Chapter 525 New Record
At noon on December 11, the draw ceremony for the 1/8 finals of the 2017-2018 UEFA Champions League was held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
The draw for the 1/8 finals will be conducted according to the principles of first place versus second place in the group stage, teams that have played against each other in the group stage will not meet again, and teams from the same football association will avoid each other.
As the defending champion Real Madrid ranked second in the group stage, it brought a lot of suspense to this draw. No other team that ranked first in the group wanted to encounter a team with the top scorer in football today, Cristiano Ronaldo.
But unfortunately something happened. The two most popular and watched teams in European football met early. Real Madrid faced Paris.
Of course, from another perspective, this is also a result that many fans are looking forward to. When Cristiano Ronaldo, Isco and Ramos meet Neymar, Cavani and Di Maria, the two rounds of knockout matches are bound to increase the ratings by several percentage points.
As for the Premier League teams that had great success in the group stage, some were happy and some were sad in this draw.
Manchester City, which had just been bloodbathed by Manchester United in the Manchester City Derby and was at a low ebb, got a winning team and they will face the Swiss team Basel!
Manchester United also had good luck in drawing the Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk, so it is not difficult to advance to the quarterfinals.
Chelsea faced the Europa League king Sevilla, and both sides had chances.
The most difficult situation is Tottenham. In the group stage, they were in the death group with Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. They finally defeated Real Madrid and advanced to the first place in the group. However, they met the Serie A hegemon, last season's Champions League runner-up Juventus. Sri Lanka.
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The draw for the Champions League knockout rounds did not attract long-term attention. After all, the competition will not start until February next year, which is still two months away.
As for Manchester United, they only paid a little attention to the draw results, and then returned their attention to the Premier League.
While major European leagues are entering their winter break, Premier League teams are about to face the most intensive Christmas schedule of the year.
The day after the Champions League knockout draw ceremony ended, on Tuesday, the Premier League ushered in the 17th round.
At 8pm on December 13, Manchester United will face Bournemouth at home.
This is also the last game of this round. In the previous game, Manchester City, which had just suffered a disastrous defeat at the feet of Manchester United at the weekend, spread its depression on Swansea. Swansea was beaten 4:0 by Manchester City at home. , it is really a fire at the city gate that affects the fish in the pond.
Chelsea and Tottenham both won the game, but Liverpool and Arsenal both had goalless draws with their opponents.
Although Bournemouth is only ranked 14th in the standings, this team's defense is good. They only conceded 19 goals in the first 16 rounds. They are also a difficult opponent.
In the cold wind and rain at Old Trafford, Bournemouth set up their bus without hesitation.
Manchester United waited until the 70th minute of the second half when Bruno made a breakthrough from the right side of the penalty area and passed the ball. The ball was fast and urgent. The opponent's center back wanted to intercept it anxiously, but mistakenly blocked the ball into his own goal. Own goals.
Then Harry Kane scored another victory, extending the score to 2:0.
Manchester United increased their winning streak at the start of the season to 17 games, and achieved 18 consecutive wins in the Premier League across the season, surpassing Inter Milan to win 17 consecutive games, and second only to the 19th consecutive Bundesliga win set by Bayern under Guardiola in the 2013-2014 season. Winning streak in the five major leagues.
After this round of games, Manchester United continues to lead the standings with a 5-point advantage. Although Bruno did not score, he is still far ahead with 26 Premier League goals.
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Over the weekend, in the 18th round of the Premier League, Manchester United challenged West Brom away.
Both sides have shown their determination to win. Manchester United's goal is the league championship, while the Knickerbockers are also fighting for relegation. Neither side is willing to give in easily.
It was not until the 68th minute of the second half that Bruno received Gundogan's through ball in the penalty area, broke West Brom's goal, and assisted Harry Kane to score a goal in the 89th minute. But at the last moment of the game, West Brom also relied on Barry's goal to regain the game.
In the end, Manchester United narrowly defeated West Brom 2:1 with Bruno's pass and shot.
This victory also brought Manchester United's winning streak in the Premier League to 19 games, tying the winning streak in the five major leagues created by Guardiola and Bayern Munich four years ago.
Not only that, Manchester United scored 54 points in the first 18 rounds, while Manchester City scored 49 points in the first 18 rounds, which also allowed Manchester United to lock in the Premier League half-time championship one round in advance.
