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

Chapter 922 Captain's Responsibility

"To be honest, I am not satisfied with the performance in the first half. We did not start well. We should have taken the initiative, but Liverpool took the lead. Then we did not complete the pre-match deployment well."

Mourinho drives the pieces on the tactical board that represent United players.

"As we said before the game, pull Liverpool's midfielder from both wings and ribs. They often only have one Henderson in this area. As long as he is pulled away, our players who insert from behind will have a chance."

What Mourinho meant by "coming forward" is not just the flanks of Rashford and Greenwood, but also the center of the team.

Gundogan and Kante are both good at making runs from behind and are also good at long-range shots.

Kante was once a purely defensive midfielder, but after joining Manchester United, he has made a lot of progress in offense, gradually transitioning to an all-around midfielder. His long-range shots from behind are his most famous work.

As for Gundogan, he is an all-around midfielder with excellent offense and defense.

"Let me do it!" Bruno stepped forward and stood up.

Everyone immediately looked at him in unison, with admiration in their eyes.

Facing an opponent like Liverpool, being able to step forward at this time shows Bruno's courage and responsibility.

With such a captain, who wouldn’t be convinced?
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"I will be responsible for dribbling the ball and attracting defensive attention, and others will be responsible for running into gaps." Bruno said.

Many times, the core players of the team are not just as simple as scoring goals, but also have to take on more.

In particular, core players are often the targets of opponents' focus.

Looking at the current Manchester United team, it can be said that there are very few players with the ability of Bruno.

Rashford on the left does have good speed and scoring ability, but his dribbling ability is not that strong.

As for Gundogan and Kante, they are in a deeper position and are not as likely to attract defensive attention as Bruno.

There are many players on the bench who can dribble the ball, but there is really no one who is confident in dribble the ball, attract the attention of the defense, and then pass the ball. Even Bellingham, a genius who is favored by everyone, can't do this.

But Bruno can do it.

"Then I'll pull the strings from the front." Harry Kane also took the initiative to take on the task.

"Koulibaly's condition in this game is not very good, pay attention to him." Bruno reminded the Manchester United center.

Just now when we were fighting offside, we had already noticed Koulibaly's condition.

After confirming the information with his teammates, Bruno turned to look at Gundogan and Kante and said, "Pay attention to the open space. I will pass the ball to you."

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"Manchester United still passed the ball to the right."

"Leave it to Bruno!"

"Bruno starts quickly, spikes the ball and changes direction, cutting inside!"

"Pretty!"

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Beep!
With the referee's whistle, Robertson climbed up from the grass panting.

Bruno was still lying next to him, uninjured, but looking excited.

"Damn it!" Robertson cursed in his heart and slowly backed away.

In the last moments of the first half, Bruno suddenly made a diagonal run into the penalty area after being offside, and even dribbled past goalkeeper Alisson.

If Konate had not blocked his shot with his body and a suspected handball defense in the last minute, Manchester United would have scored.

This serious mistake caused Robertson and Koulibaly to be severely criticized by Klopp during the half-time break. Klopp obviously could not accept such a mistake in the team's defense.

Robertson was also very angry.

After changing sides in the second half, less than two minutes into the game, Bruno saw Bruno get a one-on-one opportunity and suddenly spike the ball and cut inside. He was anxious and immediately fouled decisively.

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The bald referee Anthony Taylor quickly ran over and raised a yellow card towards Robertson, giving him a warning.

The Liverpool left back slowly backed up, but his eyes could not help but look at Bruno who was pulled up from the ground by Cancelo. He was very moved. He was indeed the best player in the world of football. His strength was really beyond words. Although there were many strong players in Liverpool, none of them could really reach Bruno's level. Only Salah could barely compare with Bruno.

What makes people most fear Bruno is that he has almost no fluctuations in form, as if he is in his best condition in every game.

In this game tonight, he also performed very bravely and was in excellent condition. He kept running throughout the game, constantly looking for opportunities, which made the Liverpool players defending him, including Robertson and Henderson, feel extremely tired.

Klopp kept calling on the players to form their formation on the sidelines.

What Manchester United got was a set kick opportunity on the right side of the frontcourt, which was quite threatening.

Robertson had obviously lost his position and was forced to commit a foul. Klopp really couldn't complain about his left-back because Robertson really tried his best in this defense.

It can only be said that Bruno's sudden start with the ball and the subsequent change of direction of the smash were really too fast!

