The Road to the Promised Land: Chapter 49

Down to the Wire - Part 1 :Previous «Home Page» Next: The End of a Marathon
== Down to the Wire - Part 2 ==
Sunday May 12
Manchester United vs. Leicester City (Premier League match 38 - final day)
Old Trafford, Manchester, UK
Second half
After Kakeru and Nana kicked things off in the second half, Manchester United looked to impose their game plan on Leicester City. However, the Foxes managed to hold the Red Devils at a safe distance for some time in the early stages of the second half. It took a few minutes before either team got a crack at the other team's goal.
In the 53rd minute:
Martin Tyler: Farkas takes the ball...
After a pass from a Leicester City player went astray, Didier came to head the ball back to his goalkeeper (which is legal if there was no other touch from the defender prior to it). Then Jan rolled the ball towards Matthias, who advanced with the ball under the roar from the home crowd before he passed the ball to Yusuke.
Martin Tyler: Köhler... Saeki... The fans here trying to fuel the players.
Yusuke was challenged by Ukyo as the former reached the halfway line, but the Manchester United midfielder managed to hold onto the ball long enough before he attempted a long aerial pass towards Marius' run. However, Wes Morgan managed to head the ball towards the center of the pitch.
Martin Tyler: Couldn't reach Van Leeuwen...
As the ball bounced towards the center circle, Youri Tielemans ran after it. The Belgian attempted to poke the ball ahead for a teammate, but the ball went off Yusuke only to reach Nana. From there, Nana advanced forward with the ball.
Martin Tyler: Mishima... Van Leeuwen...
Skipping past Ndidi, Nana passed the ball ahead to Marius, who ran in the opposite direction to play the give-and-go with her. After Nana received the ball back from Marius, she flicked the dink pass into Kevin's path. The English winger sneaked his way through the Leicester City defense while staying onside. Entering the Leicester City penalty area, Kevin found himself facing Kasper Schmeichel.
Martin Tyler: KEVIN FLYNN!!!
Kevin took the right-footed towards the goal, but the shot went straight at Kasper Schmeichel. Then the rebound was spinning free for a short moment on the edge of the 6-yard box.
Martin Tyler: It's back to him again...
Instead of letting the ball spin out of bounds beyond the byline, Kevin took another shot to hope it would go across for Kakeru. But Schmeichel stuck the leg out to block the ball, which then bounced out of play. The Old Trafford faithful were left stunned by the double save.
Martin Tyler: And Schmeichel came up with an answer again! He had time to assess the situation. Well played by the goalkeeper.
Manchester United had a corner kick as a result of Schmeichel's second save on the play. But instead of waiting for her team to set up, Nana played the corner kick quickly.
Martin Tyler: Corner played quickly. Mishima... Blanco...
Nana first made a short pass to Diogo, who then waited for Nana to run behind him to lay the ball back to her. Then Nana made a pass towards the advancing Yusuke. Once again Ukyo moved to try denying access, but Yusuke managed to dribble his way past Ukyo on the edge of the Leicester City penalty area.
Martin Tyler: Saeki...
Charging his way inside the penalty area, Yusuke chose to fire a pass intended for Kakeru on the left. However, the pass was blocked by Jonny Evans before the ball was cleared to the side by Wilfred Ndidi.
Martin Tyler: Well, it seems Manchester United have picked up the pace by a few notches in this stalemate at the start of the second half. My goodness, they are now going for that second goal.
Proceeding quickly with the throw-in in order to keep up the high tempo, Diogo launched the ball inside the Leicester City penalty area and towards Marius. However, Wes Morgan headed the ball far away and outside of the penalty area. After the ball bounced off the grass once, Yusuke and Akira went into an aerial duel for the ball. Akira managed to reach the ball before Yusuke, but then Matthias recovered the loose ball.
Martin Tyler: Köhler... Kristiansen...
After the recovery, Matthias passed the ball towards Nikolaj. Then the Danish midfielder flicked the ball towards Nana. Facing Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, Nana dribbled his way past him but not without getting caught by Ndidi's leg. A direct free kick was immediately given against Leicester City as a result.
Martin Tyler: Leicester City just can't get out. And now, they have to face yet another free kick. Ndidi will get booked as well.
The home crowd cheered at their team's most recent effort, expecting something to happen with the upcoming free kick. While Ndidi was arguing against the referee about the yellow card. Nana took the ball and then set it down as she wanted on the point of infringement just as Leicester City set up a 4-man wall on the front edge of their own penalty area. For this time though, Nana asked for no one to stand as a decoy next to her.
Martin Tyler: What will Mishima do here?
PEEEP!
Following the referee's signal, Nana ran at 45 degrees to the left of the ball before she unleashed the right-footed shot towards the bottom corner goal on the left (to the goalkeeper's right). However, Kasper Schmeichel anticipated perfectly as he timed his dive perfectly to catch the ball in his hands, much to the disappointment of the 71,000+ Manchester United fans in the stadium.
Martin Tyler: Kasper Schmeichel was able to anticipate this time. He was waiting.
"Dang it!" Nana exclaimed.
"We will have them next time." Kakeru comforted Nana.
"Fall back, guys. Then let's go at them again." Matthias ordered his teammates.
Meanwhile in the stands:
"That was a good spell of attacks. I hope to see more of that." Noriko said.
"Same. The first 7-8 minutes of this half were stale, but that could change if we keep on going hard like this." Robert replied.
"Yeah. I was getting worried that we would be too cautious in our approach for this half." Noriko said.
"Our players were probably looking to find their pace after halftime. Leicester City are set to play for counterattacks." Harry remarked.
"I think it is a matter of time before we score." Noriko replied.
"I hope we do it before Arsenal score." Robert said.
"Why, Dad?"
"If Arsenal take the lead, we will be under pressure to score. Then we could leave ourselves vulnerable to Leicester's counterattacks." Robert said.
"Yeah, you're right. I hope we get the goal soon too." Noriko replied.
Feeling that a few things would have to change eventually, both Andrew Butler and the Leicester City manager sent their respective substitutes to warm up. But as much as both teams wanted to believe that they hold their respective fates in their own hands, the mood could easily change on a dime based on the course of events in North London.
⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽
At the Emirates Stadium, North London (Arsenal vs. Wolves)
In the 58th minute:
Rob Hawthorne: Sokratis... Arsenal keeping up the pressure here.
At that moment, Arsenal players were controlling the ball inside the Arsenal half. When the ball went to Sokratis, the Greek centre-back passed the ball forward and to the right. Héctor Bellerín was the recipient of that pass before he looked to cross the ball to the inside of Wolves' penalty area. Unfortunately for Bellerín, his crossing attempt struck the nearest Wolves player.
Rob Hawthorne: Bellerín's cross deflects back...
The deflected ball landed right to the feet of a Wolves midfielder at the front of the Wolves penalty area, who then started to advance with the ball. However, Araki immediately went to strip his opponent off the ball with the agility of a cat.
Rob Hawthorne: ...to Moutinho, who didn't have as much time as he thought. Araki won it...
Just as the Wolves midfielder went down while Araki scooped with a perfectly legal tackle from behind, some space opened up for Araki to make a 180-degree turn and then prepare a shot. Without any hesitation, Araki took a curling shot from outside the Wolves penalty area. The shot appeared to curl towards the top corner of the Wolves goal.
Rob Hawthorne: He takes the shot away! Off the post!
The ball struck the inside of the post only to bounce back towards the front of the goal; the Wolves goalkeeper was already out of position after a desperate attempt to stop the shot. Then Patrick jumped on the rebound with an open goal in front of him, leaving no doubt whatsoever.
Rob Hawthorne: It's going back to JENPA!!!
In a flash, the Emirates Stadium erupted in an explosion of cheers as Arsenal regained the upper hand in the match and in the title race at that particular moment in time.
Rob Hawthorne: That's what Patrick Jenpa can do to you! The man who played in Ligue 1 just last year has given Arsenal an invaluable lead, and Manchester United are under pressure to score if they want to change the narrative in the title race.
"Well done, Black Panther!" Araki congratulated Patrick.
"Thanks. Great effort in creating the turnover." Patrick replied.
"Big goal!" Granit Xhaka conragtulated his teammates.
"Let's go! Let's go!" Aubameyang added.
"Well done, but still lots of time left. Keep focus!" Ryoma warned his teammates to not let their guard down.
'Let's finish our half of the contract indeed. We still need some help from Leicester City though." Araki thought.
With Arsenal once again in the lead against Wolves, Manchester United were under pressure to answer by taking the lead against Leicester City. Again, it must be reminded that a draw would not be enough for United to clinch the title if the Gunners win their own match because as it stands: 1) Arsenal... 90 points, 2) Manchester United... 89 points.
⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽
Meanwhile at Old Trafford, Manchester (Manchester United vs. Leicester City)
As news of Patrick Jenpa's goal got through at Old Trafford, the pocket of 3,000 Leicester City supporters in the Southwest corner cheered again. On the other hand, the 71,000+ Manchester United were starting to feel nervous again as winning the match suddenly became an imperative.
Martin Tyler: Arsenal are in the lead again at the Emirates. Patrick Jenpa tucked in the rebound after Ryuichi Araki hit the post. Manchester United are now in a situation where they must win in order to claim the title.
Meanwhile in Taeko and Sarah's private box:
"Bad news from North London." Sarah said after she checked the news on her smartphone.
"Arsenal took the lead again, right?" Taeko asked.
"Yeah, and it means we're under pressure." Sarah replied.
"What does that mean for United?" Mei-Ling asked.
"It means that we must risk everything to win the match. A draw wouldn't be enough for us." Sarah replied.
"No matter what it takes, United must win at all costs." Taeko added.
