Chapter 685 Unstoppable
A red card and a penalty kick almost sentenced Newcastle to death.
Of course, it is too early to talk about winning the game now, after all, there is still about half an hour left in the game.
After the game resumed, Manchester United completely dominated the field.
With one less player than the opponent, Hayden could no longer follow Bruno closely as before, which gave Bruno more room to move, making him more active and creating threats frequently. Unfortunately, for various reasons, Harry Kane and Greenwood failed to seize the opportunity.
When the game reached the 81st minute, Bruno once again moved to the right to receive the ball.
Dalot's pass was accurately delivered to Bruno's feet. He stopped the ball and turned inside. Bruno gently pushed the ball with his left foot and passed it to Gundogan in the middle.
At the moment Gundogan received the ball, Bruno, who was originally running horizontally from the right to the middle, suddenly changed direction and quickly cut into the area where Russells was.
Hayden was shocked and immediately followed, but Bruno was obviously faster than him and left him behind.
Gundogan's through ball was passed just behind Russells. Bruno was like a sharp arrow, quickly breaking through Newcastle's defense, going straight into the penalty area and catching up with the ball.
Newcastle goalkeeper Dubravka decisively left the goal to attack, while Scher in the middle blocked Harry Kane behind him.
………………
The moment Bruno caught up with the ball, everything around him appeared clearly in his mind. He made a judgment in an instant. He first pointed to the left, made a gesture to pass the ball, then stood still with his left foot and pushed the ball directly with his right foot.
Dubravka's reaction was quick, but he was still a beat too late. The ball passed along the grass from the lower left of the Slovak goalkeeper and quickly hit the goal behind him!
3: 0!
"GOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!"
"A double goal! A double goal!"
"A goal from Manchester United captain Bruno!"
“This is undoubtedly a goal that seals the victory!”
Bruno was very excited after scoring the goal. He quickly rushed out of the stadium, shook off all his Manchester United teammates, and rushed directly to the corner flagpole. He slid to his knees and looked up at the crowded stands.
Manchester United players rushed over and hugged Bruno.
Benítez spread his hands helplessly on the sidelines, looking depressed. In sharp contrast to him was Mourinho, who was dancing excitedly in front of the visiting team's coaching booth.
This victory will allow Manchester United to return to the top of the Premier League standings. One day later, Manchester United's two major rivals, Manchester City and Liverpool, will face off at the Etihad Stadium.
While the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits, and this time Manchester United will be the fisherman.
………………
A day later, good news came from the Etihad Stadium. Guardiola's team defeated Klopp's Liverpool 2:1 at home, giving the Reds their first league defeat of the season.
At this point, of the 20 Premier League teams, Manchester United is the only one that remains unbeaten.
Manchester United also relied on their city rival to defeat another arch-rival at home, and topped the standings with one game less.
The competition in the Premier League this season is very fierce.
The Premier League has completed 21 rounds. With one game less, Manchester United has 17 wins, 3 draws and 54 points, returning to the top of the Premier League standings after 10 days.
Ranked second is Liverpool. Klopp's team has performed very well this season, remaining unbeaten in the first 20 rounds. It currently has 16 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss, and has 52 points.
Manchester City performed very strongly at the beginning of the season, and once suppressed Manchester United to occupy the top position in the standings. Even after Manchester United overtook them, Guardiola's team was still chasing closely behind them.
However, after entering December, the Blue Moon suddenly fell into a slump. They first lost 12-12 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the 8th round of the Premier League on December 16, and then lost 0-2 to Crystal Palace at home in the 12th round of the Premier League on December 22. Then, on Boxing Day, Manchester City lost 18-2 to Leicester City at the King Power Stadium again, suffering two consecutive defeats in the league.
在拿下圣诞魔鬼赛程后面两场的胜利之后，曼城在前21轮取得15胜3平3负，以48个积分排名第三。
………………
紧随其后的是热刺，波切蒂诺的球队在前21轮里取得15胜1平5负的成绩，拿到了46个积分。
Chelsea ranks fifth with a record of 13 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses, and has 43 points.
阿森纳在前21轮取得了12胜4平5负，以40个积分排名第六。
Judging from the situation in the standings, this season's league championship will be between Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City. Although Tottenham is only 2 points behind Manchester City, with Lily White's lineup, it will be difficult for them to narrow the gap with the two Manchester City giants and Liverpool in front of them in the later stages.
