Chapter 1023 Not giving a chance

In the Norwich dressing room, Dean Smith was cheering up his players: "...They must think they have won and the championship is in their hands! I can even hear the cheers coming from their dressing room! Maybe they have already opened the champagne to celebrate! Look at their expressions at the end of the first half! They thought we were finished, so we will give them a big surprise! It's just a one-goal difference! When we make a desperate attempt, they will definitely be at a loss as they are unprepared! This is our chance, for your fans, for yourselves, fight to the end!"

Dean Smith used his tone and body language to mobilize the emotions of the Norwich players very well. Everyone was excited and vowed to fight Manchester United to the death in the second half to prevent Manchester United from reaching the top. At the same time, it also allowed them to leave a good impression on the fans of the team in the last two games of the Premier League, so that they can continue to win the support of the fans after they go to the Championship next season.

Dean Smith looked at the players who rushed out of the locker room roaring and said to his assistant coach with satisfaction: "I saw a group of lions."

Dean Smith not only used words to motivate his players, he also made personnel adjustments. Before the second half started, two Norwich players stood side by side on the sidelines, waiting to go on the field.

He replaced McLean, who had a yellow card in the first half, with fellow midfielder Gilmour, and replaced midfielder Reece Mellor with striker Jonathan Lowe.

Manchester United did not make any personnel adjustments.

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At the beginning of the second half, Manchester United fans were quite relaxed, even though they were only leading by one goal. However, at halftime, news came from St. Mary's Stadium that Liverpool was tied 1-1 by Southampton away.

So according to the current results, Manchester United is four points ahead of Manchester City and seven points ahead of Liverpool, and the championship is basically in their hands.

However, not long after the start of the second half, Norwich put Manchester United fans under pressure with a series of fierce attacks.

First, Norwich striker Pukki was brought down by Kante when he forced a breakthrough in the frontcourt. The referee blew the whistle and penalized Kante for a foul, and then gave Norwich a free kick.

The free kick was 33 meters from the goal, centered in a perfect position. Although Norwich didn't have many free-kick experts, a decent free kick from this position could pose a huge threat to the goal.

The free kick was taken by Norwegian international Matthias Norman. He kicked a high-quality arc ball, which bypassed the wall and flew straight towards Manchester United's goal. The Manchester United players in the wall turned their heads to look at the ball with some horror in their eyes.

At this critical moment, De Gea's big hand arrived, he touched the football with his fingertips, and then the football went wide of the goal post!

"Oh my god! De Gea! He made another great save!" Martin Taylor shouted. "This is an incredible save!"

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After De Gea landed, he rolled over on the grass, stood up again, clapped his hands and shouted: "Be careful! Don't give them such a chance!"

Although his save was beautiful, he was actually terrified. For a moment, he thought the opponent's ball was definitely going to go in.

Fortunately, there was no danger in the end, and he managed to save the ball with all his might.

Although he was lucky enough to make the save this time, he had no idea whether he would be able to perform so well next time there was such a ball.

So the best thing to do is, as Bruno said, don't give them any hope!

Norwich's free kick had truly scared the rest of the Manchester United players. Even though they were still ahead, if that goal had gone in and the score had been tied, who knows what kind of emotions would have stirred within them. That emotion would have definitely affected them.

Mourinho waved his arms and yelled on the sidelines: "Remember! Don't give them any chance!!"

After the game resumed, Manchester United controlled the ball and they were not in a hurry to attack.

Led by Bruno, everyone started to pass the ball back in the backcourt.

Anyway, they are leading 2:1 now, so there is really no need for them to rush.

But Norwich certainly couldn't let Manchester United fall like this, because they couldn't let this score remain until the end of the game, they had to come up and grab it.

Once they come up to grab the ball, the space behind them can be exploited by Manchester United.

This was Manchester United's plan in the second half.

When Norwich was in high spirits, Manchester United did not choose to confront them head-on, but instead avoided their attack and used softness to overcome hardness.

If Norwich gets impatient, it will be good for Manchester United.

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When Mourinho said "don't give them any chance", the "they" certainly does not only refer to Manchester United's opponent Norwich in this game, but also includes Liverpool at St. Mary's Stadium and their city rivals Manchester City.

