Chapter 560 Guardiola's Change

"Manchester City's lead is gone! Bruno's goal ignited Manchester United's hope. This goal also made many Manchester City fans worried. They were worried that the team's tragedy of not winning against Manchester United in ten official games in four years would continue..."

The TV broadcast gave a shot of Manchester City fans in the stands, and indeed some of them were holding their heads in their hands, looking regretful.

"Haha!" There was a burst of laughter in the bar where Manchester United fans gathered. They were not only laughing at Manchester City, but also happy to see Bruno score a goal.

"Before this period of time, Bruno's goals have decreased, and Manchester City people are still saying that Bruno is not in good shape. Now those idiots are dumbfounded, right? Ha! In his bad form, can he score goals at Manchester City's home ground? In his bad form, can Guardiola be furious? Haha!"

"Bruno! Score more goals! Even though you are not a striker, we still like to see you score goals, oh—"

……

No matter when, what kind of difficulties Bruno encountered, or how bad his performance was, this group of Manchester United fans were his eternal supporters, never doubting him, never denying him, and never criticizing him.

………………

"Manchester United showed their tenacious side. Manchester City's advantage did not let them give up. After the panic, they found the track again... The most important thing is that their core, Bruno, performed normally and found the rhythm. Guardiola's team should be careful in the next game!"

"Bruno is really a king-level performance! He is the brain of Manchester United, he is the heart of Manchester United, he is also the lungs of Manchester United! Let's put it this way, he is Manchester United!"

Lineker gave all his praise to Bruno.

Although Manchester United is far ahead of Manchester City in the standings, and although Manchester United has been unbeaten in nine games against Manchester City in all official competitions, in today's game, Manchester City led by Guardiola is clearly the stronger side, while Manchester United is the weaker side.

Everyone is used to sympathizing with the weak. Bruno, as a representative of the weak, was able to score the key goal to equalize the score without fear of the strong opponent. Naturally, he would receive so much praise and flattery from so many people.

Fernandinho was very annoyed and clenched his fists as he watched Bruno and his teammates showing off below the Manchester City fans' stand.

As Manchester City's main defensive midfielder, he has the heaviest defensive task. Bruno is naturally his main target, not to mention that the goal just conceded was lost due to his own defense.

The Brazilians had never expected Bruno's shot to be so sudden and were not prepared at all.

If he had known earlier, he would have tackled him anyway.

………………

"Don't be upset, Fernando, it's nothing. They just equalized the score." His teammate and Manchester City captain Kompany came up to comfort him.

As the old captain, Kompany has played for Manchester City for ten years. What kind of storms has he not seen?

It was just a tie, wasn't it? I didn't lose my fighting spirit or my composure.

As soon as Kompany spoke, Fernandinho calmed down and said to Kompany: "I'm fine, Vincent."

Kompany smiled at him.

I don’t know why, but I was a little anxious after losing the ball. However, after seeing the captain’s smile, Fernandinho felt that it was not a big deal.

Losing the ball is very common in the game, and being equalized is also commonplace. Their opponents are not weak and are good at attacking, so isn't it normal for them to score a goal?

"Let's go back and continue the game. It's only been..." Kompany turned his head and glanced at the big screen above the court, which showed the game time. "It's only been 34 minutes."

Fernandinho nodded and ran back.

At the same time, he thought to himself, if Manchester United thought that this goal could defeat Manchester City, it would be too naive. Because we have a Vincent, he is unique. With him, Manchester City will not be defeated!

………………

The goal also made Mourinho very excited. After equalizing the score away from home, the next step is naturally to pursue a bigger result, that is victory!

As long as we beat Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium today, the league title this season will basically be secured!

So after celebrating the victory with the people around him, he walked to the sidelines and shouted to Bruno: "Attack! Keep going! Bruno!"

After the game resumed, Manchester United planned to take advantage of the momentum of the goal they had just scored and score another goal against Manchester City, but their wave after wave of attacks were stubbornly blocked by Manchester City.

Just now, when Manchester United players were celebrating the goal, Guardiola did not complain about the players. Instead, he pulled several players to his side to give him instructions. Fernandinho, Delph, Kompany and Otamendi are basically defensive players.

He knows what kind of team Manchester United is. Once they are in a good mood, they will win no matter how they play. They are used to playing with the wind. Therefore, Manchester United will always score first in the Premier League, and whenever they score first, their chances of winning are amazingly high.

