Gary Neville: "Once again, it's De Bruyne organizing the attack from deep, delivering a brilliant over-the-top long pass from midfield, aiming for Sterling making a rapid diagonal run down the left flank!"
Jamie Carragher: "Wan-Bissaka steps up!"
Gary Neville: "Fails to complete the one-on-one tackle! Sterling forces his way through the gap!"
Raheem Sterling once again showcased his highly effective, if somewhat comical, "dinosaur run," sticking out his perky buttocks and puffing his chest as he gradually left the usually defensively impenetrable Aaron Wan-Bissaka trailing behind.
In the global sprinting world, there's a widely circulated, half-joking saying: On the track, there are only two types of people: Jamaicans, and everyone else.
And Sterling was born in Kingston, the capital of Jamaica.
Although his running posture is peculiar and often mocked, his explosive speed remains entirely unaffected.
Sterling glanced quickly at his nearby teammates arriving in the box, a bold idea forming in his mind.
Without a moment's hesitation, he decisively drove the ball straight into the penalty area, rather than crossing early.
David Luiz, with his wealth of defensive experience, lowered his center of gravity slightly and jockeyed, blocking the direct shooting angle toward the far post.
But Sterling had no intention of shooting at all.
In last season's Premier League matches, Sterling completed 23 successful dribbles inside the opponent's penalty area, ranking first in the entire league.
Right behind him was Ling (21 times).
While this certainly reflects the aggressive, possession-based tactical approaches of both teams, it also highlights Sterling's immense, often underrated close-control abilities.
A sudden flick of the buttocks, a rapid change of direction to the right!
David Luiz instinctively stretched out his long leg to tackle the ball, but the next split second, he desperately tried to pull it back, realizing he was beaten.
Unfortunately, his momentum was already committed, and it was too late.
Sterling twisted his nimble body to the extreme, relying on his formidable core strength to violently change direction once more, dragging the ball back.
The ball rolled leisurely toward the left side of the penalty area.
Sterling's trailing leg caught David Luiz's extended, retracting foot, and the winger tumbled heavily to the turf.
BEEP!!!
The referee blew his whistle loudly and immediately pointed firmly to the penalty spot.
That piercing whistle sounded like the most beautiful music in the world to the traveling Manchester City fans in the away end.
Gary Neville: "Penalty?! Surely not a penalty!"
Jamie Carragher: "Penalty! Clear as day!"
Neville and Carragher's tones were completely different, their moods worlds apart in the gantry!
"If Sterling didn't intentionally initiate contact and go looking for David Luiz's foot there, I will eat this commentary table right here, right now live on Sky Sports!" Neville passionately questioned the decision.
Carragher simply smiled a smug Scouse smile and said calmly, "Gary, did David Luiz make contact with Sterling in the penalty area?"
"With that minimal kind of force, could it really trip a professional athlete?! My ninety-year-old grandmother wouldn't even fall over from that!" Neville glared angrily at Carragher, scolding,
"And David Luiz clearly tried to pull his foot back! Sterling could clearly have broken through cleanly from the left, but he still actively dragged his leg to go for Luiz's foot! It's a blatant dive initiated by the attacker!"
Carragher still replied smoothly with just one simple sentence.
"But did David Luiz make contact with Sterling?"
Neville: "..."
No matter how much the former United captain protested into his microphone, he could only rage helplessly.
After all, Carragher was stating a technical fact according to the rulebook, and nothing Neville said could change the referee's on-field decision.
...
Down on the pitch, the Manchester United players fiercely surrounded the referee, pleading their case, hoping he would reconsider or consult his linesman.
But the reality was harsh.
Moreover, the referee for this match was Martin Atkinson, who famously has his own unique, highly stubborn "Atkinson Formula" when it comes to penalty and offside decisions.
The "Scourge of Heaven," as some fans called him, shook his finger sternly at the protesting red shirts.
"Gentlemen, step back. If there were VAR in the Premier League right now, you wouldn't have any technical objections. I had a clear view. So I firmly believe in my decision. Penalty."
Ling pushed his way through the crowd and physically stopped his angry teammates from continuing their protests to avoid yellow cards.
"Enough. Let it go," Ling commanded.
Since the outcome was already set in stone, there was absolutely no point in struggling further and losing focus.
Focusing on playing well for the rest of the match was much more important than a lost argument.
David Luiz rubbed his curly head, saying guiltily to his captain, "I shouldn't have tried to pull my foot back halfway, skip. I should have just gone down fully for a slide tackle and cleared the ball and the man outright."
"Don't let the mistake hold you back mentally, David. Be bold and make your defensive moves. It was clever from him," Ling maturely comforted his much older teammate.
After speaking, he looked towards De Gea on his goal line.
"David, don't let the pressure get to you here. If you can't save it, just treat it as if the match has just kicked off again at 0-0."
