---

In the early part of the first half, Liverpool took the lead with Alexis Sanchez’s opening goal and continued to put heavy pressure on Manchester United afterwards.

[Henderson steals the ball!]

Right winger Jordan Henderson successfully steals the ball from Januzaj.

[Now, this is Liverpool’s counterattack, right? Henderson passes to Gerrard and dashes forward.]

The ensuing counterattack situation for Liverpool.

[Oh! The gap between the Manchester United midfielders and defenders has opened up!]

The aging United defense hesitated to maintain their line due to concerns about vulnerability behind them, resulting in a widened space between the midfielder and the defense for just a moment.

[Alexis Sanchez sneaks through the gaps in the defense! Gerrard’s pass connects with Sanchez once again!]

Alexis Sanchez, spotting United’s weakness, slipped into the open space, creating a situation similar to the one that allowed Liverpool to score the first goal in the 11th minute.

Sanchez was proving he was called “The King of Goals” for a reason this season.

[Uh-oh! This is dangerous! Sanchez quickly weaves past Vidic!]

He successfully dodged Vidic with ease.

[Alexis Sanchez enters the penalty box!]

In an instant, Alexis Sanchez stormed into the penalty area.

“──!!”

Just as the Liverpool home fans stood up to cheer, anticipating a goal—

[It’s a SHOOOOOT—!]

Thud─!

[Waaahhh—!]

[De Gea! David De Gea’s unbelievable save!]

[Wow, Liverpool’s sharp counterattack and Sanchez’s shot toward the corner of the goal were superb, but De Gea stops it!]

De Gea’s super save rescued Manchester United from a crisis.

“Vamos—!!”

De Gea roared, swinging his fist into the air after the fantastic save.

[Yes. In a nutshell, we could say he kicked well and saved well.]

└ United Doctor: Uuuugh…!

Han Gyeouri sighed in relief as she watched De Gea’s triumphant roar.

***

As Manchester United players struggled to keep their composure against Liverpool’s fierce attacks, the Red Face of the Premier League descended upon the touchline.

“You fool! Are you out of your mind? Is football a joke?!”

Ferguson’s affectionate barrage of words towards Januzaj strangely snapped the other players back into attention.

“Stand straight, Januzaj.”

“Did you bring forth the sir to express your guilt?”

I and Ronaldo, tense with nervousness, provided warm support to Januzaj, who had made a mistake, in hopes of maintaining a comfortable locker room atmosphere for halftime.

If we entered halftime like this, the atmosphere in the locker room would turn uncomfortable due to Ferguson’s wrath.

“Januzaj.”

“Was that judgment truly the best?”

Still, thanks to our concentrated care, Januzaj’s abnormal state began to gradually lift.

Once the tension eased, Januzaj quickly connected passes without disrupting the game tempo.

‘Well, he wouldn’t want to get scolded by the boss during halftime either.’

Sure enough, he cast me a somewhat miffed expression, perhaps as a side effect of my affectionate discipline, but I shrugged it off.

‘It’s all for your own good, buddy.’

A good teacher doesn’t hold back from teaching tough lessons to their students.

*Whew… The path of a true teacher and mentor is fraught with difficulty.*

In that moment, I longed for Gi-hyun Choi, who was still suffering in Korea.

– It’s me!

Um. Feels like I haven’t learned anything particularly…

– It’s me?

But still, isn’t everyone kind-hearted?

– It’s me!

From my experiences so far, it seems the words “kind” and “cute” carry various meanings.

“Stop that kid!”

Anyway, as Januzaj and Zaha’s play began to ignite, Manchester United’s counterattack started.

In the future, Wilfried Zaha, known as one of the Premier League’s top three dribblers and a guardian of big clubs, succeeded in disrupting Liverpool’s defensive line with his dazzling movement.

“Zaha!”

In the situation where Liverpool’s defense crumbled due to Zaha’s dribble.

As he slipped into the penalty box, Van Persie requested a pass from Zaha. Wilfried Zaha delivered a cutback to Van Persie, who was penetrating from behind.

Van Persie calmly checked the goalkeeper’s position, focusing on the rolling ball and took his shot.

Thud─!

Simon Mignolet desperately stretched out his arms and barely managed to stop the ball.

“Ha.”

Van Persie, clutching his head, let out a resigned laugh.

Well, Van Persie’s shot was blocked by the goalkeeper, but still, after Van Persie’s shot, the momentum of the game began to shift towards United.

The match between United and Liverpool grew increasingly fierce as time passed.

“Januzaj! Pass!”

Ronaldo, the drill sergeant, yelled at Januzaj and Zaha whenever they showed any greed by dragging the ball around during the game.

Was it because of the past experience of getting scolded by Ruud van Nistelrooy for not passing?

“Januzaj, you need to pass to me! I am your direct senior who lifted the Ballon d’Or…”

Ronaldo’s scolding came filled with soul.

Well, Ronaldo too scolded Januzaj and Zaha with good intentions.

The Ronaldo who was scolding the two was also someone who had received many teachings from his seniors when he transferred to Manchester in the past.

He learned how to pass from van Nistelrooy, managing to avoid embarrassing himself after hearing that Ryan Giggs drank cola, and corrected his diving habits while being kicked by Roy Keane, Nicky Butt, and Paul Scholes.

In this way, our deformed hero Um Seok-dong, born from countless seniors’ affection, would, in the future, generously share all the teachings he had experienced with his younger brother Gareth Bale, who transferred to Real Madrid.

It was a beautiful tradition of descending love.

