73 Decisive Match (4)

Vicente dribbled the ball quickly. Carrick moved to the side, he intended to stop Vicente. His movement was closed Vicente's space, so the Southampton right-back gave the ball to Simone. Simone, who had just received the ball, was immediately interrupted by Park Ji Sung. The Korean player went up to press.

Simone used his physical strength to turn around and gave a pass to Rudolf. Paul Scholes immediately stuck his foot out and cut the ball before it reached Rudolf. Fortunately, Benson stepped up and got the ball bounced. He provided a long pass forward.

Kazuki dashed towards the ball. Beside him, Fadick and Rio Fernand pinched Kazuki tightly as they held onto the shirt and stretched their arms, making it difficult for Kazuki to run faster. By the time they got close to the ball, Kazuki knew he would fail to get it, so he was sliding his body on the grass then kicked the ball to the left side. Fadick fell because he tripped over Kazuki's body, but the referee didn't blow the whistle. Kounde who was running past Valencia immediately grabbed the ball and shot it powerfully. Edwin Van Der Sar reacted quickly, he used his hands to stop the ball. Kazuki who had been running immediately headed the rebound ball into the goalpost.

"Goaaaaaall! An unyielding effort from Kazuki managed to make Southampton reduce Manchester United's advantage to 3-2. An unexpected counter-attack managed to make Manchester United conceded for the second time." At the Skysports studio, Jim Kaglin cheered with excitement.

Andy Cole showed a gloomy expression, he said irritatedly, "The goal shouldn't have been valid. Fadick fell before Kazuki kicked the ball, so Kazuki's action should have been counted as a tackle. The referee made a fatal mistake here."

Carragher quipped at Andy Cole's words, "Didn't you see the replay? The two actions happened simultaneously, but Kazuki clearly touched the ball first, so you can't judge this as a foul."

Jim Kaglin cut them both off and said: "A goal is a goal, despite the controversy, now Southampton needs just one goal to equalize. Looks like Liverpool still has a chance to win the title."

On the pitch, Sir Alex pulled Luis Nani out and brought on Darren Fletcher. He felt Manchester United need to strengthen their midfield, especially with Ryan going backward to Southampton's midfield, automatically Southampton had 5 players in midfield. This forced Manchester United fullbacks to rise to the midfield and help the other player, and this was put to good use by both Southampton wingers.

The match between Manchester United and Southampton was continued. With the entry of Darren Fletcher, Manchester United had better control of the ball. Manchester United's formation changed to 4-4-2, similar to Southampton. This makes Southampton players in midfield have to face 1 on 1 with Manchester United players. Moreover, unlike Southampton, the four Manchester United players are purely midfielders. On the Southampton side, Rustan and Kounde were more of a winger than midfielder.

The rhythm of the game is firmly held by Manchester United. Southampton, who was aggressive at the start of the second half is now starting to calm down. The difference in the quality of players between the two teams is starting to show up. The cooperation of the Manchester United players made the Southampton defense feel the threat again. Southampton was forced to keep playing down their defense. They began to retreat and form a defensive line in front of the penalty box. Kazuki and Ryan also helped Southampton defend.

In the 66th minute, Manchester United got a chance. It was preceded by a clever movement from Paul Scholes who managed to pass Rudolf. After that, the Manchester United midfielder brought the ball to the front of the penalty box. He gave the ball to Ron. Hilton followed Ron, but the Manchester United striker made a back-pass and gave Scholes the ball back. After that, Paul Scholes kicked the ball from outside the penalty box. His shot was inaccurate, so the ball went off the field.

In addition, besides shooting from outside of the penalty box, Manchester United also tried to cross the ball several times. Fortunately, Manchester United players crossing were not accurate, so Hilton and Okhalo could easily clear the ball off the field. In terms of defense, a thick wall was built by two Manchester United defensive midfielders, Park Ji Sung and Darren Fletcher. Both players managed to block attack after attack that Southampton tried to do.

Entering the 75th minute, Manchester United began to slow down the rhythm of the game, they did not try to score goals but continued to possess the ball with short passes between players.

