"Maël! He's facing Clint Hill's defense! This is a defender who is 1.86 meters tall and has excellent physical ability! He may have to find other ways, as it may not be advantageous to engage in a battle of Speed and Strength with this defender!"
On the field, Maël charged towards Clint Hill with the ball, marking their first confrontation.
He performed a Bicycle Kick feint when he was about two meters away, but his opponent was not fooled and retreated methodically, sealing off the inside and leaving him the outside.
"Bang!" Maël saw this and, after feinting a Cut Inside, violently dribbled the ball down the line.
Clint Hill quickly followed, still wary of him suddenly cutting inside; he clearly knew Maël's usual tactics.
"Bang!" But this time it seemed different. After reaching the end line, Maël seized the initiative and curled a cross towards the center.
Left foot?! Clint Hill's eyes flickered, and he turned to see that it was a Cross of decent quality.
Isn't he not good at it? He felt a pang in his heart, knowing that he might not be able to defend well in this game; he could only block one side at most.
"Bang!!" In the center, Bologanovic collided with the opponent's tall center-back, Hall. In the end, he had a slight advantage and was the first to reach the ball.
Unfortunately, under the defender's challenge, the football failed to hit the target and flew diagonally out of the end line.
"Ah!" A sound of regret rose from the Sheffield United stands, but it was immediately followed by applause as the fans readjusted their emotions and threw themselves into cheering.
In the VIP area, the eleven-member cheering squad of family and friends returned to their seats, clapping their hands.
"He's in good shape!"
Safina sat next to Harry and exclaimed, "He created a certain threat with his first touch."
"Yeah." Harry nodded, about to speak, when his expression suddenly became tense.
The Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper launched a long pass, and their striker Helguson headed the ball to the team's core, Taarabt.
The latter took the ball and quickly launched an attack. Facing Gilbert's defense, he made two consecutive changes of direction and finally dribbled past him with a nutmeg.
Then, he successively broke through Janu Hans and Bertrand, who came to help defend, and arrived at the edge of the penalty area.
"Bang!!" A powerful shot was fired, heading straight for the bottom corner of the goal.
Goalkeeper Robert immediately dived to the side, landing as quickly as possible, and finally managed to push the ball out of the end line: "Slap!"
Sheffield City, Kodao'er Old Shop.
"Taarabt! He returns the favor!! He has also scored 21 goals and completed 24 assists this season, with 45+ data!"
"Oh!" The bar was full of team fans. Watching Taarabt almost score, they held their heads in shock.
"It's okay, it's okay!"
"Again!"
"Don't be nervous!"
"Who just grabbed my butt?"
Kodao'er sat with his family, seemingly too old to withstand such a tense atmosphere. He leaned on his crutches and walked out of the bar to get some air.
Not far away, there was a large fan square. He saw at least several thousand fans standing there densely packed, so he walked towards it with faltering steps.
It's better to watch the game in an open space; watching the game in a bar is too depressing.
"Queens Park Rangers' attack is very fierce. Sheffield United has retreated to defend, waiting for a chance to counterattack! Quinn! Fouled Taarabt and received a yellow card! Warnock on the sidelines pointed to this spot, seemingly giving instructions to the players to strengthen their attack on this side!"
The commentator's voice was played on a large sound system, which could be heard clearly in the surrounding streets.
Kodao'er stood behind the crowd, supporting himself with his crutches, watching the large screen in front of the square.
He also noticed many fireworks arranged around, preparing for the final moment of bloom.
"We must win." He clenched his crutches, hoping that the team would end the game with a goal and a victory. Defending to maintain a draw always felt like it wouldn't be able to withstand Queens Park Rangers' bombardment.
Even he knew that offense is the best defense!
Outside Loftus Road Stadium, Sheffield United fans hanging on the fence were talking to each other. They had been lying there for a long time, but they didn't seem to feel tired.
There were no tickets, the nearby bars were full, and the fan square was either full of Queens Park Rangers fans or already crowded with Sheffield United away fans, so they had to take a risk.
"This is fine too."
Someone remained optimistic, laughing, "Being able to see it live is no different from sitting inside the stadium."
"Yeah."
Someone chatted while keeping an eye on the field, "This is real VIP treatment, haha, thirty meters away, Maël is going to shoot, Long Shot!"
