Chapter 261 Manchester United’s Dilemma
Chapter 261 Manchester United’s Dilemma
On the football field, it's a life-and-death fight. Being nervous will only make you die faster and more miserably.
Manchester United is full of superstars. As long as you give them the slightest chance, they can give you a fatal blow.
Bruno understands this very well.
"The boss's tactics are right. As long as we resolutely implement them, we can suppress Manchester United's offensive. As long as the midfield is suppressed and the backcourt is defended, the frontcourt offense will be left to me!" Bruno assured, patting his chest.
He is Udinese's most important weapon in this game. It can even be said that the entire offense revolves around Bruno, because even Di Natale won this game.
Cancelo and other teammates nodded unanimously.
After more than two years, they all believed in Bruno.
It can be said that Bruno's performance has never disappointed them in the past two years.
I believe it will be the same tonight!
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Amid overwhelming boos, Bruno led his teammates into Old Trafford.
There were people everywhere in the stands, and it was indescribably spectacular. The sound swept through the entire stadium, and those who were a little timid would probably feel weak in the knees.
"Welcome to Old Trafford!" When Manchester United's captain Rooney walked out of the tunnel, he saw Bruno and came over.
"Thank you, Wayne!" Bruno replied very politely.
"I hope it will be a wonderful game tonight." Rooney said again.
"Me too." Bruno nodded.
After shaking hands, Rooney took his teammates to another field to warm up.
When players such as Bastian Schweinsteiger and De Gea passed near Bruno, they either nodded or came over to say hello, but it seemed that they were not in high spirits.
This has something to do with Manchester United's last game against Udinese. At that time, Manchester United left back Luke Shaw was seriously injured during the game. Although the results of the post-match examination were not as bad as at other times, Luke Shaw would have to be out for at least two months and would basically not be able to return until after the New Year.
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Bruno has no extra interest in caring about other people's moods. He can only manage himself and his teammates.
This game is crucial for Udinese. If they can defeat Manchester United on the road, they will advance to the knockout rounds one round early and even lock in the first place in the group.
In this case, Udinese can devote more energy to Serie A and fight for the team's second top league championship.
However, if Udinese loses in an away game, not only will they be squeezed into second place in the group by Manchester United, but their qualifying qualifications will also be in trouble. In the last round of the group stage, they will have to face CSKA Moscow at home.
Bruno hopes that all his teammates can stabilize their emotions and implement head coach Guidolin's strategies and tactics in an orderly manner. Then this game still has to be played.
This requires him, the captain, to stay awake and calm at all times.
Whether it's for yourself or Udinese, you must try your best to win this game!
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Before the game, Manchester United fans pulled up banners protesting against the Glazer family in the stands, demanding that the Glazer family get out of Old Trafford.
Since the media revealed in August that Middle East Oil Capital had initiated the acquisition of Manchester United, Jassim's team has submitted multiple rounds of offers to the Glazer family, with the offer rising from US$8 billion to the current US$50 billion.
However, the greedy Glazer family has been pushing back and delaying the sale of Manchester United.
According to the latest reports from the British media, the Glazer family's psychological base price for selling Manchester United should be around US$80 billion.
This caused widespread dissatisfaction among Manchester United fans, who believed that the Glazer family was completely a lion's mouth.
You know, when the Glazer family bought Manchester United ten years ago, it only spent US$14.7 billion, of which only % was the Glazer family's own funds, and the remaining % They are all loans.
For this reason, Manchester United has been saddled with heavy debts during this decade.
In the past ten years, although Manchester United has repaid a lot of debt through its own profitability, it still has more than $5.76 million in debt.
Due to their recent poor performance, Manchester United's current market value is only US$28.1 billion!
Under such circumstances, the Glazer family actually proposed an asking price of US$80 billion, which is equivalent to twice the premium. It is completely a lion's mouth.
The TV broadcast footage also promptly switched to Joel Glazer watching the game in the VIP box. The American's face looked ugly.
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Under the leadership of the referee, the two teams slowly entered the stadium.
Deafening cheers erupted from the scene.
Although the team's results are not particularly ideal, Manchester United fans are still full of excitement and desire for the stars.
In this game, Van Gaal arranged a 4231 formation. The goalkeeper is De Gea, and the defense from left to right is a combination of Rojo, Blind, Smalling and Damian; Bastian Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin partner as a double midfielder, and in front of him They are Depay, Rooney and Lingard; the lone forward in the frontcourt is Martial.
<divclass="contentadv">As for Udinese, the captain is naturally Bruno.