Southampton had started to relax their pressing, thus making Manchester United more comfortable to possess the ball. Manchester United fans couldn't wait for Manchester United to score their fourth goal. However, 3 goals were too risky because Southampton could equalize at any moment.

On the other hand, Liverpool fans feel uneasy seeing Southampton playing too passively. They want to see Southampton score immediately. If Southampton played too passively, it would be very difficult for them to score the third goal.

In the 83rd minute, Valencia stepped up to help the attack. He received a short pass from Darren Fletcher. Ryan rushed to the side and put pressure on Valencia. The Manchester United right-back pushed the ball straight forward and accelerated his run. Kounde who helped Southampton defend, immediately made a tackle to bring down Valencia. Tackle Kounde missed the ball but dropped Valencia, so the referee gave him a yellow card.

Paul Scholes took the free-kick quickly. He gave the ball to the right side of the Southampton defense. On the right, Carrick managed to get the ball. But Vicente was standing in front of him, ready to intercept Carrick. Evra went up and helped Carrick to create a 2 vs 1 situation. Evra managed to break through Vicente's defense. The Southampton right-back ran after Evra and then stuck his foot out to block Evra's cross.

However, Evra did a trick, he pulled the ball back and gave the ball back to Carrick. Meanwhile, Vicente fell due to gravity. Carrick provided a short pass to Welbeck. Welbeck who stabbed into the penalty box immediately took the ball, then he gave a directed kick to the right side of the goalpost. The ball bounced in front of the goalmouth.

Ron came and gave a kick. Just when everyone hoped he was going to score, Ron's shot was gone over the post. Even Sir Alex was seen patting his forehead, he did not expect Ron to make such a mistake that Manchester United could take advantage of this opportunity to score the fourth goal. Luckily, Manchester United was still ahead, so Sir Alex wasn't too angry with Ron's mistakes.

On Southampton's side, Dean Smith shouted angrily. He asked his teammates to take Manchester United's players seriously. Simone as captain gave words of encouragement. Time went on, even though Manchester United could not score the fourth goal, the fans began to calm down because Southampton's chances of scoring were getting less and less. Meanwhile, Liverpool fans felt their heart beat fast as the game entered injury time.

The refereeing official gave 4 minutes of added time. That time is still enough for Southampton to be able to break into Manchester United's goalpost. However, Sir Alex also knew this very well. He entered a center-back to replace Welbeck who began to run out of stamina.

In the 92nd minute, Dean Smith managed to catch Park Ji Sung's long-range shot. He threw the ball forward. Southampton started to move in unison. The Saint's formation went up, so they could control the ball in the Manchester United defense area well. Manchester United is trying hard to keep the pressure on Southampton players to get them to make a passing mistake.

Entering the 93rd minute, Manchester United put pressure on Southampton, who were in control of the ball. However, at that time, Darren Fletcher failed to get the ball from Simone, so the Southampton player managed to send a pass forward.

"This will probably be Southampton's final attack, with less than a minute left in the game. Oh, Southampton, still alive here."

Ryan received the ball, he was surrounded by Manchester United players in front of the penalty box. He pulled the ball and spun around, his shirt being pulled by one of the Manchester United defenders, so he fell, but he still managed to give a pass to Kazuki.

"Ryan gets the ball, he passes it to Kazuki," Jim Kaglin's voice was quivering, obviously he was nervous about whether Southampton's attack would succeed or not.

Kazuki dribbled the ball forward, Rio Fernand stuck out his foot to hold the ball, but Kazuki flicked the ball and changed the direction of the ball, after that he kicked the ball firmly with his right foot. The ball slid into the left side of the goal sharply. Edwin Van Der Sar failed to react, at that moment the roar of the crowd in the stadium seemed to shake St Marry's Stadium.

"Kazuki! Goaaaaallll!! I swear you'll never see something like this happen again!" In the Sky Sports studio, Jim Kaglin, Andy Cole, and Carragher stood in shock at the goal. Carragher looked very happy while Andy Cole looked still stunned as if he couldn't believe what had just happened.

The time remaining is too short, it is difficult for Manchester United to score again. With that, Liverpool will certainly win the 2011/2012 Premier League championship with a goal difference advantage of 10 from Manchester United.