"Hiss," after seeing the goalkeeper push the ball out of the net with one hand, he gasped, feeling ominous: "Their goalkeeper is in good form, he can save that."
There was a commotion around them. Some people peering through the cracks in the door couldn't see what was happening on the field and anxiously asked, "What's going on? What's happening inside?!"
"It didn't go in." Someone on the railing shook his head regretfully to explain.
"Ah!" At this moment, a sound of regret came from the distant fan plaza, slightly delayed.
Someone leaning on the fence immediately felt that his chosen spot was good, chuckling, "Too slow, that's why we chose here!"
"Haha..." His words made the people around him laugh, but it was just a way to make the best of a bad situation. If they weren't so eager to watch the game live and didn't have the money to buy scalped tickets, they would have gone inside long ago.
But so what!
Being able to watch is lucky! Inside the stadium, it was the 41st minute of the match.
"Tap tap tap!!"
Maël saw Gilbert get rid of his opponent in the midfield, and he quickly pushed off the ground to accelerate, running towards the open space ahead.
Clint Hill reacted a little slowly, afraid that Maël would overtake him, and subconsciously reached out his right hand to push him down.
Maël rolled to the side, and the moment he fell, he heard a very dissatisfied complaint from the South Stand of the stadium: "Ugh!!"
The referee turned his head and just saw Clint Hill retracting his hand, then spreading his hands innocently, indicating that he had done nothing.
"Bip!"
He still trusted his intuition, ran forward, and pulled out a yellow card.
The home fans were silent, while the away team erupted in cheers: "Oh! Well done! Well done!!"
After Maël got up, he came to the ball. Sheffield United's aerial experts all entered the center of the penalty area, sticking close to the opponent's defensive players.
"Bang!"
He used his right foot to create a beautiful outside arc, and the ball spun towards the back post.
"Bang!!" Maguire, who was in position, contested for the ball. The ball headed towards the goal but was blocked by opponent defender Hall, who blocked the ball with the junction of his waist and arm.
Everything happened so fast that no one saw exactly whether it hit his waist or his hand.
"Hey!" Sheffield United's players quickly raised their hands, looking at the referee's position, hoping to get a penalty.
"Boo boo...!" This caused dissatisfaction and panic among the home fans, who began to put pressure on the referee with boos, scolding the Sheffield United players.
"Diving!!"
"Have some shame!"
"Ignore them, kick it quickly!"
After Hall blocked the ball, he cleared it forward, and the ball was contested down by Helguson again. Now it was Queen's Park Rangers' turn to counter-attack!
The referee didn't blow his whistle, but followed the direction of the ball.
Sheffield United's players had no choice but to desperately chase back, hoping not to have their defense easily breached by their opponents.
Everyone's emotions were at the breaking point, and any small change on the field at this time could ignite their emotions!
"Bip! Bip—!"
Not long after, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, and the players from both teams returned to the locker room to rest.
Neither team scored, and the score was temporarily zero to zero!
Everything seemed calm on the surface, but undercurrents were surging. Any player who was slightly careless could lose the championship trophy.
In the VIP area, Wenger adjusted his sitting position and touched the hair at his temples.
"It's really nerve-wracking."
Mendes was on his right, turned his head and asked with a smile: "Mr. Wenger, what do you think of the first half? Who played better?"
"The home team is better."
Mr. Wenger coughed twice and stated truthfully, "Whether in attack or defense, they have almost reached the best level in this division, creating many opportunities as if there are no loopholes.
"As for Sheffield United, Maël and that Janu Hans... I think that's his name, they are the only bright spots. The other players can basically only wait for them to launch attacks.
"However, in a match, anything can happen. It's common to score more goals with fewer opportunities."
Mendes nodded slightly. This was the first time he had watched a game with Mr. Wenger, and he felt a sense of novelty.
He noticed Hans next to Mr. Wenger. His legs would spasm and tighten together from time to time, then slowly relax. He seemed extremely excited.
"Why aren't you talking?"
He had greeted Hans before the game, knowing that he was Maël's youth team coach and had discovered Maël. He asked with a smile, "You haven't said a word since the game started. It's like your soul has been sucked away."
Hans's lips trembled slightly, and his voice shook. "Worried... nervous."
