Chapter 603 Bruno Refuses to Accept His Fate

After taking the lead, Real Madrid relaxed a little. The current situation was too good. They were one goal ahead and had one more player than the opponent. They didn't look like they could lose the game.

Manchester United was just struggling to survive, so there was no need to worry.

In this situation, Bruno led Manchester United to play their best fast counterattack football again.

Before, the Spanish commentator was still proudly declaring: "Maybe other teams don't know how to play with one more player, but such a problem will not occur in our Real Madrid! Real Madrid is best at controlling the ball. Now that they have one more player than the opponent, they can control the ball even more easily. They will firmly control the situation, then slowly pass the ball and waste time in such control. There is no suspense in this game!"

But now he found that it was too early for him to draw a conclusion. Manchester United's players were like a group of mad dogs, running all over the field without sparing their energy, pressing and surrounding Real Madrid's players.

Their close pressing was even more fierce than at the beginning of the game!

Under such pressing, the relaxed Real Madrid players were a little uncomfortable. Their control of the ball did not work, but it gave Manchester United several offensive opportunities.

After a steal in the frontcourt, Bruno passed the ball directly to Ibrahimovic, who turned and shot. If Navas had not been focused and reacted quickly, their goal would have been lost.

Zidane originally sat back in the coaching seat after the team took the lead, but now he returned to the sidelines and expressed dissatisfaction with the team's defense.

Ramos shouted to remind his teammates: "Don't let your guard down! The game is not over yet! We haven't won yet!"

With his reminder, the players of Real Madrid gradually reacted and played their ball control to the fullest.

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In the 80th minute, the score was still 3:2, and Real Madrid was leading.

Zidane made a substitution adjustment. He replaced Benzema with Nacho, which was to strengthen the defense.

After Nacho came on the court, he did not appear in his most familiar central defender position, but partnered with Casemiro as a double defensive midfielder.

Casemiro and Nacho joined forces, and Zidane didn't believe that he couldn't defend Bruno.

Mourinho didn't play the last card in his hand. He still had this idea: If we can equalize the score, the game can be dragged into overtime, so that a substitution quota can come in handy.

"It's the 80th minute! There are ten minutes left in the game, the score is still 3:2, and Real Madrid is leading."

"Now they control the ball, and Manchester United's players can only run around. They are at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. This disadvantage will be multiplied when facing a team like Real Madrid."

"For Manchester United, perhaps this is the most difficult ten minutes they have ever experienced - the silver-shining Champions League is within their reach, but after these ten minutes, it is destined to belong to their opponents..."

...

The commentator is not shooting at nothing.

The Real Madrid players on the field control the ball. They pass it back and forth, mobilizing Manchester United's players to run back and forth. When they are about to grab the ball, the opponent passes it out.

In fact, many players are almost exhausted when the game is mentioned.

Not to mention that Manchester United's full-court pressing tactics are very physically demanding, and they have one less player than Real Madrid, so they have to run more than usual.

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Moreover, this is the last game of the season, and the fatigue accumulated over a season is reflected in this game.

You know, Manchester United is still unbeaten in all competitions this season, which means that they have entered the finals in every competition, and the number of games they have played has reached the theoretical maximum.

In fact, today's Champions League final is Manchester United's 65th game in all competitions this season!

Even if Manchester United's lineup is good, Mourinho is also rotating the team's lineup as much as possible, but almost all of Manchester United's main players have played more than 40 times!

How many people can still hold on to the end? What is the possibility of them equalizing the score?

Even if they equalize the score, what's the problem? There is still 30 minutes of overtime. Can Manchester United, who are one man short and exhausted, hold on to the penalty shootout?

What's the problem of holding on to the penalty shootout? Analyzing from the strength of the players on both sides, what capital does Manchester United have to make them laugh at the end in the penalty shootout?

Their substitute goalkeeper saves penalties better than Navas, is it a secret weapon? There are many penalty masters in their team? Their psychological quality is stronger than the Real Madrid players who have experienced many storms?

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These questions hit everyone, even some Manchester United players.

Many people think that it is dignified enough to fight with Real Madrid to this extent, and there is nothing to regret even if they lose the game. They tried their best, but they just lost in the end, which is not shameful or regrettable.

