Manchester United led Nottingham Forest 1-0. The director repeatedly showed Gao Nuo's front roll dribble three times. Compared to Martial's goal, this unconventional move clearly attracted more attention.
At the end of the first half, back in the locker room, Ten Hag grabbed Gao Nuo, "Amazing oriental kid, that dribble was so unexpected!"
"Thank you, boss, I feel great today!"
...
The 15-minute break quickly passed, and the second half began. Trailing by one goal, Nottingham Forest intensified their pace, hoping to secure points at home.
The opponent's aggressive formation gave Gao Nuo more opportunities.
In the 48th minute, Manchester United intercepted the ball in midfield and launched a counter-attack. Casemiro quickly threaded a pass, finding the onrushing Gao Nuo with perfect understanding.
Lodi, the big unlucky one in this match, who had just pushed up to attack, made another mistake.
He sprinted for half the field but couldn't catch Gao Nuo. By the time Gao Nuo had already crossed, a furious Lodi didn't pull back and sent Gao Nuo flying over the sideline with a push and a bump.
Casemiro, who was not far away, rushed over immediately, repeatedly bumping Lodi with his chest and giving him a death glare with wide eyes.
The naive Gao Nuo didn't play-act. He got up and hugged Casemiro, joining the arriving players and the Referee to prevent further conflict.
After much effort to separate the players, the Referee showed a yellow card to both Lodi and Casemiro, and the match resumed.
Zhan Jun in the live broadcast room was all smiles, "We saw Casemiro immediately stand up for Gao Nuo. He has great leadership qualities, and it also shows that Gao Nuo is well-liked at Manchester United."
Zhang Lu, who was commentating the match with him, continued, "Ah, Gao Nuo was still a bit young on that play. If he had stayed on the ground a bit longer, ah! Maybe Lodi would have been sent off with a red card. Such an obvious retaliatory action is completely unacceptable."
Casemiro, suppressing his anger, kept feeding the ball to Gao Nuo, who also wasn't afraid of physical contact, repeatedly attacking Nottingham Forest's left flank.
In the 60th minute, tempers flared on both sides. Lodi, who had been dribbled past by Gao Nuo twice in a row, finally lost his cool. When he saw this Asian kid make another explosive run, preparing to overtake him on the wing, Lodi tackled Gao Nuo from behind.
"Dududu—!!!" The Referee blew his whistle urgently, sprinting over before anyone else. He pulled out a yellow card as he ran, and before he even stopped, he immediately pulled out a red card. Lodi received two yellow cards and was sent off. The experienced Referee, through his quick reaction, successfully prevented a conflict from escalating.
Through the director's replay, fans clearly saw what had just happened. Lodi's tackle from behind was clearly aimed at the player. Lodi's studs almost caught Gao Nuo's Achilles tendon. Fortunately, Gao Nuo has long legs and a large stride, and was only tripped by the sweeping motion.
In the live broadcast room, Zhan Jun, Zhang Lu, and the vast number of China fans exploded.
Zhan Jun: "Lodi's action was too malicious, he should have received a direct red card."
Zhang Lu: "Ah! Exactly, as a professional player, that action lacks sportsmanship. Ah! There should be an additional suspension after the match!"
Da Ai Gao Nuo: "That was terrifying, Gao Nuo almost got tackled."
Refund Brother: "This guy lost his mind, what the hell was that move, he was clearly going for the player."
Xiao Heizi: "Oh my god, I'm supporting Gao Nuo for now, that foul was disgusting!"
Shanghai Old 9: "Luckily the Referee was close, otherwise it would have turned into a fight!"
Football Babe Xixi: "Oh, Gao Nuo's legs are really long, and quite thick!"
Manchester United Diehard 121: "Upstairs, don't get carried away, we're talking serious business here!"
Boss Mei 66: "Zhang is right, this foul will definitely result in an additional suspension!"
Galaxy Universe Team: "Gao Nuo played well in this match, if he hadn't dominated Lodi, he wouldn't have resorted to such a dirty move!"
Da Ai Gao Nuo: "Exactly, my beloved Gao Nuo is back, fantastic!"
Back to the match, Ten Hag substituted Gao Nuo for Antony two minutes later, partly because Gao Nuo's stamina was low, and partly for his protection.
In the subsequent match, Antony scored a goal in the 72nd minute, and Manchester United ultimately defeated Nottingham Forest 2-0, securing their third consecutive League victory.
At the post-match press conference, Ten Hag criticized Lodi's malicious action and expressed dissatisfaction with the Referee's decision!
Manchester United captain Harry Maguire spoke about Gao Nuo's front roll dribble, claiming it was Gao Nuo's China kung fu, and revealed to the media that he himself had been beaten once by Gao Nuo using a backflip.
Next up was the second leg of the Europa League quarter-final, with Manchester United playing away against Sevilla.
In the first half, Harry Maguire's defensive error led to En-Nesyri's one-on-one goal. In the second half, Badé scored another with a header, and De Gea's mistake led to En-Nesyri's second goal. Manchester United ultimately lost 0-3 away to Sevilla, exiting the competition in the quarter-finals with a 2-5 aggregate score.
In the England FA Cup semi-final, Brighton faced Manchester United. Both teams had chances but failed to score, and the match ended 0-0 after 90 minutes, going into extra time.
Both teams drew a blank in extra time, and the match went to a penalty shootout. Brighton's March missed his penalty, and the match concluded. Manchester United won the penalty shootout 7-6, eliminating Brighton and advancing to the FA Cup final.
Gao Nuo did not play in these two matches. Clearly, as the importance of the matches increased, Gao Nuo, as a young player, did not gain the favor of the coaching staff.
On April 27, 2023, in the 33rd round of the English Premier League, Manchester United played away against Tottenham Hotspur.
The grueling FA Cup battle four days prior had drained too much energy from the main players, and Gao Nuo once again secured a starting position.
Facing Tottenham, also a BIG6 team, Manchester United had a dream start.
In the 7th minute, Rashford broke through the middle and passed diagonally to Gao Nuo on the right. Gao Nuo carried the ball, creating space horizontally, and from the edge of the penalty area, curled a left-footed shot into the far corner, scoring a goal.
After scoring, Gao Nuo specifically ran to the bench to hug Antony. This cut-in shot was Antony's specialty, and he had often guided Gao Nuo.
In the following thirty minutes, Gao Nuo tore Tottenham's left flank to shreds. He just ran wildly, causing no major threat, but like a thorn in Tottenham's throat, forcing them to defend. The mad dog right winger returned to action, completely disrupting Tottenham's rhythm.
In the 44th minute, Tottenham's tired defense made a mistake. Bruno Fernandes made a through pass, and Rashford successfully beat the offside trap. He calmly slotted the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal when facing the goalkeeper one-on-one, successfully changing the score to 2-0.
At the end of the first half, Manchester United led Tottenham 2-0 away.