Chapter 571 One Step Away

Two days after Bruno received the renewal request from Manchester United, Manchester United welcomed the 36th round of the Premier League this season at Old Trafford.

Manchester United's game this round is relatively late, the penultimate game, which will be held at 4:30 pm on Sunday.

Before Manchester United's game started, Manchester City's game had ended. The Blue Moon, who had just suffered a disastrous defeat in the first round of the Champions League semi-finals, vented their anger on West Ham United, and they defeated the Hammers 4:1 at the London Olympic Stadium.

Therefore, before Manchester United's game started, Manchester City was only 6 points behind Manchester United with one more round.

The current situation of the Premier League standings is as follows:

Manchester United has 31 wins and 3 draws in 34 rounds, ranking first with 96 points;

Manchester City has 29 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses in 35 rounds, ranking second with 90 points.

As long as Manchester United can beat Arsenal at home in this game, they can lock in the league championship in advance.

With only 3 rounds left in the league, leading by 9 points and a goal difference advantage of 20+, Manchester City really only has theoretical hope of winning the championship.

In the last three rounds, not only must Manchester City win all the games, but also win every game by a large margin, while Manchester United must lose all three games, and lose every game by a large margin.

Under such harsh conditions, Manchester City has the possibility to tie Manchester United in points, and then win the championship with a goal difference advantage, just like the 2011-2012 season six years ago.

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Because they will face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in the Champions League semi-finals this weekend, Mourinho decisively implemented rotation in the game against Arsenal.

Although Manchester United won 3:0 at home in the first round, Mourinho and all Manchester United players dare not take it lightly. After all, there have been many reversal cases in this season's Champions League, the most famous of which is Roma's 3:0 home victory after losing 1:4 away and then eliminating Barcelona.

Moreover, the second leg of the Champions League semi-final with Manchester City will be on next Tuesday night, and the rest time between the two games is less than 72 hours, and the players' rest time is obviously insufficient.

In addition, Manchester United's advantage in the Premier League is large enough, so Mourinho did not hesitate to make a large-scale personnel rotation for this league.

Harry Kane, Mbappe, Rashford, Gundogan, Kante, Luke Shaw, Cancelo and De Gea all got a rest. Substitutes including Ibrahimovic, Mahrez, Valencia, Ashley Young, Herrera, Mata, Lingard, McTominay and Romero got the chance to start.

Although Arsenal is known as a strong team in the Premier League, there is still a big gap between its strength and Manchester United. Even if Mourinho made a large-scale rotation of Manchester United's starting lineup, Arsenal still failed to pose too much threat to Manchester United with Bruno in charge.

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Manchester United took the lead early in the 16th minute. Bruno passed the ball, Mahrez made a cross from the right side of the penalty area, Lingard's header from the left side of the small penalty area was blocked by Bellerin and hit the left post and bounced back. Bruno, who was unguarded, volleyed into the net from close range.

This was the only goal scored by both sides in the first half, and Manchester United entered the halftime break with a score of 1:0.

Not long after the start of the second half, Manchester United got a corner kick opportunity. Mahrez took the corner kick into the penalty area. Maguire headed the ball. After the ball was saved by Arsenal goalkeeper Ospina, young player Lingard made a quick supplementary shot and succeeded, 2:0.

Arsenal scored a goal in the 51st minute. Xhaka passed the ball, and Sanchez shot low from the edge of the penalty area into the lower left corner of the net, and the score on the field was rewritten to 2:1.

Then, Arsenal launched a counterattack, which once posed a considerable threat to Manchester United.

Manchester United locked the victory during the injury time of the whole game. Ashley Young made a cross from the left, and Fellaini, who came on as a substitute, headed the ball into the net in front of the small penalty area, locking the score at 3:1.

In the end, with the goals of Bruno, Lingard and Fellaini, Manchester United easily defeated Arsenal 3:1 at home, raising their points to 99 points, just one step away from breaking 100 points.

Of course, they are only one step away from winning the 15th Premier League title in team history.

Manchester United has 32 wins, 3 draws, 99 points and 93 goal difference in 35 rounds;

Manchester City has 29 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses in 35 rounds, 90 points and 71 goal difference.

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After the game with Arsenal, the entire Manchester United team immediately prepared for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final with Manchester City.

Before the game against Manchester United, Guardiola said in an interview with the media: "I am very satisfied with the team's offensive ability, but the opponent is Manchester United. We have to be careful. Manchester City wants to score and want to tear open Manchester United's defense. First of all, they have to break through Kante's defense zone."

The media recognized Guardiola's words.

First of all, Kante is in good shape. The French midfielder is indeed an important factor in Manchester United's outstanding performance in the past two seasons. With Kante in the midfield, Manchester United's defensive barrier has greatly increased.

