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

Chapter 1012 The powerful Real Madrid
This match was indeed very eye-catching, attracting more attention than Villarreal's home game against Liverpool the following day.

After all, Manchester United and Real Madrid undoubtedly have a greater influence in the world of football than Liverpool and Villarreal.

The Bernabéu's presidential stand was filled with celebrities, including King Juan Carlos II of Spain, who came to watch the game and cheer for Real Madrid.

All these extraordinary high-level treatments are simply in the hope that Real Madrid will complete an almost impossible comeback at their home stadium, creating a miracle, a legend.

As they stepped into the Bernabéu Stadium, the Manchester United players were immediately overwhelmed by a sense of oppression, as if they were facing an adversary from the entire world; many of them felt their heart rates quicken involuntarily…

But there are always exceptions. In the tense team, Bruno acted like an outlier. Wearing the captain's armband and walking at the front of the team, he even waved to the roaring Real Madrid fans!
Of course, his action was naturally interpreted as a "provocation" against Real Madrid fans, which then provoked even more frenzied shouts and boos from them.

Walking behind Bruno, De Gea reached out and patted Bruno on the shoulder, then said to him as he turned around, "Bruno, don't provoke them, it won't do us any good..."

Bruno spread his hands, looking aggrieved, and said, "I just wanted to express friendliness..."

"..." De Gea was speechless upon hearing Bruno's reply.

Want to express friendliness at a time like this? Nobody believes that!

………………

When the two teams shook hands before the match, every Manchester United player could feel the “power” from the Real Madrid players – power in the literal sense.

The Real Madrid players shook hands with them very forcefully, squeezing so hard it hurt their hands.

This might be a psychological tactic, an attempt to put pressure on Manchester United players and put them at a psychological disadvantage.

Bruno was pinched quite hard. He didn't know how it was for others, but after the handshake, he couldn't help but grimace and shake his hand.

He was the only one in the entire Manchester United team to do that...

De Gea said to him, "See? I told you it wouldn't do them any good to provoke them..."

"Damn!" Bruno exclaimed, waving his hand. "I didn't expect the players and fans to be united in their hatred!"

De Gea continued to kindly remind him, "Be careful, Bruno. This is only what's happening outside of the match. Once the game starts, they definitely won't hold back when they tackle you. Learn to protect yourself and don't get injured..."

Bruno shook his hand and nodded, saying, "I understand. Thank you for reminding me, David."

De Gea laughed and said, "You are the most indispensable person in our team. If you get injured, even if we make it to the final, it won't make us happy."

“Well, you’re indispensable too. Everyone is important,” Bruno said to De Gea.

This is no exaggeration. As Manchester United's goalkeeper, De Gea's role in the match was arguably the most crucial. Especially today, Manchester United's tactics were based on counter-attacking, with defense being paramount. Only by successfully containing the opponent's attacks could they effectively launch counter-attacks.

Of course, it's not just De Gea who's important; every single player is crucial. The team is a cohesive unit, and everyone within that unit is essential and indispensable.

But De Gea took Bruno's words as friendly and modest, and smiled.

………………

As Mourinho predicted, Real Madrid launched a fierce attack on Manchester United's goal after the match began.

Just two minutes into the game, they won a corner kick. After Manchester United cleared the corner, Mbappe appeared at the second ball and took a shot from outside the penalty area, but the ball went wide.

Although it didn't go in, Mbappe's shot seemed to be a declaration, telling everyone at Manchester United that this was the tone of the game!
In the fourth minute, Modric intercepted Cancelo's ball on the right side of the attacking third. The ball fell to Toni Kroos, who quickly played a through ball to Benzema, creating a one-on-one opportunity!

"Benzema—! Great shot! One-on-one! A golden opportunity for Real Madrid!" the Spanish television commentator shouted excitedly.

Facing this one-on-one opportunity, De Gea rushed out to attack.

Benzema, on the other hand, took a shot from six meters out, the ball skimming along the grass towards the far post.

De Gea lunged in the wrong direction; when he fell to the ground, he could only stretch his legs out as much as possible to expand his defensive area.

This instinctive action saved Manchester United; the ball hit his foot and went wide of the goal.

