Chapter 799 The Battle Between Two Kings

August 15, eight o'clock in the evening.

Cristiano Ronaldo stood in the center circle of the Stadium of Light in Lisbon, waiting for kick-off.

This is the last of this season's Champions League quarter-finals, a focus game that attracts worldwide attention. The Bianconeri Juventus face the Red Devils Manchester United.

After the tragedy between Barcelona and Bayern Munich the night before, both Juventus and Manchester United took this game extremely seriously.

Ronaldo himself also attaches equal importance to it, because of him!

In this game, Ronaldo and Higuain partnered as a double forward, while Bruno played as an attacking midfielder. Therefore, when Juventus kicked off, Bruno's position was very close to Ronaldo.

Before the game, the two shook hands politely with each other in the tunnel and chatted for a few words.

But now, when Ronaldo looked at Bruno again, his eyes were full of provocation and competition.

Bruno was equally rude to him.

The two people looked at each other with sparks in their eyes, and the entire Stadium of Light in Lisbon was filled with a strong smell of gunpowder.

This is a war between the two football kings in today's world!

To the disappointment of local Portuguese fans, due to the epidemic, they were not able to enter the stadium to watch the game. They could only watch the showdown between the two Portuguese football kings through television broadcasts.

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"The game is about to start!"

"The referee of this game is the Dutch referee, Danny Maclie."

"When guessing the side before the game, Manchester United's captain Bruno beat Juventus' captain Bonucci. They won the right to pick the side, so Juventus got the right to serve."

"The lineups of both teams in this game are relatively neat. Juventus sent most of their main players, and Manchester United basically sent out all their main players. Both sides attach great importance to this game."

"The referee Marco Lie blew the whistle to start the game. Juventus took the lead and Manchester United took the initiative to press and press."

"With continuous passing, the Red Devils' opening tactics looked very proactive."

"Juventus' pass was intercepted, and Manchester United counterattacked on the spot and passed it to the left."

"Luke Xiao took the ball, followed up, and shot a long shot..."

"Oh, I was too impatient! Luke Shaw's shot was still a bit far from the goal, and it was a bit too hasty. The most important thing Manchester United should do at this time is to keep calm."

…

"It's still an attack from Manchester United, Cancelo crosses from the right."

"The ball came to the left, Bruno... made a beautiful stop... and then passed it into the penalty area..."

"Harry Kane failed to stop the ball and Bonucci and De Ligt double-teamed him at the same time."

"Juventus still had a solid start."

…

"The ball was still in Manchester United's feet and they orchestrated an attack again."

"Bentancur intercepted the ball successfully, and Juventus launched a counterattack on the spot and passed it to Higuain."

"Higuain took the ball in the penalty area and volleyed directly into the goal, hitting Maguire and crossing the baseline. Maguire's block was still in place this time."

"Juventus got a corner kick."

………………

Pjanic stood in the corner on the right, gently placed the football, and then slowly backed away.

Manchester United coach Mourinho seemed very concerned on the sidelines and kept calling on the players on the court to pay attention.

Bruno was left in the frontcourt, ready to launch a counterattack at any time.

When Pjanic quickly took a corner kick, there was chaos in the penalty area.

Juventus players are trying hard to get rid of Manchester United players' marking, while Manchester United's players are entangled in the targets they are marking, especially the most threatening headers like Bonucci and De Ligt.

But in this chaos, a black and white figure suddenly shot out from the crowd, leaping high in the middle.

Pjanic's cross from the corner came right in front of him and he headed it from close range. The football suddenly changed its trajectory and fell to the left side of the goal.

The distance was so close and so sudden that goalkeeper De Gea was simply beyond his reach.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"

"The ball is in!"

"In the fifth minute, Juventus took the lead in breaking through Manchester United's goal with a header from Cristiano Ronaldo!"

"It's so exciting! Cristiano Ronaldo found the best spot in the penalty area with many tall men and hit the goal with his header!"

"This was Juventus's first threatening offensive of the game, and as a result, two shots broke into Manchester United's goal."

"Let's relive this goal again. Pjanic's corner kick confused many players. Manchester United's attention fell on tall players like Bonucci and De Ligt, but ignored Ronaldo. ”

"This is definitely a very undeserved mistake, because Ronaldo's header is already world-famous for its threat, but Manchester United obviously missed it."

………………

After scoring the goal, Ronaldo did not celebrate to show respect for Manchester United, his old club.