"I'm still confident. We have been all over them in the last few minutes." Mei-Ling said.
"I hope, I hope. Fingers crossed." Noriko replied.
Then in the 62nd minute, the visitors made one substitution: striker Jamie Vardy was sent to replace defensive midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, thus changing Leicester City's structure into a 4-4-2 formation. The Leicester City manager was not afraid to sacrifice some strength in midfield to bolster his team's attacking strength instead. United continued to apply some pressure as they were preparing to bring on some fresh legs as well, but the only thing that Leicester City needed was to have one good counterattack.
In the 65th minute:
Martin Tyler: A little bit too far for Flynn. Chilwell kicks it out...
Manchester United were trying to launch an attack on the right wing. The pass intended for Kevin was kicked out to the side by Ben Chilwell, but it was nevertheless quite deep inside the Leicester City half. On the following throw-in, Diogo passed the ball towards Nana. The Little Witch was almost immediately confronted by Ukyo, who applied high pressure against her.
"Come on!" Ukyo said.
As Nana knew that her passing options were limited at that moment, she tried to dribble her way past Ukyo. However, the Leicester City midfielder tackle the ball away from Nana with perfect timing while the latter went down sprawling due to the strength of the tackle. With Nana and Diogo already committed forward by quite some way, Ukyo had plenty of space ahead of him to go after the ball and then spearhead a counterattack.
Martin Tyler: Good challenge by Sera. This is where Leicester City can be dangerous.
Dashing in full speed with the ball a downpour of boos, Ukyo ran until he reached the halfway line. Seeing that the Manchester United defenders were falling back on their heels quickly with a disregard for the offside line, Ukyo took advantage of the situation to make a through pass towards Akira. The former Kamakura High School striker was running in the left channel when he received the pass.
Martin Tyler: Here's Takajo. He has Vardy in support...
Akira advanced with the ball towards the Manchester United penalty area, but he quickly found himself in no position to shoot as Diogo retreated in full speed to deny any shooting angle. Meanwhile, Jamie Vardy was being shadowed by one of the Manchester United centre-backs. However, Ukyo and Demarai Gray were also arriving in support.
'It's up to you, Sera.' Akira thought.
Picking his spot, Akira squared a pass to his right and towards Ukyo. Then in a split second, Ukyo redirected the ball into the path of Jamie Vardy. The English striker escaped his marker only to find himself along against the goalkeeper.
Martin Tyler: Sera... to VARDYYY!!!
The pass appeared to be slightly too far ahead of its intended recipient, but Jamie Vardy stretched his leg to take a good poke on the ball. Unlucky for the Manchester United goalkeeper, the ball squeezed its way past him and into the back of the net. And suddenly, the cat was put amongst the pigeons at Old Trafford!
Martin Tyler: LEICESTER CITY LEAD 2-1 AT OLD TRAFFORD!! Jamie Vardy, who scored against Manchester United in December, may have sent them towards heartbreak on the final day of the season!
In the immediate aftermath of the goal, the Leicester City players ran towards the corner flag to the Southwest where the pocket of 3,000 delirious Leicester City supporters were celebrating just a few rows away from the pitch. On the other hand, frowns and worried looks appeared on the faces of thousands of Manchester United supporters inside the stadium. Vardy's goal struck like thunder on the morale of the home supporters.
Gary Neville: Well... For all of the plaudits that Nana Mishima has had in recent weeks, she is still human after all because it was her sloppy piece of play far up the pitch that started all of this. Mishima is on the ball, but then gets robbed rather easily by Sera. The reaction is slow among the Manchester United players. Takajo runs up the to the penalty area, then finds Sera, who then pokes it to Vardy. It was a brilliant build-up by Leicester City. I first thought that Jamie Vardy may not make it in front of Shaw, but Vardy does just enough to get ahead of Shaw and poke that ball in. Now Manchester United are in a really deep hole with 25 minutes plus stoppages left to play.
At the same time that the Leicester City players celebrated, the Manchester United players did not have time to digest their disappointment as their state of mind turned quickly into concern for one teammate down injured right in front of their own goal. Kakeru and Nana immediately rushed towards the injured player.
"Shawzy! What happened?" Nana inquired.
Meanwhile, Kakeru asked the referee for help.
"Referee, we need the physios and the stretcher here! Please hurry!" Kakeru said.
"Right." the referee replied before he signalled towards the bench to have medical personnel on the scene ASAP.
"Talk to me, Shawzy." Nana said to her fallen teammate.
"He slid right into me... as he took the shot. It's... OUCH! Shoulder." Shawzy replied.
"I saw him hit your ankle. Does it hurt there?" Kakeru asked.
"No... Right shoulder!" Shawzy replied before he screamed in pain again.
In a matter of seconds, Dr. Ridley Nolan and the Manchester United physio rushed off the bench with their equipment towards the injured player. Paramedics at Old Trafford joined in with the stretcher and their equipment. Meanwhile, Kakeru quickly noticed that Shawzy was hyperventilating as well.
"Hey, hey, Shawzy! Breathe slowly. Breathe." Kakeru said.
"He needs oxygen." Nana told the paramedics.
Martin Tyler: As if things are not bad enough, Andrew Shaw looks to be seriously injured. It must have happened just as Vardy scored his goal.
As the medical staff worked on stabilizing the injured player while providing an oxygen tank to help the latter breathing, TV replays showed what exactly happened in the build-up of the goal at the source of that injury. After Sera made the pass into Vardy's path, Shawzy attempted to block the shot. However, Vardy slid with the outstretched leg out to poke the ball on goal. In the process, Vardy collided into Shawzy, leading to a very hard landing on the right shoulder. For a moment, there was a fear that Shawzy took some damage to his left ankle, but it was his right shoulder that took by far the worst out of the collision.
Meanwhile in the stands:
"An untimely goal and a freak injury at the same time. Do me a favour." Noriko said for herself, expressing her disbelief.
"From what I see here, the shoulder appears to be the biggest problem. I would have thought about the ankle, but they are looking at how to move him while keeping his shoulder safe." Sayuri said.
"I really wonder what Butler will do now. He will definitely need to use his subs carefully." Robert said.
"Williams to replace Shaw, I say. The real question is who he will send next." Harry replied.
"Whatever happens next, we have no room for error anymore. If we have to throw the kitchen sink at them, now is the time." Noriko said.
In all, the process of stabilizing the injured Shawzy off the pitch took almost 5 minutes. Considering the gravity of the injury, nothing was left to chance before the stretcher would be taken off the field and towards the infirmary. Meanwhile, that little bit of time off allowed the Manchester United coaching staff to decide on whom to rely for the last quarter of the match or so.
"I'm sorry, guys." Shawzy said to his teammates.
"It's OK. This ain't over yet." Kakeru replied.
"We have turned things around really late on New Year's Day. We will do it again if we have to." Matthias added.
"Stay strong, Shawzy." Yusuke added.
"Thanks, guys."
Then Shawzy was carried off on a stretcher by the paramedics, walking their way towards the exit tunnel leading to the infirmary. After the stretcher got beyond the limits of the playing surface, the 2 Manchester United substitutions were announced.
Alan Keegan: Substitution for Manchester United: replacing number 23, Andrew Shaw... number 33, Jeremy Williams.
After Jeremy ran to his position, the 4th official put up another set of number to indicate the second Manchester United substitution: 14 in red and 26 in green. The announcement was immediately made by Alan Keegan.
Alan Keegan: Substitution for Manchester United: replacing number 14, Kevin Flynn... number 26, Santiago Araya.
By the time the substitutions were made, the clock reached the 70th minute as Kakeru and Nana kicked the restart for Manchester United in the center circle. The home crowd shouted their support loud and clear to provide a last-ditch morale booster.
Martin Tyler: Well, Manchester United have got at least 20 massive minutes ahead of them now with the possibility of ending up short in the title race against their North London rivals.
The Manchester United players passed the ball among themselves before the action shifted deeper inside the Leicester City half in a matter of seconds. Then the ball arrived into Nana's feet just before she took a look at passing options around her.
Martin Tyler: Mishima...
Nana saw Marius attempting some kind of run between the 2 Leicester City centre-backs. Then the Little Witch attempted a dink pass towards her Dutch teammate, but Jonny Evans got his head first under the ball. However, the ball landed in an open spot in front of the Leicester City penalty area and between 2 Leicester City defenders.
Martin Tyler: Awkward by Evans...
Letting the ball bouncing once, Santiago was in a position to go after the loose ball before Ben Chilwell ran into him. The referee immediately called an obstruction foul against the Leicester City left-back, which prompted some cheers and lots of roars from the 71,000+ Manchester United supporters.
Martin Tyler: A coming together between Araya and Chilwell, and a free kick has been given. Santiago Araya's first contribution in the match was to win the free kick.
Chilwell protested for a few seconds, but referee brushed him away. The thing is that United were awarded a direct free kick with the goal in sight at 25 yards, which is about perfect for Nana's Beckham-like approach on those shots.
Martin Tyler: With less than 20 minutes to go, Nana Mishima could well write another important chapter of this amazing title race if she can convert this free kick.
The Foxes set up a 4-man wall just inside their own penalty area while the others were scattered all around their own penalty area. After the players from both teams were placed in a convenient fashion to the referee, the latter gave Nana the signal to proceed.
PEEP!
Going with the usual stance at 45 degrees behind and to the left of the ball, Nana made the run before she whipped the shot. The strike came with a curling effect combined to a little rise and dip to make the trajectory difficult to anticipate.
Martin Tyler: Here comes MISHIMA!!!
