Chapter 672: Top Popularity
When the final whistle blew, Bruno collapsed on the Anfield grass. Wiping the sweat from his face with both hands, he closed his eyes and felt the roar of the mountains and the tsunami coming from the stands.
It was obviously not for him, but he still enjoyed the atmosphere.
Manchester United ultimately failed to take away three points at Anfield. Of course, they were not reversed by Liverpool.
The final score is 3:3!
After Shaqiri scored twice to help Liverpool equalize the score, Liverpool, whose morale was greatly improved, began to besiege Manchester United.
In the last ten minutes, Manchester United was almost suppressed in the penalty area, and it was difficult to even get through the half.
Although Bruno tried every means to counterattack, every time Manchester United attacked, he was blocked by the Liverpool people near the midfield.
The Liverpool players were running like crazy, surrounding every Manchester United player holding the ball.
When attacking, they were also running constantly, pulling on Manchester United's defense.
Seeing that the situation was not going well, Mourinho made continuous substitution adjustments, replacing the two young forwards Mbappe and Rashford, and Herrera and Smalling came on the bench.
In the last few minutes, Manchester United completely changed their formation to 550, and all players returned to their own defensive third to help defend. Setting up a bus in front of the goal finally blocked Liverpool's crazy offensive.
Although he failed to take away 3 points and even almost lost, Bruno did not feel regret at all because he really tried his best!
He has tried his best until the last minute, but this Liverpool team is indeed strong. Although there is still some gap between the overall strength and Manchester United, the gap is very small.
In an away game, Manchester United can take away a point at Anfield, which is already a good result. He can really say that he has no regrets.
After all, before today, of Liverpool's 7 home games, only Manchester City took away 1 point here. Manchester United is the second Premier League team that can score points at Anfield Stadium.
………………
As the captain of the team, Bruno immediately walked over to greet his teammates after getting up from the ground.
Manchester United players on the field and on the bench came to the corner stand area where the fans were. Everyone stood in a row and thanked the fans in the stands.
This is the rule for away games.
Manchester United fans who can follow the team to away games, especially those who come to Anfield Stadium, are definitely die-hard supporters of Manchester United. The players should give them some thanks after a game.
The fans in the stands were not disappointed, but encouraged the players one after another, using their applause and cheers to tell all the players that they were very satisfied.
Liverpool is very strong this season and is definitely capable of competing with Manchester United for the league title.
It is not easy to draw 3:3 with the opponent at Anfield.
What's more, Manchester United is still 2 points ahead of Liverpool in the standings, leading the Premier League standings!
"Everyone remember, don't let others look down on you, keep your head up, we still have a second round, go back to our territory and kill them!" Bruno encouraged loudly.
"Bruno is right, there is still a second round, as long as we lead by one goal, we will win!"
"Yes, we haven't lost yet!"
"When we return to our home ground, we must kill them!"
Bruno stretched out his right hand vigorously and shouted: "Come on!"
All the players formed a circle, stretched out their hands, and overlapped each other.
"Manchester United..." Bruno shouted.
The players echoed in unison: "...come on!"
………………
Seeing such a united momentum among the Manchester United players, not only the Liverpool fans in the stands looked askance, but also Liverpool's head coach Klopp, coaching staff, staff and players were also surprised.
They all know very well that Manchester United is very motivated now.
This is the result of Manchester United's unbeatable and invincible performance in the past 57 Premier League games.
Continuous victories have allowed Manchester United players to establish an invincible aura that they are invincible. They are fearless in the face of any opponent.
"We were all wrong!" Klopp shook his head and sighed.
"What?" Peppin Likindes was a little strange.
What does this meaningless sentence mean?
Pepyin Likindes became Klopp's assistant coach this summer, replacing Zeljko Buvac who left. The two have not been working together for a long time, so naturally they do not have the same rapport with Klopp as Zeljko Buvac.
"We have always thought that Manchester United's ability to achieve 57 unbeaten games was not only due to their strength, but also luck. But in fact, they do have the strength to surpass all teams."