Even with the start of the FA Cup and the arrival of the Champions League knockout rounds, Tottenham may soon be left behind by the top three in a three-front battle.
Among the top three teams in the standings, although Manchester United does not seem to have a clear advantage, because Manchester United has one game less, their advantage is actually very large.
After all, the game that was postponed was against Cardiff City, a relegation team. Given Manchester United's strength, it would be difficult for the Bluebirds to stop Manchester United from getting 3 points.
If Manchester United wins the make-up match, with the same number of matches, they will actually be 5 points ahead of Liverpool and 9 points ahead of Manchester City.
Given Manchester United's strong performance in the past two seasons, it is difficult for both Liverpool and Manchester City to overtake Manchester United in the standings.
………………
On the first weekend of 2019, the third round of the 2018-2019 FA Cup kicked off.
Manchester United's opponent in this round is Reading. The Biscuits are currently in a very bad situation in the Championship. After 26 rounds, they have only 20 points and are ranked second from the bottom in the Championship. The relegation situation is very serious.
Under such circumstances, Reading will basically not fight to the death with Manchester United in the FA Cup, and they will most likely give up the game strategically.
Although this was Manchester United's first home game at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Mourinho still made a comprehensive rotation of Manchester United's lineup. Romero started as goalkeeper, Dalot, Damian, Phil Jones and Ashley Young formed the back line, the midfield trio was Fred, Mata and Lingard, and the front trident was Rashford, McTominay and Mahrez.
However, facing Reading who had no intention of fighting, Manchester United played without any bloodshed.
In the 23rd minute, Mata scored directly from a free kick to help Manchester United take the lead.
During the injury time in the first half, Reading defender Richards took the ball on the left and cooperated with his teammates against the wall, but the pass was wrong. Rashford counterattacked from the left and sent the ball into the penalty area. McTominay got the ball and got rid of Akola, and shot into the empty goal from a small angle on the left.
2: 0!
Manchester United's substitute lineup won the game in just half time.
The final score of the game was also 2:0, with neither side scoring a goal in the second half.
After the victory, Manchester United successfully advanced to the fourth round of the FA Cup, but in the subsequent draw, Manchester United's luck was not good and they were drawn together with Arsenal.
The two most successful teams in the history of the FA Cup will meet in this season's FA Cup round of 16!
………………
On the evening of January 1th, an alternative city derby kicked off at Cardiff City Stadium.
Starting from the beginning of this year, due to the reconstruction of Old Trafford, Manchester United will use Cardiff Millennium Stadium as its temporary home for the next two years, which makes the match between Manchester United and Cardiff City a derby.
However, Cardiff City, which is currently deep in the relegation zone, is obviously unable to compete with Manchester United.
Just three minutes into the game, Rashford broke through on the right and created a free kick opportunity. Bruno took the free kick and it went past Ezeric.
1:0, Manchester United got off to a dream start!
In the 29th minute, Bruno assisted and Rashford shot with his right foot from outside the penalty area, and the ball flew into the upper right corner of the opponent's goal. Cardiff City 0:2 Manchester United.
After taking a two-goal lead, the game completely entered Manchester United's rhythm.
Bruno is not limited to the attacking midfielder position. He frequently moves to the right and often suddenly switches to the left.
In the 41st minute, it was Bruno who suddenly ran to the left, received a pass from Luke Shaw, dribbled the ball inside, and suddenly shot with his right foot, hitting a curved ball and breaking Ezerich's goal again, 3:0.
In the 55th minute, Mbappe was fouled in the penalty area and Manchester United was awarded a penalty. Bruno shot the ball with his right foot and the ball flew into the lower right corner of the opponent's goal. Bruno performed a hat trick and expanded the lead to 4 goals.
In the 90th minute, Bruno assisted with a through ball, and Lingard, who came on as a substitute, shot with his right foot in the center of the penalty area, and the ball flew into the middle of the opponent's goal.
In the end, Manchester United beat Cardiff City 5-0 away from home. After 21 rounds, they are 5 points ahead of Liverpool and 9 points ahead of third-placed Manchester City.
………………
January 1, the 13nd round of the Premier League.
Manchester United challenged Tottenham at the new Wembley Stadium. The two sides fought hard in the first half and the score was 0:0, but at the beginning of the second half, Bruno assisted Rashford to score in just four minutes, opening the scoring for Manchester United.