The shot left Kasper Schmeichel flatfooted, but the ball ended up striking the outside of the side netting after missing the post by a few inches. The optical illusion even got a good share of spectators jumping on their feet, thinking momentarily that the ball had gone in. However, Nana's reaction of disbelief with her hands on her head said it all.
Martin Tyler: Oof!
Gary Neville: Well, they think it's in on this side of the stadium. But Mishima's reaction tells that she hit the side netting instead of the back of the net. How close was that? It was about a few inches wide to that post.
Martin Tyler: That's not quite like the one she scored against Real Madrid back in April, but you can see how and why Mishima can trouble the goalkeeper on free kick duties.
"So close, dang!" Nana cursed.
"Keep it cool. We'll throw everything at them." Kakeru comforted Nana.
"It's OK, Nana." Yusuke added.
Nana responded to her teammates with thumbs-up sign. Meanwhile, Ukyo was looking at Nana in the distance.
'She is still their biggest threat despite the miss. If I can take her out of her game like last time, they are finished.' Ukyo thought.
After that scoring chance, Leicester City made their second substitution: James Maddison was replaced by English left midfielder Harvey Barnes. Manchester United continued to attack in an increasingly desperate attempt to turn things around as time was becoming an enemy. However, Ukyo had dark motives of his own against his fellow Japanese counterpart in the Manchester United side. The confrontation between Nana and Ukyo was soon about to take a nastier turn.
In the 73rd minute:
Martin Tyler: Chilwell with the throw... Barnes...
After Chilwell's throw-in to Barnes, Nana went ball-hunting against him. Then Barnes passed the ball towards Ukyo. However, the pass had a slow pace, allowing Nana to run after the ball. Hence Nana arrived to shield the ball against Ukyo. But as soon as Nana attempted to move with the ball, Ukyo grabbed her down by the shirt before he jumped on top of her to recover the ball.
PEEP!
Martin Tyler: Mishima... fouled by Sera.
But as soon as the whistle was blown, Nana was squirming in pain and then beating the ground while holding her right knee. Many spectators in the vicinity (in the North Stand) shouted their discontent at what they saw, but the referee wasn't going to dish further punishment.
"Hey, ref! Where's the card?" Santiago asked.
"Gotta be more. What's going on?" Matthias enquired.
"He just dragged her by the shirt. That's not enough for a second yellow. I haven't seen anything else." the referee replied.
In the meantime, Kakeru was attending Nana.
"What happened, Seven?" Kakeru asked.
"Sera… he pulled me down and then stamped his right boot on my knee. That was not an accident." Nana replied.
"What? Really?"
"He did. I will get his ass, I swear."
"Are you able to carry on?" Kakeru asked.
"I will manage." Nana replied before Kakeru helped her back on her feet.
In the distance, Ukyo did not look towards Nana in order to avoid raising suspicion. Regardless, TV replays confirmed Nana's version of the facts.
Gary Neville: The foul was called because Sera pulled Mishima, but then... there, the stamp on Mishima's right knee. That was very naughty by Sera. He knew what he was doing there; that was not accidental. He intentionally stamps on Nana Mishima there, but the referee somehow did not see it. Ukyo Sera is lucky to stay on the field after that.
Meanwhile in the stands:
"Did anybody see what happened? The crowd's really angry on the other side." Noriko asked.
"No. All I could see was Ukyo Sera dragging Nana and then jumping over to go after the ball." Robert replied.
"The referee didn't see anything, but I wonder if Sera stamped on Nana. She would never react like that unless it is serious." Sayuri said.
"I wonder..." Noriko said before she noticed an incoming text message on her smartphone. But after reading the message, she cursed: "Sera, you dirty son of a..."
"What is it?" Robert asked.
"Sarah texted me that she saw Sera stamp on Nana on TV replays. The referee is blind; that was a red card all day." Noriko replied.
"I knew it!" Sayuri said.
"That's bobbins!" Harry added.
"Yeah, and I hope someone will go after him. He has gone too far now." Noriko finished.
In the end, Nana was able to carry on after she shook off the pain. But as if the match was not already tense enough for anyone's taste, the last incident was about to make things get worse as Ukyo became the man standing in the crosshairs of every single person wearing and cheering for the red team at Old Trafford. Nana also did not say her last word on the matter either; she also wanted a piece of the opponent who took a step too far against her this time.
A little less than 90 seconds later, in the 75th minute:
Martin Tyler: Here comes Araya...
Pushing the attack deep inside the Leicester City half, the Red Devils were looking for shooting opportunities. When the ball arrived to Santiago on the right, the Chilean-Colombian was immediately confronted by Ben Chilwell. Santiago fell to the ground when Chilwell gave a small poke to the foot, but the Manchester United winger managed to shield the ball and then get up on his feet. Then Santiago took a couple of steps back before he passed the ball towards Nana, who stood a dozen yards in front of the Foxes' penalty area.
Martin Tyler: Mishima...
Just as Nana received the ball, Harvey Barnes rushed in full speed towards her. However, Nana promptly responded by lowering herself into a roadblock that sent Barnes sprawling while she shielded the ball legally according to the referee. The Manchester United supporters laughed at the comical outcome of that moment.
Martin Tyler: Barnes goes flying. Still Mishima...
Nana advanced with the ball, feinting to shoot with the left foot and then with the right foot. Then Nana finally took a left-footed shot, but it was blocked by Wes Morgan.
Martin Tyler: Morgan with the block...
Then the rebound rolled towards Ukyo, who only had one idea in mind: counterattack. But as soon as Ukyo started to run forward with the ball, Yusuke quickly came to block and grab him. Ukyo tumbled alongside Yusuke, but the former tried to get back up and carry on quickly. And suddenly, Nana lunged in with a strong tackle to clear the ball out of bounds. However, Nana's "trailing leg" caught Ukyo's right knee as well.
Martin Tyler: Challenges are flying in at the moment...
Ukyo was holding his right knee, rolling around and screaming in pain. Within 2 seconds, the referee and players on both sides rushed towards the flashpoint. Several Leicester City players pleaded for a red card, but some of them went to give Nana an hearful directly. Ukyo's long-time friend, Akira was the angriest of all Leicester City players.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Jonny Evans asked Nana.
"You dirty bitch! You will regret this!" Akira came in, shoving Nana quite hard.
"Oh yeah? Say that to your princess of a friend! I had the right to go for the ball." Nana retorted, pointing towards Ukyo.
"No, don't! Calm down, Nana!" Yusuke said as he worked to pull Nana away from the angry Leicester City defenders.
"Calm down, Mishima! Calm down!" the referee ordered, yellow card in hand.
"Let's take it outside after the game, Takajo. You and me!" Nana added to the verbal jousting.
"I'm game anytime." Akira replied.
"You, piss off." Kakeru said as he came in to push Akira away.
"Mishima, come here." the referee summoned Nana for a talk.
"Send her off!" Akira shouted.
"I'll go back to you. Back off." the referee ordered Akira before he went back towards Nana.
"I went for the ball." Nana pleaded her cause although she knew it wouldn't make much of a difference.
"Nana, I know that you're not happy about something earlier with Sera. But my job is to deal with what I can see. You didn't go with the studs, but that was a reckless and naughty challenge all day. I'm giving you one last chance to finish the game on the pitch. Do anything crazy again, and you will not play a domestic game until next season. Watch it." the referee replied before he flashed the yellow card.
Martin Tyler: Yellow card against Mishima, but Leicester City will feel there should have been more. It has reached boiling point here at Old Trafford.
Gary Neville: Well, the referee already blew the whistle on before Mishima clattered Sera. The loose ball comes to Sera here. Saeki takes him down, but then Sera tries to get back on his feet. Nana went for the ball that was loose for a split second, but then it's her trailing leg... The tip of her left boot came clashing with Sera's knee; Sera was in a vulnerable position. It was reckless and dangerous, no question. The referee was quick to pull the yellow card out, but there could be more than one yellow card after this.
At the end of the incident, Yusuke was also given a yellow card for denying Ukyo's counterattack just before Nana lunged in with the tackle. On the other hand, Akira was given a yellow card for his forceful shove against Nana. It was not the most satisfactory outcome for everyone, but each team was glad to keep 11 players on the pitch despite the recent fracas.
Meanwhile in Taeko and Sarah's private box:
"Wow, I was afraid Nana would get sent off." Sarah said.
"I don't condone what she did, but Sera really asked for it earlier." Taeko replied.
On the other hand, Mei-Ling acted like the feisty pro-Nana fan next to Taeko and Sarah.
"You got him, Nana! That's right! That scumbag deserved all of it!" Mei-Ling exclaimed out loud.
"Really feisty." Sarah and Taeko said altogether, with quite the sweat drop on each other's head to express dismay and shock in front of Mei-Ling's unrefined reaction.
Nevertheless, Mei-Ling reflected quite the mood inside Old Trafford towards Ukyo as thousands, including Noriko and Robert, were giving their share of insults and taunts against the former Kamakura High School midfielder wearing royal blue. To push the envelope even further, the home crowd started singing in full voice the new anti-Ukyo Sera song that was first heard at pubs before the match.
YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE,YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE,YOU CHEATING BASTARD,YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE!
Back on the pitch, Matthias wanted to make sure that Nana would remain on the same page with the rest of the team.
"Seriously, Witch, did you have to do that?" Matthias asked Nana.
"I really saw the ball loose, then I had to stop the counterattack. But I also wanted to make him think twice about going after me." Nana replied.
"You know I'm fighting in your corner, but the Boss may pull you out if you're a liability. Can we count on you?"
"He got the message. I won't go after him now."
"Don't screw us up. That's all."
"Let's finish this, Skipper." Nana finished.
