Chapter 603 Bruno refuses to accept his fate

After taking the lead, Real Madrid relaxed a little. The situation was too good now. They were one goal ahead and had one more player than the opponent. It didn't look like they could lose the game.

Manchester United is just struggling to survive, there is no need to worry.

Under such circumstances, Bruno led Manchester United to play their best fast counterattack football again.

Previously, the Spanish commentator proudly declared: "Perhaps other teams don't know how to play with one more player, but such a problem will not occur to our Real Madrid! Real Madrid is best at controlling the ball. Now that they have one more player than the opponent, they can control the ball even more easily. They will firmly control the situation, then slowly pass the ball back and waste time in such control. There is no suspense in this game!"

But now he found that it was too early for him to draw conclusions. Manchester United players were like a group of mad dogs, running all over the field without sparing any energy and pressing and surrounding Real Madrid players.

Their close pressing was even more ferocious than at the beginning of the game!

Under such pressure, the relaxed Real Madrid players were not used to it. They failed to control the ball, which gave Manchester United several offensive opportunities.

After a steal in the frontcourt, Bruno passed the ball directly to Ibrahimovic, who turned around and shot. If Navas had not been focused and reacted quickly, their goal would have been lost.

Zidane had originally returned to the coaching bench after the team took the lead, but now he returned to the sidelines and expressed his dissatisfaction with the team's defense.

Ramos shouted to remind his teammates: "Don't let your guard down! The game is not over yet! We haven't won yet!"

With his reminder, the players of Real Madrid gradually reacted and began to fully demonstrate their expertise in ball control.

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In the 3th minute, the score was still 2:, with Real Madrid leading.

Zidane made a substitution, replacing Benzema with Nacho to strengthen the defense.

After Nacho came on the pitch, he did not appear in his most familiar central defender position, but partnered with Casemiro as a double defensive midfielder.

Casemiro and Nacho joined forces, and Zidane didn't believe that they couldn't defend against Bruno.

Mourinho did not play the last card in his hand. He still held on to this idea: if we can equalize the score, the game can be dragged into overtime, so that the remaining substitution spot can come in handy.

"It's the 3th minute! There are still ten minutes left in the game, and the score is still 2:, with Real Madrid leading."

"Now they control the ball, Manchester United's players can only run around, they are at a disadvantage in numbers, and this disadvantage will be multiplied when facing a team like Real Madrid."

"For Manchester United, perhaps these were the most difficult ten minutes they had ever experienced - the glittering Champions League trophy was within their reach, but after these ten minutes, it was destined to belong to their opponents..."

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This commentator is not making a fool of himself.

The Real Madrid players on the field controlled the ball. They passed it back and forth, mobilizing the Manchester United players to run back and forth. When they were about to grab the ball, the opponent passed it away.

In fact, when the game got to this point, many players were almost exhausted.

Not to mention that Manchester United's full-court pressing tactics are very physically demanding, and since they have one less player than Real Madrid, they have to run more than usual.

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Moreover, this is the last game of the season, and all the fatigue accumulated over the season was reflected in this game.

You know, Manchester United has remained unbeaten in all competitions this season, which means that they have reached the finals in every competition and the number of games they have played has reached the theoretical maximum.

In fact, today's Champions League final is Manchester United's 65th game in all competitions this season!

Even though Manchester United has a good lineup, Mourinho has been rotating the team's starting lineup as much as possible, but almost all of Manchester United's main players have played more than 40 times!

How many people can hold on to the end? How can they possibly equalize the score?

Even if they equalized the score, what would happen? There was still 30 minutes of extra time. Could Manchester United, who were one man short and exhausted, hold out until the penalty shootout?

So what if they persisted until the penalty shootout? Analyzing from the strength of the players on both sides, what capital does Manchester United have to make them the last laugh in the penalty shootout?

Their backup goalkeeper is better at saving penalties than Navas, is he a secret weapon? Are there many penalty experts in their team? Are their mental qualities stronger than those of Real Madrid players who have experienced many ups and downs?

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These questions hit everyone, even some of Manchester United's players.

Many people felt that it was dignified enough to fight Real Madrid to this extent, and there was nothing to regret even if they lost the game. They tried their best and just lost in the end. There was nothing shameful or regrettable.

