Football: The national football team was expelled and rewarded with a long-range goal card Chapter 010

In the football world, someone compiled a list of “happiness.”

This list isn’t about who scored the most goals or who had the most assists, but rather who missed the most easy chances.

And Raheem Sterling, without a doubt, ranked first.

After all, whether it was Liverpool or Manchester City, there were many passing maestros, but even if they fed the ball right to his mouth, Sterling could still spit it out.

It was as if scoring goals was toxic.

So-called happiness, for his coaches, was impossible to achieve.

But it must be said that aside from his final shot, Sterling’s dribbling skills were excellent. He was fast, had strong explosive power, and his positioning was outstanding, often creating dangerous opportunities!

Although he was only 16 this year, he was already dominating in the U 18 league!

The match between the two sides officially began.

Just two minutes into the game, an overly excited Januzaj tackled an opponent to the ground, earning himself a yellow card.

This tackle almost ignited a brawl between the two teams, fortunately, the referee arrived quickly and separated the two groups.

Don’t let the young age of these players fool you; they were all deeply influenced by the rivalries between their clubs. When they met, it felt wrong not to have a fight.

But Solskjaer was already roaring from the sidelines.

Only 11 minutes and 24 seconds into the game, Sterling, dribbling from the left, shook off Jack Rougi and unleashed a curling shot.

The ball hit the goalpost with a “duang” sound!

The Manchester United fans in the stadium gasped in fright!

“The post has been hit, can the goal be far behind?” Carragher said proudly. “I have to say, Sterling’s change of direction and dribbling was truly beautiful!”

Scholes didn’t say anything…

He could only wait for the young Manchester United players to perform well before he could cheer and shout for them.

At 14 minutes and 28 seconds, Manchester United finally had a counter-attack opportunity.

Midfielder Dahli found striker Byrne.

Byrne remembered Ye Chen scoring a knuckleball from this position yesterday, so he also tried to shoot…

Seeing Byrne’s shot go high into the stands, Scholes was the first to lose his composure. “My goodness, what kind of shot was that! Ole (Solskjaer) should make him practice shooting more!”

“Paul, is this the level of your Manchester United academy strikers? They don’t look like U 18s, they look like U 8s!” Carragher seized the opportunity to mock them.

“Why are you so anxious? I called Ole last night, and we have a very strong striker on our team!”

“Oh? Really? It’s not that small white-haired kid of yours, is it?” Carragher raised an eyebrow and asked.

“Of course not, Ole said he’s Chinese!”

“Chinese? Are you sure you’re not talking about their porcelain and tea? Do they even have people who play football?” Carragher said with a look of disbelief.

Scholes glanced at the roster. “He’s on the roster, named Chen Ye…”

“Paul, stop deluding yourself. If he were really good, why wouldn’t he be starting?” Carragher retorted.

For a moment, Scholes was speechless.

However, as they were talking, the situation on the field suddenly changed!

Liverpool midfielder Emilyson sent a long pass to Sterling on the left.

Seeing the flying ball, Sterling skillfully controlled it with a flick of his toe, making it perfectly obedient!

Just this touch drew screams from the audience…

Manchester United U 18’s right-back, Massachi, didn’t stop to admire the play. Instead, he immediately rushed forward, but Sterling showed no fear facing Massachi. He dribbled forward, and just as the two were about to collide, Sterling executed an easy change of direction, leaving his opponent behind.

Massachi was like a wooden stake, completely ineffective at intercepting.

After getting past Massachi, center-back Wilkinson also closed in, but before he could extend his leg to intercept, Sterling unleashed a powerful shot directly at the ball!

The ball flew in a beautiful arc towards the far post’s dead corner.

Liam, in front of the goal, made a diving save, but his fingertips couldn’t even touch the ball.

“Swish!”

A crisp sound rang out, and the goal-scoring Sterling excitedly rushed towards the Liverpool fan section, cheering loudly!

“Who else!”

Manchester United was down 0- 1 to Liverpool at home!

The stadium became a playground for Liverpool fans, who cheered wildly.

Carragher also shouted loudly, “Gooooooooooooooooooooooal! A beautiful long-range shot from Sterling, Liam in front of the goal had no chance at all!”

Scholes also said, “Dribbling and shooting in one smooth motion, this Sterling’s ability is indeed a cut above the U 18 players!”

Solskjaer frowned. “Adnan, go mark Sterling tightly!”

Januzaj nodded. “Understood, boss!”

And surprisingly, perhaps due to his special training with Ye Chen, Januzaj’s tight marking actually had some effect.

Because Januzaj had already received a yellow card two minutes into the game, he didn’t attempt any tackles. Instead, he positioned himself to cut off Sterling’s inside runs. If Sterling went wide, Massachi would cover him.

And surprisingly, under the double-teaming, Sterling was somewhat stifled.

Seeing that he had defended Sterling, Januzaj’s face broke into a smile, and his eyes occasionally drifted towards the substitutes’ bench.

He knew that these defensive stop-and-go change-of-direction techniques were all practiced with Ye Chen!

The first 45 minutes of the first half quickly passed, ending with Manchester United trailing by one goal at halftime.

“Boss, will I have a chance to play in the second half?” Ye Chen walked up to Solskjaer, asking expectantly.

Solskjaer looked at Ye Chen, and the words he was about to say stopped.

This scene was all too familiar.

More than twenty years ago, he had asked his own coach the same question…

“Go warm up!” Solskjaer pointed to the field and said to Ye Chen.

“Okay!” Ye Chen didn’t go into the locker room; without another word, he ran onto the Old Trafford pitch.

This match was being broadcast live!

Since U 18 matches didn’t have much advertising value, the cameras remained focused on the field.

After running two laps around the field, Ye Chen picked up a ball and practiced a few shooting movements.

Of course, he wasn’t the only one warming up; Kirilliano and Tom were also warming up with him.

Clearly, Solskjaer was not satisfied with the team’s offense in the first half.

So, the players warming up on the field were all offensive players, and there was a high possibility of substitutions at the start of the second half.

The Liverpool players on the other side were laughing and chatting.

It was as if they had already secured victory in this match…

“Ding, match mission issued: Score a goal or provide an assist in the upcoming match!”

“Mission success rewards a Bronze Treasure Chest, mission failure deducts five random points!”

When Ye Chen heard the system prompt, he knew that his chance to play had arrived…

Of course, he didn’t know how much determination Solskjaer had to make such a decision!