Chapter 801 – The Rise of the New King
Bruno's brilliant goal greatly lifted Manchester United's morale and passion. After a round of wild celebration, everyone began to play with more energy, launching a fierce counterattack against Juventus.
First, Bruno broke through from the middle, spotted an opening, and unleashed a powerful long-range shot from outside the penalty area.
López reacted swiftly, diving fast to push the ball away, narrowly averting a crisis.
But soon after, Manchester United took a corner. Harry Maguire's header from ten meters out went just slightly over the bar.
After two consecutive dangerous attacks, Manchester United intensified their offense.
Bruno became increasingly active. Harry Kane pulled the defenders away for him, and João Cancelo sent an overhead pass from slightly right of center. Bruno made a quick diagonal run toward the penalty spot's right side and, before the Juventus defenders could react, struck the ball with his right foot.
López once again flew across the goal to save it, stopping what should have been a sure goal and rescuing Juventus.
Corner kick!
Bruno stood up from the grass inside the penalty area, panting heavily as he brushed the grass off his body.
At this moment, several of Manchester United's tall players came forward.
Virgil van Dijk, Harry Maguire, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford…
Kylian Mbappé lurked just outside the box, ready to dash in for the kill at any time.
Luke Shaw jogged to the corner flag, placed the ball carefully, pressed down the turf behind it, and slowly stepped back.
...
Bruno stood outside the penalty area beside Mbappé, glancing toward Luke Shaw in the corner. Shaw gestured that he would send the ball to the far post.
"Give this chance to me," Bruno said eagerly.
He knew the tactical design meant Mbappé was supposed to attack the header, but he really wanted to give it a try.
Mbappé looked surprised but nodded decisively. "Alright, if you score, dinner's on you."
"It's just dinner, whenever you say," Bruno replied with a smile.
As soon as referee Michael Oliver blew the whistle, all the players inside and outside the box moved at once.
Mbappé quickly shook off his marker and sprinted toward the near post.
Harry Kane, Maguire, and Van Dijk pressed toward the center and near post, while Cancelo and Rashford moved tactically to disrupt Juventus's defense. Chaos erupted inside the box.
Luke Shaw whipped in the corner—but instead of dropping near the near post as expected, it sailed toward the far post.
"Danger!" Cristiano Ronaldo was the first to react, shouting loudly.
But when he turned around, he suddenly realized that Bruno—who had just been in front of him—was gone. In an instant, an ominous feeling struck his heart.
In corner kick battles like this, losing track of a man is the easiest way to concede a goal.
...
The penalty area was now complete chaos. Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't find where Bruno had gone.
Only Bruno knew. He had deliberately retreated to the left edge of the box before suddenly making a sharp run forward.
Alex Sandro was stationed near the far post for Juventus. When he saw the ball flying toward him, his first thought was to clear it.
But before that thought fully formed, a flash of movement filled his vision. A Manchester United player suddenly burst in front of him and leaped high before he could even react.
Sandro, standing 1.80 meters tall—just three centimeters shorter than Bruno—was completely outmatched as Bruno, sprinting from behind with a long run-up, soared above him.
Sandro forgot even to jump, just tilting his head upward as Bruno rose like a descending god.
...
Bruno had perfectly judged the ball's trajectory and landing point. With his athletic leap, he was confident he would reach it first.
After a dozen meters of buildup, he jumped with all his strength, body arched like a bow, legs and head tilting backward.
At that moment, Bruno was utterly clear-headed. He could see the ball's flight perfectly aligned with his prediction.
As it approached, Bruno tightened his core muscles, thrust forward with his head and legs, channeling all his strength from his body through his abdomen to his forehead. He met the ball dead-on.
Rather than heading it, it was more like he smashed the ball—forcing it brutally into Juventus's goal.
López, facing the point-blank header, had no time to react. He instinctively stretched out his right hand, but the ball still grazed the left post and slammed into the net.
...
"GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!"