Bruno wiped his face depressedly.

It was only five minutes into the game, and before he even broke a sweat, the goal was broken, by Cristiano Ronaldo, which made him feel very uncomfortable.

Bruno admires this Portuguese national team and Manchester United senior very much, but this does not mean that he is inferior to Ronaldo.

Standing at both ends of the court, they are opponents, and he will do his best to help Manchester United win the game.

This goal has nothing to do with him, because his task is to wait for an opportunity to counterattack in the frontcourt. No one will blame him for this goal, but he still feels unhappy.

Mourinho was also very excited on the sidelines and was very dissatisfied with the goal. But soon, the madman immediately made adjustments, especially for the team's defense.

………………

After the game resumed, Juventus really chose to pursue the victory and continued to attack Manchester United.

Ronaldo was particularly excited. After scoring a goal, he quickly took the ball on the left rib to face three Manchester United defenders. He still chose to go it alone, relying on his personal ability to rush out of a chance to shoot with the ball, and shot low 26 meters away from the goal.

Soon after, Higuain pulled to the right, attacked the gap behind Luke Shaw, and passed the ball to the penalty area. Ronaldo headed the ball again in front of the goal, but this time it was confiscated by De Gea and failed to create a threat.

Just two minutes later, Ronaldo broke through the middle again with the ball, and the shot at the edge of the penalty area was blocked out of the bottom line. Gipjanic took a corner kick from the right, but Manchester United was prepared this time, and Maguire headed the ball away.

The football was still at Juventus' feet. After reorganization, Pjanic made a cross from the right, and Ronaldo volleyed from 12 meters in front of the goal in the penalty area, and it slipped through the door again.

Juventus, who was playing crazy, could almost be said to be omnipotent. Even Manchester United had to choose to temporarily avoid the front and retreat to their own half to defend stubbornly.

Mourinho's defense, which he has trained for four years, also worked at this critical moment. Except for the problem with Luke Shaw, the left back, it was difficult for Juventus to take advantage of Manchester United.

………………

The midfield and backcourt were tight in defense, and the frontcourt was actively looking for opportunities. On the one hand, it was the team's first line of defense, and at the same time it was putting pressure on Juventus' midfield and backcourt.

Bruno's running was as frequent as ever. He was not anxious about losing the ball at all, because this was in Manchester United's pre-match plan. The coaching staff had made enough plans for losing the ball first, and even how to play after losing two goals.

With the plan, there was a bottom line in his heart. Bruno knew very well that what he needed to do next was to wait patiently.

As long as Manchester United could hold on, Juventus would reveal its flaws sooner or later.

Beckenbauer once said that on the football field, the strongest point is often the weakest point.

When Ronaldo was almost omnipotent and performing his personal show on the court, Juventus' overall offensive means were still too monotonous, almost all of which were aimed at Ronaldo.

Mourinho also realized this problem and immediately took targeted defense.

Ronaldo was thinking about how to create threats, and even often chose to shoot himself instead of observing his teammates. This not only made Manchester United's defense easier, but also made Juventus's midfielders and frontcourt players embarrassed.

It is difficult to say whether other Juventus players were in poor condition or were affected by Ronaldo's activeness. Anyway, on the court, everyone saw that Juventus' offense turned into Ronaldo's personal show.

And Ronaldo's personal show often ended with a hasty shot or a blocked breakthrough, which is quite unreasonable.

"Football is always a game of eleven people. One person cannot lead the whole team. Maybe Ronaldo ten years ago, or even five years ago, could, but now Ronaldo is 35 years old. Although he is in good shape, he has lost his former impact, so he needs to play more team-oriented." said Gary Lineker, the BBC commentator who commented on the game.

………………

Bruno patiently looked for opportunities on the court.

When Juventus pressed forward with a big attack after falling behind by one goal, the offensive burden of Manchester United almost fell on him.

He began to expand his range of activities and integrated himself into the team as a whole. But at the same time, when the team needed him to play personally, he could do it easily, whether it was breaking through, taking the ball, organizing or distributing the ball, and also showed his advantages.

More than ten minutes after losing the ball, Manchester United gradually stabilized their position and the team began to find a familiar feeling.

The interception of the double defensive midfielders of Kante and Fred was very powerful, and the two central defenders in the backcourt gradually adapted to Juventus's side cross play.

Ronaldo still got the ball frequently, but it was more of a personal performance and not much of a threat.