Chapter 528: An Invincible 2017
On the first day of 2018, Manchester United's mouthpiece, The Guardian, featured a front-page summary of Manchester United and Bruno's performances in 2017.
In 2017, Manchester United played a total of 69 official matches, including 40 Premier League games, 6 Champions League matches, 9 Europa League games, 6 FA Cup ties, 6 League Cup fixtures, 1 Community Shield, and 1 UEFA Super Cup.
Out of these 69 matches, Manchester United won 58, drew 8, and lost only 3, achieving a win rate of 84%! During these 69 matches, Manchester United scored a total of 206 goals, setting a new annual goal record for the club.
The 58 victories brought Manchester United six trophies.
In the 40 Premier League games, United achieved 33 wins, 5 draws, and 2 losses, collecting 104 points. They scored 122 goals, averaging 3.05 goals per game, and conceded 20 goals, averaging 0.5 goals per game.
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For Bruno personally, he played 60 matches for Manchester United in various competitions in 2017, including 38 Premier League games, 5 Champions League matches, 8 Europa League games, 4 FA Cup ties, 3 League Cup fixtures, 1 UEFA Super Cup, and 1 Community Shield.
In these 60 matches, Bruno scored 61 goals and provided 39 assists. His breakdown is as follows: 40 goals and 25 assists in the Premier League, 5 goals and 5 assists in the Champions League, 5 goals and 3 assists in the Europa League, 6 goals and 5 assists in the FA Cup, 3 goals and 1 assist in the League Cup, 1 goal in the Community Shield, and 1 goal in the UEFA Super Cup.
This means that Bruno was directly involved in 100 goals for Manchester United in 2017! His 40 Premier League goals also set a new record for goals in a single calendar year in the league.
It's worth noting that Bruno's teammate Harry Kane scored 39 Premier League goals in 2017, with 21 coming in the first half of the year for Tottenham and 18 in the second half for Manchester United.
Of course, evaluating Bruno's individual performance also requires considering his national team stats.
In 2017, Bruno played 10 matches for the Portugal national team, including 4 Confederations Cup games and 6 World Cup qualifiers. He scored 16 goals and provided 8 assists.
This means that in 2017, Bruno played 70 official matches, scoring 77 goals and providing 47 assists, directly contributing to 124 goals, breaking the record of 122 goals he set in 2016.
The Guardian stated that Bruno's 2017 was invincible and that FIFA and France Football not awarding him the 2017 World Player of the Year and the Ballon d'Or was a huge mistake.
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Regarding Bruno's outstanding attacking performance, The Guardian published a cartoon.
In the cartoon, a cute, caricatured Bruno is betting with his defensive opponents. Due to his extensive range and Manchester United's strategy of organizing attacks around him, Bruno's movements left and right caused his defenders endless headaches.
"Guess, am I going left or right this time?" The cartoon Bruno smiles innocently.
"Guess right and win a prize; guess wrong, and it's okay."
The muscular and fierce-looking defender guesses wrong and tearfully watches Bruno score, regretting his decision.
In reality, even guessing correctly might still end in tears.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOALLL!!!!"
"My God, my God!"
"Bruno! It's Bruno again!"
"Just three minutes into the match, Bruno receives the ball on the left wing, cuts inside, and scores with his right foot, giving Manchester United the lead against Everton!"
"Only three minutes in, and Manchester United have taken the lead at Goodison Park. Everton's defense simply couldn't stop Bruno!"
"A new year, a new start, and Bruno looks incredibly sharp tonight. He's extremely lively."
"This is Bruno's 30th Premier League goal of the season, assisted by Gündoğan!"
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On January 1, 2018, at 5:30 PM GMT, Manchester United played their 22nd Premier League match of the 2017-2018 season at Goodison Park against Everton.
Just three minutes into the match, Bruno scored for Manchester United, showcasing his superb form.
On the sidelines, coach Mourinho was ecstatic, wildly gesticulating. He realized that as long as Bruno was in good form and playing smoothly, Manchester United would be unstoppable.
