Chapter 817 Old Enemy
Manchester United plays Ajax away from home, which has become quite common in recent seasons. As early as Bruno's first season with Manchester United, Manchester United faced Ajax in the European competition. As a result, Bruno scored 2 shots and 1 pass in the Europa League final, leading Manchester United to sweep Jiafu 4:0 and win the UEFA Champions League. The first Europa League title in team history made Manchester United the fifth Grand Slam team to win the three major European cups.
A year later, in the 2018-2019 season, Manchester United faced Ajax again, but the venue was changed to the Champions League semi-finals. Ajax, who advanced to the semi-finals as a dark horse, are eager to continue their magical journey. After defeating Real Madrid and Juventus, they once again defeated the super giant Manchester United and entered the Champions League final.
But after two rounds of fierce battle, Manchester United still had the last laugh. With the help of Bruno's 2 goals and 1 assist in two rounds, Ajax was eliminated with a total score of 5:3, ending the opponent's dream of going all out.
In the subsequent Champions League final, Manchester United defeated Liverpool with a score of 5:3 after a goal battle in a double-header meeting in the Champions League. Ascend to the throne of the most wealthy family in England.
Last season, the two teams met for the third time, this time in the Champions League group stage. As a result, Manchester United beat their opponents 3:0 away and 2:1 at home. As a result, Ajax was eliminated from the Europa League and failed to continue to perform in the Champions League.
It can be said that Manchester United has become Ajax's biggest sufferer in the European competition.
This time the two sides have met in the Champions League for three consecutive years, and it is also the fourth year in the past five years that the two sides have met. Ajax definitely hopes to take revenge.
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Since it was an away game, Manchester United showed more restraint. Head coach Mourinho said that a draw was a satisfactory result for the team.
This was mainly because during a physical examination on the eve of the game, Gundogan was found to be infected with the new crown and was forced to quarantine. This caused some problems in Manchester United's formation. Mourinho finally decided to move the young player Bellinge. Mu was put into the starting lineup.
Bruno also said in an interview with the media that it is not easy to play Ajax away from home.
"In this team, there are many players I am familiar with, such as my former teammate Blind, Onana, Hrafenberch, and Lisandro. They are all very strong players... …”
Bruno listed many of Ajax's stars and believed that this team is very competitive and should not be underestimated.
"Facing a team like this, I think we have to pay 120,000 points."
Compared to Manchester United's restraint, Ajax is relatively high-profile, after all, they are playing at home.
They have lost five times to Manchester United in the past four years, so Ajax definitely wants to win, and Ajax also wants to compete for first place in the group, and Manchester United is their biggest opponent to win first place in the group. , so Ajax players also showed their determination to win.
Tadic will be the main starter in this game. The day before the game, he accepted an interview with the Dutch media and said that he is no stranger to Premier League teams, especially Manchester United, because he once played for Southampton. Four years.
The Serbian striker even threatened to score a goal during the game.
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Like all media, the Dutch media deliberately laid a trap for him when interviewing Tadic, asking him what he thought after Bruno won the World Footballer and the European Golden Globe Award.
Maybe it was out of psychological warfare, or maybe Bruno mentioned many people in his previous interview, but did not mention his name, so Tadic said rudely: "If I were to choose, there would be no one in the world." Among the top five attackers, Bruno’s name will definitely not appear, and even the top ten is a bit reluctant.”
The media reporters originally just wanted him to step on Bruno, but they didn't expect Tadic to fire directly. This made them excited, and they all chased Tadic to ask questions.
The Serbian forward also answered many pointed questions honestly and politely.
For example, he believes that defending Manchester United must not only focus on Bruno, because Bruno is not the most difficult player for Manchester United to defend.
He also believes that Manchester United will still be the most competitive team in Europe even without Bruno.
"In fact, Bruno is not as important as you think."
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When Manchester United arrived in Amsterdam collectively, the Dutch media quickly conveyed Tadic's words to Bruno in an embellished way, fearing that the world would not be in chaos.
When Bruno was interviewed by them, he smiled and acknowledged Tadic's words, thinking that he was indeed not the strongest attacker. As for Manchester United, Bruno agrees more with Tadic's remarks.
