Chapter 818 Shock

In the midfield, Kante and Bellingham play as double defensive midfielders, with Bruno advancing forward.

Rashford, Harry Kane and Mbappe form the front trident.

Ajax also sent out all its main players.

The goalkeeper is Onana, the defense is Mazraoui, Schuurs, Lisandro and Tagliafico, the three defensive midfielders are Gravenberch, Klaassen and Blind, Tadic is forward, and the two forwards are young players Kudus and Neres.

Ten Hag's strategy was very clear, and he let the team launch a large-scale attack from the beginning of the game.

Without Gundogan, Ajax looked to suppress United from the outset, using their own fast-paced attack to hammer their opponents, while also bringing out the threat of two technical and speedy forwards in Kudus and Neres.

Just five minutes into the game, Ajax created a dangerous situation. Blind made a cross, Neres passed it back to the middle, and when Tadic followed up to shoot, he was blocked by Bellingham who was returning to defense and the ball went out of bounds.

But just three minutes later, Ajax got a throw-in on the left. Neres blocked Manchester United's defenders with his body in the penalty area, protected the ball and knocked it back. Kudus made a powerful shot, but it was saved by De Gea at the bottom line.

Three minutes later, Ajax forced a breakthrough in the middle, Tadic was tripped by Mbappe, Neres got a free kick opportunity, and hit the crossbar directly, making everyone sweat.

The ball hit the crossbar and flew back into the field. Tadic volleyed the ball directly, but failed to control the momentum of the ball and it was too high.

………………

The continuous attacks made Ajax very powerful and also suppressed Manchester United very badly.

As the momentum of the team increases and the opponent decreases, Manchester United should obviously focus more on defense, or even retreat.

But Mourinho did not let the team do so. Instead, he kept signaling on the sidelines that the midfield should press forward and asked Kante and Bellingham to press forward and not retreat.

After the opening defeat, Ajax continued to press forward, while Manchester United was defeated step by step. Even the front trident of Rashford, Harry Kane and Mbappe actively returned to defense, and Harry Kane even returned to the front of his own penalty area.

This made Mourinho very dissatisfied. He thought the team retreated too far back and even huddled in the penalty area, which was quite unfavorable to Manchester United's defense.

Although many people laugh at Mourinho's love of parking the bus, Mourinho knows very well that the team's retreat to the penalty area is a helpless choice, and whenever possible, the opponent must be kept away from the team's penalty area.

Bruno is very clear about Mourinho's tactical intentions and understands the team's current situation, so even when Rashford, Mbappe and Harry Kane retreated, he still stayed at the front.

Ajax came out in full force, with the two full-backs Mazraoui and Tagliafico being very active on the two wings, but the two central defenders Lisandro Martinez and Schuurs always following behind, obviously very wary of Bruno.

………………

Manchester United didn't launch a threatening counterattack until the twelfth minute.

At that time, Mbappe sent a pass from the right and sent the ball directly behind Lisandro. Bruno took advantage of the situation and rushed behind Lisandro at the fastest speed, catching up with the ball on the right side of the penalty area before everyone else.

Lisandro and Schulz also returned to the penalty area in time.

One to two!

Bruno seemed very decisive and rushed towards Lisandro from the right rib with the ball.

Lisandro did not dare to be careless in front of Bruno, and his attention was always on Bruno.

But as soon as the two came into contact, Bruno just entered Lisandro's defense area. Before the Argentine central defender could react, he suddenly pretended to go to the bottom, but instantly came back and passed him.

Lisandro only felt a figure flash before his eyes, and before he even had time to react, Bruno dribbled the ball inside.

The Argentine center back did not choose to foul because there was a player named Schulz behind him.

But Bruno suddenly accelerated when he cut inside, dribbled past Schulz and shot directly with his left foot.

At this moment, they suddenly realized that this guy was a famous two-footed player who could make high-quality shots with both feet.

Bruno's shot was very quick and at a tricky angle, and he wanted to hit the lower left corner of the goal directly.

But Ajax goalkeeper Onana's reaction was also very quick. He had faced Bruno many times with Ajax and knew Bruno very well, so when he saw Bruno cutting inside, he was already prepared.

The Ajax goalkeeper flew to the side and blocked Bruno's shot directly out of the goal, resulting in a corner kick.

………………

Bruno was not surprised at all when he saw the shot was saved. He just twisted his left foot in frustration.