Anyway, Manchester United has been excellent enough this season. It has remained unbeaten so far this season and has won five championships: the Community Shield, European Super Cup, League Cup, Premier League and FA Cup. It also reached the final of the Champions League and fought with Real Madrid until the last minute.

Human power is limited sometimes, don't always think about doing things beyond your ability, there is no need to force it. They lost the game because of one less person, which was enough for them to walk up to the runner-up podium with their heads held high and accept the silver medal.

Just like what outsiders said: "You lost the championship, but won the whole world, it's an honor to lose!"

There is only one person who doesn't think so, and that's Bruno!

No matter how Real Madrid mobilized them, Bruno, wearing the Manchester United captain's armband, always ran tirelessly, as if he didn't care about Real Madrid's back and forth passes at all.

He made his debut in the Portuguese Second Division, played in Serie B, and brought the unknown Udinese to the top of Europe. He never gave in to others on the court and was the maker of all "miracles".

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Five minutes into the game, the score was still 3:2, with Real Madrid leading and Manchester United lagging behind.

During this period, Real Madrid clearly had the upper hand in ball possession. As long as the ball fell into their feet, it would be difficult for Manchester United to get it back. They could only hope that they completed an attack and gave up the ball.

But even if they got possession of the ball, Real Madrid had already returned to defense. Manchester United had to reorganize the attack and advance forward layer by layer from the back, which was extremely difficult.

Looking at Real Madrid's tight defense, with three compact and neat lines, and then thinking about the situation on my own team's side, it's really despairing.

If the game is allowed to develop like this, let alone five minutes left, even if Manchester United is given another fifty minutes, they may not be able to score.

The current situation is that Real Madrid wants the time to end early, and Manchester United does not have the physical strength to support more time, so the winner must be decided within these five minutes.

There are several ways to break the deadlock, such as set pieces.

But Real Madrid now has a firm control over the situation on the field. When Manchester United attacks the front court, the opponent does not even need to commit fouls to defend, so Manchester United's free kick experts, including Bruno, have no place to use their skills.

Bruno felt that in order to break the deadlock, they had to adopt the approach they had previously adhered to, pressing and then counterattacking to catch Real Madrid off guard.

But this requires the cooperation of the whole team. With the team's current physical condition, even if they can press down, they may not have the strength to rush forward and fight a quick counterattack.

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Now, apart from myself, the only two teammates with good physical fitness in the team are two who have just been substituted in not long ago, one is the substitute goalkeeper Romero and the other is Ibrahimovic.

Romero is a goalkeeper and no matter how strong he is, it is impossible for him to participate in the whole-court press and at the same time be able to quickly move forward to help the attack.

The only one who has the stamina to keep up with his pace and can help is Ibrahimovic.

What about defense?

Still can't give up, no matter how fast the opponent passes the ball, you have to find a way to steal the ball.

All the commentators were silent, including Andy Gray and He Wei. They couldn't think of how to remain optimistic.

If Manchester United really lost this game, he might really only be able to say those clichéd commentaries, such as "It's an honor to lose", "Life is so cruel, but don't give up, don't be depressed...", "Champions League runner-up is also very good" and so on.

He took the time to look at the other stands and saw that Real Madrid fans were already starting to celebrate their victory in advance.

They all stood up from their seats, waving their arms and singing the Real Madrid anthem.

The shouts of "Real Madrid! Real Madrid!" resounded over the Kiev Olympic Stadium, causing everyone who heard the roar to hold their breath.

Listen, listen, this is the victory song of Real Madrid fans!

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In comparison, most of Manchester United's fans have lost their enthusiasm. They sit listlessly in their chairs, as if they have accepted the reality that no matter how hard they try, they cannot defeat Real Madrid and win the championship.

Perhaps for them, wanting to win the Champions League final for the first time after seven years is a luxury.

But are you really willing?

Can we reach the Champions League final anytime we can?

We finally made it to the Champions League final and performed very well in the game, leading Real Madrid twice. We have the strength to compete with the strongest teams in the world. Why can't we dream and look forward to winning the Champions League?

Why?

Manchester United fans sat there in such a conflicted and painful mood, not knowing what to do.