After a quick checkup from the medical staff, Ukyo was deemed fit to carry on with the game. Many neutrals felt that both Nana and Sera should have been sent off for their respective actions. Biased fans on either side felt that the opponent should have been sent off. Nevertheless, that discussion was secondary because the situation at the Emirates Stadium could change at any moment's notice to tilt the mood in one direction or the other depending on which team you support.
As it stands: 1) Arsenal... 90 points, 2) Manchester United... 88 points.
⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽
Meanwhile at the Emirates Stadium, North London (Arsenal vs. Wolves)
In the last few minutes, Wolves were more enterprising on the ball. Most of the recent action had shifted inside the Arsenal half, so much that the home crowd was becoming increasingly anxious about what could happen if the visiting team could find a crack. With a 7th place at stake, Wolves threw everything forward.
In the 77th minute:
Rob Hawthorne: Jota...
The action shifted to the flank as Wolves moved deeper inside the Arsenal half. Portuguese winger Diogo Jota faced an Arsenal defender at a standstill for a single second before the former made a nifty move towards the byline and then turning his run towards the inside.
Rob Hawthorne: He's run past Bellerín...
Approaching the 6-yard box dangerously, Diogo Jota fired a quick pass towards the face of goal for a teammate. However, Ryoma quickly arrived to kick the ball out to safety first.
Rob Hawthorne: Cleared away by Oda. Corner kick to Wolves.
"Thanks, Oda." the goalkeeper Bernd Leno thanked his teammate.
"Sure, but we're not out of it yet." Ryoma replied.
Within seconds, both teams set up for the upcoming corner kick. There was a ton of anxiety in the air at the Emirates Stadium though, as if everyone knew that something was about to happen. Finally, the referee was satisfied with everyone's positioning inside the Arsenal penalty area while Portuguese midfielder João Moutinho was ready to take the corner kick.
PEEP!
Rob Hawthorne: Moutinho plays it short... 
Instead of punting the ball straight towards the front of the Arsenal goal, the Wolves midfielder made a pass to a teammate standing outside of the Arsenal penalty area. Then the ball was passed back to Moutinho, setting up the kind of long pass he wanted to take.
Rob Hawthorne: Back to Moutinho again...
Picking his spot, Moutinho fired a long aerial ball towards the front of the 6-yard box. In that situation, all intended targets had to move to stay onside. But in this case, one of the Wolves players managed to stay unmarked before he jumped high in the air and towards the ball. The Arsenal goalkeeper stepped forward to punch the ball, but the Wolves player got there first.
Rob Hawthorne: Good ball in across... AND WOLVES HAVE EQUALIZED!!! RAÚL JIMÉNEZ AGAIN!! This title race may have not seen its last twist just yet!
Instead of celebrating the 2-2 goal, the Wolverhampton players picked the ball in the back of the net before they carried it towards the center circle. With Leicester City still in the lead at Old Trafford, their only hope to retain the final spot into the Europa League was to defeat Arsenal. However, the Arsenal players also wanted it to happen instead of dwelling on the goal they just conceded.
"Still time to go! Let's score the next goal!" Ryoma rallied his teammates.
"Let's go, lads! We will score and then win this game!" Patrick added to the rally cry.
"Let's do this!" Araki added.
Having been some of Arsenal's most preeminent team leaders throughout the season, the 3 players galvanized their team to get back quickly to restarting positions and then move back on the job quickly.
Alan Smith: Well, you have to feel this was coming. Wolves have controlled most of the action in the last few minutes. They played the corner kick short, Wolves. But Moutinho knew who to aim the ball at. Then Jiménez finds his way to stay unmarked as he went in; Leno was in no man's land. There were some concerns as far as Arsenal's defending goes. Arsenal have conceded a second header goal today.
Rob Hawthorne: You can imagine the reaction at Old Trafford now.
While Rob Hawthorne and Alan Smith were describing the replays of the goal for TV audiences, the action had already restarted with Arsenal quickly moving on the attack inside the Wolverhampton half. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang arrived with the ball on the left side, but then waited for his teammates to flood the Wolves' penalty area to cross the ball in.
Rob Hawthorne: Aubameyang with the cross...
Aubameyang's ball was going towards Patrick, but the Cameroonian striker had to adjust his body as the ball was slightly behind him. But at the same time, one of the Wolverhampton defenders clattered right into Patrick's back in mid-air. The Arsenal players immediately screamed for a foul.
PEEEEEP!!!
Rob Hawthorne: Oh, was Jenpa brought down? The referee points to the spot! PENALTY GIVEN TO ARSENAL!!
In a blink of an eye, the vast majority inside the Emirates Stadium erupted in cheers when the referee gave his decision. The Wolves players protested against the referee's decision, but it was to no avail. In all, only 40 seconds had gone down between Jiménez's goal for Wolves and the awarding of the penalty to Arsenal.
Alan Smith: Well, Jenpa got clattered in the box as the ball came in. He's got nowhere near the ball, the Wolves centre-half, and he's clattered into the centre-forward. There is just no way to argue against that. It was clumsy, and he may have undone all of Wolves' efforts in the last few minutes.
Players from both teams moved outside of the penalty area on the referee's orders. Only Ryuichi Araki for Arsenal and Rui Patrício for Wolves stood at their respective ends of this duel. Everyone supporting Arsenal prayed for a goal.
'It's all up to you, Araki. We can make one step closer to the dream.' Patrick thought.
'You have been there before, Araki. I know you can do it.' Ryoma thought.
Rob Hawthorne: This could be the moment that decides the fate of the title race. It's Ryuichi Araki against Rui Patrício.
PEEEP!
In his run-up towards the ball, Araki chose to take a relaxed approach. Then Araki slightly turned his left ankle from the inside to the outside, and grazed the ball with the outside of his left foot at the last moment. That ground shot, known in Japan as the Koro-Koro PK (slow rolling penalty kick), ensured that the ball would bounce several times after hitting the ground for the first time. Despite Rui Patrício's dive in the right direction, the ball squeezed its way beyond the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
Rob Hawthorne: ARAKI SCORES!!! And for the third time, Arsenal have the lead! They make one more step closer to a first Premier League title since 2004!
In the cauldron of noise that the Emirates Stadium turned into at that moment, Araki was quickly mobbed by all of his teammates.
"You did it, Araki! You did it!" Ryoma was the first to congratulate Araki.
"GET IN! We're almost there!" Patrick added.
"Great peno, Araki! That was cool!" Aubameyang added.
"Thanks, guys! Let's win this game!" Araki replied.
"YEEAAHH!!!"
As optimism was definitely back in the Arsenal camp again with the prospect of a league title well in sight, the conceding of a third goal had a devastating effect on Wolves' hopes of ending in 7th place.
⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽
Back to Old Trafford, Manchester (Manchester United vs. Leicester City)
When the news of Wolves' equalizing goal first came through, there were several cheers inside Old Trafford. But then the cheers turned silent almost immediately as news of Arsenal being awarded a penalty kick. Many among the 71,000+ Manchester United supporters inside Old Trafford had the look of pending heartache on their faces while the 3,000 Leicester City away supporters were starting to believe that this would be their day.
Martin Tyler: Well, we have quite a game of see-saw at the Emirates. Raúl Jiménez had equalized at 2-2 for Wolves, but then Arsenal were awarded a penalty only 40 seconds later. Ryuichi Araki confidently makes it 3-2 from the spot.
Inside the stadium, frustration was beginning to turn into a state of resignation as it was increasingly more difficult to believe that a victory against Leicester City would be possible. On the pitch itself, frustration was becoming very palpable for the home side.
In the 80th minute:
Martin Tyler: Chilwell with the cross... 
On a Leicester City attack inside the Manchester United half, Ben Chilwell fired a long aerial ball inside the Manchester United penalty area. Akira was the intended recipient of that pass, but Matthias managed to head the ball away from the penalty area.
Martin Tyler: Takajo was underneath it, but so was Köhler...
The loose ball bounced towards Nikolaj, who was soon put under pressure by Youri Tielemans. Nevertheless, the Danish midfielder in red fooled his Belgian counterpart in blue by making one nifty dribble before advancing forward with the ball.
Martin Tyler: Kristiansen...
Before Nikolaj would arrive near the center circle, he chose to make a lateral pass towards Jeremy, who then advanced and crossed the halfway line with the ball. Then Jeremy punted a long ball towards Marius. The Dutch striker in red was putting some pressure on the Leicester City defenders, but the pass was a little far above Marius' head.
Martin Tyler: Williams... can't find Van Leeuwen.
Wes Morgan headed the ball in the opposite direction and at some distance in front of the penalty area, but Kakeru was in a position to recover the loose ball.
Martin Tyler: Cleared only as far as Aizawa though...
Kakeru chested the ball down and then tried to advance, but he was tightly marked by Ukyo as well. Both Japanese players got into a tussling match, but Kakeru got spun around and fell to the ground. The home crowd demanded a free kick, but the referee said otherwise.
"HEY! Free kick!" Kakeru shouted.
Martin Tyler: Great tussle by Aizawa, matched by Sera, "fairly" said the referee.
"BOLLOCKS!!!" Kakeru shouted, throwing his arms up in anger and disbelief at the referee.
The crowd voiced outright anger at the referee for not awarding the free kick as expected. Regardless, the action moved back in the other direction as Ukyo passed the ball to Tielemans, who then launched a long ball towards a running Jamie Vardy on the counterattack.
Martin Tyler: There's a long diagonal on here...
Making one of his characteristic runs behind the defenders, Vardy was in a position to go on a breakaway. Upon receiving the ball, the English striker in blue was looking to create enough space between him and Didier prior to a shot.
Martin Tyler: Vardy...