When Klopp said this, he added: "Especially Bruno. Not only is he the number one player in football in the world surpassing Melo in terms of fame, he is also the same in terms of strength."
"People say that Cristiano Ronaldo is the third football champion born after the World Cup in Russia. But if you really want to say who is the king of football today, I think Bruno is the one. Not only does he have superhuman skills, but he also has unparalleled leadership. force."
After Likindes heard this, he thought about it carefully for a while and then nodded.
"It will be difficult to play in the away game in two months!"
………………
"It's a two-and-a-half game."
Klopp made a final summary of the game at the press conference after the game.
"We played very well in the first half. Although we lost two goals, we completely controlled the game. But in the second half, we played very nervously and passively. We tried hard to control the ball, but we failed."
Liverpool coach said: "In the 90 minutes of the game, we maintained a high level from beginning to end. This should be the pursuit engraved in our souls, not just looking at the score on the scoreboard."
Klopp believes that the team's mentality and stability need to be strengthened, and he is puzzled by the poor performance in the second half.
"We have enough advantages, strength, rhythm, determination, ball control, offense... We are better than our opponents, but we were behind by two goals at one time, and we didn't equalize the score until the 80th minute, especially at Anfield. Our current state is also good, which obviously requires us to summarize and be vigilant."
Klopp also specifically mentioned Bruno, believing that he showed a very high competitive level tonight and determined the trend of the game.
"Although Bruno did not score or assist, he is the best player in today's game. He is everywhere and threatens Liverpool's defense all the time."
………………
Mourinho agrees with Klopp's view.
"Bruno is the most perfect player. He can not only score goals, but also assist and play at the top level on the defensive end. He is a player that no head coach will refuse, because he always puts the interests of the team before his own interests. He is the most professional player I have ever seen. I am proud to be able to coach players like him."
As for this game, Mourinho thinks there is nothing to regret.
"Our players played with courage and determination away from home, and the score of 3:3 is the best proof of the situation on the field."
For the problems exposed by the team in this game, Mourinho did not give too much cover-up, believing that the team's defense does have some problems, and the players' performance is not stable enough.
………………
After the Red Devils, Mourinho went south to Switzerland on behalf of Manchester United to participate in the Champions League quarter-final draw ceremony held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland at noon local time on December 17.
Among the top 16 teams, only Ajax and Porto are not from the top five leagues, but both teams have won the Champions League. In addition, all four Premier League teams advanced, with three teams from La Liga and Bundesliga, and two teams from Serie A and Ligue 1.
After the draw, Manchester United met Schalke 04 from the Bundesliga.
This is a good draw!
Manchester United is undoubtedly the favorite to advance. This season, Manchester United is still in hot form. Not only has it achieved 57 unbeaten games in the Premier League, it has also won all the Champions League group matches. In six games, it has directly scored 21 goals, far ahead of the 17 goals of Paris Saint-Germain, which is the second-most goals scored. It is enough to see its offensive firepower. At the same time, they also performed very well on the defensive end. In sharp contrast to their poor defensive performance in the Premier League, Manchester United only lost 2 goals in 6 Champions League group matches, tied with Dortmund for the least goals lost.
Not only does it have the sharpest spear, but it also has the strongest shield. Major European bookmakers have listed Manchester United as the biggest favorite to win this season.
On the other hand, Schalke 04 only scored 6 goals. They were able to successfully qualify in Group D, largely because Galatasaray and Lokomotiv Moscow in the same group were not strong enough, so they were considered to have drawn a good draw.
Mourinho will naturally not miss this opportunity to "bully the weak", and the open scene may also stage a goal battle.
………………
In addition to Manchester United against Schalke 04, the other two Premier League teams also faced Bundesliga teams, namely Liverpool vs. Bayern Munich and Tottenham vs. Dortmund.
Three teams from the Premier League jointly fought against three teams from the Bundesliga. This is the first time in the history of the Champions League knockout stage.
