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

Chapter 799 The Battle between Two Kings

August 8, 15: p.m.

Cristiano Ronaldo stood in the center circle of Lisbon's Stadium of Light, waiting for kick-off.

This is the final of the quarter-finals of this season's Champions League, a world-renowned focus battle, with the Zebras Juventus facing the Red Devils Manchester United.

After the tragedy between Barcelona and Bayern Munich the night before, both Juventus and Manchester United attached great importance to this game.

Ronaldo himself also attaches great importance to it because he!

In this game, Ronaldo and Higuain partnered as double strikers, while Bruno played as attacking midfielder. Therefore, when Juventus kicked off, Bruno's position was very close to Ronaldo.

Before the game, the two shook hands politely in the player tunnel and chatted for a while.

But now, when Ronaldo looked at Bruno again, his eyes were full of provocation and competition.

Bruno was equally rude to him.

The look in the two men's eyes was full of sparks, and the entire Lisbon Stadium was filled with a strong smell of gunpowder.

This is a war between the two kings of world football today!

To the disappointment of local Portuguese fans, due to the epidemic, they could not enter the stadium to watch the game, and could only watch this duel between the two Portuguese football kings through TV broadcast.

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"The game is about to start!"

"The referee for this match is the Dutch referee, Danny Markel."

"When guessing the side before the game, Manchester United's captain Bruno beat Juventus's on-field captain Bonucci, and they won the right to choose the side, so Juventus got the right to serve."

"Both teams have relatively complete lineups for this match. Juventus has sent out most of their main players, and Manchester United has also basically sent out all their main players. Both sides attach great importance to this match."

"The referee Markelle blew the whistle to start the game. Juventus took the lead and Manchester United took the initiative to press forward."

"With continuous passing, the Red Devils looked very proactive in their tactics at the start of the game."

"Juventus' pass was intercepted and Manchester United launched a counterattack on the spot, passing the ball to the left."

"Luke Shaw takes the ball, follows up and shoots a long shot..."

"Oops, too impatient! Luke Shaw's shot was still a little far from the goal. It was a bit too hasty. The most important thing for Manchester United to do at this time is to stay calm."

……

"It was still a United attack, Cancelo crossed from the right."

"The ball went to the left, Bruno... made a great stop... and passed it into the penalty area..."

"Harry Kane failed to stop the ball and was double-teamed by Bonucci and De Ligt."

"Juventus started the game very steadily."

……

"The ball was still in United's hands and they planned another attack."

"Bentancur successfully intercepted the ball, Juventus launched a counterattack on the spot and passed it to Higuain."

"Higuain got the ball in the penalty area and volleyed it directly, hitting Maguire and going out of bounds. Maguire's block was very accurate this time."

"Juventus had a corner opportunity."

………………

Pjanic stood in the corner area on the right, gently placed the football, and then slowly backed away.

Manchester United coach Mourinho seemed very concerned on the sidelines and kept calling on the players on the field to pay attention.

Bruno was left in the frontcourt, ready to launch a counterattack at any time.

When Pjanic quickly took a corner kick, the penalty area immediately became chaotic.

Juventus players were trying hard to get rid of the defense of Manchester United players, while Manchester United players were entangled with their targets as if they were facing a formidable enemy, especially the most threatening header experts such as Bonucci and De Ligt.

But in this chaos, a black and white figure suddenly emerged from the crowd and leaped high from the middle.

Pjanic's corner kick came right in front of him, and he headed the ball from close range. The ball changed its trajectory in an instant and fell to the left side of the goal.

The ball was so close and came so suddenly that goalkeeper De Gea was completely out of reach.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"

"The ball is in!"

"In the fifth minute, Juventus took the lead in breaking Manchester United's goal, thanks to a header from Ronaldo!"

"It was amazing! Ronaldo found the best spot in the penalty area filled with tall players and scored with a header!"

"This was Juventus' first threatening attack in the game, and they scored against Manchester United with two shots."

"Let's review this goal again. Pjanic's corner kick confused many players. Manchester United's attention fell on tall players like Bonucci and De Ligt, but ignored Ronaldo."

"This was definitely an unnecessary mistake, because Ronaldo's header is world-famous for its threat, but Manchester United obviously missed someone."

………………

After scoring the goal, Ronaldo did not celebrate to show his respect for his old club Manchester United.

Bruno wiped his face in frustration.

