LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 226
The Blue Dragon hyung felt the wall of the world as the game flow shifted back to Manchester United.
In the 23rd minute of the second half, fueled by the cheers of the home fans.
Maybe he only learned the bad side from Ronaldo, but the greedy Sadio Mané lost the ball to Patrick van Aanholt.
Then, a counter-attack from Sunderland unfolded.
Sunderland quickly pushed forward into United’s territory.
Sami Khedira tried to interrupt Sunderland’s counter-attack with a foul, but the ball went to Seong-ryong hyung, maintaining Sunderland’s possession.
The referee called for an advantage and let the game flow continue.
Seong-ryong hyung immediately sent a killer pass to Sunderland’s striker, Steven Fletcher, up front.
Thud.
Steven Fletcher received Seong-ryong hyung’s pass and entered the penalty box.
“Ahhh—!”
And at that moment.
Sunderland’s striker, Steven Fletcher, screamed and fell in the penalty box.
Honestly, it was clearly a blatant Hollywood act for anyone watching.
Virgil van Dijk’s tackle didn’t even touch Stephen Fletcher’s legs.
But the referee pointed to the penalty spot with his right hand and declared a foul against Virgil van Dijk.
“BOOOOOOOOOOO—!”
“Even a blind person would make better decisions than you, you bastard!”
Simultaneously, an indescribable stream of insults flew toward the referee from the stands.
“NO! He didn’t touch him!”
Virgil van Dijk protested to the referee, claiming it wasn’t a foul, but the stubborn, egg-headed referee shook his head firmly and declared a penalty kick.
Since it was a time before VAR, even if the referee’s decision was wrong, it wouldn’t be overturned.
All that remained was for the game to end and for netizens to roast the referee online.
And if public sentiment got too bad, the referee could just send a brief apology interview to the press and that would be the end of it.
“Please improve the refereeing level…”
The fans and players who were wrongfully deprived of their points were burning inside.
But, what can you do? The game was already over.
The Premier League already has busier match schedules than other leagues; there’s no way they could replay a match.
“Geez, those ignorant United guys are called the second Stoke City for a reason.”
Anyway, as Sunderland’s players began forming a friendly wall to protect the referee from Virgil van Dijk.
– What would you do if I say it’s a penalty?
A strange voice began echoing in my head.
– What can you do, you little shit?
It sounded a lot like the referee’s voice.
Hmm. Surely that’s not the referee’s inner thoughts, right?
– What can you do besides complain now or express dissatisfaction with the decision after the match and get penalized?
It was probably just a coincidence, but.
– Ugh, why are you bothering to complain all the time? I’m the referee! You’d better take a card.
Just then, the referee pulled out a warning for the strongly protesting Van Dijk.
‘Should I take him out?’
At that moment, the soul of the referee-slayer, which had been sealed deep in my chest, stirred to wake up.
‘For now, let’s just keep watching.’
***
[Huff… It doesn’t look like a penalty from any angle.]
[Ah, Virgil van Dijk is being warned for his protests.]
[Van Dijk had every right to feel wronged. There was absolutely no contact!]
[Yes, but wrong calls are part of the game, right? He needs to recover mentally quickly.]
[Steven Fletcher, who cleverly deceived the referee to create the penalty, is preparing to take the kick.]
[The moment is tense, and he strikes!]
[Goooool—! Steven Fletcher calmly slots the penalty kick into the net, successfully leveling the score!!]
***
Football is a sport of momentum.
No matter how much of a gap in ability there is, once the initiative shifts to the opponent, you could concede goals in quick succession.
And weren’t Sunderland players also competing in the same Premier League?
Sunderland was a team with its own strengths.
“It’s alright! It’s alright! We just need to score one more goal!”
Anyway, due to the referee’s wrong call leading to a penalty kick, naturally, the mood among United was not good.
The defenders’ minds were occupied with the recent wrong call, and they started to look at the referee’s decisions with caution.
On the other hand, Sunderland, having equalized with the penalty kick, successfully turned the tide and began to strongly press United.
We dropped our line in response to Sunderland’s aggressive offensive and tidied up our defense.
Of course, as soon as the defense was stable, we intended to turn aggressive.
Even if we ended up drawing against Sunderland, it wouldn’t change the fact that Manchester United is a champion, but the next match is an away game.
It would be courteous to secure victory at home, Old Trafford, where more United fans could witness, especially after purchasing expensive season tickets.
In the 28th minute of the second half, while defending against Sunderland’s offensive, Sami Khedira succeeded in a clean tackle and stole the ball.
The ball was passed to me via Sami Khedira and Luke Shaw.
– Give me the ball, give me the ball, give me the ball!
The moment I received the ball, Cristiano Ronaldo attempted to telepathically connect with me.
