Chapter 718: Keep the Suspense Till the End

With Bruno's shot and pass, Manchester United finally reversed Ajax 2:1 at home. This not only prevented Manchester United from a three-game losing streak at home, but also gave Manchester United an advantage in the two-round Champions League semi-final.

Being reversed by the opponent at the end of the game made Ten Hag very dissatisfied after the game, and he pointed the finger at the referee again.

The Ajax coach believed that the referee missed a penalty for Ajax, which could obviously help Ajax expand the score and even make Manchester United completely desperate, but it was ruined by the referee.

Mourinho refuted it on the spot. He said that Ten Hag's reason was very ridiculous, because Kante's foul was obviously outside the penalty area at the time, and it was reasonable to give a free kick.

Mourinho said: "I don't understand why he asked for a penalty that didn't exist at all?"

The two head coaches fought on the court, and they still fought off the court.

Ten Hag said that he thought Ajax's defeat was unreasonable. Ajax was the better team in the game, and the victory should belong to Ajax, or at least a draw.

But Mourinho also believed that Manchester United was better than Ajax in terms of ball possession and number of shots, and Manchester United's victory was justified and there was nothing to question.

But in fact, the number of shots of both sides was 12:9, which was pitifully small.

From the number of shots, it can be seen that the two teams really did their best in targeted tactics. They restrained each other and did not give each other any chance. Ajax only had two direct shots on goal, and Manchester United only had three.

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Ten Hag mentioned Ziyech and believed that the Moroccan played a key role. Mourinho mentioned Bruno and believed that the Portuguese star was the key to Manchester United's victory.

"From Bruno's eyes, I saw determination, fighting spirit, and his pursuit and desire to defend the Champions League."

Mourinho also said that the team will also defeat Ajax and win a victory when they go away.

"I have no doubt about Ajax's strength, and I don't deny that they are indeed strong enough to compete for the ticket to the final, but I want to say that Manchester United has won all away games this season. In the Amsterdam Arena, victory will only belong to us Manchester United!"

"This season in the Champions League away games, we defeated all opponents, whether it was Lyon, Hoffenheim, Shakhtar Donetsk, Schalke 04, or even Barcelona, ​​they all lost to Manchester United at home. Next is Ajax's turn."

Compared to Mourinho's ambition, Ten Hag said that the team's chances of advancing are still very high.

"We will be more proactive and aggressive when we return to our home stadium. We will try our best to win a victory at home. We will definitely get the ticket to Madrid!"

The verbal battle between the two coaches after the game naturally became a major attraction in the world football.

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After the game, the media immediately divided into two factions about which team had a better chance of advancing to the final. The British media naturally supported Manchester United to enter the final again. The Dutch media supported Ajax, believing that it was difficult to tell the pros and cons of the away score of 1:2. Although Ajax's performance at home this season was not very good, they would not disappoint people at the critical moment. Therefore, it was still unknown who would enter the final.

The media of the two countries launched a round of propaganda wars, each finding evidence in their favor and attacking the other team and players. Various gossips were also noisy and endless.

There were even media rumors that Manchester United had found a hotel near the Amsterdam Arena and booked a post-match celebration banquet. But no one knew the details.

In another Champions League semi-final held a day later, Tottenham beat Liverpool 3-0 at home.

Such a score made the media almost all stand on the side of Tottenham, believing that it was only a matter of time for the White Lily to advance, and they would advance to the Champions League final for the first time in history.

Even the Liverpool Echo pessimistically expressed that it would be difficult for Liverpool to advance to Madrid, and said that Klopp should not have fought Huddersfield in the Premier League last weekend. Although that game allowed Liverpool to recover some of the disadvantages in goal difference, it also greatly consumed the players' physical strength, which also led to the team's defeat at the new Wembley Stadium.

What is most difficult for Liverpool people to accept is that the big win in the league last weekend did not change Liverpool's situation, because Liverpool is still 1 point behind Manchester United in the standings.

As long as Manchester United beat Huddersfield and Cardiff City in the last two rounds, the goal difference recovered by Liverpool's big win will have no meaning.

And with Manchester United's strength, facing Huddersfield and Cardiff City, which have been relegated in advance, it is almost no suspense to win 6 points.

Klopp's tough battle against Huddersfield at home last weekend seemed to directly lead to Liverpool's failure to win any of the four major titles this season!

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On the afternoon of May 5, in the 37th round of the Premier League, Manchester United challenged Huddersfield, which had been relegated in advance, away.

