Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Ban Yeager's Indian Rain Ritual
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Ban Yeager once again lit up the scoreboard at Old Trafford.
For Man Utd fans, who had plummeted to League Two and lost their core players, he was practically their last remaining pride.
A worn-out, faded stadium.
A stadium that could no longer recreate its past glory and legends.
The masters of Old Trafford desperately chanted only one name: Ban Yeager.
Today, as always, Ye-rin was cheering for Ban Yeager.
Before the match, just like every time, she boldly predicted a hat-trick.
Was her near-prayer-like prediction finally coming true?
Ban Yeager scored just 2 minutes into the game.
Southampton, who had planned to control the game at a leisurely pace, suddenly found fire under their feet.
Current league standing: 6th place.
Top 2 get direct promotion to the EPL.
The remaining spot goes to a playoff between 3rd to 6th.
In other words, they had to hold onto 6th just to stay in the playoff race.
They were 1 point ahead of 7th-place Coventry City and 2 points ahead of 8th-place Bristol City.
A single loss could drop them to 8th.
Southampton desperately needed points.
86 minutes left in regular time.
It might seem odd to be happy about conceding early, but they could still catch up with a goal in the next 40 minutes of the first half and pull off a comeback win.
To that end, manager Simon Rusk took a gamble.
"Should we add another marker on Ban Yeager?"
"No, stick with Nathan Wood. I trust him—he's got the defensive chops to handle it."
Nathan Wood had been Ban Yeager's marker from kickoff.
Though caught off-guard while still shaking off rust, he was a top center-back with elite defending skills.
Simon Rusk, having analyzed Man Utd's recent games.
Ban Yeager's destructive attacking prowess was already infamous among Championship teams.
That's why after his debut against Leeds United, the next three opponents had marked him heavily—and lost.
Watching that, Simon Rusk—the fifth Championship manager to face Ban Yeager—made a different call.
"Putting two or more on Ban Yeager is amateur hour. It's all about manpower allocation."
Every team had obsessed over Ban Yeager and crumbled.
Even down a goal, Simon Rusk exuded strong confidence.
"We're taking down Manchester United today and holding 6th!!!"
Faith in his analysis and his players' individual talents.
The complacency that we're different.
It led Southampton to ruin.
The previous teams had indeed focused too much on marking Ban Yeager, fighting an uphill battle.
Confirming that, Simon Rusk assigned only his best 1-on-1 defender, Nathan Wood, achieving a true 11v11 matchup.
The first team to do so against Ban Yeager!!!...
But did the other teams fail because they didn't know better?
An even 11v11 meant someone had to beat Ban Yeager 1v1.
Multi-goal in 5 minutes.
By the end of the first half's 45 minutes, the match was already decided.
Manchester United 4 : 0 Southampton
Manchester United's second half restarted with a comfortable 4-0 lead.
Already half-convinced of victory, they rotated for the next match.
Full rotation of forwards and midfielders.
With Ban Yeager at CAM, Man Utd's setup demands high work rate from wingers and mids.
But winger options were Garnacho and Antony.
In non-blowouts like this quick win, no chance to use them—so they rushed out the high-wage benchwarmers.
And there was a reason Ban Yeager played full 90 every game.
Minimizing defensive involvement preserves stamina long-term.
Plus, fakes and physical battles minimized too.
Thus, a guaranteed no-overload, no-injury CAM slot.
As if to prove it, as the game wore on, Ban Yeager gained the stamina edge.
Only 10 minutes left.
Simon Rusk had his team drop deep right from second-half kickoff, focusing solely on stopping Ban Yeager like the others.
Ban Yeager shifted to feeding chances to open teammates instead of shooting himself.
At 80 minutes, score still 4-0.
'Ugh... Mount must be a fairy.'
Garnacho and Antony were truly something else.
Ban Yeager's current xA (expected assists): 2.8
He'd served up tap-ins, and they whiffed every one.
After four first-half goals, fans expecting more were disappointed.
Ban Ye's stream had shifted from match focus to roasting players and chit-chat.
Then at 85 minutes, Tyler Fletcher won a free kick.
Over 30 yards (about 27m) from goal.
Ban Ye-rin cheered, expecting Ban Yeager to score.
Her 10+th such prayer—viewers just laughed.
Undeterred, Ban Ye-rin chanted vigorously for a powerful shot.