September 20, 2009, 13:30 pm.

Manchester Old Trafford Stadium.

Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster, wearing a yellow jersey, stood in front of the goal line, looked up at the sky with great devout reverence, reached out to gesture on his forehead and chest, and prayed rumblingly.

He is twenty-five years old.

He debuted in Stoke City, but never played for Stoke City for even one minute. During those three years, he was loaned to five teams and wandered almost every six months until 2005 when he was loaned to Wrexham in Wales.

In Wrexham, he met someone who completely changed his life.

His teammate, the son of Manchester United coach Ferguson, Darren Ferguson.

He will never forget that night at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales four years ago.

It was one of the few games Ben Foster played for Wrexham, and he was in very good shape in that game, and made many wonderful saves, helping Wrexham defeat his opponent 2-0 and successfully won the championship.

After the game, Ferguson came to the locker room in person to visit his son Darren, but also met Ben Foster.

Three months later, Manchester United bought Ben Foster from Stoke City for £2 million.

But it is not easy to gain a foothold in the Red Devils. Ben Foster was loaned to Watford after joining.

In his first season, as the main goalkeeper, he helped Watford successfully advance to the Super League and stood firm in the main force. He performed well. In the summer of 2006, he was unexpectedly selected into the roster of England and Germany World Cup, which made Ben Foster famous.

After returning from the World Cup, Ben Foster continued to play for Watford, further improving his strength. With his wonderful performance, he was selected into the national team many times and even became a national team goalkeeper for a while. After the season, he naturally ended his external training and returned to Old Trafford, officially starting his new journey of replacing Van der Sar.

But the two years at Manchester United were undoubtedly lonely.

Van der Sar, who is still strong, firmly controls the position of Manchester United's main goalkeeper. The fierce competition has left Ben Foster with few opportunities. In two years, he has only received only three league games. This is undoubtedly a very painful thing for a goalkeeper who urgently needs competition experience.

But the most terrifying thing is not this, but the long-term lack of competition has caused him to lose that keen reaction. He stayed away from the field for a long time, making it impossible for him to skillfully adjust his situation.

Many people simply cannot understand that as a goalkeeper, especially Manchester United goalkeeper, he stands alone in front of the goal most of the game, especially in the cold season, his whole body seems to be stiff, but when the opponent enters the half, he must react as soon as possible.

These two extreme states are a huge test for any goalkeeper. Only experienced goalkeepers know how to adjust themselves in the game, keep themselves in their best condition anytime, anywhere, and deal with the opponent's sudden blow.

In early March, Ben Foster performed well in the League Cup and saved a penalty from Tottenham Hotspur players in the final penalty, eventually helping Manchester United win the League Cup.

After the game, Ferguson personally led the contract renewal with Ben Foster, increasing his weekly salary to 25,000 pounds, and appointed him as Van der Sar's successor, giving him a decade-long future.

In early August, Manchester United was invited to participate in the Audi Cup, but in the final, Bayern Munich midfielder Vidal's powerful shot injured Van der Sar's left hand, causing a fracture of his left hand finger, and had to undergo surgery and suspended for at least two months.

This is undoubtedly great news for Ben Foster, and it can be said to be a god-given opportunity.

You know, Van der Sar is already 38 years old. Although he is in good condition, as long as Ben Foster can show his strength to replace the Dutch goalkeeper in these two months, it will be a natural thing to replace Van der Sar and hold the throne of Manchester United's main goalkeeper.

But I don’t know if it was because of this, but he added some pressure to himself.

During Van der Sar's injury, Fortes secured the position of Manchester United's main goalkeeper, played five league games this season and conceded three goals. The data is not ugly, but Foster has made three fatal mistakes in total, which has led to his doubts from the outside world this season. Many people believe that his strength does not meet Manchester United's requirements.

You know, the one who compares him is Edwin Van der Sar!

That was a nearly legendary figure in European football!

Foster thinks this comparison is unfair to him, but he still tries hard to prove himself. He wants to prove it to everyone. He, Ben Foster is worthy of the position of Manchester United's main goalkeeper.

He performed well before playing against Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. I hope that this match against Manchester City can continue this good momentum.

…………

…………

"Okay, the game begins!"

Giggs, wearing the captain's armband on the field, clapped his hands hard and called on his teammates around him.

With the team captain Gary Neville absent due to injury, Vice Captain Giggs served as the team's captain, responsible for directing teammates on the court to play.

"Be careful, they are attacking."

With the whistle of the game, Manchester City, who played away, took the lead and pushed forward, showing the momentum of suppressing Manchester United from the beginning, making Manchester United seem to be facing a big opponent in the midfield and backcourt.

But the game just started. As soon as Manchester City's first wave of offense passed halfway, Manchester United cut the ball and passed it back to the defense line, with Ferdinand taking the ball.

Manchester City's trident was pressing tightly in the frontcourt and rushed towards Manchester United's defense, especially Benzema, who rushed directly to Ferdinand who was holding the ball, and the speed was still very fast.