In the 36 rounds of the Premier League that have been played, Huddersfield has only achieved 3 wins, 6 draws and 28 losses, and only got 15 points, 11 points behind Fulham, the second-to-last team, and has locked the position of vice-captain early.

Although the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Ajax was won at home, and although this game was nearly five days away from the Champions League semi-final in the middle of the week, Mourinho still made a large-scale rotation again, but Bruno started.

Manchester United arranged a 4-3-3 formation away from home, but the first half was not ideal. After making adjustments in the second half, Bruno took the initiative to take more responsibilities in the frontcourt and opened up the defense of the home team Huddersfield. First, McTominay headed the ball from the left and assisted Greenwood to score. Then Bruno made a cross from the right and McTominay volleyed the ball from 19 meters in front of the goal.

Although Huddersfield scored a goal in the 77th minute of the game, Manchester United finally won all three points away from home with a score of 2:1, and once again maintained the points advantage over Liverpool and Manchester City.

Liverpool's away challenge against Newcastle was one day earlier than Manchester United's game against Huddersfield.

Perhaps it was the 0:3 defeat in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final that made Klopp put his hopes on the league. Although they only had less than 3 days of rest, Klopp still sent all the main players to St. James Park.

After 90 minutes of fierce battle, Liverpool narrowly defeated the Magpies 3:2 away, temporarily surpassing Manchester United and rising to first place. However, this advantage lasted less than a day before Manchester United overtook it again.

However, this still put a lot of pressure on Manchester United.

In the last game of the 37th round of the Premier League a day later, Manchester City beat Leicester City 1:0 at home, and the points rose to 93 points, continuing to keep the pressure on Manchester United and Liverpool.

In this way, the Premier League champion must be decided in the last round of this season.

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On the evening of May 7, the first game of the second leg of the Champions League semi-final was held at Anfield.

Due to the 0:3 defeat away in the first leg, almost no one believed that Liverpool could achieve a comeback at home. But Liverpool is indeed a very magical team. 14 years ago, they created the Istanbul miracle. 14 years later, they created their own Anfield miracle in front of 50,000 fans at home.

Only 1 minute into the game, Mane cut into the penalty area on the left and passed the ball. Shaqiri shot from 12 yards, and Danny Rose poked it out before Henderson from the edge of the small penalty area.

Liverpool scored the first goal in the 7th minute. Danny Rose made a mistake in his header. Mane passed the ball. Henderson broke into the 10-yard shot and was barely saved by Lori. Origi shot into the empty goal from the edge of the small penalty area.

Wijnaldum replaced the injured Robertson in the second half.

Liverpool expanded the score in the 54th minute. Arnold intercepted Danny Rose on the right and the cross was deflected. Wijnaldum shot into the net from 12 yards, rewriting the score to 2:0, and the total score was rewritten to 2:3. Liverpool was only one goal behind.

In the 56th minute, Shaqiri made a cross from the left, and Wijnaldum scored with a header in front of the small penalty area, changing the score to 3:0.

Liverpool tied the total score to 3:3.

Tottenham launched a counterattack, and Son Heung-min's direct free kick from 30 yards was blocked by the wall. Then Son Heung-min's small-angle shot from the right side of the penalty area in the corner kick melee was blocked by Alisson in the near corner.

In the 79th minute, Arnold tried to let Shaqiri take the corner kick. Tottenham players were still arranging their defensive positions. Arnold suddenly returned to the corner flag and took a direct corner kick. Origi, who was unguarded, volleyed in front of the small penalty area and shot into the upper left corner, 4:0.

Liverpool's total score was 4:3 ahead.

At the last moment, Tottenham was unable to create any more scoring opportunities. Liverpool stubbornly controlled the game and kept the score until the end.

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After falling behind by a large score, with the absence of core players, Liverpool, who played with the remaining soldiers, made a magical comeback and reached the Champions League final for the 9th time.

This game shocked the world and gave Liverpool the confidence to continue their double-line championship.

Of course, this requires some luck.

First of all, in the league, they need Manchester United to make a mistake at home in the last round of the league, so that they can have a chance to turn the tables.

Secondly, in the Champions League, the best case scenario is that Ajax will be strong at home and reverse Manchester United to advance to the final.

If Ajax does not live up to expectations and cannot achieve a reversal, it is not good news for Liverpool, but if they can win the Champions League final by stepping on Manchester United's shoulders, it is also a good choice.

Of course, there is also the possibility that Manchester United will step on them and become the top giants in England.