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

Chapter 941 The Charm of Football

In the 34th minute, in the Chelsea backcourt, Kovacic got the ball and Bellingham rushed to press Kovacic. Jorginho quickly turned and ran to the side, increasing the angle and distance to make it easier for Kovacic to pass the ball.

Kovacic also saw Jorginho's movement, but not only he saw it, Bruno also saw it. So when Kovacic passed the ball to Jorginho, Bruno rushed out and blocked the pass with one foot.

The offense and defense reversed in an instant!

When he intercepted the ball, he didn't look up to observe, nor did he think about countermeasures. He intercepted the ball with the inside of his left foot, and then he kicked the football with his right foot, cutting the football with the outside of his right foot. It was an unconventional and somewhat showy passing move.

But Bruno definitely did not do this to show off his skills. He did this to save time. This would save at least one second compared to adjusting his posture and then passing the ball with the inside of his right foot.

In a counterattack, one second may be enough to determine the success or failure of the attack.

The football was cut out by the outside of his foot, drawing a very obvious arc in the air and heading straight to the side and rear of Chelsea's defense!

When Bruno raised his right foot, everyone thought he would push the ball in front of him where Diallo was running, but no one expected that Bruno would use the outside of his right foot to cut the ball, just like playing table tennis. Bruno turned into a master of cutting the ball and cut the ball to the center of the penalty area, where it was Harry Kane who made a run!

The football passed through the Chelsea defense line and appeared behind them. At this time, Harry Kane happened to run into the gap. He turned sideways to take the football flying in the air. Then, without waiting for the football to land, he volleyed it with his left foot!
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"Harry Kane——!"

Amid Andy Gray's shouts, the football flew towards Chelsea's goal like a cannonball.

This was a volley shot from the edge of the penalty area. The ball was moving very fast. Although Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa made a save, his save was not fast enough in front of such a fast ball...

The football flew into the goal before his hand reached it!

"GOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!" Andy Gray yelled in a long voice.

While Chelsea players were still signaling to the linesman and referee that Harry Kane was offside, Manchester United players had already started celebrating.

The referee did not support the Chelsea players' appeal. He and the linesman saw clearly that at the moment Bruno passed the ball, Harry Kane was still in front of Chelsea's defense line, so the ball was not offside.

"Beautiful! A fantastic volley! Harry Kane! Assisted by Bruno! This was a very beautiful counterattack after a steal in the frontcourt. It only took one pass to score a goal! Bruno once again demonstrated his strong ability to find and utilize opportunities!"

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After scoring the goal, Harry Kane ran to the stands where the away Manchester United fans were amidst huge cheers. He saluted in celebration in front of the Manchester United fans in the stands, then turned around and opened his arms to greet Bruno who was running up, hugged him and lifted him up, and other teammates followed and carried Bruno on their shoulders.

Harry Kane shot beautifully, but Bruno's kick was the key. If Bruno was a little late, Harry Kane might have been offside.

Even if it were someone else, they might not have spread it there at all...

In front of Manchester United's coaching booth, head coach Mourinho also excitedly rushed out of the command area and celebrated wildly with his fists pumped. No one would believe that he was not protesting to the fans of his old club.

This earned him a barrage of boos at Stamford Bridge.

In sharp contrast to this, Tuchel spread his hands on the sidelines with a helpless look on his face.

He couldn't even say anything about losing the ball.

When the team was surrounded by Manchester United, he was always worried about losing the ball. Now the thing he was most worried about has finally happened, and everything happened naturally.

This goal was inevitable, there is nothing much to say. Instead of being angry about the goal, it is better to think about how to equalize the score.

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After the celebration, the Manchester United players returned to their own half. Mourinho also returned to the command seat and high-fived his coaching colleagues one by one with an undisguised smile on his face.

Of course, he would be very happy to be ahead of Chelsea, because this was not only a victory for his tactics, but also revenge for being kicked out by Chelsea.

Although many years have passed and he has led Manchester United to revenge against Chelsea many times, he still feels happy every time he defeats Chelsea.

Just now, when Manchester United players finished celebrating and returned to the field, he called captain Bruno aside and emphasized that they should not relax after taking the lead and should continue to play like this.

