Chapter 989 Mr. Key
In the 85th minute of the game, Manchester United got an attacking opportunity.
After passing the ball to Greenwood, Bruno sent the ball to Mahrez in the penalty area. After Mahrez stopped the ball, he shot directly, but Ederson leaned sideways to save the ball from going out of the baseline.
"A beautiful save! Ederson is Manchester City's last line of defense. As this line of defense, he has always been reassuring! When there is little time left in the game, every successful save of his is a heavy blow to Manchester United players!" Andy Gray commented.
As Mahrez ran to take a corner kick, Manchester United's top defenders all crowded in.
Maguire, who is 1.94 meters tall, Van Dijk, who is 1.93 meters tall, and Harry Kane, who is 1.88 meters tall, these three are like mobile siege platforms when they push into the penalty area. There are also Bellingham, who is 1.86 meters tall, and Rashford, who is 1.85 meters tall.
Manchester United attaches great importance to this corner kick. When conventional offensive means cannot open up the situation, they must rely on set pieces.
At the last moment of the game, every set piece must be taken seriously, because maybe a miracle will happen.
Manchester City naturally understood this and was on high alert. Every Manchester United player who could threaten the goal had a Manchester City player following closely. If these Manchester United players wanted to get rid of them, they would just pull their jerseys.
For this reason, the referee had to blow the whistle to stop the game, and then called the players from both sides together to clearly tell them not to have any unnecessary physical contact and actions, otherwise he would show no mercy and would award a penalty when it was necessary and call a foul on the attacking side when it was necessary.
………………
After warning the players from both teams, the referee left the penalty area, and the players from Manchester City and Manchester United continued to fight in the penalty area.
There were still some hand movements this time, but they were slightly more restrained than before. The referee also turned a blind eye and did not dwell on the entanglement between the two sides.
If you really want to be picky, this corner kick might not be taken for ten minutes, so as long as the players on both sides don't make excessive moves, it'll be fine.
In front of Manchester City's goal, players from both teams were entangled in a ball, with each player involved in the other.
But all this had nothing to do with Bruno. He stood far outside the penalty area and did not seem to intend to participate in the corner attack. Instead, he seemed to be helping the team to defend and prevent the opponent from counterattacking.
His behavior was normal and there was nothing strange about it. Although he was 1.83 meters tall and weighed more than 75 kilograms, it was nothing compared to the restricted area of the muscle jungle in front of him.
After all, Manchester United has five big guys over 1.85 meters tall, including Maguire. Manchester City is no less impressive. The two defensive midfielders Rodri, Pogba and central defender Laporte are all 1.91 meters tall, and another central defender Stones is 1.88 meters tall. The penalty area is full of tall guys.
In fact, since his debut, Bruno would not rush into the penalty area for many corner kicks. He would either take the corner kick or just hang outside, like a lone player.
………………
After the referee saw that the situation in the penalty area was basically stable, he blew the whistle.
The whistle sounded, Mahrez took a run-up, and then kicked the ball into the goal.
He was playing at the front where Maguire was.
But as the header player in Manchester United, how could Maguire not have Manchester City players defending him? Ake tightly entangled him, while Stones, who returned to the goal, seized the opportunity to jump high in front of Maguire and headed the ball away in front of Maguire!
"Stones heads the ball away!"
The football headed by Stones flew straight out of the penalty area.
Seeing this scene, Bruno decisively moved forward from his defensive position and ran towards the penalty area.
At the same time, the ball headed by Stones was received by Rashford who retreated from the penalty area.
Manchester City's defense moved quickly and in unison. The entire team followed the flying ball and pressed outwards, instantly leaving Harry Kane and Maguire, who were slow to react, behind the defense line, making them fall into the offside trap. Rashford couldn't pass the ball to them at this time, so he could only go to the empty space and think of a way.
The Manchester City defender who successfully created offside rushed towards Rashford unscrupulously, intending to intercept the ball and then launch a counterattack.
Now Manchester United only has Cancelo and Bruno in the back, which is a great opportunity to counterattack!
………………
At this moment, Rashford passed the ball. But he didn't pass it to anyone in the penalty area, but flicked it sideways.
He passed the ball to Bruno who suddenly appeared at the top of the free throw arc!
Since he doesn't know how to solve this problem, let's hand the football over to someone who can solve it.
"Bruno!" Jin Xiangkai shouted as Bruno caught the ball.