Bruno took the free kick himself, but he did not shoot directly, although he had the ability to score from a direct free kick in this position.

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"Manchester United takes a free kick." "Bruno's right-footed curved ball into the penalty area!"

"There's someone missing in the middle!"

"Van Dijk grabbed the first spot and headed the ball towards the goal!"

……

All that was heard at the scene was a bang, and the ball hit the crossbar and bounced back into the penalty area.

All the Manchester United fans in the stadium exclaimed in unison, followed by a sigh of disappointment.

"What a pity!"

"The Dutch centre-back's header hit the crossbar."

"Manchester United's set-piece attack was very thoughtful. Bruno's penalty kick was of a very high level and his placement was quite accurate. Van Dijk quickly headed the ball into the goal. The whole set-piece was coordinated very beautifully. But it's a pity that it was still a little bit A little worse.”

"Bruno is still the most threatening player on Manchester United's field. Liverpool obviously intends to strengthen its defense in the area where Bruno is active."

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In this wave of offense after the opening of the second half, Manchester United played their own morale and rhythm.

Bruno soon got another chance on the right. Cancelo passed the ball straight, Bruno retreated, turned around when he stopped the ball, and dribbled the ball diagonally to the front of the penalty area.

Milner clung to Bruno but Cancelo quickly made a run-in, diverting the defence's attention from Bruno, forcing Robertson to follow the Portuguese right-back.

Bruno suddenly accelerated, using his own speed to shake off Milner's entanglement and rushed straight into the penalty area.

This made Henderson panic and he rushed over to help defend.

But Bruno did not slow down, and he seemed to be ready to rush into the penalty area in one go. This put the Liverpool captain in a very passive position. He could not find an opportunity to make a move. The closer he got to the penalty area, the less he dared to move easily, and he could only keep retreating.

But just as he retreated into the penalty area, Bruno spotted an opportunity and suddenly pushed the ball sideways. The ball passed between Henderson and Milner. Gundogan quickly came up and shot directly with his right foot!
"Bruno crosses the ball..."

"Gündogan just hit the door!"

……

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The football flew towards the goal at an extremely fast speed, but slightly missed the upright and went out of the baseline.

Gundogan knelt down in front of Liverpool's penalty area, full of regret.

He is too anxious!

He has been waiting for the opportunity, always waiting for Bruno to pass the ball. He always believed that Bruno could pass the ball, and in fact Bruno also passed the ball.

But when the opportunity came, he was anxious and failed to seize this excellent scoring opportunity.

Manchester United fans in the stands sighed in disappointment again, but soon burst into applause.

Many fans were shouting Bruno's name, and some were shouting Gundogan.

"Manchester United fans are supporting their players."

"After the start of the second half, Manchester United played their own offensive game and played very well."

"Bruno, in particular, was extremely active and created many chances for his teammates, but unfortunately, Manchester United players still lacked the ability to seize opportunities."

……

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Bruno just sprinted 20 meters with the ball, which also consumed a lot of energy.

On the football field, the most consuming thing is this kind of quick sprint. Bruno can only do it more than thirty times a game, and after each quick sprint, he needs a little time to slow down.

He personally experienced what Ronaldo said to the media, that he did not participate in defense in order to save enough energy to sprint when attacking.

Bruno has good physical fitness, but he still finds it difficult to handle this kind of fast sprint.

"It's okay." Bruno walked over, pulled Gundogan up, and encouraged him, "It's okay, Ilkay, I will pass the ball again and try to seize the opportunity next time."

Gundogan turned around and hugged Bruno, full of apologies.

This was an opportunity that Bruno had finally fought for, but he wasted it.

Sometimes, in a game, such an opportunity is once and for all. If it is wasted, it may not appear again.

"Believe me!" Bruno clapped vigorously, "If we work harder, the goal will definitely come!"

Bruno's loud call attracted the attention and even hostility of Liverpool players.

But so what, this is Old Trafford!
As long as we can beat Liverpool, it will be a very satisfying thing even if we are hated by the opponent's players.

As Ibrahimovic said, the most satisfying thing is to score a goal in front of the opponent's fans, and the opponent's boos are the best compliment.

Manchester United wants to score a goal. This is not a conspiracy, but an open conspiracy.

Bruno wants to help Manchester United score goals under the watchful eyes of Liverpool players!
(End of this chapter)