Chapter 438: Dream Start
The game restarted, and with Manchester City trailing, they launched a fierce counterattack, hoping to quickly equalize or even surpass Manchester United in front of their home crowd. Just a minute into the half, Sterling received the ball on the left wing and tried a through ball to De Bruyne, but United's goalkeeper De Gea decisively rushed out and grabbed the ball, hugging it tightly.
City players continued to press aggressively in the front, but De Gea launched a long ball to the right wing. Rashford dropped back to the right, won the initial header, controlled the ball, and quickly passed it back to Kante to reorganize the attack.
Kante passed to Carrick, the team captain on the field, who then chipped the ball to the right wing aiming for Gundogan. The German midfielder retreated to receive the ball and, under pressure from Kolarov, headed it back to Blind. Blind controlled the ball, saw Rashford raising his hand to signal for it, and sent the ball over.
Rashford received it with his back to the goal, with City's defensive midfielder Fernandinho on him, and chose to lay the ball off to Carrick. As Rashford dropped back, Carrick made a quick diagonal run behind him, received the ball back from Rashford with a neat backheel flick, forming a beautiful one-two combination.
...
Carrick quickly dribbled past Fernandinho, advancing straight into City's 30-meter zone. Otamendi came to defend, but Carrick's speed and determination got the better of him. He charged into the penalty area, suddenly stopped, and cut inside, squeezing between Otamendi and the retreating Yaya Toure, making his way along the penalty area edge towards the left.
Kompany moved to cover the penalty spot, creating a pincer movement with Yaya Toure to trap Carrick. But Carrick was prepared; he passed the ball to the left as soon as Kompany moved away.
Bruno was already in position on the left side of the box. He saw the pass coming and sprinted to meet it. Facing goalkeeper Bravo, Bruno feinted a shot to the near post with his right foot, tricking Bravo. He then steadied himself and chipped the ball with his left foot over Bravo's head, sending it into the far corner of the net.
2:0!
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!!!"
"Just three minutes in, Bruno scores again, making it a brace!"
"Bruno capitalizes on Carrick's brilliant setup. He coolly finishes with a chip over Bravo, making it 2:0 for Manchester United!"
...
After scoring, Bruno ran to embrace Carrick, the mastermind behind the assist. Turning around, they received congratulations from their teammates. Bruno knew the goal owed much to Carrick, who navigated through Kompany, Otamendi, and Yaya Toure to set him up perfectly. While the shot itself wasn't easy—Bravo had the angles covered—Bruno's feint did the trick.
However, Bruno's next words surprised everyone.
"We didn't manage our opening blitz, but now's a good time to go on the offensive. Let's push for another goal!"
His teammates were momentarily stunned; they hadn't expected Bruno to still be thinking about attacking with a two-goal lead. Nevertheless, they quickly agreed and prepared to push forward.
...
"Manchester City on the attack."
"Sterling moves to the left, receives the ball from De Bruyne. Sterling passes to Sane, who returns it to him."
"Sterling at the edge of the box, cuts past Blind, sends a through ball to the byline."
"Sane gets to the ball, crosses to the front of the goal."
"Dangerous!"
"De Gea rushes out, collects the ball before Aguero can reach it."
"This City attack was very threatening, with Sterling switching to the left, surprising United's defense."
"City need to create more such threats from the wings."
...
"United counterattack, long ball to the edge of City's box."
"Kompany clears it, but it doesn't go far, still in City's half."
"Fellaini controls it, passes to Darmian."
"Darmian moves forward, chips it to the left wing to Bruno."
"Bruno controls it, Zabaleta closes in immediately to prevent easy control."
"Bruno moves back, suddenly turns and passes across to the center."
"Carrick receives, passes to the right."
"Gundogan, unmarked, controls the ball, cuts inside past Kolarov, left-footed shot!"
"It's in!!!!!!!"
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!"
"Twenty-sixth minute, Gundogan cuts in from the right and scores, 3:0!"
"Oh my god, United are on fire today! Their attacks are lethal. Both wings are posing threats with Bruno and Gundogan, and Rashford and Carrick are excelling in the center."
"This is an unbelievable result."
"Pre-match, everyone thought City had the advantage at home, while United would struggle at Etihad. But United have shocked everyone, scoring three in the first half-hour."
"This is a devastating blow to City."
"City fans are booing, clearly unhappy with the team's performance. But this is football!"
"Just like five years ago at Old Trafford when City won 6:1, now United are giving City a hard punch at Etihad."
...
The match was going smoothly, almost unbelievably so.
Bruno finally understood the saying that in professional football, a match's outcome is often decided the moment the players step onto the field.
City hadn't been performing at their best this season, but their quality remained, comparable to United. United hadn't expected such dominance at Etihad; their initial plan was simply to secure a win.
The planned aggressive start didn't work as City pressed early, making Bruno and his teammates worry initially. But then things turned around dramatically. Mistakes by City—Yaya Toure's foul leading to a free kick goal, Carrick's brilliant run and pass to an unmarked Bruno, and the defense allowing Gundogan's goal—changed the game.
Bruno sensed City's anxiety; they were rattled. Playing at home, with a pre-match promise to defeat United, trailing 0:3 was humiliating.
Anxiety leads to mistakes, and mistakes against a team like United can be fatal.
...
After conceding three, City seemed to regain composure.
Guardiola furiously directed his team to stay calm, making tactical adjustments, pulling Sane back to midfield to strengthen possession. City slowly regained their rhythm, settling into their familiar passing game.
United, leading by three, began to sit back, ceding possession to City and focusing on defense around their 30-meter zone. Perhaps shaken by United's earlier onslaught or simply not in their best form, City struggled to create real opportunities, mostly keeping possession around midfield.
From the 30th minute on, City rarely penetrated United's defense, and United didn't press for more, making the game somewhat dull. But after the frantic opening exchanges and United's three goals, every heart on the field and in the stands was far from calm.
(End of Chapter)
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