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

Chapter 998 Thunder
La Liga has played 33 rounds so far. Real Madrid, who are in first place, have 78 points, the same as Manchester United. However, they are 15 points ahead of Barcelona in second place and Sevilla in third place, and have basically secured the league title in advance.

意甲排名前二的米兰双雄，在33轮后分别拿到了71分和69分，在多赛2轮的情况下还落后曼联7分和9分。

Not to mention the Bundesliga and Ligue 1, where one team dominates. With four and five rounds remaining in their respective leagues, the gap between the top team and second place has reached 9 and 15 points respectively. It's virtually impossible for Borussia Dortmund to catch up with Bayern Munich by 9 points in four rounds; while for Marseille to catch up by 15 points in five rounds, only a slim theoretical possibility remains: Paris Saint-Germain must lose all five of their remaining matches, while Marseille must win all five, to have any chance of winning the title on goal difference.

Manchester United originally had a chance to end the title race early, but due to competing on multiple fronts, they were distracted by the Champions League and the FA Cup, resulting in a draw and a loss in the last two league matches. Instead of widening the gap with Liverpool and Manchester City by taking advantage of their direct encounters, they were caught up by the two opponents by 3 points.

Even now, the first-place runner is still sprinting with all his might, not daring to slack off in the slightest, for fear of being overtaken by his rivals.

………………

During halftime, Mourinho made adjustments to the team in response to the difficulties they faced against Liverpool's flanks in the final stages of the first half. However, Mourinho's adjustments were not to strengthen the defense on the flanks, but rather to enhance the attack on those flanks.

Mourinho believed that to curb Liverpool's rampant wing attacks, an even more rampant wing attack was needed. When Manchester United's wing attacks became more intense, Liverpool's flanks were forced to turn to defense, leaving them no time to attack and unable to threaten Manchester United's defense.

This "fight fire with fire" approach was not originally Mourinho's style, but it was more in line with the style of his current opponent, Klopp. However, after six years of managing Manchester United, Mourinho's personality and even his coaching style have undergone considerable changes.

This is also closely related to Manchester United's outstanding performance in the past few years. The continuous victories and championships have not only boosted the confidence of the Manchester United players, but also caused Mourinho to change his previous style.

Manchester United have more resources to attack down the flanks than Liverpool because they have Cancelo and Greenwood on the right and Rashford and Luke Shaw on the left. All four of them have strong attacking capabilities and are also very fast, which can create a continuous flank attack and put constant pressure on Liverpool.

In comparison, Liverpool's attacking power on the flanks is slightly weaker, especially after Salah was injured and substituted, Origi was unable to fully fill the void left by Salah.

Nevertheless, Klopp showed no signs of giving up. In Liverpool's dressing room, Klopp was instructing his team to continue strengthening their attacks down both flanks in the second half.

"Use our speed on the flanks to overwhelm them!"

The head coaches of both teams coincidentally chose the flanks as the battleground.

………………

In the second half, the two sides switched sides and neither side made any substitutions.

Because of the same adjustments, the two teams immediately went head-to-head on the flanks.

In the 46th minute, Greenwood dribbled down the right flank and delivered a cross, but Harry Kane, under close marking from Koulibaly, managed to deflect the ball wide.

A minute later, Liverpool launched a quick counter-attack from the left flank through Mane. After a one-two with Thiago, he dribbled towards Manchester United's penalty area, but his final touch was a little too heavy, allowing Kanté to cut in and protect the ball, which rolled out of bounds.

In the 50th minute, Liverpool launched a very dangerous attack down the flank. Robertson delivered a long ball from the left side of the attacking third, sending the ball into the left side of the penalty area.

After Origi received the ball, he was immediately marked by Maguire, while Kanté came over to surround him at the same time.

Under pressure from two Manchester United players, Origi couldn't control the ball well. The ball rolled away, and De Gea quickly rushed out, getting ahead of Luiz Diaz, and kicked the ball long!

………………

Both teams launched attacks down the flanks, with players such as Mane, Greenwood, Arnold, Luke Shaw, Robertson, Rashford, Luis Diaz, and Cancelo making significant contributions and appearing frequently in close-up shots.

In comparison, the players in the middle lane seemed rather quiet.

During this period, Bruno's main task was to divide the football into sections, then divide it again.

Actually, his job is quite important because choosing the right time to pass the ball often determines the success or failure of the attack. If the pass is too early, the teammate won't be able to receive the ball. If the pass is too late, it slows down the attack and gives the opponent time to set up their defense.

