Chapter 754: Back to the Euros
With Portugal having already secured qualification for next summer's European Championship, and with their upcoming opponents being relatively weak, Bruno Fernandes and Fernando Santos agreed that Bruno would not join the national team for this international break. This allowed Bruno to get much-needed rest while giving Santos a chance to evaluate new players.
Even without their midfield maestro, Portugal's opponents—Lithuania and Luxembourg—were too outmatched to pose a challenge. Portugal thrashed Lithuania 6-0 at home and then secured a comfortable 2-0 away win over Luxembourg, finishing the group stage with a perfect record of eight wins.
As expected, all four Nations League A group winners finished in the top two of their respective European Championship qualifying groups, securing automatic qualification for the tournament. The remaining four spots for the finals would be contested through playoffs involving the ten third-placed teams and six best fourth-placed teams from the group stage.
According to the schedule, the playoffs were set for the international break in March of the following year. However, Bruno already knew that with the outbreak of the pandemic early next year, the playoffs would be postponed to October and November, with the European Championship itself being rescheduled to 2021.
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Premier League Returns – Manchester United vs. Sheffield United
Following the two-week international break, the Premier League resumed, with Manchester United facing this season's surprise package, Sheffield United. The newly promoted side had performed impressively, sitting sixth in the table after 12 matches with a record of 4 wins, 5 draws, and 3 losses, even ahead of Arsenal.
The Premier League standings this season were quite unusual. As the season approached the one-third mark, some familiar faces were absent from the top positions, replaced by unexpected contenders.
Arsenal: In their post-Wenger era, under Unai Emery, Arsenal had finished sixth in Emery's first season. Despite reaching the Europa League final, their performances were lackluster. In his second season, Emery's side continued to struggle, managing only 4 wins, 5 draws, and 3 losses in their first 12 matches, with a negative goal difference. They were seventh in the table, and Emery faced mounting pressure, with rumors of his sacking dominating the media.Tottenham Hotspur: Arsenal's North London rivals were also in crisis. After reaching the Champions League semifinals and finishing in the Premier League's top four last season, Spurs slumped this season, recording just 3 wins, 5 draws, and 4 losses to sit 14th. Although Spurs had avoided sacking Mauricio Pochettino, their Champions League performance—despite a humiliating 7-2 loss to Bayern—was enough to keep them in second place in their group and on track for the knockout stages.
While some teams faltered, others thrived:
Leicester City: Led by a resurgent Jamie Vardy, the Foxes were third in the table after 12 matches with an impressive 8 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses, ahead of Chelsea and Manchester City.Sheffield United: The Blades were sixth, level on points with Arsenal but ahead on goal difference, and close behind Chelsea and City.
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Match Recap: Sheffield United 3–3 Manchester United
At Bramall Lane, United had a poor start. Fatigue from the FIFA virus affected many players, and Sheffield United dominated with their aggressive play.
19th minute: Mousset muscled past Phil Jones on the right, cut into the box, and passed back to Lundstram, whose shot was blocked by De Gea's leg. Fleck pounced on the rebound, tapping it in from close range. Sheffield United 1–0 Manchester United.
United's attack failed to improve, while Sheffield continued to dominate physical duels. Shots from Norwood and Lundstram were blocked, and United managed only one attempt in the entire first half—their worst under Mourinho.
At halftime, Mourinho substituted Jesse Lingard for an underperforming Mbappé.
The change had little immediate effect, and Sheffield doubled their lead in the 52nd minute. Fleck passed to Mousset, who broke into the box and fired into the bottom-right corner. Sheffield United 2–0 Manchester United.
Facing a dire situation, Mourinho introduced Greenwood for Gündoğan and shifted to an all-out attacking setup with four forwards.
This gamble paid off as United began to rally:
72nd minute: Lingard's cross was cleared, but Bruno smashed a 15-yard shot into the far corner. Sheffield United 2–1 Manchester United.77th minute: Rashford's cross found Greenwood, who slid in to score from close range. Sheffield United 2–2 Manchester United.79th minute: Bruno passed to Luke Shaw, who cut the ball back for Rashford to calmly finish from 10 yards, completing the turnaround. Sheffield United 2–3 Manchester United.
In just seven minutes, United scored three goals to take the lead. Their spirits soared, and they relentlessly attacked Sheffield's goal, but they couldn't find a fourth.
Disaster struck in the 90th minute, when Sheffield equalized. Robinson's cross from the left found McBurnie, who controlled the ball with his thigh and volleyed past De Gea. United players appealed for handball, but VAR confirmed the goal.
This marked the first time since September 2014 that United conceded three goals to a newly promoted side.
The match ended 3–3, bringing United's 12-match winning streak at the start of the season, as well as their 14-match unbeaten run across seasons, to an end.
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