Chapter 704: Don’t Want to Lose Again

In the fierce game, time quickly entered the 40th minute, and Manchester United was still actively and patiently looking for opportunities.

Everyone knows that in the two-round knockout match between home and away, even if the first round is lost 0:1 away, it is not a problem, because there is still a second round. Back at home, with the home advantage, the team has enough time and opportunity to reverse the score.

But Bruno doesn't think so. He doesn't want to lose at Camp Nou again.

In the Champions League semi-final four years ago, he and Udinese lost 1:3 at this stadium. Although he successfully avenged 5:2 after returning to his home court, Camp Nou became the only stadium he could not conquer.

Although this is related to the fact that he only played one game at Camp Nou, it is an embarrassing record after all.

However, although Valverde said verbally that he would not defend Bruno in a targeted manner, he was very honest in his actions. Throughout the first half, Bruno did not have many opportunities to get the ball. Whenever the ball was passed to him, Barcelona would quickly double-team him, especially when Bruno was dribbling forward, Barcelona would quickly commit a foul.

Obviously, this was Barcelona's strategy, never letting Bruno get the ball and attack directly from the front!

However, it was impossible for Barcelona to completely lock Bruno down.

Before the end of the first half, Bruno helped Manchester United score a goal.

………………

After another attack by Barcelona, ​​Manchester United opened the door from the backcourt.

After Kante received the pass from De Gea, Barcelona players double-teamed him, but the French midfielder took the lead and passed it back to Van Dijk.

The Dutch central defender sent a low ball directly to the frontcourt.

Harry Kane retreated, took the ball with his back, stopped the ball and pushed it to the left.

Bruno took a step ahead of his opponent and stopped the ball with his foot, but there was no chance, so he could only pass it back.

Fred took the ball nearby, and Barcelona players quickly pressed forward.

The Brazilian midfielder passed the ball to Mbappe who retreated to receive the ball, and then passed it to Kante.

The whole process was a one-touch pass, and when Kante got the ball again, he faced the direction of attack directly.

He saw Bruno!

Almost at the moment when Kante passed the ball, Bruno suddenly started, shook off the Barcelona player who was closely guarding him at the fastest speed, and went straight behind Barcelona's defense.

Kante's pass was also very low, and the ball was very fast, and it was sent directly in front of Bruno.

With his left foot raised, Bruno stopped the ball steadily. But at this time, Barcelona's central defender Pique also quickly returned to defense and blocked in front of Bruno.

The ball fell on the grass and bounced up again.

Bruno saw Pique, the former Manchester United central defender obviously wanted to grab the ball, so he decisively kicked the ball and picked it up, directly over Pique's head and landed behind him, and he suddenly started again, passed by Pique's side and went straight into the penalty area.

Pique reacted quickly and turned quickly. But he was fast, and Bruno was even faster. In just a blink of an eye, Bruno shook off Pique and chased the ball all the way.

………………

Ter Stegen decisively abandoned the goal and attacked with a roar, but Bruno caught up with the ball at the front of the penalty area.

To the left was Pique chasing back, to the right was Lenglet, and in front was Ter Stegen.

After Bruno caught up with the ball, he didn't have time to think much, and almost instinctively shook...

"Beautiful man-ball split!"

"Bruno picked up the ball and passed Pique, forming a single-handed opportunity!"

"Barcelona goalkeeper Ter Stegen abandoned the goal and attacked!"

"Bruno..."

"Beautiful!"

"Bruno pushed the ball into the empty goal!"

"The ball went in!!!!!!"

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!"

...

After Bruno sent the ball into the empty goal, he ran out of the court without slowing down. He opened his arms, as if he was a glider.

Four years ago, he, still wearing the Udinese jersey, had teamed up with Kante to break the goal of Camp Nou.

Four years later, still working with Kante, Bruno flew again in Camp Nou.

All the Manchester United players were full of surprises, and everyone rushed towards him and threw Bruno to the ground in the corner flag area.

They were all so excited!

………………

"Very wonderful cooperation!"

"It can be said that this goal of Manchester United is very critical! Now it is the 44th minute of the game. Bruno's goal not only equalized the score for Manchester United, but also greatly boosted the morale of the team, and also formed a blow to Barcelona."

"It is indeed a very admirable goal!"

"We can see that Bruno has a strong ability to read the situation. When he received the pass from Harry Kane, he chose to knock it back. Busquets should be a little careless at this time, but Bruno suddenly quickly inserted behind him."

"I have to say that Kanter's pass was just right. He just passed it to Bruno's step, so Bruno stopped the ball with his left foot, and then took another shot without waiting for Pique to get close. Two. The movements are connected very well, just like flowing water, very exciting! Ter Stegen's attack is also a little anxious, but there is no way, facing Bruno, any goalkeeper is under pressure."

…

Mourinho was so excited on the sidelines that he jumped up.

This was definitely an unexpected surprise, because he was mentally prepared to be one goal behind in the first half, but he didn't expect Bruno to bring him such a surprise and surprise.

"This kid played so smart!" Mourinho praised with a smile.

He has always felt that Bruno not only has good physical fitness and solid and comprehensive skills, but also thinks that Bruno's running without the ball is very good, and his thinking in football is really smart, which is completely different from what others think.

"Kante's kick was also very good." Faria smiled.

Mourinho nodded. Over the past few seasons, Kanter has not only been as solid defensively as ever, but his performance on the offensive end has also improved a lot.

………………

Throughout the entire first half, except for Fred's mistake, Manchester United almost made no major mistakes on the defensive end. This made Barcelona's offense unable to find its direction, which made Mourinho very satisfied.

Manchester United suppressed Barcelona on a tactical level!

That's why we scored the goal just now!

