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

On the evening of March 3th, local time in the UK, at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final between Manchester United and Schalke 12 kicked off at home.

Schalke 2 was undoubtedly forced into a desperate situation due to the 3:04 loss at home in the first leg. If they want to turn the tables, they have no choice but to beat Manchester United away.

Tedesco, who led Schalke 04 to create miracles last season, suffered five consecutive defeats at the start of this season in the Bundesliga. The Miners have been struggling in the relegation zone and on the edge of it since the beginning of the season.

Now, the Bundesliga has played 25 rounds, and the Shakhtar Donetsk, with 23 points, is only ranked 14th in the Bundesliga, 4 points higher than the relegation zone, and the pressure to avoid relegation is still huge.

In the German media, rumors about Tedesco's imminent dismissal have long been rife.

The only reason Tedesco stayed in the coaching position was that Shakhtar performed well in the Champions League and advanced to the knockout stage.

It can be said that the Champions League is Tedesco's lifeline. If the Shakhtar Donetsk is eliminated by Manchester United, Tedesco, the hero of last season, may be fired at any time.

So in this game, Schalke 04 launched an attack on Manchester United from the very beginning, hoping to score a goal as soon as possible and equalize the total score.

Embolo was pushed to the front, with Konoplyanka, Bentaleb and Bugstätler behind him, and McKennie and Serdar as double defensive midfielders.

This style of play relies on Embolo's retreat to get the ball and organize the game, as well as other players' quick diagonal runs behind him.

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Manchester United had also made sufficient preparations for this game, and Mourinho had even thought of Schalke 04's opening attack. So at the beginning of the game, when Schalke 04 launched a massive attack on Manchester United, the Red Devils were more defensive.

In this game, Mourinho continued to use the double defensive midfielder combination of Gundogan and Kante, Bruno appeared in the attacking midfielder position, and the forward trident was replaced by Mbappe, Harry Kane and Mahrez.

Kante and Gundogan did not disappoint Mourinho, and they blocked Schalke 04's attack after the start of the game. The miners could not break through Manchester United's defense and could only shoot from the perimeter.

In the first ten minutes, Schalke 04 had a total of three or four long-range shooting opportunities, shot by Serdar, Embolo and Bentaleb respectively, but none of them created a threat, and all three shots missed the goal.

Especially Bentaleb's kick in the eighth minute flew directly into the stands.

After withstanding Schalke 04's initial attack, Manchester United gradually stabilized their position and began to plan a counterattack.

After all, Manchester United is playing at home today. Although their victory in the first leg away from home has laid a huge advantage for advancement, if possible, they will not give up the game at home.

Especially since they lost to Arsenal three days ago, ending the team's 69-game unbeaten streak in the Premier League. If they lose again today, it will be two consecutive defeats in all competitions.

This is a situation that Mourinho, Manchester United and even Manchester United fans around the world do not want to see.

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At the beginning of the game, Schalke 04 players launched a crazy attack on Manchester United and frequently created killing opportunities. Goalkeeper De Gea became the busiest player on the back line.

But with Gundogan, Kante and Bruno guarding the front of the penalty area, Schalke 04 could only threaten through long-range shots. Although Manchester United's defense and De Gea did not make any mistakes, it still gave people a precarious feeling.

Especially when Schalke 04 launched an attack from the left, Konoplyanka lofted the ball into the penalty area, De Gea quickly left the goal and grabbed the ball from mid-air before Bentaleb, making everyone break out in a cold sweat.

Afterwards, De Gea had no extra time to think and kicked the ball forward. He wanted to pass it directly to Mbappe on the left, but at this time, Mbappe was still in his own half and could not catch up. The ball went out of bounds and became Schalke 04's out-of-bounds ball.

This was a mistake by Manchester United. De Gea made a mistake in a hurry. Although no damage was caused, it also caused the team to lose possession of the ball.

The Spanish goalkeeper raised his left hand high and apologized to all his teammates.

Bruno clapped his hands vigorously, encouraging his teammates not to be discouraged. As long as they can hold on through this period, the team will be stable!

Everyone at Manchester United was mentally prepared for this situation. Mourinho had said before the game that Schalke 04 was likely to attack. This period of time could be ten minutes, fifteen minutes, or even longer, twenty minutes.

Tedesco had been standing on the sidelines since the start of the game. When he saw De Gea kick the ball out of bounds, he couldn't help but applaud and shouted, "Great! That's how we should do it. Keep putting pressure on them!"

