From the man behind the football king to the football king.

Chapter 561: Manchester City Explodes

In the 41st minute of the game, after consecutive passes failed to penetrate, Bruno suddenly shot an arrow from outside the penalty area!

The football hit Fernandinho's thigh and changed its direction, bouncing to the completely opposite side of Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson's save.

And on that side, there happened to be a Manchester United player - Rashford!

This scene shocked all the Manchester City fans in the stadium and they screamed.

However, Rashford was not prepared for the ball to go to his side. When the ball flew to him, he raised his foot to shoot. As a result, the ball hit his shin bone and then flew high after hitting the crossbar.

"Oh--" A huge sigh was heard from the stands, which was the Manchester City fans' relief after surviving the disaster.

"Rashford! He missed a great chance!"

"What a pity! Manchester United had the chance to turn the situation around and overtake the score in the first half!"

"Rashford didn't expect the ball shot by Bruno would fly to his side, and he shot in a hurry... What a pity..."

Rashford watched the ball fly over the crossbar, his legs went weak and he fell to the ground. He felt very sorry for it.

If he didn't seize this opportunity, who knows if he will become the team's sinner at the end of the game?
Bruno also held his head in his hands, but he did not have time to regret for too long. He quickly ran back and prepared to launch another attack.

The result was that until the end of the first half, although Manchester United besieged Manchester City, they did not score any more goals, and the two sides went to the locker room with a score of 1:1.

………………

Guardiola had a blank expression on his face, and it was hard to tell whether he was satisfied or not with the result, but in fact, he was very satisfied. After the goal had been conceded, 1:1 was the best possible result, and he couldn't ask for more.

Mourinho also felt that the result was not bad. He could make further adjustments during the halftime break and thus overtake the opponent in the second half.

Manchester United players also looked happy. If the game could end in a draw, it would be an acceptable result.

Only Bruno frowned and looked worried when he left the field. He was worried that everyone would not be able to find the rhythm under the pressure of Manchester City in the second half.

After all, you need to rest for fifteen minutes.

Guardiola turned his head and looked at Bruno who was walking off the field, and saw the expression on his face. It seems that this kid knows his plan? But even if he knows, what can you do? You are just a player, not a head coach, and there is very little you can do.

Guardiola was not worried at all and turned around and strode towards the corridor.

………………

Vanessa can finally take a break. She was very nervous watching Manchester United besieging Manchester City in the final moments.

She could more or less understand why Manchester United, led by Bruno, launched wave after wave of attacks on Manchester City, because the halftime break was not good for Manchester United, whose morale was high.

But now the result is 1:1, which cannot be changed. I wonder what adjustments Manchester United will make during the halftime break.

After the wild performance in the first half, the people around her were much quieter now. She stretched lazily in a very unpresentable manner and sat on the chair, not wanting to move.

During this time, she began to daydream about marrying Bruno, because according to Bruno and her plan, after getting engaged, she would marry Bruno next summer.

But when it comes to marriage, apart from the fact that she is going to get married, she hasn't thought about anything else.

How to get married? Where to get married? Who to ask to take the wedding photos? Where to take them? What should I do with the wedding? Should I make it grand or low-key? Which guests and friends should I invite? Where to spend the honeymoon? How to spend it... Vanessa didn't know what to do with so many things.

Although there is still more than a year left, preparations must begin.

When it comes to a major life event like marriage, it’s never too much to be detailed.

………………

Vanessa was worrying about how to handle the wedding, while Bruno was worrying about what the team should do in the second half.

Mourinho was happy with the team's performance and optimistic about the team's prospects, but Bruno was not optimistic at all.

The head coach is different from the players. When the players are playing on the field, they have the most intuitive understanding of the opponent's abilities. He knows very well how strong this Manchester City team is.

In the first half, he took advantage of their lack of preparation and launched a series of attacks, but that doesn't mean he can do the same in the second half.

This is almost certain. Guardiola is not a fool. Who is he? He is the highest paid head coach in the world of football. How can he take on such a high salary without a diamond drill? How can he get the highest salary in the world without sufficient level? He will definitely make adjustments based on Manchester United's performance in the first half. It will not be easy for Manchester United to recover to that performance in the second half.

