Chapter 640 – The King of Football and the Man Behind the King
At 8:00 p.m. GMT on August 10, 2018, the opening match of the 2018–2019 Premier League season took place at Old Trafford, where the defending champions, Manchester United, faced Leicester City, the "Blue Foxes" who had once created their own miracle title run.
The reason this match was moved to Friday evening was that, the following Wednesday, Manchester United would face Atlético Madrid in Tallinn, Estonia, at the A. Le Coq Arena for the 2018 UEFA Super Cup. To give United more preparation time, the Premier League deliberately scheduled their opening game earlier.
United got off to a dream start, scoring just 146 seconds after kickoff. Luke Shaw made a run down the left and cut the ball back; Rashford's shot was blocked by Morgan and deflected onto Amartey's hand. The referee awarded a penalty, which Bruno coolly converted into the top-right corner—scoring the first goal of the new league season and giving United the lead.
In the 78th minute, Manchester United doubled their advantage. Bruno sent a diagonal pass to Harry Kane, who finished from the penalty spot area to make it 2–0.
In the 83rd minute, United struck again. Substitute Mata delivered a perfect diagonal pass to Luke Shaw, who controlled the ball, beat Ricardo Pereira, and fired a low shot from the left side of the box into the far corner—3–0 and game over.
Leicester managed to pull one back in stoppage time. Ricardo Pereira crossed from the right, the ball bounced off the far post, and Vardy nodded it home from close range to make it 3–1.
With Bruno's one goal and one assist, plus strikes from Kane and Shaw, Manchester United defeated Leicester City 3–1, claiming their first win of the new season.
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After beating Leicester, United immediately shifted focus to the upcoming UEFA Super Cup—an essential step toward their ambitious goal of achieving seven trophies in 2018. Their opponent, Atlético Madrid, was much stronger than any team they would face in the Club World Cup later that year.
On Tuesday afternoon, the entire United squad boarded their private jet bound for Tallinn, Estonia, a small Baltic city of about 400,000 people. Despite its modest size—comparable to a small county back home—Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia.
The 2018 UEFA Super Cup would be held at the A. Le Coq Arena, a compact stadium seating around 14,000 spectators. While it couldn't compare to Old Trafford, or United's newly rebuilt home capable of holding 90,000 fans, it remained Estonia's national stadium and largest venue.
At 10:00 p.m. local time on August 15, the world's attention turned to this northern European city, where the Champions League winners, Manchester United, would face the Europa League champions, Atlético Madrid, for the title of Europe's best. The arrival of these two football giants brought unprecedented excitement and crowds to Tallinn.
Reports estimated that around 50,000 fans of both clubs would travel to Estonia for the event—a massive number for a country of just 1.4 million people.
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This was the fifth meeting between Manchester United and Atlético Madrid.
In the 1991–92 European Cup Winners' Cup Round of 16, Atlético had defeated United 3–0 at home and drawn 1–1 away, advancing with a 4–1 aggregate score.
Last season, the two sides met again in the Champions League group stage, where United won both home and away matches 2–1, avenging the defeat from 25 years earlier and sending Atlético down to the Europa League—where they went on to win the title.
Perhaps Atlético should have thanked United, for had they stayed in the Champions League, they might not have won a trophy at all. But of course, Atlético had no intention of being grateful—they wanted revenge.
And once the match began, their determination was clear.
Just 49 seconds in, Atlético's new captain, Godín, launched a long pass from the back that found Diego Costa perfectly. The powerful striker bulldozed past Rojo, sidestepped Van Dijk, and fired an unstoppable shot into the far corner. Even De Gea, known for his lightning reflexes, could do nothing about it.
Because several of United's defenders—Maguire, Smalling, Phil Jones, and Lindelöf—had played deep into the World Cup and missed preseason, their form was still lacking. Thus, United's starting center-backs were Van Dijk, who hadn't gone to the World Cup, and Rojo, who exited early.
Despite the early setback, United struck back. Bruno and Kane scored in the 27th and 63rd minutes to turn the game around 2–1—but then Costa struck again.
In the 79th minute, Diego Costa poked home from inside the box to level it 2–2.
However, Bruno had the final say, scoring in the 87th minute to seal a 3–2 victory and secure Manchester United's sixth trophy of 2018.
