Chapter 735 Bruno VS Salah
Referee Skomina's whistle sounded, Bruno took a run and shot.
This is a blast shot!
Although Alisson judged the right direction, Bruno's powerful shot was too fast and he did not touch the football at all.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!"
"Bruno! Bruno! Bruno! The ball is in! Bruno scored the penalty he created, 2:1, and Manchester United once again led Liverpool in the Champions League final."
"2:1! Bruno scored the penalty kick before the end of the first half. Just look at the cheers in the stands at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium. The excited Manchester United fans made a huge noise."
"The 18th goal! This is Bruno's 18th goal in the Champions League this season! He broke the record of 17 goals in the Champions League in a single season set by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2013-2014 season!"
"This is a brand new record. Four years ago, Bruno tied Ronaldo's record, and now he finally breaks this record!"
Klopp put his hands in his pockets and saw that the penalty kick was scored. Uncle Zha was pacing with his head lowered and his facial expression did not change much. His anger and displeasure had already disappeared when the penalty kick was awarded. After venting, I can now accept the result of a penalty kick being scored by my opponent more calmly.
Mourinho and his assistants high-fived in celebration, and Manchester United's bench also cheered.
It's great to be able to surpass the score again before the end of the first half!
Especially when Liverpool had just equalized the score, they quickly surpassed the score again. This was not only a boost to Manchester United's morale, but it is conceivable that it would also have a certain direct blow to Liverpool's morale.
A few minutes later, referee Skomina blew the whistle to end the first half. In the 2018-2019 UEFA Champions League final at the Wanda Metropolitan Stadium in London, Manchester United temporarily led Liverpool with a score of 2:1.
………………
United went into the dressing room with a one-goal lead.
The players of Manchester United had smiles on their faces. They were satisfied with their performance in the first half and felt that the fifth Champions League championship in team history was getting closer and closer to them.
The Liverpool players, who were one goal behind, were more or less frustrated.
Their head coach Klopp stood on the sidelines, patting the shoulders of the players leaving the field and saying a few words of encouragement. Uncle Zha's facial expression in the camera was relatively calm. It was difficult to judge his mentality towards the first half of the game. Even if you can accept it, you are still angry.
Commentators from various countries and regions who broadcast the Champions League finals all expressed their optimism about Manchester United.
"Manchester United leads 2:1! In such a final, being able to maintain the lead at halftime is very important for the psychological impact on the players on both sides and even on the trend of the game."
"Manchester United's tactics were quite successful. They caught Liverpool off guard at the beginning. Of course, Liverpool's performance was also good. They played a beautiful combination to equalize the score, but Manchester United still told everyone with the quick goal that they were prepared for this game. How well prepared for the competition..."
"The first half was really exciting! It was not as dull as we were worried about in the final. Neither team was conservative. Although there were only three goals, the game process was more exciting than the score showed. Audience friends , This is exactly the peak European showdown we are looking forward to!”
"These two teams can be said to be the most powerful teams in European football today! In the past season, Manchester United scored 98 points and Liverpool scored 97 points, which is the highest score among all European teams. Two teams!”
"The score of 2:1, with only one goal difference, gives us enough reason to expect that the second half will be even more exciting."
………………
In the Manchester United dressing room, the players who were still chatting and laughing happily saw Mourinho looking at them with a serious expression. Soon, the dressing room became quiet.
"2:1, I am very satisfied with both the score and the process. You did a good job in the first half, guys." Mourinho said.
"It stands to reason that I should praise you and congratulate you at this time. But I'm sorry, I can't do that at the moment." Mourinho shook his head and said.
"What I'm thinking about now is that after we performed so well in the first half, if we end up losing the game regrettably, my God, this is absolutely unacceptable." Mourinho continued, "I'm not being alarmist, You should also know how tough your opponent is. Guys, stop celebrating. Remember, only the one who laughs in the end is the real winner!"
Mourinho paused and said: "The Liverpool people once created a miracle in Istanbul. At that time, they were three goals behind at half-time and completed the reversal. What's more, they only need one goal to climb ashore. They will definitely not give up!"
