Chapter 552: Advancing to the Champions League Quarterfinals

After defeating Liverpool, Manchester United scored 86 points in the first 30 league games, 8 points ahead of their city rivals Manchester City. With only 8 rounds left in the Premier League, it seems that it is only a matter of time before Manchester United wins the championship.

Under such circumstances, Manchester United ushered in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, playing at home against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Because Manchester United tied Shakhtar Donetsk 2:2 away in the first leg, they only need to get a 1:1 or 0:0 draw at home to advance to the quarterfinals with the advantage of away goals.

Despite this, Manchester United, who played at home, was not conservative. They launched a fierce offensive from the first minute of the game.

In the 10th minute, Harry Kane's long-range shot was slightly correct and was hugged by the goalkeeper.

In the 23rd minute, Manchester United made a comeback, Bruno's free kick was crossed, and Maguire's header went wide.

The continuous attack finally paid off for Manchester United.

In the 34th minute, Rashford made a free kick near the bottom line on the left, and the Shakhtar defender cleared the ball out of the penalty area, and it fell right at Bruno's feet.

Bruno unloaded the ball with his right foot, and then shot it with his left foot 31 meters away from the goal in the middle. The ball went straight to the upper right corner of the goal like a cannonball.

The ball was too fast. Although it was 31 meters away, the Shakhtar goalkeeper was still out of reach. 1:0!

There was a huge cheer at Old Trafford, and the commentator jumped up from his seat excitedly: "World wave--!!"

This goal greatly boosted the morale of the players and opened the door to victory for Manchester United.

Four minutes later, Kante intercepted the ball near the center line and sent a straight pass. Bruno used his heel to knock the ball into the empty space in the Shakhtar penalty area when he turned his back to the attacking direction. Harry Kane cut into the penalty area, stopped the ball, and dribbled past the Shakhtar defender who had made a tackle. He then brought the ball to the edge of the small penalty area. Facing the goalkeeper who was attacking, he calmly pushed the ball, and the ball hit the far post and bounced into the net, 2:0!

"Beautiful cooperation! Bruno's heel pass is pleasing to the eye!"

………………

In the first half, Manchester United entered the second half with a score of 2:0.

As a result, just at the beginning of the second half, the goal scorer Harry Kane was forced to leave the field due to an ankle injury, and he was replaced by veteran Ibrahimovic.

Manchester United did not slow down the pace of attack because of this. Although Shakhtar Donetsk wanted to resist, Manchester United still firmly controlled the situation.

In the 64th minute, Rashford made a short pass with Bruno on the left rib and then passed the ball to the middle. Ibrahimovic, who was in the middle, dribbled the ball into the penalty area, and then shot low with his right foot. The ball went into the net against the post, 3:0!

Three minutes later, Manchester United intercepted the ball in the frontcourt. Bruno did not pass the ball after intercepting it, but took it to the top of the penalty area and pretended to shoot from a distance, deceiving the opponent's defender to fall to the ground to intercept, but he shook his ankle and passed the ball to the penalty area. Mbappe was alert and inserted it, received the ball behind the opponent, and then shot directly with his left foot. The ball flew into the goal from the top of the gap between the goalkeeper and the near post.

In less than 70 minutes, Manchester United led Shakhtar Donetsk 4:0, and the total score became 6:2.

With the game being played like this, Shakhtar Donetsk has completely lost its fighting spirit, and the next game has entered garbage time.

Mourinho considered that the frequent multi-line operations in the past period of time had increased the number of injuries to the players. In order to preserve strength and avoid more injuries, he began to replace the main players.

………………

Bruno, as the core of the team, has been receiving more and more "special care" from opponents in the game, so the chance of injury is also rising. Look at how opponents treat him - kicking ankles, hitting thighs, sweeping legs, pushing, pulling, squeezing, choking, hidden elbows, flying tackles... If Bruno is a little more cunning, and is the kind of "actor" who falls down when touched, and rolls on the ground for three and a half weeks in pain with his hands covering his face when he hits his chest, I don't know how many opponents of Manchester United will be sent off in the game.

Mourinho once hoped that Bruno would pay attention to protecting himself in the game, but Bruno's character seems to be unwilling to show weakness. If the opponent treats him with such a tough attitude, he will fight back with a tougher attitude. So after every game, the physiotherapist can find a lot of bruises on Bruno's body.

Therefore, in the 75th minute, Manchester United's core captain was replaced by Mata.

When he left the field, all Manchester United fans at Old Trafford stood up from their seats and applauded and cheered for Bruno. Thanks to his outstanding performance in the game, the team won such a timely victory.

Bruno also raised his hands and applauded the stands.

After replacing Bruno, Mourinho replaced Luke Shaw with Damian.

In the subsequent game, both sides had no intention to continue the game, and this score was maintained until the end of the game.

4:0, Manchester United ushered in another hearty victory at home, eliminated the opponent with a total score of 6:2 in two rounds, and entered the quarterfinals of this season's Champions League.

………………

Although Manchester United advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, the four Premier League teams that advanced to the knockout stage of the Champions League are no longer as strong as they were during the group stage.

After Tottenham tied Juventus 2:2 in the first leg, they lost 1:2 at home in the second leg, and were eliminated with a total score of 3:4.

Chelsea also lost at home. After the Blues tied Sevilla 0:0 in the first leg, they also lost the game at home with a score of 1:2, and were eliminated right after Tottenham.

However, Manchester City, another team from Manchester, advanced with a total score of 5:2. The Blue Moon won 4:0 away in the first leg, and played with a substitute lineup in the second leg. Although they lost 1:2 at home, they still advanced with a big score of 5:2.

In the other duels, Real Madrid, Porto, and Bayern advanced.

What really surprised people was the duel between Roma and Barcelona. The Cosmos won the first leg at home 4:1, but lost the second leg away 0:3. With the total score of 4:4, they were eliminated due to the disadvantage of fewer away goals.

At noon on March 16, the draw ceremony for the quarter-finals of the 2017-2018 Champions League was held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. The Manchester City duo representing the Premier League, Real Madrid and Sevilla in La Liga, Juventus and Roma in Serie A, Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and Porto in the Portuguese Super League gathered in the top 8.

UEFA Secretary General Marchetti and the guest of the draw Shevchenko completed the draw process, and the final result was announced. Real Madrid faced Juventus, the opponent of the Champions League final last season, Sevilla faced Bayern Munich, the southern king of the Bundesliga, Manchester United faced Roma in the group stage, and Manchester City drew the best lot and faced the weakest Porto.