Chapter 821 Prestige
The reason why Mourinho replaced Bruno early in the away game was naturally to save strength for the weekend league.
During the international match days in October and November, Manchester United will experience a very difficult schedule.
On the evening of October 17, they will challenge Newcastle away, and four days later on the evening of October 21, they will challenge Ajax away. After returning to England, they will face Chelsea at home on the afternoon of October 24, and then they will play against Midtjylland at home on the evening of October 27, followed by Arsenal at home on the afternoon of October 31, and three days later on the evening of November 3, they will challenge Atalanta away, and finally on the afternoon of November 7, they will challenge Everton, who is in good form this season.
In 20 days, 4 Premier League games, 3 Champions League games, every opponent is not easy.
For Manchester United, this will be a very critical period of the season. If Manchester United can't survive, it is likely to become the node of the team's dynasty collapse!
Among them, the next home game against Chelsea is undoubtedly the most crucial battle, after all, Chelsea is strong.
In Lampard's second season leading Chelsea, after the crazy signings in the summer transfer window, the strength of the Blues has been greatly strengthened. Although the performance was somewhat unstable after the start of the new season, and was tied by the weak teams West Brom and Southampton, the Blues still showed strong offensive capabilities.
In the first five rounds of the league, Chelsea scored a total of 13 goals, and its offensive firepower was second only to Everton, tied with Liverpool for second in the Premier League, and slightly better than Manchester United, which scored 12 goals.
Facing such an opponent, Mourinho naturally did not dare to neglect it.
………………
"Asshole! Think about it yourself, what kind of shit did you play in the first half of the game?"
"Everyone, I am very disappointed in you!"
"If you can't win this game, everyone's training volume will double!"
Bang!
Throwing down a threatening and cruel word, Mourinho directly abandoned the door and walked out.
He was furious. At the end of the first half, Manchester United tied Chelsea 0:0 at home. He could accept the score, but he could not accept the players' state on the field.
All the players seemed to be completely out of shape. The crazy pressing disappeared, and the cooperation between the players was rare. It was more like a pile of loose sand!
A pile of loose sand!
Yes, that's the word!
"Don't be too angry." Faria comforted, "The boys are too tired. They haven't had a good rest since May. It's normal for their condition to fluctuate. And we are not behind..."
"No, it's not a question of tiredness!" Mourinho waved his hand and said to his assistant, "I know these guys very well. The lack of pre-season training will definitely have some impact on the team, but it definitely shouldn't be the case recently."
"This is a bad sign. The season has just started, and these bastards are a little bit arrogant. Do they really think that they are invincible after winning the league championship for four consecutive seasons? The first half of the game is a lesson. This game must be won. This bad sign must be nipped in the bud in the bud!"
………………
In the locker room , as the captain, Bruno stood up and said: "The coach is right! We really played like shit in the first half!"
"We didn't get enough rest in the summer, everyone is tired, I know!" Bruno said, "But, guys, now is not the time to rest!"
"The season has just begun, we still have countless tough battles to play!"
"So, in the second half of the game, I hope to see everyone fighting hard. We can't let the coach down, we can't let the fans down. This is the best era in Manchester United's history! Remember, gentlemen, if we don't seize this opportunity, we will never forgive ourselves in the future!"
Bruno, who is humble by nature, is not the kind of domineering captain, but his earnest words are still effective and resonate with everyone.
"The captain is right!" Kante was the first to stand up to support Bruno, "We can't let the coach down."
"In the second half, kick Chelsea's ass!"
"That's right, let the coach look at us with new eyes!"
Mourinho already has enough prestige in this team. This is the first time he has been so angry and even said that he was disappointed with everyone, which has a great impact on the players.
They respect and believe in this coach who has brought the team from the bottom to the current results.
Before the second half of the game, Manchester United players secretly looked at the coach's seat on the sidelines to see the coach's face. They found that Mourinho had a stern face and said nothing, which made everyone's heart skip a beat. It seems that the coach is really very angry.
We must fight hard in the second half of the game!
Mourinho sat in the coach's seat. Although his face was gloomy, he was relatively relaxed in his heart. He knew that as long as his team played normally, Chelsea could not be stopped at all...
Now it depends on how these bastards can perform in the second half of the game.
………………
After the second half, everyone noticed the changes of the home team Manchester United. They played very actively, fought hard, and frequently put pressure on Chelsea's goal.