This was the only goal of the game. In the end, Manchester United beat Tottenham 1-0 away.
However, Manchester United was unable to continue to expand their advantage in the standings because their two major rivals, Liverpool and Manchester City, both defeated their opponents in this round.
………………
A week later, in the 23rd round of the Premier League, Manchester United faced Brighton at home, and Bruno started again.
Brighton's defense was very good and they adopted a key marking strategy for Bruno, but Bruno was still very active and created several opportunities for his teammates, but unfortunately they were not seized.
Because Bruno's outstanding performance in the middle attracted most of Brighton's defensive energy, the sneak attack from the wing had a miraculous effect.
In the 26th minute, Bruno passed the ball to Mbappe, who broke into the penalty area. Brighton defender Gaitan pushed the ball with his hand, and the referee awarded a penalty kick. Bruno took the penalty again. He shot to the right side of the goal and easily scored. Manchester United took a 1:0 lead.
In the 42nd minute, Manchester United scored again. Dalot made a brilliant breakthrough on the left and passed the ball into the penalty area. Rashford dribbled past the defender in the penalty area and shot from a small angle into the upper right corner. At the end of the first half, Manchester United temporarily led 2:0.
In the 73rd minute, Brighton pulled one back. Propper crossed from the left side of the penalty area, Gross stopped the ball in the penalty area and shot, the ball hit the crossbar and bounced into the net, De Gea was unable to save it, Brighton 1:2 Manchester United.
………………
On the evening of January 1, in the fourth round of the FA Cup, Manchester United challenged Arsenal away.
Just ten minutes into the game, Manchester United's defense made a fatal mistake. Iwobi made a straight pass, Ramsey made a cross from the bottom left of the penalty area, Lacazette's shot deflected the ball, and Aubameyang scored from close range.
After conceding the first goal, the team behaved a little nervously for a while, but soon, players such as Bruno and Kante helped Manchester United stabilize their position and regain control of the advantage on the field.
In the 36th minute, Bruno and Gundogan made a two-pass combination, and Gundogan assisted Mbappe to score and equalize the score.
Seven minutes later, Bruno broke through on the right and assisted Harry Kane to score a header from close range to reverse the score.
After the change of sides in the second half, Harry Kane returned the favor by heading the ball to provide a wonderful assist for Bruno, who cut into the penalty area and shot directly into the goal, securing the victory for Manchester United.
In the end, Manchester United reversed Arsenal 3:1 away.
………………
On the evening of January 1, Manchester United faced Burnley at home in their last game of January.
Burnley, who were deep in the relegation zone, adopted a defensive posture in the game, which made it difficult for Manchester United to find an effective means of attack. Bruno was often alone in the frontcourt.
No matter how much Manchester United fans cheered, the players on the field were never able to find an effective way to break the opponent's goal.
From the first half to the second half, from the 50th minute to the 70th, 80th, and even to the 89th minute, Manchester United was still struggling to find a way to break the opponent's goal.
By the end of the game, Bruno was already very tired from playing, but he still gritted his teeth.
After the fourth official on the sidelines displayed the sign for three minutes of extra time, everyone in the stadium, including all the viewers in front of the TV and even the commentator of the game basically believed that Manchester United would be tied by Burnley.
But at the critical moment, Bruno received the pass from Gundogan on the right and passed it back to Cancelo.
The Portuguese right-back made a diagonal pass into the penalty area and accurately found McTominay.
McTominay used his body to block Burnley's centre-back and gently pushed back Cancelo's pass.
Bruno, who was originally outside the penalty area, suddenly cut into the penalty area from the right rib. After receiving the pass from McTominay, he suddenly accelerated and cut sideways, shook off Burnley's defensive midfielder, dribbled past another Burnley central defender near the penalty spot, and shot directly with his left foot.
"Bruno dribbled past two opposing players... and shot directly!"
"The ball went in!!!"
"Bruno! At the critical moment! Bruno stepped forward again and saved Manchester United!"
"1:0!"
……
After scoring the goal, Bruno rushed out of the stadium excitedly.
More than 70,000 Manchester United fans rushed out of their seats and shouted his name loudly.
"Bruno! Bruno!! Bruno!!!"
Manchester United players also rushed to the sidelines and hugged Bruno frantically.
This unexpected goal represented valuable three points and also meant that Manchester United extended their unbeaten record in the top five leagues to 64 games.
Manchester United is unstoppable!
