Mahrez slowed down his dribble. At this moment, he saw Juninho in the middle waving to him. Mahrez passed the ball horizontally to the middle without thinking.
Attack shifted!
The moment Juninho stopped the ball, he pushed it to his front right, continuing to dribble forward a step.
In such a tense and fierce match atmosphere, Juninho's mood suddenly became very good, filled with a thrilling sense of exhilaration amidst his high fighting spirit.
Because he understood Huang Hao's tactical adjustments from the very beginning!
He might be the player with the highest football IQ in the Cambridge United team!
What about forcing the attack through Mahrez?
Nonsense!
Mahrez has skill, there's no doubt about that, but to say that they would just charge and attack fiercely when the opponent could detect it, that's definitely not Cambridge United's style!
Moreover, Mahrez is not Cambridge United's star player; it wouldn't be his turn to rush forward first in terms of seniority.
Huang Hao's real intention with the on-the-spot adjustment was to deceive! It was true that Mahrez would be used to attack Manchester United's goal, but he was by no means the ace to turn the tide!
The real ace was...
Juninho looked at the two center-backs in Manchester United's penalty area, both deviating from the center into the left half of the box. They were blocking Lewandowski, leaving a large open space in the middle and right half of the penalty area.
Juninho's eyes were bright, and with a confident expression, he sent out a low through ball!
The real ace was him!
Everyone saw the through ball from Juninho quickly roll into the penalty area towards the penalty spot. At this moment, Huang Hao couldn't help but stand up from the bench, swallowing, his eyes wide open, staring unblinkingly at Manchester United's penalty area!
Evra rushed towards the ball, but Tadić was even faster than him!
Tadić sprinted diagonally into the middle of the penalty area, getting to the ball's path first. He stared intensely at Manchester United's goal, using his left foot to shoot the ball into the bottom right corner of Manchester United's goal!
Van der Sar's initial positioning was somewhat closer to Lewandowski's side. Now, rushing towards the far post, it was clear he was too late to save it!
The ball quickly rolled into the bottom right corner of the goal under everyone's gaze!
When Huang Hao saw the ball roll into Manchester United's goal, he clenched his fists and let out a roar as if to vent!
The young coach of Cambridge United, with a ferocious expression, rushed out of the technical area, raising both fists to the sky, displaying unprecedented dominance in his roar!
Boom!
Park Stadium was like an earthquake, with Cambridge United fans in all stands roaring ecstatically, waving their fists, hugging each other, and some even closing their eyes and looking up at the sky, muttering as if whispering to God.
After scoring, Tadić stood in the penalty area. He probably hadn't even thought about what to do after scoring this goal. The tense match atmosphere and the unprecedented mental pressure meant he hadn't thought about celebrating. His mind was blank; he just instinctively glanced over the stands, which were surging like waves, and the roar, like successive thunderclaps, echoed in his ears.
Lewandowski rushed over, roaring, and hugged him. Juninho also rushed up and lifted him.
Since joining Cambridge United, Tadić had never received such a grand reception. He was held aloft by Juninho, and he smiled, like a victorious hero!
“Tadić has broken through Manchester United’s goal! OMG! This is a priceless goal!
Will Manchester United’s victory slip through their fingers?
3:3!
“Huang Hao’s move is too brilliant! He completely unleashed Mahrez, using him to tie up Manchester United’s defense. He succeeded. After several consecutive shots, Manchester United’s entire defensive line seemed to have eyes only for Mahrez, while the long-silent Tadić was their scoring point. Juninho saw him, passed him the ball, and goal!
Now Manchester United is in an awkward position. After achieving their comeback, they had shifted their energy to defense, but now they need a goal! Can the team’s overall movement remain consistent? This is where Manchester United is being tested.”
“Haha, seeing the Cambridge United players’ celebration and Huang Hao’s dominant celebration on the sideline, this Cambridge United team has passed the test. They deserve to be loved by more fans because they are realizing the dreams of countless grassroots players and creating incredible miracles!”
After the celebration ended, Huang Hao took two deep breaths. Then, as the players walked back to midfield, Huang Hao continued to signal from the sideline, the meaning clear: continue to make Mahrez the attacking core!
Such a move would probably drive Manchester United crazy!
The Manchester United players looked grim. There were about 5 or 6 minutes left in the match. What else could they do?
Score again to overturn Cambridge United?
But it seemed there wasn't enough time, yet they really needed 3 points!