But just as Vardy entered the Manchester United penalty area, Didier stuck a foot out at the right moment to take a poke at the ball. Vardy fell in that bit of action, but Didier succeeded in pushing the ball out of danger for the moment.
Martin Tyler: Good challenge by Kamara. Leicester City have a corner though.
"Well done, Didi." Jan congratulated Didier with a double fist bump.
"Thanks, Wolf."
But at the same moment that both teams set up for the upcoming corner kick, a TV replay showed that Kakeru was right to demand a free kick as he had his shirt grabbed momentarily by Ukyo in their last tussle.
Gary Neville: Kamara really had to get that challenge right, but Aizawa is still unhappy at something at the other end. Sera grabbed quite a chunk of Aizawa's shirt in that tussle. That's a free kick. No doubt about that when you see from that angle. The referee doesn't have that, but Aizawa did spin around towards the referee. He must have seen the arm on the shirt.
While thousands of people in the stands were still voicing their outrage at the non-call, the Leicester City players were in no hurry to take the free kick. To make things worse, Ukyo Sera, who became Leicester City's designated corner kick taker after James Maddison was subbed off, was walking towards the corner flag at a really slow pace. Needless to say, the home supporters were irked at the obvious time-wasting on top of the fact that Ukyo was the most despised figure in the place.
Martin Tyler: Sera will take this corner kick.
Ukyo appeared to be ready to take the corner kick from the Northeast corner, but then he irked the home crowd even more when he took more time to "readjust" the ball. And thus the cocktail of frustration and anger reached boiling point as a few spectators started throwing all kinds of small objects towards him. Those objects did not reach Ukyo, but they did not go unnoticed.
"Hey, ref! Look at those..." Ukyo said.
Before Ukyo could finish his sentence, he felt something hitting the top of his head. Then Ukyo fell down on the ground, moving into a foetal position while more objects were thrown towards him. In fact, Ukyo was struck by a coin.
Martin Tyler: And it looks like Ukyo Sera's been hit. All kinds of objects are pouring down from the stands. We've seen coins being thrown; one of them may have made contact.
A number of spectators started throwing sarcastic cheers from the moment they saw Ukyo going down. However, a few Manchester United players rushed towards the corner flag to restore order against the actions from a few idiots.
"HEY!! STOP DOING THAT!!" Yusuke shouted, looking very disparagingly at the crowd in the Northeast corner of the stadium.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOU AIN'T HELPING US AT ALL!" Matthias joined Yusuke in the reprimanding.
The Leicester City players gathered together to pull Ukyo away before the referee checked for injuries. Thankfully, Ukyo was not bleeding at all.
Martin Tyler: Yusuke Saeki and Matthias Köhler are voicing their grievances to the crowd in that corner, but this moment will bring major headlines for the wrong reasons. This match may not be a foregone conclusion yet, but there will be repercussions against Manchester United for a moment of madness from their supporters.
Gary Neville: There will be. I know this is a really emotional match with a lot at stake, but this is one step too far. There is no place for it at all in football.
The referee picked up some of the small objects as evidence for his own post-match report. Meanwhile, the stadium manager deployed more stewards and more security guards around the playing surface. A group of security guards was apprehending some of the suspects involved in that incident. Meanwhile, Ukyo left the corner kick duty to join the group of players inside the penalty area.
"Your supporters are savages. You know that?" an angry Ukyo blasted towards Kakeru and Nana.
"I don't condone that one bit, but don't think that you're completely innocent in this." Kakeru replied dryly.
"A bunch of animals you are." Ukyo continued chirping.
"Get lost." Kakeru replied.
Regardless, Nana chose to ignore Ukyo. Meanwhile, Demarai Gray was sent to replace Ukyo at taking the corner kick. The English winger waited for the referee to give the go-ahead signal.
Gary Neville: You have to think that one more goal for Leicester City would put the match to bed.
Martin Tyler: They're congesting in front of Jan Farkas. Gray...
PEEP!
The ball was whipped towards the front of goal. Akira was rushing towards the trajectory of the pass, but Jan managed to get a fist on the ball and thus deflect the ball away. Nevertheless, the ball continued rolling towards the touchline area near the opposite corner flag.
Martin Tyler: The goalkeeper reaches for it...
Yusuke ran in full speed to prevent the ball from going out of bounds. But as he succeeded in keeping the ball in play, Yusuke had to put on the brakes and avoid running down the dangerous ditch off the limits of the grassy surface at Old Trafford. However, that moment was enough to allow Harvey Barnes to go for the loose ball.
Martin Tyler: Saeki kept it in, but he kept it in for Barnes...
Nevertheless, Yusuke recovered quickly enough from his sudden stop to move back in a position where he could literally corner Barnes by the southeastern corner flag. Yusuke stood strong with his arms in a good position to contain Barnes.
"Don't foul him! Don't foul him! Don't foul him!" the linesman watching the action from less than 3 yards away warned Yusuke.
Barnes tried to spin his way around to find a passing lane, but Yusuke managed to hold his ground while just short of giving him a bear hug. Then Yusuke managed to kick the ball away from Barnes' feet and towards a Manchester United teammate.
Martin Tyler: Good challenge there by Saeki...
The ball reached Nikolaj, who then spun around to run past a couple of Leicester City players. However, the Danish midfielder got fouled before he could advance. It was only a free kick with no further consequences.
Martin Tyler: Kristiansen. He'll get the free kick for that.
After settling the ball down quickly on the ground, Nikolaj took a quick free kick by passing the ball back to Matthias before the give-and-go was completed with the advancing Nikolaj.
Gary Neville: Manchester United are really in a hurry now.
Rushing forward with the ball, Nikolaj waited for the moment he would reach the halfway line before he unleashed the through pass up the left channel. Then the home crowd roared as they saw Santiago ahead in the footrace to reach the rolling ball.
Martin Tyler: Kristiansen... Araya in full chase, and he's got there. Such is the quality of the pass. Van Leeuwen coming in...
Santiago got to the ball only a couple yards away from the side of the Leicester City penalty area. Ricardo Pereira arrived quickly to deny further entry, but then Santiago dribbled his way to enter the box from the outside of Pereira just as Marius was also arriving in attacking support.
Martin Tyler: Great work by Araya...
Santiago tried to make a dink pass towards the front of Schmeichel's goal, but the ball flew too high above Marius' head before it curled away from goal. Nevertheless, Nana arrived quickly inside the penalty area to recover the loose ball.
Martin Tyler: Mishima anticipated where it might drop. Aizawa's in the D... 
"Seven! Seven!" Kakeru shouted for a pass.
Seeing Kakeru standing in the D in front of the penalty area, Nana made the pass towards him. Kakeru only had one thing in mind: shoot the ball on a one-timer.
Martin Tyler: Aizawa! Blocked by Wes Morgan!
Kakeru fired the shot, but it was blocked by Wes Morgan. Then the long rebound rolled back towards Yusuke, who held his ground around 40 yards from Schmeichel's goal. United were still on the attack.
Martin Tyler: Saeki… Leicester City have regrouped somewhat.
As soon as Yusuke started advancing with the ball, Ukyo stood in his way. With nowhere to go forward, Yusuke passed the ball back to Diogo. Then the Portuguese right-back passed the ball towards Nana, who was moving away from the Leicester City penalty area.
Martin Tyler: Blanco... Mishima with the dummy...
Instead of receiving the pass, Nana let the ball slide between her legs so it could reach Kakeru instead. When Kakeru saw the dummy, he was still in the D before he started running towards the ball.
Martin Tyler: Aizawa... Quality needed here from Manchester United...
As soon as Kakeru started to curve his run with the ball, he played a give-and-go with Diogo. Then Kakeru found himself pushing with the ball towards the byline.
Martin Tyler: Aizawa trying to get ahead of Chilwell...
Looking to his left, Kakeru saw Marius and Nikolaj moving in a position to go for a header attack. The Japanese forward in red immediately launched the aerial ball across. Nikolaj appeared to be in a better position to receive the ball, but Jonny Evans deflected the ball first.
Martin Tyler: The cross...
Although Evans deflected the ball, the ball still bounced towards a dangerous space in the penalty area. Not waiting for the ball to hit the ground, Jeremy fired the drive shot towards the Leicester City goal.
Martin Tyler: Williams with the HIT...
Surprising all Leicester City players, the shot found its way towards the bottom corner of the goal on Kasper Schmeichel's left. In a flash, Old Trafford erupted in an explosion of noise as the scoreline became 2-2 in the 83rd minute.
Martin Tyler: ...AND FOUND THE BOTTOM CORNER OF THE NET!! And Jeremy Williams, who came in for the injured Andrew Shaw, has scored his first goal for Manchester United! And what a critical goal this is with 7 minutes remaining! 2-2!!
Gary Neville: Well, you feel that they needed that. We were wondering where the goal could come from for Manchester United, but it comes from the youngster. As the ball falls to Jeremy Williams, you think it is a really difficult technique. But it is absolutely exquisite. The finish is wonderful, right into the bottom corner. It's a very timely goal. We could get an extraordinary finish now.
Knowing that time was of the essence, Matthias quickly picked up the ball in the back of the Leicester City goal before he ran with it towards the center circle.
"Seven minutes to go! Let's get the next one!" Marius rallied his teammates.
"Let's go, guys!" Yusuke added.
At the same time that all Manchester United players got on the move back towards restarting positions, some of them took time to briefly congratulate Jeremy.
"Great goal, Jerry!" Kakeru congratulated with a quick high-five handshake.
"Some time to score your first." Nana added.
"Thanks, guys." Jeremy replied.
"We have a chance now. Thank you." Nikolaj said.
Alan Keegan: UNITED'S GOAL... SCORED BY NUMBER THIRTY-THREE... JEREMYYYY WILLIAMS!!!
