Chapter 660 The Terrible Manchester United
On October 29, 2018, a new week began, and the global sports media was dominated by information related to Manchester United.
"50!": The headline of The Times is very concise and powerful. The newspaper praised Manchester United for creating a great record.
"50 unbeaten games! Manchester United did it!": The Guardian reviewed how Manchester United created this great record step by step from the 28th round of the Premier League on May 17, 2017 to the 10th round of the league this season.
French L'Equipe praised Bruno. The newspaper commented that Manchester United created an incredible record in the most competitive league and praised Bruno for being the man who ended the era of the two great duos.
The report of L'Equipe is also considered to be their official announcement that Bruno will be the winner of the 2018 European Golden Ball Award.
After the FIFA awards ceremony, the most watched event in the world football in 2018 was naturally the European Golden Ball Award selected by L'Equipe.
In early October, L'Equipe announced the 30-man list for the 2018 European Golden Ball. Manchester United, which has won six championship trophies in 2018, is undoubtedly the biggest winner. Eight players, including Bruno, Harry Kane, Mbappe, Rashford, Kante, Maguire, Luke Shaw and De Gea, were selected for the 30-man list, making it the club with the most players.
At present, although the selection of the European Golden Ball is in the voting stage, judging from the winning odds offered by major European bookmakers, Bruno is completely in a cliff-like leading state.
Now, after Bruno led Manchester United to create a great record of 50 unbeaten games in the Premier League, L'Equipe's voice will naturally be interpreted by the world.
Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport used the title "Milan should be careful of this record-breaking Manchester United" to report the major events that occurred in the British Isles.
Mundo Deportivo is very interesting. After praising Manchester United's unbeaten record, the newspaper changed the topic and asked whether the level of the Premier League has declined, which has allowed Manchester United to create a record of 50 unbeaten games?
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At noon on November 3, 2018, at the Dean Court Stadium in Bournemouth, Dorset, England, a focus game of the 11th round of the Premier League was underway, with the Premier League giants Manchester United challenging the home team Cherry Army Bournemouth away.
This is the first game of this round of the Premier League and a game that has attracted global attention.
The whole world is watching to see whether Manchester United can continue their unbeaten legend.
Although Manchester United will have another Champions League group match next Wednesday night, Manchester United still attaches great importance to this game, and Mourinho continues to send out the full main lineup.
Of course, Mourinho can do this because Manchester United is in a very good situation in the Champions League group stage. They have already gained a 7-point advantage in the first three rounds of the group stage. As long as they get 1 point in the fourth round of the group match at home against Shakhtar Donetsk, they can advance to the knockout stage two rounds in advance.
Even if the two draw experts, Lyon and Hoffenheim, draw again in this round, Manchester United can lock the first place in the group two rounds in advance through a draw.
In this case, Mourinho naturally has enough confidence to play this game with a full lineup.
Bournemouth is the dark horse of this season. They have achieved 6 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses in the first 10 rounds, ranking sixth in the Premier League standings.
However, there is still a big gap between their strength and Manchester United. Although they performed very tenaciously at home and Stanislas assisted Wilson to score in the 11th minute, they still couldn't stop Manchester United's progress.
Manchester United equalized in the 35th minute. Cancelo passed the ball, Mbappe made a cross from the right side of the penalty area, and Bruno, who inserted from behind, pushed the ball into the net from 12 yards, scoring his 12th league goal of the new season and rewriting the score on the field to 1:1.
The game immediately fell into a stalemate.
Just when the whole game entered injury time, people thought that Manchester United would continue their unbeaten record to 51 games with a draw, Manchester United scored.
In the 92nd minute of the game, Bruno made a cross from the left, Ake headed the ball, Rashford chested the ball and shot into the net from the edge of the small penalty area, changing the score to 2:1.
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Such a seemingly lucky victory has made the world see the horror of this Manchester United.
Yes, terrible!
This is the fourth reversal victory of Manchester United in the past five Premier League rounds!
In the 7th round of the league, Manchester United played away against West Ham United. Arnautovic's goal gave the home team the lead, but Manchester United scored two goals in the second half to reverse the score.
