Chapter 216: Udinese’s Ceiling

Chapter 216: Udinese's Ceiling

After the match restarted, Udinese adopted an even more resolute defensive strategy. Meanwhile, Barcelona continued to control the game, frequently creating chances.

However, with Udinese tightening their defense, Barcelona found it difficult to pass the ball into the box easily. Leading 2-1, Barcelona also slowed down their attacking pace. The best opportunity came in the 83rd minute when Neymar made a central pass to Luis Suárez, who shot wide from the right side of the box.

The Uruguayan forward had several chances throughout the match, but his performance was clearly off, or else Udinese would have been in serious trouble. Of course, this is quite normal. If all of MSN were at their peak, how could any opponent stand a chance?

At this point, Guidolin started making substitutions, primarily to disrupt Barcelona's attacking rhythm and consume some match time. The first to be substituted was captain Di Natale, passing the captain's armband to Bruno.

Badu came on for Di Natale, resulting in four midfielders on the field for Udinese, building a solid defensive line in front of their backline. Before injury time, Guidolin made further substitutions, taking off Maguire and Piris, replaced by Bubnjic and Domizzi.

Barcelona fans were furious at Udinese's time-wasting tactics, but the team remained unfazed by the jeers.

In the 87th minute, Barcelona made their final substitution, bringing on Bartra for Mascherano. Messi took over as captain.

At this point, Udinese fully retreated, with Bruno also dropping back to defend near his penalty area. His task was to use his exceptional running ability to mark Messi closely, denying the Argentine star any easy touches on the ball.

As a result, the two captains frequently appeared in the same frame.

With Barcelona maintaining possession and attacking methodically, and Udinese defending resolutely near their penalty area, time ticked away, reaching stoppage time. The officials added three minutes, a standard amount given the flow of the game.

Overall, the match had been smooth, with no malicious fouls or significant interruptions. The six substitutions in the second half and Barcelona's goal accounted for the three minutes of stoppage time.

Barcelona didn't suffer from a fear of not scoring, even with a narrow 2-1 lead, as they confidently controlled the ball, believing Udinese couldn't threaten them under such circumstances.

And indeed, until the 93rd minute, Udinese didn't get any opportunities.

Just as everyone thought the match would end with this score, Barcelona suddenly accelerated in the final moments, executing a brilliant play.

Barcelona made a series of quick passes in midfield, ending with Suárez passing to Messi. During these swift exchanges, Bruno lost track of Messi, which was understandable since he wasn't a natural defender.

Messi received the ball, dribbled past Guilherme, and slanted a left-footed pass into the middle of the box. Neymar surged forward and fired a low shot with his right foot.

The ball flew straight into Udinese's net, with Karnezis unable to react in time.

Neymar, overwhelmed with excitement, ran off the pitch, receiving cheers from over 90,000 Barcelona fans.

3-1!

Seeing the goal conceded in the dying moments, Bruno cursed loudly in frustration. This goal was a heavy blow!

For Udinese, losing 1-2 away was vastly different from losing 1-3. At 1-2, they only needed a 1-0 win at home to advance. But now, at 1-3, they'd need at least a 2-0 win or a three-goal margin to progress, a daunting task against Barcelona led by MSN.

Essentially, Barcelona had one foot in the Champions League final.

Brüch didn't give Udinese any more time. As Barcelona ended their celebrations and returned to the field, the German referee blew the final whistle right after Udinese kicked off.

With the referee's whistle, Bruno booted the ball into the sky in frustration.

Damn it!

After kicking the ball in frustration, Bruno collapsed onto the pitch, wiping the sweat from his face with his hands and closing his eyes, feeling the overwhelming noise from the stands.

The cheers weren't for him, but he still savored the atmosphere.

They lost tonight's match!

In the end, Udinese lost 1-3 at Camp Nou.

But Bruno felt no regret or sorrow. He had given his all until the last moment, but Barcelona was indeed stronger, a team a notch above Udinese. To hold them to a draw for over eighty minutes was an achievement in itself.

Though the final score was 1-3, anyone who watched the game knew that 1-2 would have been a fairer reflection.

Moreover, this was just the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, and the second leg would be played at the Friuli Stadium.

Everything was still up in the air!

With the intense match over, Bruno could finally reflect calmly. He realized this game showed the ceiling for Udinese.

Udinese, despite their impressive recent seasons, was still a small club. Even with their extraordinary performances, they remained a second-tier team in Europe. Giving their all, they had reached their current limit.

Winning the Europa League last season and potentially clinching the Serie A title this season seemed like anomalies, strokes of luck.

At this moment, Bruno realized he needed to leave Udinese this summer to seek higher challenges and continue his growth. Staying at Udinese might mean stagnation.

With Di Natale aging, Udinese might not maintain their recent form.

The Champions League is ultimately a competition for the elite.

This summer, even if he didn't want to leave, Udinese likely wouldn't keep him.

Either he leaves, bringing in significant funds to renew contracts for players like Kanté, Cancelo, and Salah, or he stays, and those standout teammates would leave.

Udinese's pragmatic and calculative approach meant selling Bruno was the best choice.

In the latest Transfermarkt update, Bruno's market value had risen to 70 million euros, ranking eighth among all players.

The most expensive were, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, both valued at 120 million euros.

Neymar was the only other player in the 100 million club.

Following were Suárez at 90 million euros, James Rodríguez and Bale at 80 million euros, and Müller at 75 million euros.

Bruno, Lewandowski, and Hazard were next, each valued at 70 million euros.

This made Bruno one of the top ten most valuable players in the world.

Given Bruno's age, just under 21, and his immense potential, his transfer fee would likely exceed 70 million euros, potentially making him the second player to surpass the 100 million mark.

Selling Bruno would indeed be a substantial boon for Udinese.

Despite knowing he would leave, Bruno still wanted to achieve something significant.

He was determined to win the Serie A title and aimed to score more goals.

Scoring in Serie A was no longer a challenge for him.

As for the Champions League, he would continue to fight in the semi-final second leg, even though he knew overturning the deficit against Barcelona was highly unlikely.

Facing Barcelona's MSN, the world's best attacking and passing team, was Udinese's nightmare due to their fragile defense.

With these thoughts, Bruno's eyes opened, filled with renewed determination.

He knew exactly what he needed to do next.

As team captain, Bruno got up and gathered his teammates.

The Udinese players, both on the field and the bench, went to the corner where their fans were seated, forming a line to thank their supporters.

This was a customary gesture for away games.

Traveling fans deserved gratitude, especially after a defeat like tonight's.

The fans on the stands weren't disappointed but encouraged the players, applauding and cheering to show their satisfaction.

Competing to such an extent against Barcelona away was no small feat.

Moreover, there was still the second leg to play.

The players also clapped for the fans, expressing their appreciation.

(End of chapter)