Chapter 760: Farewell to 2019
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLL!!!!!!"
"Oh my God! My God!"
"Bruno! It's Bruno again! Just three minutes into the match, Bruno cuts in from the left, strikes with his right foot, and gives Manchester United an early lead against Newcastle!"
"Three minutes, one goal—Bruno puts United ahead at home. Newcastle's defenders just can't stop him!"
"Bruno looks incredibly sharp tonight; he's brimming with energy."
"That's Bruno's 21st Premier League goal of the season, cementing his place as the league's top scorer!"
"It's also his 39th Premier League goal in 2019, and the 139th league goal of his career. With this, Bruno overtakes his teammate Harry Kane (138 goals) to climb to 13th on the Premier League's all-time scorers list. Ahead of him is Robin van Persie, the former Manchester United and Arsenal star, with 144 goals. Bruno is just five goals away from surpassing him—it's only a matter of time!"
"In fact, further ahead, Teddy Sheringham (146 goals), Les Ferdinand (149 goals), and Michael Owen (150 goals) could all be overtaken by Bruno before the season ends. At that point, Bruno would break into the Premier League's top ten scorers of all time!"
...
On December 26, 2019, at 5:33 PM local time, Manchester United hosted Newcastle at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium for their 19th Premier League match of the season.
Just three minutes into the game, Bruno Fernandes scored the opening goal for Manchester United, igniting the fervor of the 70,000+ fans in attendance. The stadium erupted with chants of his name as his teammates rushed to celebrate the goal.
Scoring so early demonstrated Bruno's exceptional form. On the sidelines, manager José Mourinho couldn't contain his excitement, gesturing animatedly. Mourinho had long realized that when Bruno is in form, United is unstoppable—and tonight was proving him right.
After Bruno's opener, United maintained their attacking momentum. Despite Newcastle's defensive efforts, they lasted only another 15 minutes.
In the 18th minute, Bruno sent the ball back to João Cancelo, who switched play with a long pass. Luke Shaw then assisted Kylian Mbappé, who netted United's second goal. 2–0.
Conceding two quick goals shattered Newcastle's morale. Sixteen minutes later, Harry Kane provided an assist for Marcus Rashford, who scored from inside the penalty area to extend the lead. 3–0.
...
With a three-goal lead at halftime, Manchester United was riding high.
During the break, Mourinho heaped praise on his players, urging them to keep up the momentum and secure a resounding victory at home.
The competition between United and Liverpool this season was incredibly fierce—bordering on brutal.
After 18 matches, Liverpool had achieved 17 wins and 1 loss, scoring 44 goals and conceding just 15, with 51 points atop the league table.
United, despite being unbeaten, had played one game fewer, with 15 wins and 2 draws. They had scored 50 goals but conceded 19, earning 47 points—4 points behind Liverpool.
Even if United won their postponed match, they would still trail Liverpool by 1 point. With both teams performing at such a high level, a tie on points by season's end wasn't out of the question, making goal difference a potential tiebreaker in the title race.
Second Half
Newcastle's defensive resilience lasted only 14 minutes into the second half.
In the 59th minute, İlkay Gündoğan's chipped through ball found Bruno, who controlled it with his chest and unleashed a left-footed volley into the net. 4–0.
The stadium exploded with cheers as fans chanted Bruno's name, celebrating his brace.
...
With a four-goal lead during the hectic festive schedule, most teams would opt to slow down and conserve energy.
But in the 67th minute, just as everyone thought United might ease off, Bruno found space in the middle, surged forward, and unleashed a powerful strike from outside the box to complete his hat trick. 5–0.
Newcastle was utterly demoralized, their defense in shambles. Bruno's hat trick showcased his incredible form, leaving fans in awe.
In the 70th minute, Mourinho substituted Juan Mata for Bruno. The entire stadium rose to its feet, giving Bruno a thunderous ovation as he left the pitch.
Even with Bruno off the field, United's relentless attack showed no signs of abating.
In the 78th minute, Gündoğan set up Harry Kane for a goal, extending the lead further.
Five minutes later, Kane struck again with a close-range header, this time assisted by Cancelo from the right flank.
