Chapter 535: Certain Victory
Mourinho stood on the sidelines, watching intently as Valencia delivered the cross. His toes were on tiptoe, and his hands were in his pockets. He saw Valencia's diagonal pass, Stones attempting the offside trap, Harry Kane caught offside, but Otamendi lagging behind, and Bruno bypassing Otamendi to meet the rolling ball and slotting it into the net.
The Manchester United manager pulled his hands out of his pockets and raised his arms in excitement, running and celebrating. "Brilliant job!"
"Bruno! Bruno!! Bruno!!! He scores his third goal, a hat trick!" Andy Gray shouted excitedly. "The United captain has scored a hat trick at Old Trafford against City, for the second consecutive time! This is Bruno's 12th goal in six Manchester derbies, surpassing his predecessor Rooney as the highest scorer in Manchester derby history!"
"Last season, in his first Manchester derby at home, Bruno scored and assisted to help United come from behind to beat City. In the away game, he scored a hat trick and provided an assist in United's 5-0 thrashing of City. In the 16th round this season, United crushed City 6-2 at home with another Bruno hat trick. Two weeks ago, in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final, Bruno scored twice at the Etihad to help United draw. And today, he scores another hat trick to give United a 3-1 lead. This youngest captain in Manchester derby history is the brightest star at Old Trafford tonight!"
...
Otamendi was running and celebrating the goal. It felt like a dream to score two consecutive goals against United at Old Trafford, but the deafening cheers confirmed it was real. Teammates caught up with him, hugging and celebrating.
On the sidelines, Guardiola hadn't even returned to his seat when Otamendi's goal brought him some relief. With a 3-1 lead, City had little room to maneuver.
Guardiola cursed on the sidelines. He had just substituted Mkhitaryan, hoping to capitalize on the momentum of pulling one goal back to launch a comeback. But United's quick counterattack was successful.
Guardiola was dissatisfied with Otamendi's performance. Otamendi was partly responsible for the previous goal, failing to maintain the offside trap and allowing Bruno to score. But the referee, considering Otamendi had no yellow card, let it slide.
Guardiola clapped from the sidelines, believing Otamendi had the ability but was simply unlucky today.
Did Guardiola actually believe the club's upper management had influenced the referee?
Even though Otamendi wasn't directly responsible for United's first goal, he was outplayed by Mbappe, who sped past him to set up the goal.
Otamendi's anger was palpable as he shouted at the referee, "I didn't foul!"
...
The ball bounced off, and Gundogan headed it to Rashford. Rashford controlled the ball, evaded De Bruyne, and started a counterattack.
"Get Jesus ready to come on," Guardiola told his assistant, Arteta.
The referee firmly pulled out a card, and it was red!
...
Mbappe received the ball with his right foot, tapped it to his left, and accelerated.
Eight minutes earlier, United had made a substitution. Guardiola replaced Fernandinho with Sterling. Danilo, not fully warmed up, wasn't sent on for Otamendi. Guardiola stuck with his decision, focusing on attacking adjustments since United needed to defend their lead.
Guardiola decided to replace Aguero with Jesus, making one final push.
Meanwhile, in the VIP box at Old Trafford, including chairman Jassim, the club's upper management was baffled: "What's going on? We didn't do anything!"
It all happened quickly, and by the time Guardiola realized, it was too late.
The referee's whistle blew, indicating Otamendi's foul.
"Quick lateral movement, City fully exploiting the width to stretch United's defense," Andy Gray commented.
Mbappe's performance since joining had won over United fans.
Otamendi, after making a clean tackle, was furious at being penalized, knowing his previous contributions were solid. But the referee's decision stood.
Such actions were almost like asking to be sent off.
Fortunately, Mbappe got up quickly, showing no signs of injury.
...
In the 88th minute, both teams were battling hard in midfield. Mkhitaryan tried to break through Kante but had to pass to David Silva. Silva passed to Sterling, who sped down the left, cut inside Luke Shaw, and aimed for a long shot.
Guardiola clapped sarcastically at the referee, "Great call, fantastic!" he mocked, earning him a reprimand from the fourth official, who reported his behavior.
For United's seventh conceded goal, Otamendi had fouled Harry Kane in the box, leading to a penalty.
"Block! Van Dijk with a crucial body block," Gray narrated.
City fans didn't want to lose an important player to a match that seemed decided.
Guardiola was hesitant to decide on the substitution.
Rashford, evading De Bruyne, continued his run. Attracting Walker's challenge, he passed to Luke Shaw, who sent a diagonal pass to Bruno.
"Beautiful play by Rashford!"
Trailing 1-3, City needed to attack aggressively, so Guardiola had all substitutes, including Sterling, Jesus, and Delph, warming up.
On the sidelines, Mourinho and his assistants exchanged looks, knowing the two controversial calls favored United.
Otamendi finally showed his true worth with a perfect tackle.
Guardiola regretted not subbing Otamendi sooner.
...
Andy Gray exclaimed, "Oh my, Otamendi sent off, and now Guardiola too! This match is over for City. But the referee's call on Otamendi's tackle was correct, even though it was a harsh decision."
"Textbook tackle!" the pro-United commentator cheered. "Otamendi finally played to his potential."
Although there was no argument over the penalty decision, Guardiola was furious at Otamendi's overall performance, leading to his outburst.
Otamendi, realizing the referee was unmoved by his plea, failed to see his provocations were not helping.
As Mbappe lay on the pitch, having been brought down by Otamendi, Guardiola lamented the loss of control.
...
The match continued, and United maintained their lead. With the final whistle approaching, United fans were ready to celebrate another victory over their city rivals.
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