Bruno ran sideways from the left to meet Rashford, and Rashford passed the ball to him. He stopped the ball from Rashford with his left foot.
But this time, Bruno did not stop the ball steadily under his feet. The ball hit the inside of his left foot, bounced back, and rolled to the outside of his right foot. It looked like a stopping mistake.
But then, Bruno made perfect use of this "mistake". He took a step forward, swung his right foot, and kicked the football directly!
The inside of his right foot hit the outside of the football, and the football itself flew towards the goal with a strong rotation!
………………
However, the road to the goal is not so easy.
On the flight path of the football, there were four Manchester City players blocking the route, two in front and two behind. They were the players who were originally going to rush towards Rashford, but after seeing Rashford pass the ball, they changed direction and rushed towards Bruno.
The two Manchester City players in front, Foden and Rodri, were the first to encounter the football. They kicked the football from the left and right, trying to destroy it.
But just as they were about to close the door, the football slipped through the gap in the "door".
The two Manchester City players behind were the two central defenders Laporte and Stones. Laporte also kicked the ball, while Stones simply threw his whole body out and tried to head the ball out with his head.
But this time, the football rushed through at the moment when the "door" was about to close, and passed through the interception of four Manchester City players unscathed and flew towards the Manchester City goal.
Ederson's big hand flew over, he flew horizontally in the air, stretched his arm as far as he could, even with his fingertips, it didn't matter, as long as he could kick the football out!
But he still didn't touch the ball. The ball drew an arc in the air, bypassed his palm, brushed the inside of the goal post and flew into the goal. After being blocked by the net, the strong rotation gradually stopped, and then lost all its power, fell from the net and fell on the grass in the goal, bounced twice, and stopped moving.
………………
"Eh?!" Jin Xiangkai shouted in an incredulous tone, "Eh! Ah!! Ha! Aha!! The ball goes in! The ball goes in! In the 87th minute, Bruno equalized the score for Manchester United!"
"Bruno! An unexpected shot! Sudden! Accurate! A world wave!" Andy Gray also shouted excitedly, "Manchester United equalized the score almost at the last moment of the game! And this also means that Manchester United is leading in the total score of the two rounds again. If the game ends here, Manchester United will advance to the semi-finals of this season's Champions League, and the Red Devils will continue their pursuit of the Champions League for the fifth consecutive time!"
When the football flew into the goal in an arc, the huge new Old Trafford Stadium went completely crazy. Nearly 100,000 home team fans cheered and the whole stadium seemed to explode.
"This corner kick opportunity is very important for Manchester United... Corner kick taken... Stones clears the ball with a header! Rashford gets the ball, there is still a chance... Bruno! Eh?! Eh! Ah! Ha! Aha!! The ball goes in! The ball goes in!! In the 85th minute, Bruno equalized the score for Manchester United!! Incredible! Incredible! Bruno's goal was amazing!"
In front of the TV, Jin Xiangkai's excited voice filled the living rooms of countless families in China.
This Manchester derby has also attracted much attention in China. People are not only paying attention to Bruno, but also to Manchester United and Manchester City.
As the undisputed overlord of the Premier League era, Manchester United has countless fans all over the world, especially in East Asia and China.
Especially after Bruno got married to Liu Yimei, Bruno became a Chinese son-in-law, which made him loved by countless Chinese fans, and Manchester United, where he played, almost became the home team of countless Chinese fans.
………………
Of course, as Manchester City gradually rose in the 2010s, it also has a huge number of fans in China.
But even these loyal fans of Manchester City could only sigh when they saw Bruno's kick. They could not complain or curse.
It has nothing to do with Bruno’s Chinese son-in-law, it’s just because Bruno’s kick was so awesome!
Falling under such a shot, it seems there is nothing to be angry about!
Bruno was also very excited after scoring the goal. Of course, he could not accept the result of losing the game at home.
In a football match, if you really can't win, then don't lose.
After shooting, he tilted his head and leaned forward, and after seeing the football fly into the goal, he ran diagonally towards the corner flag area where Mahrez had just taken the penalty kick.
All the Manchester United players behind him followed him like ripples he created on the field.
They hugged each other there. Harry Kane bent down, picked up Bruno, and lifted him high, making him the most conspicuous one in the crowd.
The 100,000 home fans at the scene naturally gave their king the warmest cheers and the most sincere respect. The huge new Old Trafford stadium was filled with thunderous applause.
