Chapter 1011 Blessed Land
Manchester United defeated Real Madrid 4-1, almost locking up their ticket to the Champions League final in one game. Their immense strength also demonstrated their immense power as the overlord of the Premier League and the new generation of European overlords.
However, their biggest rivals, Liverpool, another Premier League giant, also demonstrated their formidable strength in the Champions League semi-final a day later. At Anfield, they needed only half the game time to defeat Villarreal 2-0, laying a solid foundation for their advancement to the Champions League final.
In both Champions League semi-finals, Premier League teams won big over La Liga teams, demonstrating their strong dominance in the top league.
Liverpool, who won a big victory in the Champions League, defeated Newcastle United 35-1 away in the 0th round of the Premier League on Saturday noon, and continued to closely follow Manchester United in the Premier League standings.
However, Manchester United also showed great strength in the subsequent matches. The victory over Real Madrid boosted the morale of the Red Devils and they defeated the visiting Brentford with almost overwhelming force.
In the first half, young player Elanga assisted Bruno to break the deadlock. In the second half, Harry Kane was brought down in the penalty area and Manchester United won a penalty. Bruno took the penalty and scored his second goal. Then Maguire scored a header in a corner kick to help Manchester United secure the victory.
In the end, Manchester United defeated Brentford 3:0.
Manchester City, who played next, also demonstrated unparalleled strength in the single-line battle, sweeping Leeds United 4:0 away and maintaining pressure on Manchester United, who were at the top of the table.
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After the game with Brentford, Mourinho announced the disbandment of the team. The players who participated in the game against Brentford do not need to come to training tomorrow morning. They can sleep in at home, have a rest, and then come to the team for training in the afternoon.
On Monday the entire team will fly to Madrid to prepare for the second leg of the semi-final.
Some people think that the game was just a formality, but it may not be as simple as everyone thinks.
Before the game, the Madrid media had begun a general mobilization, calling on fans to go to the scene to support Real Madrid for two consecutive days, and what they said was quite shocking.
"…Real Madrid has reached its most critical moment. It's time to show our love for the team!"
"Let's unite, put aside all prejudices, and fight for the team at the Bernabéu until the last moment!"
"The team needs us! Any hesitation or retreat at this time is tantamount to surrender and defection!"
"Go to the Bernabéu! Turn it into hell!! Use our passion to melt the stubborn stone and turn it into lava!"
"This is the final! This is the final! We must treat this game like a final. The players must give their all on the court. Similarly, we fans in the stands should no longer act like gentlemen!"
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Some media also listed various successful comeback cases in history to cheer up Real Madrid fans and the team. The one mentioned most was naturally the miracle of Deportivo La Coruña.
In the 2004 Champions League quarter-finals, Deportivo La Coruna lost 1-4 to AC Milan in the first leg. Everyone thought Deportivo La Coruna had been eliminated, and the second leg was a foregone conclusion. However, returning to their home turf, Deportivo La Coruna defeated the sleepwalking AC Milan 4-0, eliminating them with a 5-4 aggregate score.
Some media even specifically sought out Pandiani, the Uruguayan striker from Deportivo La Coruña who performed well in that game, and asked him for advice on Real Madrid's comeback.
Pandiani said that if Real Madrid wants to reverse Manchester United at home, the first thing they need to do is to make Manchester United unstable and try to score as soon as possible at the beginning of the game.
As long as there is a goal, the rest of the game will be much easier. The mentality of the players on both sides will undergo some subtle changes, and these changes will have a direct impact on the game.
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On May 5, the entire Manchester United team arrived in Madrid by plane.
At the airport, the team members had to face numerous reporters and their questions. Some chose to remain silent, while others chose to evade the questions. However, Bruno stopped and made a gesture of active cooperation.
So the reporters quickly surrounded him, separated him from the other teammates, and threw their prepared questions to Bruno.
Facing the swarm of reporters and the questions they asked, Bruno remained calm and answered with a smile: "How do you feel about Madrid? Honestly, it's great. This is my paradise. Every time I come here, I can enjoy the joy of victory, hahahaha!"
After hearing Bruno's words, the Madrid reporters at the scene looked very ugly, but they could not refute it, because as Bruno said, he won every time he came to Real Madrid to play.
