บท 50: That Afternoon in Manchester III

The counter-attack was on as Marcus sprinted toward the Manchester United half, pushing through his fatigue. He lifted his head and spotted Harvey Elliott pacing down the right wing. With a quick pass, the ball rolled toward Harvey, who immediately noticed Brandon Williams, United's left-back, closing in on him.

Harvey waited until Brandon was close, then slotted the ball between his legs, executing a quick nutmeg as he cut inside from the wing, heading toward the center of the pitch and United's penalty box, with Marcus running in line with him.

The two of them charged toward the United penalty area, with the lone United defender caught in two minds, unsure of whether to challenge Harvey or stay with Marcus. As Harvey pressed forward, the defender decided to move toward him, hoping to prevent a pass to Marcus.

Harvey, aware of the defender's approach, kept pressing forward, waiting for the perfect moment to square the ball to Marcus. Just as the defender lunged in, trying to take him down before he reached the penalty box to avoid conceding a penalty, Harvey lifted the ball with the tip of his foot, passing it to Marcus and moving it out of the defender's reach before he was brought down.

The referee, seeing Harvey brought down, played the advantage, allowing the ball to roll into Marcus's path. Marcus watched with bated breath as the ball came toward him. He lifted his foot, preparing to unleash a powerful one-time shot.

If the keeper tries to save it, I'll just break his hands! Marcus thought, but before he could take the shot, he felt a boot tangle with his legs, bringing him down just on the edge of the box.

He stood up angrily, ready to confront the player who had tackled him, knowing it was likely his team's best chance to equalize. Without thinking, he pushed the player in the chest. "What's your problem, man?!" Marcus shouted, his eyes widening when he realized it was Alex.

Just moments earlier, as Marcus received the ball near the edge of his own box, Alex Williams, positioned at the far post of the Fulham goal, had seen the ball heading toward Marcus.

Shit! Alex thought as he gave chase, determined to catch Marcus and prevent Fulham from equalizing. He saw Marcus pass to Harvey Elliott and how easily Harvey had gotten past Brandon Williams. By then, Alex was only a few yards away from Marcus when he noticed the lone United defender decide to go after Harvey.

As Harvey tipped the ball past the defender, Alex saw it roll toward Marcus, who was positioning himself for the shot. Alex made a split-second decision, lunging at Marcus and bringing him to the ground just as the referee blew his whistle.

"Pearson is through on goal here!"

"But he's been brought down. That was a clear goalscoring opportunity, wasn't it, Alan?" said the commentator, turning to the guest commentator next to him in the booth.

"Yeah, Martin, it was a clear goalscoring opportunity, and if I were the referee down there, I wouldn't hesitate to show the United player a red card," said Alan Smith, the guest commentator.

Mia, watching from the stands, saw Marcus push Alex as a fistfight was about to break out, but their teammates quickly intervened, pulling them apart before things could get ugly.

The referee stepped between the two players, first showing Marcus a yellow card for his misconduct. Then, he turned to Alex and showed him a red card for the reckless tackle and denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Marcus watched as Alex headed toward the tunnel, his teammates holding him back from doing anything rash. Emotions welled up inside Marcus; he understood why Alex had done it—he would have done the same in his position—but he couldn't accept it.

Harvey walked up to him and said, "Hey mate, it's alright. We've still got eight minutes left. There's plenty of time." Marcus nodded as he made his way to the dead ball, standing behind it with Harvey as they waited for the referee to finish organizing the wall of United players.

After cautioning some of the United players who had sneakily tried to shorten the distance between them and the ball, the referee blew his whistle. Marcus took a short run-up and struck the ball, watching it sail over the wall and...