"Don't worry!" De Gea clapped his gloved hands together, appearing full of icy Spanish confidence.
BEEP!!!
After the referee blew the whistle, Sergio Aguero took his short, sharp run-up and shot!
He aimed perfectly for the absolute top left corner, side-footing it with immense power.
Although De Gea guessed the direction correctly and launched himself flawlessly, the shot was simply too well-placed and powerfully struck to reach.
The ball ultimately crashed into the back of the net.
1-1!
Under Manchester United's high-intensity pressing, Manchester City had gradually, stubbornly regained their possession rhythm, orchestrating several highly threatening attacks.
And Sterling, using a clever, "dark arts" method, had helped Manchester City win a crucial penalty to level the tie.
As for whether this method strictly aligns with moral sporting standards?
In truth, it depends entirely on one's perspective and which color jersey you wear.
"It's fine, it's fine! Heads up!" Ling shouted, clapping his hands to his teammates as they walked back to the center circle.
"Remember, the pressing intensity from the midfield and forward line absolutely must not drop. Manchester City's attacking players are all quite good at dribbling in tight spaces. If you can't cleanly stop them, don't hesitate to commit a smart tactical foul higher up the pitch—don't let them easily enter dangerous areas like the box again."
The Manchester United players nodded in unified understanding, their faces showing little sign of lasting frustration.
After all, having weathered many tactical storms under Mourinho this season, their mental fortitude remained incredibly strong; conceding one penalty goal wouldn't shatter their collective morale.
Of course, being humiliatingly dribbled past in a solo run from midfield would be a different story entirely.
Observing Manchester United's surprisingly harmonious and positive team atmosphere after conceding, De Bruyne's eyes revealed a trace of genuine worry as he walked back.
Every time City scored against Manchester United in recent derbies, they never seemed to achieve the expected psychological effect.
This effect referred to destroying the opponent's morale.
To draw a boxing analogy: Manchester United under Ling and Mourinho were like an unyielding heavyweight boxer, seemingly on the absolute verge of physical collapse against the ropes, taking heavy blows, yet stubbornly refusing to fall.
And compared to pure tactics and player skill, this sheer mental resilience was the most frightening aspect for an opponent.
'I can sense their midfield and forward line are nearing their limit,' De Bruyne thought to himself, calculating.
'If we can raise the tempo of our possession play a bit more right now, we might just break them completely before half-time.'
De Bruyne refused to believe their system wouldn't eventually work.
Despite his outwardly easygoing demeanor, deep down he was incredibly stubborn and fiercely competitive.
As a child, he was looked down upon by his host family and some academy teammates for his quiet nature.
Then he became a superstar for Genk.
Growing up, Chelsea bought him, but Mourinho (ironically) first loaned him to Werder Bremen.
Finally, thinking he could return to Chelsea and look toward a bright future, he was instead unceremoniously sold by Chelsea to Wolfsburg after barely playing.
For him, this felt like total abandonment.
In the end, he fueled that rejection to lead Wolfsburg into the Champions League and became the Bundesliga's undisputed best player that season, forcing City to pay a massive fee for him.
If not for that burning stubborn streak, he certainly wouldn't have come this far, nor would he have become one of world football's top midfielders.
In less than two seasons, how many times had this incredible Manchester City team lost to Manchester United?
He couldn't remember exactly and didn't want to remember.
He only wanted to wash away the derby humiliation with a definitive victory today and prove himself by lifting the League Title over them.
"Each of us is getting physically stronger into the game. We can't keep losing to Manchester United, right?" David Silva added with a tight smile to his midfield partner.
"Also, Kevin... I really can't play much longer at this level. I hope to leave City without any regrets. For my sake, everyone, give it a little more intensity!"
The players of both teams took their intense positions on either side of the green pitch.
At the referee's whistle, the formations once again surged and violently clashed together.
Pressing, immense pressure, crunching physical battles... these became the brutal main themes of the match.
In the 34th minute of the first half.
Ling received the ball with his back to goal in the attacking third, firmly held off by the massive frame of Vincent Kompany, with absolutely no space to turn and face the goal.
So he laid it off with one touch, setting up Pogba perfectly for a running shot.
Pogba took a massive, swinging long-range shot from outside the penalty area!
Unfortunately, he couldn't keep his body over the ball to keep it down.
The ball sailed harmlessly over the crossbar and flew high toward the jeering City fans in the away stands.
It was Manchester City's turn to attack, still stubbornly focusing on possession-based buildup play from Ederson.
De Bruyne wasn't confined strictly to the wing or the center, instead, he roamed freely, trying to disrupt Manchester United's targeted pressing scheme by dragging Kante out of position.
As for the wide defensive positions, Kyle Walker aggressively filled in the space De Bruyne vacated.
--
The Goalkeeper fic has been posted, go read it!