Mendes leaned back and laughed. He counted the number of people sitting here and ordered ten beers, giving everyone except Ava a glass. He stood up, raised his glass, and said, "Don't be nervous. Let's cheer for them!"
"Cheers!"
"Go, Maël!"
Everyone raised their beer glasses, some taking a big gulp, others taking a small sip, just to show their support.
However, it was clear that this method would not alleviate everyone's worries.
"I'm sweating."
Clermont held his wife Betty's hand. This was a rare romantic moment for the middle-aged couple, but the reason was their anxiety.
"Me too."
Betty put her other hand on her chest, trying to calm her emotions, but it was no use.
Norwich's home stadium, Carrow Road Stadium.
A tense match was underway. Norwich, ranked third in the league, was playing against Cardiff City, ranked fifth! The game had entered injury time in the first half, and neither side had scored.
The team's coach, Neil, stood on the sidelines, constantly looking at his watch, pacing back and forth.
He knew that they had to win this game, otherwise they would inevitably enter the complicated playoffs.
But... even if they won, they still had to rely on Sheffield United's performance, hoping they could beat Queens Park Rangers.
This feeling was not pleasant, like persisting in something illusory and hopeless, but you still had to do it.
"Bang!!"
In the first minute of injury time, the team's midfielder, Hoolahan, rushed into the penalty area in a less-than-ideal situation and poked the ball out with his foot before falling.
The ball went through the goalkeeper's legs and into the net!
Goal!!
One to zero!! "Yeah!!" Norwich's players cheered with their hands raised. They saw the hope of reaching 100 points in this round!
"Ah!" Neil jumped up, punched the sky, and roared through gritted teeth, "Beautiful! Beautiful!!"
He quickly walked back to the bench and asked the assistant coach to take out his phone to check the score of the other game.
"Zero to zero. Both sides had 11 shots in the first half, but no goals." The assistant coach glanced at his phone, his expression changing.
The joy on Neil's face faded a bit. It seemed there was a real possibility of a fixed match. He scolded, "These actors!"
"It's okay."
The assistant coach stood up, walked to his side, patted him on the back, and comforted him, "There's still another half to play. There's a good chance. If not, we'll just go to the playoffs. Treat this game as a warm-up."
Neil refocused his attention on the field and said to the assistant coach before returning to the command area, "Let me know immediately if there's any news!"
Loftus Road Stadium, after a 15-minute break, the second half of the match restarted.
After Sheffield United kicked off from the center circle, Janu Hans kicked a long pass towards Bologanovic's head. Unfortunately, the latter failed to win the header, and Queens Park Rangers regained possession.
"Follin! Follin!"
On the sidelines, Warnock looked excited, gesticulating wildly to direct the players on the field, "Cut inside, it was open just now, why didn't you cut inside?!"
Follin waved towards the sideline, indicating that the mistake was his.
Warnock put his hands behind his back, turned around and looked at the fans on the sideline, seeing the eager expectations in their eyes.
Can't lose! Must win! One step forward is heaven, one step back is hell! Warnock turned his head and glanced at Gareth Speed beside him, seeing that he was sitting in front of the coach's bench, seemingly unwilling to stand on the sideline.
"Helguson!"
Refocusing on the field, he immediately pulled his hand from behind his back, pointing to a spot and saying, "Control the ball! Why pass it with one touch? The defender is still three or four meters away from you!"
He shook his hand with slight disappointment, turned around and walked towards the coach's bench, briefly sat down to take a sip of water, but still couldn't sit still, and returned to the command area.
Time passed by minute by minute, and the rhythm of the confrontation on the field did not weaken at all, but was faintly intensifying.
With each passing minute, Warnock became more nervous. He didn't even want to accept the win-win situation of a draw; he only wanted the championship.
"Hey!!"
He would occasionally get up to express his dissatisfaction to the referee and the fourth official, and also look around for his supporters to put pressure together.
"Good! Beautiful!" He would clap his hands from time to time, encouraging his players with his most impassioned voice, "Play like this, no problem at all!"
"Fack!" He would sometimes throw his hands up and leave, taking advantage of the gap to return to the bench, pick up his thermos and take a big gulp of water, moistening his already hoarse throat.
Between the 70th and 75th minutes of the match, Warnock and Gareth Speed made substitutions, each using two substitution slots.
