Chapter 691 Who is the winner?

There was thunderous cheers in the stands, because this goal meant that Manchester United had reversed the score, and the fans were even happier.

The cheers at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium continued from the moment Harry Kane scored until the end of the game.

Trailing 1:2 and having one player sent off, although Southampton was unwilling to accept defeat and their head coach Hasenhuttl wanted to continue attacking, Manchester United obviously would not give him a chance. In the subsequent game, Manchester United firmly controlled the situation on the field and they once formed a siege on Southampton's goal.

In the 89th minute, Kante's straight pass in the middle was blocked and slowed down. Harry Kane turned and shot at the top of the arc. The ball hit the lower right corner of the goal. Manchester United led Southampton 3:1.

When the referee blew the whistle to end the game, the score of the game did not change again. Manchester United beat Southampton 3:1 at home and got three points.

This was Manchester United's 25th league victory this season, which brought their league points to 79, 10 points ahead of second-placed Manchester City.

As Liverpool's current round of matches will be played one day later, with one game less, they are 12 points behind Manchester United.

Southampton coach Hasenhuttl came down from the visiting team's coaching bench, shook hands with Mourinho with a straight face and said: "I still think it was not a penalty."

"In my opinion, it was a definite penalty," Mourinho said with a serious expression.

The two looked at each other and laughed.

Yes, from their respective perspectives, their views and persistence are not wrong.

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At the post-match press conference, Mourinho took the initiative to apologize to the visiting team's head coach Hasenhuttl for the argument between the two. He said that he was too emotional at the time, so he also understood Hasenhuttl's impulsive behavior.

"This is the head coach. We all want to win and are easily nervous," Mourinho said. "This is a good thing. It shows our desire for victory and our respect for the team's efforts. From this point of view, I admire Mr. Hasenhüttl and wish him good luck."

This greatly changed Hasenhüttl's impression of Mourinho, and he immediately said: "This was a wonderful game. Mr. Mourinho is an amazing person. It's a pity that we are the losing side, but I am satisfied with the efforts of my players."

Finally, Hasenhüttl once again questioned the penalty decision: "From my point of view, it was not a penalty. Lingard's fall was a bit exaggerated."

Before he finished speaking, Mourinho, who had just been very humble and polite, immediately exploded: "In my opinion, that's a penalty. Lingard is a strong lad. He won't dive. He didn't do that before, he won't do that now, and he won't do that in the future. If possible, he would like to score all the balls into the goal!"

Mourinho's words, actions and attitude left a deep impression on the reporters at the scene. This is a coach who will do his utmost to protect his players. Such a coach deserves admiration.

Of course, the most concerned issue after the game was Bruno's injury. Mourinho also answered reporters' questions about this, saying that he didn't know the specific situation yet and had to wait for the hospital's diagnosis results.

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A day later, the team doctor informed Manchester United of Bruno's injury, which was not serious and did not involve a fracture as originally imagined. He would need to rest for about a week.

Since Manchester United did not play in the middle of the week, he would not even have to miss any of the games. However, for safety reasons, the team doctor advised Bruno not to play in the game against Arsenal next weekend. As for the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Roma, it will depend on the situation at that time.

Mourinho agreed with the team doctor's advice. Although the game against Arsenal is very important and Bruno's injury may lead to Manchester United's loss, Manchester United's lead in the league is still relatively large and can afford to lose one or two games.

Moreover, Manchester United's unbeaten record has now extended to 69 games. Whether they can continue to remain unbeaten is no longer important to Mourinho and Manchester United.

Even losing a game at this time may allow Manchester United players to let go of the mental burden of being undefeated and go into battle with a light heart.

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However, the media paid close attention to this focus battle. On the one hand, it was because Bruno's absence had a huge impact on Manchester United, and on the other hand, it was because of the feud between Manchester United and Arsenal.

After all, Arsenal's 49-match unbeaten streak was ended by Manchester United. If Arsenal can end Manchester United's 69-match unbeaten streak, it would be a revenge.

Originally, in early December last year, Arsenal had the opportunity to end Manchester United's 12-game unbeaten record, but Arsenal did not live up to the expectations and not only failed to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford, but suffered a 55:1 defeat, which was truly an old grudge not only not avenged but also adding new hatred.

Now, Arsenal once again has a great opportunity for revenge, it depends on whether they can seize it.

