Soccer: I became Bruno Fernandes.

Chapter 252: Outstanding Form

The weekend saw the sixth round of Serie A, with teams playing two matches in a week. Udinese made some rotations in preparation for their midweek journey to Russia to face CSKA Moscow.

In the 31st minute, Munier scored a goal from the far post on his 28th birthday. However, Udinese managed to turn the game around in the second half. In the 61st minute, Bruno made a long pass, and Badu scored by breaking through the defense. In the 85th minute, Di Natale's lob pass found Duván Zapata, who scored from 7 meters out.

After six matches, Udinese maintained a perfect record with six wins, leading the league. Behind them were Napoli and Inter Milan, both with 15 points from five wins and one loss. Torino was in fourth place with 13 points, and Sassuolo, still unbeaten with three wins and three draws, was in fifth. Roma, Chievo, and Atalanta, each with 11 points, occupied the sixth to eighth positions.

...

Where was Juventus? Scrolling down the standings, they were found in the 14th position. Yes, the Bianconeri were 14th, with a record of 1 win, 2 draws, and 3 losses, only 2 points above the relegation zone and already 13 points behind Udinese.

Juventus' start to the season was a nightmare. They lost to Udinese at home in the first round, were thrashed by Roma at the Stadio Olimpico in the second round, and drew 1-1 with Chievo at home in the third round. After a 2-0 away win against Genoa in the fourth round, they drew 1-1 with newly-promoted Frosinone and lost 2-1 to Napoli at the Maradona Stadium.

Juventus' 5 points from the first six rounds marked their worst start since the 1969-1970 season. Despite a net summer spending of over 75 million euros, Allegri's team had their worst start in 45 years.

In stark contrast, Udinese, with a net profit of over 75 million euros from the transfer market, had six straight wins under Guidolin's leadership.

Meanwhile, Bruno, with his four goals in the previous round, led the Serie A scoring charts with seven goals. Napoli's Higuain was second with five goals.

...

On the last night of September, Udinese traveled to Moscow to face CSKA Moscow in the second round of the Champions League group stage. It was Udinese's sixth match in 18 days!

The continuous schedule left Udinese exhausted. Despite Guidolin's efforts to rotate the squad, the team's limited depth made it difficult to cope with the intense match schedule. Additionally, the cold weather in Russia was a shock for the Udinese players.

At the start of the match, the temperature in Moscow had dropped to just 5 degrees! Coming from the warmth of Italy to the cold of Russia, the Udinese players struggled to adapt.

After a hard-fought match, Udinese lost 2-3, suffering their first defeat of the season.

In the other Group B match, Manchester United won 2-1 at home against Wolfsburg. After two rounds, all four teams in Group B had one win and one loss, each with 3 points. Udinese, with one goal difference, continued to lead the group, followed by CSKA Moscow and PSV Eindhoven with zero goal differences, and Manchester United with -1 goal difference at the bottom.

...

Over the weekend, in the seventh round of Serie A, Udinese hosted Genoa at the Friuli stadium. Moyes' team had an odd pattern this season: they played poorly away but performed well at home, a peculiar phenomenon in this season's Serie A.

They lost 0-1 to Palermo, 0-1 to Fiorentina, and 0-2 to Lazio away. But at home, they beat Verona 2-0, AC Milan 1-0, but lost 0-2 to a struggling Juventus, giving the Bianconeri their only win.

Under these conditions, Genoa's performance was lackluster, ranking 13th, just one point ahead of Juventus.

Before the match, Genoa's veteran coach Gasperini expressed hope that playing at Friuli, where they had good memories last season, would help them get back on track. However, they were immediately met with a tough challenge.

Returning from cold Russia to warm Italy, Udinese regained their form and dominated Genoa from the start. Just three minutes into the match, Bruno dribbled past four Genoa defenders and scored, giving Udinese an early lead.

The game then entered a deadlock with Genoa fully retreating to defend. It wasn't until the 59th minute in the second half that Iturra made a through pass to a fast-advancing Cancelo, who then passed back to Bruno. Bruno, finding space, calmly scored to make it 2-0.

Just three minutes later, Di Natale made a long run from midfield and passed to Theroux in the penalty area. Theroux, shielding the ball from a Genoa defender, feinted a run towards the goal but passed back to an unmarked Bruno, who coolly scored to make it 3-0!

"Hat-trick!" "Another hat-trick!" "This is Bruno's third hat-trick of the season!" "It's unbelievable! Udinese is playing out of their minds, and Bruno is showing his incredible scoring ability." "Three goals in this match bring Bruno's Serie A total to ten goals this season!"

...

Bruno was undoubtedly in top form. After completing his hat-trick, he nearly scored again with a long-range shot, but Lamanna made an excellent save to prevent the goal. Later, Cancelo's left-wing cross found Bruno, who calmly shot from close range, but the referee disallowed the goal, ruling that Di Natale had fouled in the process. Udinese players protested, but the referee stood by his decision, denying Bruno a second four-goal game of the season.

In the 71st minute, Udinese finally got their fourth goal. Bruno passed to the right on a quick counter-attack, and Felipe, who started as a right-back, crossed for Di Natale to tap in.

Genoa managed a consolation goal in the 76th minute when Danilo fouled in the penalty area, giving them a penalty which Pandev converted.

In the end, Udinese secured a 4-1 home victory over Genoa, avenging their defeat from last season.

...

After the Genoa match, the European football calendar saw its second international break of the season, and Bruno returned to the Portugal national team.

During the two-week international break, Portugal faced two Euro qualifier matches, the last two of the group stage. With Portugal already qualified, the matches were relatively insignificant, but coach Santos still fielded a strong team.

On October 8, Portugal beat Denmark 1-0 in Lisbon's Estádio da Luz. The match was tight, and the score was 0-0 until the second minute of injury time when Bruno's corner found Veloso, who scored with a powerful header.

Three days later, Portugal traveled to Serbia and won 2-1, with goals from Bruno and Nani, while Kolarov and Matic were sent off for the Serbians.

With the group stage concluded, Portugal advanced with eight straight wins, while Albania surprisingly finished second ahead of Denmark to qualify. Denmark, finishing third, would need to go through the playoffs for a spot in the finals.

Serbia, initially considered strong contenders, performed poorly, finishing fourth with just seven points from two wins, one draw, and five losses.

...

After the international break, Bruno returned directly from Serbia to Udinese.

As the Euro qualifiers ended, European leagues resumed action.

Udinese continued their impressive form with seven consecutive wins to start the season. However, after the international break, Guidolin made adjustments, and Bruno was benched for the first time.

Since the Italian Super Cup on August 8, Bruno had played 11 matches for Udinese, nearly always completing the full 90 minutes. He also played four full matches for Portugal.

In 70 days, he had played 15 matches, showing the intensity of his schedule.

Despite Bruno's good physical condition, the coaching staff decided to rest him for long-term considerations.

Unexpectedly, in the eighth round of Serie A, Udinese trailed 0-1 against relegation-threatened Verona at halftime.

(End of Chapter)

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