In the 8th round of the league, Manchester United, who had a nightmare start, lost two goals in the first 10 minutes and was in despair for a time, but Bruno's double goal in the second half and Rashford's goal helped Manchester United reverse again.
Then there was the thrilling reversal against Everton in the 10th round of the league.
If Manchester United's away game against Hoffenheim in the Champions League is included, Manchester United has actually reversed and won in the past 5 games.
In fact, the 9th round of the league match against Chelsea was also the match in which Manchester United tied Arsenal's 49-game unbeaten record. The match between the two sides was also very tense.
However, even in such a difficult situation, Manchester United won consecutively and even won by reversing the situation, which proved the strong resilience of this Manchester United in the face of difficulties.
In world football, there has never been a truly undefeated team. Those teams that have created miracles all possess a spirit of perseverance in the face of adversity.
The current Manchester United team clearly has this spirit.
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Manchester United, who once again came back to win and created a 51-game unbeaten record in the Premier League, ushered in a Champions League game, which was also the fourth round of the Champions League group stage. They faced Shakhtar Donetsk at home.
Because Manchester United has established a huge advantage in the first three rounds of the Champions League group stage, and Manchester United will usher in the second Manchester derby of the season next weekend, Mourinho did not hesitate to play in this Champions League group stage. A full rotation was made.
Although Manchester United has created a 51-game unbeaten run in the Premier League and has also remained unbeaten in 11 Premier League games this season, they have not opened up a gap with their opponents in the standings.
After 11 league rounds, Manchester United, with 10 wins and 1 draw, ranks first with 31 points. Behind them are Manchester City and Liverpool, who are also undefeated.
After two years of training by Guardiola, Blue Moon appears to be very strong in the Premier League in the new season. It is currently chasing Manchester United with a record of 9 wins and 2 draws. It has scored 33 goals and conceded 4 goals. It is not only the most goals scored in the Premier League. The team is still the team that conceded the fewest goals.
The Red Army also performed very well in the new season after continuing to strengthen their signings during the summer transfer window. Currently ranked third with 8 wins and 3 draws, they scored 21 goals and conceded 5 goals. They are also excellent on both offense and defense.
In contrast, Manchester United, which ranks first, seems a bit unstable on the defensive end. It has conceded 15 goals in 11 league games, which is only 6 goals less than the number of goals conceded in the entire season last season. It is the only goal conceded among the top 7 in the standings. The most!
In this state, when Manchester United met Manchester City, both Mourinho and the entire Manchester United team were a little worried.
In order to achieve the best possible results, Mourinho naturally gives his main players as much rest time as possible.
However, Bruno, who is in very good physical condition, still played in this Champions League group match as captain.
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The first goal was scored at home in the first round. Although it was eventually reversed by Manchester United, it made Shakhtar Donetsk feel that they had the confidence to give Manchester United a try.
Especially in this game, Manchester United rotated 10 of the 11 players in the main lineup, which gave Shakhtar Donetsk hope of ending Manchester United's 16-game unbeaten run in the Champions League. However, Shakhtar Donetsk was A nightmare night at Old Trafford.
In the first minute of the game, Manchester United got a penalty kick. In a Manchester United attack, Greenwood, who made his career Champions League debut, surged at high speed from the right. He changed directions at high speed past Shakhtar Donetsk's left back, and then continued to cut inside.
Shakhtar Donetsk's left center back Rakitski couldn't stop Greenwood at all. He subconsciously reached out and pulled Greenwood to the ground.
The referee's whistle sounded and he pointed directly to the penalty spot. Then he walked towards Rakitski and showed the 29-year-old Shakhtar defender a card - red!
Greenwood had just cut into the penalty area, and he fell in the penalty area.
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"Penalty kick! Penalty kick and red card! The game only started for one minute, Shakhtar Donetsk suffered a heavy blow!" He Wei shouted.
"Red card! Penalty kick!" shouted Andy Gray. "Rakitski's foul was stupid. It was a perfect start for Manchester United."
"The referee made the correct call," Martin Taylor said. "Rakitski was the last defender. The foul was committed in the penalty area. Both the penalty kick and the red card were correct calls."
