Starting with saving Manchester United

Chapter 103 The Premier League's Strongest Connections

May 6, 7:40 PM.

There are 5 minutes left until Manchester United's rescheduled home game against Hull City in the 34th round of the Premier League.

This was a very special match.

The last home game of the season!

Manchester United did not enter the stadium at the same time as Hull City.

The Red Devils players were the first to step onto the pitch.

Moreover, it was done in conjunction with the stadium's announcements; every time a player's name was called, that player would quickly run onto the field.

They were sure to be greeted with enthusiastic applause and cheers from the Manchester United fans in the stands.

Yang Fan also made some special arrangements based on the team's current situation.

For example, the starting center-back for this match was captain Vidic.

When the announcer called out "Number 15 Vidic," almost all the fans in the stadium stood up and gave him a standing ovation, chanting Vidic's name in unison.

Everyone knows that this is his last season playing for Manchester United, and his last home game!

He will leave Manchester United this summer and join Inter Milan.

Vidic was deeply moved by the enthusiastic response from the fans at the stadium. After running onto the field, he kept waving and thanking the fans.

Yang Fan was the one who followed the Manchester United players onto the field.

When he entered Old Trafford, everyone in the stadium stood up and applauded him.

The whole world already knows that Louis van Gaal will be Manchester United's manager next season.

As for Yang Fan's whereabouts, there has been no comment from the club yet.

Just yesterday, Yang Fan revealed in a media interview that he currently has no plans for the next step.

He is now focused on leading Manchester United well and playing well in the last three games.

"Yang Fan, the 25-year-old Chinese head coach, currently only holds an English Level 1 coaching certificate."

"But under his management, Manchester United won a series of victories, not only climbing to fifth place in the league, but also defeating strong opponents such as Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the Champions League, reaching the Champions League final."

"It's fair to say that under Yang Fan's leadership, Manchester United has restored confidence!"

"Without Yang Fan, there would be no applause at Old Trafford tonight!"

"But as Manchester United CEO Ed Woodward said, Yang Fan has not yet obtained the qualification certificate to coach a Premier League team, so he is not suitable to continue coaching Manchester United at the moment."

According to external media reports, Manchester United hopes that Yang Fan can stay in the team and serve as Van Gaal's assistant, learning from Van Gaal. It is believed that with his current coaching talent, he will definitely have the opportunity to return to the Manchester United manager's position before long.

"But it is said that Yang Fan has not yet made a decision."

After Hull City's players entered the field, a detail emerged.

Many Manchester United fans also gave Hull City manager Steve Bruce some applause.

He's Manchester United's legendary captain!

As is customary, Yang Fan was the first to walk to the away team's bench and shake hands with Steve Bruce.

"Welcome to Old Trafford!" Yang Fan said politely.

Steve Bruce retorted rather bluntly, "I know this place better than you do!"

Then he added, "When I was playing football here, you didn't even know where you were."

That's the truth.

Steve Bruce joined Manchester United from Norwich in December 1987 and made his first appearance for the club at Old Trafford in the first game after Christmas in 1987.

From then on, Ferguson entrusted him with important responsibilities.

Where is Yang Fan?

Born in September 1988.

When Steve Bruce was playing for Manchester United at Old Trafford, Yang Fan really didn't know where he was.

But those words sounded harsh.

"Now I finally understand why Manchester United's second Champions League title didn't come until 99!"

Before Steve Bruce could react, Yang Fan added, "By the way, as a Manchester United legend, I formally invite you to the Champions League final in Lisbon."

Steve Bruce's overweight face was full of anger, and he even seemed on the verge of going berserk.

He did not win the Champions League at Manchester United.

After leaving in 96, Manchester United won the treble in 99.

Yang Fan's words were like a slap in the face to him.

What's the point of ranking people by seniority?

Winning is the only way to succeed!

Yang Fan completely ignored the enraged Steve Bruce and turned back to the home team's coaching bench.

Despite Steve Bruce's boasting about his seniority, he's actually more cautious than anyone else.

The lineup for this match was 5-3-2, a standard defensive counter-attacking formation.

Yang Fan was quite familiar with their main center-back, Curtis Davis.

I used to play Football Manager a lot.

There's another one, Alex Bruce.

Watson, have you spotted the blind spot?

That's right.

Ferguson's first name, Bruce's last name.

He is Steve Bruce's son, and he will be 30 years old soon.

But unlike his father, who is a Manchester United legend and a legendary center-back, his son is rather pathetic.

He came through the youth academies of Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers, but his entire professional career is not worth mentioning. Relying on his father's connections, he moved around to countless teams, and his resume is quite long.

They rarely get a chance to play.

In 2012, when Steve Bruce took over Hull City, which was then in the Championship, the first thing he did was to sign his beloved son on a free transfer.

This second-generation footballer, who couldn't get many games in the Championship and lower leagues, suddenly became a key player and defensive stalwart after arriving at Hull City.

Steve Bruce is quite impressive; he managed to lead Hull City to the Premier League.

As a result, his beloved son naturally became a key central defender for the Premier League team.

What's admirable is that Hull City not only successfully avoided relegation in the Premier League this season, but also reached the FA Cup final, ultimately losing to Wenger's Arsenal.

So who said that there are no connections in Europe's top leagues?