After the match restarted, the entire Manchester United team pushed forward aggressively to attack. This was Ferguson's instruction; his Manchester United was the Red Devils who never gave up until the last moment!
At the same time, Huang Hao, also standing on the sideline, ordered his team to actively challenge Manchester United for the ball.
The two teams engaged in fierce challenges and confrontations in midfield.
Kante fouled Rooney, who had dropped back to receive the ball, and Manchester United was awarded a free kick in the attacking half.
Giggs' direct shot went over the crossbar.
The match had already passed 87 minutes.
The atmosphere in the stadium also became unprecedentedly tense.
Every spectator focused intently on the field, with fans of each side hoping their team could create a miracle!
In the 88th minute of the match, Cambridge United continued to crowd the left flank in the attacking half.
Because Manchester United had learned their lesson and needed to account for Tadić's threat on the far side, they couldn't devote their full defensive effort to the half of the field where Mahrez was located.
After Juninho played a one-two with Mahrez, he suddenly passed the ball to Lewandowski, who was originally close to Vardy but then suddenly moved horizontally to the central area in front of the penalty box.
Lewandowski had a momentary pause when he stopped the ball—a stop, then a sudden burst of acceleration. Carrick, who was near him, even if he wanted to foul, was still shaken off by Lewandowski. Lewandowski dribbled the ball horizontally two steps outside the box before suddenly taking a shot.
The ball flew directly towards the bottom right corner of the goal. Van der Sar dived horizontally, blocking the ball with one hand inside the box.
Tadić immediately followed up for a rebound shot, but Vidić was a step quicker, rushing up to clear the ball out of bounds with a big kick.
The Manchester United players looked visibly nervous.
“Cambridge United has a corner kick opportunity as regular time is about to expire. Could this lead to a last-gasp winner?”
Lovren rushed up; he was very conspicuous in the penalty area, directly occupying the key central position in front of the goal. Mahrez was at the far post, Vardy was preparing to attack the near post, and Lewandowski was lurking behind Lovren. Juninho went to take the corner kick.
The corner kick was floated towards the area between the near post and the middle of the box. Just as Lewandowski was about to sprint diagonally to head the ball, at a crucial moment, Fletcher cleared the ball with an overhead kick inside the penalty area!
As the ball flew out of the penalty area, the Manchester United fans in the stands collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
Immediately after, they saw Nani stop the ball outside the penalty area. Suddenly, the Red Devils fans became excited, staring at Nani with immense anticipation.
With Tadić pressing from behind and Kante preparing to intercept in front, Nani passed the ball diagonally to Giggs, who was running quickly forward on the wing.
Just as Giggs was about to cross midfield, De Vrij bravely rushed up, and Kante also moved from the center to the wing to assist De Vrij.
They knew that this defensive play could not allow Giggs to advance unchecked on the wing. If he got past them, the situation would be entirely different. In a wider space, in a more dangerous area, his passes, dribbles, and even his own shots, would cause incalculable damage to Cambridge United!
Giggs also knew how important this attacking opportunity was. He was afraid of losing the ball, so with obstacles in front of him, he focused on observing his teammates' runs.
Although Nani was running forward, he made a mistake after releasing the ball.
In the closing stages of the match, Nani ran to his preferred right wing.
Normally, there's nothing wrong with that.
Especially since the right wing was wide open, and Mahrez was not in a defensive position, he could completely run forward to create a threat.
But in the closing stages of the match, factors like physical fitness and form can cause players' ability to make accurate long passes to decline.
Especially when Giggs was about to be closed down, he needed a short passing option.
Giggs couldn't pass to Nani; he could only risk passing the ball to Rooney, who had just run past the center of midfield.
The ball rolled between De Vrij and Kante. This pass actually created an excellent attacking opportunity.
Because Cambridge United's backline only had two defenders left: defensive midfielder M'Vila and defender Van Dijk!
Berbatov's forward run was almost parallel with Van Dijk. After successfully receiving the ball, Rooney's eyes were only on Berbatov's position. He knew he couldn't dribble past two players consecutively, and a through ball to Berbatov was the best and most obvious opportunity!
But perhaps it was too obvious. As Berbatov looked back and ran forward, Van Dijk charged straight ahead.
And when Rooney wanted to pass, M'Vila shrewdly moved horizontally first instead of rushing forward to intercept.