In less than ten minutes, there were already three shots.
Sky Sports commentator Andy Gray said: "Manchester United is like waking up after the halftime break, and they are now putting pressure on Chelsea's goal!"
Mourinho stared at the field.
Although Chelsea spent 200 million euros to strengthen the team in the summer, the strength of the two teams is not at the same level now. Apart from anything else, Bruno's existence is the biggest threat to Chelsea.
For this game, Mourinho has a targeted deployment. He fully utilizes Bruno's personal ability. If they use two people to defend Bruno, then Harry Kane will have more freedom. At this time, Chelsea even has to bring in the full-backs to make up for the defense.
At this time, the space on the wing has emerged, and Rashford and Mbappe's speed and flexibility have a place to use.
Mourinho believes that the team's goals will come, and all he has to do now is wait.
This is the team he has personally built for more than four years, and he has confidence in these players.
I hope he won’t have to wait too long for the goal…
………………
The second half was fifteen minutes into the game, and Manchester United had completely taken the upper hand. They were pressing Chelsea at home and attacking like a tide.
In front of the TV, the enthusiasm of the fans was also aroused. Many Manchester United fans jumped and shouted.
6◇9◇Book◇Bar
“That’s right! That’s right! This is our Manchester United!”
“That’s it! Poke their asses! Kill them!”
The fans were in a better and better mood. Manchester United’s weakness in the first half made these people depressed.
Now, the Manchester United they are familiar with is back!
Chelsea midfielder Havertz tried to send a lob, and Kante made a correct prediction. He took the lead to head the ball back, then strode forward and blocked Havertz with his body to prevent him from counter-grabbing.
"Kante! He made a successful steal!" Martin Taylor shouted, "Havertz was too careless! His pass was too casual..."
"Manchester United's counterattack! Kante passed the ball directly to Bruno!"
"Beautiful!"
Bruno pulled the ball and turned around, and at the same time flicked the ball with his feet, passed the opponent, and then dribbled the ball at high speed along the sideline!
"Bruno! Pass! Beautiful! The cross pass went through the defense... Rashford!"
In front of the TV, Manchester United fans burst into huge cheers, even though they knew that their cheers would not be heard by Manchester United players on the court, but they could not suppress their excitement!
The young talented shooter produced by Manchester United received Bruno's wonderful pass.
Because of Bruno's breakthrough, Chelsea's defense was attracted to tilt seriously to the right, so there was no one around Rashford who received the ball.
Rashford received the ball without being marked, and then swung his right foot towards the goal.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!! A genius shot! This is Rashford's 100th goal in all competitions of his career! Since Mourinho coached Manchester United, this talented shooter has blossomed with remarkable offensive talent! 1:0! Manchester United broke the deadlock on the field!"
………………
Manchester United players celebrated wildly, even though there were no cheers and shouts from fans in the stands of the stadium.
Mourinho sat in the coaching seat. He patted the seat hard and wanted to get up, but he didn't get up in the end. He had a stern face. He told the players in this way that it was just a ball, and he was not satisfied!
Five minutes later, Mbappe was pulled down in the frontcourt. Manchester United quickly sent a free kick. Kante passed the ball. After Bruno received the ball, he cut inside directly, dodged the gap, and shot with his foot!
The football passed the crowd in the penalty area, found the way to the goal, and hung into the net along the inside of the goal post.
Dean Henderson, Chelsea's goalkeeper and a product of Manchester United's youth training camp, had almost no reaction to this ball.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLL!!!!!!"
This time, Mourinho's butt bounced off the seat, he rushed out of the coaching seat, ran for more than ten meters, and waved his arms vigorously!
"This is Manchester United! This is Mourinho!" Andy Gray was amazed, "Obviously, the Portuguese coach performed his magic during the halftime break. His team only slept for half the game, and in the second half, the game burst out with amazing energy again! 2:0, Manchester United almost locked the victory, and they were less than half an hour away from winning the game! Winning this game means that they will top the standings for the first time this season!"
When the referee blew the whistle to end the game, the score on the field remained at 2:0.
"Congratulations to Manchester United! Congratulations to coach Mourinho! Congratulations to Bruno, congratulations to them, they won the game 2:0, which also means that they are at the top of the standings for the first time this season! They are sprinting towards the fifth consecutive Premier League title! This is the best moment since the founding of this century-old giant team!"