Chapter 401: Big Picture Perspective
When Bruno was getting ready to take the free kick, everyone was watching him. Bruno is a well-known set-piece specialist in today's football world. Last season, while at Udinese, he scored six direct free-kick goals, the highest number among players.
However, since joining Manchester United, Bruno has only scored one free-kick goal, and that was during the derby match over two months ago. In the subsequent 18 matches, Bruno had not scored from a direct free-kick.
So, can he score today?
Clearly, luck wasn't on Bruno's side today either, as his free-kick was blocked by the defensive wall.
As Bruno's free-kick was blocked and following a series of passes, nobody noticed Bruno quietly appearing in the penalty area, closely watching the movement of the ball.
Bruno couldn't have predicted he would score; his move was just a routine action: increasing our team's numbers in front of the opponent's goal to apply pressure during the attack.
He thought Lingard would take a direct shot, but to his surprise, Lingard unselfishly passed the ball sideways.
Ibrahimovic didn't expect this either, so the ball was cleared by Kone, but then it mysteriously fell to Bruno's feet.
Bruno hadn't been mentally prepared to shoot. However, when the opportunity arose, he didn't need any preparation—his body instinctively made the shooting motion.
At this moment, everyone's attention refocused on Bruno.
...
Bruno met the ball with a swing of his leg, sending it flying towards the empty goal. Kone was still on the ground, and Pickford, who had just gotten up, couldn't stabilize his footing yet. Seeing Bruno about to shoot, he hurriedly dived to stop the ball.
But he was a step too late—the ball squeezed between him and Kone, and then a loud cheer erupted from the stands.
"The ball's in!!"
"Manchester United! Manchester United!!"
"Great goal! The ball's in! The ball's in!! Less than two minutes into the second half, and Bruno has scored! Manchester United takes the lead!! He's scored in seven consecutive league matches! Prior to this, he had a streak of nine consecutive league matches with goals, tying Van Nistelrooy's record for the most consecutive single-season league goals. Bruno's form this season is extraordinary! In 18 league matches, he only failed to score in the first match against Bournemouth and the 11th match against Swansea!"
After scoring, Bruno excitedly ran to the sidelines, waving his arms continuously to encourage the Manchester United fans in the stands to cheer louder and louder.
"Bruno!" The stadium announcer shouted Bruno's name, and the fans echoed him.
It's truly awe-inspiring when over 70,000 people chant together.
Then the announcer said loudly, "In the 47th minute, Manchester United scored! The scorer, number 8—"
The Manchester United fans in the stands enthusiastically shouted, "Bruno!!"
...
Sunderland's coach Moyes was very frustrated. He had anticipated that Manchester United would continue their aggressive attack at the start of the second half and had specifically instructed his players to focus on defense.
Despite this, Manchester United still scored within two minutes of the second half... What else could he do?
He didn't know.
The Sunderland team he led was indeed not in the same league as Manchester United, but should they give up so easily?
No, it's too early for that! They were only one goal behind, and there was still a chance, still time.
He walked to the sidelines and yelled at his players who were standing still, "Don't panic! We continue to defend and counterattack!!"
Defending and counterattacking was the only viable strategy Sunderland had left.
...
Moyes had indeed studied Manchester United and Mourinho.
Mourinho used to be a staunch believer in 1-0 victories. In his first year during his first stint with Chelsea, Mourinho had 11 matches ending 1-0, and 22 matches with a one-goal difference.
Even during his second stint with Real Madrid and Chelsea, his 1-0 philosophy was evident. Despite Real Madrid scoring over 100 goals each season during his three seasons there.
However, after taking over at Old Trafford, Mourinho began to change. Despite still valuing defense, he no longer adhered to the 1-0 philosophy, and Manchester United was no longer the team that would defend tightly after taking a one-goal lead. If conditions were favorable, Mourinho didn't force his players to retreat into a defensive shell but gave them the freedom to attack fully when appropriate.
As a result, after 17 league matches, Manchester United only had one 1-0 match, with only five matches decided by a one-goal margin, less than one-third.