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After Tedesco finished shouting, he turned around and walked towards the visiting team's coaching bench.

The game strategy he formulated was to attack at the beginning, the purpose of which was to disrupt Manchester United's rhythm.

Manchester United's home stadium is the most terrifying devil's home stadium in European football in the past three years. It has never been breached. Although the stadium has changed from the former Theatre of Dreams Old Trafford to the current Cardiff Millennium Stadium, the color of the devil's home stadium has not faded at all.

If Schalke 04 wants to create a miracle in the Champions League and complete a reversal away from home, they cannot play according to Manchester United's rhythm, otherwise they will have no chance.

"Mourinho obviously guessed that we would attack, so even though they were playing at home, they had a relatively stable start." Assistant coach Peter Perchtold said to Tedesco, holding a small notebook full of notes. "The midfield controlled by Gundogan, Kante and Bruno is still quite outstanding. This midfield is definitely one of the top in Europe."

Tedesco kept nodding his head. He also observed that Manchester United's midfield was very stable and solid.

"Then we can only go to the side and then turn back to the middle from the side," said Tedesco.

"That's right," Peter Perchtold agreed.

Tedesco looked at another assistant, Joseph Eichkorn, and asked, "Joseph, it's almost ten minutes. Do you think you can continue?"

"I think I can hold out for another five minutes, maybe ten," Eshkorn said.

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Manchester United and Schalke 04 are in a similar situation. Both teams played a tough match three days ago. The Red Devils went to the Emirates Stadium to challenge Arsenal, while Schalke 04 went to Werder Bremen.

Both teams suffered defeats. Manchester United was completely defeated 0:2, ending their 69-game unbeaten streak; while Schalke 04 suffered a crushing defeat 2:4, getting only 25 points in 23 rounds and possibly falling into the relegation zone at any time, which also pushed Tedesco into a desperate situation.

German media are saying that if Tedesco cannot beat Manchester United away from home today and advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, then this game against Manchester United will be his last game as coach of the Shakhtar Donetsk.

Tedesco nodded, turned around and continued to look at the court.

In the targeted tactics he arranged before the game, the two most threatening players for Manchester United were Harry Kane and Bruno.

Harry Kane is the captain and main striker of the England national team and one of the top shooters in the world today. What's more terrifying is that Harry Kane is also very flexible and has good footwork. His tactical role in the front court is becoming more and more obvious, especially the cooperation between him, Bruno, and his striker partners Rashford and Mbappe, which is becoming more and more tacit.

Not to mention Bruno, the number one player in world football, the man who ended the Melo era, he is also Manchester United's most threatening attacker, with outstanding personal abilities and is very comprehensive. He can play in any position in the frontcourt and can create deadly threats from any angle.

Although Tedesco said before the game that he would not deploy any defensive tactics against Bruno, in fact, everyone knows how this is possible.

How to defend against Manchester United’s attack without defending Bruno?

The double defensive midfielders McKennie and Serdar, as well as Bentaleb who can also play as a defensive midfielder, these three players are the weapons Tedesco uses to limit Bruno.

Judging from the start of the game, the three of them did a good job and did not give Bruno any chance.

"If we keep playing like this, we can at least get a draw!" Tedesco said confidently.

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Being suppressed in the half, Manchester United looked a bit embarrassed. Bruno had to return to the half to support and even help his teammates defend.

During a defensive move, Bugstadler's dribbling was intercepted. Bruno quickly caught up with the ball, avoided Bugstadler's counterattack, and dribbled horizontally to the middle.

McKennie was very close and came over to defend immediately.

Bruno has been practicing whack-a-mole in a systematic simulated training ground for the past six years or so. The purpose is to imitate defenders who suddenly appear on the court. So when he saw McKennie approaching, he took the opportunity to move to the middle and forcibly got rid of McKennie.

After shaking off two defenders, Bruno suddenly changed direction and dribbled the ball towards the goal.

But at this time, Schalke 04's other midfielder Serdar, as well as central defender Stanbury and McKennie who had just been thrown away by him, quickly surrounded him and surrounded him in the middle.

This made Bruno feel like he was caught in a jar, but he quickly found a way to pass the ball and immediately passed it back to the left. Unfortunately, Harry Kane did not understand his intention and moved to the side in time to receive Bruno's pass. Van Hoomoeth quickly returned to defense and kicked the ball away.

Although Manchester United's attack failed to create a threat, Bruno's continuous dribbling breakthroughs still won warm applause from the stands. Manchester United fans were obviously very satisfied with his performance.