Chapter 505: The Great Comeback
Five minutes later, Manchester United once again entered Huddersfield's 30-meter zone.
When Herrera received the pass within the 30-meter area, he was already blocked by Huddersfield's midfield. He had no choice but to turn right and seek support from the wings.
"Here!"
Just when Herrera needed help the most, Bruno suddenly appeared in the open space slightly to the left in the middle and raised his hand to ask for the ball.
Without hesitation, the Spanish midfielder passed the ball to him and warned him, "Watch out!"
But Bruno seemed well-prepared. As he received the ball from Herrera, he smoothly advanced it and suddenly accelerated.
This unexpected move left Huddersfield's midfielder Jonathan Hogg lunging at air.
The area where Bruno received the ball put Huddersfield's defenders in a tough spot, especially after he dribbled past Jonathan Hogg. He was now in a position to directly face Huddersfield's defensive line. Harry Kane quickly reacted and turned to charge forward.
Bruno drove the ball directly towards Huddersfield's defense, quickly approaching the penalty area, and smoothly passed the ball forward, attempting to send it through.
Harry Kane also reacted quickly, running to catch the ball from behind. However, Huddersfield's Danish center-back Zanka was even quicker, sliding to intercept the ball, preventing it from reaching its target.
But Bruno reacted just as fast, immediately chasing the ball and getting to it before another defender. With his right foot, he nudged the ball left, dodging the center-back, and then, from the edge of the penalty area, curled a shot with the inside of his right foot.
The ball traced a beautiful arc, slowly descending and crashing into the top right corner of Huddersfield's goal.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLL!!!!!"
"IT'S IN!!!!!"
"Minute 67, minute 67, Bruno scores Manchester United's second goal of the match!"
"2-2, Manchester United has equalized!"
"In the first half, Huddersfield stunned Manchester United with two goals in five minutes. Now, Manchester United has also scored two goals in five minutes, leveling the score and shocking Huddersfield's players!"
"The situation now is very favorable for Manchester United!"
As Bruno took that shot, he had a strong feeling that it was going in!
The contact was clean! The angle was perfect! And it was a safe inside foot shot!
When he saw that, despite Huddersfield's goalkeeper Lössl stretching his arms as far as he could and diving to block it, the ball still found the net, he excitedly turned around, sprinted out of the penalty area, and ran off the pitch.
"That was fantastic!"
"Since coming on as a substitute in the second half, Bruno has performed outstandingly. He not only orchestrated the first goal but also scored United's second goal of the match."
When Bruno struck that curling shot, Huddersfield's American coach Wagner shook his head in despair. Huddersfield's winless streak in the league this season was going to continue...
From the start of the second half, Bruno had been extremely active on the left wing. Tom Smith simply couldn't stop him alone.
As the player who broke the legendary dominance of Messi and Ronaldo in football, Wagner knew Bruno was strong but didn't expect him to be this powerful.
He single-handedly tore apart Huddersfield's defense!
Is this what a Ballon d'Or-level superstar can do?
On the sideline of the visitors' bench, Mourinho jumped up excitedly.
When he saw Huddersfield bunker down after taking a two-goal lead in the second half, Mourinho knew this match was going to be tough for Manchester United.
As the coach most skilled in parking the bus, Mourinho knew better than anyone how hard it was to break through such a strategy.
But facing Huddersfield's deep defense, Bruno led the team and scored two goals in just 22 minutes, leveling the score.
"Bruno is incredibly strong! He's really strong to the point of being shocking!" Mourinho exclaimed.
As a top coach who has been a force in world football for more than ten years, Mourinho has coached many superstars, including Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the two greatest players of the 21st century. But Bruno is the only one who baffles him while also surprising him.
Is he a genius?
Anyone who saw Bruno's performance when he first emerged at Boavista wouldn't think he was a genius.
He's not like Drogba, who had a naturally strong physique; he's not like Messi, who was born with extraordinary talent and has lived with a football at his feet since childhood.
He's more like his Portuguese national team predecessor, Cristiano Ronaldo—both disciplined, both hardworking.
And of course, both have achieved tremendous success.
In just two days, the two Portuguese players will compete for this year's FIFA Best Men's Player award in London. And José Mourinho himself will compete with Zidane and Allegri for the 2017 FIFA Best Coach award.
As Mourinho's thoughts wandered, the match on the field continued.