In addition, they also agree with Guardiola's confidence in Manchester City's offensive ability, because they have defeated their opponents many times in the game, and the total number of goals has exceeded 100, making them the second team in Europe to unlock 100 league goals.

Although there is only a theoretical chance of winning the Premier League this season, this does not mean that Manchester City is not outstanding. They have scored 90 points in 35 league games, which is definitely one of the best teams in the world football today.

This time, the media is optimistic about Manchester City's revenge at the Etihad Stadium. On the one hand, the Champions League is the only event that Manchester City still has hope of winning this season, and on the other hand, there is a precedent of Roma's reversal of Barcelona.

Roma can reverse the powerful Barcelona after falling behind by three goals in the first round, so why can't Manchester City reverse Manchester United?

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Mourinho ignored the reasons the media found for Manchester City. He saw the opportunity to win again at the Etihad Stadium.

He admitted that Manchester City's offensive power is indeed strong, which is Guardiola's confidence, but when it comes to scoring ability, Manchester United is the first.

At present, after 36 rounds of the Premier League, Manchester City has scored 102 goals in 35 games and ranks second, but Manchester United ranks first. The Red Devils have also played 35 games and scored 115 goals!

Manchester United scored 13 more goals than Manchester City. Manchester City said they have strong offensive ability, and Mourinho smiled and said nothing.

In addition, the most important thing is that Mourinho is concerned about the number of goals conceded. Manchester United has conceded 20 goals in 35 league games, making it the team with the fewest goals conceded in the Premier League; while Manchester City has conceded 31 goals in 35 league games. Although this number of goals conceded is the second fewest in the Premier League, compared with Manchester United, it has conceded more than half the number of goals.

You know, Manchester City's goalkeeper is Ederson. As one of the best goalkeepers in the world, Ederson's state and ability are unquestionable. Ederson has excellent saves in every game. In this case, there is only one reason why Manchester City has conceded so many goals: their defense is not good...

Manchester City's two full-backs like to assist, especially right-back Kyle Walker, who even plays as a right winger when he is excited.

Facing such a Manchester City that focuses on offense and not defense, Mourinho quickly determined the tactics for this game.

"Obviously, I want to attack." Mourinho said bluntly at the pre-match press conference, "In the game against Manchester City, we can't defend. We can only attack and fight against Manchester City to score more goals than them."

Manchester City's media regarded Mourinho's statement as his fear of Manchester City's offensive ability. They said with some pride: "This time, we will definitely win!"

Manchester United media immediately came out to dig out the commentary: He means your defense is not good.

The Guardian reporter said bluntly: "Whatever he says is right, whatever he does is right, he has rich experience in defeating Manchester City."

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The game kicked off at 7:45 pm on May 2, local time in the UK.

Half an hour before the game started, the huge Etihad Stadium was almost full.

"Ji Hai, who are you looking forward to? Haha, I know the answer." Zhan Jun asked his commentator Sun Ji Hai with a smile.

"In this game, the pressure is actually on Manchester City. Manchester City cannot afford to lose to the same team for the fifth time in a season, let alone to lose all four major titles for two consecutive seasons." Commentator and former Manchester City star Sun Jihai said, "But it is not easy to beat Manchester United. Coach Mourinho has initially built this team into a team with a reasonable age structure and excellent tactical application."

In the interactive commentary of the commentator and the guest commentator, time passed, and soon the players of both sides came on the field. When the names of Manchester City players were announced on the radio, cheers rang out over the Etihad Stadium.

"Let's take a look at the starting lineups of both sides."

The starting lineups of both sides were also shown on the live TV screen.

Manchester City starting lineup (343):

Goalkeeper: Ederson;

Defense: Kyle Walker, Otamendi, Laporte;

Midfielders: Fernandinho, De Bruyne, David Silva, Bernardo Silva;

Forwards: Sane, Jesus, Sterling;

"This Manchester City starting lineup..." Zhan Jun paused, as if thinking about what words to use to describe it.

"This is to swallow Manchester United in one bite." Sun Jihai said directly, "This is a very aggressive starting configuration, and it is also very risky."

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"Guardiola is really arrogant." Mourinho said to Faria, he raised the paper in his hand, "Look, three forwards, no, including Bernardo Silva, it can even be a four-forward combination, and in the midfield, there is only Fernandinho as a defensive midfielder, tsk."

Mourinho shook his head and continued: "Are you too confident, or do you look down on us?"

"I feel like you are very happy now." Faria pointed him out.

"The starting lineup is the first step in a tactical confrontation. Fortunately, I was prepared." Mourinho said proudly. He is now looking forward to seeing Guardiola's expression when he gets Manchester United's starting lineup list.