...
Even in the 90th minute, Manchester United continued attacking. Harry Kane headed the ball back to the edge of the penalty area, where İlkay Gündoğan unleashed a powerful strike to score United's eighth goal of the night.
As the final whistle blew, the entire stadium erupted into celebration! 8–0!
This match marked one of the most dominant performances in this season's Premier League and was easily Manchester United's most fluid match of the campaign.
It was also the third time since Bruno joined United that the team scored eight goals in a single Premier League game. In the 2017–2018 season, they thrashed Stoke City 8–0 away and later crushed Newcastle 8–1 at home.
Newcastle became the unluckiest team in this matchup, enduring two eight-goal defeats against Manchester United.
Surprisingly, while many teams struggle during the intense Christmas schedule, Manchester United showcased incredible form, thriving rather than faltering.
At the post-match press conference, José Mourinho boldly stated that his team was in outstanding shape, confident in their ability to win every game and defeat any opponent, no matter who they were.
Regarding Bruno, who had already scored 23 league goals and registered 11 assists by the halfway mark of the season, Mourinho couldn't find the words to express his admiration:
"I've run out of superlatives to describe Bruno. Any praise feels inadequate in the face of his extraordinary performances. I firmly believe he's the best attacking player in world football today—without question!"
...
Manchester United's 8–0 demolition of Newcastle sent shockwaves through English football. Even more stunning was Bruno's hat trick, marking the 10th hat trick of his Premier League career since joining United.
Historically, only Alan Shearer and Sergio Agüero have more Premier League hat tricks, each with 11. Bruno is now just one hat trick away from equaling their record.
Remarkably, this was Bruno's first hat trick of the season in the Premier League. Most of his matches featured either a single goal or consistent contributions, rather than multiple strikes.
This season, Bruno had played in 18 Premier League matches, scoring in 16 of them, with 10 games producing just a single goal.
It was his steady scoring that allowed him to reach 23 league goals in just 18 rounds, a phenomenal pace.
Many fans began speculating that Bruno might break his own Premier League single-season scoring record, surpassing 40 goals yet again, perhaps even exceeding that milestone.
...
While United celebrated their emphatic win, Liverpool kept up the pressure with an impressive 4–0 victory over Leicester City in their subsequent match.
It wasn't that Leicester were weak—on the contrary, they had secured 12 wins, 3 draws, and 3 losses in their first 18 games, sitting third in the league, ahead of Guardiola's Manchester City.
However, the result meant Leicester's star striker Jamie Vardy failed to score, leaving him on 17 goals. Bruno thus maintained, and even widened, his lead atop the Premier League scoring chart, with a commanding 6-goal advantage.
Buoyed by their 8-goal Boxing Day win, Manchester United's spirits were sky-high.
Two days later, the team faced Burnley in Round 20 of the Premier League.
With only 50 hours between matches, it was impossible for players to fully recover, prompting Mourinho to make significant rotations. However, Bruno retained his spot in the starting lineup.
In the 10th minute, Bruno connected with Diogo Dalot's pass on the right wing and scored United's opener, giving the team an early lead.
This marked Bruno's 42nd league goal of 2019, setting a new personal record since joining United. The only year he scored more in a calendar year was 2016, with 45 league goals across stints at United and Udinese.
In the 36th minute, Jesse Lingard assisted Mason Greenwood, who doubled the score for United with a clinical finish.
After the break, Bruno remained lively on the pitch.
In the 60th minute, Scott McTominay replaced Greenwood as the team's striker. The squad rallied around the Scottish forward, determined to create a scoring opportunity for him.
Finally, in the 75th minute, Bruno orchestrated an attack that ended with Juan Mata assisting McTominay for a goal, sealing a 3–0 victory for United.
With this result, Bruno concluded his duties for 2019.
In 2019, Bruno played 56 matches for Manchester United across all competitions, scoring 67 goals and providing 37 assists. He also represented Portugal in 8 matches, netting 8 goals and assisting 9 times.
In total, Bruno played 64 matches in 2019, scoring 75 goals and recording 46 assists, directly contributing to 121 goals in a single calendar year.
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