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

Chapter 817 Old Enemy

Manchester United played against Ajax away, which has become quite common in recent seasons. As early as Bruno's first season with Manchester United, Manchester United faced Ajax in the European war. Bruno scored 2 goals and assisted 1 in the Europa League final, leading Manchester United to a 4-0 victory over Ajax and win the first Europa League title in team history, making Manchester United the fifth team to win the three major European cups.

A year later, in the 2018-2019 season, Manchester United faced Ajax again, but the venue was changed to the Champions League semi-finals. Ajax, who advanced to the semi-finals as a dark horse, was eager to continue their magical journey. After defeating Real Madrid and Juventus, they defeated Manchester United again and entered the Champions League final.

But after two rounds of fierce battle, Manchester United still had the last laugh. With the help of Bruno's two goals and one assist in the two rounds, they eliminated Ajax with a total score of 2:1, ending the opponent's dream of going all the way.

In the subsequent Champions League final, Manchester United defeated Liverpool 5:3 in a goal-scoring derby in the Champions League, completing the feat of defending the Champions League and becoming the top club in England.

Last season, the two teams met for the third time, this time in the Champions League group stage. Manchester United beat their opponents 3-0 away and 2-1 at home. Ajax was eliminated to the Europa League and failed to continue to perform in the Champions League.

It can be said that Manchester United has become Ajax's biggest victim in the European arena.

This is the third consecutive year that the two sides have met in the Champions League, and it is also the fourth year in the past five years. Ajax certainly hopes to get revenge.

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As it was an away game, Manchester United behaved more restrainedly. Head coach Mourinho said that a draw would be a satisfactory result for the team.

This is mainly because during the physical examination on the eve of the game, Gundogan was found to be infected with the new coronavirus and was forced to be quarantined, which caused some problems in Manchester United's lineup. Mourinho finally decided to put young player Bellingham in the starting lineup.

Bruno also said in an interview with the media that it is not easy to play Ajax away.

"There are many players I am familiar with in this team, such as my former teammate Blind, Onana, Gravenberch and Lisandro, they are all very strong players..."

Bruno listed many of Ajax's stars and believed that this team is very competitive and should not be underestimated.

"Facing a team like this, I think we have to be extremely careful."

Compared with Manchester United's restraint, Ajax appears to be relatively high-profile, after all, they are playing at home.

Ajax has lost to Manchester United five times in the past four years, so they definitely want to win, and they also want to compete for the first place in the group. Manchester United is their biggest rival for the first place in the group, so Ajax players have also shown their determination to win.

Tadic will start as the main player in this game. The day before the game, he said in an interview with the Dutch media that he is not unfamiliar with Premier League teams, especially Manchester United, because he played for Southampton for four years.

The Serbian striker even threatened that he would score a goal in the game.

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Like all media, the Dutch media deliberately set a trap for Tadic when interviewing him, asking him what he thought about Bruno winning the FIFA World Player of the Year and the European Golden Ball.

Maybe it was a psychological warfare, or maybe Bruno mentioned many people in the previous interview, but not his name, so Tadic said bluntly: "If I were to choose, Bruno's name would definitely not appear in the top five attackers in the world, and even the top ten would be a bit of a stretch."

The media reporters originally just wanted him to step on Bruno, but they didn't expect Tadic to directly fire the shot. This made them excited, and they all chased Tadic to ask questions.

The Serbian striker also answered many pointed questions honestly and bluntly.

For example, he believes that defending Manchester United is not just about keeping an eye on Bruno, because Bruno is not the most difficult player to defend at Manchester United.

He also believes that even without Bruno, Manchester United will still be the most competitive team in Europe.

"In fact, Bruno is not as important as you think."

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When Manchester United arrived in Amsterdam, the Dutch media quickly exaggerated Tadic's words and reported them to Bruno, as if they were eager to create chaos.

When Bruno was interviewed by them, he smiled and agreed with Tadic's words, thinking that he was indeed not the strongest attacker. As for Manchester United, Bruno agreed with Tadic's remarks even more.

"The help of everyone at Manchester United is crucial to my success today. Manchester United is still one of the strongest teams in Europe without me, but if I lose the platform of Manchester United, it will be difficult to achieve today's results."

