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

Chapter 960: A Winning Blow

Amid Leeds United's fierce bombardment, the game time reached the 70th minute, and Leeds United's shot statistics rose sharply, which fully demonstrated their advantage.

But it is not true to say that Manchester United had no chance at all. Manchester United did launch several counterattacks, but the quality was not high.

As time goes by, Leeds United cannot maintain this fast-paced and high-intensity game, and they also need to stop and take a breath.

Bruno knows this very well. There is no team in the world that can maintain this kind of game rhythm for 90 minutes.

So now we actually need to be more patient than our opponents.

When there is an offensive opportunity, don't be too anxious. If it is not a good opportunity, Bruno would rather give up the attack than rashly pass the ball forward and easily give possession of the ball to Leeds United.

For him, he felt the worst outcome of the game was a draw.

Although we only get one point, Manchester City will take the opportunity to narrow the points gap, but the score is already 2:2, what else can we do?

If we can't win this game, at least we shouldn't lose, right?
The three points that were originally in hand have become one point, and this point can never be turned into zero points.

So Bruno thought that if it really didn't work, then just stick with a draw, it wouldn't be a big deal.

Once you have the right mindset, you will look at things differently.

When a counterattack opportunity comes, he will not blindly push the ball forward and hope for luck.

For him, success rate is far more important than the number of shots.

Leeds United had far more shots than Manchester United, but the score was still 2:2, so there was no difference.

………………

Bruno is patiently waiting for Leeds United to catch their breath.

After many unsuccessful counterattacks, Manchester United's players realized that their impatience would not lead to any good results, so they gradually let go of their eagerness and waited patiently for opportunities with Bruno.

After all, it is a team that has won the league championship for five consecutive seasons, so it still has the ability to self-adjust on the court.

When all the players in the team calm down, Bruno's chance will come. After all, he is the brain of Manchester United and he is the one who mobilizes the whole team.

If he were alone, his role would change.

He still hopes that more teammates can cooperate with him instead of fighting alone.

It is no secret that Leeds United slowed down the pace from the 70th minute. Anyone with experience in watching football can see it.

Judging from the situation, Manchester United finally had a chance to catch their breath.

Leeds United fans didn't stop cheering. In their minds, this was a temporary adjustment of the team. The purpose was to catch a breath and then continue to attack. They would repeat this process until the end of the game. The breathing intervals were very short, just like diving. They would float to the surface, take a deep breath, and then dive for a long time.

In their opinion, their team was just taking a breath.

However, in Bruno's eyes, breathing is not the result of the diver's active control, but an inevitable result of physiological structure.

After all, humans are not fish that can stay in water without breathing.

Since you need to breathe, it is actually a weakness. As long as you can seize this weakness and make some use of it, you may be able to get different results.

He was like a patient killer, lurking by the water, patiently waiting for the moment when the target was forced to surface to breathe.

………………

In the 72nd minute of the game, shortly after Leeds United slowed down the pace of the game, Manchester United got a chance to attack.

But when the ball fell to Bruno's feet, he controlled the ball and turned around in place. While protecting the ball, he also lost the opportunity to pass the ball forward. Finally, he passed the ball to the central defender Van Dijk behind him.

This is equivalent to voluntarily giving up the opportunity to counterattack.

To some anxious Manchester United fans, this is a very regrettable and incomprehensible thing.

Why didn't Bruno pass the ball forward? The chance wasn't good enough? But how could we know if the chance was good or not if we didn't pass the ball forward? And if we didn't pass the ball forward, how could we have a chance?
Let’s not talk about whether the opportunity is good or not. If there is no opportunity, what’s the point of talking about whether it is good or not?
Bruno could not hear the doubting voices and he played according to his own rhythm and plan.

Leeds United thought it was a good thing that Manchester United failed to launch this fast break. Some Leeds United fans even felt that Manchester United had been completely frightened by Leeds United and would not dare to try even if the opportunity was right in front of them.

Leeds United’s previous offensive was indeed crazy, and the momentum they showed was enough to scare many people, so this speculation is normal.

But this seemingly correct guess may not be the truth.

