Tens of thousands of Real Madrid fans in the stands erupted in excited cheers.
They watched Ronaldo sprint with a running start, then leap into the air, turning at the peak of his jump while swinging his arm upward!
As Ronaldo was about to land, the Olympic Stadium echoed with one unified voice.
"Siuuuuuuuuuuu!!!"
"Amidst the world's colors, I hold pure white!" Drury poeticized. "The King of Europe ascends his throne once more! Cristiano Ronaldo! Who else?!"
Real Madrid players rushed to join the celebration.
They glanced intentionally or unintentionally toward the sidelines, where the gleaming trophy stood.
They were just minutes away from history.
Not far away, the Manchester United players felt somewhat frustrated.
De Gea punched the turf in frustration—he hadn't been able to save it last time, and he hadn't saved it today either.
Ling didn't offer any words of comfort, silently picking up the ball and walking toward the center circle.
Strangely, when the Manchester United players saw this, their tension disappeared, just as Ling had said before the match.
"Those with nothing to lose fear nothing!"
...
Soon the match resumed.
In the stands closest to the pitch, Maria Guardiola asked nervously, "Dad, does Man United still have a chance?"
"They do, but barely. Man United's formation is gradually retreating," Guardiola sighed but remained objective.
"Their only path is winning the ball and launching a quick counter, bypassing the midfield entirely."
"I believe in Jeremy! He'll definitely seize the opportunity!" Maria clenched her slender fists.
As time ticked away, Real Madrid's attacking versatility unfolded magnificently.
By the 29th minute, Casemiro delivered a precise diagonal pass to the flank, triggering Carvajal's overlapping run.
A blistering pace duel ensued with Ling, but under pressure from both Ling and Pogba, Carvajal could only loft a wayward cross from the wing.
"The cross is terribly misplaced! Not even Ronaldo's leap could reach it—De Gea collects comfortably!"
"Quick throw to launch the counter!"
"Pogba!"
The Man United No.6 shielded the ball from Modrić, feinting with a right-footed stepover as his weight shifted sideways.
The instant Modrić lunged for the tackle—Pogba's longer legs hooked back the escaping ball.
A quintessential Zidane-esque turn!
Before Carvajal could recover, Pogba released a piercing pass that soared past Casemiro, skimming the turf toward the left wing.
Ling controlled it in stride, accelerating directly toward Real Madrid's penalty area.
Raphael Varane stepped up decisively to confront him.
As the distance between the two narrowed, Ling gradually slowed down, feigning a shot.
Varane decisively stepped forward.
Just as expected.
Ling shifted the ball outward with his left foot.
Varane used his remaining strength to change direction, swiftly extending his right foot like lightning.
Smack!
Immediately after, Ling sharply pulled the ball back with his right foot, tracing a "V" shape to evade Varane's tackle.
Two consecutive dramatic Pendulum feints, followed by a dropped-shoulder directional change and a sudden burst of acceleration along the outside channel!
Before anyone could react in astonishment.
Sergio Ramos, after waiting for Marcelo to cover the position, aggressively charged at Ling from the diagonal front.
The two instantly became entangled.
Just as Ling found space to break forward, he suddenly felt his balance slipping, his right arm tightly pinned by his opponent.
He immediately recalled Salah's tragic experience—'are you trying to pull this shit on me?'
After several failed attempts to free his arm, he simply ignored the ball, actively twisting Ramos's arm in reverse and leveraging the momentum of the fall to crash into him!
Under the intense scrutiny of the crowd.
Ramos's pupils dilated in shock—he hadn't expected Ling to be so ruthless.
By the time he tried to retract his arm, it was already too late.
The two tumbled to the ground in their struggle.
The referee promptly blew the whistle, pausing the match.
Ramos was seen with beads of sweat forming on his forehead, clutching his swollen, red wrist and howling in pain.
Ling wasn't faring much better—his wrist was also red and swollen.
The Olympic Stadium fell into a brief silence before erupting into a cacophony of noise.
"Damn it! So far in his career, Ramos has received 19 red cards!" fans screamed.
"This is fucking dirty play!"
Soon, both players were at the sidelines receiving treatment from the medical staff.