The game was only five minutes old and he hadn't even broken a sweat, but the goal was broken, and it was broken by Ronaldo, which made him feel very bad.

Bruno has great respect for this Portugal national team and Manchester United senior, but that doesn't mean he is inferior to Ronaldo.

Standing at both ends of the field, they are opponents and he will do his best to help Manchester United win the game.

This conceded goal had nothing to do with him, because his task was to wait for opportunities to counterattack in the frontcourt. No one would blame him for conceding the goal, but he still felt unhappy.

Mourinho was also very excited on the sidelines and was very dissatisfied with the goal conceded. But soon, the madman immediately made adjustments, especially for the team's defense.

………………

After the game resumed, Juventus chose to press on and continued to attack Manchester United.

Ronaldo was particularly excited. After scoring a goal, he quickly got the ball on the left flank and faced three Manchester United defenders. He still chose to work alone, relying on his personal ability to dribble the ball and create a chance to shoot, shooting low from 26 meters away from the goal.

Not long after that, Higuain pulled to the right, attacked the space behind Luke Shaw, and passed the ball into the penalty area. Ronaldo headed the ball again in front of the goal, but this time it was confiscated by De Gea and failed to create a threat.

Just two minutes later, Ronaldo broke through the middle again and his shot from the edge of the penalty area was blocked out of the bottom line. Gipyjanic took a corner kick from the right, but Manchester United was prepared this time and Maguire cleared the ball with a header.

The ball was still in Juventus's hands. After reorganizing, Pjanic made a cross from the right, and Ronaldo volleyed from twelve meters in front of the goal in the penalty area, but it slipped past the goal again.

Juventus, who were playing like crazy, were almost omnipotent. Even Manchester United had to choose to temporarily avoid the attack and retreat to their own half to defend tenaciously.

The defense that Mourinho has trained for four years also showed its effectiveness at this critical moment. Apart from problems with left-back Luke Shaw, it was difficult for Juventus to gain any advantage over Manchester United.

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The midfield and backfield defended tightly, while the frontcourt actively looked for opportunities. On the one hand, it served as the team's first line of defense, and at the same time, it also put pressure on Juventus' midfield and backfield.

Bruno was running as frequently as ever. He was not worried at all about conceding goals because this was part of Manchester United's pre-match plan. The coaching staff had already made sufficient plans for conceding the first goal, including how to play after conceding two goals.

With a plan, he felt more confident. Bruno knew that all he needed to do next was to wait patiently.

As long as Manchester United can defend, Juventus will reveal its flaws sooner or later.

Beckenbauer once said that on a football field, the strongest point is often also the weakest point.

When Ronaldo performed almost omnipotently and put on a one-man show on the court, Juventus' overall offensive means still seemed too monotonous, almost all of them were targeting Ronaldo.

Mourinho also realized this problem and immediately took targeted defensive measures.

C Ronaldo was concentrating on how to create threats. Many times he even chose to shoot by himself instead of observing his teammates. This not only made Manchester United's defense easier, but also embarrassed Juventus' midfielders and forwards.

It is difficult to say whether it was because other Juventus players were in poor form or because they were affected by Ronaldo's activeness. In any case, on the court, all everyone saw was that Juventus' offense turned into Ronaldo's personal show.

However, Ronaldo's personal performances often end with hasty shots or blocked breakthroughs, which is quite unreasonable.

"Football is always a game of eleven people. One person cannot lead the entire team. Maybe Ronaldo ten years ago, or even five years ago, could do it, but Ronaldo is 35 years old now. Although he is in good shape, he has lost his former impact, so he needs to play more as a team." said Gary Lineker, the BBC commentator who covered the game.

………………

Bruno patiently looked for opportunities on the court.

When Juventus launched a massive attack after falling behind by one goal, the burden of Manchester United's attack almost fell on him.

He began to expand his scope of activities, and he integrated himself into the team as a whole. But at the same time, when the team needed his personal performance, whether it was breaking through, taking the ball, organizing or distributing the ball, he was able to do it with ease. , also showed its own advantages.

More than ten minutes after conceding the goal, Manchester United gradually stabilized their position and the team began to find a familiar feeling.

The double defensive midfielders Kante and Fred's interception was very powerful, and the two central defenders in the backcourt gradually adapted to Juventus's style of passing from the wing.

Ronaldo still got the ball frequently, but it was more of a personal performance and not much of a threat.