During the halftime break, Manchester United's players returned to the locker room one after another. Everyone had excited smiles on their faces, and they were obviously very satisfied with the result of the first half.

Mourinho's tactics were completely correct and completely disrupted Barcelona's tactical deployment.

After Valverde took over as the coach of Barcelona, ​​although he performed very well in La Liga and won two consecutive La Liga championships, he even almost achieved an unbeaten season in La Liga last season, with a total of 43 unbeaten games. It is the fifth longest unbeaten record in the top five European leagues after Manchester United's 69 games, AC Milan's 58 games, Bayern Munich's 53 games, and Arsenal's 49 games. The longest undefeated streak in history.

However, in the European arena, Valverde and the Barcelona he led have never been convincing enough.

The Red and Blues, who once dominated Europe, stopped in the top 16 of the Champions League last season. After a 4:1 victory in the first round, they were eliminated in the second round after a 0:3 away defeat.

This is the third consecutive season that Barcelona has missed the Champions League semi-finals!

………………

When Mourinho walked into the locker room, he was the first to mention the problems that occurred in the first half of the team. They were mainly local details. As for Fred's mistake, Mourinho never mentioned it. Obviously It’s the feeling of taking care of the Brazilian midfielder.

Mourinho introduced his speculation on Barcelona's tactics in the second half: "Normally, if a team has the upper hand on the court, it will not easily make adjustments in the second half, because changing the style of play can easily lead to They lost control of the game, so they didn't take risks easily. Although the score was 1:1, Barcelona controlled the situation. However, they had some problems in the closing minutes of the first half and were beaten by our counterattack. One goal, so I guess Valverde will not make adjustments, especially substitutions.”

In front of Mourinho, all the players, including Bruno, could only nod and listen.

Mourinho told the players in front of him very seriously and cautiously: "It is impossible to predict how they will adjust the small details, but we must do two things well."

"First, we must press faster and more fiercely to put pressure on Barcelona's central defender. Neither Pique nor Lenglet felt much pressure in the first half. We must strengthen this point in the second half. ”

Faria also spoke at this time: "Barcelona's goalkeeper Ter Stegen has always been unstable. He is a very unreliable goalkeeper, and Barcelona's passing and controlling style starts from the central defender, so we We must put pressure on the central defenders and disrupt their passing style, especially Ter Stegen and Pique. We must pay attention.”

Mourinho always speaks concisely and to the point, while Faria is responsible for explaining in detail to ensure that every player understands, and then he will explain and share their game tasks with the players one by one.

"Second, we must be faster when counterattacking, but at the same time we must ensure that our entire offensive and defensive system is compact and not disconnected. The latter is the premise and the basis for us not to concede goals again. We must do it well. At the end of the first half The goal at that moment was precisely because of our speed.”

………………

After saying this, Mourinho has basically finished explaining what he has to explain.

Mourinho warned the players with a serious face: "Everyone, although the midfield score of 1:1 does have reason to make us satisfied, we must not take it lightly. You must know that this is Camp Nou. Barcelona's home court. You have to know that tonight you are facing the former Cosmos team, one of the top teams in Europe. Whether it is a draw or a one-goal lead, it is not enough to ensure that we advance. , so we must concentrate all our energy and focus on playing every minute of the game.”

Bruno, as the captain of the team, stood up immediately and nodded heavily.

The other players also stood up one after another, either nodding or responding out loud.

The second half of the game started soon, and Barcelona's tactics did not change much as Mourinho expected. There was no adjustment in personnel, and the tactics basically continued the performance in the first half.

But Manchester United was obviously different from the first half.

Before the game, Mourinho said that his tactics in this game would not be negative. Even at the Camp Nou, he would strive for an away goal and keep the hope of returning to the home court.

And his weapon for away goals is in the second half.

If Manchester United's tactics in the first half were to stabilize the defense and get familiar with Barcelona's game rhythm, then Manchester United's tactics in the second half were to adapt to the opponent, seize the opportunity, rush up, and bite off the opponent's throat!

………………

Just one minute into the second half, Manchester United began to press step by step.

Rakitic fouled Fred, giving Manchester United a free kick in the frontcourt. Bruno chose to shoot directly, but was saved by Ter Stegen, defusing a crisis.

But Manchester United's pressing continued, and the game soon entered Manchester United's rhythm.

Barcelona's offense was contained and it was difficult to open up. Coutinho and Yosi's wings were restrained by Cancelo and Luke Shaw in the first half, which was equivalent to cutting off Barcelona's two arms, and the attack in the middle was blocked by Kante and Fred.

As for the two full-backs, Roberto was responsible for defending Mbappe, and Alba was restrained by Rashford.

It can be said that Barcelona's entire offense was contained by Manchester United.

The situation could not be opened in the first half, and it was even worse in the second half.

Valverde was obviously also troubled by the team's delayed offense. At the beginning of the second half of the game, he paced back and forth in the coaching area, giving people a very nervous and anxious impression.

Ten minutes later, he finally couldn't wait any longer and took the lead in making the first substitution of the game.

Dembele replaced Rakitic.

Valverde's purpose of strengthening the offensive by replacing a midfielder with a striker couldn't be more obvious.

After Dembele came on the court, Coutinho retreated to form a three-man midfield with Vidal and Busquets.

………………

Bruno had a feeling on the court that the ball was still in Barcelona's hands, but the game was controlled by Manchester United.

The reason why the passing and controlling style of play can make the opponent collapse is that it is very important to create threats. If there is only possession of the ball, but there is no way to create threats, too much possession of the ball is very dangerous, which will change the mentality of the party in possession of the ball.

Since the start of the second half, both sides played very stalemate, and no one could create opportunities, but the atmosphere of the game became more and more depressing.

Bruno knew that this was a test for both sides. Whoever couldn't bear it and who made a mistake first would lose!