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

Chapter 975 Creating Opportunities

In the end, what Mourinho came up with was to let other Manchester United players cooperate more with Bruno so that Bruno could transfer the ball quickly to avoid the ball staying under his feet for too long, resulting in losing the ball.

"...This requires our three lines to be closer, our positioning to be more flexible, and if we run more, we will have opportunities." During the halftime break, Mourinho clapped his hands and said to his players.

Everyone nodded after hearing this.

"Very good, let's start the second half like this! Don't be afraid of their tactics! Remember, this is a Manchester derby! Such a game requires courage instead of technology and tactics!"

Mourinho gritted his teeth and clenched his fists to cheer his players.

After the second half started, everyone saw Bruno changed his clothes and replaced the dirty jersey in the first half with a clean one.

"But I think this suit might get dirty soon... unless the referee Oliver is willing to strictly control the movements of the players on the field," said Jin Xiangkai of iQiyi.

"I don't think so unless something very serious happens on the field." Liu Yue, who partnered with Jin Xiangkai, gave the Chinese fans in front of the TV a not-so-good prediction.

………………

Just as the commentator expected, Bruno fell to the ground shortly after the start of the second half.

However, this time, referee Oliver did not blow the whistle, but made a gesture to continue the game. Because Bruno poked the ball to his teammate Kante before falling, the attack continued. In line with the principle of benefiting the attacking side, Oliver did not blow the whistle this time.

However, Jin Xiangkai said: "I think Bernardo should be given a yellow card later!"

But the referee Oliver did not do so. Later, Manchester United's attack ended and Oliver had no intention of giving another card.

If this happened at Manchester United's home ground, there would probably be a lot of boos, but unfortunately this is Manchester City's home ground.

Bruno had already gotten up from the ground. It was his Portugal national team teammate Bernardo Silva who pushed him with his hand. At that moment, the guy didn't care about the friendly relationship between the two sides at all and didn't show any courtesy at all, so Bruno fell very painfully, but his joints were not injured, so it was okay.

He had experienced this feeling many times in the Football Training Master System simulation games. He was mentally prepared for the opponent to use this method to deal with him, so Bruno did not get impatient.

But we still have to find a way to change the situation.

………………

After 45 minutes of the first half and the first few minutes of the second half, Bruno found that reality and virtual reality were similar, that is, Manchester City's fouls on him were mainly concentrated in the midfield and Manchester United's backcourt. There were also some in the frontcourt, but there was only one foul near Manchester City's penalty area, when Pogba tackled him.

If you look into it more carefully, La Pogba, as a midfielder, had several direct conversations with himself, but that was the first and only time he directly tackled him.

Before that, Pogba had never tackled himself.

What does this mean? What made Pogba want to knock himself down even at the cost of getting a card?

Bruno thinks that Manchester City doesn't want him to move forward anymore?
Maybe Guardiola gave specific instructions to Manchester City players, telling them that if they wanted to foul me, they should not do it too close to the penalty area, because that would give Manchester United the opportunity to take a direct free kick, which is risky after all.

This is normal. If fouls are committed frequently, it is normal to avoid fouling in dangerous areas.

But isn't this exactly what I can use?

Bruno already knew what to do.

Yes, the next step is to wait for the opportunity.

………………

However, while Bruno was waiting for an opportunity, Manchester City launched a thundering attack first.

In the 57th minute, Manchester City took a corner kick from the left side, and De Bruyne received the ball and shot directly past De Gea.

"1:0! The home team Manchester City is leading!"

The Etihad Stadium erupted in huge cheers at this moment. The Manchester City fans in blue jerseys in the entire stands were like boiling sea water, cheering and waving their arms.

Manchester City players also celebrated the goal crazily. De Bruyne, who scored the goal, ran to the corner flag area, and his teammates rushed over, pushed him to the ground, and celebrated to their heart's content.

Serving as the background for the Manchester City players running and cheering are the Manchester United players.

After conceding the goal, the TV broadcast not only showed the ecstatic Manchester City players, but also the Manchester United players.

De Gea, who lost the ball, looked annoyed, while Cancelo, who was out of position in this defense, bit his lower lip, feeling unwilling and depressed.

Next, a close-up shot of each of Manchester United's two core players was given. Gundogan stood with his hands on his hips, looking at the Manchester City players running away in confusion. And Bruno? The Manchester United captain had no special expression on his face. His eyes were not confused, and his face was not annoyed. He looked no different from usual.