布鲁诺第一次到马德里比赛是2014年11月4日，在欧冠小组赛第4轮的比赛中，布鲁诺带领乌迪内斯在客场3:1大胜皇家马德里，奠定了小组第一的位置。
三年后的2017年12月5日的欧冠小组赛第6轮，布鲁诺再次来马德里参加比赛，不过这次他们的对手变成了另外一支豪门马德里竞技。布鲁诺一射一传帮助曼联2:1取胜，锁定小组第一。
The third time was two years ago on February 2020, 2, in the first leg of the Champions League round of 26. Manchester United visited Real Madrid. It was Bruno's shot and assist that helped Manchester United beat the Galacticos 2:1 away.
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"So what do you think about the upcoming game? Some people outside say that this game is just a formality for Manchester United..." asked a reporter from the UK.
Bruno interrupted the other party and shook his head. "No, no, no. How can it be a formality? Scoring three goals in a game is not difficult for Real Madrid. If we think that this game is just a formality, I'm afraid we will be kicked out of the Champions League in the end."
A reporter asked: "Some media in Madrid used the example of the match between Deportivo La Coruna and AC Milan that year, believing that Real Madrid still has a chance of a comeback..."
"Of course, even if the probability is only a few tenths of a percent, it is still possible. So we won't take it lightly, we are not AC Milan... In addition, I think the media are too unfriendly to AC Milan. When talking about miracle reversals, they always use AC Milan as examples, such as the Istanbul miracle and the Deportivo La Coruña miracle... Really, I, who am not an AC Milan fan, can't stand it anymore!" Bruno joked.
"Marca calls on Real Madrid fans to turn the Bernabéu into hell..."
"That would be great, because we spend half the season playing in hell at home, so it's a feeling we're all too familiar with. If the Bernabeu really turns into hell, I think it would actually help us."
On the one hand, he said he would not underestimate the enemy, but on the other hand, Bruno appeared very confident.
Although Bruno rarely participated in verbal fights before the game, every time he did, he took advantage of the opponent without any effort.
A reporter once lamented that if Bruno were more into verbal battles, few in football could rival him. Unfortunately, Bruno's powerful mouth doesn't fire easily; otherwise, the media would be living a life of constant clamor.
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Before the match between Real Madrid and Manchester United at home, a large number of Real Madrid fans had gathered outside the Bernabeu Stadium.
As Marca called for, many Real Madrid fans came to watch the game, wanting to turn the Bernabeu into "hell".
In the locker room, Mourinho kept exhorting his players: "Real Madrid will definitely give their all in this match. When a team like that unleashes its full power, it's very formidable, so you must be mentally prepared. Especially at the beginning of the game, you must withstand their attacks. It doesn't matter if you get embarrassed a little, but you must not let them score right after the start of the game. Doing so will only give them an explosion of confidence and morale, and put you in a very passive position."
After a pause, Mourinho said seriously: "Remember, if we don't lose the ball at the beginning, we will win half the game!"
Afterwards, Mourinho once again emphasized the tactics of this game, which is: defensive counterattack!
Having established an absolute advantage in the first leg, Mourinho naturally hopes to qualify for the final Champions League at the lowest cost.
Defensive counterattack is not only Mourinho's best tactic, but also the most appropriate tactic in the current situation.
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When players from both teams walked onto the field to the sound of the Champions League theme song, they looked up and saw a giant TIFO made up of countless pieces of paper covering the entire field.
Judging from this appearance alone, it was indeed quite impressive, and it was enough to illustrate Real Madrid's determination in this game.
Especially when the Manchester United players walked out of the player tunnel, they could even hear the Real Madrid fans roaring and yelling at them.
"Welcome to the hell of the Bernabeu!"
"Get ready to pack up and go home!"
“Now is the time to witness a miracle!”
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Although they were shouting in Spanish, which most Manchester United players could not understand, their ferocious expressions, fierce tone, and raised middle fingers could clearly convey their emotions to the Manchester United players.
In addition, when the players came out, Florentino, the president of Real Madrid Club, stood at the entrance of the player tunnel, high-fived each player and said "Come on".
Remember, this is the only time this season.
This shows how much importance Real Madrid attaches to this game.