Ferdinand felt the threat, turned around to protect the ball, and passed the ball back to the penalty area to goalkeeper Foster.

But unexpectedly, Benzema's speed did not decrease, and he flew directly past Ferdinand and chased the ball.

What's even more terrible is that Ferdinand's pass was a little weak, which caused Foster to be shocked and decisively abandoned the goal and took the lead in clearing the ball. However, Benzema still rushed forward and wanted to use his body to block Foster's ball path.

Only a bang was heard, the ball hit Benzema's back hard and bounced towards the goal.

The entire Old Trafford Stadium screamed, only to see Benzema chasing the ball quickly, but Foster was so shocked that he almost lost his soul. He quickly took a step faster, kicked the ball out of the boundary, Manchester City's out-of-bounds ball.

After dealing with this, Foster felt a chill on his back and his whole heart was about to jump out of his voice.

But there was a huge booing sound in the stands at Old Trafford Stadium, and many fans were booing Foster.

This made Ben Foster, who was on the court, feel very depressed. When he looked at Ferdinand again, the boss in the locker room in the team still looked indifferent, as if the ball just now had nothing to do with him.

But it was obvious that his passer was weaker, which led to Foster's passiveness, so why did it become a goalkeeper's problem?

"Everyone is focused, they are here again!"

Manchester City quickly sent out an out-of-bounds ball. Sanchez ran to the right and received the ball, and passed it to the penalty area. Benzema blocked Pepe with his body in the penalty area. After agility stopped the ball, he turned around and shot directly.

Foster was shocked and flew over and hugged the ball under him.

Fortunately, Benzema was disturbed by Pepe and the ball failed to hit the ball. Otherwise, Foster would not have been able to save, which made Manchester United goalkeeper secretly sweat.

After getting up from the ground, Foster looked up and saw that the Manchester City players did not retreat significantly, but were still pressing against Manchester United, with signs of taking advantage of the start and eating Manchester United in one bite.

In one minute, a shot and an out-of-bounds ball, Manchester City's offensive became more and more sharp.

Foster's powerful goal goal directly sent the ball to Manchester City's half. Xavi Martinez headed the ball to Zabaleta, who stabbed the ball to Xavi Alonso before Rooney.

Manchester United began to put pressure on Manchester City's midfield and backcourt. After Xavi Alonso got the ball, he had another big foot and sent the ball directly to the frontcourt and landed on the left side of Manchester United's penalty area.

Benzema and Ferdinand started at the same time and chased the ball.

Ben Foster also decisively abandoned the goal and attacked. He was closer to the goal than others, and the ball seemed to be under his control. So Ferdinand did not catch up, but slowed down. Only Manchester City's Benzema continued to put pressure on the goalkeeper.

It can be seen that putting pressure on the goalkeeper is also one of the tasks assigned by the head coach.

But just when everyone thought Foster would get the ball, they didn't expect that Manchester United goalkeeper made a mistake in his judgment.

He wanted to stand in the penalty area and wait for the ball to roll in, and then bend down to pick up the ball, but unexpectedly, the ball was sticking to the white line in the penalty area and heading to the left and did not enter the penalty area.

According to the rules, once the goalkeeper leaves the penalty area, he cannot use his hands anymore.

This surprised Ben Foster, and in a hurry, changed his mind and decided to use his feet.

But at the moment when he changed his mind, the ball came to him, but Benzema, who suddenly accelerated, also arrived.

The Old Trafford Stadium screamed again, and everyone shouted loudly in disbelief.

Ben Foster himself was also startled and quickly hooked the ball, but Benzema's reaction was faster than him, and he repeatedly intercepted the ball, stabbing the ball before Foster kicked the ball.

The sudden change shocked the entire Old Trafford Stadium. Ferdinand rushed towards Benzema at the first time and blocked between Benzema and the goal. However, the Frenchman threw away Foster and caught up with the ball. He did not choose to shoot by himself, but passed the ball to the middle.

I saw Cristiano Ronaldo break into the penalty area like a flash of lightning from the top of the arc, and easily pushed the empty goal and scored.

"goallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!"

"Just just two minutes into the game, just two minutes, Manchester City took the lead in breaking Manchester United's goal!"

"Goal from Cristiano Ronaldo!"

"This is also his seventh goal this season."

"Oh my God, Manchester City made a fierce attack after the opening game, and Manchester United made two major mistakes in a row."

"Goalkeeper Foster and central defender Ferdinand don't seem to be in shape in this game. There was a return pass just now, which almost made Benzema threaten, but unexpectedly it's coming again."

"It should be said that this is also a major drawback for Manchester United, especially the central defender and goalkeeper."

"Van der Sar's absence has a great impact on the Red Devils and Manchester United. Now it seems that Ben Foster, who was teased by fans as a butterfly player, has no ability to defend Manchester United's goal, and Ferdinand's condition has been worrying this season."
Chapter completed!