He replaced two midfielders, bringing on a striker and a midfielder, one to strengthen the attack and the other for a positional adjustment.
Gareth Speed made two positional adjustments, replacing Bertrand and Gilbert, who were both running out of steam.
When the match passed the 85th minute, Warnock finally saw Gareth Speed unable to sit still. He came to the edge of the field and stood there, never returning to the coach's bench.
The end of the match was very near.
The anxious match made everyone feel very depressed. The cheering on the field was much quieter, and most people couldn't make much noise, wanting to put all their attention into the match.
Six minutes later, at Carrow Road Stadium.
"Beep! Beep! Beep—!"
The match, with only 1 minute of injury time, came to an end. Norwich ultimately defeated Cardiff City at home with a score of one to zero.
Points exceeded one hundred!
It just came a little late.
"How is it?"
Neil on the sideline breathed a sigh of relief, no longer in the mood to celebrate. He came to the coach's seat and surrounded the assistant coach who was watching the live broadcast of the other match.
"3 minutes of added time."
The assistant coach watched the match time enter the last 2 minutes, feeling a chill in his heart, knowing that the hope was not great. They had to prepare for the playoffs quickly.
"Wait a little longer." Neil was unwilling to give up at this point, standing aside, clenching his fists and staring at the screen.
The Norwich players who had come off the field also rushed into the locker room, took out their mobile phones and returned to the field, gathering in groups of three or five, anxiously waiting for the end of the match over there.
Not a single Norwich fan left the stadium, each holding a mobile phone, watching the match over there.
It was more like a second venue for Sheffield United, with everyone praying to God with utmost sincerity, hoping that Sheffield United could win.
"Grandpa!"
At the player tunnel, a middle-aged couple walked out with a little girl. The man in front said, "She's too noisy, she insisted on finding you. We asked her to wait, and she cried."
Neil's face changed, and he came to the little girl's side and hugged her in his arms. Although the pressure increased sharply, he squeezed out a smile: "Why did you come down? Didn't I tell you to wait up there?"
"Grandpa told me about the celebration today."
The little girl's eyes were red, looking like she had just cried, and she lay in Neil's arms.
Neil instantly felt his heart melt, and he tiptoed and turned around in the field with the girl, sighing, "Then wait with Grandpa."
"Okay."
The girl raised her head, looking at the dense crowd of people waiting around, very curious.
"Free kick!"
The assistant coach suddenly rushed over, holding the phone in front of Neil, "Maël's breakthrough created a free kick, this is an opportunity!"
"Buzz..." A clamor quickly erupted in the stadium. Due to different phone signals and varying delays in watching the game, they successively saw the news that Sheffield United had won a free kick.
Everyone knew what this meant, this might be their last chance! Neil's chest rose and fell, he swallowed and closed his eyes, saying, "God bless Maël."
At Loftus Road Stadium, in front of the penalty area, the referee was surrounded by Queens Park Rangers players.
"Back off! Back off!"
He showed two yellow cards before stopping the players' determination to make him change his decision, and left while cursing.
"Stop arguing!"
Warnock stood on the sidelines, anxiously shouting at the players, "It's added time, don't waste time, let him take it quickly!"
His assistant coaches also rushed out, all shouting excitedly, "Are you crazy?!"
"What's in your heads, quickly form a wall!"
"Do you want the ball to be kicked out, and the referee to blow the whistle to end the game?"
"Shh~ shh...!!" Whistles and various noises rang out from the stands, and the scene suddenly became chaotic.
Several tall players helplessly stood on the line drawn by the referee, one hand covering their crotch, and the other hand covering their face, this was a common protective action.
In front of the penalty spot, Maël and Janu Hans stood there, both staring at the goal with desire.
"No fake run-up."
Maël abandoned his usual free-kick routine, covering his mouth and firmly saying, "Let me take it directly this time."
"Okay."
Janu Hans agreed, not leaving, still standing in place to create a smokescreen, trying to confuse the Queens Park Rangers players.
"Beep!"
When the referee's whistle sounded, the scene instantly became quiet.
People emerged from the chaos, holding their breath and staring at the figure in front of the penalty spot, extremely nervous.