No matter what, we can't let this team play smoothly. There are signs of this now, so we must curb this momentum.

He gave instructions to the team and asked them to focus on shrinking their defense.

Manchester City should not attack during this period, but should retreat to defend and then fight back.

The three lines remain intact, and no matter how the opponent maneuvers, there is no panic.

………………

During this period, the live TV broadcast showed the ball possession ratio of both sides. Manchester United actually had the upper hand with 66%, while Manchester City, as the home team and also the representative of tikitaka football in the world football, only had a pitiful 34%.

Judging from the scene, Manchester City was a little embarrassed under Manchester United's bombardment, and they could only rely on blocking the ball to defend.

As one of the best ball-control teams in the world today, it is really embarrassing for Manchester City to be so suppressed at home.

The commentators also ridiculed Manchester City's style of play.

But as the instigator, Guardiola stood on the sidelines with a calm face, not caring at all.

Although he and the tikitaka tactics that became famous because of him are well-known for ball control, and even controlling the ball has become synonymous with him and the team he leads, this does not mean that Guardiola does not understand... the famous skill of the guy on the opposite side - parking the bus!

They are all coaches from Barcelona. Although that guy is an outlier, he understands it, and Guardiola also understands it. It’s just that the teams he leads are usually in a strong position, so he will place special emphasis on ball control.

When tactics require, he can also park the bus!

And facing Manchester United, the strongest team in the world today, this kind of tactic is undoubtedly needed.

………………

Yes, in Guardiola's opinion, Manchester United is now the strongest team in the world. Even Real Madrid, which defended the title for the first time since the Champions League reform last season, and his old club Barcelona, which is invincible in La Liga this season, are not as strong as Manchester United in Guardiola's opinion.

With Bruno, the strongest midfielder in the world today, the two geniuses Mbappe and Rashford, the forward line consisting of world-class center forward Harry Kane, and the back line led by the world's best defensive midfielder N'Golo Kante, this Manchester United is simply perfect and they have almost no weaknesses.

This is also the fundamental reason why Manchester United has remained unbeaten in all competitions so far this season and has the hope of becoming the first team in history to win seven championships in a year.

Many media have praised Manchester City, saying that they are as strong as Manchester United and are the only team that can threaten Manchester United, but Guardiola knows that the strength of his Manchester City is really not as good as its city rivals.

There is nothing wrong with temporarily adopting a more conservative tactic when facing a strong opponent.

What's more, he only asked Manchester City to defend in the last few minutes of the first half, not like the guy on the opposite side, who parked the bus throughout the whole game.

………………

Manchester United had no choice but to face Manchester City, who huddled together and built an iron wall of defense in front of the goal.

No matter how much praise Bruno receives, he is not Superman and cannot fight against eleven opposing players alone.

Manchester City's offense during this period was almost zero. Even if there were occasional opportunities to reach the frontcourt, Manchester City's players seemed to lack aggressiveness. Apart from Bernardo Silva who controlled the ball in front, there was no other support point.

Many times Bernardo Silva controlled the ball for a long time and it was finally intercepted, and the attack ended.

Guardiola's plan was to drag the score to 1:1 until the half-time break, where he would make some adjustments to the team's tactics in the locker room.

The more important reason is to use the fifteen-minute halftime break to interrupt Manchester United's high morale rhythm. They are playing well now, but after a fifteen-minute break, their feet will be cold, and they won't be able to find the feeling after playing for half a day.

By the time they found their rhythm again, Manchester City had already re-established their lead.

So Guardiola's idea is to make full use of the halftime break.

………………

Bruno also realized that the half-time break might not be a good thing for Manchester United, whose morale is currently high. If he had a choice, he would rather let the team go directly into the second half without a rest, rather than let the half-time break disrupt the situation.

So he stepped up the team's offensive organization and kept trying to pass the ball into the penalty area.

If there is resistance on the ground, then pass the ball in the air. If you can't get through the middle, try the wing. If the opponent sees through your simple pass, then pass the ball in the opposite direction. If passing the ball doesn't work, then shoot directly...

In short, he tried everything he could on the football field, and he mastered the methods to organize the attack, hoping to score another goal and take the initiative of the game into his own hands.

He almost found such an opportunity.