"One goal behind, what we see is victory and championship, what Liverpool people see is hope and championship. So, be careful in the second half, guys, we are facing a team that operates with precision and high morale. Be prepared to fight hard.”
………………
On the other side, in Liverpool's dressing room.
"Well done, gentlemen," Klopp said to his players.
The players looked up in surprise, expecting to hear criticism from Klopp.
Of course, they were surprised, but they didn't think it was Klopp's irony. The scumbag was upset with you and cursed directly without beating around the bush.
"Manchester United is so strong that I don't need to say more. The results of the last three seasons are the best explanation. As the head coach of Liverpool, although I don't want to admit it, the fact is that Manchester United is the strongest team in the world football today." Klopp said, "In fact, when I saw you tied the score to 1:1, I was very happy. Even if we lost the ball later, it would not affect my optimism."
"Gentlemen, I don't want to emphasize objective factors, but we had bad luck in the second goal, so don't be too obsessed with some bad thinking."
………………
After comforting the very frustrated players, Klopp began to arrange the tactics for the second half.
"It's our turn to counterattack in the second half," Klopp said. "We have to fight Manchester United with our momentum. Yes, this game is a war!"
"In the second half, we have to take the initiative and try to suppress Manchester United with offense. We have to control the midfield."
When Klopp spoke, he glanced at Fabinho and Henderson, who will be the key to midfield control.
"We have to be tougher against Gundogan!"
"Jordan (Henderson) goes against Gundogan, Alexander (Arnold) sees the opportunity to help, and Jorginho (Wijnaldum) your task is to pass the ball quickly when the ball is changed!"
"Speed, speed, speed of attack! Pass through the midfield quickly and don't give Kante a chance to get entangled." Klopp said with a serious expression.
"When attacking, be careful of Manchester United's counterattack." Klopp said, "I judge that Manchester United will not play against us in the second half of the game. They will play defensive counterattacks."
At the same time, in the Manchester United locker room on the other side, Mourinho said to the players: "In the second half, we will no longer continue to attack, but instead defend and counterattack. Therefore, doing a good job of defense is the key first step, and playing a high-efficiency and fast counterattack is the key second step!"
………………
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!"
The commentator who supports Liverpool roared excitedly in the commentary booth of the Wanda Metropolitan Stadium.
The stands where Liverpool fans are located at the Wanda Metropolitan Stadium are also cheering.
Salah is running to celebrate, and around him are excited Liverpool players coming from all directions.
This is the first five minutes of the second half of the game. Liverpool played a wonderful offensive cooperation. Mane, Wijnaldum and Firmino's continuous passing and cutting cooperation attracted Manchester United's defense to this side.
Finally, Wijnaldum made a wonderful pass, and the ball was passed to the relatively open right side. After Salah stopped and got rid of Luke Shaw, he dribbled the ball horizontally, pretended to shoot to trick Van Dijk into making a defensive move, dribbled the ball over, and then made a beautiful shot!
This shot was very beautiful, the ball drew an arc and flew into the goal guarded by De Gea!
Facing such a shot, De Gea tried his best to save it, but he was still unable to do it.
The score on the field was rewritten to 2:2!
………………
Not long after the start of the second half, Liverpool equalized the score.
Klopp stood up on the sidelines, waved his fist vigorously, and then applauded Salah's goal.
Mourinho also stood up from the coaching seat, his face was a little gloomy, because this goal completely disrupted all his deployment.
Originally, Manchester United could sit back and fight Liverpool's counterattack with peace of mind in the half-time score of 2:1.
Mourinho believed that as time went by, Liverpool would only become more and more impatient, and if Manchester United could counterattack and score another goal, the final would be won, but he did not expect Liverpool to equalize the score so quickly in the second half.
Mourinho was very angry about the result of losing the ball, but he was also a little helpless.
Manchester United did not make a particularly serious mistake on the defensive end, but because Liverpool's attack on the left was too fierce, Manchester United's defensive focus was attracted by Mane and others.
However, despite this situation, Luke Shaw and Van Dijk on the left side were still on guard against Salah.
Mourinho was angry and helpless because Salah still scored in this situation.
Salah's personal ability is too strong, and Salah's state in the past two seasons is too outstanding. It is really difficult to defend against a star of this level.