First Trophy
"Congratulations to Manchester City, celebrate this joyfully because it's the only trophy you'll win this season," Mourinho said at the post-match press conference after the League Cup final.
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Kenneth held the medal hanging around his neck.
"My first medal," Kenneth murmured. The League Cup became the first senior trophy Kenneth experienced.
Although it wasn't a highly prestigious trophy, Kenneth valued it deeply. He had contributed significantly to Manchester City in this season's League Cup and felt a sense of accomplishment.
Kenneth's restrained smile soon turned into a bright one as he walked onto the podium with the other players. Blue and white confetti rained down from above, filling the air with the colors of Manchester City. Vincent Kompany, standing proudly at the front, grabbed the gleaming silver trophy, holding it high with both hands. The roar from the fans was deafening, their cheers echoing across Wembley.
"Come on, Kenneth!" Kompany called, waving him forward. "This one's for everyone!"
Kenneth stepped forward hesitantly, overwhelmed by the moment. As Kompany handed him the trophy, the weight of it surprised him, but he gripped it tightly and raised it high.
"Feels good, doesn't it?" David Silva said with a grin, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Better than I imagined," Kenneth replied, unable to stop smiling as his teammates cheered around him.
"You earned it, mate," Joe Hart said. "Big performances throughout. Don't forget this feeling—it's what we work for."
The players passed the trophy around, taking turns lifting it for the cameras. When it circled back to Kompany, he gestured for everyone to gather behind him.
"Group photo, lads! Make it count!" he shouted.
Kenneth joined his teammates, squeezing in between Silva and Navas. They raised their arms and yelled as the photographers snapped away. The iconic image of the entire team united with the trophy would soon be etched into club history.
After the photos, the celebration spilled onto the pitch. The players formed a circle and began dancing to "Blue Moon," which blasted from the stadium speakers. Champagne bottles appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and the players started spraying each other with reckless joy.
"Kenneth, watch out!" Fernandinho shouted, laughing as he dumped an entire bottle of champagne over Kenneth's head.
Kenneth sputtered but laughed along. "Alright, who's next? You're getting soaked!" he shouted, grabbing another bottle and chasing after Navas, who tried to escape but failed.
"You're faster than I thought!" Navas said, laughing as he surrendered to the spray.
As the celebrations wound down, Kenneth and Silva sat on the grass near the edge of the pitch, catching their breath.
"First of many, you know," Silva said, tossing a water bottle to Kenneth.
"That's the plan," Kenneth replied, gazing at the fans still singing in the stands. "Feels like we can win anything together."
"We can," Silva said confidently. "Stick with us, and you'll lift plenty more of those trophies."
Kenneth smiled, the excitement of the night fueling his ambition. For now, he would cherish the moment, but he knew this was only the beginning.
After about an hour, City packed up and left Wembley. The season was still long, so there was no need for excessive celebration.
The Manchester City bus departed from Wembley around 4:00 PM and arrived in Manchester an hour later.
Kenneth went home and relaxed. In the final match earlier, he received a rating of 8.5 from the system and gained 2 attribute points. The system's Man of the Match was Joe Hart for his contributions in keeping Manchester City's goal secure.
This time, Kenneth improved his acceleration and dribbling attributes.
However, the real reward for winning the trophy wasn't attribute points.
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[Congratulations on winning the League Cup]
[You may choose one of the three skills below as your reward]
[(Bronze) Roulette]
[Increases familiarity with the roulette skill by 20%]
[(Bronze) Long Shot]
[Increases long-shot success by 15%]
[(Bronze) Super Sub]
[Increases all attributes by 5% when entering a match as a substitute]
Bronze Roulette wouldn't significantly enhance his ability to perform the roulette skill. The truly valuable one was Golden Roulette, which would provide 100% familiarity with the skill, allowing him to use it naturally like Zinedine Zidane.
Among the other two skills, Kenneth was quite torn. He frequently attempted long shots, so that skill sounded useful. However, Super Sub was also appealing, given that he often came on as a substitute.
In the end, Kenneth chose Bronze Long Shot due to his desire to score goals.
If he managed to win the Premier League, perhaps silver-tier skills would become available for him to choose.
Winning the Champions League, the Euros, or the World Cup would undoubtedly grant him golden-tier skills.
After selecting his skill, Kenneth spent his time playing games. A few hours later, he had dinner and studied until 10:00 PM. Then Kenneth went to bed.
While other clubs participated in the FA Cup on March 8th and 9th, Manchester City, having already been eliminated, played their rescheduled match against Leicester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Kenneth Lee, diagnosed with fatigue by the senior team's physiotherapist, was rested by Pellegrini.
In that match, Manchester City won 2-0 with goals from Silva and Milner.
Meanwhile, Arsenal defeated Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-finals. Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers drew, requiring a replay to determine who advanced. Similarly, Bradford vs. Reading ended 0-0. In another game, Aston Villa beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0.
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After his contract with Monaco expired on May 20, 2014, Ranieri tried his luck as the manager of the Greece national team. However, he found that managing a national team was very different from managing a club.
With the national team, he didn't know the players and didn't have much time to get to know them. There was no extended training period for the players to adapt to his tactics.
As a result, he made several tactical changes and lineup adjustments for each match. Ranieri was sacked after losing to the Faroe Islands on November 15, 2014.
Since then, he had been unemployed, knowing he needed to wait until the next summer to find a new club.
Now, March had arrived, and most clubs had already assessed their current managers. Whether they would make changes in the summer or stick with their current managers, most clubs had made their decisions. One such club was Leicester.
Leicester City's board was dissatisfied with their team's performance under Nigel Pearson. They had been searching for a new manager for the next season, and Ranieri was one of the candidates.
Despite his embarrassing failure in Greece, Ranieri's managerial track record wasn't entirely poor.
After receiving a call from Leicester, Ranieri, determined not to fail again, began preparing his homework before taking over Leicester.
He analyzed Leicester, its players, their strengths and weaknesses. What tactical system would suit the team? What kind of players needed to be signed?
These were some of the questions he needed to answer.
To ensure success at Leicester, Ranieri considered bringing in quality players. He knew Leicester couldn't buy superstars but believed they could secure loan deals.
Kenneth Lee of Manchester City had become one of the players Ranieri observed. Young, needing playing time, yet part of a City squad full of great players—and Leicester was not a rival to Manchester City. He seemed like a perfect candidate.
Unfortunately, Kenneth didn't play in the match between Manchester City and Leicester at the Etihad. However, Ranieri noticed him on the bench again when City faced Burnley.
This season, Burnley, managed by Sean Dyche, was solid defensively but struggled in attack. They had occasionally troubled big teams but also drawn several games against smaller teams.
As the match began, Kenneth's concerns came true. Manchester City dominated possession but struggled to create chances.
In this match, Pellegrini deployed David Silva and Navas on the left and right flanks, with Edin Dzeko and Aguero as strikers. However, Burnley's tight defense forced the strikers to drop deeper to help maintain possession.
Edin Dzeko, less adept at ball control, was often targeted by Burnley's pressing. As a result, he lost the ball several times, enabling Burnley to launch counterattacks.
The first half ended without any threatening opportunities from either side.
At the start of the second half, Pellegrini replaced Edin Dzeko with Kenneth Lee. Once again, he hoped the combination of Kenneth Lee, David Silva, and Aguero would help City secure a win.