Liverpool vs. Bayern is the focus of the focus of the Champions League quarterfinals. The overall strength of the two teams is comparable. Although Bayern's lineup is more luxurious, this season, under the leadership of Kovac, Bayern, who is fighting on multiple fronts, is not as strong as in the past. It is also behind Dortmund in the Bundesliga standings, and the aging problem is more serious.
Liverpool is in excellent form, not only keeping unbeaten in the Premier League and closely following Manchester United, but also defeating Napoli in the Champions League group stage and escaping death.
On one side is the trident led by Salah, and on the other side is the offensive line led by Lewandowski, the top scorer in the Champions League. Who is stronger and who is weaker, it will be a showdown.
This game is also destined to receive great attention. According to German media Sport1, when Bayern learned that they had drawn the Premier League leader Liverpool, Bayern fans rushed to the team's official website frantically, causing the ticketing system to crash, which is enough to show the fans' expectations for this game.
Tottenham vs. Dortmund will also be two high-quality duels. Young coach Pochettino is challenging the "old gun" Favre head-on, and the tactical game between the two coaches will be very exciting.
At the same time, Tottenham and Dortmund are both teams with excellent midfield athletic ability and extremely fast offense and defense conversion rates, and the offensive scene will be extremely fierce.
Therefore, the return defense rate of the two teams when switching from offense to defense will be crucial. So far this season, Tottenham has conceded 16 goals in the Premier League, while Dortmund has conceded 15 goals, which is not a big gap.
Of course, this game is also a direct dialogue between the two top attackers Morata and Reus. Reus has handed over 13 goals and 7 assists this season, while Morata has 13 goals and 4 assists. How much personal ability the two stars can show in the game may directly affect the result of the game.
………………
When Atletico Madrid drew Juventus, Ronaldo's "fans" may think that he is going back to Madrid again. Juventus fans may think that we are ready to play overtime. And Atletico fans may think, why is it Ronaldo again?
However, many people forget that this game also has special significance for Mandzukic. In the summer window of 2014, Mandzukic transferred from Bayern to Atletico Madrid. Although he only played for the Colchoneros for one season, the Croatian center still helped the team score 20 goals in various competitions. Atletico Madrid did not see the value of Mandzukic. Unexpectedly, after being sold to Juventus, Allegri's training turned him into a winger, which was very effective. Mandzukic was reborn and helped the old lady reach the Champions League final in the 2017-2018 season. This time against Atletico Madrid, Mandzukic will definitely show 200% of his state to prove himself.
Of course, the biggest highlight is Ronaldo's return to Madrid, but it is another "Madrid". Simeone's team may not be more familiar with any striker than Ronaldo. Data shows that Ronaldo scored a total of 22 goals against Atletico Madrid, and only scored more goals against Getafe (23 goals) and Sevilla (27 goals). At the same time, since 2014, Ronaldo has won all four matches against Atletico Madrid with Real Madrid, two of which occurred in the Champions League final. Ronaldo once again had a direct dialogue with Griezmann, and the competition between the two leading shooters will also be an important highlight of the two-round match.
Juventus and Atletico Madrid are both top-notch defensive teams. The former's central defenders are Bonucci and Chiellini, while the latter's central defenders are Godin and Jimenez, both of whom are world-class. Moreover, the defensive systems of the two teams are also very tight. Juventus, needless to say, has the traditional defensive awareness of Italian teams. Under the coaching of Inter Milan's famous Simeone, Atletico Madrid's overall defensive chain is also very clear. When the two teams meet, there may be fewer goals, which mainly depends on whether the forwards can get out of defense and attack more at a certain stage of the game.
In the past two years, Real Madrid has gradually gotten rid of the image of "tycoon" in the transfer market, and the policy of one superstar a year has been replaced by new rules to dig out monsters. Vinicius and Rodrigo, the two most promising post-00s in Brazil, were bought out by Real Madrid one after another, and the total amount of funds spent even exceeded 100 million euros.
It is no secret that Florentino likes to "scratch lottery tickets". Now that Real Madrid has drawn Ajax, which has many monsters, in the Champions League knockout round, it just happens to have ample opportunities for inspection.