Chapter 574: The Decisive Moment
Ederson was focused on Kante possibly passing to Gundogan on United's right flank. He never expected Kante to suddenly shoot. Positioned slightly to the left, Ederson had no time to adjust. He could only leap and stretch his arms, trying to block the unexpected long shot.
"Kante—GOAL!!!!!!" Jian Jun shouted as Ederson fell hopelessly. The ball flew past his outstretched hand and hit the back of the net, sending the white netting billowing up high!
In the 69th minute, N'Golo Kante, United's second least likely scorer after goalkeeper De Gea, scored. United led 2-1 at the Etihad!
"What an incredible strike… a world-class goal from Kante! He dribbled past Fernandinho, fooled Otamendi, shot, and scored! Ederson was defeated by Kante… This is Kante's first Champions League goal, scored in the semifinal against Manchester City! The French midfielder doesn't score often, but when he does, it's crucial!"
After scoring the spectacular goal, Kante ran but was quickly surrounded and tackled to the ground by his ecstatic teammates.
They shouted praises, curses of excitement, and roared in joy. This goal was critical, and it lifted their spirits immensely. During a period where City's attacks were fierce and United's defense was under severe pressure, Kante's goal was a game-changer.
With Kante's goal, United now led 5-1 on aggregate. Kante rarely scores, but when he does, it's always a vital goal, and United has never lost a game when he scores.
While United celebrated wildly, City's side fell silent. They couldn't believe their eyes. The least likely player to score after the goalkeepers, the man who almost never shoots, had just scored a sensational long-range goal, leaving Ederson helpless.
"Kante once scored a similar stunning goal while at Udinese," Sun Jihai said bitterly. "He rarely shoots and scores even less often because his shooting skills are poor. But when he does score, it's always beautiful and crucial. 2-1, Kante's brilliant goal leaves City trailing."
"Defensively tireless, he sweeps the field, building a solid wall in front of United's defense, and offensively, he delivers a game-winning goal. N'Golo Kante, no matter the final result of this match, gets my vote for the best player," Jian Jun said, not hiding his admiration for the United warrior.
As Kante got up, he jokingly protested his teammates' rough celebration. Everyone laughed.
City's players were stunned, unable to accept the goal. De Bruyne, however, ran directly to referee Felix Brych, protesting that Fellaini had fouled him when United started their counter-attack, and the goal should be invalid.
Brych shook his finger, indicating no foul and that the goal stood. In reality, Fellaini and De Bruyne had been pulling at each other, and Brych could have called a foul on either of them. However, in a moment of hesitation, he allowed play to continue, and United's counter-attack unfolded.
Seeing the referee uphold the goal, De Bruyne lost his cool. He shouted at Brych, "Can you even ref?"
Yellow card! Brych, without hesitation, showed De Bruyne a yellow card, telling him to cool down.
De Bruyne stared at the referee but managed to control himself, saying quietly, "Ref, you're wrong."
"Listen to the ref," Fellaini, trying to be helpful, came over.
De Bruyne snapped, shoving Fellaini hard, knocking him to the ground.
Yellow card! Brych's face turned green with anger. De Bruyne had pushed Fellaini right in front of him. He showed De Bruyne a second yellow card, followed by a red.
Booing erupted from the Etihad stands.
City captain Fernandinho tried to reason with Brych.
"Wow, what just happened? The referee has shown De Bruyne two yellow cards and sent him off," Jian Jun exclaimed. "De Bruyne seemed unhappy with the call and protested, receiving a yellow card. Then he pushed Fellaini in front of the referee and got another yellow, turning into a red card."
"This is an unexpected and terrible turn of events," City legend Sun Jihai said, shaking his head. "De Bruyne lost his cool. Now City is down 1-2 and a man short. This is very bad."
Guardiola was furious on the sidelines. He had just decided to substitute De Bruyne with Mkhitaryan to bolster the attack. Now his plans were in disarray.
The worst part was that Guardiola was now worried. Losing this match seemed increasingly likely.
De Bruyne's red card became the game's turning point.
Guardiola's substitution plan was shelved as he quickly reassessed his strategy.
Mourinho acted decisively. Seeing De Bruyne sent off, he had Mata, Rashford, Mbappe, and Ibrahimovic warm up.
A few minutes later, Guardiola brought on Mkhitaryan for Bernardo Silva, switching to a 3-2-4 formation, going all-out in attack.
Mourinho quickly responded, subbing Mata for Fellaini and Rashford for the tiring Kante. United switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Herrera and Gundogan as the double pivot, and Rashford, Mata, and Bruno supporting Kane.
United transitioned from a defensive stance to an attacking one.
With De Bruyne off, City not only lost a player but also left huge gaps in defense while chasing an equalizer.
In the 83rd minute, United scored their third goal. Luke Shaw and Mata combined on the left, drawing defenders. Mata passed horizontally to Bruno, who sent a through ball to Kane. Kane held off Otamendi and passed to Mbappe, who lofted the ball to the left. With City's defense stretched thin, Bruno was left unmarked and headed the ball into the net. United led 3-1.
The match ended 3-1, with United defeating City by two goals.
United won both legs of the Champions League semifinal against City, advancing to the final with a 6-1 aggregate score.