As a player with a big heart, and having anticipated such a situation, it is difficult to know what he is thinking from his expression.

"The deadlock was finally broken... The focus of the first half was entirely on physical contact and falls. Fortunately, we finally saw a goal in the second half. At the same time, this goal will push the atmosphere of the Manchester derby to a climax, and the competition between the two sides will only become more and more intense!"

As a neutral commentator leaving the field, Martin Taylor hoped that this goal would make the game more exciting.

The game was intense but not exciting enough. Now that there is a goal and the deadlock has been broken, maybe there will be more goals?

………………

After the game resumed, Manchester City's morale was boosted after scoring a goal, and they continued to launch fierce attacks on Manchester United's goal.

At this time, Manchester United could only hold on hard, withstand Manchester City's offensive, and ensure that they did not lose any more balls.

If we lose two goals in a short period of time, this derby will be difficult to win.

Now that we have only lost one goal, there is still room for recovery.

Bruno also came back to join the defense and was very active. Although he didn't play a big role, but there was always one more person.

During this period, he and Manchester United were suppressed far away from Manchester City's penalty area and had no chance at all.

It took about five minutes for Manchester City's fierce and continuous offensive to end. During this period, Manchester City was very close to scoring several times.

But in the end it didn't go in, which was due to both the efforts of Manchester United players and luck.

In short, the score is still 1:0, with Manchester City leading at home.

Manchester United regained possession of the ball and gained a chance to catch their breath, and began to attack Manchester City's goal, hoping to equalize the score as soon as possible.

In the Manchester derby, losing a goal is not enough to make Manchester United lose their fighting spirit, especially Mourinho's team. This is why Guardiola hopes that the team can score another goal after scoring a goal.

Gundogan and Bruno are still closely watched by Manchester City players.

Bruno didn't dare to let the ball stay at his feet for even a second, otherwise he would be hit by the opponent. He could only pass the ball quickly and pass it to the teammate closest to him. He looked like he was running around, just making sure the ball didn't get lost at his feet. As for his job of organizing the attack, he didn't care at all.

However, Manchester United's attack is still moving forward.

………………

When Bruno received the ball within 30 meters of Manchester City, he could clearly feel that Manchester City players were faster and used their physical advantages almost without reservation.

But Bruno was not too afraid because he had already found the target before receiving the ball, so he passed the ball to Luke Shaw without stopping.

He then continued to move, slowly sideways, as if he was taking a walk, but he did not ask his teammates for the ball or make any attempt to receive it.

His teammates also knew the problem Bruno was facing, so they passed the ball around but didn't pass it to him.

Bruno approached Manchester City's penalty area little by little in this seemingly aimless and casual lateral movement.

Because the ball hadn't been at his feet for a while, he was naturally temporarily ignored by Manchester City's defensive players. Everyone's attention was shifting with the ball, and whoever had the ball at his feet would be the most watched person.

During this period, even Gundogan came up to receive the pass twice, but Bruno did not touch the ball. He successfully hid himself until he came to an obvious gap.

At this time, Kante had the ball on the flank. When he looked up, he saw Bruno secretly making a gesture to him. He saw the gesture clearly: Pass the ball to me!
Kante also made a fake move to pass the ball to the wing to the full-back Cancelo, tricking Manchester City players into turning their defensive attention to the wing. Then he turned suddenly and passed the ball to Bruno at the top of the penalty area!
………………

Bruno received the ball in the air.

At this time, Manchester City's early warning system was also activated, and their midfielder Pogba quickly rushed towards Bruno.

As Bruno stopped the ball, he pushed it into the penalty area, and then he rushed into the penalty area with premeditated plan!

This sudden start caught the other Manchester City players off guard. Before they could react, they could only watch Bruno dribble into the penalty area!

None of them expected that Bruno, who had been passing the ball again and again, would choose to dribble the ball through!
When Bruno dribbled into the penalty area, Pogba also rushed over. The French midfielder used his physical advantage to squeeze towards Bruno, like a mountain, pressing down!

Bruno hooked the ball to the left with his right foot and twisted his body to try to escape from the left. However, in front of a landslide, people are so small. He was hit hard by Pogba, then flew sideways, turned 360 degrees in the air, and fell heavily to the ground, rolling several times before stopping.

(End of this chapter)