Chapter 176 A Whole Different Team

The few Unique FC fans in the stands were going wilder with their chants and cheers now that their team was leading, they wanted to make sure that their team got enough cheers and hype to keep themselves grounded and not slacking off under pressure.

So far Unique FC were doing well in holding their ground and although Manchester United were still running the game possession-wise, they weren't giving the English Premier League side the chance to get the better of them.

"Manchester United are starting to feel the pressure now that they've been put behind and they're doing everything possible to get that equalizer but Unique FC are not giving in, this team feels like a whole different team if you compare their performance now to what we saw in the first half." Steve articulated.

"Yeah."

Rivaldo received the ball from the left midfielder on the left wing and after dribbling his way past Norman, he quickly sent the ball flying into the box.

The ball flew past Adolf's head and came flying toward Nolan who sent it flying toward the goalpost with a powerful header.

"Nolan!"

Dave was glued to the spot as the ball hit the far right of the crossbar right at the angle before falling over for a goal kick.

"Oh, it hit the crossbar," Jim said.

The fans let out loud gasps after witnessing that close scoring opportunity.

"Oh, come on," Nolan said in frustration before crashing to the floor.

'That was really close.' Dave said subconsciously before dropping the ball on the line.

<Yeah, if it had come any closer, it would have been a goal for sure>

'Yeah.' The goalkeeper replied before he quickly closed up on the ball and sent it flying into the pitch.

"Dave was confused back there, if that ball had gotten, it would have been a goal for sure," Steve said.

"Yeah, and what a goal it would have been for Nolan," Jim said.

Ferran was able to win the aerial duel against Rivaldo and after that, he quickly sent the ball to Mateo before they could hang up on him.

Mateo received the ball and tried to create a space for one of his dangerous runs but he wasn't able to find the space so he passed the ball to Roland.

Roland quickly drifted off from his wing to the middle before laying the ball off to Pirlo who didn't waste time in sending it to Minino.

Minino was quickly caught up by the left midfielder who ended up dispossessing him of the ball and sending it out for a throw-in in the process.

The ball was quickly sent in by Minino who threw the ball back to Norman who wasn't being marked at the moment.

Norman received the ball and quickly sent it to Adolf who didn't waste time to send the ball flying toward Mateo.

Mateo knew there was a player heading toward him as he waited for the ball to get closer and as soon as it did, he kicked it over the player and quickly zoomed past him to receive it at the other end.

"Nice touch from Mateo."

The winger had created enough space to make his run but he wanted to try something different this time.

He pushed the ball forward a little before he sent it flying toward Merino who was close to the edge of the box now.

The winger brought the ball down with his chest and feigned shooting at the player in front of him before pushing the ball further into the box.

"Merino."

The winger had created enough space to shoot and just before any of the defenders could get to him, he offloaded the ball toward the left side of the goalpost.

"Merino!" Jim exclaimed.

The ball was drilled low and even went through the legs of a defender.

Moreno dived toward the ball at the right time but there was no need for that as the ball drifted far from his gloves and made slight contact with the post before rolling out for a goal kick.

"Oh, that was so close," Jim said.

"Unique FC are really making wonderful efforts with every opportunity they get, they're giving Manchester United a tough time here."

The time had just entered the Seventy-fifth minute and still Manchester United had not been able to get their equalizer as Unique FC seemed to have tightened their defense more.

A failed attack from Unique FC had led to a counterattack from Manchester United, it wasn't really a serious counterattack as Norman and Pirlo hadn't strayed far off from their defensive positions but Maldini was quickly racing down there to make sure that this chance was going to count.

Roland was chasing after him but he seemed to be too far behind to catch up with him fast enough.

"This could be Manchester United's chance," Jim said.

Pirlo and Norman were quickly closing up on the player from the side but Maldini already had everything planned and this was the point where he passed the ball back to Nolan to disorientate the defenders.

With Nolan with the ball, their attention was divided, the striker pushed forward with the ball and just before Adolf and Areola could close up on him, he lobbed the ball to Maldini.

"Maldini! This could be his chance!"

"Oh, no," Dave muttered.

Maldini received the ball inside the box with a neat touch and just before he could fire it toward the goalpost, he was brought down by Pirlo under a careless challenge.

"Oh, Pirlo has brought him down inside the box," Steve said.

The referee didn't need to look twice as he blew his whistle before quickly making his way to the area.

He had to give Pirlo a yellow card because he deserved it and now the Manchester side had just won a penalty kick.

"It's a penalty, Manchester United has won a penalty."

Unique FC players didn't try to argue because it was a clear enough foul and besides it wouldn't make sense to get all fired up and heated in an argument that would defile the whole point of the match which was termed a friendly match.

"Manchester United have been finding it hard to score against Unique FC, Dave Richards was just too tough for them, and in this half, the Bilbeth Premier League side stepped up their defense to make things more difficult for them but it looks like they're finally going to get that goal now," Jim said.

"Yeah, but you can't be too sure about that, Dave Richards may end up saving it and keep their goal drought going, who knows," Steve said.

'And I thought I was going to keep a clean sheet against Manchester United.' Dave said subconsciously.

<There's a chance of saving it you know>

'Yeah, but in a penalty kick, the chance of making a safe is pretty low.' Dave replied. 'But anyways, I'm counting on my low chance.' He added before adjusting his gloves.

***

New year mass release goals.

A magic castle= one extra chapter.

Two magic castles= two extra chapters.

Mass release for goals met last month will still be rewarded on the due dates.