If you're good enough and keep winning, even if all 11 starting players are from the same team, everyone will just give you a thumbs up and say: "Awesome!"

Of course, in the brutal cup competition, Steve Bruce didn't dare to start his son.

Yang Fan's strategy for this match was quite simple.

5 defenders?

It's alright, just keep a close eye on Steve Bruce's precious baby and attack him relentlessly!

"Okay, Manchester United intercepted the ball in midfield."

"The game has now been going on for 2 minutes, and this is the first time Manchester United have entered Hull City's 30-meter zone."

"Valencia is making a run up the right flank."

"Left-back Rosseño marked him closely, one-on-one!"

"Valencia stops, dribbles, takes a touch, starts running, and heads towards the byline!"

"A beautiful breakthrough on the right wing, followed by a cross!"

"Fellaini outjumps Alex Bruce at the far post and heads the ball across the goal!"

"Van Persie!!!"

"Goal!!"

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!"

"Just 2 minutes and 11 seconds into the game, Manchester United took the lead at home against Hull City."

"Fellaini headed the ball across, and Van Persie poked it in at the near post to open the scoring."

"1 to 0!"

"Let's revisit the process of this goal."

"Fellaini's height advantage is very obvious. Alex Bruce is only 1.8 meters tall and has no advantage at all against the Belgian."

"Heading the ball across is also very easy."

"Manchester United have had a fantastic start at home!"

"It's been 30 minutes now, and the score is still 1-0!"

"We saw Manchester United's attack shift to the right flank."

"Valencia came up, still wanting to play it safe."

"Hull City was well prepared this time, and Rossene did a good job defending."

"Valencia, pass it back."

"Carrick comes up to receive the ball, adjusts, and passes it diagonally to the far post."

"Let's find Fellaini."

"Fellaini challenged Alex Bruce for the ball at the far post and headed it down."

"It bounced back up after landing!"

"Van Persie!"

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!"

"A second time!"

"It's Fellaini's header again!"

"It's Van Persie again, poaching goals in front of the net."

"2 to 0!"

"Manchester United extended their lead in the 30th minute!"

"My God, Manchester United played exceptionally well tonight, and the players' morale was incredibly high."

"Although Hull City adopted a five-defender formation, the defensive pressure was still very high."

"Especially Fellaini."

"What the hell!"

"Is that bastard specifically targeting Alex tonight?"

Steve Bruce was completely restless on the sidelines.

They conceded two goals in the first half, both from Fellaini's headers and from pressing Alex Bruce.

After switching sides in the second half, they continued playing the same way.

Could Steve Bruce tolerate this?

The assistants watched anxiously from the sidelines.

During halftime, Steve Bruce realized the situation was dire and made two substitutions in quick succession.

But Alex Bruce is not included.

What else could they say as assistants?

Are you going to tell Steve Bruce that his son is too weak and that the enemy is targeting his weaknesses?

Just then, Valencia made another high-speed forward run, breaking through along the right flank, and crossed from the byline, once again looking for Fellaini.

Fellaini outjumps Alex Bruce to head the ball into the goal.

Fortunately, the goalkeeper made a valiant save.

Corner kick.

"Damn bastard!" Steve Bruce cursed through gritted teeth.

"He must have done it on purpose!"

Manchester United's corner kick was once again delivered into the penalty area.

But this time, Curtis Davis headed the ball away, clearing it out of the penalty area.

The ball was still at Manchester United's feet, but it was then moved to the right wing.

Valencia came up to receive the ball and delivered another cross.

This time it wasn't a high ball, but rather it landed in front of the goal.

Fellaini made a quick forward run and attempted a sliding shot, trying to put the ball into the goal that was so close to him.

Hull City's goalkeeper made a desperate dive to the side, using his body to block the ball.

The problem was that Rooney appeared out of nowhere and poked the ball in front of the goal.

3 is better than 0!

The entire Old Trafford stadium was filled with cheers.

Steve Bruce reached out and rubbed his face hard, feeling really like cursing!

But before he could even utter a curse, three minutes later, Fellaini finally seized his opportunity.

This damn Belgian received a pass from his teammate, and on the left side of Hull City's penalty area, he twisted and turned, dribbled past Alex Bruce, and then suddenly unleashed a powerful shot from the left side of the arc.

The football, with lightning speed, nestled into the right side of Hull City's goal.

4 is better than 0!

In the 85th minute, substitute Januzaj dribbled past two defenders and passed the ball to...

They reached Van Persie's feet in the top of the penalty area.

After receiving the ball between Alex Bruce and Curtis Davis, Van Persie calmly turned and fired a right-footed shot.

"hat trick!!!"

"A hat trick from Robin van Persie!"

"My God, who could have imagined that Manchester United would thrash Hull City 5-0 in their final home game of the season!"

"Van Persie delivered a hat-trick, a wonderful gift to all the Manchester United fans who came to the stadium."

"This is also Manchester United's declaration!"

"With a 5-0 thrashing of Hull City, Manchester United have 72 points, just 3 points behind Arsenal's 75."

"There's one last round in the league; it's not over yet."

"If Norwich pulls off a major upset against Arsenal and Manchester United beats Southampton away, they can break into the top four!"

"Manchester United still has a chance!"

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