But while the job is important, it's simply not cool or eye-catching enough. How can a simple pass compare to the lightning speed of dribbling down the wing?

Unless Bruno makes every pass without looking, or a fancy backheel pass, which is impossible.

Although Bruno has not appeared as frequently as the wingers of the two teams during this period, it does not mean that he can be ignored.

In the 58th minute, Bruno received the ball on the edge of Liverpool's penalty area. He turned to the right wing, seemingly intending to pass the ball to Greenwood, who was receiving it on the wing.

Liverpool reacted quickly, shifting their defensive focus in that direction.

Bruno leaned back and swung his right foot, seemingly intent on passing the ball. Even Fabinho, standing in front of him, stepped forward to intercept the pass.

But Bruno's right foot swung past the ball, then quickly swung back, using the inside of his heel to flick the ball from behind him toward the center.

At the same time, he quickly turned towards the center, and before anyone could react, he unleashed a powerful shot from just a step away from the top of the free-throw arc! ………………

Bruno's shot was truly unexpected; Liverpool's players were caught off guard.

For example, Koulibaly, who was right in the shooting line, didn't even have time to hide his outstretched arms before the ball hit him!

Handball!

Bruno immediately raised his arm to signal to referee Anthony Taylor.

Without making him wait, Anthony Taylor's whistle blew almost simultaneously.

"Penalty?! Yes, penalty!" Andy Gray said in a confirming tone after seeing Anthony Taylor's gesture.

As Anthony Taylor blew his whistle, he ran towards the penalty area, pointing his hand towards the penalty spot!

This series of actions proved it was undoubtedly a penalty kick!

Liverpool's local commentators, however, defended Koulibaly, saying, "It was a handball, Koulibaly had already tried to pull his hand back, but he just couldn't outrun the ball! This penalty decision is really far-fetched!"

What he said sounds reasonable at first glance, but it doesn't make any sense at all.

Handball is not about whether the ball hit the hand or the hand. If Koulibaly had his hands tightly pressed against his body when he was hit by the ball, there would probably be some debate about whether Anthony Taylor would award a penalty. But when Koulibaly touched the ball, his arms were outstretched, so it had to be a penalty. Don't say that Koulibaly was about to pull his hands back. As long as he didn't pull them back, such arguments are meaningless.

Back in the 1998 World Cup, during the group stage match between Italy and Chile, Roberto Baggio kicked a Chilean player's arm from outside the penalty area, and the referee promptly awarded Italy a penalty kick. Roberto Baggio himself converted the penalty, ending his penalty nightmare in the United States four years earlier.

Therefore, referee Anthony Taylor's penalty decision was perfectly correct.

………………

Koulibaly and other Liverpool players also tried to appeal from this angle, but Anthony Taylor remained unmoved and stuck to his decision. He stood at the penalty spot, waving his head and signaling them to step back.

After reviewing the video replay, the video assistant referee (VAR) team did not intervene in the decision, clearly indicating that they also believed the referee's decision was correct; otherwise, they would have reminded Anthony Taylor to go to the sidelines to review the video replay.

"Huh? A penalty? It's a penalty! Manchester United have been awarded a penalty!" Zhan Jun shouted. "In slow motion, Koulibaly did try to dodge when Bruno shot, but his arm didn't move... But according to the rules, this penalty decision is correct!"

There is also heated discussion online:

"Damn, that ball hit my hand!"

"So what if the ball hits your hand? With your arm outstretched like that, even if the ball hits you, it's definitely a penalty!"

"Could Bruno have deliberately aimed for Koulibaly's hand when he hit him?"

"Uh, he probably doesn't have that kind of precise footwork..."

"That's hard to say..."

……

Whether Bruno did it on purpose or not, nobody knows, but immediately after the penalty was awarded, he was hugged by Gundogan, and Harry Kane and Kante also ran up to high-five Bruno in celebration.

Regardless, Bruno won that penalty.

………………

As Manchester United's undisputed first-choice penalty taker, and given that Bruno himself won this penalty, it's no surprise that he was chosen to take it.

Bruno placed the ball on the penalty spot, then stepped back to prepare for his run-up and take the penalty kick.

Anfield Stadium, which had been very noisy before, fell silent as everyone held their breath and watched Liverpool's goal intently.

Especially in the Anfield stands behind the goal, the Manchester United fans didn't move an inch, afraid of disturbing Bruno.

(End of this chapter)