From the man behind the football king to the football king.

Chapter 569: One Round to Decide the Victory

Thanks to Bruno's two goals, Manchester United finally defeated Tottenham 2:1 and was the first to enter the FA Cup final of this season.

A day later, at the same stadium, Chelsea beat Southampton 2-0 and met Manchester United in this season's FA Cup final. The two teams will continue to compete for this season's FA Cup championship at the new Wembley Stadium on May 5.

The ten days from late April to early May are extremely critical for Manchester United. It can even be said that every game may determine the ultimate success or failure of Manchester United in this season.

The opponents in these games are all very strong without exception.

April 4, FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham;

April 4, Champions League semi-final first leg, home game against Manchester City;

April 4, the 29th round of the Premier League, home game against Arsenal;

On May 5, in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, we will challenge Manchester City away.

It can be said that this is a game similar to lead bullet roulette. Every game may cause Manchester United to be suddenly eliminated from a certain event.

Fortunately, Manchester United was lucky and won the first round, defeating Tottenham and entering this year's FA Cup final.

The next home game against Manchester City is undoubtedly more important than the game against Tottenham at the new Wembley Stadium, because it determines whether Manchester United can go one step further and enter this season's Champions League final.

In the era when the away goals rule still existed, in the two-legged match, Manchester United was drawn to play at home first and then away, which actually put them at a disadvantage.

Under such circumstances, if Manchester United cannot gain enough advantage in this home game, there is a high probability that they will be eliminated in the two-round knockout match.

Therefore, even though Manchester United had a fierce battle with Tottenham at the new Wembley Stadium three days ago, Mourinho still sent out his strongest lineup for today's game. The purpose is naturally to win a big victory over Manchester City at home and establish sufficient advantage.

………………

On the evening of April 4, at Old Trafford, Manchester United faced Manchester City at home in the Champions League semi-final.

Players from both teams came to the player tunnel one after another. The Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Laos was conducting the final check before the players from both teams came on the field. When he saw Bruno, he obviously stayed a little longer and nodded slightly.

He has long admired this European football superstar. Many people say that he is one of the three giants in world football today, comparable to Ronaldo and Yosi.

Although Bruno has been rising in world football for several years, this is the first time that Laos has officiated a match in which Bruno participated, so it is also the first time that Laos has truly seen this latecomer in world football.

The Spanish whistle wants to take a serious look at whether Bruno really has the ability to compete with the two superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Yosi.

Of course, that didn't stop him from showing some kindness to Bruno.

Bruno smiled politely in response.

Guardiola's formation today was 433, with goalkeeper Ederson and the four defenders from right to left being Kyle Walker, Kompany, Laporte and Otamendi; De Bruyne, Fernandinho and Mkhitaryan formed the three midfielders; the forward trident was David Silva, Jesus and Sane.

For Manchester United, Mourinho also fielded a 433 starting lineup, with De Gea as goalkeeper, and the four defenders are Cancelo, Maguire, Van Dijk and Luke Shaw; the three midfielders are Bruno, Kante and Gundogan; Mbappe, Harry Kane and Rashford form a trident.

This is the most commonly used lineup for Manchester United this season, and it is also the lineup Mourinho relies on the most. In most of the key games, as long as these players are not injured or suspended, he will send out this lineup.

………………

In this game, Bruno faced his old rival Fernandinho again, and standing next to him were De Bruyne and Mkhitaryan. Bruno was naturally very familiar with these three players.

Less than six minutes into the game, he seized an opportunity on the right, quickly ran out of space and got a chance to counterattack.

Compared with other sports, a football match has eleven players on each side, plus a total of twenty-three people on the field including the referee. Among them, except for the two goalkeepers whose activity area is fixed in the penalty area, the rest of the players are basically moving at high speed, running in and out of each other. If you are not careful, it would be like a cursory glance and you would miss anything.

For any competitive game, concentration is the most important basic quality for players, especially in football games with many players and frequent running.

In football matches, the most obvious problem of lack of concentration is the inability to catch the path of the ball.

When Manchester United intercepted the ball in the backcourt, Luke Shaw got the ball on the left side of the center line. When he looked ahead, Otamendi, who played as a left back for Manchester City in this game, obviously did not catch the danger because he thought the ball was still on the left side. But in the next step, when Luke Shaw quickly made a long diagonal pass and sent the ball quickly behind Manchester City's left back and left center back, he hurriedly realized the danger.

Just as he turned around to chase the ball, Bruno had already passed by him at the fastest speed, like a gust of wind, quickly caught up with the football, and easily stopped the ball with his chest.

Fortunately, not all Manchester City defenders were distracted like Otamendi. Laporte reacted immediately, quickly returned to defense and stood in front of Bruno.

………………

Two people were one on one. Bruno stopped the ball with his chest and started quickly, trying to shake off the opponent, but Laporte decisively committed a foul and tripped Bruno to the ground.

The referee Laos gave his Spanish compatriot a yellow card without hesitation.

Through the performance in these ten minutes, Laos found that Bruno's strength was indeed stronger than other players on the field. It was not unreasonable to say that he was on par with Ronaldo and Yosi.

Manchester City won a chance to catch their breath and quickly retreated to their own penalty area to organize their defense.

Bruno's cross from the right found Harry Kane accurately, but the Manchester United center's header just barely hit the crossbar.

Although they failed to score a goal, Manchester United gave the opponent's central defender a yellow card just six minutes into the game. Mourinho's opening tactics worked and Bruno's start was very eye-catching.

Guardiola was very angry on the sidelines and kept complaining to the fourth official, obviously thinking that the punishment was too severe.

As a defender, especially a central defender, if you get a yellow card, you will be restricted and unable to move freely.

