The Etihad Stadium looked like a spaceship that had landed in Manchester.

Michael Sterling stood on the touchline. He looked at the scoreboard.

MANCHESTER CITY vs BARNSLEY

This was the first game after the disaster at Brighton. The first game after the world had laughed at the seagull incident. And the first game since the FA took eight points away.

On the other side of the pitch, Pep Guardiola was drinking water. He looked worried. Maybe he knew that a wounded animal was dangerous.

Or maybe he just saw Diego Nunez staring at Erling Haaland.

Diego was standing in the tunnel. He was looking at the giant Norwegian striker.

"You are big," Diego said to Haaland.

Haaland looked down. He smiled. "I am big."

"I eat big things for breakfast," Diego grunted. "I am the Bull."

"I am the Viking," Haaland replied.

"Good," Diego cracked his knuckles. "We will see who breaks first."

KICKOFF

The game was not a tactical battle. It was a street fight disguised as football.

Manchester City kept the ball. Rodri passed to De Bruyne. De Bruyne passed to Foden. They were trying to hypnotize Barnsley.

But the Misfits were not sleeping today.

MINUTE 20

De Bruyne saw a gap. He played a laser pass through the defense.

Haaland sprinted. He was a machine of muscle and speed.

But Diego Nunez was running next to him.

They shoulder charged each other.

BOOM.

It sounded like two cars crashing.

Usually, defenders bounced off Haaland. But Diego did not bounce. He stayed upright. He put his foot in. He stole the ball.

Diego turned around. He kicked the ball fifty yards up the pitch.

"GET AWAY FROM MY HOUSE!" Diego roared.

The away fans cheered. It was the first time someone had bullied the bully.

MINUTE 35

Barnsley had a chance.

Kai Sora received the ball in the center circle. He was surrounded by blue shirts.

Kai did not panic. He adjusted his invisible sunglasses.

He saw Erik Olsen making a run. The Barnsley Viking versus the City Viking.

Kai chipped the ball.

It floated over Ruben Dias.

Erik Olsen collected it. He was fast. He drove into the box.

Ederson came out.

Erik did not shoot with power. He remembered the training. Aim three centimeters to the left.

He rolled the ball.

It went under Ederson arm.

It hit the post.

The ball spun along the line.

Danny Fletcher was there. The Captain. He slid in.

GOAL.

0 to 1.

Barnsley were leading the Champions.

Michael Sterling did not celebrate wildy. He just clenched his fist.

"Hold it," Michael whispered. "Just hold it."

MINUTE 60

City were angry. They unleashed hell.

Doku came on. De Bruyne was firing rockets.

Barnsley were pinned back. It was the Siege of the Etihad.

Sam Jones made three saves in two minutes. He saved a header. He saved a volley. He saved a deflection with his nose.

"MY NOSE IS BROKEN BUT I DON'T CARE!" Sam screamed.

MINUTE 75

But you cannot stop the inevitable forever.

Foden dribbled past three tired defenders. He cut the ball back.

Haaland was there.

Diego tried to block him. But Haaland was clever. He took a step back to create space.

He smashed the ball.

GOAL.

1 to 1.

The City fans woke up. They wanted the winner.

MINUTE 90

The board went up. Five minutes added time.

It was agony.

City had a corner. Everyone came up.

The ball came in.

Diego Nunez rose. He jumped higher than the crossbar. He headed the ball clear.

The referee blew the whistle.

PHWEEEEEEET!

Full Time.

Manchester City 1. Barnsley 1.

They had stopped the bleeding. They had taken a point from the champions.

Diego Nunez walked over to Haaland. They swapped shirts.

"You are strong Bull," Haaland said.

"You are strong Robot," Diego replied. "See you next season."

THE TIME SKIP: THE FINAL SPRINT

The draw at City was the turning point. The laughter stopped. The respect returned.

February turned into March. March turned into April.

The Revenge Tour became a grind.

MARCH:

Barnsley beat Fulham 2 to 0. Isaiah King scored a rabona.

Barnsley lost to Arsenal 1 to 0. A tight game decided by a penalty.

APRIL:

The fixtures piled up. The squad was tired.

Kai Sora started playing games in "Eco Mode" to save energy.

Kenji Sato ran so much his boots fell apart during a game against Wolves. He finished the game in his socks.

The 8 points deduction was a heavy anchor. It dragged them down the table.

They fell to 9th. Then climbed to 8th.

MAY:

The final month.

They needed points. Not for the Champions League. That dream was gone with the deduction.

But for Europe.

The Conference League. The third tier of European football.

It was not the glamorous nights in Madrid or Munich. It was Thursday nights in remote places.

But it was Europe.

GAME WEEK 38: THE FINAL DAY

It all came down to the last game.

Barnsley vs Crystal Palace. At the Fortress.

They needed a win to secure 7th place. 7th place meant the Conference League.

