Chapter 753: Half the Glory
Bruno's brace leads Manchester United to a 2-1 comeback victory over Liverpool!
This news quickly spread across the football world, drawing attention and heated discussion among fans worldwide. Everyone was astonished by Manchester United's resilience. Despite conceding first, the Red Devils managed to withstand the pressure and score two goals to overturn their rivals.
However, this headline was soon eclipsed by another: the 2019 Ballon d'Or shortlist was announced!
On the afternoon of October 21, Central European Time, France Football, a magazine under L'Équipe, released the 30-man shortlist for the 2019 Ballon d'Or. Manchester United led all clubs with the most players selected. A remarkable ten players—Bruno Fernandes, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé, Marcus Rashford, İlkay Gündoğan, N'Golo Kanté, Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, Virgil van Dijk, and David de Gea—made the list. This accounted for one-third of the nominees, essentially comprising Manchester United's starting lineup.
The Premier League, which had monopolized the UEFA competition finals last season, emerged as the biggest winner in this list. Besides United's 10 players, Liverpool contributed five (Salah, Mané, Alexander-Arnold, Alisson, and Firmino), Manchester City added Kevin De Bruyne, and Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min also made the cut.
In addition, Eden Hazard, now at Real Madrid, was included thanks to his stellar performances with Chelsea last season.
Altogether, 18 Premier League players were on the list, accounting for 60% of the nominees. This further underscored the Premier League's dominance over the past year.
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Midweek: UEFA Competition – Manchester United vs. Atalanta
The midweek UEFA action saw Manchester United hosting Atalanta, who were at the bottom of their group.
Last season's Serie A dark horse had suffered two consecutive defeats in the group stage. After a 0-4 thrashing by Dinamo Zagreb in the opener, they lost 1-2 at home to Ajax in the second round.
During the match, Bruno reunited with a former teammate—Luis Muriel. The Colombian forward, who played alongside Bruno at Udinese, had since moved between clubs like Sampdoria, Sevilla, and Fiorentina before joining Atalanta this summer.
Muriel, though not a starting forward for Atalanta, had been performing well recently and earned a starting spot for this match.
At Old Trafford, Atalanta suffered another crushing defeat. Mbappé scored a hat trick, while Harry Kane added a brace, as United romped to a 5-1 victory over the Nerazzurri.
Although Bruno did not score, he orchestrated United's attack brilliantly, providing four assists.
With the group stage halfway through, Manchester United surged ahead in the standings with a five-point lead. Ajax and Dinamo Zagreb each held a 1-1-1 record, with Dinamo in second due to goal difference and Ajax in third.
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Weekend: Premier League Round 10 – Norwich vs. Manchester United
Manchester United traveled to Carrow Road to face newly promoted Norwich City in the 10th round of the Premier League.
In their last six encounters with Norwich, United had lost only once, winning the other five. Historically, the two teams had met 16 times in the Premier League, with United claiming 12 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses. At Carrow Road, United had won three of their last four visits. This was their 68th meeting overall, with United leading the series with 37 wins, 13 draws, and 17 losses.
Norwich was in dire straits, with just 2 wins, 1 draw, and 6 losses from their first nine games. Sitting 19th in the table, they had the most losses of any Premier League team.
At Carrow Road, United's dominance was evident from the start. They pinned the hosts back and dictated play.
21st Minute: Harry Kane capitalized on Todd Cantwell's poor clearance during a corner to fire home from 14 yards, giving United the lead.29th Minute: Ben Godfrey fouled Mbappé in the box. Bruno converted the penalty for his 13th league goal of the season, including his 5th from the spot.33rd Minute: Rashford latched onto Mbappé's diagonal pass and slotted home from 14 yards, extending the lead to 3-0.44th Minute: Cantwell handled Fred's shot in the box. Bruno stepped up and converted his second penalty of the match, bringing his tally to six spot-kicks for the season.
United entered halftime with a commanding 4-0 lead—their largest halftime margin of the season.
73rd Minute: Rashford's clever backheel assist set up Kane, who chipped the ball in from a tight angle to make it 5-0.88th Minute: Norwich salvaged some pride as Hernández capitalized on a McTominay turnover, driving into the box and firing a low shot past De Gea to make it 5-1.
The final score saw United secure a dominant 5-1 victory, extending their winning streak to 10 matches and keeping them atop the Premier League table.
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Midweek: EFL Cup Fourth Round – Chelsea vs. Manchester United
Manchester United traveled to Stamford Bridge for their EFL Cup fourth-round clash against Chelsea. Mourinho made significant rotations, leaving Bruno on the bench.
At Stamford Bridge, Rashford stole the show. He opened the scoring with a clinical penalty. Although Batshuayi equalized for Chelsea in the second half, Rashford restored United's lead with a stunning free kick.
United advanced to the quarterfinals of the EFL Cup.
The draw for the quarterfinals handed United a favorable matchup against League Two side Colchester United, currently ninth in their division.
This marked one of the most lopsided contests in League Cup history.
The League Cup includes all 92 professional teams from England's top four tiers—Premier League, Championship, League One, and League Two. In theory, the largest possible disparity in rankings would be between the Premier League leaders and the bottom-ranked League Two side. However, such a matchup is almost impossible, as lower-tier teams rarely progress past the early rounds.
Colchester's journey was already extraordinary. Despite a mediocre League Two campaign, where they ranked ninth after 16 matches, they had displayed remarkable resilience in the League Cup. They defeated League Two leaders Swindon in the first round, then eliminated Premier League sides Crystal Palace and Tottenham in penalty shootouts during the second and third rounds, respectively. In the fourth round, they overcame fellow League Two team Crawley Town with a 3-1 win.