He was not satisfied with his shot because he originally wanted to hit a rebound shot which would be faster.

But it was obvious that his body was not in the best condition. Although he still had a good shot, it was still saved by Onana.

Bruno was able to score such a wonderful shot alone against two central defenders, even though he was not in ideal condition. This shocked everyone at the scene.

If he was still in that crazy state, wouldn't the ball have gone in?

If Manchester United scored a goal, the situation of the game would be completely unfavorable to Ajax.

After being shocked by Bruno's shot, Ajax's attack had to slow down.

Mourinho quickly made on-the-spot instructions and adjusted the team's tactics, asking Kante, Bellingham and others to press forward, while Rashford, Harry Kane and Mbappe also pressed forward.

The frontcourt and midfield were pushed forward, and the back line naturally followed suit.

At the same time, Manchester United intensified their pressing in the midfield, forcing Ajax to take more long passes directly to Neres and Kudus.

However, because the two forwards left the threatening area and lacked support from their teammates on the wings and behind them after getting the ball, Ajax's attack began to lose its threat.

………………

"There are too many long passes. Ajax is not suitable for long passes. Now the midfield cannot get the ball out, but Manchester United has strengthened its defense against Kudus, making it difficult for the Ghanaian striker to hold the ball, forcing Ajax to make more direct long passes to Neres. However, the Brazilian striker is not the kind of striker who can hold the ball with his back to the goal..."

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Davis, who was commentating on the scene, was obviously worried about Ajax's current situation.

"Tadic should play a bigger role, especially connecting the front line and midfield. He should make himself more active."

But just as he was speaking, Tadic just got the ball on the court, but was suddenly entangled by Kante and was stabbed away again.

"Kante's defensive ability is really excellent, and Mourinho obviously intends to use him to cut off Tadic."

At this point, Van Persie shook his head and sighed: "We played very well in the first ten minutes, but it's a pity that we didn't score a goal."

Van der Vaart also agreed and said: "Yes, Bruno played very well in that one-on-two situation just now, which scared the Ajax defenders. Ten Hag did not dare to give him such an opportunity again. Because once Ajax loses the ball first, it will be too passive."

Ajax has been eliminated by Manchester United three times in the past four years, so to some extent, Ten Hag's conservatism is also forced by Bruno and Manchester United.

Although no one is willing to admit it, Manchester United's overall strength is indeed much stronger than Ajax.

………………

It turned out that when the tempo of the game was controlled by Manchester United, Ajax players were unable to adapt.

After the first ten minutes of attack and a sharp counterattack by Bruno, Ajax players were wary of Manchester United's attack and could no longer attack as boldly as they did at the beginning of the game.

On the other hand, Manchester United steadily pressed forward its overall formation.

With two defensive midfielders in place and the formation pressing forward, this is the style of play that Manchester United has always been best at.

The two central defenders maintained a high defensive strategy, and the two defensive midfielders coordinated to protect. The two defensive lines made it difficult for Ajax's two forwards Neres and Kudus, as well as the attacking midfielder Tadic, to find space between Manchester United's two lines in the midfield and backcourt.

Without space, there will be no short pass penetration, and without short pass penetration, there can only be long passes.

Bruno was not aware that Davis was complaining about Ajax's excessive long passes when he was commentating. He was just clearly aware that the team's tactics were working and Mourinho's master-level tactics were simply invincible in the Champions League.

This is not just Bruno's feeling, but the feeling of everyone in the Manchester United locker room.

So, when the team pressed forward steadily, stabilized the situation, and controlled the tempo, Ajax played very awkwardly because they were not used to playing at this tempo, especially long passes.

Bruno and Manchester United players did not hesitate too much. They executed the team's tactics according to Mourinho's arrangements.

In this game, Mourinho gave Bruno the task of roaming in the frontcourt and looking for opportunities.

Because the overall formation is pressing forward, the two full-backs, especially the left-back Luke Shaw, will be closer to the frontcourt. At the moment of switching from defense to offense, he can rush to the frontcourt faster.

When the game reached the 28th minute, Manchester United's attack on the right failed to pose a threat and passed the ball to Harry Kane, who took the ball and knocked it back to Bruno.

Bruno passed the ball to the left, Luke Shaw quickly moved forward along the left side to get the ball and then moved forward.

Bruno spotted the opportunity and quickly moved to the middle, leaving the left side for Rashford and Luke Shaw.