"I think he is right. When defending Manchester United, we can't just focus on me, because we have a group of better players, such as Harry Kane, Mbappe, Rashford, and Gundogan. They are all very good players. Any team that only focuses on me and ignores others will definitely pay a painful price."

Bruno followed Tadic's words and did not give the media any chance to stir up trouble. Moreover, he looked smiling and in a very good mood throughout the whole process.

When the media asked him why he looked in such a good mood, Bruno said it was because he was very happy.

Bruno's Tai Chi push hands blocked the opponent's attack, using softness to overcome hardness without any loopholes. The media reporters found themselves like they were hitting cotton directly with their fists and could not exert any strength.

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"Sky TV, this is Sky TV."

"Dear viewers, we are now at the Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We are about to broadcast a live broadcast of a world-renowned match in the first round of the Champions League group stage this season. It is between Ajax and Manchester United."

“It will undoubtedly be a star-studded battle between dragons and tigers.”

"The guest commentators for this match are also very impressive, including Dutch striker Robin van Persie, who once played for Premier League giants Arsenal and Manchester United, former Dutch international Rafael van der Vaart, and former Ajax legend Davids."

"What do you three think of this game?"

"I think whether or not Ten Hag can keep Bruno at bay will be the focus of his defense. If Bruno is frozen, Manchester United's offense will be greatly reduced and Ajax will have a chance," Davis analyzed.

"I agree with that statement. Bruno recently scored 500 goals in his career, which is a great achievement, especially so soon after his 26th birthday. Because even Yosi, who is as good as he was, scored his 28th goal at the age of 500. This is enough to show how strong he is, not to mention the many championships he has won."

Van Persie was a striker during his playing career, so he obviously valued scoring goals the most. He also knew how difficult it was to score 26 goals at the age of 500, because as a top striker, he did not unlock 500 goals in his career until he retired.

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"I agree with Robin. Bruno's strength is unquestionable."

"Raphael, what do you think?"

After hearing the question, Van der Vaart nodded and said: "I agree with everyone. Bruno is indeed the most threatening player of Manchester United. Even if he doesn't look in ideal condition now, he is still quite scary."

"But I think Ajax is mentally prepared for this. You see, Tadic has been in very good form recently, and the psychological tactics before the game show that he is very motivated now."

"I just watched Ten Hag's starting lineup for this game again, 4-3-1-2. I think his intention is very clear, which is to use three defensive midfielders to lock Bruno down."

"As for the central defenders, the combination of Lisandro and Schuurs, one tall and one fast, is targeted. Now we have to see the specific process of the game, because football games cannot only be judged by the deployment of troops, but also by the details."

Everyone also agreed with Van der Vaart's analysis.

"And I think there is a very important point about Manchester United, Gundogan is not on the roster," Van der Vaart reminded.

"Yes, I heard he had Covid and Mourinho kept him in Manchester."

"So, Manchester United's midfield will definitely be affected."

"This is indeed a bit unexpected, because in the league last weekend, Mourinho arranged for Gundogan to rest, obviously to let him concentrate on the Champions League in the middle of the week, but he was found to be infected with the new crown afterwards, which must have disrupted Mourinho's plan."

"Yes, that's right, so it depends on whether Ten Hag can seize the opportunity well, because from the past few games, Bellingham's performance is still too immature and he does not have the strength to replace Gundogan for the time being, so Manchester United tried to introduce Real Madrid's midfielder Casemiro before, but failed."

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Following the commentator's pre-match analysis, the live broadcast of the game switched to the player tunnel of the Cruyff Arena.

It can be clearly seen on the screen that Bruno and Blind are chatting enthusiastically, with their arms around each other's shoulders, and they seem to have a very good relationship.

"They played together at Manchester United for two seasons and are very good friends. Tonight Blind played as a defensive midfielder, Bruno played against Blind, and the brothers killed each other, which was quite interesting to watch."

Soon, under the organization of the referee, players from both teams lined up and walked out of the player tunnel.

However, the Cruyff Arena was very quiet because the game was still played in an empty stadium and there were no fans watching the game.