In the stadium, Shakhtar Donetsk players were protesting around the referee. They were very dissatisfied with the penalty.
From the perspective of Shakhtar Donetsk, a penalty kick is a penalty kick, because the foul does exist, and the red card is too harsh.
Manchester United's players cheered and celebrated.
Only one minute into the game, the opponent encountered a red dot package.
If Manchester United scores a penalty kick, leading 1:0, and then there will be one more person fighting throughout the game, the game will go much smoother than expected.
Manchester United's penalty kick was taken by Bruno.
The referee's whistle sounded, Bruno took a run and shot.
Shakhtar Donetsk goalkeeper Piatov misjudged the direction, and Bruno calmly converted the penalty kick.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLL!!!!!!"
"1:0! Bruno scored the penalty kick and Manchester United led Shakhtar Donetsk 1:0."
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Surprisingly, Shakhtar Donetsk did not make personnel adjustments after left center back Rakitski was sent off.
"Are they going to play with a back three?" Faria said.
"It's very possible." Mourinho nodded.
Three-back tactics are not uncommon. When Conte coached Chelsea, he achieved good results with three-backs. Even if it weren't for Bruno, the second idiot would have led Chelsea to the Premier League championship with the help of a three-back tactic.
As for Mourinho, he has also used the three-back tactic in the game, of course, only at a special stage of the game.
Although the three-back tactic can increase the offensive power of the midfield and frontcourt, it will also lead to insufficient strength of the back defense. This is not a good choice for Mourinho, who has a conservative coaching style, so he rarely uses this tactic.
However, if he wants to achieve greater success, Mourinho also knows that he must further improve his tactics. Among them, the three-back tactic must also be understood and even tried.
On the court, Herrera fought with the opponent player Mecon, and he shoveled Mecon to the ground. The referee only warned Herrera verbally and did not play a card, which caused protests from Shakhtar Donetsk players, which also made Mourinho come to his senses.
He shook his head. Shakhtar Donetsk's three backs were incomplete. This was a helpless move after a central defender was sent off.
There are still four people in the midfield, but there is one less person in the defense, which makes it more dangerous.
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Manchester United firmly controlled the situation on the field.
"We noticed that Mourinho's expression was calm and he seemed not very satisfied with the team's performance." The camera showed a close-up of the coaching bench on the sidelines. Looking at Mourinho who was deep in thought as he stared at the situation on the court, He Wei He praised, "This is the reason why Mourinho's guidance can be successful. The team takes the initiative and leads the score, but he is still not satisfied. This is a truly strict requirement and shows how high standards he has for his team." request!”
"It seems like the coach is not happy," Greenwood said.
"We have one more player and have played for more than 20 minutes, but the score has not been extended yet. Of course the coach is not happy." Herrera said.
This statement is recognized by everyone.
Soon, the whole team knew: the team had never been able to score again, and the coach was unhappy.
After the game reaches twenty-five minutes, generally speaking, after the fierce fighting after the opening, the game scene will enter a period of silence at this stage. But Manchester United had no warning, their offensive was unprecedentedly fierce, and Shakhtar Donetsk's defense was finally breached again.
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In the 31st minute of the game, Herrera intercepted the ball in the middle. Mahrez dribbled the ball along the wing, attracting the attention of the defensive player and then passed the ball to Greenwood.
Greenwood cuts in laterally.
Shakhtar Donetsk defender Krievstov subconsciously wanted to pull, and immediately thought of what happened to his partner Rakitsky. It was this moment of hesitation that allowed Greenwood to enter the penalty area.
"Mason Greenwood! Pounced!"
Greenwood shot a curve ball and Piatov saved the ball.
Bruno got the ball outside the penalty area and pushed the ball into the penalty area.
After McTominay stopped the ball, he half-turned and volleyed. The football was blocked by Shakhtar Donetsk defender Ismaili.
Bruno reacted quickly and lifted the football with his left foot before the defender could clear the ball.
The unguarded Mahrez stopped the ball with his left foot, spiked the ball with his right foot, passed goalkeeper Piatov, and scored the ball.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLL!!!!!!"
"Manchester United leads 2-0, the goal came from Riyad Mahrez!"