During this attack, the Real Madrid fans in the stands were initially thrilled, then let out a long sigh. "De Gea made a magnificent save!" Lineker exclaimed excitedly, "Well done!!"

He Wei was quite startled, exclaiming, "Only four minutes into the game, Real Madrid already had two shots on goal, one of which by Benzema almost resulted in a goal... Real Madrid's determination to turn the tide at home is evident in their rapid offensive. Can Manchester United withstand the onslaught of Real Madrid?"

………………

The corner kick was taken, and Maguire jumped up and headed the ball away again, but the second bounce of the ball was once again won by a Real Madrid player. Casemiro passed the ball after winning the second bounce, and Mbappe took a long-range shot without stopping the ball, but it went wide once again.

Real Madrid quickly launched another attack and, after applying continuous pressure, earned another corner kick. Carvajal took the corner, and Benzema fired a shot from a few meters in front of the goal, but it went wide.

Then, in the thirteenth minute, Real Madrid had an even better chance. Modric delivered a precise 30-meter lob pass, and Benzema, making a run into the box, chested the ball down!

"Benzema!! Watch out for that ball!"

Amidst the varying gasps of the commentators, the French center forward leaped from less than six meters from the goal and unleashed a right-footed volley, but the ball struck De Gea's chest and bounced away!
"De Gea! He made another world-class save! He blocked Benzema's shooting angle!" Lineker shouted.

"Benzema! What a pity, he missed a golden opportunity!" The Spanish commentator held his head in his hands.

"This is incredibly tense... Only thirteen minutes into the game, Real Madrid already have two clear-cut chances to score from close range. Unfortunately, they haven't capitalized on either. But if Real Madrid continues playing like this, they might not be far from scoring..."

Although He Wei was sitting in a studio thousands of miles away, he felt his heart racing. If someone else were providing commentary on-site, their voice would probably be trembling at this moment.

It's unimaginable how much pressure the Manchester United players on the pitch must be under...

The television broadcast gave a close-up shot of several Manchester United players. In the close-up, these Manchester United players all looked serious and tense, and the beads of sweat on their foreheads were clearly visible, reflecting the lights of the Bernabéu Stadium.

Even Bruno, who had looked relaxed before the match, became serious.

………………

The live television broadcast was still showing the moment when Benzema missed his chance, but the replay was suddenly cut off halfway through. What appeared before the eyes of the television audience was the Frenchman lying almost on the ground in the penalty area, sweeping the ball towards him.

This moment made many people who hadn't reacted think that the replay was from a different angle, but actually it wasn't; this was Real Madrid's brand new attack!
Just as the television broadcast was replaying the previous attack, they had already put the ball in front of Manchester United's goal again!

When Benzema used unconventional shooting techniques, Manchester United goalkeeper De Gea once again made an unconventional save.

This time, he once again used his foot to block Benzema's close and seemingly certain shot!
"De Gea!"

But Lineker didn't have time to continue praising De Gea, because Real Madrid's attack wasn't over. After De Gea blocked the ball with his foot, it didn't fly out of bounds or far out of the penalty area; instead, it landed right inside the box.

Vinicius and Van Dijk were battling for the second ball when Vinicius fell in the penalty area.

He fell down and opened his arms to protest and complain to the referee, reminding him that this was a foul by Van Dijk.

But the referee, Osato, made no call, even though he was only five meters away from the incident...

The Spanish commentator exclaimed, "That's Van Dijk's foul! It's a penalty! It's definitely a penalty!!"

………………

The game didn't stop there; Van Dijk launched a long ball out.

Vinicius angrily leaped to his feet, intending to charge at Osato and demand an explanation.

During this process, he glanced up at the ball and then gave up the idea of ​​going to Asto—because he saw the ball fall to his teammate Casemiro's feet, a new round of attack was about to begin, and he needed to make a run to position himself.

He quickly turned his head to observe the positional relationship between himself and the opposing defender, making sure he was not offside, and then spread out laterally to find an opening.

Casemiro didn't pass the ball to him; instead, he passed it to Modric.

Modric received the ball and immediately played a through ball to Mbappe.

Mbappe received the ball while running, and instead of stopping it at his feet, he deftly flicked it with his heel, following the ball's trajectory!
The ball rolled towards Tony Kroos, who had run into space!

(End of this chapter)