Chapter 1020: Championship Battle 2
Manchester United was ecstatic after defeating Real Madrid twice and setting a record of reaching the Champions League final for five consecutive years, but at the same time, the fierce battle with Real Madrid also made the entire Manchester United team very tired.
In this situation of over-excitement and fatigue, the state of the entire Manchester United team has undoubtedly fallen to a low point.
On the afternoon of May 36th, in the th round of the Premier League, Manchester United visited the American Express Community Stadium to challenge Brighton, who are ranked ninth in the standings.
Before the game, the media were generally optimistic about Manchester United. After all, they had defeated the powerful Real Madrid twice four days ago, setting a record of advancing to the Champions League final for five consecutive years, and believed that they could beat the unmotivated Brighton away from home.
在本轮之前的英超积分榜上，曼联34战26胜6平2负，以84分高居积分榜首。领先身后的曼城和利物浦分别有4分和7分，不过利物浦和曼城都要多赛一场。
Just a day ago, Liverpool had completed the game with Tottenham, but Liverpool was tied by Ronaldo's last-second goal and only got 35 points after 77 rounds.
If Manchester United can beat Brighton away today, they will be 3 points ahead of Liverpool with only three rounds left in the league, kicking Liverpool out of the league title race early.
On the contrary, Manchester City, who are fighting on a single front, appeared very strong in the Premier League. They beat Newcastle United 5:0 at home. This was their third consecutive league game in which they had won by more than 4 goals.
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Under the attention of the whole world, Manchester United, which played with all its main players, suffered a major upset and lost 0:1 to Brighton away from home.
"0:1!!! Unbelievable! Unbelievable! Manchester United, who beat Real Madrid four days ago, lost to Brighton! This is a serious problem!"
The TV broadcast gave close-ups of some Manchester United players. The players in the shots all had dazed expressions on their faces, as if they had not yet reacted to what had happened.
"Before the game we said that although we had beaten Real Madrid, the remaining games would be very difficult for Manchester United and they would have to face these opponents with the same mentality as they did against Real Madrid. Unfortunately, our prediction came true..."
In the locker room after the game, Mourinho turned into a "hair dryer" and yelled at everyone.
"...Wake up! Get your brains back! Don't think that just because we beat Real Madrid, we're invincible and can easily win the championship! We can't underestimate any of our opponents!"
"If we lose the league to Brighton after beating Liverpool and Manchester City, I guarantee you all will be the laughing stock of Europe! You will be laughed at by everyone until the next idiot as stupid as you comes along!"
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Major media organizations were also analyzing and reviewing the game after the match.
Brighton had 41 points before this round of the league, ranking ninth. They were safe from relegation and had no hope of qualifying for European competition. Logically, such a team with no ambitions should not cause any major problems for Manchester United.
Everyone believes that Manchester United's remaining four opponents in the league, namely the home game against Chelsea on the evening of May 4, are the most dangerous.
Who would have thought that in this game, Manchester United would unexpectedly lose to Brighton.
What is even more surprising is that in the 37th round of the Premier League three days later, facing Chelsea, who are fighting hard for a Champions League spot, Manchester United did not have a good solution at home.
In fact, if Bruno hadn't scored before the end of the game, they would have suffered two consecutive defeats in the league!
At the same time, Manchester City defeated Wolves 33:5 away in the 1rd round of the Premier League, and Liverpool also beat Aston Villa 2:1 away.
Therefore, with only two rounds left in the Premier League, Manchester United's advantage in the standings has quickly shrunk to 2 points and 5 points!
Manchester United's sixth consecutive Premier League title encountered an unprecedented crisis at the last moment of the season!
"We said before that Manchester United would never let the league title slip away... Now it seems that they really dared to do so!"
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There is still time to resolve Manchester United's Premier League title crisis. What they urgently need to face now is the competition for the FA Cup title.
On the afternoon of May 5, the 14-2021 FA Cup final kicked off at the new Wembley Stadium, with Manchester United facing Liverpool.
As the outcome of the championship was at stake, the match was extremely intense.
In the 23rd minute of the game, Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita received a yellow card for fouling Luke Shaw. At the same time, Luke Shaw was injured because of Naby Keita's foul and could not continue the game.
Mourinho could only let Dalot come on as a substitute to replace Luke Shaw as the team's left back.
