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

Chapter 1004: Peak Showdown with Real Madrid

Bruno's post-match statement that he didn't believe Manchester United had already secured the league title wasn't just polite talk; he genuinely had some concerns.

According to the schedule, Manchester United will have a total of six Premier League matches, two Champions League semi-finals, and one FA Cup final in just one month, starting this weekend on April 23 and ending on May 22, the last round of the league!

Nine matches in 30 days is a true test of a football player's limits, especially considering it's the final stage of the season when the players are practically exhausted.

Moreover, among these opponents, Manchester United will also face formidable rivals such as Arsenal, Chelsea, and Real Madrid.

Especially after this Manchester derby, Manchester United will face Arsenal in the 34th round of the Premier League this weekend, and then host Real Madrid at home in the middle of the week.

Manchester United and Ancelotti are destined to be unable to focus on both of these matches, and will definitely have to strategically forfeit one of them.

With a double-digit advantage in the league, Manchester United are already at a disadvantage in the two-legged knockout stage, playing the first leg at home and the second away. They must win this home game and establish a sufficient advantage, otherwise they may be eliminated in the series.

Especially considering their opponent is the super club Real Madrid, Real Madrid will definitely fight tooth and nail to stop Manchester United from breaking their record of five consecutive Champions League titles, which would also be their first Champions League title in six years.

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Under such circumstances, it was only natural for Ancelotti to field a completely reserve team in the Premier League match against Arsenal in the 34th round this weekend.

Manchester United, fielding a completely reserve squad, faced Arsenal, who were vying for Champions League qualification, and their eventual defeat was hardly surprising.

The score was 1-3, with Manchester United offering little resistance at the Emirates Stadium. Tavares opened the scoring in the first half, Saka extended the lead with a penalty, and although McTominay pulled one back for Manchester United, Xhaka's stunning second-half goal secured a 3-1 victory for Arsenal at home, handing the Red Devils their second Premier League defeat of the season.

Subsequently, Manchester City, focusing solely on one competition, thrashed Watford 5-1 at home, narrowing the gap with Manchester United to 7 points.

At the moment the match ended, the Blue Moon fans at the Etihad Stadium felt as if they had been transported back ten years, as if they were witnessing another incredible comeback.

Liverpool, playing the second day, easily defeated Everton 2-0 in a Merseyside derby, stopping their losing streak and narrowing the gap with Manchester United to 8 points.

However, Manchester United players paid no attention to being narrowly defeated by their two arch-rivals at the same time, because their energy was completely focused on the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, which was scheduled to begin midweek.

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When it comes to matches against Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappé is an unavoidable name. This French star, who transferred to Real Madrid last summer for a record-breaking €2.5 million, was once a darling of Manchester United fans. However, when Real Madrid extended an offer to him, he resolutely left Manchester United.

Mbappe's decision deeply hurt countless Manchester United fans around the world, who once believed their team was the best in the world and the ultimate ideal for all players. Mbappe's move undoubtedly tells them that Manchester United is still not the best team in the world.

As the players entered the field, some people glanced up at the stands and indeed saw a very prominent banner questioning why Mbappe had transferred to Real Madrid. They also heard boos, but there was no giant TIFO as expected.

As the match began, the boos directed at Mbappe gradually subsided, and everyone's attention shifted to the game.

After all, no matter what conflicts they may have in the past, the game is the most important thing now. They came to the new and old Trafford stadiums not just to boo Mbappe, but to support the team.

Real Madrid kicked off the match and launched a fierce attack on Manchester United.

As soon as the game started, they quickly sped up, completely disregarding their status as the away team.

In their eyes, Manchester United has been exhausted by the Premier League and is now at its weakest point, so of course they want to take advantage of its weakness.

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Soon, they reached the edge of Manchester United's penalty area. Modric delivered a brilliant pass to Benzema, who unleashed a shot from the edge of the box, but the ball went just over the bar!

"Whoa! That was close!"

Although the ball didn't go in, it startled the Manchester United fans in the stands, who gasped in surprise.