However, their run was likely to end in the quarterfinals, as they faced the daunting challenge of beating Manchester United at Old Trafford—a near-impossible task.
After all, the two teams were separated by a staggering 75 places in the rankings!
The other three League Cup quarterfinals pairings were:
Aston Villa hosting LiverpoolManchester City away to League One side Oxford UnitedEverton hosting Leicester City
It was evident that the Manchester clubs were the luckiest teams in the draw, both facing significantly weaker opponents.
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November Begins: Premier League Match – Bournemouth vs. Manchester United
Manchester United faced Bournemouth away in their first match of November at the Vitality Stadium. It turned out to be a grueling battle.
With a midweek trip to Italy looming for their Champions League group stage clash against Atalanta, Mourinho rotated United's starting lineup once again.
Despite dominating the first half with waves of attacks, United failed to break down Bournemouth's defense. Instead, Bournemouth struck on the brink of halftime.
45th minute: Adam Smith delivered a cross from the right side of the box. Former United player Joshua King controlled it with his chest, lifted the ball over Diogo Dalot while back to goal, and unleashed a stunning volley into the net from the edge of the six-yard box. Bournemouth 1:0 Manchester United.
United's struggles continued early in the second half as Bournemouth displayed excellent form, creating several chances that threatened United's goal. If not for De Gea's heroics—denying efforts from Ryan Fraser, Joshua King, and Harry Wilson—United might have faced a heavy defeat.
As the saying goes, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Recognizing the danger, Mourinho made a triple substitution in the 60th minute, bringing on Bruno Fernandes, Harry Kane, and İlkay Gündoğan.
The changes turned the tide as United took control, pressing Bournemouth into their half.
82nd minute: Bruno's incisive diagonal pass split Bournemouth's defense, and Greenwood volleyed home from the right side of the six-yard box to level the score. Bournemouth 1:1 Manchester United.
83rd minute: Gündoğan set up Kane, who unleashed a thunderous strike from the edge of the box, beating Ramsdale and securing the win. Bournemouth 1:2 Manchester United.
In just two minutes, United scored twice to complete the comeback.
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November 6: Champions League Group Stage – Atalanta vs. Manchester United
Manchester United traveled to the Gewiss Stadium to face Atalanta in the fourth round of the Champions League group stage.
With a five-point lead over Ajax and Dinamo Zagreb, and the two teams playing each other this round, a win for United would guarantee qualification for the knockout stage with two games to spare.
United made a dream start:
6th minute: Harry Kane provided an assist, and Rashford fired a right-footed shot into the bottom-right corner from the center of the box. Atalanta 0:1 Manchester United.
Taking the lead, United pressed forward relentlessly, creating multiple chances:
29th minute: Bruno set up Rashford, whose shot from the center of the box was blocked by a defender.30th minute: Gündoğan's shot from the right side of the box, following a pass from Mahrez, went just over the crossbar.34th minute: Mahrez's effort from the center of the box was parried by Atalanta's keeper after Kane's pass.40th minute: Bruno's long-range shot was blocked by Atalanta's defense.
The pressure eventually paid off:
42nd minute: Josip Iličić handled the ball in the box, and Bruno calmly converted the penalty to make it 2:0.
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Perhaps the two-goal lead made United complacent, giving Atalanta an opening early in the second half.
48th minute: Gomes whipped in a cross from the flank, and Mario Pašalić's header found the bottom-right corner. Atalanta 1:2 Manchester United.
That turned out to be the final goal of the match, as neither side could capitalize on further chances. The match ended with a 2:1 victory for United, marking their fourth consecutive win in the group stage.
In the group's other match, Dinamo Zagreb drew 3:3 with Ajax. With this result, United led both teams by seven points, securing qualification for the knockout stage and clinching the top spot in the group with two matches remaining.
More impressively, United extended their Champions League unbeaten streak to 30 matches, a run that began with their 6:0 win over Qarabağ in the 2017–18 group stage. During this period, they had claimed two Champions League titles and another knockout stage berth.
While United dominated the group, the remaining three teams still had hopes of progressing. Even Atalanta, with four consecutive losses, could potentially qualify if they defeated both Ajax and Dinamo Zagreb in their final matches and United avoided complacency.
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November 9: Premier League Match – Manchester United vs. Brighton
Returning from Italy, United hosted Brighton at Old Trafford in Round 12 of the Premier League. This was the last match before the season's third international break.
Despite the midweek exertions, Mourinho fielded a full-strength squad against ninth-placed Brighton, who had shown their quality with a 3:0 win over Tottenham and a 3:2 victory over Everton earlier in the season.
17th minute: Bruno carried the ball through midfield, passed to Rashford on the left, and finished the return pass with a shot from 14 yards. The ball deflected off Stephens and into the net. Manchester United 1:0 Brighton.19th minute: Fred's free-kick delivery from the right found Maguire, who headed it down for Kane to prod home. A desperate clearance from Pröpper only directed the ball into his own net. Manchester United 2:0 Brighton.64th minute: Brighton pulled one back through Dunk's header from a Groß corner. Manchester United 2:1 Brighton.66th minute: Mbappé's left-wing effort was blocked, but Rashford pounced on the rebound to fire a precise shot into the top corner from 12 yards. Manchester United 3:1 Brighton.
Simultaneously, Liverpool defeated Manchester City 3:1 at Anfield, keeping the pressure on United with a three-point gap at the top of the table.
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