Chapter 602: Zidane's Mystique
When the referee showed De Gea the red card, Bruno was stunned.
As the captain, he approached the referee, Mažić, to argue, but it was to no avail.
Bruno had expected this; after all, in the era before VAR was widely used, referees rarely overturned penalty decisions.
Moreover, Bruno knew the referee's decision wasn't entirely wrong. De Gea's foul was undeniable. Whether it was a yellow card and a penalty or a red card and a penalty depended entirely on the referee's judgment, and either decision would be justified.
Bruno protested, hoping to exert some pressure on the referee so that he might make some favorable decisions for Manchester United in the remainder of the match. He didn't expect the referee to change his decision.
After protesting, Bruno left the penalty area, looking at the sent-off De Gea with a sense of defeat.
Could it be that Zidane's Real Madrid truly carried some kind of divine fate, some mystical force?
In another timeline, Liverpool not only lost their main scorer early to an injury caused by a Real Madrid player, but their goalkeeper Karius also made a foolish handball error and a basic handling mistake, leading to a 1-3 defeat.
Now, even though Manchester United were going toe-to-toe with Real Madrid in attack, at the critical moment, De Gea lost his head and pulled down Bale in the penalty area, resulting in a red card and a penalty.
Clearly, this was the most foolish choice.
At that moment, even if the opponent scored, it would have been better than conceding a penalty and a red card, right?
But De Gea ultimately made the worst choice.
Is this what people call "destined by fate"? Is this the mystical force?
...
Fans online were also deeply disappointed with the outcome, expressing their outrage.
"Damn! Real Madrid is just like Barcelona, activating their referee advantage! No wonder they are both from La Liga. Run for your lives!"
"Disgraceful! Despicable!"
"Ha! I said Real Madrid would win, didn't I?"
"Rumor has it that UEFA decided before the match that Real Madrid would be champions. Don't ask me why, I don't know either!"
"UEFA is making gods, first Barcelona, now Real Madrid!"
"Must be Zidane's mystique at work. Why else would De Gea suddenly lose his mind and stupidly pull down Bale?"
"Traitor! De Gea is a traitor! Before this Champions League final, several Spanish media reported that De Gea was about to transfer to Real Madrid. He must be proving himself to his new club!"
...
Since the fax machine incident in the summer of 2015, De Gea chose to renew his contract with Manchester United until 2019.
Last summer, with two years left on his contract, Manchester United wanted to renew his contract, but De Gea refused.
As this season approached its end, with De Gea entering the final year of his contract, Manchester United again proposed a renewal, but media reports said De Gea refused again.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid had never stopped trying to poach De Gea.
This is why fans called De Gea a traitor.
...
Mourinho was furious after the penalty decision, yelling at the fourth official for a full minute, but it was useless. He was quickly pulled back by assistant coach Carrick.
With a player already sent off, Manchester United couldn't afford to lose their head coach too. That would make it impossible to continue the game.
After calming down, Mourinho quickly decided to bring on substitute goalkeeper Romero.
With De Gea sent off, they needed to remove an outfield player to allow Romero to come on. Mourinho chose to substitute center-back Maguire. This was a risky move, clearly deciding to go all-in. It was do or die.
This wasn't the first time he had done something crazy. In previous matches, when United were trailing near the end, he often sent on multiple forwards to storm the opponent's defense. In one match, he fielded five forwards and successfully completed a comeback.
In the Champions League final, Mourinho couldn't care about the impact of losing a center-back. If Manchester United couldn't score, they were as good as dead.
De Gea walked off the field with his head down, dejected. Mourinho hugged him and patted his back, signaling him to go to the locker room.
Maguire jogged to the sideline, where he exchanged places with Romero, who ran back to the goal, ready to defend the penalty.
...
Real Madrid sent Cristiano Ronaldo to take the penalty.
In the Champions League top scorer race, Ronaldo was first with 15 goals, leading Bruno by two. If he scored this penalty, he would virtually secure the Golden Boot for the season.
Ronaldo took the ball from his teammate but surprisingly handed it to Bale.
The BBC trio, made up of Bale, Benzema, and Ronaldo, had led Real Madrid to four finals in the last five years and three Champions League titles, becoming a feared force in football.
Their partnership created countless dazzling attacks, becoming a key to Real Madrid's success.
The BBC trio's achievements were undeniable, but the relationship between Bale and Ronaldo had always been controversial.
Media frequently reported internal conflicts within the BBC, with Bale and Ronaldo's relationship often strained.
The first incident was in Bale's second season at Real Madrid, when Bale's perceived selfish play often saw Ronaldo showing displeasure.
This season, the tension between Bale and Ronaldo had reached its peak. Combined with Ronaldo's strained relationship with Florentino Pérez, there were frequent reports that Real Madrid would clear out Ronaldo after the season, rebuilding around Bale.
But unexpectedly, at this moment, Ronaldo chose to hand over the penalty. It was indeed a surprising turn of events.
Perhaps this was Ronaldo's way of mending their relationship?
...
The protesting Manchester United players had been pushed out of the penalty area by the referee. Despite their dissatisfaction, they had to accept the result.
The freshly substituted Romero, with only three minutes of warm-up, couldn't stop Bale's penalty. The Welsh winger easily slotted the ball into the net.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOL!! Gareth Bale! Gareth Bale! The Welsh superstar, who just recovered from injury, scored twice in less than 15 minutes off the bench!"
"Real Madrid takes the lead 3-2! This is their first lead of the match! Although it came late, it finally happened before the match ended!"
"Real Madrid fans can now breathe easy because their team is in control!"
"In the 74th minute, Real Madrid took the lead 3-2 with a penalty!"
...
Amid the cheers, only the English commentator Andy Gray was still loudly criticizing the referee's decision: "This decision has ruined a wonderful final!"
He was still fuming over the referee's lack of "artistry in officiating."
...
While Real Madrid players celebrated, Mourinho made another adjustment, bringing on Ibrahimović for Mbappé.
Manchester United switched from a 4-3-3 to a 3-3-3, with Ibrahimović in the center, Rashford on the right, and Harry Kane on the left, while Gundogan, Bruno, and Kante formed a parallel midfield.
Mourinho was going for broke!
Commentators worldwide were stunned by Mourinho's substitutions.
"Oh! Mourinho's decisions are truly bold and crazy!"
"Unexpected Mourinho! Admirable Manchester United! No matter the final result, Mourinho and his Manchester United have won the world's respect. Instead of turtling up defensively, Mourinho has chosen to fight bravely! Even if they lose, they lose with honor!"
"Mourinho is going all-in. Besides attacking, Manchester United has no better option. But this all-or-nothing approach has a tragic undertone..."
"Mourinho substituted Mbappé and Maguire, bringing on Ibrahimović to bolster the attack. With just over ten minutes left, can they achieve their goal?"
...
Many, seeing Mourinho's substitutions, outwardly respected Manchester United's courage but inwardly believed Real Madrid would win. The mighty Real Madrid would claim their 13th Champions League trophy.
Three defenders and a man down, still thinking of defeating Real Madrid? That's pure fantasy!
Manchester United fans in the stands shared this concern. The current situation and Mourinho's gamble indicated the game was increasingly against them.
Is it over?
Have they admitted defeat?
In this situation, what could Manchester United do to turn things around?
Even their own fans concluded that no matter what, their hopes were slim. They might lose in their last game of the 2017-2018 season...
(END CHAPTER)
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