Only then did people clearly realize that this was a goal that could determine the direction of the game! At Maël's feet hung the hope of Sheffield United steadily winning the EFL Championship title, and also the knife hanging over the hope of killing Queens Park Rangers.
"Whoosh"
Standing in front of the ball, he suddenly felt a stinging pain in his eyes, as if he was blind.
After turning his head and blinking a few times, he saw that two laser lights were being emitted from the fan area, shining on his face.
Some extreme fans were disrupting his vision.
Maël finally confirmed the position of the football and the position of the goal, and began to run, as long as he ran, the other party would not be able to shine on him.
Coming to the ball, he stretched his left arm and swung his right leg as he had practiced countless days and nights. At the moment of ejection, his ankle shook violently, wrapping the football and hooking the ball out.
"Bang!!"
In the silence of the audience, the sound of this shot was very loud, and the football turned towards the goal with a violent spin.
The five Queens Park players who formed the wall jumped high, stretching their necks as much as possible to try to block the ball, but they missed by a hair!
"Oh!" A faint cheer sounded from the South Stand, and some people couldn't restrain themselves and raised their arms in advance.
Maël's family stood up, some covered their faces and dared not look, some lowered their heads and hugged their heads with their hands, using the corner of their eyes to look, and some, like other fans, raised their hands generously.
"Brother!"
Ava in Isabella's arms opened her mouth, expecting the goal to happen.
"Maël" Mendes' voice was low, constantly praying in his heart, he was also waiting for the moment of explosion.
On the sidelines, Gareth Speed and Joelson and other assistant coaches stood shoulder to shoulder, holding each other, holding their breath and waiting.
Beside them, there were also Gilbert and others who had been substituted early, ready to charge towards their goal hero at any time.
In this way, in the center of countless eyes, the football kicked out by Maël crossed the wall and fell towards the near corner of the goal.
The goalkeeper flew out, using all his strength, hoping to keep a glimmer of hope for the team, but his right hand still failed to touch the football, and the football smashed into the net he was guarding in an instant: "Swish!!"
Goal!
One to zero!
In the second minute of injury time, Maël scored a golden goal, a game-winning goal!!
"Yeah!" Everyone from Sheffield United on the field instantly reached an emotional climax, as if they had been lingering outside the gates of heaven and had finally stepped inside, slamming the door shut behind them!
"Maël!!"
All emotions and love ultimately turned into desperate roars, because they really had no time to organize their words: "Maël!! Ahhh!!"
On the sidelines, Gareth Speed and Joelson quickly withdrew their hands from others, scattering to celebrate in different directions.
"Champions!!"
Gareth Speed ran quickly towards the away fans' section, ignoring the obstruction of the fourth official and others, sprinting as if he had returned to the field.
Reaching the fans' section, he raised his hands high and shouted, "We did it, the championship belongs to Sheffield United!!"
"Oh! Haha!" Joelson, on the other hand, spread his hands towards the Queen's Park coaching staff, laughing arrogantly, as he had just had a conflict with one of their assistant coaches.
The other assistant coaches either roared at the sky, hugged each other, or jumped high as if they were about to ascend to heaven.
They were relatively restrained, because the substitutes and the players who had just come off the field rushed onto the field along the sideline, heading towards Maël.
"You are God!"
"Damn! Played so well!"
"I had a feeling just now, I knew this ball would go in!"
"Maël!"
Gilbert was the most excited, he never thought he could win a professional league title at the age of 17, especially under Mr. Wenger's nose, he was a little overjoyed: "Maël! We did it!"
The focus of attention, Maël's brain was congested at the moment, and there was a burst of vibration in his ears, with a feeling of tinnitus, but the fire in his body still pushed him towards the sideline.
He could hear faint shouts, he could hear people calling him, but he couldn't care less.
After reaching the sideline, he had forgotten all the celebratory moves, just throwing himself out, sliding out with his chest against the ground.
Game-winning goal!
Locking in the victory, locking in the championship! He used a perfect curling free kick to make a perfect summary of his EFL Championship career!
40 goals! This is the goal record he left for the EFL Championship, raising it by 10 goals compared to before! "We are the champions!" Someone rushed over, imitating his movements and sliding out, finally drilling together with Maël, squeezing into a ball.
"Ahahaha!" Their smiles at this moment were not only presumptuous, but even a little dissolute.
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