"What a header! Bruno has scored a close-range goal from a corner, turning the match around for Manchester United!"
"This header reminds me of the 2012–2013 UEFA Champions League Round of 16, when Real Madrid played Manchester United at Old Trafford—Cristiano Ronaldo scored that legendary header against Patrice Evra!"
"And today, right in front of Cristiano Ronaldo himself—under the same type of corner attack, against Juventus's left-back—Bruno scores a similarly stunning header!"
"Bruno's header seems to be a direct response to Cristiano Ronaldo's earlier one. The duel between these two Portuguese stars has become the biggest storyline of the match!"
...
After landing, Bruno clenched his fists and raised them above his head, roaring skyward in exhilaration.
Seeing Alex Sandro's astonished face and the stunned expressions of the Juventus players around him, he felt an uncontrollable urge to scream.
But before he could shout, he was swarmed by Manchester United teammates.
Cristiano Ronaldo stood in disbelief. He hadn't expected Bruno to respond in such a manner.
Although he personally had a good relationship with Bruno, he couldn't help but feel a momentary sting of being challenged.
That brief feeling faded quickly. He shook his head with a wry smile and murmured, "That little rascal…"
...
Referee Michael Oliver finally blew the final whistle!
Manchester United players collapsed exhausted on the grass of Lisbon's Estádio da Luz.
The large red scoreboard displayed the final score: 1–2.
By convention, the home team is listed first, the away team second.
In this neutral-site match, Juventus had drawn the home slot, while Manchester United were the away team.
Relying on Bruno's brace, Manchester United came from behind to defeat Juventus 2–1 at Lisbon's Estádio da Luz.
Throughout the second half, Juventus had dominated and launched wave after wave of attacks on United's defense.
The defensive structure José Mourinho had built over four years nearly collapsed several times, but in the end, Manchester United held on for the 2–1 comeback victory.
After finishing at the quarterfinals last season, Juventus once again fell just short of the semifinals.
Counting back to the 2017–2018 season, Juventus had now failed to reach the semifinals for three consecutive years.
Their last appearance in the Champions League semifinals had been four years earlier, in the 2016–2017 season, when they reached the final but were crushed 1–4 by Real Madrid.
In that match, Cristiano Ronaldo dominated with a stunning brace, the chief architect of Juventus's downfall.
A year later, Juventus met Real Madrid again in the Champions League, this time in the quarterfinals. Juventus were beaten 0–3 at home, and although they won 3–1 at the Bernabéu, they lost 3–4 on aggregate.
At the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Cristiano Ronaldo orchestrated that crushing defeat with two goals and one assist. Even though Real Madrid lost 1–3 at home, Ronaldo scored again, sealing Juventus's fate as Madrid's victim once more.
...
It was precisely because of those three matches that Ronaldo completely conquered Juventus. In the summer of 2018, after falling out with Florentino Pérez, Juventus paid a massive €100 million transfer fee to bring the 33-year-old veteran to Italy.
They gambled everything on the hope that the King of the Champions League could finally lead them to their long-desired third European title.
Unfortunately, Juventus had already passed their golden era. While they still dominated domestically in Serie A, their dream of European glory kept collapsing.
Last season, despite earning a strong result away from home, Juventus stumbled in Turin against the dark horse Ajax, falling short of the semifinals.
This season, they faced Manchester United—chasing a third consecutive Champions League title—in the quarterfinals. In the duel between the two Portuguese titans, Bruno's United emerged victorious, while the aging Juventus fell again at the quarterfinal stage.
Over the past two seasons, Cristiano Ronaldo's personal Champions League performances were still impressive: 6 goals and 2 assists in 9 matches last year, and 5 goals in 9 this season—a remarkable record for a 35-year-old veteran.
However, Juventus's overall quality simply couldn't match the peak form of Manchester United. Their defeat was inevitable.
In the years to come, this match would be remembered as the symbolic passing of the torch between two kings of world football.
(END CHAPTER)
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