Chapter 503: The Devil's Fortress
As the match resumed, the chants for Bruno could still be heard clearly. During the celebration, Bruno kept reminding his excited teammates that the game had just begun, and it wasn't the time for extravagant celebrations. Leading by two goals against a team of Roma's caliber wasn't a huge advantage.
To win, they had to maintain this lead until the final whistle. So now was not the time to relax; to win, they had to keep playing like this!
Bruno was particularly wary of this Roma team because he remembered that this season's Roma was quite formidable in the Champions League. They topped their group over Chelsea, scoring three goals in both matches against Chelsea with one win and one draw. In the knockout stages, they fought fiercely to reach the semi-finals, with every round being a classic battle.
In the Round of 16, they faced Shakhtar Donetsk. After losing the first leg away, they came back home to win 1-0 and advanced on away goals. In the quarter-finals, they faced a powerful Barcelona team. After losing the first leg 1-4, they made a stunning 3-0 comeback at home in the second leg, eliminating Barcelona and earning the titles of the "comeback kings" and "giant killers."
Bruno didn't want Manchester United to end up like Chelsea had before. He needed to help United secure a steady victory.
...
When the game resumed, Roma found that the Manchester United they were facing hadn't changed a bit. Despite leading by two goals, United hadn't relaxed. There was no disconnect between forwards wanting to attack and defenders wanting to defend.
They still faced a team that pressed all over the pitch, starting their defense from Roma's penalty area. This style of play made it difficult for Roma's players to adapt. Whenever United won the ball, they launched quick counterattacks, forcing Roma to chase them tirelessly from one end of the pitch to the other, without any chance to rest.
The rest of the first half continued in this manner. Roma tried to organize attacks but were constantly disrupted by United. When they did manage to organize, their forwards wasted the chances.
Perotti and Dzeko barely touched the ball up front, forcing them to drop back repeatedly, but to little effect.
Bruno led United's midfield in cleverly cutting off the connection between Roma's midfield and forwards. Roma's midfield maestro, Nainggolan, had an underwhelming performance due to lack of support.
However, Roma was somewhat lucky. United's dangerous counterattacks were either squandered by their forwards or heroically saved by Roma's goalkeeper, Alisson.
By halftime, the score remained 2-0 in favor of Manchester United. The statistics reflected United's dominance: 11 shots for United compared to Roma's 4, none of which were on target, while United had 4 on target. United also led in possession with 56% compared to Roma's 44%.
...
Many commentators echoed similar sentiments: "Roma's players are finally at halftime, hoping their coach Di Francesco can make some adjustments to this disastrous situation..."
For Roma's players, this halftime break was a relief, a chance to cool down and reflect on what had gone wrong in the first half. If possible, Bruno wished the game would continue without a break until the end. But football rules dictated a halftime break, which he had to comply with.
In the locker room, Mourinho praised the team's performance but warned against complacency. "I'm only praising your first-half performance. This doesn't mean you can get complacent in the second half. Remember Istanbul 2005. AC Milan led Liverpool 3-0 at halftime in the Champions League final, only to celebrate so loudly that Liverpool heard them through the walls. We all know what happened in the second half. Do you want to be the laughingstock of the world?"
"No way!" the team responded.
Mourinho nodded, continuing, "So in the second half, play just like you did in the first half! No celebrations until the final whistle!"
...
With the tactics working, Mourinho didn't make any changes. The team just needed to keep playing as they had been. In the adjacent locker room, Di Francesco wasn't as relaxed. Disappointed with his team's performance, he refrained from yelling at them.
Di Francesco, before taking over at Roma, didn't have an impressive resume, having managed Sassuolo in Serie A with mediocre results. Thus, in the Roma locker room, he didn't command much authority and remained low-key.
However, in this difficult situation, he had to do something.
Clearing his throat, he signaled for everyone to quiet down. The players, previously discussing the first half, gradually fell silent. Some looked at the coach, while others lowered their heads, lost in thought.
"Uh, our first-half performance... was pretty bad," Di Francesco began, observing the players' reactions. "I believe you all know that if we continue like this in the second half, we won't win this game. Do you want to lose here? We need to make adjustments. We must tighten our defense on Bruno!"
...
Some players, originally looking at Di Francesco, turned away. What's the difference from the first half's strategy? He kept talking about tightening defense on Bruno, but how exactly? He wasn't providing any clear instructions.
