Chapter 373: Speeding Ahead

Chapter 373: Speeding Ahead

Manchester United, playing with ten men, managed to secure a dramatic victory against Manchester City, making them the only team with a perfect record after four rounds in the Premier League. This came after Chelsea, the other team with a perfect record, was held to a 2-2 draw by Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium in Wales the next day.

As a result, United topped the Premier League standings after four rounds.

This victory had a profound impact, boosting the team's confidence significantly. United continued their winning streak across all competitions.

On September 16, at 7 PM Central European Time, Manchester United traveled to Rotterdam, Netherlands, to face Feyenoord at the Feijenoord Stadium in the first round of the Europa League group stage.

Due to finishing fifth in the Premier League last season, United missed out on the Champions League, so Bruno had to compete in the Europa League again after a two-year gap. This fact led many European betting companies to doubt Bruno's chances of retaining the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year titles this year.

Although it hadn't been officially announced, it was widely known that FIFA and "France Football" had ended their partnership, and the FIFA Ballon d'Or, which had been awarded for six years, had come to an end. Starting in 2016, the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards would be separate again.

2016 was a major tournament year. Lionel Messi's Argentina lost to Chile in the Copa America final, while Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno's Portugal won the European Championship. This made the media and betting companies believe that the competition for the Ballon d'Or and World Player of the Year would be an internal battle between Ronaldo and Bruno.

In the national team, both Ronaldo and Bruno had impressive achievements. Although Bruno won the Golden Boot and Golden Ball at the European Championship, Ronaldo scored six goals and was the team captain, making their national team performances hard to separate.

However, at the club level, Ronaldo had an advantage. He played for Real Madrid, a football powerhouse, and won the Champions League last season. Although Bruno had an impressive season with Udinese, scoring 39 goals and providing 29 assists while leading the team to the Serie A title, Ronaldo's 16 Champions League goals and the Champions League title gave him the edge.

Ronaldo won the Champions League Golden Boot, while Bruno did not win the European Golden Shoe, which went to Barcelona's Luis Suárez, who scored 40 goals. Additionally, Bruno's move to Manchester United and their participation in the Europa League rather than the Champions League further tipped the scales in Ronaldo's favor.

This season, United was drawn into Group A of the Europa League, along with Dutch giants Feyenoord, Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahçe, and Ukrainian side Zorya Luhansk. Despite being the strongest team in the group, United's matches were expected to be challenging. Both Feyenoord and Fenerbahçe were formidable opponents.

Feyenoord had a strong start to their domestic campaign, winning five consecutive matches in the Eredivisie, leading the table ahead of PSV Eindhoven and Ajax. This made Feyenoord United's toughest competitor in the group.

This was the first meeting between the two teams since the 1997 Champions League group stage, where United won both legs. It was also United's first participation in the Europa League group stage, as they had always finished in the top three of the Premier League under Sir Alex Ferguson, thus avoiding the Europa League.

Mourinho rotated eight players, with only Bruno, goalkeeper David De Gea, and the suspended Harry Maguire retaining their starting spots. Mata, Herrera, Darmian, Ashley Young, Smalling, Schneiderlin, Rashford, and Lingard came in. Rooney was rested, while Ibrahimović, Kanté, and Gündoğan were on the bench.

With both captain Rooney and vice-captain Carrick not in the squad, Bruno wore the captain's armband, becoming the fastest player in United's history to captain the team after only five matches.

Despite extensive rotations, United played proactively and took an early lead, building on their momentum from the victory over City.

In the 24th minute, Rashford passed to Darmian, who crossed from the right. Bruno, arriving at the edge of the box, struck the ball into the net, scoring his 12th career Europa League goal and 14th in European competition.

United doubled their lead just before halftime. In injury time, Darmian crossed from the right again. Rashford's header found Mata, who missed, but distracted Feyenoord's defense, allowing Bruno to easily score his second goal.

Feyenoord pulled one back in the 79th minute, but it was too late. United secured a 2-1 away win against their toughest group opponent, making a strong start to their Europa League campaign. In the other group match, Zorya surprisingly held Fenerbahçe to a 1-1 draw, putting United at the top of Group A.

Three days later, United traveled to Vicarage Road to face Watford. Interestingly, Watford's owner, the Pozzo family, also owned Udinese, Bruno's former club.

Watford's squad included several familiar faces from Udinese, including Roberto Pereyra, who had joined Watford from Juventus for €13.5 million. However, the move was essentially a transfer within the Pozzo family's clubs.

Watford, a mid-table team, posed little threat to United. Bruno, familiar with Pereyra, managed to control the midfield.

United took the lead in the 2nd minute. Rooney's free-kick found Bruno, who headed home. Watford almost equalized in the 9th minute, but Deeney missed a close-range chance.

United doubled their lead in the 31st minute when Fellaini passed to Bruno, who scored from 30 yards out. Watford pulled one back in the 34th minute after Lingard was dispossessed by Britos, leading to Capoue scoring his fourth goal in five shots on target this season.

Mourinho protested the goal, claiming a foul on Lingard, but the referee allowed it to stand.

United restored their two-goal lead in the 62nd minute. Ibrahimović combined with Rashford, who missed, but the ball deflected off Behrami to Rashford, who scored.

The match ended 3-1, giving United their fifth consecutive league win.

On September 21, United's reserves beat Northampton 3-1 in the EFL Cup third round, progressing to the fourth round.

On September 24, United hosted defending champions Leicester City. Smalling, Mata, Rashford, and Bruno scored, while Gray scored a consolation goal for Leicester.

This 4-1 victory was United's best performance of the season, showcasing fluid and aggressive attacking play.

With six consecutive wins, United set their best Premier League start, only behind Mourinho's Chelsea, who won nine straight at the start of the 2005-2006 season and went on to win the title with 91 points.

United continued their winning streak in the Europa League, beating Zorya 1-0 at home in the second group stage match.

On October 2, United faced Stoke City at Old Trafford. This was their last match before the international break, where Bruno would return to the Portugal national team for World Cup qualifiers.

Bruno scored twice in the 51st and 69th minutes, giving United a two-goal lead. Stoke pulled one back in the 83rd minute through Joe Allen.

United sealed the victory in the 89th minute with a header from Bruno, completing his first hat-trick for the club.

With seven straight wins, United continued their dominant run in the Premier League.

(End of Chapter)

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