To fans, this style of football was very attractive and exciting.
But to professionals like Moyes, it seemed risky. If Manchester United faced a team with a sharper counterattack, they could lose.
Even against Sunderland, they still had a chance.
Therefore, Moyes insisted on defending and counterattacking after conceding the goal, believing that as Manchester United continued to attack, his team would eventually find an opportunity.
As a traditional team, Sunderland didn't want to concede defeat easily.
...
As the match continued, just as Moyes anticipated, Manchester United did not retract into defense after leading by one goal. They continued to press forward, with both full-backs, Valencia and Blind, taking turns attacking and constantly putting pressure on Sunderland's defense.
During this period, all Sunderland players retreated, resolutely defending their goal. They knew that Manchester United had just scored and their morale was high. At this moment, they had to hold the line; as long as they could hold it, they could dampen their momentum.
After a period of intense attack, Bruno noticed that Sunderland was determined to defend without advancing. If they attacked more fiercely, the opponent would shrink back more tightly, which would be detrimental to their own offense. So Bruno decided to change the rhythm.
On the field, Mourinho gave Bruno a lot of freedom. This was partly because Bruno had an excellent sense of the big picture, knowing when to attack and when to retreat. It was also because, after a few months of adjustment, Mourinho found Manchester United's defense had become solid. Especially with Kante's presence, Manchester United's defense seemed to have an extra player. As long as Kante was on the field, Bruno could focus more on attacking.
So when he saw Sunderland pulling back, he stopped passing forward and suddenly started passing back.
...
Bruno passed the ball to center-back Phil Jones.
Phil Jones was a bit stunned and then thought of passing the ball back to Bruno, but Bruno waved his hand, refusing and asking him to pass the ball to goalkeeper De Gea.
Phil Jones was a bit confused.
Seeing his hesitation, Bruno looked back and saw that Sunderland's players hadn't pressed up yet. So he waved his hand again, repeating his request to pass the ball back to De Gea.
Phil Jones thought for a moment. Mourinho had instructed them to follow Bruno's lead on the field. Since he wanted him to pass back, he did.
So he turned and passed the ball back to De Gea.
De Gea habitually wanted to kick the ball forward but saw Bruno waving at him. He was familiar with this gesture—every time he intended to kick the goal kick far, Bruno would signal him to pass it over. He usually complied because Mourinho had told him that on the field, Bruno was like a coach, and they should listen to him as much as possible.
So this time, De Gea complied again.
After receiving the ball, Bruno looked back and saw Sunderland's striker Defoe had the intention to come forward.
Given that, he continued to bait them. He passed the ball to Phil Jones again, instructing him not to pass it back to him but to pass it to the other center-back, Rojo.
Then Bruno signaled the others to retreat a bit, not to press so far up, as it caused a disconnection between the front and back.
The full-backs were pushing forward like wingers; how could they play like this?
...
Although Manchester United players weren't very used to it, they still followed Bruno's instructions and retreated.
The most proactive was Ibrahimovic because he understood what Bruno was doing.
Bruno successfully got his teammates to pull back but didn't rush to pass forward because he noticed Sunderland hadn't pressed forward. He had to be patient.
Sunderland was determined to defend and counterattack, but how would they score if they didn't come forward? Thus, Bruno wasn't worried about Sunderland not taking the bait.
Sunderland didn't press, and Bruno was happy to keep the ball at the back. If Sunderland didn't come out, Manchester United would pull them out. Unless Sunderland decided to stay at the back permanently, they would have to come out like fish being baited.
Sunderland wouldn't genuinely stay at the back. They retreated for defense and counterattacks, but if Manchester United didn't attack, what would they defend, and how would they counterattack?
So, after the ball passed between Manchester United's four defenders and Bruno several times, Sunderland finally pressed up.
Starting from the forwards to the midfield, Bruno had baited them out.
However, Sunderland still kept their four defenders in position, staying firm on the backline.
Even though the opposition pressed up, which meant more defensive pressure on Bruno, it was good for Manchester United as a whole because more spaces opened up behind the defense.
(End of the chapter)
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