His horizontal movement blocked Rooney's passing lane to Berbatov, preventing Rooney from releasing the ball to Berbatov. And when Rooney angled the ball to create a clear line of sight, he saw Berbatov was clearly offside!
Van Dijk didn't rush towards the center where Rooney was, but rather went to cut off the passing lane between Rooney and Nani.
As for Berbatov behind him, who cared!
After Rooney saw this, he knew that his pass would inevitably result in Berbatov being offside, so he could only grit his teeth and try to break through himself.
However, as he repeatedly observed and hesitated, the grim-faced M'Vila quietly closed in. After Rooney made his breakthrough move, M'Vila precisely cut horizontally, severing the connection between Rooney and the ball, then passed the ball horizontally with his left foot!
Van Dijk immediately advanced to support, ready to pass the ball out.
“OMG! Manchester United’s numerical advantage didn’t pay off this time! Now it’s Cambridge United’s chance for a counterattack!”
“Oh my goodness, Rooney was dispossessed by M'Vila! This could be a fatal mistake!”
Berbatov, Giggs, Rooney, Nani – four players in Cambridge United's half.
And after Van Dijk passed the ball diagonally to Kante, who was running forward in the middle, Cambridge United's attack also had a numerical advantage!
Ferguson felt like his head was going to explode!
Like the countless Red Devils fans in the away section, they now truly felt their hearts pounding.
Cambridge United fans, on the other hand, felt a sense of relief after a close call.
Kante advanced through the middle, and Manchester United's defense rapidly retreated!
Carrick guarded the center, intending to block Kante head-on.
At the same time, Mahrez, who was already in the attacking half, immediately ran to the top corner of the box on the left, Vardy came to the front edge of the left rib of the box, Juninho surged into the middle of the box, and Lewandowski waited at the front of the right top corner of the box.
Manchester United's defense was suddenly a bit disorganized. Gary Neville and Ferdinand marked Mahrez and Vardy one-on-one. Fletcher was behind Carrick to prevent any Cambridge United players from cutting inside. Vidić closely marked Juninho in the middle of the box, and Evra marked Lewandowski one-on-one at the top right corner of the box.
They each seemed to have their own tasks, but when Kante reached a spot 35 yards from the goal in front of the penalty area, Carrick moved!
He moved forward decisively to intercept the ball.
And Mahrez also moved, shifting from the edge of the box towards the center to receive the ball. Kante immediately passed the ball diagonally short to Mahrez.
His passing line made Manchester United's defense extremely nervous; they even thought Kante was going to give Vardy a through ball.
So everyone moved to that side, and Mahrez met the ball and sent a diagonal pass!
Vardy, who had been active on the left side of the outside of the box, suddenly made a diagonal run into the open space on the right side of the penalty area!
The space there was simply too big!
Cambridge United, with a numerical advantage, still created an advantage and an opportunity.
When the Manchester United players saw Mahrez pass to Vardy, and Vardy, unmarked, burst into the right rib of the penalty area, some chased Vardy, some rushed to block the goal. And Vidić, who had moved from the center towards Vardy's shooting line, when he saw Vardy take the shot, in his eagerness to save the goal, he flew out in a diving header motion, using his body to block Vardy's shot!
Vardy's shot had no hesitation. When he shot, he didn't think too much, simply following a striker's instinct.
After he shot, he looked up and incredibly saw Vidić diving to block his shooting line.
Just as the ball was about to fly over Vidić's body, it changed trajectory and went over the crossbar! The entire crowd was dumbfounded.
Vardy, meanwhile, excitedly raised his hand to referee Vili, indicating a handball foul!
“Oh my God! Vidić used his hand to block Vardy’s shot! He used a diving header motion to block Vardy’s shot, commendable spirit, but his height off the ground was too low, causing him, upon realizing the ball would fly over his body, to instinctively raise his head to interfere with the ball’s trajectory, almost using a chopping motion with his hand to deflect the ball over the crossbar!”
“Vili blew the whistle for a foul, pointing to the penalty spot. No Manchester United players protested; it was too obvious! Their faces were filled with dejection, many clutching their heads expressionless. Penalty! Cambridge United has been awarded a penalty in the final minute of injury time!
This penalty might just kill the game!”
Cheers erupted in Park Stadium from the fans.
Everyone was still relatively restrained; it was just a penalty, not yet scored, so it wasn't considered a goal.
The Manchester United players withdrew outside the penalty area. Lewandowski himself stepped up to take the penalty.