Chapter 718: Keep the suspense till the end

With Bruno's goal and assist, Manchester United finally reversed Ajax 2:1 at home. This not only prevented Manchester United from a three-game losing streak at home, but also gave Manchester United an advantage in the two-round Champions League semi-final.

Ten Hag was very dissatisfied with the opponent's reversal when the game was about to end, and he once again pointed the finger at the referee.

The Ajax coach believed that the referee missed a penalty kick for Ajax, which could have helped Ajax expand the score and even made Manchester United completely desperate, but it was ruined by the referee.

Mourinho refuted it on the spot. He said that Ten Hag's reason was ridiculous because Kante's foul was clearly outside the penalty area and it was reasonable to give a free kick.

Mourinho said: "I don't understand why he asked for a penalty that didn't exist?"

The two head coaches fought on the court and they continued to fight off the court.

Ten Hag said that he thought Ajax's defeat was unreasonable. Ajax was the better side in the game and the victory should belong to Ajax, or at least it was a draw.

But Mourinho also believes that Manchester United is better than Ajax in terms of ball possession and number of shots, and Manchester United's victory is well deserved and there is nothing to question.

But in reality, the number of shots for both sides was 12:9, which was pitifully small.

It can also be seen from the number of shots that the two teams have really achieved the ultimate in targeted tactics. They restrained each other and did not give the other side any chance. As for the number of direct shots on goal, Ajax only had two and Manchester United only had three.

………………

Ten Hag mentioned Ziyech, believing that the Moroccan played a key role, while Mourinho mentioned Bruno, believing that the Portuguese star was the key to Manchester United's victory.

"From Bruno's eyes I saw determination, fighting spirit, and his pursuit and desire to defend the Champions League."

Mourinho also said that the team will defeat Ajax and get a victory when they go away.

"I have no doubt about Ajax's strength, and I don't deny that they are indeed strong enough to compete for a ticket to the final, but I want to say that Manchester United has won all away games this season. At the Amsterdam Arena, victory will only belong to us Manchester United!"

"We have beaten all opponents in the Champions League away from home this season, whether it was Lyon, Hoffenheim, Shakhtar Donetsk, Schalke 04 or even Barcelona, ​​all of which were defeated by Manchester United at home. Now it's Ajax's turn."

Compared with Mourinho's ambition, Ten Hag said that the team's chances of advancing are still very high.

"We will be more proactive and aggressive when we return to our home stadium. We will try our best to win a victory at home. In the end, we will definitely get the ticket to Madrid!"

The verbal battle between the two coaches after the game naturally became a major attraction in world football.

………………

After the game, the media immediately split into two factions regarding which team had a better chance of advancing to the final. The British media naturally supported Manchester United to reach the final again, while the Dutch media supported Ajax, believing that it was difficult to tell the pros and cons of the 1:2 away score. Although Ajax's performance at home this season was not very good, they would not disappoint people at critical moments, so it was still unknown who would reach the final.

The media of the two countries launched a propaganda war, each finding evidence favorable to its own side and launching attacks on the other side's team and players. All kinds of gossip were also rampant.

There were even media reports that Manchester United had found a hotel near the Amsterdam Arena and booked a post-match celebration banquet, but no one knew the details.

In another Champions League semi-final held a day later, Tottenham beat Liverpool 3-0 at home.

Such a score made the media almost unanimously stand on Tottenham's side, believing that Bai Lily's advancement was only a matter of time, and they would advance to the Champions League final for the first time in history.

Even the Liverpool Echo was pessimistic and expressed that it would be difficult for Liverpool to advance to Madrid, and said that Klopp should not have fought to the death with Huddersfield in the Premier League last weekend. Although that game allowed Liverpool to recover some of the goal difference disadvantage, it also greatly consumed the players' physical strength, which also led to the team's disastrous defeat at the new Wembley Stadium.

What is most difficult for Liverpool fans to accept is that last weekend's big league victory did not change Liverpool's situation, as Liverpool is still 1 point behind Manchester United in the standings.

As long as Manchester United beat Huddersfield and Cardiff City in the last two rounds, the goal difference Liverpool recovered from that big win will be meaningless.

Given Manchester United's strength, it is almost certain that they will get 6 points against Huddersfield and Cardiff City, which have already been relegated.

Klopp's tough battle against Huddersfield at home last weekend seemed to be the direct cause of Liverpool's failure to win any of the four major titles this season!

………………

On the afternoon of May 5th, in the 5th round of the Premier League, Manchester United challenged Huddersfield, which had been relegated in advance, away.