Not long after the change, Manchester United scored a goal. Bruno passed the ball to Greenwood, who made a cross, and Harry Kane, who followed up in the middle, headed the ball into the goal, helping Manchester United take the lead.
Liverpool defender Konate then received a yellow card for a foul on Harry Kane.
In the first half, Liverpool failed to equalize the score and Manchester United failed to expand its lead.
If this score remained until the end of the game, Manchester United would have won another championship trophy.
However, after the halftime break, Liverpool obviously strengthened their offensive, and in the 63rd minute midfielder Thiago equalized the score for Liverpool.
The situation began to turn unfavorable for Manchester United.
Liverpool, who equalized the score, were in high spirits and launched a fierce attack on Manchester United's goal. This period was the most difficult for Manchester United fans, as they were afraid that the team would collapse.
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At the critical moment, luck was on Manchester United's side.
In the 69th minute, when Liverpool's attack was at its most intense, Manchester United got a chance to counterattack.
When Bruno got the ball, he did not hesitate, but passed the ball directly to an open space he was looking for.
As long as the ball can be passed, Greenwood will be able to get a one-on-one opportunity when he receives it.
As a result, when Liverpool defender Konate was unable to stop Bruno's pass by normal means, he stretched out his hand to block Bruno's pass in a hurry, causing the ball to go far away from Greenwood who was making a forward run.
Such an obvious handball naturally could not escape the attention of the referee Craig Pawson, so Pawson stopped the game and ran towards Konate who deliberately committed the handball.
"Ah, Konate is in trouble!" said Martin Taylor. "He must be very clear about this. He wants to escape... but how can he run away? This is a deliberate handball! Anyone with eyes can see it! Deliberate handball is definitely a yellow card, and Konate already has a yellow card - he will be sent off with a red card!"
Before he finished speaking, Pauson ran up to Konate with two cards in his hand, one yellow and one red. He first showed Konate a yellow card, and then showed him a red card.
Konate was sent off with a red card!
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When Liverpool's morale was high and the situation was promising, their central defender was sent off, and the momentum was quickly cooled like a bucket of cold water poured on them...
At the most critical moment for Manchester United, the sudden appearance of a red card gave them a chance to breathe. It was such a coincidence that people thought it was God's arrangement.
Konate's red card dealt a heavy blow to Liverpool's morale, and Liverpool knew it, so after referee Bosen showed Konate the red card, Liverpool's players surrounded referee Bosen and protested against the red card.
But in fact, their protest was unreasonable. Konate's deliberate handball was very obvious. It is absolutely impossible to defend Konate with such stupid excuses as "he didn't mean to do it" or "his arms were not open".
Their protests could not save their teammates from getting a red card, but rather seemed like an outlet for their own frustration and dissatisfaction.
Konate had nothing to say about the red card and could only leave the field obediently.
After their protests were ineffective, Liverpool players had no choice but to retreat.
Now that they are one man short, it is impossible for them to maintain their previous aggressive offensive. They must retreat and tighten their defense to ensure that they do not lose the ball.
This is good news and bad news for Manchester United.
The good news is that their defensive pressure has been reduced, but the bad news is that after Liverpool shrinks their defense, Manchester United will face a team with dense defense, with fewer offensive opportunities and it will be more difficult to score goals.
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For Bruno, the former is an issue he cannot decide, but he can make some contribution to the latter.
Although Liverpool tightened their defense, it did not mean that they had no opportunities to exploit.
You know, they are missing one person, and that person is a central defender.
Liverpool's head coach Klopp will definitely bring in a new central defender to ensure the integrity of the defense line.
There is only one central defender on Liverpool's bench now - Matip.
The 1.95m tall German centre-back has outstanding aerial defense, but his height makes him slower to turn. Speed has never been Matip's strong point.
Moreover, he came on as a substitute in a hurry this time, so it was difficult for him to get into the game state from the beginning, and there would definitely be problems cooperating with his teammates.
As a central defender, if you don't cooperate well with your teammates, there will be some problems.
Bruno believes that if Klopp replaces Matip, he can focus on his turning speed and game state.
In Bruno's mind, he has already started designing offensive tactics based on Matip's characteristics.
Sure enough, Klopp made a substitution three minutes later, replacing the goal scorer Thiago with Matip.