The sun was shining. The pitch was green.

Michael Sterling stood on the touchline. He looked older than he did in August. He had grey hairs now.

"One last push," Michael said to Arthur Milton.

"My heart cannot take another season like this Boss," Arthur said eating a stress donut.

MINUTE 88

It was 0 to 0.

Palace were stubborn. They were defending deep.

If it stayed a draw Barnsley would finish 8th. No Europe. Just empty mid table mediocrity.

"We need a hero," Michael whispered.

Kai Sora had the ball. He looked at the clock.

He looked at the bench. Michael nodded.

Kai passed to Isaiah King.

Isaiah was tired. His season had been long. But he saw the space.

He cut inside.

He did not shoot. He saw Danny Fletcher. He saw Erik Olsen.

But he also saw Diego Nunez.

The Bull had run forward. He was in the box. Why was he in the box? Nobody knew.

Isaiah crossed.

Diego did not head it. He tried a bicycle kick.

A bald giant doing a bicycle kick.

It should have been a disaster.

But he connected.

BOOM.

The ball flew into the top corner.

GOAL.

1 to 0.

The Fortress exploded.

Diego ran to the corner flag. He did not know how to celebrate a bicycle kick so he just lay on the ground and laughed.

FULL TIME.

Barnsley 1. Crystal Palace 0.

The season was over.

THE AFTERMATH

The locker room was quiet. But it was a happy quiet.

Michael Sterling walked in. He held a printout of the final table.

He taped it to the whiteboard.

FINAL PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE 2025/26

1. Manchester City - 89 pts (Champions)

2. Arsenal - 86 pts

3. Liverpool - 82 pts

4. Aston Villa - 74 pts

5. Tottenham - 70 pts

6. Chelsea - 65 pts

7. BARNSLEY - 62 pts (Qualified for UECL)

8. Newcastle - 60 pts

"We finished with 62 points," Michael said. "If we did not have the deduction we would have had 70 points. We would be fifth. Above Chelsea. Level with Spurs."

"We are 7th?" Isaiah King asked looking at the board. "Is 7th good?"

"7th means we are going on a trip," Michael said.

"Ibiza?" Kai Sora asked waking up.

"No," Michael smiled. "Azerbaijan. Or Kazakhstan. Or maybe Finland."

"What is there?" Diego asked.

" The Conference League," Michael announced. "We are in Europe boys."

The room paused. They did not know how to react.

"Is it the Champions League?" Erik Olsen asked.

"No," Michael said. "It is the little brother of the Champions League. But it has a trophy."

"A trophy?" Diego's eyes lit up. "Is it shiny?"

"Very shiny."

"Then we want it," Diego decided. "We will go to Azerbaijan and take their trophy."

Michael walked back to his office.

The season was done.

He sat at his desk. He opened his laptop for the final review.

The System hummed. It glowed gold.

[SEASON REVIEW COMPLETE]

FINAL POSITION: 7th

ORIGINAL TARGET: SURVIVAL (17th)

RATING: S+ (OVERACHIEVER)

[PLAYER STATS SUMMARY]

TOP SCORER: DANNY FLETCHER (18 Goals)

Note: The Prince became the King.

MOST ASSISTS: KAI SORA (15 Assists)

Note: The Architect sees all.

HIGHEST RATING: DIEGO NUNEZ (7.8 Average)

Note: The Bull is the fan favorite.

BREAKOUT STAR: ISAIAH KING

Note: Value increased by 300 percent.

[FINANCIAL REPORT]

SQUAD VALUE: £650,000,000

BANK BALANCE: HEALTHY

WARNING: BIG CLUBS ARE CIRCLING.

Arthur walked in. He put a bottle of champagne on the desk.

"We survived Boss," Arthur said. "Points deductions. Seagulls. Snow. We survived it all."

"We did more than survive Arthur," Michael said. "We built a foundation."

"Real Madrid called again," Arthur said casually. "About Arda."

"Tell them he is busy packing for the Conference League," Michael laughed.

"And PSG called," Arthur added. "About you."

Michael stopped smiling.

"Me?"

"Yes. They want a manager. They offered... a lot of money."

Michael looked out the window. He looked at the pitch where Lucas had played with the team. He looked at the restaurant where they ate lasagna. He looked at the fans leaving the stadium.

"Tell them no," Michael said.

"Just no?"

"Tell them I have a trip to Azerbaijan to plan," Michael said. "I am not leaving the Misfits."

Arthur smiled. "I knew you would say that."

Michael picked up the champagne.

"Next season Arthur," Michael said. "Next season we get the points back. Next season we play Thursday nights in Europe and Sunday afternoons in England."

"It will be tiring," Arthur warned.

"Yes," Michael agreed. "But look at them."

He pointed to the screen where the live feed of the dressing room showed Diego Nunez trying to fit Isaiah King into a locker.

"They are ready."

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