However, unlike the original history, there was no beloved doll Bale around Ronaldo, and his twisted affection seemed directed towards Januzaj and Wilfried Zaha.

Um Seok-dong’s strict teachings became invaluable lessons for Januzaj and Wilfried Zaha.

“If those Real Madrid bastards had my level last season, we could have lifted the Champions League trophy!”

“…”

“…”

I don’t know if Januzaj and Zaha want this teaching.

***

The game continued to progress.

As time neared the end of the first half, Manchester United had a great opportunity. Daniel Sturridge tried an overly ambitious dribble but lost the ball to Ferdinand, causing a turnover.

“Jinho!”

Rio Ferdinand, who cleanly tackled and snatched the ball, immediately passed it to me.

I showcased the Caracoles technique by Xavi and successfully escaped Liverpool’s pressure.

Just as I was about to pass to Ronaldo, who was dashing into the open space behind.

An evaded Liverpool player grabbed my arm, and I collapsed onto the ground.

Squeak─!

The referee issued a yellow card for blocking a good counterattack chance with a foul.

“I’ll take it.”

Cristiano Ronaldo approached, eager for the free kick.

“Are you confident?”

“I’m confident!”

Ronaldo, self-assured about scoring.

However, no matter how you looked at it, the distance for a direct shot was further than expected, and while the referee wasn’t watching, I erased the white line drawn by the spray and marked a new one a step forward.

Seeing my actions, Ronaldo smiled in satisfaction and naturally moved to take the ball.

“Hey. If I’m honest, it’s far, right?”

“Siu.”

We nearly succeeded in deceiving the referee with our fantastic teamwork.

“Booooooo─!”

“Don’t mess up football! You bastards!”

If it weren’t for the jeers from the crowd.

“Wait, stop.”

As Ronaldo was about to take the free kick, the Liverpool fans jeered loudly. Realizing something peculiar, the referee walked over to check the pitch.

At the same time, I sensed the eerie atmosphere and distanced myself from the referee.

The referee assessed the situation and issued a warning to Ronaldo, who was preparing for the free kick.

Alex Ferguson was furious at Ronaldo for unnecessarily accumulating cards, and I turned my gaze away from Ronaldo, who was wearing a wronged expression.

***

[Ah, the referee is giving Ronaldo a warning? What’s going on here?]

[Well… It’s probably for time-wasting… or not. Seems like he got caught moving the free kick spot at will.]

└ Wow, look at him move it so naturally, lol.

└ The face he’s making pretending to not know anything is just hilarious, lol.

[Yes. He’s getting a warning for messing with the free kick spot, and next to him, Son Jinho is looking at Ronaldo with disdain.]

└ Son Jinho, lol, you started this all, right? lol.

└ Haha, I didn’t get caught. It’s the guy who did get caught’s fault, lol.

└ In the meantime, Ronaldo finds it hilarious that he got a yellow card alone, haha.

[The referee brings the ball back to its original spot. And now, Ronaldo is preparing for the free kick!]

[The referee blew the whistle. Ronaldo runs up!!]

[He’s kicked it! Ronaldo—!!!]

[Ah, it’s going straight to the keeper. It was a bit far for a direct shot, right?]

[The referee blows the halftime whistle along with the goal kick. So we’ll see you again shortly.]

***

After joining Manchester United, I witnessed Alex Ferguson’s hairdryer treatment for the first time, but for some reason, I couldn’t recall anything from halftime.

‘Ugh. What happened back then?’

As I struggled to find my lost memories of halftime, the second half began with the sound of the referee’s whistle.

The momentum of the game had completely shifted to United.

Several factors contributed to the game’s shift toward United.

The players’ awakening due to the hairdryer effect might have been one reason.

But in my view, the biggest factor was that after Liverpool, who had shown excellent performance with their strong pressure in the first half, became overly conscious of United’s attacking power and lowered their line to lock things down as the second half got underway.

After Liverpool settled back into their own territory, Michael Carrick, now free from pressure, comfortably connected a pass to me.

I exchanged passes with Michael Carrick and smoothly unfolded the attack.

During a corner kick situation, Nemanja Vidić scored the equalizer.

Only then did Liverpool remove their blockade and hurriedly jump into the attack, but rather unintentionally, they ended up creating a crisis by losing the ball in a dangerous area.

While I blocked the ball, I spotted Ronaldo, who had darted behind Škrtel, and immediately delivered a lofted pass to him.

Ronaldo executed a clean first touch, dropping the ball right in front of him.

In no time, Cristiano Ronaldo entered the penalty box.

As Liverpool’s center-back Škrtel attempted to tackle to block Ronaldo’s shot, Ronaldo acted as if he had tripped over.

Rolling around the penalty box, Ronaldo gestured towards the referee for a penalty kick, and the referee declared a foul by Škrtel.

“No! He didn’t touch my foot!”

While Škrtel protested the referee’s decision with an innocent expression, Ronaldo stood up cradling the ball as if someone might snatch the penalty kick from him.

“I’ll take it.”

Confidently announcing that he would take the penalty kick, the greedy Ronaldo declared.

“Phew. The little boy inside me agreed. You take it, Chris.”

Van Persie sighed and nodded before stepping aside.

“Siuuuuuuu—!”

Cristiano Ronaldo completed the penalty kick, making a successful comeback.

United managed to hold off Liverpool’s attacks for the remaining time, achieving a comeback victory.

Though I didn’t tally any attacking points against Liverpool, I nodded in satisfaction.

I felt that as long as the players stayed injury-free, we could achieve reasonably good results in the Champions League.

‘Phew. Just please be careful and avoid injuries, guys.’

 

---