performed his "healthy song" again — Sagna, unable to bear the gyrating hips, reached with a poke.
Little did he know Young had been waiting for this. He seized the moment, nutmegged the ball through Sagna's legs and used his body to attempt to get past Sagna.
When Sagna's balance was already off, an outside overtake would be ideal.
But "Yang Bu Guo" refused to take it!
He wanted a tank-style run like Wayne Rooney or Erling Haaland.
He even deliberately shouldered into Sagna, aiming to finish him off so Sagna wouldn't chase from behind.
But,
Tokkuri! (a slang exclamation)
Sagna lost balance and stumbled, but — Ashley Young also stumbled and dropped.
Both the hitter and the hit went down.
Fear of being accused of diving?
United fans in the stands sighed in unison!
Sir Alex turned and walked back to the bench.
Per Mertesacker was elated and surged forward to win the ball.
But Ashley Young, after falling, didn't give up — he used his hands to push himself forward, lunged ahead to beat Mertesacker's foot and flicked the ball to the incoming Michael Carrick.
This was braver than shameless Xia Qi!
Xia Qi's bravery was disfiguring himself!
Ashley Young instead risked his head under Mertesacker's boot,
and in that moment the whole stadium's brain played "Welcome to the ICU" tune (a joking reference).
This is the Red Devils' spirit!
Never give up,
fight for a chance!
Mertesacker hurried to pull his leg in mid-charge — Young's head must have been five centimeters from his studs.
Another full-stadium round of applause, for both Young and Mertesacker.
Even Ferguson and Wenger rose to applaud.
This is football:
compete when you must, regroup when you must.
…
Carrick followed up to the far post, one-touch, and delivered a long cross!
The ball flew toward Arsenal's right corner of the penalty area.
Arsenal, who had been safe a moment earlier, suddenly found themselves in danger again!
Robin van Persie timed an offside run perfectly.
He burst from outside the box, slowed, glanced up at the ball in the air, then at goalkeeper Vito Mannone.
Thomas Vermaelen sprinted to cover van Persie.
Van Persie glimpsed a swathe of purple and promptly shifted his body to hold Vermaelen behind him, cutting off the defender's direct access to the ball.
Before the ball dropped he hooked his leg and struck it.
The ball thundered toward goal like a meteor.
Mannone, betraying his inexperience, attempted to grab the ball into his arms.
But the force was huge: the ball flew out of his grip. Though he managed to parry it, the referee judged the ball had crossed the line.
It was a basic error.
Wojciech Szczęsny watching at home felt a quiet relief — petty, maybe, but workplace survival is like that.
"Van Persie!"
"Bowed like a full moon, the ball like a falling star!"
"Van Persie, with no time to trap, has his second of the night, pulling it back to 2:5 and giving United hope of a comeback."
"In the minutes Xia Qi was off the pitch, against ten-man Arsenal, United had no real chance to score — but once Xia Qi came on the game changed…"
"Ha! Whoever comes, whoever's embarrassed!"
Arsenal fans looked complex and walked inward, watching the uncelebratory Robin van Persie.
Van Persie's finishing isn't necessarily the strongest among strikers.
But the beauty and artistry of his goals often win adoration.
That's why Robin van Persie has countless fans worldwide.
Arsenal supporters' feelings toward Van Persie are like towards an ex-girlfriend — a bit hate, a bit love, complicated!
2:5!
United's morale surged!
Old Trafford regained life; the Red Devils' song again swirled above the Theatre of Dreams.
After the restart,
United calmed, their midfield found rhythm and some order.
They soon seized midfield control and broke up Arsenal's attacks, regaining the ball.
Wayne Rooney dropped wide to enrich the midfield outlets.
United's pressure mounted.
In the 38th minute Ashley Young burst on the left and crossed; Rooney rose and headed — the ball went over.
In the 40th minute Antonio Valencia cut inside on the right, a one-on-one with the keeper, but his old flaw surfaced — instead of shooting, he tried a shot-like cross into the middle.
Van Persie jostled for position, tried to stifle a cross-as-shot and executed a first-time volley that flew into the stands.
They missed United's best chance of the half.
Two minutes later Rooney's low drive from the left channel struck the netting on the side.
Half-time: 2:5.
At half-time Xia Qi received more treatment and removed his mask when he returned to the field.
Neither coach made substitutions at the start of the second half.
United kicked off.
To create better counter-attack space for Xia Qi and Podolski,
Arsenal's second-half plan with a three-goal lead was to defend and counter.
They began by drawing the ball around the back rather than rushing into battle.
United pressed high. When Vermaelen played a sideways pass to Bacary Sagna near his own area, Robin van Persie interfered.
The ball landed between Sagna and Wayne Rooney.
Rooney charged forward; Sagna slid in to tackle.
A surprise sliding tackle can be ineffective against top forwards.
Rooney took a deft first touch, jumped to avoid Sagna's slide, and chased the ball.
Mertesacker lunged for the ball, but Rooney was quicker — he trapped, turned, and powered into Mertesacker to cut inside!
Arsenal defenders raised their hands shouting "Foul!" while rushing at Rooney.
Rooney cut into the box and without hesitation struck with power.
Vito Mannone leapt and parried but came up short!
The ball struck the inside of the post and went in.
"He's in!"
"Shot!"
"Goal!"
"Wingless phoenixes fly together — the Red Devils Manchester United don't give up!"
"Stubborn United, after conceding five goals in nine minutes, did not collapse — they sounded the counterattack! Van Persie and Rooney each scored again to make it 3:5!"
"Tonight's match is brilliant — insane, as Manchester United would have it. After Xia Qi's Nine-Five Supreme, we thought the match was over, but Manchester United dragged fans back into their seats. At only 51 minutes and 3:5, the outcome is still uncertain."
(END CHAPTER)
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