In the 36 rounds of the Premier League that have been played, Huddersfield has only achieved 3 wins, 6 draws and 28 losses, with only 15 points, 11 points behind the second-to-last Fulham, and has already locked in the second-to-last place.

Despite winning the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Ajax at home, and despite the fact that this game was nearly five days away from the Champions League semi-final in the middle of the week, Mourinho once again made large-scale rotations, but Bruno did start.

Manchester United played in a 4-3-3 formation away from home, but the first half was not ideal. After adjustments were made in the second half, Bruno took the initiative to take more responsibilities in the frontcourt and opened up the defense of the home team Huddersfield. First, McTominay headed the ball to Greenwood after a cross from the left, and then Bruno made another cross from the right, and McTominay volleyed the ball into the goal from 19 meters in front of the goal.

Although Huddersfield equalized the game in the 2th minute, Manchester United eventually won all three points away from home with a score of 1:, and once again maintained their points advantage over Liverpool and Manchester City.

Liverpool's away game against Newcastle is one day earlier than Manchester United's game against Huddersfield.

Perhaps it was the 0-3 defeat in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final that made Klopp put his hopes on the league. Although they only had less than three days of rest, Klopp still sent all the main players to St. James' Park.

After 3 minutes of fierce battle, Liverpool beat the Magpies 2: away from home, temporarily surpassing Manchester United and rising to first place. However, this advantage only lasted less than a day before Manchester United overtook them again.

However, this still puts a lot of pressure on Manchester United.

One day later, in the last game of the 1th round of the Premier League, Manchester City beat Leicester City 0:93 at home, and their points rose to , continuing to put pressure on Manchester United and Liverpool.

As a result, the Premier League champion must be decided in the last round of this season.

………………

On the evening of May 5, the first match of the second leg of the Champions League semi-final was held at Anfield.

Due to the 0:3 defeat in the first leg away from home, almost no one believed that Liverpool could achieve a comeback at home. But Liverpool is indeed a very magical team. 14 years ago, they created the Istanbul miracle, and 14 years later, they created their own Anfield miracle in front of fans at home.

Just one minute into the game, Mane cut into the penalty area from the left and passed the ball. Shaqiri shot from 1 yards, and Danny Rose poked it out before Henderson at the edge of the small penalty area.

Liverpool scored the first goal in the 7th minute. Danny Rose made a mistake in his header, Mane passed the ball, Henderson broke in from 10 yards and his shot was barely saved by Lori, and Origi pushed the ball into the empty net from the edge of the small penalty area.

Wijnaldum came on in the second half to replace the injured Robertson.

Liverpool extended the lead in the 54th minute. Arnold intercepted Danny Rose on the right and his cross was deflected. Wijnaldum pushed the ball into the net from 12 yards, changing the score to 2:0. The total score was changed to 2:3, and Liverpool was only one goal behind.

In the 56th minute, Shaqiri made a cross from the left, and Wijnaldum headed the ball into the goal in front of the small penalty area, changing the score to 3:0.

Liverpool tied the total score to 3:3.

Tottenham launched a counterattack, and Son Heung-min's direct free kick from 30 yards was blocked by the wall. Then Son Heung-min's shot from a small angle on the right side of the penalty area in the corner kick melee was blocked by Alisson in the near corner.

In the 79th minute, Arnold tried to give the corner kick to Shaqiri. Tottenham players were still arranging their defensive positions. Arnold suddenly returned to the corner flag and took the corner kick directly. Origi, who was unguarded in front of the small penalty area, volleyed the ball into the upper left corner, 4:0.

Liverpool leads with a total score of 4:3.

In the final moments, Tottenham was unable to create any more scoring opportunities. Liverpool tenaciously controlled the game and maintained the score until the end.

………………

Trailing by a large margin and with key players absent, Liverpool, playing with only the remaining players, staged a miraculous comeback and reached the Champions League final for the 9th time.

This game shocked the world and gave Liverpool the confidence to continue their fight for the championship on both fronts.

Of course, this requires some luck.

First of all, in the league, they need Manchester United to make mistakes at home in the last round of the league so that they can have hope of a comeback.

Secondly, in the Champions League, the best case scenario is that Ajax performs well at home and reverses Manchester United to advance to the final.

If Ajax fails to live up to expectations and cannot achieve a comeback, it will not be good news for Liverpool, but if they can win the Champions League final by standing on Manchester United's shoulders, it will also be a good choice.

Of course, there is also the possibility that Manchester United will step on them and become the top club in England.