"How is it? Anything serious?" Mourinho asked anxiously.
"Ruling out a distal radius fracture, it's likely just muscle and ligament strain with swelling. We'll need an X-ray to confirm the specifics!" the Man United team doctor muttered.
"Faria, get the substitution ready!" Mourinho roared.
"Boss, I think I'm still in decent shape," Ling stopped Mourinho, speaking through gritted teeth.
He wasn't trying to play the hero—he knew he had the Injury Immunity Module, which could repair any damage caused by physical exertion.
Even now, his wrist felt a warm, soothing sensation.
"Boss, I'm serious. If I can't play this match, I'll truly regret it."
Mourinho remained silent for several seconds before reluctantly nodding.
"Don't push through if there's a problem!"
After the referee's inspection, Ling returned to the pitch.
Seeing this, Ramos also rejected Zidane's substitution request.
...
When the match resumed, the tension on the field reached its peak.
In the 37th minute of the match.
Ashley Young forcefully knocked down Carvajal and swiftly transferred the ball to the diagonal forward position.
Pogba didn't bother controlling the ball first.
The positioning of every player flashed through his mind as he half-turned and suddenly launched a pass!
"Brilliant switch! It completely bypasses Real Madrid's midfield!" Drury shouted.
"Lukaku!"
"Muscling through Casemiro, he heads the ball backward to the diagonal!"
"Ling!!!"
"His wrist injury hasn't affected him in the slightest—his speed remains devastating!"
Man United's number 7 surged forward like a burning flame, cutting diagonally behind Casemiro.
Ramos once again stood in his path!
A simple body feint combined with a convincing dummy. Ling once again created space to advance!
Without the slightest hesitation, he suddenly exploded into a sprint!
Seeing Ling about to bypass him, Ramos showed no intention of pulling out of the challenge, instead increasing his momentum while subtly pushing with both hands.
He intended to stop Ling with a foul.
Ling knew perfectly well that going to ground would earn his team a free kick.
But set-piece conversion rates were too low.
Having already wasted one opportunity, this time he would control his own destiny.
'You can withstand this, Ling!'
Ling silently told himself, sliding across the turf before pushing himself up awkwardly with both hands.
Then he raised his head and charged forward proudly.
Varane turned and tracked back with impressive speed, leaving Ling no room to rebuild momentum. He could only desperately adjust his posture!
Thousands upon thousands of practice repetitions—the arm swing, the leg motion, the strike—had engraved this movement into his muscle memory.
In the eyes of all 67,136 fans in the stadium.
Man United's number 7 seemed to radiate the wind's ethereal grace, its flowing freedom, its untamed wildness!
His core muscles tightened like steel, gathering every ounce of power from his entire body as he swung his right leg high!
Then!
His right leg descended like an axe, cutting through the air with a violent whoosh!
In this moment, he seemed like the God of War!
The Olympic Stadium fell into absolute silence!
The next second.
Boom!
A sound like shattering metal and stone echoed across the pitch as brutal force tore at every seam of the football!
The ball carried not a hint of spin, screaming along a perfectly straight trajectory toward Real Madrid's goal!
Navas reacted with lightning speed!
When his gloves made contact with the ball, boundless joy surged through him.
But then he felt the overwhelming, mountain-crushing force, his taut wrists engaging in a desperate struggle with the ball before finally going limp in defeat.
The ball audibly changed direction to the right, crashing against the post before rebounding into the net.
That thunderous strike shattered the dreams of Real Madrid fans!
1-1!
"WHAT A HIT! WHAT A THUNDERBOLT FROM THE GODS!" Peter Drury's voice cracked with raw emotion.
"HE HAS RIPPED THE NET FROM ITS MOORINGS! JEREMY LING! THE BOY FROM THE EAST HAS UNLEASHED A HURRICANE IN KIEV!"
"Navas got a hand to it, but you cannot stop an avalanche with a single palm! The power! The fury! The audacity!"
"Just as Mourinho said, if Real Madrid want their fairytale, they must first slay the villain! But the villain has just stolen the script!"
"Manchester United are level! And the game is reborn!"
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