Chapter 829: Four-Time Ballon d'Or Winner
Coufal had spent the entire match focused on stopping Rashford, keeping his position tight to block his drives to the byline for crosses. But this time, Rashford received the ball near the left edge of the penalty arc, controlling it with his right foot. It immediately unsettled Coufal. When Rashford shaped to shoot, Coufal panicked and rushed forward to block.
However, Rashford didn't shoot instantly. He nudged the ball slightly inward with his right foot and suddenly struck it toward the goal.
The ball flashed past Coufal's side, skimming low toward the bottom right corner of the net, taking a tricky bounce on the way.
West Ham goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański, distracted by Rashford and Coufal's earlier movement, was caught off guard. Rashford's quick change of decision—cutting inside before unleashing a sharp shot—was both unexpected and precise, arrowing straight into the far corner.
Fabiański flung himself in a desperate dive, but he was a fraction too late. The ball slammed into the back of the net.
1–2! The visitors, Manchester United, had turned the game around!
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLL!!!!!!"
"In the 67th minute, Rashford seized a sudden opportunity with a grounded shot to beat Fabiański! What a completely unexpected strike!"
"Two goals in just three minutes—Manchester United have overturned the scoreline!"
...
After scoring, Rashford sprinted toward the touchline, but this time he didn't celebrate with his signature knee-slide. Instead, he stopped beyond the line, waiting as his teammates sprinted to join him.
One by one, the United players arrived, standing shoulder to shoulder in a row—including goalkeeper David De Gea. Together, they made the same gesture—raising a hand and miming a baby's pacifier.
That touching moment sent the traveling United supporters into an emotional frenzy.
It was their way of saluting captain Bruno, far away in China, celebrating the birth of his son—proof of the strong unity inside the Manchester United dressing room.
"Hahaha, Rashford and the United squad are celebrating for Bruno!"
"That goal came out of nowhere—just three minutes after the previous one. The first goal is always the hardest; once United got it, everything started falling into place. Judging by the flow of this game, that certainly won't be the last goal we see tonight!"
David Moyes ran a hand through his hair in frustration and returned to the bench. His team had just conceded twice within five minutes after leading, and now looked close to a total collapse.
He knew exactly why—it was a matter of fatigue. His players simply couldn't keep up anymore.
A change was needed—immediately.
But what should he do? Attack or defend? Each choice carried its own risks.
Go on the offensive, and West Ham might equalize—or even turn the game around—but it could also open them up for a disastrous home defeat.
Sit back and defend, and they might avoid further goals, but securing any points at home would be nearly impossible.
And given United's attacking power, there was no guarantee West Ham could hold out even defensively.
If it were still a draw, Moyes might have shored up the defense without hesitation. But trailing now, there was little value in doing so.
Decision made, he called over Saïd Benrahma and Manuel Lanzini.
Both were dynamic attacking players. Moyes wanted to add firepower to fight back, hopefully to draw level—or, if luck favored them, to snatch a win.
To make room, he substituted Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen—two midfielders.
By taking off two midfielders for two wingers, Moyes made his intentions clear: all-in for a result.
...
Manchester United, energized by their comeback, were now fully in command. Despite West Ham committing more men forward, they could hardly get possession back as United overwhelmed them.
"Still United on the ball."
"Mata driving forward—cuts diagonally to the left!"
"Rashford receives at the edge of the box on the left, shakes off Coufal and cuts inside…"
"Brilliant move! Rashford changes direction again—between Coufal and Balbuena! He's into the box!"
"A stunning solo run!"
"Rashford gets to the near-post zone, slides it across… Greenwood!"
"It's in!!!"
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"
"In the 78th minute, Manchester United score their third! That seals the win!"
"Rashford again! After a poor first half, he now has one goal and one assist!"
"The academy wonder boy from Manchester United—what a transformation between halves! In the first 45 minutes, he couldn't break through West Ham's defense, but now, both Coufal and Balbuena are powerless, as Rashford slaloms right through them—he's torn West Ham's entire backline apart single-handedly!"
