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

Chapter 564 Controversial Penalty

It was a good ball, but Mbappe on the wing didn't catch it because he thought Bruno was going to shoot, and he saw him kicking the ball, so he didn't run. When he found the ball was bouncing towards him, it was too late to start to get the ball...

You have to know that Manchester City's defense was concentrated in the middle at that time. If Mbappe could receive the ball, he could make a breakthrough.

This is the opportunity Manchester United has been waiting for for a long time!

Mbappe naturally knew what missing this opportunity meant. He quickly reached out to apologize to Bruno, indicating that he had made a beautiful pass and failed to receive the ball.

But Bruno didn't care about Mbappe's missed opportunity. He suddenly realized from this "mistake" that perhaps some "accidents" could break the deadlock?

The opponent has figured out my offensive pattern and my playing style is also somewhat methodical. No wonder they can defend me so easily.

If you want to break their defense, you may have to be freer and more unbridled!

………………

With little time left in the game, Bruno decided to put aside tactics and strategies and play without restraint in the final moments.

Manchester City launched an attack, but this time they failed to successfully reach Manchester United's penalty area and were intercepted by Kante in the midfield.

Kante intercepted the ball and passed it to Bruno.

Bruno was in the center circle when he received the ball. He turned around and took a step forward and just walked out of the center circle. At this time, the Manchester City players had not yet pounced on him.

According to Bruno's usual practice, at this time he would either pass the ball to the side or run forward with the ball himself. Unexpectedly, Bruno just brought the ball out of the center circle when he suddenly made a long shot!

"Bruno is taking... a long shot--!" Even the commentator Lineker was startled by him.

Although Bruno's long shot was sudden, it did not hit high. Judging from the height, it was quite threatening and was likely to hit the goal frame!

Ederson was not prepared for Bruno's long shot from such a distance. He made a saving move when the ball flew over, so he did not touch the ball.

However, the football did not hit the goal frame, and almost hit the goal post and flew out of the bottom line!

"Oh--!" There was a huge inhalation sound from the Etihad Stadium. These were the Manchester City fans' fear!

“What a high-quality long shot!!”

"Manchester City players never expected Bruno to shoot directly from that place!"

"Let's watch it in slow motion... It was really just a little bit off! What a pity! If this ball had gone in, it would definitely be the most exciting goal in the Premier League this season! It was over 40 meters away!"

……

Commentators from all over the world exclaimed in amazement.

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Although Bruno's long-range shot ended Manchester United's attack, no one complained that he wasted an opportunity. On the contrary, everyone thought it was a morale-boosting shot. Kante even gave him a thumbs up when he ran back to defend.

Fernandinho grinned behind him: He dared to kick the ball from such a long distance! It seems that we need to pay more attention to defense and not give that guy such an easy chance to kick the ball again!

Bruno's shot inspired Manchester United. Seeing Bruno's determination to score and defeat the opponent, the players became more active on the field. Manchester United then got more offensive opportunities and soon they made a comeback.

Bruno did not shoot directly this time. When his teammate passed the ball to him, he took the initiative to let the ball pass, leaving Bernardo Silva who came up to press him empty-handed.

The ball that Bruno missed was caught by Harry Kane who retreated to receive the ball.

Bruno turned and ran forward after missing the ball. Harry Kane saw him moving forward and passed the ball to him.

This time, the Manchester City player who came up to pressure Bruno was Fernandinho. Unexpectedly, Bruno still didn't receive the ball. Facing Harry Kane's pass, he stepped directly over the football!

"What?" Fernandinho was a little surprised. He didn't catch the ball twice in a row... He really didn't expect it.

Bruno passed the ball to Rashford behind him.

Rashford also didn't expect Bruno to pass the ball to him. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and immediately passed the ball into the penalty area.

………………

Thanks to Fernandinho's dive, Manchester City's defense was not solid, and this hasty cross had an unexpected effect, and the ball fell into Gundogan's feet!

The German midfielder raised his foot and shot, but Ederson made a world-class save, blocking the shot that was at close range!

"Oh - Ederson!! Nice save!"

The football flew over the crossbar. Ederson jumped up from the ground, clapped his hands and loudly reminded his teammates to pay attention to defense and not give the opponent a chance to score at the last moment.

If Manchester United scored another goal before the end of the game and changed the score to 2:3, Manchester City would basically be eliminated from the battle for the league title this season.