Bruno, after scoring a goal, became even more active on the pitch, covering a lot of ground and no longer sticking to the left wing.
In the 78th minute, Bruno suddenly appeared in the middle, received a cross from Lingard on the right, and shielded the ball from Huddersfield's midfield defenders, quickly charging forward.
As Bruno advanced into Huddersfield's 30-meter zone, their midfielder attempted a sliding tackle, but Bruno cleverly flicked the ball past him.
Two Huddersfield center-backs, one in front and one behind, rushed forward as soon as they saw Bruno dribble past their teammate.
But as fast as they were, Bruno was clearly faster. With a sudden burst of speed, he beat them both, flicking the ball forward with his left foot.
"Brilliant play! Bruno dribbles through the middle, bypassing three Huddersfield players, and he's in the box with a clear shot!"
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLL!!!!!!"
"3-2, Manchester United has turned the score around!"
"Bruno just dribbled past three players to score a brilliant goal—his form is incredible!"
The entire John Smith's Stadium fell silent, except for the 2,000 Manchester United fans in the corner who were cheering wildly, shouting at the top of their lungs at the Manchester United players.
Bruno quickly sprinted off the pitch to the corner flag, slid on his knees, and looked up at the Manchester United fans in the stands, cupping his ear as if to listen to their cheers.
The 2,000 Manchester United fans in the stands chanted his name in unison.
Bruno himself hadn't expected it to be this smooth. Huddersfield's defense wasn't supposed to be this bad—they had only conceded 9 goals in their first 8 games, putting them in the mid-tier of the league.
But he really felt his body was full of energy, as seen in that burst of acceleration earlier.
"That kid!" Mourinho laughed heartily.
Although he had put Bruno on in the second half with the hope that he could turn the tide, considering that Bruno had battled Liverpool and Roma over the past week and wasn't in the best physical condition, Mourinho wasn't too optimistic about reversing the score away from home.
But to his surprise, Bruno brought such a pleasant surprise. With two goals and an assist, he single-handedly contributed to three goals, helping Manchester United turn the game around.
"Wagner is probably going to cry!" Faria laughed.
After hearing this, Mourinho turned his head to look at the home team's bench and indeed saw that David Wagner looked very grim.
Conceding three goals in less than 20 minutes—it was practically a collapse!
Huddersfield's coach immediately went to the sidelines, repeatedly urging his players to stay calm and keep their composure. But on the field, Manchester United, with their morale soaring, continued to dominate.
In the 82nd minute, Bruno received a pass from Ashley Young near the left sideline, cut back into the box, and passed it back to the penalty spot. Harry Kane quickly stepped up and fired it home.
4-2!
Manchester United had fully taken control of the match.
As the first half was about to end, Lingard and Valencia combined on the right, with the England international threading a pass behind Huddersfield's defense.
Bruno quickly cut in from behind, bursting into Huddersfield's penalty area. With the goalkeeper rushing out to challenge him, Bruno deftly controlled Lingard's cross with his left foot, bringing the ball down as if it were glued to his foot.
The goalkeeper had missed his chance, and as he lunged at Bruno again, Bruno calmly slotted the ball into the empty net.
5-2!
Hat-trick!
Bruno's third hat-trick of the season in the Premier League!
All the Manchester United fans who had traveled to the away game were hoarsely chanting Bruno's name.
Bruno once again rushed to the sidelines, sliding on his knees to celebrate his third goal of the match, which was also his 16th goal of the season.
In the end, Manchester United, with Bruno's hat-trick and Harry Kane's brace, overturned Huddersfield's two-goal lead to win 5-2 and secure three points.
This match, with Mourinho making the bold decision to bring on Bruno and Harry Kane at halftime, was hailed as one of his classic tactical masterstrokes.
With this victory, Manchester United had won nine straight games at the start of the Premier League season, tying Mourinho's record from 12 years ago with Chelsea.
In fact, Manchester United's nine-game winning streak was even more astonishing than Chelsea's at the time because, of the nine games, six were away, including big games against Liverpool, Tottenham, and Roma.
As a result, Manchester United's position at the top of the Premier League was more secure.
After this match, Manchester United had an eight-point lead over the second-placed team, Manchester City, and were 12 points ahead of Tottenham in third place, with Chelsea, who had lost in the last round, now trailing by 15 points.
At the same time, in Spain, Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo led Real Madrid to an away victory over Barcelona, putting them 5 points clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga.
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