Chelsea must be uneasy after conceding the goal. Their emotions will be affected and they will not be able to unify their efforts in attacking or defending.

At this time, as long as Manchester United continues to exert pressure, it is very likely that they will score another goal in a short period of time. As long as they can maintain a two-goal lead in the first half, the chances of winning this game will be very high, which will also play a very crucial role in Manchester United's final advancement in the two-round semi-final.

Meanwhile, next door, Tuchel made his way to the sidelines and gave a calming gesture to the Chelsea players.

After conceding a goal, the players’ moods are unstable and problems are most likely to occur. At this time, calming everyone’s emotions is the top priority.

Even if we can't equalize the score quickly, we can't lose the ball again in such a short time!

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After the game resumed, Manchester United players did intend to take advantage of Chelsea's lack of stability after just losing the ball and launching a fierce attack to score another goal, but things turned out a little differently than they thought.

After conceding the goal, Chelsea players did not lose their composure, so Manchester United's attack was like a tide hitting a embankment, and then... it was smashed to pieces.

Instead, Chelsea took advantage of the space left by Manchester United's attack and launched a very beautiful and classic quick counterattack, with Havertz finally sending the ball into the goal guarded by Romero.

At this time, only two minutes had passed since Manchester United took the lead!

"Oh - what a pity! Chelsea equalized the score! Manchester United just took the lead... This goal came too suddenly, I'm afraid no one in their team expected this!"

The TV broadcast showed the Manchester United players after they conceded the goal. Every Manchester United player who appeared in the camera looked a little confused and were not mentally prepared for the goal.

On the Chelsea side, the players surrounded Havertz and celebrated the goal wildly.

The commentator of the local London TV station seemed to be resurrected, shouting excitedly: "This is the starting point for Chelsea to break 'Murphy's Law'! They have taken control of the situation again!"

The commentator did not use the word "curse" but "Murphy's Law", which shows that he was still brooding over Bruno's words. He believed that Havertz's equalizing goal was the best response to the arrogant Bruno.

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The TV broadcast also happened to give Bruno a close-up.

In the close-up shot, Bruno stood near the center circle with his hands on his hips, waiting for the ball to be kicked off again, with no obvious expression on his face. But this did not prevent the commentator from using his imagination and interpreting the game in his own way.

"It can be seen that Bruno was also very surprised about the goal. When he said those words before the game, he probably never thought that Chelsea would be so tenacious!"

It's really a forced "very surprised" and a forced "unexpected" feeling.

But how could Bruno not have thought of conceding a goal? He had played countless games against the virtual Chelsea in the pre-match training master system. Although they were away games, Chelsea scored in almost every game. It was rare that they could not let Chelsea score a goal. This fully demonstrated that Chelsea's current offensive firepower is indeed very strong.

So Bruno was not surprised that Chelsea scored a goal in the game.

Whether it is a virtual game or a real game, he can only control himself, and the help he can provide on defense is very limited, so he has no control over whether Chelsea can score or not.

It is normal to lose the ball. What should you do if you lose the ball?

It's very simple, just find a way to score another goal.

It was still early, and Bruno didn't think that losing the ball at this time would be the end of the world.

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After the game resumed, Chelsea, who had just equalized the score, was in high spirits and performed much better than before. They even had the upper hand on the field at one point, suppressing Manchester United and forming an siege, forcing Manchester United to retreat to defend.

Fortunately, Manchester United did not lose any more balls until the end of the first half.

However, the commentator from a local London TV station who supports Chelsea was not convinced. He said: "If there was not so little time left in the first half, I believe Chelsea would have scored another goal before the end of the first half and turned defeat into victory! This halftime break saved Manchester United, and Chelsea's rapid momentum was interrupted... But I think for Chelsea, who have recovered, a fifteen-minute interval is not a problem. As long as they maintain this momentum, they will definitely score in the second half!"

The commentator finally expressed his confidence, which also made Chelsea fans in front of the TV feel confident and full of anticipation for the second half.

The situation on Manchester United's side did not look good. They lost the ball just after taking the lead, and the lead turned into a draw. The good situation was likely to vanish at any time.

Sometimes, no tactical arrangements are needed on the field. A goal or a goal lost may lead to a change in the situation. This may be the charm of football...

(End of this chapter)