Chapter 684 Psychological Warfare

At this moment, the only player standing in front of Bruno was Shelvey, who had just come on as a substitute.

Faced with the approaching Bruno, the former Liverpool midfielder kept retreating.

The distance between the two was getting closer and closer. Behind Shelvey was the penalty area and he had nowhere to retreat.

In desperation, Shelvey could only stop and move towards Bruno.

He was already the last defender and had no way to retreat.

Bruno took the ball with skillful steps, and every step he took seemed to come from his instinct.

He clearly saw Shelvey's changes, and he also knew clearly the situation he was facing, but he did not intend to give his opponent time to react, he needed to act in one go.

Shelvey saw Bruno had rushed into his defense area. When he was about to step forward, he saw Bruno's left shoulder suddenly drop. He immediately realized that this guy's left foot was no worse than his right foot.

Damn!

This guy is going to cut inside and shoot!

We must not let this guy succeed!

Almost in an instant, Shelvey instinctively made a defensive move to block Bruno's cut inside, but unexpectedly Bruno suddenly shook and quickly cut to the outside.

Shelvey was horrified. He reacted almost instantly, but his body had already moved, causing him to be a step slower. When he turned around, Bruno had already passed by him. He almost turned over and stretched out his hand, grabbed Bruno's jersey behind him, and pulled it hard.

This pull caused Bruno, who was moving forward quickly, to completely lose his balance and he fell down.

Shelvey took the opportunity to rush forward and kicked the ball out of bounds.

………………

Just as Shelvey completed the clearance, the referee's whistle sounded.

Out of bounds?

Almost at the moment the whistle sounded, the entire Sports Direct Stadium was completely boiling, and 50,000 Newcastle fans roared in unison.

After the referee Martin Atkinson blew the whistle, he quickly ran into Newcastle's penalty area, ran in front of Shelvey, reached into his chest pocket, and held up a scarlet card high.

In an instant, Newcastle fans were in an uproar.

"Referee Martin Atkinson showed Shelvey a red card! This was a foul by the Newcastle midfielder, and he pointed to the penalty spot at the same time."

"Bruno rushed into the penalty area in his last step. It was an undisputed penalty."

"From the slow-motion replay, Shelvey's action was very obvious, and from the replays from different angles, Bruno had indeed rushed into the penalty area. As the last defensive player, Shelvey had to pay the price for his foul."

"That means Newcastle will have to accept being one man down and two goals behind in the final half an hour."

………………

Newcastle's players looked very angry. Captain Russells and another central defender Scheer quickly rushed towards the referee, apparently indicating that the red card plus penalty was too harsh.

However, referee Martin Atkinson kept pointing his finger at his eyes, indicating that he saw it very clearly. Shelvey definitely committed a foul, and there was nothing wrong with his decision.

Russells and Scher still tried to fight for it, but the referee Martin Atkinson was very determined and remained unmoved.

"There is no doubt that this was a very clear foul and the referee's decision is indisputable."

"Newcastle's players should stay calm now and try to control their emotions, otherwise they will get another card."

………………

Harry Kane walked over, stretched out his right hand, and pulled up Bruno who was still lying on the ground.

"here you go."

"Well done." Kante also rushed over and smiled.

A player from the opposing team was sent off and a penalty was also awarded, which was definitely a change that could alter the situation in the second half.

Bruno's performance in the first half was not as eye-catching as in the previous two games, but at the critical moment, when he got the chance, he gave his opponent a fatal blow without hesitation.

It can be said that the counterattack just now was very crucial, reflecting Bruno's calmness at the critical moment.

After Bruno got up from the ground, he adjusted his jersey, which was a little untied. It was obvious that Shelvey did intend to commit a foul just now, but he probably didn't expect that Bruno had already rushed into the penalty area.

Everything happened in a flash, and Shelvey didn't have time to react.

In front of the home and away team coaching seats on the sidelines, the reactions of the two coaches, Benítez and Mourinho, were completely opposite. Benítez roared angrily, obviously believing that the referee was deliberately biased towards Manchester United and should not give Newcastle such a severe punishment.

"You are simply killing the game, do you understand?" the Newcastle coach roared.