This point was further proven throughout the match. After Bruno opened the scoring, United continued to dominate and press forward.
Everton managed to hold their defense for just fifteen minutes.
In the 18th minute, Bruno passed back to Cancelo on the right, who then made a cross-field pass to Luke Shaw. Shaw assisted Harry Kane in scoring United's second goal.
Manchester United extended their lead to 2-0.
Conceding two goals quickly dealt a severe blow to Everton's morale.
Sixteen minutes later, Mbappé scored the third goal for Manchester United, assisted by Harry Kane, putting the Red Devils up 3-0.
With a three-goal lead in the first half, United were in high spirits.
During halftime, Mourinho praised the team's performance and encouraged the players to keep pushing for a convincing win to start the new year.
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The second half began, and Everton's defense lasted only fourteen more minutes.
In the 59th minute, Kanté received the ball at the edge of the box, lobbed it forward, and Bruno chested it down before turning and scoring with a left-footed volley, securing his brace.
4-0!
Everton was thoroughly defeated.
After taking a four-goal lead, United slowed their attack and focused on maintaining possession. Everton had no intention of launching a counterattack, effectively conceding the match.
In the 70th minute, Mourinho substituted Bruno with Mata.
Despite entering 2018, United's schedule remained packed.
With the FA Cup and the Champions League knockout stages approaching in February, Manchester United faced battles on four fronts.
In this context, giving core players like Bruno every opportunity to rest was crucial.
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In the first Premier League match of 2018, the other big six teams also performed well. Liverpool won 2-1 away against Burnley, Tottenham beat Swansea 2-0 away, and Manchester City defeated Watford 3-1 at home. Arsenal and Chelsea drew 2-2 at the Emirates.
The Premier League's allure lies in its frequent high-stakes matches between top teams.
Each of the big six teams plays the other five twice per season, resulting in 10 such matches per team, and 30 major matchups across the season. This nearly guarantees a top-tier match every round, explaining the Premier League's appeal and global attention.
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With a dominant four-goal victory in the league, United's morale soared.
On January 5th at 8 PM, United faced Derby County at home in the FA Cup third round.
Derby County, currently second in the Championship, were no pushovers but still a step below United in terms of strength.
With a League Cup semi-final first-leg match against Manchester City four days later, Mourinho heavily rotated his squad for this match.
However, to ensure a win in the first home match of the new season, Mourinho did not rest Bruno.
Ten minutes in, Bruno received a pass from Valencia on the right wing and scored the opening goal for Manchester United, his first in the FA Cup this season.
In the 36th minute of the first half, Mata assisted Ibrahimović, doubling United's lead.
After switching sides, Bruno continued to be lively on the right wing.
In the 60th minute, McTominay replaced Ibrahimović, taking the striker role.
Bruno and his teammates worked hard to create opportunities for McTominay, who was eager to score.
Finally, in the 75th minute, Bruno set up the play, Gündoğan assisted, and McTominay scored his first goal of 2018.
The young Scotsman was overwhelmed with emotion, celebrating on his knees by the sidelines for a long time.
United didn't score again, and the 3-0 result held until the end.
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In the FA Cup third round, the big six teams generally faced weaker opponents, leading to victories and advancement to the next round.
Liverpool had the toughest draw, facing city rivals Everton. After a fierce Merseyside derby, Liverpool won 2-1 to progress.
Manchester City also faced Premier League opposition, defeating Burnley 4-1 at the Etihad.
Chelsea almost stumbled, drawing 0-0 away to Championship side Norwich, necessitating a replay.
Tottenham won 3-0 at home against AFC Wimbledon.
Arsenal was the only big six team to crash out, losing 2-4 away to Championship mid-table side Nottingham Forest.
Bruno reflected that Arsenal's early exit from the FA Cup, often jokingly called the "Insulation Cup" by some fans, was a bad omen. It hinted at Arsène Wenger's likely departure at the season's end.
Given Arsenal's current strength, expecting them to challenge for the league title or the Europa League was unrealistic. Even reaching the Europa League semi-finals, they would struggle against Chelsea.
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