First Win!

First Win!

"The score's been overturned! Sheffield United have turned the situation around and taken the lead! A goal from Gilbert! "Another assist from Maël! In this debut match, he's completed an astonishing assist Brace! With such sharp ability to break through and Cross, you can't help but ask—why did he only get used by Head Coach Kevin today?

"Let's get to know these two loan players from Arsenal all over again. After today, United Kingdom football will have two more young talents!"

The Sky Sports commentator gave the two of them extremely high praise. Cherishing and loving talent was a trait many football people possessed.

No one disliked youth and promise. No one disliked discovering wonderkids.

People were more than happy to follow these talented youngsters, to accompany them as they grew through their eyes, and experience the joy of nurturing them.

In the Corner Flag Area, the celebrating Sheffield United Team quickly arrived and surrounded the two goal heroes.

"You two brats actually handled this whole goal yourselves!"

Center Forward Evans shook his head and laughed, his face full of disbelief. "Who'd believe this is only your debut? Anyone who didn't know better would think you two were Sheffield United's main men!"

"A debut and being the main men don't conflict."

Janu Hans, who had followed over, spread his hands and excitedly high-fived the two of them in celebration. "Who said you can't turn the tide on your debut?"

Another midfielder, Quinn, felt rather ashamed of himself. After coming over, he mocked himself and said, "Us old guys have to step it up too, or these two little lucky stars are going to steal all the spotlight."

Maël and Gilbert were surrounded by praise and compliments. The two kept smiling, feeling as if they were the center of the world at that moment.

This was not cringey. The heroic sense of glory brought by scoring was unique.

Football was not only about goals. When many high-level teams and players clashed, the battles of Tactics and Techniques, physical confrontations, and so on were all highly enjoyable and full of talking points.

But no one could deny that the final result—a goal—was the best way to ignite passion! "Keep going! Keep going!"

In the South Stand area, the Sheffield United fans waved their hands, their emotions already at their peak.

They shouted the names of Maël and Gilbert while cheering the team on.

"We still want more goals! We want our first win of the season!"

"Boys, come on, defend the honor of the 'Blades'!"

"The future of these two lads definitely won't be limited to the Championship. I said what I said!"

"Maël is impressive, and Gilbert seems to have his own strengths and traits too. They both have real spark!"

"After today, their value is definitely going to skyrocket!"

"."

They had traveled a long way to this distant Away ground, and their greatest hope was that the team could claim a brilliant victory.

For that, they were willing to give everything they could—time, energy, passion, encouragement, and more.

Now that they saw the team finally had hope of taking their first win of the season, how could they not be excited? After this goal, the match restarted.

In the sixty-eighth minute, Maël gradually began to feel overwhelmed. His body was nearly at its limit.

"Beep, beep!"

The coaching staff quickly noticed this. Two minutes later, they brought on the team's original starting winger, Mark Yates, replacing Maël.

He was a twenty-seven-year-old winger, right in his prime, and his place in the team had originally been unshakable.

If Maël's performance today was bad news for anyone in the Sheffield United squad, it could only be Mark Yates.

He had also been one of the few people who had not gotten up to celebrate the two goals just now.

"Good luck."

Maël felt at ease as he left the pitch and offered Mark Yates a word of encouragement.

He was not afraid of competition. He could even be said to like it. Humans were strange creatures—if life became too comfortable, they would instead lose the drive to climb upward.

"Mm."

Mark Yates nodded perfunctorily, his expression not looking too good. After touching the Grass, he charged onto the pitch.

Maël walked off the field and soon noticed someone handing him a sports drink and a dry towel. He thanked the person and took them, then turned his head and realized it was Mr. Gareth Speed.

It was rare for a first assistant coach to do such odd jobs. If one of them took the initiative to do it, there might only be one answer: appreciation!

"Many players' training performances get greatly discounted once they're on the pitch."

Gareth Speed took the initiative to start the conversation, not hiding in the slightest his fondness for and confidence in Maël. "But you don't. You're very composed. You didn't become timid just because the environment was different.

"You could say that however you are in training, that's how you are in a match. That's very rare and valuable, especially when it appears in a young player.

"The coaching staff underestimated you. So did everyone else. Even you yourself may not have realized it.

"The ability you possess now is enough for you to compete for the starting Left Winger position in any Championship team!"

He smiled and stretched out his right hand, making the motion before a high-five. "Maël, well done! I'm very glad I believed Joelson back then, or I would've suffered a huge loss!"

"Thank you."

Maël smiled brightly, thanked him for the praise, and stretched out his right hand to high-five him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the team's Head Coach, Kevin. The other man did not seem to have any intention of coming over, as if he did not care about him? Could it be... his appearance on the pitch might have been Gareth Speed's idea.

"Joelson told me your greatest trait is your Long Shot."

Gareth Speed actually wasn't much of a talker, but when he ran into a talented young player like Maël, he couldn't help acting a little out of character. "But today, you used an ability his report said you weren't good at to help the team."

"So that means you must still have some untapped potential?"

"Of course."

Maël raised an eyebrow and started joking again. "I'll be all-around in the end."

He picked up a towel, wiped off his sweat, took a few sips of water, then sat back down on the bench with Gareth Speed to rest.

"Oh!" Not long after they sat down, a burst of cheers suddenly erupted from the South Stand.

Sheffield United midfielder Janu Hans had lashed a low shot from the edge of the penalty area, piercing Cardiff City's goal! Three-one!

Victory sealed!

The Sheffield United players in red-and-white striped shirts all sprinted at full speed toward the left corner flag to celebrate, cutting past several Cardiff City players with blank expressions, celebrating both the goal and the win.

"Great job!"

Gareth Speed stood up and clapped his hands. The first three points of the new season were in the bag.

"So cool."

Maël sighed beside him, then said with longing, "If I get the chance next match, I have to score from long range first."

"I believe in you."

Gareth Speed patted him on the shoulder and joked, "Before you become all-around, get a taste of just how good scoring feels first."

"I will."

Maël shrugged, sat back down, and began calculating his gains from this match in his mind.

Needless to say, there was match experience, exposure, and the like. The two assists had brought him a post-tax bonus of 3,000 pounds.

"With the appearance fee and the three points, that's 6,000 pounds in total, equal to four weeks' post-tax wages."

Maël swallowed. No wonder Qin soldiers yearned to go on campaigns and conquer territory. Earning military merits really was far more tempting than drawing a fixed salary. Because he had known poverty, he definitely wasn't the kind of person insensitive to wealth. On the contrary, he felt wealth was the greatest source of a person's security and freedom, and also a reflection of his value in every respect.

"I have to play more matches and get more stats."

Heat appeared in his eyes. No matter how he looked at it, he had to fight for more.

"Beep! Beep! Beeeep—!!" Just then, the referee's three long whistles sounded, signaling the end of the match.

Maël pulled back his thoughts and quickly ran out of the bench area, charging onto the pitch with both hands raised, heading toward Gilbert's position.

"Sheffield United! Sheffield United!!"

Amid the excited shouts of the fans around the stadium, the two high-fived, then ran along the fan sections, enjoying this unforgettable moment.

A debut, a first win, and his first stats!

For the moment, they couldn't think of anything more beautiful.