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In midweek, the four League Cup quarter-finals games began one after another, with Manchester United visiting Bristol City.
Many people believe that Manchester United got a top pick in the League Cup quarter-finals. After all, their opponent Bristol City is the only British Championship team in the quarter-finals, and the other seven teams are all from the Premier League.
The game between Manchester United and Bristol City is the last of four games. One day ago, Arsenal defeated West Ham United 1:0 at home, while Leicester City drew 1:1 with Manchester City in 90 minutes. After overtime, the score was still 1:1. In a cruel penalty shootout, Manchester City eliminated Leicester City 4:3 and entered the League Cup semi-finals.
At 8 pm on December 20, the match between Manchester United and Bristol City kicked off at the Aston Gate Stadium. At this time, Chelsea's home game against Bournemouth had been going on for 15 minutes.
Due to the consecutive double matches in a week, Mourinho made a comprehensive rotation of Manchester United's lineup. All 11 players who played away against West Bromwich Albion on the weekend did not start, and Ibrahimovic led the substitute lineup.
In the first half of the game, the door frame of the Aston Gate Stadium saved the game twice, blocking Ibrahimovic and Lingard's shots in succession, and the two sides entered the halftime break with a score of 0:0.
After the start of the second half, it was the home team Bristol City who scored the first goal. In the 51st minute, Brian shot from the left side of the penalty area, and the ball flew into the far corner of the goal. Bristol City 1:0 Manchester United.
Seeing that the situation was not right, Mourinho immediately asked Bruno to get up and warm up.
Since he was about to enter the semi-finals, Mourinho naturally did not want to be eliminated by a Championship team at this time.
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Just when Bruno was standing on the sidelines, preparing to come on as a substitute, Manchester United got a very good free kick in the frontcourt. Ibrahimovic took a direct free kick, and the ball went through the wall and went straight into the dead corner of the goal, helping Manchester United to equalize the score.
Bruno came on as a substitute in the 60th minute of the game. He replaced not Mata, who was in the opposite position, but defender Blind.
Manchester United changed to 343, and Mourinho was very determined to win the game.
With Bruno's appearance, Manchester United began to take full control of the situation and launched a fierce attack on Bristol City's goal.
After more than ten minutes of tidal attacks, Bristol City's goal was broken by Manchester United again in the 74th minute of the game. Bruno made a diagonal pass to the penalty area from the left, and Ibrahimovic headed the ball into the penalty area, scoring twice and helping Manchester United to overtake the score.
In the 80th minute, Manchester United scored another goal. Bruno got a single opportunity, and he easily dribbled past Bristol City goalkeeper Steele, helping Manchester United to expand their lead to two goals.
Although Bristol City scored a goal during injury time by midfielder Smith, it was too late.
In the end, Manchester United eliminated Bristol City 3:2 away from home and joined Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea who entered the semi-finals first.
These four teams are also the top four teams in the current Premier League standings.
English media have said that this year's League Cup semi-finals will be the strongest four in recent years. And this year's League Cup semi-finals may also be the highest quality and most exciting match in recent years!
In the subsequent League Cup semi-final draw, there was a derby between the two teams: in this season's League Cup semi-finals, Manchester United will play against Manchester City and Arsenal will play against Chelsea.
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At 7:45 pm on December 23, a focus game in the 19th round of the Premier League kicked off at the King Power Stadium.
This is the last game of this round and the last game of the Premier League before Christmas.
In the previous game, Arsenal tied Liverpool 3:3 at the Emirates Stadium, and Chelsea drew with the Toffees Everton away. Thanks to the strong lineup, Manchester City won 4:0 at home against Bournemouth, while Tottenham, who did not have a League Cup match in the middle of the week, won 3:0 away against Burnley.
Then, the eyes of the world were focused on the King Power Stadium.
When the game reached the 17th minute, Manchester United launched a wave of attacks on the left. After Rashford dribbled the ball inside, he suddenly passed the ball to the left bottom line. Luke Shaw quickly inserted the ball and chased all the way to the bottom line. He made a strong cross with his left foot and lifted the ball back to the front of the penalty area.
Leicester City's defensive players were pulled away by Harry Kane, and the middle of the penalty area was empty.