Although the media are hyping up the so-called revenge battle between Manchester United and Arsenal, Mourinho is very calm.

He was calm not because he was confident of winning the game, but on the contrary, it was because Mourinho knew that in the absence of Bruno, it would be too difficult for Manchester United to beat Arsenal, and it would even be difficult to get a draw at the Emirates Stadium.

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This is indeed the case. When the 90-minute game ended, commentators from all over the world expressed sympathy for Manchester United.

"Obviously, Manchester United had bad luck as they faced Arsenal when Bruno was injured," Andy Gray said, shaking his head. "Bruno's absence had a huge impact on Manchester United. Without Bruno, Manchester United was like a lost battleship. They could not find the direction of attack at the Emirates Stadium."

In the East, He Wei's voice also rang in the ears of the fans: "Manchester United showed their strength and fighting spirit at the Emirates Stadium, but unfortunately, they had to suffer their first defeat of the season in the 29th round of the league! The unbeaten record in the five major leagues they created has stopped at 69 games. Cause and effect, 14 years ago, Rooney's goal helped Manchester United beat Arsenal 2-0, ending the Gunners' 49-game unbeaten record. 14 years later, Aubameyang's penalty also helped Arsenal beat Manchester United 2-0 at home, ending the Red Devils' 69-game unbeaten record!"

Yes, Manchester United lost. Without Bruno, the absolute core, Manchester United faced Arsenal, who had the strongest lineup and played at home, and they lost 0:2 away from home.

In the 12th minute, Lacazette passed the ball and Xhaka took a powerful left-footed shot from 25 meters away. The ball flew into the lower left corner of the goal, 1:0, Arsenal took the lead at home.

Manchester United had hopes of equalizing in the 19th minute, but the goal post at the Emirates Stadium blocked Fred's shot from outside the penalty area.

In the 69th minute, Fred fouled Lacazette in the penalty area and Aubameyang scored a penalty, 2:0!

In the end, Arsenal defeated Manchester United 2-14 at home, avenging the defeat 69 years ago and also stopping Manchester United's unbeaten record in the top five leagues at .

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After losing to Arsenal, suffering the first defeat of the season, Mourinho looked calm at the press conference after the game. When asked by reporters whether he was angry about the loss, he spread his hands and said: "Why should I be angry? I am proud of the players' performance and efforts."

The Echo reporter immediately asked him if he was pretending to be fine but was actually very unhappy.

The reporter said: "This is your first league defeat this season, and your unbeaten record has been ended. How can you not be angry?"

Mourinho immediately shook his head and said: "No one can win forever, so any record will end one day. We are now 69 games unbeaten, I am very satisfied, this result is very good."

"It took three seasons and 69 league games before we lost." Mourinho pondered for a moment and continued, "You know, before this, I was so nervous that I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking, my God, we haven't lost yet, how is this possible, is this not a dream?!"

Mourinho shrugged and said: "Well, now that we lost, I've relaxed and woken up from the dream, so don't talk about the unbeaten record anymore."

The reporters listened to the Portuguese man talking and wanted to refute him, but for a moment they didn't know where to start.

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Reporters took photos of Mourinho from time to time, and all the questions were centered around him.

Another protagonist at the press conference, or should have been the protagonist, Arsenal coach Emery was completely dumbfounded. His team beat Manchester United and broke Manchester United's unbeaten streak. He and his team were the winners. As the head coach, shouldn't he be the real protagonist and win praise and compliments? Why did all these reporters surround the loser? And leave him, the winner, aside?

Emery was very confused and unhappy, but he had no choice but to watch sourly as that guy talked to the reporters. There were even reporters who applauded him to encourage him.

Emery couldn't stand it anymore. After winning the game, he didn't feel the joy of praise and flattery. Instead, he had to watch the loser become the darling of the media. He felt suffocated.

Looking at the frustrated host coach, Mourinho pointed at Emery and said: "Gentlemen, Mr. Emery is the protagonist today, what are you doing around me?"

After hearing this, Emery's impression of Mourinho improved a lot. This guy is still very sensible and humble. Never mind, he didn't mean it. If you want to blame someone, just blame those reporters for their lack of vision.

Then, the reporters asked two perfunctory questions, and before Emery could finish his talk, they turned their attention to Mourinho again.

Emery suddenly felt that this was even more embarrassing than no one noticing just now...