Chapter 489: A Super Strong Lineup
While the world was buzzing about Manchester United's massive transfer deals, their Carrington training ground was nearly deserted. After the third round of the Premier League, Europe's major leagues paused for the first international break of the new season. Manchester United's international players left Carrington to join their respective national teams.
Currently, aside from the third goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, assistant coach Michael Carrick who had long retired from the England national team, and injured players Zlatan Ibrahimović, Virgil van Dijk, and Luke Shaw, every player on Manchester United's roster was an international.
This season's rising star, Scottish forward Scott McTominay, was also called up to the Scotland national team for this international break, making him an international player as well.
Additionally, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, and Ashley Young, although only substitutes at Manchester United, were all called up by England national team coach Gareth Southgate for this international break.
Therefore, during this international break, Manchester United's coach José Mourinho had no way to conduct team training. However, this gave him a chance to take a well-deserved break.
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Naturally, Bruno was called up to the Portugal national team to participate in two World Cup qualifying matches against the Faroe Islands and Hungary. These matches were part of the seventh and eighth rounds of the European qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
In the six group matches already played, Portugal had won all six, leading Group B by three points over Switzerland. However, since only the top team from each group directly qualifies for the World Cup, Portugal still had a long way to go to secure their spot in Russia.
On August 31, Portugal played against the Faroe Islands at home. Bruno and Cristiano Ronaldo both started, with Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick and Bruno contributing two goals and two assists in a 7-1 victory.
Three days later, Portugal traveled to Hungary in Central Europe. During last year's European Championship, Hungary was ranked in the top 20 of FIFA's world rankings, but a year later, they had dropped out of the top 50, making them one of the fastest declining teams.
In this World Cup qualifying group stage, Hungary had a poor record, with only three wins, one draw, and three losses in the first seven rounds, ranking third in the group. They were not only out of contention for direct qualification but also had slim hopes of making the playoffs. In their previous seven group matches, they were held to a 0-0 draw by the Faroe Islands and lost 1-0 to Andorra, two of the group's weakest teams. These results were key reasons for their inability to compete with Portugal and Switzerland.
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In this match, if Hungary lost at home again, they would be completely out of the playoff race. Of course, if Switzerland beat Latvia away, Hungary would be eliminated regardless of their result against Portugal. To keep their slim hopes alive and maintain some pride, Hungary hoped to perform well at home.
The match began with Hungary showing great resilience, buoyed by their home fans. This made it difficult for Portugal to take the lead. Even when Hungary's Priskin was sent off in the 30th minute for elbowing Pepe in an aerial duel, they held on with tenacious defense, keeping the score 0-0 at halftime.
However, as the second half began, Portugal's dominance on the field grew more evident. Finally, in the 48th minute, they broke the deadlock. Bruno and Ronaldo combined on the left, with Ronaldo crossing for André Silva to head home, giving Portugal a 1-0 lead.
In the 78th minute, Portugal counterattacked, and João Mário's cross was cleared, but Bruno controlled the loose ball and scored into the empty net, extending Portugal's lead to 2-0.
Portugal ultimately won 2-0, maintaining their lead in Group B with eight consecutive victories. However, since Switzerland also won 3-0 against Latvia, Portugal still hadn't secured qualification for Russia. Whether they would qualify directly might depend on their head-to-head match with Switzerland in the final round.
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After the international break, Manchester United players, including Bruno, returned to Carrington for training.
On September 5, the team had their first training session after the international break, with new signings Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, and Riyad Mahrez making their debut appearances at Carrington.
As the team captain, Bruno met the new players and introduced them to the rest of the squad. None of them were strangers: Kane and Mahrez had faced Manchester United multiple times in the Premier League, while Mbappe, although he hadn't yet played against most United players, was already a well-known star in Europe.
Bruno had some doubts about signing Harry Kane, given Kane's "trophy-less" reputation. Kane had indeed taken Tottenham to new heights in the Premier League era, but they always fell short of winning titles.
If Bruno knew about certain events that happened after his time, he would be even more amazed. For instance, Kane's presence at Bayern Munich had once turned the title-winning German club into a team that ended the season empty-handed.
Although Bruno wasn't superstitious, some things were hard to explain with logic.
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However, considering Kane's exceptional abilities, especially his scoring prowess and longevity at the peak of his career, Bruno supported the signing when CEO Cristiano Giaretta consulted him.