Meanwhile in the stands:
"ATTABOY, WILLIAMS!" Noriko shouted.
"GREAT GOAL! COME ON, UNITED!!!" Robert added.
"Only one goal away now. We can do this." Harry said.
"I can imagine how scared Arsenal fans must feel right now in London." Sayuri said.
"Oh, they are definitely scared now. Leicester City will defend with their lives, but that also means inviting our attacks too." Robert replied.
"All we have to do is to keep on playing like we did before the goal. Keep the pressure on them." Noriko finished.
With hope rekindled among the vast majority inside Old Trafford, noise levels in the stadium turned up by a few notches. Every single time that United would get the ball, the crowd roared to boost the team in the search for the invaluable go-ahead goal. With United moving towards an all-out attack and Leicester City looking to counterattack at best, the match became a battle of who wants it the most.
In the 85th minute:
Martin Tyler: Throw is given Leicester City's way...
After a tight contest for the ball, Leicester City were awarded a throw-in from around the beginning of the middle third of the pitch. Ricardo Pereira threw the long ball ahead and towards Akira, who was tussling for position against Matthias. However, Jeremy also stepped in to double-team against Akira before he headed the ball back beyond halfway line. Then Kakeru gave chase to the ball before Hamza Choudhury got ahead and then passed the ball to Chilwell.
Martin Tyler: Chilwell... finds Sera ahead of him.
After the ball reached Ukyo, the Japanese midfielder in blue led the counterattack with a run that found its way deep inside the Mancunian half.
Martin Tyler: Ukyo Sera on a terrific run...
By the time Ukyo arrived near Manchester United penalty area, Didier stepped up forward to confront him. Then Didier got a little touch on the ball to slow down the rush while Ukyo overstepped the ball. But that touch gave the small time window for Kakeru to fall back, recover the ball, and then move on the attack again.
Martin Tyler: Look at who's got back. Aizawa who has come all the way to help Kamara.
The crowd cheered and roared in appreciation of Kakeru's defensive effort. The action shifted inside the Leicester City half within seconds before Ben Chilwell poked the ball out of bounds, offering United a throw-in deep inside the Foxes' half.
"UNITED! UNITED! UNITED!" the home crowd shouted.
Diogo threw the ball deep inside the Leicester City penalty area and towards Marius, but Jonny Evans' defensive pressure forced Marius to mishit the ball with the head.
Martin Tyler: Clever throw towards Van Leeuwen. Jonny Evans was right with him...
After the contact, the ball went high up and then down. Both Marius and Evans were looking to find the ball, but it was Evans who managed to head the ball just outside of the penalty area.
Martin Tyler: ...trying to locate the ball.
Santiago managed to recover the loose ball before he flicked the ball to Nana. Then Nana continued the one-touch passing game by flicking the ball towards Marius and then back to Nana. The little give-and-go allowed Nana to get in a dangerous shooting position inside the box.
Martin Tyler: Mishima... Van Leeuwen... NANA MISHIMA!!!
Without attempting to take a controlling touch on the ball, Nana fired the one-timer. However, Kasper Schmeichel got a hand on the shot before it flew out of bounds. The crowd could only throw their hands on their heads in disbelief before they roared in expectation at the awarding of a corner kick.
"AAAARRGH!!!" Nana screamed her dejection out loud after her missed chance.
"Good shot, Seven! Good shot!" Kakeru cheered Nana up.
"Let's do this! Come on!" Marius rallied his teammates ahead of the corner kick.
Gary Neville: Well, that was a really good strike by Nana Mishima. It almost came out of nothing. Araya flicks the ball to Mishima and then a little give-and-go with Van Leeuwen. She did really well hitting that first time. I'm not sure if that would have stayed under the crossbar, but Kasper Schmeichel couldn't take any chances.
Within seconds, both teams got set up for the upcoming corner kick. Nana was set to take the corner kick as usual. This time, the corner kick was taken on Schmeichel's left, on the northwestern corner flag.
PEEEP!!!
Martin Tyler: Corner for Manchester United...
Spotting teammates standing in the most dangerous positions inside, Nana whipped the ball so it would curl away from the 6-yard box and towards the penalty spot. Taking on 2 Leicester City players, Matthias still managed to head the ball towards the goal.
Martin Tyler: Köhler gets there...
Originally marking Kakeru inside the 6-yard box, Jonny Evans got his head in front of Matthias' shot only to get the ball flying high up in the air. As everyone looked to guess where the ball would come down, Kakeru started moving a little in order to get himself under the ball at the exact same time that Kasper Schmeichel was going for it. Then Kakeru bumped into Schmeichel.
PEEEP!!!
Martin Tyler: Schmeichel doesn't really get there. He was being fouled.
Much to the disappointment of the home supporters, a foul was called against Kakeru. The referee rightfully deemed that Schmeichel was unable to do his job because Kakeru leaned right into him. Hence the Manchester United players had to leave the penalty area for the free kick.
"Come on, ref." Kakeru complained to no avail.
"We'll get them, Knight." Nikolaj cheered Kakeru up.
"Let's go back at them later." Marius added.
Meanwhile, Nana was looking at the overall picture, thinking about what to do next.
'We came close again, but we must not stop at all. They are nervous at the back.' Nana thought.
After that scoring chance, Leicester City made their final change by replacing Youri Tielemans with English defensive midfielder Hamza Choudhury in order to protect their back 4. In response, United played their final card by replacing Diogo with Anthony. Hence United's playing formation shifted into a 2-3-5 purposefully built for high press and risk-taking on the attack, but it was also a double-edged sword.
In the 90th minute:
Martin Tyler: It gets cleared... only as far as Kristiansen though.
United attempted to get the ball into a good position inside the Leicester City penalty area, but Hamza Choudhury came in with sliding tackle to clear the ball away before it would reach the intended target. Then the ball rolled towards Nikolaj, who stood a little further than 40 yards away from Schmeichel's goal.
"Nicky!" Anthony shouted for a pass ahead on the left flank.
In response, Nikolaj rolled a pass towards Anthony. However, Ricardo Pereira jumped out to intercept the pass and then begin the counterattack. After a pass ahead and towards Akira, Leicester City had 3 players attacking against the 2 Manchester United centre-backs.
Martin Tyler: Ricardo jumps out... And now to Takajo. He's got Vardy and Sera in support; they're now 3 against 2 at the moment.
Rushing deep inside the Manchester United half in full speed, Akira quickly looked at both Ukyo and Vardy as passing options. However, the former Kamakura High School striker was not convinced.
'Not good. I'll go for it.' Akira thought.
Instead of passing the ball, Akira chose to take the shot himself when he arrived in the D before the Manchester United penalty area.
Martin Tyler: And Takajo wants to go all the way...
The shot had plenty of pace while staying low, forcing Jan to try stopping it on the ground. However, Jan fumbled the ball in a bad spot with Jamie Vardy arriving.
Martin Tyler: And then Farkas drops it to VARDY!
Then Vardy struck the rebound into the back of the net, thinking that he had killed the match. However, the whistle was blown several times while the linesman across had the offside flag up.
Martin Tyler: NO! FLAG UP! NO GOAL!
The 71,000+ home supporters breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the offside flag up. Vardy tried to defend his case to the referee, but the TV replay showed that Vardy was clearly offside when Akira took the shot.
Gary Neville: Oh, how close was that? It was a really good piece of counterattack by Leicester City. Vardy will argue his case, but nothing doing. It was a good anticipation by Ricardo to cut the pass before it goes to Laurent. After that, it is a 3-on-2. It's brilliant from Takajo. Saeki can't catch up with him this time, but... Takajo chooses to take the shot himself. The shot has had pace and power, really difficult for Jan Farkas to catch it. Then Vardy goes for the rebound, but he is about half of a yard offside when Takajo takes the shot. Therefore, the flag stays up.
As Jan prepared to take the free kick given automatically after an offside, the 4th official came up with the amount of injury time added on his electronic board while PA announcer Alan Keegan made the announcement.
Alan Keegan: Old Trafford... The referee has indicated a minimum of 9 minutes of added time.
When the crowd saw the number, the 71,000+ Mancunian supporters in the attendance roared even louder. The substitutions, the small incident involving Ukyo, and Shawzy's injury built up the amount to 9 minutes.
Martin Tyler: Oh. We will have 9 added minutes, and that's reinvigorated the supporters here.
"COME ON!!!" Noriko shouted, echoing tens of thousands of voices.
Instead of going for a long punt, Jan rolled a ground pass to Matthias so the latter could start building up the attack. Then in a matter of seconds, the ball went back inside the Leicester City half with the Red Devils besieging the Foxes' goal again.
Martin Tyler: Saeki... Kristiansen... Mishima...
When the ball arrived to Nana just over a dozen yards in front of the Foxes' penalty area, Ukyo and Barnes stepped forward to deny further access.
"Not today, Mishima." Ukyo said.
But instead of attempting a dribble forward, Nana made a short pass to her right and to Santiago. Then Nana moved a few yards towards the middle lane before Santiago passed the ball back to her.
Martin Tyler: Now Araya... Now Mishima again...
Leicester City were gathering many players to act as a barricade. Nevertheless, Nana saw what was unfolding as Santiago was making a run to get past the Leicester City defenders.
'Please work.' Nana thought.
Then Nana made a short forward pass to Marius, who then flicked the ball into Araya's path. Finding the gap between the defenders, the Chilean-Colombian winger entered the penalty area unopposed, under the roars of the expectant crowd.
Martin Tyler: Van Leeuwen... Oh, Araya! IT'S ARAYA!!
With no Leicester City defender left between Santiago and him, Kasper Schmeichel rushed forward in a desperate attempt to stop the shot. Santiago took the shot, but Schmeichel got a hand on the shot.