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Back in England, United played their second Premier League match away to Brighton on August 20.
With Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Watford, and Bournemouth all starting with two wins, anything less than victory would have dropped United out of the European qualification spots.
But Harry Kane and Bruno each scored once in either half to secure a 2–0 away win.
That victory extended United's unbeaten league run to 42 matches—just seven short of Arsenal's record 49-match unbeaten streak from 14 years earlier. Across all competitions, their unbeaten run had reached 73 games.
After two rounds, United sat fourth in the table due to goal difference and fewer goals scored.
In the third round, and their final match of August, United faced Tottenham at Old Trafford.
In the first half, Bruno and Mbappé gave United a 2–0 lead, seemingly en route to another easy win. But the second half brought chaos.
In the 50th minute, Trippier's corner was met by Morata, whose header snuck inside the post—2–1. Just two minutes later, Trippier fed Eriksen, who crossed for Lucas Moura to finish and equalize 2–2.
Within two minutes, United's commanding lead was gone.
Sensing danger, Mourinho substituted Kanté for new signing Fred to reinforce midfield stability. The change worked—United stopped conceding, and the match seemed headed for a draw.
But in the 84th minute, Eriksen split the defense with a precise pass, and Lucas Moura burst through to score his second goal, giving Spurs a 3–2 lead.
Just as United's 42-match unbeaten run appeared doomed, Bruno rose to the occasion once more.
In the 92nd minute, with one minute left in stoppage time, Luke Shaw passed the ball to Bruno just over the halfway line.
Seeing that Spurs had given him too much space—about 30 meters from goal—Bruno suddenly unleashed a thunderous long-range strike. The ball rocketed toward goal like a missile, and with defenders blocking his view, Lloris reacted too late, merely glancing as the ball smashed into the net.
3–3!
Bruno's goal saved United, preserving their unbeaten streak.
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After that dramatic draw, several United players, along with Mourinho and sporting director Giaretta, traveled to Monaco for the 2017–2018 UEFA Awards and the 2018–2019 Champions League group stage draw on August 30.
As winners of the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, and League Cup, United were undoubtedly the most dominant team of the 2017–2018 season—and the night's biggest winners.
Of the five major awards—Best Goalkeeper, Best Defender, Best Midfielder, Best Forward, and Best Player—Manchester United claimed four, with only Best Forward going to Cristiano Ronaldo, who had just joined Juventus.
Best Goalkeeper: David De Gea. His outstanding saves throughout the season provided the backbone for United's quadruple triumph.
Best Defender: Harry Maguire. Beating teammates like Van Dijk and Madrid's Ramos, Maguire had shone both for club and country, helping England reach the World Cup semifinals.
Best Midfielder: Bruno. The undisputed core of Manchester United, Bruno was both top scorer and top assist provider across Europe last season. Nearly half of United's goals came directly from his contributions. His vision and creativity made United's attack the most dangerous in Europe—surpassing even City, Real Madrid, and Barcelona.
Bruno's brilliance extended to the World Cup, where he led Portugal to their first-ever championship, earning both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards.
Recently, the football world has echoed one sentiment: Cristiano Ronaldo may be the new King of Football—but Bruno is the man behind the king. Without Bruno's support, Ronaldo's success would have been impossible.
In fact, many believe Bruno himself is worthy of the title "King of Football."
Though still only 23, Bruno had already achieved what most players never will—completing the set of all major team and individual honors: World Cup, Euro Cup, Confederations Cup, Champions League, Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, Premier League, Serie A, FA Cup, League Cup, Italian Cup, Italian Super Cup, Community Shield, and Club World Cup.
The UEFA Best Player award also went to him, ending Ronaldo's two-year reign.
In the upcoming Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year races, Bruno stood among the final three alongside Messi and Ronaldo—strong contenders for the title of World's Best Player.
Now, after winning UEFA's top honor, Bruno was once again the leading favorite to capture the Ballon d'Or and reclaim the world throne after two years.
As for the Champions League draw, United—placed among the top seeds—found themselves in a tricky group alongside Hoffenheim, Lyon, and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Still, with their strength, progressing—and even topping the group—seemed well within reach. It would simply take more effort than usual.
(End of Chapter)
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