Chapter 449: Eyes in the Back of His Head
Even though the second leg of the Europa League semi-final was on Thursday night, Celta Vigo's entire team arrived in Manchester on Tuesday.
In an interview at the airport, Celta's Swedish star, Guidetti, stated that Celta would be the ones laughing in the end. "We now have ninety minutes to score an away goal, so their one away goal is no big deal," the Swede said, shrugging.
This player, who came from Manchester City's youth academy and is nicknamed the "Swedish Rooney," has a natural hostility towards Manchester United. Perhaps to remind people of his Manchester City roots, he even shouted at the camera, "The sky in Manchester is blue!"
However, the Swede forgot that this season, Manchester City not only exited early from the League Cup, FA Cup, and Champions League, but their league performance has also been subpar. Currently, Guardiola is still fighting for next season's Champions League qualification.
On the other hand, Manchester United has already won the League Cup, reached the FA Cup final, and is leading Chelsea by four points with a game in hand, making them close to winning the league title. In the Europa League, United is also likely to beat Celta Vigo and reach the final.
...
Before the match against Celta, Mourinho addressed his players in the locker room: "Don't think that just because we won the away match, we are guaranteed to advance to the final. In reality, our chances of advancing aren't necessarily higher than theirs. After all, we only won by one goal. Don't let Guidetti's words get to you; he's right. They have a full ninety minutes to score an away goal, and if we let them score, our away goal advantage will be nullified."
Mourinho's expression was serious, making it seem like he was about to emphasize the importance of defense. But then he switched his tone: "So, in this match, we need to score first. As long as we score more goals than they do, it doesn't matter how many goals they score. They will still be eliminated!"
...
Meanwhile, in Celta Vigo's locker room, Berizzo filled the tactical board with so many notes it looked chaotic. He was passionately explaining Manchester United's tactical features, emphasizing the need to limit their wing play and their midfield, and to keep an eye on their core player, Bruno, as well as Rashford and Rooney.
Celta Vigo is currently only tenth in La Liga, making it impossible to qualify for next season's European competitions through their league position. They were also eliminated by Alavés in the Copa del Rey semi-finals, so the Europa League is their only hope for European competition next season. If they can beat Manchester United, advance to the Europa League final, and eventually defeat Ajax to win the Europa League, Celta could even participate in next season's Champions League. That would be perfect!
As for why he believes they would face Ajax in the final, it's because Ajax won their first leg 4-1 against Lyon, and Berizzo doesn't think Lyon can turn the tie around in the second leg.
...
When the match began, Celta, with their backs against the wall, launched a fierce attack on Manchester United's goal. At times, United was so compressed that they couldn't get past the halfway line, prompting Gary Lineker to exclaim whose home ground it was.
Of course, Celta paid a price for their aggressive approach. Their full-back, Jonny Castro, received a yellow card in the 28th minute. In the 32nd minute, midfielder Radoja was also booked for fouling Bruno, adding to the yellow card he received in the first leg. Even if Celta advanced to the final, he would miss it. Towards the end of the first half, forward Guidetti also received a yellow card for an overly aggressive challenge.
In the first half alone, Celta had three players booked across defense, midfield, and attack. This data reflects their aggressive defensive actions, but it also led to high booking risks, especially as this was United's home ground and the referee might be slightly biased towards the hosts.
...
Facing Celta's pressing, United struggled but managed not to concede. Bruno frequently used his passing to control the game but became the focal point of Celta's defense, with Radoja and Guidetti receiving yellow cards for fouling him.
Berizzo seemed to have learned from the first leg, surrounding Bruno comprehensively. He knew it was impossible to completely nullify Bruno, so he chose to limit his offensive impact. The pressing forced Bruno to pass back or sideways more often, preventing United from creating dangerous attacks.
Standing on the sidelines, Berizzo watched the game closely, believing that if Celta scored first, it would change the game's dynamics, setting up a comeback.
But until the end of the first half, no goals were scored. Although United looked under pressure, they didn't concede, showing more defensive resilience than Berizzo had anticipated.
...
In the second half, Celta continued their aggressive approach, pushing United into their own half, rarely allowing them to attack. The sight of Celta's relentless offensive efforts made their fans excited. However, this was at Old Trafford, so the stadium was filled with boos instead.
Amidst the boos, Celta charged towards United's goal. Not every attack threatened Romero's goal, and some were intercepted. When this happened, United's players often cleared the ball far away to relieve the pressure.
But there are always exceptions. For instance, when Maguire was about to clear the ball, he saw Bruno signaling for it. Seeing Bruno open on the wing, Maguire passed to him.
Just as he passed, he noticed Celta's midfielder Pablo Hernández charging towards Bruno!
But during his initial observation, Hernández was still far away!
It seemed like Bruno was his prey, and he was about to pounce.
Bruno, with his back to Hernández, couldn't see him approaching and wouldn't know a predator was about to strike.
...
Maguire wanted to warn Bruno but it was too late. The ball had already reached Bruno. So, he quickly prepared for Celta's counterattack.
But then he saw Bruno receive the ball and immediately pass it horizontally to Kante, swiftly turning around as if he had eyes in the back of his head, evading Hernández!
Hernández, still in a daze, hadn't expected to miss his target.
Maguire cheered internally: Well done, Bruno!
"Bruno! Beautiful turn! He dodged Pablo Hernández's press!"
Kante didn't stop the ball but passed it diagonally forward to the advancing Bruno. Bruno used a wall pass to bypass Hernández.
Seeing Bruno escape the defender, United's players knew what to do. Rashford, Fellaini, Gundogan, and Rooney moved quickly, some running forward, others closing in on Bruno, ready to support.
United's attacking system, dormant for half the game, suddenly activated, operating smoothly.
The core of this system was, of course, Bruno.
After receiving the ball, Bruno didn't lift his head to observe. Instead, he immediately sent a long pass to the other side, finding Lingard.
As Bruno finished passing, Radoja closed in on him.
Celta's defense was swift, and if Bruno had hesitated, he would have been intercepted. But Bruno seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, perfectly avoiding this risk!
(End of Chapter)
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