Martin Tyler: SCHMEICHEL FLEW OUT!
Then Choudhury kicked the loose rebound out of play in panic, but it gave a corner kick to the Mancunians as well. The Old Trafford crowd could only look in disbelief at the aftermath of Schmeichel's save.
Martin Tyler: Cleared by Choudhury. It's a corner for Manchester United, but what a moment it could have been.
Gary Neville: Oh, what a save by Kasper Schmeichel. He made himself look big. I don't think Araya could have chipped the ball above the goalkeeper.
Not wasting any more time, the Manchester United players set up for the corner kick. Just as last time, Nana was set to take the kick from the northwestern corner flag.
Martin Tyler: Still a corner for Leicester City to deal with...
Nana whipped the ball towards an area located in front of the 6-yard box and in line with the far post, but the ball grazed the head of a Leicester City player before it went out of the penalty area by the side. Then Jeremy gave chase to the loose ball.
Martin Tyler: Williams...
With Leicester City players chasing as well, Jeremy made a back pass towards Yusuke. Then Yusuke punted an aerial pass back inside the Foxes' penalty area.
Martin Tyler: Back in by Saeki...
Yusuke's ball flew above several heads and towards Matthias. Unfortunately, Matthias couldn't properly connect his right foot with the ball like he wanted. As a result, the ball bounced out of a play for a Leicester City goal kick, leaving the crowd in further disbelief at the missed opportunities.
Martin Tyler: Almost found Köhler. It is a goal kick.
Meanwhile in the stands:
"Unlucky! Unlucky!" Noriko exclaimed in despair.
"So close. I don't believe it." Robert said.
"There has to be a way to score once more." Sayuri replied.
"We have to. Whatever it takes." Noriko finished.
From that moment forward, United continued to attack while Leicester City continued to defend. However, all eyes were about to turn towards North London as Arsenal were within a total of 4 minutes of injury time from securing a precious victory.
As it stands: 1) Arsenal... 90 points, 2) Manchester United... 89 points.
⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽
Meanwhile at the Emirates Stadium, North London (Arsenal vs. Wolves)
In the 4th and final minute of injury time:
Rob Hawthorne: The referee is looking at his watch...
Pushing the action inside the Arsenal half, the Wolverhampton players tried to find a gap forward. Just inside the penalty area, Diogo Jota dribbled with the ball before Ryoma came in with a tackle that sent the ball beyond the byline. Wolves had a corner kick.
Rob Hawthorne: Is there to be one more twist? Oda clears it behind; it's a corner for Wolves.
Knowing what was at stake for 7th place, Wolves gathered everyone, including their goalkeeper, inside the Arsenal penalty area for one final attack. Everyone in the Emirates Stadium held their breath.
Rob Hawthorne: Can Wolves strike one final blow for themselves?
PEEP!
The Wolves player whipped the ball towards the near post, but Araki stood there to clear the ball away and down the pitch. In the end, Wolves ran out of time.
Rob Hawthorne: Not good enough. Araki clears it away...
PEEP PEEP PEEEEEEEEP!!!
Rob Hawthorne: IT'S A MASSIVE WIN FOR ARSENAL! They have done their part of the job to win the Premier League title! They have one hand on the trophy, but they still have to wait for the final result at Old Trafford before the celebrations can truly begin. The final result here reads Arsenal 3-2 Wolves.
Upon the final whistle, the Emirates Stadium went wild for a few moments before they realized that the match at Old Trafford was far from being finished yet. News of the 9-minute injury time spread like wildfire in the stadium. On the pitch, the Arsenal players wanted to know what was going on.
"How much time left in Manchester?" Araki asked one of the Arsenal staff.
"Still 2-2 with less than 5 minutes in injury time. They have 9 minutes because of a serious injury and then subs." the staffer replied.
"OK, thanks."
"What's going on?" Ryoma asked.
"Now what?" Patrick asked as well.
"A little more than 4 minutes more in injury time." Araki replied.
Then the giant screen started showing the Manchester United/Leicester City match, making the tension even more palpable inside the stadium. As for the TV broadcast of the Arsenal match, it shifted almost immediately into a split screen and then fully into the other match of interest after Rob Hawthorne's closing commentary.
⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽ ⚽
Back to Old Trafford, Manchester (Manchester United vs. Leicester City)
Upon the news that Arsenal had defeated Wolves, the Old Trafford faithful roared in hope that their team would make it over the finish line. At that point, United was in a must-win situation. Otherwise, they would miss out on the title.
Martin Tyler: It's finished at the Emirates. Arsenal have done all they can; Araki's goal was enough to claim all 3 points. It's everything or nothing for Manchester United now.
With time winding down, the home crowd was hoping and praying for one last miracle at Old Trafford to live up to its nickname: The Theatre of Dreams. Leicester City were repelling several attacks, but Manchester United continued to apply relentless pressure on their opponents.
In the 6th minute of injury time:
Martin Tyler: One goal to win the title, and it might still happen. Saeki... Mishima...
After United recovered the ball inside their own half, Yusuke passed the ball to Nana across the halfway line. Then the Little Witch advanced in full speed with the ball inside the Leicester City half alongside several teammates going alongside her. However, Ukyo and Choudhury retreated in full speed to contain Nana as well. With nowhere to go ahead, Nana passed the ball on her right to Santiago.
Martin Tyler: Araya... Mishima again...
But as soon as Santiago received the ball, he passed the ball to Nana, who then immediately kicked a through pass towards Kakeru. The Japanese forward in red had just a diagonal entry the Foxes' penalty area by the side.
Martin Tyler: Aizawa...
Squeezed by the byline and Wes Morgan denying further entry inside the box, Kakeru made a reverse pass to Nana. However, too many Leicester City players scrambled to deny her any shooting opportunity.
Martin Tyler: Back to Mishima...
Running across the width and barely inside the Foxes' penalty area, Nana looked for either a gap to shoot into or someone to pass the ball to. Neither looked to be appearing.
"NANA!" Yusuke shouted.
At that moment, Yusuke was arriving from a deeper central position while unmarked thanks to Nana drawing many Leicester City players out of position. Upon hearing the shout, Nana made a back pass towards Yusuke. When the ball almost arrived to Yusuke's feet, time appeared to freeze for a moment. Both in the stands and on the pitch, all eyes were looking at what was about to unfold.
'He's going to shoot.' Kakeru thought.
'Please make something work, Yusuke.' Nana thought.
'No, don't waste it.' Matthias thought.
'Find someone in a better spot.' Nikolaj thought.
'Don't tell me he will...' Sarah thought.
'Please make it go in.' Noriko thought.
'I will have this.' Yusuke thought.
Following his own instinct, Yusuke immediately unleashed the midrange strike with his trusted left foot. Kasper Schmeichel made a desperate dive to his left in an attempt to stop the shot after it flew beyond all Leicester City defenders. Nevertheless, but the arrowing ball went past the goalkeeper as well. Like an elite kyudo archer, Yusuke saw his shot striking the bullseye that is the top corner of the goal.
Martin Tyler: YUSUKE SAEKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!
Gary Neville: OOOOOOOOOOHHHHH MYYYYY GOD!!!
In a flash, the 71,000+ Manchester United supporters at Old Trafford and many millions more watching all around the world went into wild euphoria. The eruption of cheers inside the stadium was deafening, so much that it could be heard a mile away. In the words of the great Bryan Robson, "You could feel the pitch shaking." Almost for the first time on the day, the fans started to believe that the great domestic prize could be theirs at last.
Martin Tyler: ABSOULTELY STUPENDOUS!!! WE MAY BE SEEING A RED RISING SUN OVER ENGLAND!! FROM JAPAN TO MANCHESTER, YUSUKE SAEKI MAKES IT 3-2 DEEP IN STOPPAGE TIME!!
In total exhilaration, Yusuke ran a few yards to celebrate his goal a few yards in front of Noriko and the fans nearby. He was quickly mobbed into a man pile by all of his fellow teammates. Players on the pitch and substitutes alike, they joined in the celebrations.
"You did it, Yusuke! YOU DID IT!!" Kakeru exclaimed.
"I knew you could do it, Yusuke!" Nana added.
"What a goal, Fury!" Matthias added.
"Well done, Fury!" Nikolaj added.
Alan Keegan: UNITED'S GOAL... SCORED BY NUMBER SEVENTEEN... YUSUKE SAEKIIII!!!
After the goal celebrations, Yusuke made his way towards his girlfriend Noriko while the other players were already moving back to restarting positions. Yusuke lifted Noriko up and over the barrier in front of the front row despite the presence of stewards nearby. In return, Noriko gave Yusuke a hug.
"That was amazing, Yusuke!" Noriko congratulated Yusuke.
"Thanks. We're almost there!" Yusuke replied.
"Almost there, son! Big goal!" Robert said in Japanese.
"Yeah!" Yusuke replied to Robert before he turned back to Noriko. "Gotta go."
"Go and win this, Yusuke." Noriko said.
Then Yusuke let Noriko go before he ran back towards his own half ahead of the restart. Meanwhile, Noriko jumped back above the barrier and back to her seat in the front row. Meanwhile, the TV broadcast went back into a split screen where the live reaction at the Emirates Stadium was displayed on one side.
Martin Tyler: THEY JUST HEARD THE NEWS IN NORTH LONDON!!
Gary Neville: UNBELIEVABLE!! I've not seen Old Trafford like this in many years. Kakeru Aizawa and Nana Mishima are also directly involved in the build-up. They are looking for a gap, but can't find one. And then Yusuke Saeki makes the shout for Mishima, who answers with the layoff pass. It's a perfect strike by Saeki, who pounces the shot first time, into the top corner of the goal like an arrow beyond Schmeichel. The 3 Japanese players in red have produced that goal together... and the Manchester United bench goes wild with the stadium.
