chapter 596: Mourinho: Lukaku, That's City's Goal Over There!
David Silva's positioning was cunning. The moment De Bruyne took the corner, Silva started his run, dashing from outside the penalty box into the six-yard box. Just as Manchester United's defenders collectively ran back to try and set an offside trap, Silva slipped in and stretched out his foot to score.
As soon as Silva found the back of the net, almost every United player raised their hands, signaling for offside.
But the assistant referee didn't budge—no flag was raised.
It was a good goal, not offside.
The replay on the big screen showed that Silva had timed his run perfectly. He slowed down and paused just enough before dashing into the box, scoring on the edge of offside.
Had he been just a bit faster or braked a fraction later, the goal would have been ruled offside.
After scoring, Silva spread his arms wide and ran around the pitch in celebration.
However, the fans in the stands noticed something odd in the replay:
"Wait a minute, wasn't that pass from Van Dijk? It looks like our striker Lukaku might have assisted Silva instead!"
"Uh... now that you mention it, it really does look like Lukaku passed the ball to the opponent!"
"Damn, is this guy a secret agent for the other team? That's our goal he just helped them score—their goal's over there!"
At that moment, Mourinho seemed to have also noticed Lukaku's blunder. He called Lukaku over to the sideline, animatedly gesturing.
Some fans quickly created a meme:
Mourinho pointing angrily to the right side of the field: "Manchester City's goal is this way!"
Lukaku: "Oh, got it, understood!"
After returning to the field, Lukaku didn't make the same mistake again. During another attack, he even played an important role in drawing defenders.
After City's goal, United's players became visibly more anxious.
They desperately wanted to equalize before halftime, not wanting to head into the dressing room trailing by a goal. They knew if they did, Mourinho's infamous "hairdryer treatment" awaited them.
And it turned out, United did manage to seize an opportunity.
In the second minute of stoppage time, just before the referee was about to blow the halftime whistle, the desperate United players sent a long ball into City's half.
City didn't seem fully prepared for this direct approach. Stones misjudged the flight of the ball, and Delph made an error in the box, mishandling the ball and indirectly gifting it to a United player.
Rashford pounced on the loose ball in the box and, facing City's rushing goalkeeper, calmly slotted it into the far corner to equalize just before halftime!
This goal was a huge boost for United, and the fans erupted in celebration.
On the sideline, Mourinho had already resigned himself to ending the first half behind, but the unexpected equalizer caught him off guard. After realizing what had happened, he pumped his fists in a celebratory outburst!
On the other side, Guardiola could only shake his head in frustration.
It had been a 5-on-3 advantage in City's favor, yet two defenders made back-to-back mistakes, handing the ball to Rashford on a silver platter!
City's luck seemed abysmal in that moment!
Of course, Guardiola didn't blame everything on bad luck. Whether it was luck or preparation, the opponent had capitalized, and credit had to be given for their play.
Although the lead had vanished, there was still plenty of time left, and Guardiola was confident that if City could find the right way to break United's defense, the second half would be theirs to control.
Both teams' key players and coaching staff retreated to the dressing rooms, while some substitutes stayed out to warm up.
Although Haaland was listed in the squad, it was unlikely he would get a chance to play in this match.
Typically, he only came on in games where City dominated and wrapped things up within the first half. But a hard-fought Manchester Derby wasn't going to allow for that kind of scoreline.
Haaland didn't mind though. He knew that if he continued to improve, one day he would stand among City's first-team stars, wearing the sky-blue shirt at Old Trafford.
For now, he was content to warm up and soak in the atmosphere of the famous stadium.
While warming up, he noticed a younger player in a red United shirt watching him intently.
Haaland waved the youngster over.
"Hey, are you a United player?" Haaland asked, sizing him up. The kid couldn't have been more than 15 or 16, younger than Haaland by at least a year.
Haaland guessed the boy was probably a youth player, perhaps new to the academy, since he didn't recognize him.
"Isn't it obvious from the jersey? And you're with City?"
"Yep, you can tell from my shirt—I'm part of the first team. Pretty cool, right?"
Hearing Haaland's boast, the young player, Greenwood, rolled his eyes.
"So what if you're in the first team? One day, I'll be in United's first team too. Big deal!"
Confident in his own abilities, Greenwood decided to challenge Haaland:
"Hey, City boy, want to have a little showdown?"
"Oh? How do you want to play?" Haaland, feeling bored from training alone, was immediately interested in the challenge.
"Three shots each. We take turns attacking and defending. Whoever scores two first wins!"
A one-on-one challenge? Interesting!
Haaland agreed and even let Greenwood have the first attack.
The height difference between the two was striking. At 17, Haaland was already nearly 190 cm tall, weighing over 75 kg.
In contrast, 16-year-old Greenwood was a head shorter and lighter.
With such a physical mismatch, Haaland figured all he'd have to do was bump into Greenwood to knock him over. Then Greenwood wouldn't even be able to hold onto the ball, let alone score.
But Greenwood was tougher than Haaland expected. Though smaller, his lower body strength was solid, and his ability to hold off challenges surprised Haaland.