"The game had just started when Real Madrid launched a high-quality attack. It seems they're getting into the game pretty quickly. As the Madrid media said, this team is definitely here for revenge... But this isn't good news for Manchester United..." He Wei said worriedly.

"Modric's through ball was brilliant, and Benzema's shot was decisive. Real Madrid's attack was of very high quality. If they can maintain this performance, they will definitely put a lot of pressure on Manchester United away from home..." Martin Tyler also favored Real Madrid.

After Benzema shot the ball high, the close-up shot on TV wasn't of Benzema, but of Modric, who passed the ball to him.

As a star who rose to fame at Tottenham, Modric was essentially "coming home" for this match.

While at Tottenham, Modric was only a moderately famous player, but joining Real Madrid elevated his career, transforming him from a well-known midfielder into a world-class playmaker.

His transfer choices propelled his career to new heights, so will Mbappe's transfer choices have the same outcome?

Despite Manchester United's recent red storm in world football, many people still consider Real Madrid to be stronger and more famous than Manchester United.

After his experience at Real Madrid, Modric has become a master midfielder, while Mbappe has not yet become a core player at Manchester United. Perhaps his decision to go to Real Madrid is also based on this consideration.

From the perspective of the broadcasters' neutrality, they have no reason to be dissatisfied with Mbappe's transfer choice. They might even think that Mbappe made the right choice, and Modric's current situation is what he will pursue in the future.

The Spanish commentator was disappointed that Benzema missed the goal, but not disappointed. His words showed that he had full confidence in the team and was optimistic about the outcome of the match.

"Just keep playing like this! Real Madrid got into the game early today, and if they keep playing like this, they have a real chance! Manchester United are clearly not in the game, and it's questionable how much their players are even thinking about the match... If we can score a goal in the first twenty minutes, they'll collapse!"

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As Spain said this, De Gea was setting up the football, preparing to take a goal kick.

Bruno didn't wait for the ball to fly over in the attacking third; instead, he retreated and ran to the front of the defensive line.

Seeing him drop back, De Gea didn't choose to launch a long ball directly, but instead passed the ball to center-back Van Dijk.

Van Dijk turned and adjusted before passing the ball, so when he received the ball, he didn't have to turn his back to the direction of the attack and could pass the ball directly to Bruno.

Bruno had just received the ball when Modric closed in from behind.

Real Madrid would certainly not leave Manchester United's key players unmarked. Even if they felt Manchester United's fighting strength was weakened, they wouldn't dare to underestimate Bruno Fernandes and his team.

Given Bruno's wide range of movement, Ancelotti's defensive tactic for him was not to assign a specific player to mark him, but rather to have Real Madrid players cover whichever area Bruno was in.

The advantage of doing this is that it won't disrupt their formation, but the disadvantage is... not every Real Madrid player is good at defending, for example, Modric.

Although Modric moved closer, Bruno felt that Modric wasn't marking him closely at all; his level of close marking was far inferior to Casemiro's.

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Bruno feinted to the right, stepping his left foot over the ball without touching it. His upper body movement made it seem as if he was going to flick the ball to the right with his left foot and turn to break through, but that wasn't the case. This feint easily fooled Modric, who followed him in that direction.

At that moment, Bruno flicked the ball to the left with the outside of his left foot, turned around at the same time, and just like that, he brushed past Modric and shook him off.

Having broken through Modric's defense, Bruno now faces Casemiro's direct challenge.

Bruno changed his rhythm when facing Casemiro. He first slowed down, seemingly about to pass the ball to Greenwood, causing Casemiro to lunge towards Greenwood. However, Bruno then used his right foot to push the ball to the left.

Casemiro rushed forward again, and the entire Real Madrid defense shifted in that direction.

At that moment, Bruno, while dribbling, poked the ball to Greenwood with the tip of his right foot.

Casemiro was too late to turn around and tackle Greenwood. Greenwood turned and dribbled forward, breaking through the defense and heading straight into the penalty area.

Facing Varane's pressing, he feinted away and then shot with his right foot!
The ball was saved by Courtois and fell to Harry Kane's feet.

(End of this chapter)