………………

Bruno was right. In Manchester City's locker room, Guardiola praised the team's performance in the first half, mainly praising the team for being able to keep a clean sheet in the face of Manchester United's fierce attack in the final moments, which made him full of confidence in his new tactics.

Then, he made some minor adjustments to the team's tactics, mainly to warn everyone not to be confused by the opponent's quick passing and cutting, as long as the defensive formation is kept compact and complete, the opponent will only pass the ball around on the periphery and cannot directly threaten the goal guarded by Ederson.

Guardiola's requirement for the team is to retreat quickly when defending. The forwards will interfere in the frontcourt, and the midfielders will retreat directly, leaving the midfield completely to Manchester United, allowing them to pass the ball however they want outside their own 30-meter area. They just have to defend the 30-meter area and organize the defense well, then they will not be afraid of Manchester United's quick passing and cutting.

As for Bruno... Bernardo Silva is responsible for interfering with him during defense and preventing him from organizing the attack with peace of mind.

This job was originally done by Fernandinho, the defensive midfielder, but starting from the second half of the game, Guardiola did not allow Fernandinho to do so, because once he went up to defend Bruno, the team's defense would be disrupted.

In the end, this task was given to the more mobile and flexible Bernardo Silva, who did not have to bear the task of maintaining the defense line and could maneuver in front of the defense line.

Moreover, Bernardo Silva and Bruno are teammates in the national team and are very familiar with Bruno.

And if Bruno breaks through this point, he should not chase him and let the defensive players behind him deal with it.

In short, Guardiola gave the players examples of any actions Bruno might make in the game, and then told them how to defend Bruno in a certain situation.

As for other Manchester United players, Guardiola did not even mention them, whether it was the famous England star Harry Kane, or the two super talents Mbappe and Rashford in the team.

………………

Mourinho's requirement for the team was to play like they did in the second half of the first half, using their speed to break down Manchester City's defense.

But after the second half started, all the Manchester United players, including Bruno, found that this was not possible, because Manchester City's defense was very fast, and even players like Danilo basically did not attack in the first half, just to ensure that there were no loopholes in their defense and to ensure that the defense line remained compact.

Don't think that Manchester City has no way out in terms of offense. The three-midfielder configuration is quite practical. Coupled with the raiding ability of the two forwards Sterling and Sane, Manchester United's defense can still be very tense.

Bruno's constant and quick transfers did not bring any decent opportunities to the team. No matter where he moved the ball, he would encounter the opponent's impenetrable defense.

Manchester City's defense was much more organized and orderly than in the first half, and there was no sign of panic at all.

It was obvious that their head coach made targeted deployments during the half-time break.

Bruno knew this would happen, but what could he do? He is not the head coach of Manchester City and cannot stop Guardiola from making these adjustments.

He could only keep trying various passing patterns and occasionally take a long shot himself. Apart from that, he had no better way.

………………

In the 51st minute, Manchester City intercepted Bruno's pass in the backcourt and launched a quick counterattack. Bernardo Silva passed the ball to Sterling. The happy English boy sprinted with the ball alone, using his speed advantage to the extreme. Manchester United's defenders couldn't stop him at all.

After dribbling into the edge of the penalty area, Sterling had attracted the attention of all Manchester United players, but instead of shooting, he made a cross!
The ball passed between Van Dijk and Luke Shaw and landed at the feet of Mkhitaryan who was running in front of the goal.

At this time, there was no Manchester United player around the Armenian, and even goalkeeper De Gea rushed to the front to block Sterling's shot.

Facing the huge empty goal, Mkhitaryan swept the ball into the goal without hesitation!

The Etihad Stadium erupted in huge cheers again, Manchester City led 2:1!

"Manchester City scored again! It looks like they are determined to win this game today!"

"The goal was scored by Mkhitaryan! Beautiful! But 80% of the credit for this goal should go to Sterling! It was his quick breakthrough that tore through Manchester United's defense!"

In the first half, the commentators were full of praise for Bruno and Manchester United and had always been pessimistic about Manchester City, but now their attitude has taken a 180-degree turn.

But this is very normal for commentators. They not only have to sympathize with the weak, but also praise the strong.

Manchester City players hugged each other to celebrate the goal, while Manchester United players looked very upset.

They were so busy attacking that they forgot that their opponent was not a toothless tiger, but a ferocious beast that could eat people at any time.

(End of this chapter)