Anyway, Manchester United has been excellent enough this season. It has remained unbeaten so far this season. It has won five championships including the Community Shield, European Super Cup, League Cup, Premier League and FA Cup. It has also entered the final of the Champions League and fought with Real Madrid until the last moment.

There are limits to human resources. Don't always think about doing things beyond your ability. There is no need to force it. They lost the game because of one less person, which was enough for them to walk up to the runner-up podium with their heads held high and accept the silver medal.

Just like what outsiders said: "You lost the championship, but you won the whole world. It's an honor to lose!"

There is only one person who doesn't think so, that is Bruno!

No matter how Real Madrid mobilizes them, Bruno, wearing the captain's armband of Manchester United, always runs tirelessly, as if he doesn't take Real Madrid's back and forth kicks seriously at all.

He debuted in the Portuguese Second Division, played in Serie B, brought the unknown Udinese to the top of Europe, never knew how to give in to others on the court, and was the maker of all "miracles".

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When the game was five minutes later, the score was still 3:2, Real Madrid led and Manchester United fell behind.

During this period, Real Madrid obviously had the upper hand in ball possession. As long as the ball fell to their feet, it would be difficult for Manchester United to get it back. They could only hope that they would complete an attack and give up the ball.

But even if they got the ball, Real Madrid would have already returned to defense. Manchester United had to reorganize the attack and advance from the back layer by layer. This was extremely difficult.

Looking at Real Madrid's tight defense, the three lines were compact and neat, and then thinking about the situation on their own side, it was really desperate.

If the game was allowed to develop like this, let alone five minutes left, even if Manchester United was given another fifty minutes, they might not be able to score.

The current situation is that Real Madrid hopes that the time will end early, and Manchester United does not have the physical strength to support more time, so the outcome must be decided within these five minutes.

There are several ways to break the deadlock, such as set pieces.

But Real Madrid now has a firm grasp of the situation on the field. Manchester United can defend without fouling when they attack the front court, so Manchester United's free kick masters, including Bruno, have no place to use their skills.

Bruno felt that if they wanted to break the deadlock, they had to adopt the approach they had insisted on before, that is, to press and then counterattack, and catch Real Madrid off guard.

But this requires the cooperation of the whole team. With the current physical condition of the team, even if they can press, they may not have the strength to rush up and counterattack quickly.

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Now, except for himself, the only two teammates who have just been replaced not long ago are the substitute goalkeeper Romero and Ibrahimovic.

Romero is a goalkeeper. No matter how strong he is, he can't participate in the whole-court press and quickly move forward to help attack.

Ibrahimovic is the only one who has the physical strength to keep up with his own rhythm and can help.

What about defense?

Still can't give up. Even if the opponent passes the ball quickly and walks, we have to find a way to steal the ball.

All the commentators were silent, including Andy Gray and He Wei. They couldn't think of how to stay optimistic.

If Manchester United really lost this game, he might really only be able to say those clichéd commentaries. What "It's an honor to lose", what "Life is so cruel, but don't give up, don't be depressed...", what "The runner-up of the Champions League is also very good"... and so on.

He took the time to look at other stands. Real Madrid fans have already begun to celebrate their victory in advance.

They all stood up from their seats, waving their arms and singing the Real Madrid team song.

"Real Madrid! Real Madrid!" The shouts resounded over the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, making everyone who heard the roar breathe.

Listen, listen, this is the victory song of Real Madrid fans!

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In comparison, most of Manchester United fans have stopped, they sit listlessly in their chairs, and seem to have accepted such a reality: no matter how hard they try, they can't beat Real Madrid and win the championship.

Perhaps for them, it was a luxury to want to win the Champions League after reaching the Champions League final for the first time in seven years.

But are they really willing to do that?

Can we reach the Champions League final whenever we can?

We finally reached the Champions League final, and our performance in the game was also very good. We once led Real Madrid twice. We have the strength to fight with the strongest teams in the world. Why can't we dream and look forward to the Champions League championship?

Why?

Manchester United fans sat in such a contradictory and painful mood, not knowing what to do.