And this kind of self-satisfaction is likely to have a counterproductive effect. It's fine if the supporters feel good about themselves, but if the players also feel good about themselves, then there will be trouble. ………………

The game was in the 77th minute and was about to enter the last ten minutes. Leeds United, unwilling to just get a draw at home, would definitely increase their offensive intensity.

During the seven-minute "breathing" process, Leeds United's goal was not threatened at all.

Leeds United players naturally felt that Manchester United no longer had the ability to threaten their goal. Now that there was little time left in the game, they should try their best to launch an attack and try to score a goal in the remaining time and complete a classic reversal.

But just as they were about to speed up, due to a pass error, possession of the ball fell into the hands of Manchester United.

However, Leeds United players were not panicked. After losing the ball, they did not retreat quickly, but surrounded Manchester United players in the frontcourt, hoping to steal the ball directly and launch an attack.

Anyway, Manchester United was frightened by their previous offensive!
When the ball was passed to Bruno, two Leeds United players ran towards him, one on his left and one on his right.

Facing the imminent encirclement, Bruno did not try to control the ball as long as possible this time. He turned around and passed the ball directly with his heel!
The football passed between two Leeds United players who were planning to surround Bruno!
………………

When the two Leeds United players' attention was attracted by the football, Bruno quietly turned past them and ran forward.

This was a rare move for him in recent times, where he not only passed the ball forward, but also moved forward. However, the Leeds United players were so focused on the ball that few noticed him.

Bruno passed the ball with his heel to Diallo in front.

Diallo has both skills and speed, making him an excellent candidate for counterattacks, and will of course attract more attention from defenders.

Bruno's decisive pass gave Diallo an opportunity to get the ball without any defense. After he stopped the ball and turned around, no one was defending him closely, so he could do it calmly.

After turning around, Diallo rushed forward with the ball, but he was soon blocked by Leeds United players.

In this situation, he passed the ball back to Dalot who was making a forward run.

Dalot received the ball on the wing, but Leeds United's defense was already set up, so he didn't have many good opportunities to go inside.

Or he could just cross the ball directly from the wing, but the efficiency of this attack is too low, and McTominay will most likely not be able to head the ball.

Or he could break directly into the penalty area, but looking at the full-back Dallas who was ready to fight, Dalot had no chance of success.

………………

Manchester United's attack was deadlocked here. Leeds United players returned to their positions one after another, leaving less space for Manchester United.

As long as they are patient, Manchester United's attack will basically hardly create any threat.

In this situation, Diallo took the initiative to run towards Dalot and seek cooperation.

But his run also attracted the attention of Leeds United's defensive players, and immediately a Leeds United player came up to him.

Diallo ran towards Dalot, who was also slowly dribbling the ball towards the middle.

When two people cross each other, that's when Leeds United's defense is most focused. There are too many routines of crossing positions and then passing the ball. Of course, Leeds United must guard against Manchester United playing like this.

In the eyes of many people, when Diallo passes behind Dalot, Dalot will pass the ball to Diallo. At the same time, he will cover Diallo and let Diallo break through from behind him. In addition, he can also help Diallo block the Leeds United players who are guarding Diallo.

This is how the "pick and roll" on the football field was formed.

But Dalot didn't do that. When everyone thought he would pass the ball to Diallo, he pushed the ball directly to the middle!

There, there was Bruno!

"Bruno!" He Wei shouted excitedly, "Good shot!"

………………

Because of Diallo's running position, the Leeds United players' attention was attracted by Diallo, and no one expected Bruno to move forward.

It was not until Dalot passed the ball that Bruno returned to their sight, but it seemed a little late.

Facing the ball passed by Dalot, Bruno stepped forward and made a normal pass.

However, when Bruno was about to run to the football, after his normally swinging left leg fell, he did not stop the ball. Instead, he suddenly exerted force, and his calf swung out like a whip. At the same time, he turned his ankle sideways and pushed the ball towards him.

The football was kicked by the inside of his left foot and did not fly up. Instead, it rushed forward quickly along the grass, drawing a clear arc on the grass and heading straight to the lower left corner of the goal!
This is not catching the ball, this is shooting!

(End of this chapter)