In Bruno's memory, from Kane's breakthrough season in 2014-2015 until Bruno's time travel before the 2022-2023 season, Kane was the fourth-highest scorer, trailing only Lewandowski, Messi, and Ronaldo.
Lewandowski, Messi, and Ronaldo were stars of top clubs, and it was difficult for Manchester United to sign them, especially given their ages. In contrast, Kane's age was a significant advantage. Born on July 28, 1993, Kane had just turned 24. Signing him ensured United had a reliable scorer for the next decade.
If United also signed the talented Mbappe, they would have a fearsome forward line for the next ten years. With Bruno leading the midfield, United could potentially create a new era of dominance in the Premier League and Europe.
As for Kane's "trophy-less" curse, Bruno believed his own extraordinary talent could overcome it. If Kane's curse was so strong that even Bruno couldn't break it, then he would accept it.
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After the afternoon training session, Manchester United took their new season team photo, finalizing the squad numbers and roster.
Goalkeepers:
David de Gea Sergio Romero Sam Johnstone
Defenders: 2. Victor Lindelöf 3. João Cancelo 4. Phil Jones 5. Marcos Rojo 12. Chris Smalling 15. Harry Maguire 17. Daley Blind 23. Luke Shaw 25. Antonio Valencia 36. Matteo Darmian
Midfielders: 6. N'Golo Kanté 8. Bruno Fernandes 13. Juan Mata 14. Jesse Lingard 16. Michael Carrick 18. Ashley Young 21. Ander Herrera 22. Ilkay Gündoğan 27. Marouane Fellaini
Forwards: 7. Kylian Mbappe 9. Harry Kane 10. Zlatan Ibrahimović 11. Riyad Mahrez 19. Marcus Rashford 39. Scott McTominay
The first team had 28 players in total, not a fixed number since they could call up players from the youth and reserve teams if needed. However, barring exceptional circumstances like a large number of injuries, the 28-man squad should be enough for any situation, even with multiple competitions.
This Manchester United squad was deep and could field two strong starting lineups.
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Mark Hughes' Stoke City was the first team to face this strong United lineup. On the afternoon of September 9, United traveled to the Britannia Stadium to challenge Stoke City.
Since their return to the Premier League in 2008, Stoke City had consistently been a mid-table team. Although they struggled to qualify for European competitions, they rarely faced relegation threats. Under Tony Pulis, Stoke had many tall forwards and defenders, using traditional English long-ball tactics, earning them the nickname "The Potters."
After Pulis left in 2013, United legend Mark Hughes took over. Under Hughes, Stoke finished ninth for three consecutive years. With strong performances against big teams, they earned the nickname "Giant Killers," highlighted by a 3-2 win over Arsenal and a 6-1 thrashing of Liverpool in the 2014-2015 season.
Despite being a United legend, Hughes never showed mercy against his former club. In the past four seasons, Stoke's record against United was 2 wins, 2 draws, and 4 losses, not bad at all.
Stoke's Britannia Stadium had unpleasant memories for United, with 2 draws and 2 losses in their last four league visits. With this record, Stoke City aimed to beat United again at home.
However, when the match started, Hughes realized this United team was different from last season's.
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"GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!!"
"Oh my God, my God!"
"Bruno! It's Bruno again!"
"Just three minutes in, Bruno received the ball on the left, cut inside quickly, and scored with his right foot, giving United an early lead against Stoke City!"
"Three minutes and a goal, Stoke City's defense couldn't stop him!"
"Bruno looks very excited and active tonight."
"This is Bruno's seventh Premier League goal of the season, assisted by new signing Harry Kane!"
Bruno's early goal showcased his excellent form. Mourinho was ecstatic on the sidelines, knowing that if Bruno played well, United would be unstoppable.
This was proven as United continued to press Stoke after Bruno's opener. Stoke's defense held for only fifteen minutes.
In the 18th minute, Bruno passed back to Valencia on the right. The Ecuadorian full-back's long cross found Rashford, who assisted Kane for United's second goal, his first since joining the club.
United led 2-0, further demoralizing Stoke.
Sixteen minutes later, Rashford scored himself, assisted by Kane again, making it 3-0.
Perhaps Mbappe's arrival pressured Rashford, who played very actively and performed well.
3-0 up at halftime, United was unstoppable.
(End of Chapter)
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