Martin Tyler: A goal all made in Japan. Yusuke Saeki, who was not very much known outside of Japanese football just a year ago, writes himself in the footballing headlines with the latest twist on the final day... and may just have clinched the title for Manchester United.
While the commentary team was describing TV replays of the goal, Leicester City kicked the restart off. With time moving against them, the Foxes moved on the attack. Without an equalizer, Leicester City would be left stranded in 8th place and thus outside of the last spot for the Europa League.
Martin Tyler: Is there another twist? Chilwell... Barnes...
Attacking from the left side, Leicester City pushed forward. When Harvey Barnes arrived at the byline, he attempted to cross the ball towards the front of goal. However, Yusuke took no chance by kicking the ball out of play.
Martin Tyler: Cleared behind by Saeki. Corner for Leicester City.
While both teams were setting up for the upcoming corner kick, Kasper Schmeichel ran up the field to take position inside the Manchester United penalty area. Just like his father Peter did often, going up for the corner kick when his team trails on the scoreboard is a great distraction to opposing defenders. 
Gary Neville: And Kasper Schmeichel is coming up.
Martin Tyler: We have seen this before from the great Peter Schmeichel. This time, it's the son going up against Manchester United.
"Watch him! Watch him!" Matthias shouted to make sure that someone would man-mark Schmeichel.
Meanwhile, Kakeru and Nana took their customary defending guarding positions by the goalposts. Within seconds, the referee was satisfied with how both teams set up. Everyone was anxiously waiting for the referee to blow his whistle.
PEEP!
Martin Tyler: Gray will take...
Gray whipped a ball that appeared to fly straight towards a position for Jan to claim it on the edge of the 6-yard box. However, the ball dripped and curled away at the end of its trajectory, fooling Jan completely. As a result, the ball landed at Schmeichel's feet.
Martin Tyler: Oh, Farkas misjudged it. Schmeichel...
Slightly surprised by the ball's arrival, the Leicester City goalkeeper poked the ball ahead instead of shooting it. Nevertheless, the pass reached Akira inside the 6-yard box. Despite Yusuke's efforts to contain his former high school teammate, Akira swiveled on himself before he fired the shot with the left foot.
Martin Tyler: Takajo!
Fortunately for United though, Matthias threw his body in the way to stop the ball dead in its tracks. With the ball was laying at everyone's feet, Matthias gave a poke of the ball. Then the ball bounced off Vardy before Yusuke finally kicked the ball up and away from the 2 Leicester City strikers.
Martin Tyler: A scramble of amazing proportions...
However, United were not out of danger yet as the ball went towards the front of the penalty area. Without hesitation, Ukyo fired the volley with his right foot. The shot flew towards the Manchester United goal, but then Nana synchronized her jump to get her forehead in the way.
Martin Tyler: SERAAA... OHH!!!
Gary Neville: OHH, WHAT A SAVE!!!
Martin Tyler: Mishima saves Manchester United off the line!
The vast majority inside Old Trafford crowd gasped but then sighed in relief when Nana headed the ball out of play. The Leicester City players were stunned in disbelief.
"DAMN!" Ukyo cursed.
Meanwhile, Nana was congratulated by her teammates.
"Big save, Seven!" Kakeru gave Nana a congratulatory hug.
"Thanks, Sacrlet Witch!" Matthias congratulated.
"You really saved us." Yusuke added.
"We have one more to defend. Let's go!" Nana reminded her teammates that it was not finished yet.
Indeed, Leicester City still had another corner kick coming up. And just like a few seconds ago, Kasper Schmeichel was up to act as a distraction against the defenders in red.
Martin Tyler: Another corner for Leicester City. This may be the last roll of a dice.
Meanwhile, Kakeru and his teammates tried to remain focused.
'If we survive this, we will win.' Kakeru thought.
'We have to stop this.' Nana thought.
'Bring it on. We will stop you, Leicester.' Yusuke thought.
Martin Tyler: Gray with the corner...
PEEP!
Demarai Gray kicked the ball towards the mass of players. The ball flew above several players, but it appeared to go towards Ukyo for an incoming header.
"No, you don't!" Yusuke said.
Knowing the danger that Ukyo provided while Akira and Vardy were already marked by other defenders, Yusuke was marking Ukyo all along. Then Yusuke headed the ball far away from the Mancunian penalty area with authority, much to the relief of the home crowd.
Martin Tyler: Headed away by Saeki...
The loose ball went towards Marius, who stood as the furthest man up the field. Hamza Choudhury stepped up to contain Marius, but the Dutch striker shielded the ball a few seconds for his teammates to support him with the action still pretty much inside the Mancunian half.
"ROMAN!" Kakeru shouted for a pass.
Martin Tyler: Van Leeuwen... There's no one in goal for Leicester.
Hearing the shout, Marius performed a perfect spin move to get around the Leicester City player. Then Marius fired a through pass into Kakeru's path. Kakeru, who started the corner kick guarding one of the goalposts, sprinted forward from the moment Yusuke headed the ball away. With the goal empty at the other end, Kakeru went for it.
"GO ON, KAKERU!!" Nana shouted.
Martin Tyler: He finds Aizawa...
When the ball reached Kakeru, the Leicester City defenders were in no position to catch up. Years of taking footraces against long-time friend Kouta Nakatsuka gave Kakeru the superior edge against most active players for sprinting speed.
Martin Tyler: He can go all the way with an empty goal ahead!
The crowd stood up on its feet and cheered as Kakeru was running all alone towards the empty net, towards the Stretford End. Finally, Kakeru tapped the ball into the yawning cage to finish off Leicester City once and for all. Old Trafford exploded in an outpouring of joy. Limbs went up everywhere!
Martin Tyler: AND MANCHESTER UNITED HAVE DONE IT!! Two goals in added time to snatch the title away from Arsenal! Kakeru Aizawa has capped this amazing Premier League season with his 42nd goal to make it 4-2!
In the immediate aftermath, Kakeru took off his shirt and then waved it around in the air (wearing an undershirt to conceal the scar on his chest though). Then he ran to celebrate right in front of where Noriko and her family were seated.
"YATTAAAA!!!" Kakeru shouted.
"You did! YOU DID IT!" Noriko exclaimed from her seat.
In the next few seconds, Kakeru was mobbed by his teammates.
"You did it, Kakeru!" Nana congratulated Kakeru.
"No, we all did it!" Kakeru replied.
"COME ON!" Yusuke shouted.
"We're gonna be champions!" Matthias exclaimed.
"We ARE champions, Skipper!" Kakeru replied.
The referee showed Kakeru the automatic yellow card for excessive celebration when a player takes his shirt off. Regardless, Kakeru didn't mind the yellow card one bit.
Alan Keegan: UNITED'S GOAL... SCORED BY NUMBER TEN... KAKERU AIZAWAAA!!!
Then Noriko started singing a song out loud with her fist up in the air to pump up the crowd.
"WE SHALL NOT, WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED..."
And almost spreading like wildfire, the chant was repeated by tens of thousands in the crowd in a matter of seconds. That particular chant took its roots from the industrial past of Manchester in which protest and union songs were popular.
WE SHALL NOT, WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED,WE SHALL NOT, WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED,JUST LIKE A TEAM THAT'S GONNA WIN THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE,WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED!
WE SHALL NOT, WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED,WE SHALL NOT, WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED,JUST LIKE A TEAM THAT'S GONNA WIN THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE,WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED!
Under the sound of the crowd singing and clapping, Noriko could only smile at the result of what she had sparked.
"Wow! That is special, Noriko!" Robert said.
"You made Old Trafford sing." Harry added.
"I can't believe it! Phew, I'm exhausted!" Noriko replied.
Gary Neville: Incredible scenes at Old Trafford! From 2 massive chances at one end to a goal at the other end. Leicester City twice came close to score an equalizer earlier, but they still had another chance. Kasper Schmeichel stays up because he has to take that risk; it's everything or nothing. Gray's corner kick is headed away by Saeki. Then Van Leeuwen holds his ground for a few seconds before he sets up the ball for Aizawa, who runs the ball into the empty net to start the celebrations.
Outside of Manchester United supporters, Wolverhampton supporters in the country also celebrated the last goal as it confirmed that Wolves finish in 7th place. On the other end of the spectrum of emotions, players and supporters of Arsenal and Leicester City were left heartbroken.
Martin Tyler: Gary, I always believed in looking at a football match that the team that needs it more... Leicester City were also very motivated in this match because of the place at stake for the Europa League, but the greater need was Manchester United's in the end.
Gary Neville: Yeah, absolutely. For all the talk about talent, it's the greater need to win that gives a team that edge to get above the finish line. Andrew Butler's players have shown that edge late in the game.
Martin Tyler: Well, Manchester United had to wait for a long time today, longer than the 93 minutes and 20 seconds that Manchester City waited in the final game of the 2011-12 season to be in a position to win the title. But all Manchester United supporters can definitely taste it now at Old Trafford and all around the world.
After Kakeru's empty net goal, the Leicester City players lost all will to compete. Nothing would change the outcome of the match with so little time left. The remaining seconds winded down with all of the 71,000+ Mancunian supporters singing and cheering in the stands as they waited for the referee to put the Premier League season to a close.
Final standings: 1) Manchester United... 91 points, 2) Arsenal... 90 points.
PEEP PEEP PEEEEEEEEEP!!!
Down to the Wire - Part 1 :Previous «Home Page» Next: The End of a Marathon
Category:The Road to the Promised Land
Category:Chapters