Of course, in comparison, if there was no foul, Bruno would have passed him directly and entered the penalty area, and it would have been difficult for Ederson to stop him. At that time, conceding a goal would have only made him more passive, so Laporte's choice was understandable.

Mourinho stood on the sidelines and seemed relaxed from the beginning of the game.

When he saw Bruno give Laporte a yellow card, he just laughed.

Although we failed to score a goal from the set piece in the frontcourt, this result was already quite good.

"This kid's short-distance explosiveness is getting better and better, especially when he is trying to break free," Mourinho praised.

"Yes." Faria nodded. "Both Manchester City defenders failed to stop him. Fortunately, Laporte committed a decisive foul. Otherwise, the goal would have been secured."

When they saw Bruno constantly retreating on the field and at the same time calling on his teammates to try to launch an attack on the right, Faria and Mourinho looked at each other and smiled again.

What a smart boy!

………………

Otamendi is the away full-back himself, and he has the habit of being distracted. Now Laporte has a yellow card and is already restricted in his play. Bruno signaled his teammates to play more on the right, which is a bit like adding insult to injury and taking advantage of his condition.

This is definitely a very commendable choice in a football match.

On the field, with Bruno's call, Manchester United's attack quickly tilted to the right.

Mbappe and Cancelo, Manchester United's right-wing combination is known for its offensive ability. With the addition of Bruno, Manchester United's right-wing attacks suddenly became more frequent, putting huge pressure on Manchester City's left.

Especially when Bruno was active, Manchester City's left side was overwhelmed.

In the 21st minute, Rashford made a diagonal pass to the front of the penalty area from the left, and Harry Kane passed the ball to Mbappe on the right.

Mbappe had no chance and pushed the ball back to midfield without stopping, giving it to Bruno

Bruno quickly passed the ball to the right, Cancelo made a run-in and after receiving the ball, he took it directly to the right side of the penalty area, pulled out Otamendi, and then suddenly passed the ball into the penalty area.

At this time, Bruno had already run to the open space. After receiving Cancelo's cross pass in the penalty area, facing Laporte, he pulled to the left and swung his left foot to shoot directly!

………………

"Bruno!!!"

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLL!!!!!!"

"In the 21st minute, Manchester United took the lead in breaking Manchester City's goal!"

"What a clean and neat attack!"

"Manchester United launched an attack from the left, Harry Kane headed the ball, Mbappe passed it to Bruno, who then passed it to Cancelo on the right. Cancelo and Bruno cooperated very well, pulling out the defensive players and passing the ball to the middle."

"In a one-on-one frontal defense in the penalty area, Manchester City's central defender Laporte seemed very restrained because he already had a yellow card. He could only watch Bruno create an opening and score directly!"

The whole Old Trafford stadium was cheering Bruno's name.

Bruno quickly rushed out of the stadium, with his arms open all the way, and rushed to the bottom of the fans' stands to celebrate his goal.

The goal was an easy one, mainly because the position he ran into embarrassed Laporte.

Of course, this is also thanks to Cancelo's cross pass assist.

So, when his teammates rushed over, Bruno excitedly hugged Cancelo and accepted the cheers from the fans in the stands with him.

Cancelo was also very excited.

He now does morning exercises with Bruno every morning, and then does strength training together. After the training session, he will also accompany Bruno to do ball-stopping training. These have enabled him to quickly make up for his original shortcomings in physical confrontation and defense.

With increased strength and improved defense, his position as a main player in the first team has become increasingly secure, and Valencia has been gradually relegated to the bench.

However, the Ecuadorian has no complaints and is even happy to see it happen. After all, he is 33 years old and has even planned to return to his hometown of Ecuador to play for the last days of his career after the end of this season.

Under such circumstances, it is undoubtedly the best outcome that his position at Manchester United is taken over by someone else.

………………

After Bruno scored a goal and broke the deadlock on the field, Guardiola seemed very annoyed and became more wary of Manchester United's offensive.

Manchester City quickly adjusted their tactics and began to focus more on defense, making it difficult for Manchester United to create threatening scoring opportunities throughout the first half.

Bruno was also closely monitored by the opponent and failed to get any good opportunities.

The first half ended with a one-to-zero lead. After the second half, Manchester United still adopted the strategy of the first half, steadily testing Manchester City's left wing, especially Laporte.

In the 53rd minute, Manchester United got another chance on the right. Mbappe faced Otamendi one-on-one and forced his way into the right side of Manchester City's penalty area with the ball. When Laporte and Otamendi's attention were on him, Mbappe suddenly passed the ball back to Cancelo who was in the back row.

After receiving the ball, the Portuguese right back entered the penalty area along the right rib and shot with his right foot, breaking Manchester City's goal again.

2: 0!

This goal helped Manchester United basically secure the victory.

………………

At this point in the game, Manchester City had to further strengthen their defense.

If we lose badly in the first round, then the second round will be meaningless.

After the team took a two-goal lead, Bruno was still not satisfied and continued to run frequently on the right.

Just eight minutes after the last goal, Bruno received a pass from Harry Kane and rushed into the penalty area. When facing Laporte, the Manchester City center back had no choice but to trip Bruno.

The referee blew the whistle immediately and awarded a yellow card and a penalty kick.

The Manchester City center back also accumulated a second yellow card and was sent off with a red card, destined to miss the second leg.

As Manchester United's first penalty taker, and this penalty was created by Bruno himself, there is no dispute about the right to take the penalty.

Bruno also calmly scored the penalty kick, extending the score to 3:0.

This is Bruno's 11th Champions League goal this season, ranking second in the scorer list only after Cristiano Ronaldo who has scored 15 goals.

Bruno was then substituted and Mata replaced him.

Until the end of the game, the score remained at 3:0.

International practice is that the home team goes first.

In the two-round match, Manchester United ended the battle in just one round.