Bruno stopped the ball with his chest at the front of the penalty area. After stopping the ball into the penalty area, he quickly chased up and shot the ball directly when it landed!
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLL!!!!"
"The ball went in!!!!"
"In the 17th minute, Bruno opened the scoring for Manchester United!"
Bruno was still not satisfied after scoring in the 17th minute. He kept running all over the field, eagerly looking for all opportunities to score.
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His unremitting running and covering made the players defending him feel extremely painful, and soon revealed flaws again.
In the 38th minute, Bruno suddenly appeared on the left, received a pass from Gundogan, cut inside to the left side of the arc top area, and hit a curve ball with his right foot, scoring again, scoring twice!
All Manchester United players also celebrated Bruno's goal crazily, congratulating him on his 29th Premier League goal of the season.
Scoring 29 goals just halfway through the Premier League schedule, it seems that Bruno will once again rewrite the Premier League single-season goal record he created last season this season.
Then in the second half, Bruno played more and more vigorously. In the 70th minute, he assisted Harry Kane to score and expanded the score to 3:0.
Leicester City scored a goal by Vardy before the end of the game, which saved some face.
In the end, Manchester United defeated Leicester City 3:1 with Bruno's two goals and one assist.
This victory also allowed Manchester United to win all the games in the first half of the Premier League, thus rewriting their historical record of 18 wins and 1 loss in the first half of the Premier League, which they created last season.
This victory also brought Manchester United's winning streak in the Premier League to 20 games, surpassing Bayern Munich's record of 19 consecutive wins and enjoying exclusive honors.
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After this game, the entire world of football was completely detonated!
Who can end Manchester United's winning streak has become the biggest suspense in the Premier League. The Premier League leader has 19 consecutive victories and a goal difference of 67 goals.
Since then, Manchester United has defeated 18 of the 19 teams in the league this season, except for Burnley, which they have not yet encountered. This invincible team has handed over shocking statistics.
After winning all 19 games, Manchester United accumulated 57 points. At the end of the half-time, they were 5 points ahead of Manchester City, which was second in the standings. They were 21 points ahead of Chelsea, who was third in the standings. The points gap with Swansea City, the deputy leader of the league, was 5 points. An amazing 44 points!
The reason why Manchester United has been able to maintain a complete winning record in the Premier League this season is mainly due to the team's impeccable performance on both offense and defense.
Manchester United has scored a crazy 75 goals in 19 league rounds, averaging 3.95 goals per game. It is the most offensive team in Europe.
The team has only conceded 8 goals so far, averaging only 0.42 goals per game. Among the top ten European leagues, only Barcelona (7 goals) and Porto (6 goals) have conceded fewer goals than Manchester United.
However, Barcelona has only played 17 La Liga games, and Porto has only played 15 Portuguese Super League games. The average number of goals conceded per game by the two teams is actually similar to Manchester United.
In this first half, Manchester United has scored 3 goals or more in 11 games, and has only conceded 2 goals in 2 games so far, namely a 5:2 away victory over Huddersfield, and A 6:2 home game against Manchester City.
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Manchester United is not only unrivaled in the Premier League, but also undefeated in the entire Europe.
In Europe, they defeated Real Madrid in the European Super Cup and achieved an impressive record of 5 wins and 1 draw in the Champions League group stage. In the domestic cup competition, they defeated Chelsea in the Community Shield, and achieved three consecutive victories in the League Cup, reaching the semi-finals of this season's League Cup.
Throughout the 2017-2018 season, Manchester United has achieved 30 unbeaten games in all competitions, with a record of 29 wins and 1 draw. The only draw was a 3:3 draw with Roma at the Stadio Olimpico in the Champions League group stage.
In terms of players, captain Bruno Fernandez is definitely the team’s biggest contributor. This superstar, who just celebrated his 23rd birthday just three months ago, unfortunately missed out on the World Footballer of the Year and the European Ballon d'Or in 2017, but he went completely crazy in the new season. This season, he is in the Premier League. Played in 19 games, scored a crazy 29 goals, and also sent 14 assists.
You know, before this, with such data, he had won the Premier League Golden Boot and the assists title in most seasons.
However, this is only Bruno’s data at the halfway point!
If expanded to all competitions this season, Bruno played 27 games for Manchester United, scoring 37 goals and providing 20 assists.
This is also a statistic that most players cannot achieve throughout the season.