Lineker praised Bruno's performance in this attack: "He didn't touch the ball at all, but he was the undisputed core of this attack. He was able to distract the opponent's defense without touching the ball and create opportunities for his teammates! Such performance... is simply world-class!"

Commentators from other countries around the world also praised Bruno's performance.

"Bruno's performance was truly pleasing to the eye! He used two runs and a pass in one attack to help the team pass the ball to the dangerous area. Such a performance is rare in world football!"

"I don't know what happened, but since that long shot just now, Bruno seems to have become a different person. He has become...how should I put it? More flexible? Or more elusive..."

"This series of missed shots is a classic! It's a pity that Gundogan didn't score the goal, otherwise this goal would have been on the list of the top ten goals in the Premier League this season!"

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Not only the commentators were surprised, but even Manchester United teammates found it incredible.

Rashford almost completed an assist, but he didn't want to feel sorry for the failed assist. He pulled Bruno and asked him: "Why did you miss the ball?"

Bruno shrugged and said, "It just occurred to me."

"Oh my God, could you have told me in advance? I was totally unprepared!" Rashford complained.

"Don't be ridiculous, Marcus. If I told you in advance, wouldn't the other party know it too?"

"This..." Rashford thought about it and felt that what Bruno said made sense.

Manchester City obviously knows Manchester United inside out, and is aware of any of Manchester United's habitual playing styles that were agreed upon in advance.

"So, from now on we can only rely on our tacit understanding." He winked.

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Guardiola stood up from his seat. Bruno's performance in the last fifteen minutes of the game made him smell danger and he could no longer sit comfortably in the coaching seat.

"We were a little lax in defence!" he complained to his assistant coach Arteta.

Then he stood up and yelled at the players on the field: "Focus! Shrink the defense! Don't give them that opportunity!!"

When Guardiola yelled like this, Bruno was dribbling the ball on the court. He dribbled diagonally into the penalty area, attracting Fernandinho and Mkhitaryan. Finally, he successfully broke out of the double-team, but there was no ball at his feet, and the football was not intercepted by Manchester City players. Instead, Bruno secretly knocked the ball with his heel while sprinting to Kante who was cutting in from behind.

Kante dribbled the ball into the penalty area from the gap, but was knocked to the ground by Kompany as soon as he entered the penalty area.

More than 2,000 Manchester United fans in the stands booed loudly: "Foul!!"

Manchester United players also raised their hands to indicate that Kompany had committed a foul and they should be awarded a penalty.

The Manchester United players and coaches on the bench also rushed out from their seats and asked the referee Martin Atkinson for a penalty.

But the referee Martin Atkinson simply signaled that the game should continue and asked Kante to get up from the ground without wasting time.

"Referee Martin Atkinson didn't award a penalty!"

………………

Kompany passed the ball forward with a long foot, and Manchester City immediately launched an attack, but the TV broadcast did not even have time to replay the controversial shot.

When Kante saw that the referee did not blew the whistle, he jumped up from the ground in anger and rushed towards the referee Martin Atkinson, stopping him and questioning him.

Instead of earning his team a penalty, his actions earned him a yellow card for being disrespectful to referee Martin Atkinson.

Kante's opening remark was "Fuck you", and you can imagine the result.

It's a good thing he didn't get sent off.

Bruno pulled him away and pushed him, telling him to return to defense quickly and not to get entangled with the referee Martin Atkinson.

Although Bruno did not intend to dwell on this penalty, the fact that it was not awarded still had a significant impact on the team.

Mourinho continued to roar on the sidelines and was warned by the fourth official.

Commentators from all over the world also expressed their opinions.

"I thought it was just a clear penalty..."

"Kompany's action was not obvious, and it is very likely that Kante took the initiative to seek a penalty..."

"At such a sensitive moment, referee Martin Atkinson will not give a penalty casually!"

The debate over whether this was a penalty overshadowed the attention paid to Bruno's heel pass while dribbling.

Even Guardiola focused his attention on the penalty kick. He gave a thumbs up to the referee Martin Atkinson off the court, believing that there was no problem with his decision. At the same time, he did not forget to make a face at Mourinho, which made Mourinho so angry that he kicked the mineral water bottle not far in front of him.

Looking at Mourinho's gnashing teeth, it was obvious that he mistook the mineral water bottle for Guardiola.