Mourinho was cheering and celebrating. This red card and this penalty were too crucial for Manchester United.

"The referee calmed the Newcastle players and was not affected by the home team players and fans. He was obviously very sure that it was a foul and it should be a penalty."

"Shelvey walked off the pitch with his head down. The former Liverpool midfielder should be held accountable for his reckless foul."

………………

Slovakian goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, who will turn 1 in two weeks, is meters tall and weighs kilograms. Newcastle United signed him on loan from Sparta Prague in January last year. At the same time, Newcastle can activate his permanent buyout clause.

On May 5, Newcastle United announced the completion of Dubravka's permanent transfer. The club activated his buyout clause and signed him until June 31.

After the start of the new season, Newcastle's performance was very bad and they were once in the relegation zone. However, Dubravka was the best player in Newcastle, and his save success rate was relatively high among all goalkeepers in the Premier League.

Moreover, the Slovak goalkeeper is very good at saving penalties and is one of the Premier League goalkeepers known for his ability to save penalties.

Bruno looked deeply at the tall and burly Slovak goalkeeper, who was also looking at him.

Dubravka was naturally most familiar with Bruno's name, and he also knew that this world's number one football player was also the best at taking penalty kicks. Bruno had never missed a penalty kick in his career.

Facing such a person, Dubravka felt a lot of pressure.

………………

Suddenly, Bruno had an idea and thought of a way. He immediately looked at Harry Kane who was not far behind him and waved at him.

Harry Kane quickly ran over and asked in confusion, "What's the matter?"

"Does Dubravka have any habit of saving penalties?" Bruno asked with concern, but his eyes were fixed on Dubravka in the distance.

The Slovak goalkeeper indeed noticed the actions of Bruno and Harry Kane, and guessed what they were going to do.

Harry Kane also looked at Dubravka. He was not familiar with him, but England had played against Slovakia twice in the qualifiers for the World Cup in Russia, so he knew him well. He said, "He doesn't have any special habits, but he is a right-footed player and seems to prefer diving to the left."

Bruno nodded vigorously on purpose, patted Harry Kane on the shoulder and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Harry Kane quickly returned to his seat.

Bruno took a deep breath, looked directly at Martin Dubravka, walked calmly into the penalty area, placed the ball at the penalty spot, stepped firmly on the grass behind the ball, and slowly backed away.

During the whole process, he kept an eye on Dubravka's actions with a slight smile on his face.

Did Harry Kane reveal some secret to Bruno? Dubravka wondered. He just couldn't figure out what Harry Kane could tell Bruno.

But the referee did not give him time to think. After Bruno placed the ball and retreated to his position, he quickly blew the whistle for the penalty kick.

………………

For a moment, the 50,000 fans in the Sports Direct Stadium almost held their breath.

Even countless Manchester United fans who were watching the live game in front of the TV held their breath, their eyes all focused on Bruno wearing the No. 8 jersey.

Bruno took a few quick breaths, then took a deep breath and rushed forward quickly.

Dubravka was also quickly predicting Bruno's free throw line based on his movements. When he saw Bruno preparing to kick the ball to the right side of the goal, Dubravka flew to make the save almost instantly.

He knew very well that it would be too late to react after Bruno kicked the ball.

But Bruno suddenly paused and quickly kicked a penalty kick.

"Oh my god, go straight to the middle!"

"Oh my God, Bruno easily kicked the ball to the middle!"

"Bruno used a change of rhythm to easily fool Dubravka, tricking the opponent into moving first, and then he shot in the middle!"

"2:0!"

"The situation is now quite favorable for Manchester United. Bruno made a personal performance in the 64th minute. After passing two opposing defenders in a row, he caused Shelvey to get a red card and calmly scored a penalty."

The moment Bruno scored the penalty, he rushed out of the field excitedly.

So exciting!

This is not only a psychological battle between the striker and the goalkeeper, but also a gamble!

Of course, he paused deliberately because he clearly saw Dubravka's reaction.

The Slovak goalkeeper must have been guessing that Bruno must have gotten some secret from Harry Kane, but in fact, Harry Kane did not give any useful information at all.

But this action before the penalty kick left Dubravka with a seed of doubt, allowing him to make a judgment in advance.

This feeling is so satisfying!