Under the night sky of London—
Wembley Stadium sparkled like a sea of stars!
As the Crystal Palace fans poured excitedly into the stadium—
They were completely stunned.
This place was enormous!
Though they lived in London too,
Very few Crystal Palace supporters had ever stepped foot inside this magnificent venue.
They had only ever seen Wembley on TV!
90,000 seats!
At its peak, it could hold over 150,000 people!
This was the holy ground of English football!
"We're standing inside Wembley! We're about to face Manchester United!"
"We've made it to the end. Our players are about to play—the FA Cup final!!"
In the Crystal Palace stands, the fans went mad!
This place was at least twice as big as their home, Selhurst Park.
It was grander and more majestic than any Premier League stadium they had visited this season.
Wembley Stadium—
A place Crystal Palace fans never even dared to dream of.
And today—
Tonight—
They would be here, playing in the FA Cup Final!
After the Championship title—
Crystal Palace fans were about to witness their second title fight of the season!
The frenzy rolled across the stands—
Condensing in the sky over Wembley into a symphony of unity!
Moments later—
A sea of red-shirted fans surged into the stadium.
Manchester United's fans had arrived!
Their section quickly filled with a thunderous red wave as well.
This enormous stadium was split along the north-south axis—
With more than 40,000 Crystal Palace and 40,000 United fans gathered on each side.
Their passionate screams collided and condensed above the stadium!
This was the FA Cup Final.
The final battle!
It was the grandest cup final in English football!
All of Europe's football world had turned its eyes toward it.
And this season's FA Cup Final—
Had taken on unprecedented meaning.
The Premier League champions vs. the Championship champions—
Meeting in the final!
It was a clash between top-tier and second-tier kings!
Countless media outlets flocked to the grand Wembley Stadium.
Before the match—
The moment both teams' starting lineups were announced—
Wembley erupted in shock!
Reporters were stunned.
Sir Alex Ferguson hadn't fielded his full-strength squad?
It seemed they were saving energy for the Champions League Final at the end of the month.
Some media outlets were disappointed.
They had wanted to see a full-strength "clash of titans"!
But quickly, everyone understood—
This was Manchester United!
Competing on three fronts this season, yet never faltering.
They'd already won the Premier League, and now stood in both the Champions League and FA Cup finals!
This season, United was in a league of their own.
Even with a rotated squad, Crystal Palace's path to the FA Cup trophy would be as hard as climbing to the heavens!
"Crystal Palace just won the Championship? Ha! We're the Premier League champions!"
"Their fans will soon realize—reality is harsh! The gap between the Premier League and the Championship is like the distance between a no-name team and a global powerhouse!"
"Small clubs can never achieve greatness. Kai, come to Manchester United after this match! We Red Devils fans will welcome you!"
"Win the FA Cup, then win the Champions League at the end of the month! This season's United is about to complete the historic treble!"
The Manchester United stands erupted in terrifying force!
Their momentum instantly overwhelmed the Crystal Palace side—despite their equal numbers.
The deafening roar surged across every inch of the stadium!
Crystal Palace fans felt their hearts pounding in their chests.
This wasn't Old Trafford—
Yet even so—
United fans turned the stands into a red ocean.
Compared to Palace's fans—
United's were frequent guests at Wembley.
They knew this place like home!
"Don't get scared! So what if it's Manchester United? We've been challenging Premier League giants since the Fourth Round of the FA Cup! Now we're in the final—we're not afraid of anyone!"
"That's right! We've taken down four Premier League powerhouses already! Why not Manchester United?"
"The Eagle King will lead us forward!"
"We'll slay United at Wembley! Who says miracles can't happen in the FA Cup Final?"
"Beat United!!"
The roar of madness surged into the sky above the pitch!
At the pre-match press conference—
Sir Alex Ferguson faced the media with calm composure:
"This Crystal Palace team is certainly impressive. They have a super genius we've long been pursuing.
But I've studied them carefully—the lineup I've fielded today is more than enough to handle them."
"This season's Manchester United has even bigger goals to chase. We must go all out for the Champions League Final at the end of the month."
The media were buzzing with excitement!
One reporter quickly asked:
"Since Ronaldo left, United's No.7 shirt has been vacant. Is the Red Devils' No.7 waiting for someone new?"
Ferguson smiled:
"Manchester United won't give up pursuing that genius at Crystal Palace.
This match is also a direct face-off between us and his team."
"Soon—very soon—after we complete our historic treble,
he'll realize what his true path should be!"
"In the entire Premier League, what other club but Manchester United can offer him such a vast stage?"
Ferguson exited the press room with flair.
The journalists looked at each other in shock!
It was obvious—
From top to bottom, this Manchester United had absolute confidence in lifting the FA Cup tonight!
This was the aura of a true giant—the ease of the Premier League overlords!
Meanwhile—
Holloway, Crystal Palace's manager, said little to the press.
He spoke only one sentence:
"Our goal is the double crown. Tonight, no one can stop the team led by Kai!"
The media erupted again!
Despite facing the mighty Manchester United—
The Crystal Palace staff still brimmed with confidence!
And that confidence—
Undoubtedly came from one source:
Their miracle boy.
The super genius countless giants had tried to buy this year!
—
Under the London night sky—
When the clock struck 8:00 PM local time—
The feverish atmosphere reached its peak!
As both teams emerged from the tunnel—
The nearly 100,000 fans inside Wembley erupted into a thunderous wave of cheers that pierced the night sky!
—
For this match, Ferguson fielded a half-strength squad.
Goalkeeper: Van der Sar retained his place.
Defense: Ferdinand was rested, with Smalling and Vidic starting.
Midfield: Giggs and Carrick were paired together.
Forward line: Rooney was on the bench to rest.
Hernández started up front!
Even this rotated lineup of Manchester United—
Still dazzled with stars!
Every line had world-class players!
—
During the opening ceremony—
Kai exchanged team flags with Vidic, who captained United in place of Neville.
The crowd erupted in wild cheers!
"Come to United, kid! But tonight—you and your team are not winning this trophy."
Vidic took Palace's flag, eyes locked intensely on Kai.
Kai accepted United's flag in return—
And stared straight into the eyes of the United captain!
"Tell Rooney and the others—they better start warming up now."
Kai smiled calmly and walked away.
Vidic was momentarily stunned—then burst into laughter and turned away.
As United's veteran defender and stand-in captain, he didn't believe a word from this 16-year-old Crystal Palace midfielder!
Could a Championship team with dim stars—
Really force Manchester United to bring on all their starters?
—
With Wembley's terrifying atmosphere refusing to die down—
Both teams took their positions on their respective halves.
Some excited Korean fans noticed that Park Ji-sung would be starting for United!
They were overjoyed:
"Our Park Ji-sung will lock down Kai in midfield!"
Elsewhere in the crowd, a rare Asian face appeared.
Son Heung-min, fresh off from the not-so-busy Bundesliga schedule, had come to Wembley to watch the FA Cup Final.
Seated in the stands, his eyes sparkled with aspiration:
"I'm going to play in the Premier League.
My seniors—Park Ji-sung and that Crystal Palace Asian star...
I won't lose to them!"
As waves of cheers rose through the crowd—
Sir Alex Ferguson stood at the sideline, hands in pockets.
His gaze calm and firm.
This match—Manchester United would win at all costs!
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