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

Chapter 984: Premier League Three Kingdoms War

Bruno did not pay attention to the national team's two consecutive defeats in the warm-up matches during the international match day. On the one hand, these were just two insignificant friendly matches. On the other hand, Manchester United was about to face another extremely difficult schedule.

As April approaches, Manchester United, who are competing for the championship on three fronts, are facing the toughest test of the season.

According to the schedule, Manchester United's first game in April will be at home against Leicester City on the afternoon of April 4.

On the evening of April 4, Manchester United will visit the Etihad Stadium for the fifth Manchester derby of the season, which is the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

At noon on April 4, Manchester United continued their away journey and challenged Everton at Goodison Park. This was the 9nd round of the Premier League.

Four days later, on the evening of April 4, Manchester United will face their city rivals Manchester City at home in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

Next, Manchester United will face Crystal Palace at home on the afternoon of April 4, which is the semi-final of this season's FA Cup.

In late April, Manchester United's test continued. First, on the evening of April 4, they visited Anfield to challenge Liverpool, which was a make-up match of the 4th round of the Premier League.

Next they will go to the Emirates Stadium to challenge Arsenal, which is the 34th round of the Premier League.

If Manchester United can beat Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals, they will also face a Champions League semi-final in the following week!

However, Manchester United's last game in April will most likely be on April 4, when they face Brentford at home in the 4th round of the Premier League.

That is to say, Manchester United will have 4 to 8 games in the whole month of April, which is another month with two games a week!

Moreover, these opponents include not only top Premier League teams such as Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal, but also Premier League veterans such as Everton and Leicester City, and possibly even top European giants!

This will be a purgatory-like test for any team!

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On the afternoon of April 4nd, Manchester United welcomed Leicester City, their opponent in the 2st round of the league, at home.

Although the two Portuguese internationals Bruno and Cancelo were not affected by the FIFA virus, Manchester United was still a victim of the FIFA virus because they had too many international players in their team. Those international players participated in the international match day with their respective national teams.

In addition, the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City will be next week, and Leicester City is currently ranked in the middle of the standings, with almost no hope of competing in European competitions, and no threat of relegation. It is a typical team with no desires, so Mourinho did not arrange for those players who played with the national team in this game.

Bruno, who did not return to his country, started the game and played the entire game. However, this did not bring a victory for Manchester United. They unexpectedly drew 1:1 with Leicester City at home.

In the 63rd minute, Madison made a cross from the left, Iheanacho's header in front of the small penalty area was blocked and went into the net. Manchester United fell behind 0:1 at home.

But Manchester United equalized the score in just 3 minutes. In the 66th minute, Fred passed the ball and Bruno shot low into the net from the edge of the penalty area.

In the same round of matches, Liverpool beat Watford 2-0 at home, while Manchester City beat Burnley 2-0 away.

Manchester United's lead in the standings has returned to 8 points, and its advantage over third-placed Manchester City is only 10 points!

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"…Manchester United has made some mistakes recently, and Liverpool and Manchester City just took advantage of these opportunities. It seems that it is too early to say that this season's league title belongs to Manchester United, and Klopp's team has not given up. Moreover, Liverpool's opponent in the Champions League quarter-finals is the average-strength Benfica, while Manchester United and Manchester City are about to start a bloody battle. This is undoubtedly the best news for Liverpool." The Liverpool Echo commented.

They were right. Next up is the Champions League quarter-finals. Liverpool's opponent is Benfica, which is generally regarded as a gift package for the top eight. As the only non-top five league team in the Champions League quarter-finals, the Portuguese eagles have certain strength, but no one is optimistic that they can pose much threat to the powerful Liverpool.

Klopp didn't even take all the main players to the away game, he left some of the main players in the UK.

But even with such a Liverpool team, they still beat Benfica 3:1 away. They took a two-goal lead in the first half and ended the suspense of the game.

In the two-round knockout match, with such a big advantage away from home, Liverpool can be said to have already booked a ticket to the Champions League semi-finals.

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While Liverpool easily defeated Benfica away from home, Manchester United had a bloody battle with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Mourinho sent out the strongest lineup in this game, and all the main players who had a rest last weekend started.

This was a tough match. The Blues, who were motivated in pursuit of their first Champions League trophy in team history, launched a fierce attack on Manchester United amid the cheers of the home fans.