"To be able to be where I am today, the help of everyone at Manchester United is crucial. Without me, Manchester United is still one of the strongest teams in Europe. But if I lose the platform of Manchester United, it will be difficult to achieve today's results. ”
"I think he's right. You can't just focus on me when defending Manchester United, because we also have a group of better players, such as Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, Rashford and Gundogan. He is a very good player. If any team only focuses on me and ignores others, it will definitely pay a heavy price."
Bruno followed Tadic's words and did not give the media any chance to stir up trouble. Moreover, he looked smiling and in a very good mood throughout the process.
When the media asked him why he seemed to be in a good mood, Bruno said it was because he was very happy.
Being blocked by Bruno's Tai Chi push, using softness to overcome hardness without leakage, the media reporters found that they had punched the cotton directly with their fists, unable to exert their strength.
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"Sky, this is Sky."
"Dear viewers, we are now at the Cruyff Stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and we are about to broadcast live for you. It is a focus game that attracts worldwide attention in the first round of the Champions League group stage this season. Presented by Ajax against Manchester United.”
"This will undoubtedly be a star-studded fight."
"The guest lineup responsible for on-site commentary for this game is also very strong, including Dutch striker Robin van Persie who once played for Premier League giants Arsenal and Manchester United, former Dutch international Van der Vaart, and former Ajax legendary star David "
"What do you think of this game?"
"I think whether or not Bruno can be defended will be the focus of Ten Hag's defense. If Bruno is frozen, Manchester United's offense will be greatly reduced, and Ajax will have a chance." Davis analyzed.
"I agree with this statement. Bruno just recently scored 500 goals in his career. This is a great achievement, especially when he achieved such an achievement not long after his 26th birthday. Because even if he is as strong as Yossi , and he only scored his 500th goal at the age of 28, which is enough to show how powerful he is, not to mention the many championships he has won.”
Van Persie was a striker when he was a player, and he obviously valued scoring goals the most. He also knows very well how difficult it is to score 500 goals at the age of 26, because as a top forward, he did not unlock 500 goals in his career until he retired.
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"I agree with Robin's statement. There is no doubt about Bruno's strength."
"Raphael, what do you think?"
After hearing the inquiry, Van der Vaart nodded and said: "I agree with everyone's statement. Bruno is indeed Manchester United's most threatening player. Even if he does not seem to be in ideal condition now, he is still quite scary."
"But I think Ajax is also mentally prepared for this. You see, Tadic is in very good shape recently. It can be seen from the psychological tactics before the game that he is very motivated now."
"I just looked at Ten Hag's starting lineup for this game, four, three, one and two. I think his intention is still very obvious, which is to lock Bruno with three midfielders."
"In terms of central defenders, the high-speed and fast combination of Lisandro and Schurs, I think this is also targeted. Now it depends on the specific process of the game, because football matches cannot only focus on formations, but more importantly It’s the details.”
Everyone also agreed with Van der Vaart's analysis.
"And I think there is a very important thing about Manchester United. Gundogan is not in the squad." Van der Vaart reminded.
"Yes, I heard he had COVID-19 and Mourinho kept him in Manchester."
"So, Manchester United's midfield will definitely be affected."
"This is indeed a bit unexpected, because in the league last weekend, Mourinho arranged for Gundogan to rest, obviously to let him concentrate on playing in the Champions League in the middle of the week, but he did not expect that he was later found to be infected. The new crown has definitely disrupted Mourinho’s plans.”
"Yes, that's right, so it depends on whether Ten Hag can seize the opportunity well, because judging from the past few games, Bellingham's performance is still too immature and he is not yet qualified to replace Beijing. Due to Dogan’s strength, Manchester United tried to introduce Real Madrid’s midfielder Casemiro before, but failed.”
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Following the commentator's pre-match analysis, the live game screen also switched to the player tunnel at Cruyff Stadium.
It can be clearly seen on the screen that Bruno and Blind are chatting passionately, holding hands with each other, and they seem to have a very good relationship.
"They played together at Manchester United for two seasons and are very good friends. Tonight Blind plays as a defensive midfielder. Bruno plays against Blind. Brothers killing each other is also quite interesting."
Soon, under the organization of the referee, the players from the two teams lined up and walked out of the tunnel.
However, the Cruyff Stadium was very quiet because this game was still played behind closed doors, so there were no fans watching the game.