Our eyes met, and I gave a slight nod.
Ronaldo immediately darted into the space behind.
I pushed the ball into the space where Ronaldo was running, and he dashed forward with his signature crab dribble.
In an instant, Cristiano Ronaldo smashed through the backline of Sunderland and entered the penalty box.
But was his enthusiasm a bit too much?
With a defender in front, he tried to show off his skill and ended up tripping over his own feet.
Then, feeling embarrassed, he spread his arms as he appealed to the referee for a foul against Sunderland.
As I shot him a disapproving look, signaling him to get up quickly, the referee blew the whistle.
Peep!
The referee suddenly announced a penalty kick.
I looked at the referee and nodded.
‘Ah. This guy really is just an idiot.’
***
As the referee declared another penalty kick, an opposite situation unfolded from just five minutes ago.
“You tripped over your own feet!”
“Excuse me, how dare a player talk back to the referee?”
Sunderland players protested to the referee, while United players began scheming for sympathy with him.
“Finally, you’re watching the game like a human being!”
As the United home fans applauded and supported the referee’s decision.
[Ah, I don’t know… That didn’t seem to touch his legs either.]
The replay showed Ronaldo falling down once more.
[Indeed, from the replay, it looked like he tripped over his own feet.]
└ Bloody Hell, the referee’s call is disgustingly bad to the point of being offensive.
As insults directed at the referee started flooding the chat window.
Cristiano Ronaldo was ready to take it.
[Kicker Ronaldo.]
[Cristiano Ronaldo steps up!]
[Oh! It can’t be! Goalkeeper Vito Mannone makes a super save and successfully rescues Sunderland from danger!!!]
[It was Vito Mannone, Sunderland’s guardian, who saved them during this crisis!]
***
Despite United launching relentless attacks, they couldn’t manage to breach Sunderland’s goal as time speedily ticked away.
As the game neared its end, home fans visiting Old Trafford looked anxiously at the pitch.
As if wishing the players to give just a bit more effort, they began singing their chants.
Just then, Son Jinho, who had come down below the halfway line, looked forward.
It was Manchester United’s last chance for an attack.
Robin van Persie, slipping into the backspace low, made a slight upward turn, breaking the offside line.
Cristiano Ronaldo darted into the space created as the defender followed Van Persie.
With the attacking line moving organically, the Sunderland defenders were bewildered.
Son Jinho made his decision.
[Jinho.]
Seeing the space, Son Jinho’s pass soared towards Robin van Persie.
[Jinho has found Robin van Persie.]
And Robin van Persie, spotting the incoming ball, attempted a diving header.
[Robin van Persie!!]
The ball struck Van Persie’s forehead and flew accurately towards the goal but caught the fingertips of the goalkeeper and ricocheted off the post.
[Oh my goodness! Vito Mannone has saved Sunderland once again!]
The defender cleared the ball that dropped in front of the goal towards the halfway line.
The home fans at Old Trafford clasped their heads in despair as the referee put the whistle to his mouth to signal the end of the game.
Sir Alex Ferguson stepped onto the touchline, glancing at the clock and applying pressure on the referee.
With over 65,000 fans and Sir Alex Ferguson’s actions, the referee was undeniably under pressure.
[The whistle hasn’t blown yet!]
In that brief moment when the referee hesitated.
[Jinho!!!]
Near the halfway line, Son Jinho trapped the flying ball with his chest and immediately aimed a shot.
The perfectly aimed shot became a beam of laser, piercing through Sunderland’s goal net.
After a moment of silence.
[What…. What a goaaaaaaaaaaal!!!!!!]
A roar erupted from Old Trafford, shaking the very ground.
“─!!!!”
***
Peep! Peep!! Peep!!!!
Following Son Jinho’s winning goal, the match ended.
[Manchester United successfully achieves back-to-back league triumphs.]
As the final whistle blew, the crowd-filled stadium erupted.
“Come On!!!!!”
United fans unable to contain their excitement began to flood onto the pitch one by one.
Although the club would face punishment from FA for failing to prevent the pitch invasion.
[The Premier League champions for the 14/15 season is Manchester United!]
On this day, club officials put aside their worries and began to enjoy the moment.
***
[Manchester United achieves league victory.]
[Back-to-back champions, Manchester United.]
[Manchester United gathering one of the three holy items needed for the treble.]
[Immediately after the match, Son Jinho was seen greeting Lee Cheong-ryong and Ki Sung-yueng amicably.]
[Manchester United vs. Sunderland. ‘The 1-second decider.’]
[The referee, addressing the controversy over the bad call, stated, “Mistakes are part of the game.”]
└ Why the hell are you saying that yourself, you crazy bastard.
└ Damn, the average personality of these referees is worse than dogs.
└ Lololol!