After 2 minutes of fierce battle, they finally beat Manchester City 1:1 away with a goal and an assist from Bruno. This was the fourth time this season that they beat Manchester City and took the initiative in the two-round knockout match. However, the one-goal advantage was not enough to guarantee Manchester United's promotion to the semi-finals. In the second round at the new Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester City still had hope of a comeback.

Under such circumstances, Mourinho had to make a comprehensive rotation in the 32nd round of the Premier League match at Goodison Park at the weekend, and even Bruno did not travel with the team.

Manchester United, playing with an all-substitute lineup, suffered their first defeat in the Premier League this season at Goodison Park, being defeated 0-1 by Everton.

This also means that Manchester United's 33-game unbeaten record in the Premier League has come to an end.

The last time Manchester United lost in the Premier League was in the 36th round of last season, when they were unexpectedly defeated by Leicester City 2:1 at home.

However, Mourinho said in an interview after the game that he would not change the current rotation policy because Manchester United has a big dream and will not be satisfied with just winning a certain event, but wants to win as many championships as possible.

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Manchester United was unexpectedly defeated by Everton, while Manchester City and Liverpool had a head-to-head confrontation at the Etihad Stadium.

Both sides want to defeat their opponents, because if they defeat their opponents when Manchester United loses 3 points, they can not only leave one opponent behind, but also narrow the points gap with Manchester United.

But the result was very disappointing for both teams, as they ended up with a 2:2 draw. This was undoubtedly a lose-lose situation, as they undoubtedly wasted a great opportunity to get closer to Manchester United.

Especially for Liverpool, if they can beat Manchester City away, they will not only narrow the gap with Manchester United to 5 points, but also leave Manchester City 5 points behind. This will be a perfect situation.

In the next league game, the two teams will have a direct dialogue, with Manchester United challenging Liverpool away.

If Liverpool beat Manchester United at home, they can take advantage of the situation to narrow the 5-point gap to 2 points and really see hope of overtaking Manchester United.

After all, the 2-point gap is within the scope of one game. As long as Manchester United encounters any unexpected situation, Liverpool can take the opportunity to overtake.

Unfortunately, the script did not develop as Liverpool fans most wanted to see, but fortunately, the result of 2:2 was barely acceptable to them.

Especially since Manchester United and Manchester City will have a fierce battle in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 next week, and they have already established a huge advantage in advancing to the semi-finals, so they can play the game with ease at home.

In the Manchester derby 11 days later, Liverpool, who have had enough rest, can take advantage of the opportunity at home to defeat the tired Manchester United and win this 6-point battle!
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The match between Manchester United and Manchester City is the most anticipated match in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, and the whole world is watching this match.

For Manchester City, this is a battle of revenge and they must beat Manchester United away.

This is the sixth Manchester derby of the season, but in the previous five Manchester derby games, Manchester City's record was an embarrassing 5 draw and 1 losses.

In fact, the last time Manchester City won a Manchester derby was three years ago.

在2019年的4月24日的英超第31轮补赛中，曼城在客场1:0击败曼联，延缓了红魔取得英超三连冠的脚步。

But in the following three years, the two sides played against each other 15 times, and Manchester City never won again, with an embarrassing record of 3 draws and 12 losses!
Moreover, although Manchester City still maintains the hope of winning the treble, they are at a disadvantage in every championship competition.

In the Premier League, they are currently 9 points behind Manchester United, with only a theoretical hope of a comeback.

In the Champions League, Manchester City's 1:2 loss at home in the first leg pushed them to the brink of elimination.

In the final FA Cup, they will compete with their rival Liverpool for a ticket to the final in the semi-finals.

It can be said that Manchester City has been forced into a desperate situation.

If they want to continue their pursuit of the first Champions League trophy in team history, they have no choice but to beat Manchester United away.

And Manchester City has more confidence in themselves this season. A month ago in the battle at Etihad, they once saw the dawn of victory. And in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final last week, Manchester City also had a chance to win.

As long as they can beat Manchester United in a direct confrontation, not only can Manchester United's dream of winning five consecutive Champions League titles end, but Manchester City will also have more confidence on the road to the league championship.

So before this Champions League quarter-final, Manchester City's players spoke through various channels to express their determination.

(End of this chapter)