This left Roma's players feeling lost. Strootman could only rely on fouls to stop Bruno, which everyone saw led to United's second goal. Foul tactics are part of defense, but their effectiveness is uncertain.
Di Francesco then shifted the focus to offense, believing the problem lay in the lack of goals, not defense. Solve the scoring issue, and other problems would follow. Football is about scoring goals to win.
He instructed Perotti to drop deeper to link the midfield and attack, addressing United's strategy of cutting off Roma's midfield from their forwards.
"We need to score. If we can pull one back quickly, the game will be ours. The leading side always feels pressure, especially when leading early. We have 45 minutes to equalize. We must score early!"
...
Di Francesco aimed to achieve this. But ten minutes into the second half, with no goals scored, he made a surprising substitution, replacing Strootman with Florenzi.
This was an attacking change, but he replaced their most active and tenacious midfielder, Strootman!
Strootman was unhappy but accepted the decision, handing the captain's armband to Florenzi and jogging off without wasting time.
However, this change proved disastrous. It didn't help Roma regain control; instead, they lost more. Without Strootman, Bruno had more freedom, easily bypassing Gonalons and showcasing his skills against Florenzi.
United regained the upper hand. Realizing his mistake, Di Francesco made another substitution in the 65th minute, replacing Gerson with Lorenzo Pellegrini, reverting to a double pivot.
Pellegrini, a versatile midfielder, could play both defensive and attacking roles.
...
Pellegrini's introduction added energy and aggression, slightly curbing United's midfield. However, it didn't bolster Roma's attack. The earlier substitution had wasted an opportunity, leaving Di Francesco with only one change left. With less than 70 minutes played, he had to save the last substitution in case of injury or fatigue.
Perotti's deeper role didn't help link the midfield and attack. Perotti and Dzeko relied on individual skills to break through United's defense.
Can Roma still win? As time passed, more people doubted it. TV broadcasts frequently showed close-ups of Di Francesco, his expression growing increasingly grim. From the 70th minute onward, he stood at the touchline, never returning to his seat, anxiously watching and occasionally gesturing and shouting to his players, but to no avail.
...
In the 80th minute, Di Francesco made a final desperate move, substituting El Shaarawy for the veteran Perotti. But the time left for El Shaarawy was too short, only ten minutes.
In the closing moments, United made several substitutions, replacing three starters with three substitutes. Roma seized the chance, with El Shaarawy assisting Dzeko to score, but it didn't change the outcome.
In the end, Manchester United defeated Roma 2-1 at Old Trafford. The score seemed unremarkable, even giving the impression of a lucky win for United. However, anyone who watched the match knew that Di Francesco's Roma was thoroughly outplayed. Losing by only one goal was lucky. If United's forwards had been more clinical or luckier, it might have been a repeat of the 7-1 thrashing ten years ago.
...
After three group matches, United led Group C with three straight wins, forming a clear lead in the "group of death." Roma, with one win, one draw, and one loss, trailed with four points. The real surprise came from the other match, where Qarabag held Atletico Madrid to a 0-0 draw.
As one of Spain's top three teams, Atletico had been formidable in recent Champions League campaigns, reaching the final twice. Failing to beat Qarabag away left them with two points from three games, almost out of contention for the top spot.
This scenario meant that if United beat Roma away in the next round, they would secure a spot in the knockout stage with two games to spare, possibly locking in the top spot as well.
...
The TV broadcast once again focused on Bruno. "Although he didn't score, he was undoubtedly the man of the match!"
After celebrating the victory, Bruno led his teammates to applaud the fans, thanking them for their support. This victory was the best gift for them. Manchester United fans could enjoy another happy night.
A commentator praised United's home ground: "Since Mourinho took over at Old Trafford, United hasn't lost a game here!"
"During this period, United played 38 games here, achieving an impressive 35 wins and 3 draws. Their last failure to win at Old Trafford was a 1-1 draw with Everton on April 4th this year."
"United's last home defeat was in January 2016, during the 23rd round of the 2015-2016 Premier League season, losing 1-0 to Southampton. Since then, they have remained unbeaten in 49 home games!"
"Unknowingly, Old Trafford has regained its former status as the devil's fortress!"
"Of course, for Mourinho, who once held a nine-year, 150-game unbeaten home record, leading United to 38 unbeaten home games is no big deal. We believe he can lead United to more unbeaten home records!"
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