Judging from the starting lineup, the goalkeeper is Kanizis, and the defense is Erto, Danilo, Maguire and Cancelo. The double defensive midfielders are Badu and Itura, the forward line is Widmont, Bruno and Adnan respectively, and the lone forward is Taylor.
With the referee's whistle, the focus battle that attracted worldwide attention finally kicked off.
Udinese took the lead, but when the ball reached the frontcourt, it was quickly intercepted by Manchester United.
After losing the ball, Udinese was not anxious at all and instead retreated across the board.
Under Udinese's pressure, Manchester United couldn't pass the ball in the midfield.
Just over a minute into the game, Badu successfully intercepted the ball. Itura passed the ball straight to the feet of Bruno in the frontcourt.
Bruno grabbed the ball behind Schneiderlin and in the gap between Manchester United's defense. He turned sideways and rushed to the left with the ball. After attracting Damian's attention, he passed the ball diagonally to the back and found the goal. Adnan.
The Iraq international dribbled the ball along the left and then passed the ball back to the center. Unfortunately, Taylor's shot was blocked by De Gea with one hand.
Although he failed to score, there was still a shock at Old Trafford.
When Taylor walked back, he did not forget to wave to Adnan and Bruno, saying that he was indeed a little nervous just now and did not let go. When he shot, he pursued the angle too much.
"It doesn't matter. If you keep trying, you still have a chance!" Bruno clapped his hands and encouraged him.
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Soon, Manchester United launched an attack.
After Depay got the ball on the left, he forced a break through Widmont and caused a foul. Although the referee did not take out the card, he gave Manchester United a threatening chance to set the ball on the left.
Rooney took the penalty himself and passed the curve ball into the penalty area. Badu took the lead and headed the ball to clear the ball. But the ball was still controlled by Manchester United. Udinese retreated across the board and organized the defense steadily.
"Matteo, pay attention to your position! After Marcos goes up, you should move back a little, understand? We can't press on both sides, pay attention to the opponent's counterattack."
"Morgan, run and get excited!"
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In front of the home team's coaching bench, Van Gaal shouted excitedly. It was clear that he was not satisfied with the team's performance on the field.
Manchester United occupies possession of the ball, but has actually never been able to send the ball into the penalty area and create a threat. This is definitely not a good sign.
Udinese's Guidolin is very good at targeted tactics, cutting off the connection between Rooney and Bastian Schweinsteiger, and at the same time using Badu, a highly mobile midfielder, to move forward and suppress Schneiderlin in the back position.
Schneiderlin was suppressed and the midfielder couldn't get the ball out of the back, so Rooney had to retreat frequently.
But as a result, Rooney also fell into a defensive quagmire.
After the start, the player with the most ball for Manchester United turned out to be Lingard.
This script is wrong, seriously wrong!
Although Lingard is capable of both offense and defense, he cannot organize the ball in Manchester United's midfield. He is obviously not on the same channel as the superstars, so how can he pass the ball?
The midfielder couldn't get the ball out, Martial frequently retreated, and there was no threatening arrow in the frontcourt.
The two wings are frequently pressed. Rojo is a full-back who is strong in offense and weak in defense, and often loses his position. Although Damian's defensive ability is good, his slow speed is his weakness. If he presses, his speed will be Shortcomings can be scary.
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Sure enough, in the eighth minute of the opening, Udinese stole the ball in midfield again.
This time Bruno took the ball facing the direction of the attack and directly dribbled the ball into the attack. He was very fast and rushed in front of the Manchester United defense. Before Smalling could grab the ball, he kicked it straight into the penalty area behind him. Inside.
Adnan crossed into the penalty area from the left rib and hit the goal directly with his right foot. But fortunately, Rojo returned to defense very timely this time and tackled the ball first. The Iraq international's shot hit Rojo and bounced off the baseline.
In less than ten minutes, Udinese counterattacked twice and threatened. Now everyone can see that Manchester United's midfield and defense have problems.
Van Gaal himself knows it very well.
Udinese used the same defensive counterattack tactics that other teams often used against Manchester United this season. They have tried and failed, but Manchester United has nothing to do about it.
Manchester United lacks a true top defender. Although Schneiderlin looked good when he was at Everton, after coming to Manchester United, it proved difficult for him to meet the requirements of the top clubs.
Carrick was indeed a top midfielder in his prime, but he is already old.
As for Schweinsteiger, Herrera, and Fellaini, they are not true defensive midfielders at all.
The so-called waist is not strong, and the team cannot be strong either.
