Under the night sky of London—
Wembley Stadium erupted in unprecedented frenzy!
The scoreboard on the sideline displayed exactly why the fans were going so wild:
1:0!!
The side that had taken the lead—was Crystal Palace!
The Premier League champions, Manchester United, had fallen behind on the FA Cup final stage, in less than a minute!
It was a scene that not even the most seasoned media had anticipated!
—
Inside one of Wembley's luxury suites—
Arsène Wenger stood up and couldn't help but applaud.
In the nearby suites:
Chelsea's Abramovich.
Tottenham's Villas-Boas.
And the Emirati bosses of Manchester City—
All of them were engaged in animated discussion about the stunning goal scored just moments ago by Kai.
On the field—
Holloway clenched his fist hard on the sideline!
He held nothing back, struggling to contain the surge of joy and excitement in his heart.
"It's still too early. This is nowhere near the time to celebrate—
That's Manchester United we're up against!"
"They'll definitely counterattack hard after falling behind early.
We need to hold the line!"
The Crystal Palace coaching staff stayed sharply focused.
They knew exactly what kind of opponent they were facing—
The current rulers of the Premier League!
The Red Devils, gunning for a historic Treble!
Against such a team, they absolutely could not afford to lower their guard.
On the pitch—
After their wild celebrations, the Crystal Palace players returned to their own half.
Meanwhile, the United players stood in place, hands on hips.
Still seemingly in disbelief over that early goal.
Vidic adjusted his captain's armband.
He looked toward the bench, where Rooney and others were warming up in substitute bibs.
Vidic suddenly recalled the words Kai had told him before the match, when they exchanged flags.
Before even a minute had passed—
Kai's words had come true!
United's key starters were already warming up at the sideline!
Vidic's face turned grim.
He gave Evra a hard pat on the shoulder,
Then shouted loudly to all his teammates on the field:
"Wake up, everyone!
They're just a Championship team!
If we can't get past them—
How can we possibly beat Barcelona at the end of the month!?"
The moment the words left his mouth—
The entire Manchester United squad was visibly shaken!
He was right!
In the upcoming Champions League Final, their opponent was none other than the legendary "Galactic Barcelona" of La Liga!
If they couldn't even beat a Championship side in the FA Cup final...
How would they stand a chance against peak-era Barça at the end of the month?
—
At midfield—
Park Ji-sung slapped his cheeks hard a few times.
He stared at the figure with black hair on the opposite side of the halfway line.
For the rest of this match—
He would cling to Kai like a shadow!
Known for his incredible stamina, Park Ji-sung was Manchester United's famous "Iron Lungs."
He had full confidence—
That under his relentless midfield pressure,
Kai's performance would start to crack,
And eventually collapse!
The referee blew the whistle again!
The game resumed at the center circle!
Wembley once again surged with thunderous energy!
From the restart—
Hernández tapped the ball forward.
It was received by Berbatov.
The striker known as "The Elegant One" laid it back to Carrick in midfield.
United's formation began to push forward in an organized wave.
Sir Alex Ferguson had now been in charge of the Red Devils for over two decades.
And in that time—
He was never regarded as a tactical mastermind, but no one could deny his strategic brilliance.
He had an unmatched ability to incorporate even seemingly incompatible players into the Manchester United system—
Allowing each to shine in their strongest positions!
At this moment, in Manchester United's formation—
Wayne Rooney had not started the match.
The one playing as a shadow striker was Berbatov!
The forward line of Hernández and Berbatov began to stretch and tear at Crystal Palace's defense.
On the pitch—
After the early lightning-fast goal,
Manchester United's players experienced a moment of instability—
But soon, thanks to their superior individual quality
and clearly stronger overall team strength compared to Crystal Palace,
After a dozen minutes of back-and-forth exchanges,
United began to seize control of the match!
The Red Devils' fans in the stands roared back to life with deafening momentum!
17th minute!
Manchester United launched a classic attack, spreading out from the midfield to the flanks!
Carrick sat deep in midfield, orchestrating the buildup.
Nearby, linking up with him, was the legendary "Red Devil Wizard"—
Ryan Giggs!
Giggs had by now been repositioned as a holding midfielder,
often appearing in United's No. 4 role.
As United's front line settled into shape—
Giggs didn't insist on a congested attack through the center—
Instead, he decisively passed to the flank!
Out wide—
Evra surged forward into the attack!
Flying down Crystal Palace's wing,
he began his acceleration!
The crowd burst into cries of excitement!
United fans waved their arms in ecstasy—
this was the type of attack they were most familiar with!
Down the wing—
Evra's speed was blazing!
Ambrose, covering that side, struggled to keep up.
Unable to catch him, she was forced to abandon the chase
and instead drifted toward the box,
reinforcing the back line against a potential cross.
Evra surged ahead!
Just as he reached Palace's end line,
he whipped in a powerful cross!
In the Palace box, defenders quickly took position.
Physical jostling erupted all around!
Ambrose, retreating to the edge of the box, won the first ball!
At the far post, Hernández darted forward—
But the shorter striker nicknamed "Chicharito" couldn't win the second ball in the air.
—
The ball, floating mid-air,
was decisively punched clear by Crystal Palace's goalkeeper!
Regretful groans echoed from the United supporters!
But just then—
Ferguson furrowed his brow on the sideline!
Where the ball landed after being punched clear—
Kai was already there, using his excellent awareness to control the ball instantly!
Almost at that very moment—
Crystal Palace players understood exactly what to do.
Their entire formation immediately transitioned
from defensive posture to all-out counterattack mode!
"Fall back! Get back!!"
Vidic, covering deep in United's defensive line,
yelled toward his teammates!
At the sideline—
Sir Alex Ferguson's expression shifted.
"Is this really a team from the Championship?"
Under Kai's orchestration—
Crystal Palace's counterattack looked sharper than many Premier League teams!
The speed and precision of their transition play
was enough to astonish even Manchester United's lineup!
On the field—
The Palace stands erupted in wild cheers!
Kai activated his full field vision!
He launched a sharp curving through-ball forward!
That single pass dramatically shortened the field depth for Palace's counter—
Allowing them to accelerate their transition attack!
Clyne received the through-ball and sprinted forward!
Timing it perfectly—
he smashed a powerful square pass across the pitch!
Kai, making an off-ball run, surged forward to meet it!
In his vision, two golden passing lines lit up again!
Without hesitation, he set up to chip the ball for a long pass
directly into Manchester United's penalty box!
But right at that moment—
The referee blew his whistle!
~~----------------------
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