Even more impressive was Greenwood's skill—he used a quick feint to wrong-foot Haaland and create space to score!
"How about that? Impressed?" Greenwood exclaimed, clearly thrilled with his success. He became even more convinced that Haaland was just a muscle-bound giant with little real talent.
"Let's go again!" Haaland, now more focused, admitted he had underestimated his opponent. Greenwood was clearly more skilled than he had anticipated.
For the second round, Haaland went on the attack, with Greenwood defending.
This time, Haaland didn't bother with fancy moves. He used his superior strength to barge Greenwood out of the way and blasted the ball into the net.
Greenwood was frustrated, feeling that Haaland had won by brute force, not skill.
Determined to prove his own technical superiority, Greenwood attempted to showcase his footwork in the third round.
But just as he was getting fancy, Haaland again used his physical advantage, knocking Greenwood off the ball and scoring with ease.
"I win!" Haaland grinned, standing with the ball under his foot, looking very pleased with himself.
"Hmph, you only won because you're bigger! Just wait—when I get taller and stronger, I'll get my revenge in the first team!" Greenwood fumed.
Laughing, Haaland replied, "I'll be waiting! But just make sure you don't get kicked out of United before then!"
This little side event on the pitch didn't attract much attention.
When the main players returned to the field, all eyes were on them, with no one paying attention to the substitutes' warm-up antics.
At the start of the second half, both teams made substitutions.
United brought on Lindelöf for Rojo, while City replaced Delph with Gündoğan.
While United's substitution was a straightforward swap, City's change was more tactical.
Gündoğan, a midfielder, replaced Delph, the left-back, signaling that City was switching from a four-man defense to a three-man backline.
It was clear that City intended to go on the offensive in the second half.
United fans were on edge—City had been using this formation to dominate Europe, crushing even strong teams like Liverpool 6-0.
United had frequently lost to City in recent derbies, and many fans had developed a fear of their cross-town rivals.
Seeing City preparing to attack aggressively made them nervous, fearing that their team might crumble under the pressure.
This nervousness wasn't just felt by the fans—it affected the United players too.
As City launched their attack, the entire United team seemed on edge.
Then, in the 54th minute, Lukaku blundered again.
After receiving Mourinho's stern halftime instructions, Lukaku had made sure not to head in the wrong direction this time.
When Lin Quan's free kick was lofted into the box, Lukaku tracked the ball, eager to clear it.
His intentions were good—he wanted to help his team by kicking the ball clear—but his clearance attempt backfired horribly.
As Smalling, locked in a battle with City's striker Agüero, suddenly felt a heavy thud on his back, he turned around to see the ball rolling toward his own goal.
What? Did I just get hit by the ball?
Was that an own goal?
Who kicked it into me? You've really screwed me over!
Luckily for Smalling, City defender Stones reacted quickly, firing a volley that flew past De Gea into United's net, saving Smalling from the embarrassment of an own goal.
Stones couldn't believe his luck!
He hadn't been able to challenge for the initial ball, and as he began retreating, the ball inexplicably landed right in front of him. Fortunately, he hadn't started running back yet, so he could quickly adjust his body and fire the shot.
De Gea, United's goalkeeper, felt utterly exasperated. He threw up his hands at Lukaku in frustration.
"Mate, what are you doing? First, you mess up in the first half, and now in the second? Can you stop sabotaging me? I made so many crucial saves, only for you to ruin my clean sheet!"
For goalkeepers, conceding a goal erased all their hard work.
De Gea's efforts had all been for nothing now.
Mourinho's face turned ashen as he called Lukaku over again.
Although no one could hear what they were saying, fans quickly turned it into a meme:
Mourinho pointing at City's goal, shouting: "Look clearly—that's our goal! This is the direction of their goal in the second half!"
Lukaku, confused: "Oh, the goal's on this side now?"
Fans couldn't help but laugh at the meme:
"Haha, if City wins this match, the Man of the Match award should go to United's Lukaku!"
"Absolutely! Talk about being the team's best '12th man'!"
"Poor Lukaku, he's trying so hard to defend, but he keeps making things worse!"
"This was supposed to be a balanced contest, but Lukaku's turned it into a joke!"
"True! The game's outcome doesn't matter anymore—I just want to see what other surprising (or disastrous) plays Lukaku will come up with!"
"Hey, I'm curious too. This match is getting more and more entertaining!"
"Who says? I'm a United fan, and I'm definitely not laughing!"
While everyone seemed to be showing off, United was getting pummeled.
United was trailing at home in their Theater of Dreams, and it looked increasingly likely that they would lose to their city rivals once again.
And indeed, the answer was clear by the 73rd minute, when Lin Quan helped City extend their lead to 3-1.
That goal almost sealed the match. With City's devastating counterattacks down both wings, United struggled to mount any real threat, eventually having to swallow the bitter pill of a home defeat.
This victory allowed City to tie Arsenal's Premier League record of 14 consecutive wins!
One more step, and City would break the record! (End of Chapter)
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