Chapter 865: Forward Through Victory
Fresh off their stunning comeback against PSG, United visited the King Power Stadium for an FA Cup quarterfinal against third-place Leicester City.
It was United's final March fixture before the first international break of 2021 paused the league.
With the toll from the PSG tie heavy, Mourinho rotated widely—only Bruno and the two center-backs kept their places. Sergio Romero replaced De Gea in goal; Diogo Dalot came in for João Cancelo; Victor Lindelöf filled in at left-back. In midfield, Bruno lined up with Fred and the young Jude Bellingham; up front, Riyad Mahrez, Scott McTominay, and Mason Greenwood formed the trident.
Leicester's season had been outstanding, sitting third above Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Arsenal.
The reverse league fixture at the King Power had finished 2–2, with Bruno's goal and assist earning United a point.
...
Leicester started on the front foot.
24': Harry Maguire's forward pass, Fred's backpass miscued, Kelechi Iheanacho intercepted, rounded the keeper, and rolled it in—Leicester 1–0 United.
United hit back four minutes later: Bruno cut in from the right and whipped a left-footed curler beyond Kasper Schmeichel.
30': Iheanacho drew a foul from Maguire—yellow card for the United skipper.
34': Bruno went down after a clash with Wesley Fofana—just a scrape from studs.
38': Bruno spun left and cut back; Bellingham dummied at the near post; Greenwood flashed in at the back to slam home—2–1 United.
After the break, Leicester equalized on 52': Iheanacho linked, Youri Tielemans surged through and slotted in off the left—2–2.
78': Marc Albrighton's free kick from the left, McTominay misjudged the flight, and Iheanacho headed in—3–2 Leicester.
United struck back quickly: 88', a Bruno free kick arced into the top-left, 3–3.
In stoppage time—90+3'—Bruno scooped from the right to the back post, and substitute Harry Kane headed in—4–3 United.
United advanced after a goal-laden thriller, with Bruno delivering two goals and two assists to overturn Leicester away and reach the FA Cup semifinals.
The draw smiled again: United drew the weaker Southampton, while Chelsea would face Manchester City.
Per schedule, United–Southampton would be April 17, and Chelsea–City on April 18.
...
The international break began.
Europe's nations embarked on group-stage qualifiers for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Portugal's group pitted them against Azerbaijan, Serbia, Luxembourg, and others. Portugal, ranked first by FIFA, stood as heavy favorites; Serbia were second-best in the group at 30th, with Ireland 42nd, Luxembourg 98th, and Azerbaijan 108th.
March 24: Portugal hosted Azerbaijan.
It was a mismatch on paper, and Portugal besieged them from the start, yet wastefulness reigned. An own goal delivered the 1–0 halftime lead: 35', Rúben Neves crossed from 45°, Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev's save deflected off Maksim Medvedev into the net.
After the interval, Portugal pressed on.
68': Bruno dribbled through the center, slalomed past three, and lashed into the top corner from the arc—2–0.
On 72', Bruno struck again—cutting in from the left and bending a gorgeous curler to seal a 3–0 win.
...
Three days later, Portugal visited Serbia in the group's most pivotal match.
Serbia attacked first: Aleksandar Mitrović's strike was smothered by Rúben Dias; Dušan Tadić's effort was blocked.
Riding out the storm, Portugal took charge.
10': Bernardo Silva crossed from 45° to the back post; Nikola Milenković misjudged it; Diogo Jota headed in—0–1.
35': Bernardo switched to the right; Cédric Soares overlapped and crossed; Jota thumped in again—0–2 at half.
Then came a nightmare quarter-hour.
45': Serbia broke, Andrija Živković crossed, and Mitrović powered a header between two defenders—1–2.
59': Tadić sparked another break, Živković slipped Filip Kostić through to slot home—2–2.
Portugal wobbled but survived the surge; chances at the other end followed—Maximović's drive was stifled, Živković's tight-angle rocket blocked by Anthony Lopes.
...
Portugal reasserted control.
73': Bruno's long diagonal from the right found Cristiano Ronaldo, who somehow blasted over from point-blank range, burying his face in his hands.
80': Renato Sanches, just on, clipped long; Bruno hammered in from range—3–2 Portugal.
91': Milenković, losing his head, lunged through Danilo Pereira—straight red.
At the end, Portugal could have stretched it: Nuno Mendes lofted long, Ronaldo nudged past the outrushing Marko Dmitrović, and Stefan Mitrović slid it off the line—replays suggested the ball had crossed.
Ronaldo and teammates stormed the linesman; the referee flashed two yellows—one to Ronaldo, one to Bruno—stunning the world. To book both "kings" at once took nerve.
Ronaldo's fury simmered to the whistle; at full time he ripped off the armband and flung it to the turf.
Still, Portugal slogged to a vital away win—two from two, top of the group.
...
Portuguese media torched the officiating afterward.
Record's front page screamed "ROUBO!"
Correio da Manhã declared the referee had stolen victory.
A Bola riffed: Sem VARgonha—both a jab at the lack of VAR and a dig at the officials' "shamelessness."
Portugal's loss was more than Ronaldo's ghost goal or outrage—it was also Bruno's second yellow in as many matches, after one against Azerbaijan.
By rule, Bruno would miss the next match—away to Luxembourg.
Some snide outlets claimed he had "washed" his suspension to save energy for club duties.
On March's penultimate day, Portugal traveled to Luxembourg.
The first five minutes saw traded turnovers and few chances; without Bruno, Portugal looked oddly blunt.
29': Luxembourg struck first—Sinnani's cross from the left, Gerson Rodrigues glanced a header into the left side—1–0.
...
Pricked pride stoked Portugal's aggression; they hemmed Luxembourg in but still failed to carve the clean chance.
Then, in first-half stoppage, João Neto crossed from the left of the area and Jota met it—1–1.
After the break, Portugal pressed on with renewed purpose.
51': Portugal led—Ronaldo initiated from the left, bounced a one-two with João Cancelo, then arrived at the six to stab home—1–2.
79': From a left-sided corner, Neto's delivery dropped and João Palhinha bounced a header in—1–3.
That's how it finished—3–1 Portugal, three wins from three, three points clear atop Group A.
...
The break ended; leagues resumed.
Back at United, Bruno faced Brighton (Premier League Round 30) at Old Trafford.
Conspiracy-minded takes aside, three more days of rest did Brun o good.
United buzzed early, but Bruno and Greenwood both missed sitters.
Punishment followed on 13': a high cross from the right, former United man Danny Welbeck's header was saved, but he nodded in the rebound—0–1.
United pushed back, but FIFA-virus fatigue showed—many were off their best, and Brighton carved chances.
18': Maguire's handball off a clearance gave a free-kick; the delivery found a runner whose header was palmed away by De Gea.
At the interval, Mourinho made two changes—Bellingham for an off-color Gündoğan, and Mahrez for Mbappé.
62': United equalized—Bruno drove, slipped left to Marcus Rashford, who angled in—1–1.
83': United completed the turnaround—Bruno dinked from the left of the box, Bellingham volleyed across, and the newly introduced Greenwood glanced it in—2–1.
After four minutes of stoppage, it ended 2–1—another comeback, United victorious at home.
(END CHAPTER)
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