In fact, compared to Norwich, which has been relegated early, Mourinho pays more attention to Manchester City and Liverpool, because these two teams still pose a certain threat to Manchester United's league championship.

At this moment, Manchester United is playing a make-up match with Norwich in the 33rd round of the league. Liverpool is also playing a make-up match, but they are playing the 37th round of the Premier League, and their opponent is Southampton Saints.

Because they had just fought Manchester United for 90 minutes in the FA Cup final three days ago, Klopp was forced to make some rotations in this game.

Southampton, despite having already secured their place in the league, did not let down their guard at home, fielding most of their starting lineup and opening the scoring in the first half. Liverpool equalised late in the first half.

After the start of the second half, Liverpool launched a fierce attack on Southampton, as if they were going to take the initiative, and in the 53rd minute, they finally broke through Southampton's goal.

"Matip! A beautiful corner kick! Liverpool has taken the lead! This is a great start! Liverpool took the lead right at the start of the second half, showing excellent form. They have plenty of time to extend their lead! Manchester United is still only leading by one goal! This is a very dangerous score..."

The commentator of Liverpool Radio was cheering for Liverpool when he caught a glimpse of the real-time score of another game on the small screen in front of him: Manchester United 3:1 Norwich.

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"Bruno--" the host of the new Old Trafford Stadium drew out his voice.

"Fernandez!!!" He was responded by the unanimous shouts of 100,000 fans at the new Old Trafford Stadium.

"Thirty-eight! This is Bruno's thirty-eighth goal this season! He's leaving all the newcomers further and further behind in the Premier League scoring list!"

"Not only is the Premier League Golden Boot already in the bag, but this season's European Golden Boot is also no longer in doubt after Bruno's hat trick today."

"Before today, Bruno was tied with Bayern Munich striker Lewandowski for first place in the European Golden Boot, but Bruno scored a hat trick today, while Lewandowski has already played all the games this season, and his final goal tally has been fixed at 35. As for La Liga and Serie A, the highest number of goals is only 27!"

He Wei said happily, "More importantly, Bruno's goal was extremely crucial! When we're leading by one goal, everyone is actually uneasy, but with a two-goal lead, the situation is different. The Manchester United players will feel more secure, and that sense of security will make them relax, and relaxation will make them play better..."

Martin Taylor also thought Bruno's goal was very important. He said: "When Norwich was counterattacking fiercely, Bruno's goal was like pouring a bucket of cold water on their heads. This will greatly reduce the pressure on Manchester United... On the other side, although Liverpool has already overtaken the score, they are sure to win this game. But now it seems that Manchester United's two-goal lead may make Liverpool lose motivation..."

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The news that Manchester United was two goals ahead also reached the visiting team's coaching bench at St. Mary's Stadium.

Except for Klopp, everyone else was whispering, discussing what had just happened at the new Old Trafford.

The result left them frustrated.

Before the game, they had high hopes for Norwich, because Norwich, who shouted that they were fighting for honor and fans, would definitely burst out with huge energy.

But now it seems that Norwich, who are fighting for honor and fans, can be ignored in the face of the huge gap in strength with Manchester United.

Fighting for the championship every season, only to be disappointed again and again, an experience they have experienced six times in the past six years, is indeed discouraging.

But what else can they do?

There seemed to be no other way except praying to God to perform a miracle at the last moment so that Norwich could score two goals in a row and equalize the score.

Although Norwich cannot stay in the Premier League no matter what the outcome, Liverpool people do not care about Norwich's life or death now. The final fate of this seaside town team does not matter at all. They just want Norwich to help stop Manchester United.

"Two goals are not enough! We must completely crush their fighting spirit! They must not have given up completely yet." When everyone gathered together to celebrate the goal, Bruno took the opportunity to remind them.

He knew that Norwich had been relegated, and now it was only the players' last bit of professional ethics and their belief in fighting for the fans that supported them. But at this time, he did not have any sympathy for Norwich.

Being soft-hearted towards others only to end up hurting yourself. So what's the right thing to do? Bruno has a clear mind.