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

Chapter 1007 The Situation Is Not Right

Although no goal was scored, after the initial gasps, applause quickly erupted from the stands at Old Trafford, a tribute to Manchester United's beautiful attack, including Greenwood's decisive breakthrough and Bruno's timely shot.

Bruno gave Greenwood a thumbs-up, indicating that Greenwood's breakthrough and pass were both excellent.

Bruno's shot was actually quite threatening, but it didn't really alarm Real Madrid. When Real Madrid attacked, they still pressed forward aggressively, intending to break through Manchester United's goal.

Of course, they didn't get their wish. This time they didn't even manage a shot on goal; Modric's pass down the wing was intercepted by Rashford, who had tracked back to defend.

“Rashford! Oh! It’s Rashford! He’s almost back to the full-back position… After the criticism and pressure, Rashford played exceptionally hard in this game. Perhaps he wants to win back the fans’ hearts with his professional attitude…” Lineker said.

There were indeed fans in the stands applauding Rashford's active defensive effort, and the television broadcast even cut to a segment featuring the Manchester United fans who were clapping.

………………

Gundogan then passed the ball to Bruno, who, with his back to the attacking direction, flicked it with his heel to Harry Kane, who was behind him to receive the pass.

Harry Kane passed the ball sideways to Rashford, who had already made a forward run, and then turned and ran forward.

After receiving the ball, Rashford dribbled down the wing and soon encountered Carvajal, who was marking him.

Rashford made a feint, but the experienced Carvajal remained unmoved.

Rashford then wasted no more time and passed the ball sideways to Bruno, who was coming over to receive it.

Bruno didn't receive the ball, but instead made a move as if he was about to pass it directly back to Rashford.

After passing the ball, Rashford quickly moved forward, seemingly intending to play a one-two with Bruno.

Casemiro, who was blocking Bruno's path, shifted his center of gravity slightly backward.

But when the ball rolled over, Bruno's raised foot missed nothing, merely feinting as the ball rolled past him!
As the ball rolled past, Bruno quickly turned around, following the ball toward the center.

By the time Casemiro reacted and lunged forward, Bruno had already blocked him from behind.

"A beautiful escape!" He Wei was lavish in his praise for every move Bruno made.

………………

Bruno, who had shielded Casemiro behind him, knew very well that this was only temporary. Soon, Casemiro would be able to use his physical advantage to cause trouble for him, and getting a free kick would be the best outcome.

But this was not the effect Bruno wanted.

He was dribbling forward while also looking up to observe what lay ahead.

Because of his turn and cut inside, Real Madrid's defensive focus shifted to the center, creating an opening on the right flank.

Greenwood made a decisive forward run and gestured for the ball.

His move and forward run were noticed by Real Madrid's defenders, and Ferland Mendy, who was originally in the penalty area, turned to defend Greenwood instead.

Varane also moved to the right flank to provide support.

This makes the central area of ​​the penalty area much more spacious than before.

Bruno knew his chance had come.

He swung his right foot, making a move to pass the ball to Greenwood on the right wing, and his eyes were indeed fixed on Greenwood in the distance.

Casemiro, who had caught up from the side, quickly stepped forward and stretched out his leg to try and block Bruno's pass.

But when Bruno landed with his right foot, he didn't pass the ball sideways; instead, he rotated his ankle inward and kicked the ball with the inside of his foot.

Just like the final putt on a golf ball, you don't need to use too much force, but you need to be precise.

The ball slipped under Casemiro's outstretched legs and rolled low to the center of the penalty area... There, Greenwood wasn't there, but Harry Kane was!
Only after passing the ball did Bruno turn his head towards the center of the penalty area to check the result of his pass.

He saw Harry Kane lift his foot as if to receive the ball while carrying Alaba behind him.

………………

"Harry Kane!!"

Amidst Lineker's shouts and the Manchester United fans' sudden surge of cheers, Kane received the ball and quickly pulled it back and turned!
This move allowed him to get past Alaba, once again blocking the Austrian center-back behind him, while simultaneously adjusting his position from facing away from the goal to facing it directly. And he was very close to the goal, only about five or six meters away.

After pulling the ball back and turning, Harry Kane immediately unleashed a left-footed shot!