"Ogbonna furiously kicks the ball into the net—he has every reason to be frustrated. West Ham's defense was paper-thin compared to the first half—it's night and day!"
"That goal seals it! From 0–1 down to 3–1 up—what an incredible comeback!"
"Fifteen minutes! They did it in just fifteen minutes!"
"West Ham can no longer keep up with United's rhythm!"
"This second half has been a total collapse for the Hammers—the Red Devils have steamrolled them."
"Now the question is whether West Ham can steady themselves for the remaining few minutes."
"Moyes makes another substitution—academy fullback Ben Johnson replaces Coufal. The Czech right-back, strong in the first half, has been utterly destroyed by Rashford's second-half display."
"This is a defensive substitution. Moyes clearly knows a comeback is out of reach—his only goal now is to avoid a humiliating home defeat."
Even after scoring three straight goals, United didn't slow down.
They continued pressing hard, though West Ham's defense managed to hold on for the rest of the match without conceding again.
Final score: Manchester United 3–1 West Ham United. A brilliant away comeback—United's first win without Bruno in the lineup.
...
Two days later, the Ballon d'Or ceremony took place at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France. Bruno triumphed over Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski and Barcelona's Messi to win the coveted award.
It was Bruno's third consecutive Ballon d'Or, and the fourth of his career. Back in 2015, while still playing for Udinese, he had won the FIFA Ballon d'Or—then a joint award between FIFA and France Football magazine.
This victory brought Bruno level with Messi, making him the second-most decorated Ballon d'Or winner in history—one behind Cristiano Ronaldo's five.
Bruno arrived at the ceremony aboard his Gulfstream G550 private jet to collect the trophy.
After receiving the award, however, he quickly departed, flying back east. He was still on paternity leave, as Liu Yimei was in her postpartum recovery period, and he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible.
His biggest rivals for this year's Ballon d'Or weren't the long-standing giants. Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo continued to perform excellently in 2020—Ronaldo led Juventus to the Serie A title, won the league Silver Boot, and was named Serie A's Best Player. Messi, meanwhile, played 44 matches for Barcelona, scoring 31 goals and providing 25 assists. He topped both the goals and assists charts in La Liga with 25 goals and 21 assists respectively, earning spots in the Champions League Team of the Season, UEFA Team of the Year, and FIFA FIFPro World XI.
However, compared with the two finalists, their seasons were slightly less dominant.
In 2019–20, Robert Lewandowski had the season of his life—47 appearances, 55 goals, and 10 assists for Bayern Munich, leading them to a historic treble. He finished as top scorer in the Bundesliga (34 goals), Champions League (15), and DFB-Pokal (6). He was named Bayern's Player of the Season, Bundesliga Player of the Season, German Footballer of the Year, and earned places in both the FIFA and UEFA Teams of the Year.
Bruno, on the other hand, maintained his extraordinary form for Manchester United in 2019–2020. Across all competitions, he played 59 matches, scoring 68 goals and assisting 35. He led United to five trophies—the Premier League, Champions League, League Cup, Community Shield, and UEFA Super Cup—and a runner-up finish in the FA Cup. In the Premier League alone, he recorded 43 goals and 23 assists, claiming both the Golden Boot and Assist King titles for England and Europe. He also swept major honors: Premier League Player of the Season, Champions League Player of the Season, Best Midfielder, and UEFA Player of the Year.
A total of 170 international journalists voted for the award. According to the rules, each journalist submitted five ranked votes worth 6, 4, 3, 2, and 1 points.
In the end, Bruno scored a staggering 818 points—towering over Lewandowski's 578, Messi's 311, and Ronaldo's 258.
Data published by France Football showed Bruno placed first in every continent except South America, where Lewandowski was second in each, and Messi led only in South America.
(END CHAPTER)
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