In the 49th minute of the second half, Gao Nuo once again faced the goalkeeper one-on-one.
He looked up at the goalkeeper's position, then with his left foot, Gao Nuo pushed the ball to the left, accelerated, swung his leg, and chipped the ball with the inside of his left foot.
The ball arced, spinning towards the top left corner of the goal. Masterney dived, but couldn't touch the ball, and it went in.
Gao Nuo scored, Manchester United U21 3:1 trial team.
"Ah----!" Gao Nuo, having scored, roared to the sky and high-fived his teammates who rushed over to celebrate.
.........
In the next 10 minutes, Gao Nuo created two more chances on the right wing.
One was a pure speed play, beating the full-back and sending in a cross, but the cross quality was mediocre and was intercepted by the goalkeeper.
The other was a successful offside trap, diagonally cutting into the penalty area, but his first touch sent the ball ten meters away, effectively passing it to himself five seconds later, and it was easily collected by the goalkeeper.
Manchester United U21 had to tighten their defense and didn't create any high-quality attacks.
In the 60th minute of the match, Gao Nuo and Wang Xiaochuan were substituted off.
Gao Nuo plopped down on the bench, breathing heavily. After 60 minutes of play, having burst forward countless times, his stamina was almost completely depleted.
"Not bad, kid, that goal was really beautiful, right into the top corner!" Wang Xiaochuan looked fine, patting Gao Nuo's head while drinking water.
"Just lucky, I probably couldn't do it again." Gao Nuo smiled brightly as he recalled that goal.
"Gao Nuo, we're going back to China tomorrow. With your performance, you should have been kept, right?"
"I don't know, my technique probably isn't up to standard. I hope I can stay. Captain, what are your plans when you go back to the football academy?"
"Several Chinese Super League clubs have already contacted me. I'll continue training when I go back and play in the Chinese Super League next year."
"I really want to fight alongside you. If I can't stay, I'll go with you."
"Get lost. Your physical talent is much better than mine. Technique can be practiced, and you're two years younger than me. Work hard and stay in Europe."
Looking at Wang Xiaochuan's sincere eyes, Gao Nuo felt a warmth in his heart and nodded heavily: "Understood, Captain!"
Wang Xiaochuan put his arm around Gao Nuo's neck, and both of them laughed, their smiles under the sun clean and charming.
.........
At 4:50 PM, the match ended. In the final thirty minutes, Elanga of Manchester United U21 scored twice, and the final score was Manchester United U21 5:1 Manchester United trial team.
After the post-match summary, the coach announced the end of the trial camp, and players could leave tomorrow.
These young men from various places began taking photos to commemorate and record this valuable experience.
Gao Nuo was called to Mike Allen's office. As soon as he sat down, Mike Allen went straight to the point: "Gao, I can offer you a professional contract. I'd like to hear your thoughts."
"Mr. Mike Allen, I'm willing to stay here." Gao Nuo was a little nervous.
"Then let's discuss the contract. Two years, 1200 Euros per week, 8000 Euros per goal bonus, 6000 Euros per week after 10 official matches, and 13,200 Euros per week after 20 official matches. Any questions?"
Mike Allen produced a very standard professional contract for the senior team.
"No questions." Gao Nuo didn't care about the money; the system's mission was to stay, so he readily agreed. With the system's help, Gao Nuo was full of confidence in his future.
Mike Allen frowned: "Your work permit will be difficult to sort out. How about we loan you to a satellite club?"
Gao Nuo quickly replied: "No need, Mr. Mike Allen, I have French nationality. I was born there."
Mike Allen was a bit surprised, "Oh? Really? My apologies, I didn't look closely at your file. Well, that makes it simple. Let's sign, and then we'll arrange an intensive English course for you."
Taking the contract and glancing over it, Gao Nuo readily signed his name. Bargaining? Not a chance. Being able to sign even the lowest-level contract was already a dream for so many people.
Mike Allen shook hands with Gao Nuo and then saw him out of the office, "Gao, congratulations. You'll start with the U21 team. If you have any problems, you can come to me. Work hard, kid."
"Thank you, Coach. Goodbye, Coach." Gao Nuo shyly bid farewell to Mike Allen and then quickly returned to the training hotel.
Gao Nuo immediately found Wang Xiaochuan to share the joy of signing the contract, made plans to celebrate with dinner that evening, and then returned to his room.
As soon as he entered the door, he heard his phone ringing on the bedside table. Gao Nuo looked at the caller ID, paused for a moment, and answered.
"Hello."
"Gao Nuo, your mother and I will be in Manchester tonight."
"Hmm."
"What, signed a small contract with Manchester United and you're already proud?"
"Wang Xiaochuan told you, didn't he?"
"Yes, Xiaochuan is a good boy, sensible."
"Why are you two coming here?"
"To take care of some things. We'll come find you tonight."
"Tomorrow, I have plans tonight."
"Alright then. You've grown up. Tomorrow we'll find you a place and buy some daily necessities."
"Okay, you two handle it."
"That's that, then."
The call ended.
.........
Gao Nuo's father is Gao Yuan, chairman of a medical equipment company. Gao Nuo's mother is Xu Meiling, a French-Chinese woman who is now a full-time housewife.
That's right, Gao Nuo is a rich second-generation, but he's been at odds with his father since he was little.
Gao Yuan met Xu Meiling while working in France. They fell in love, married, and had a child. When Gao Nuo was 3 years old, his parents decided to take him back to China, where they founded a medical equipment company that grew larger and larger.
The conflict between Gao Nuo and his father was simple: Gao Nuo, who loved football since childhood, did not receive his father's support.
At 11, Gao Nuo proposed going to France to pursue his football dream, but his father, Gao Yuan, waved his hand, "Don't even think about it. Go to France for what? You're Chinese!"
If Gao Yuan hadn't thought that French nationality would help his son with the college entrance exam, he would have long since changed him back to Chinese nationality.
Father and son were two peas in a pod, each more stubborn than the other. Thus, they had a big argument every three days and a small one every day, until Gao Nuo went to the football academy at 15, which finally eased the situation.
His mother, Xu Meiling, felt for her son but also supported her husband's decision, caught in a difficult position.
The cruelty of competitive sports is a problem every athlete, and even every family, must face. Pity the hearts of parents; imagine you have already created enough wealth, how could you bear to see your child get injured again and again?
.........
Putting down his phone, Gao Nuo certainly didn't forget to claim his reward from the system. The moment he signed the professional contract, the system prompted that the mission was complete, but there had been people around, so he had delayed until now.
"Mission 'Stay in Manchester' completed. Issuing mission rewards: one virtual stadium, 30 training cards, 10 stamina potions. host, please continue your efforts."
"Virtual stadium: A friendly match can be played once a week, which can help the host hone skills, accumulate experience, and maintain match fitness."
"Based on the host's performance in friendly matches, training cards and stamina potions will be rewarded. There is a very small chance of obtaining other items."
After hearing the system's introduction, the virtual stadium reward was like a game dungeon: enter the dungeon, get equipment.
Gao Nuo pondered for a moment and asked: "System, are there any new missions?"
"host, missions will be issued based on your attribute increases. Currently, your attributes are not sufficient to trigger a mission."
After hearing the system's reply, Gao Nuo was even more convinced of his idea, just like playing a game: clear dungeons to level up, then receive main quests.
.........