With a shot from such close range, Courtois could barely make a move and could only turn his head and watch the ball fly past him and into the goal!
"Harry Kane!!!" Lineker shouted, raising his arms. "Aaaaaah! Harry Kane! He's scored twice! Only five minutes into the second half, Manchester United have taken the lead again! Bruno's move before passing the ball was very deceptive!"

He Wei exclaimed excitedly, "Harry Kane! An easy goal! Neither Alaba nor Courtois reacted to it!"

"Because Bruno's pass was indeed very subtle and sudden. At that moment, everyone's attention was on Greenwood, who was cutting inside from the right wing, and Bruno was also looking in Greenwood's direction, but he sent the ball in another direction without even turning his head to check!"

“We have seen many so-called ‘no-look passes’ on the field, but many of these passes are only for show; the passer is not looking in order to avoid looking.”

"Bruno's 'no-look pass' is different from theirs in that when Bruno looks in the direction that is not the final passing target, it really has a deceptive effect. He really makes people think that he is going to pass the ball in that direction!"

"Others turn their heads to the side only when they pass the ball, but Bruno turns his face away before he even passes it! If the previous 'no-look pass' was more of a flashy gimmick, Bruno has now made this fancy pass much more practical!"

………………

Unlike the excited commentators from Britain and China, the Spanish commentator seemed unprepared for the goal, yelling "Watch out!" as Bruno passed the ball to Harry Kane.

Before he could finish speaking, Harry Kane dribbled past Alaba, took a shot, and sent the ball into Courtois' goal.

After conceding the goal, he held his arms and shouted, "Ah—! Harry Kane has scored twice! Real Madrid's defense made a lapse in concentration at a crucial moment... This is terrible..."

"However, it's only a one-goal deficit. Real Madrid also fell behind by one goal in the first half, but they managed to pull it back. And now the game has entered a phase of attacking play between both sides. If Manchester United can score, why can't Real Madrid score in an attacking game?"

He still wanted to give some confidence and encouragement to the somewhat anxious Real Madrid fans watching on TV. But actually, the ones who needed encouragement the most right now weren't the Real Madrid fans, but the Real Madrid players on the field.

At halftime, having just equalized, they were in high spirits, their minds filled with the idea of ​​crushing Manchester United with more goals in the second half. However, only five minutes into the second half, they conceded a goal.

Many people looked at the Manchester United players embracing each other and a question arose in their minds: Is this really a team that has been exhausted by those Premier League giants? Have they really lost their fighting spirit?
At this point, the Real Madrid players began to realize that perhaps their opponents were not as they had imagined, and the game would not unfold as they had expected.

………………

After the game restarted, the Manchester United players, who were back in the lead, were in high spirits and not only threatened Real Madrid's goal in attack, but they also did a better job in defense.

Although it's an attacking game, it doesn't mean everyone should completely abandon defense and let the backfield become an endless grassland. It just means the players won't cower in their own half. When there's an opportunity to attack, they'll push forward and participate in the attack as much as possible; when defending, they'll quickly retreat and won't stay in the attacking third.

However, doing this requires a calm mind and plenty of physical strength. Without a calm mind, it is easy to make misjudgments when transitioning between offense and defense, and fail to return to defense when it is necessary.

Without sufficient physical strength, one simply cannot sustain such repeated sprints. In the fast-paced offensive and defensive transitions between the two sides, physical strength will quickly be depleted.

Manchester United currently has neither of these shortcomings.

Especially physical fitness. Since taking charge of Manchester United, Mourinho has always emphasized physical fitness and running ability, and now his good intentions are showing their value.

Moreover, last weekend, Mourinho decisively chose to strategically forfeit the match against Arsenal, allowing Manchester United's key players a full week of rest and excellent physical recovery.

That's why in this match, Manchester United's key players were like tireless "mad dogs," running all over the field.

It's no exaggeration to say that you can see Manchester United players in red jerseys in any corner of the stadium, and it's common to see two or three Manchester United players ganging up on a Real Madrid player in white.

This is the advantage of numbers in a localized area that comes from running!
Manchester United's relentless, aggressive pressing style made Real Madrid very uncomfortable. Real Madrid is a team that is very afraid of pressing, which is one of the reasons why they struggled against Barcelona, ​​who are precisely the team that excel at pressing in the midfield and attacking third.

(End of this chapter)