Clive Tyldesley: "Good evening, and welcome to the Theatre of Dreams! Tonight, we bring you the decisive second leg of this Champions League heavyweight clash! Manchester United hosting Atlético Madrid!"
Ally McCoist: "In the bruising first leg, the two sides drew 1-1 in Madrid, with United snagging that vital away goal. Today's result will determine who advances to the quarter-finals!"
Clive Tyldesley: "Let's look at the lineups. Mourinho has deployed an aggressive 4-2-3-1 formation today. As we know, United's recent form hasn't been stellar, and with the explosive news of Jesse Lingard being dropped, they desperately need a convincing performance."
Ally McCoist: "Although Kante is cup-tied, Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera have returned from injury to anchor the midfield. Their partnership has been tested in several big matches, so United should be solid defensively."
Clive Tyldesley: "For Atlético, wearing their blue away kits, Simeone sticks with his classic, rigid 4-4-2. But due to Saul Niguez, Filipe Luís, and Diego Costa being suspended, Simeone has faced significant headaches. Thomas Lemar fills in at right midfield, Lucas Hernandez starts at left-back, and Alvaro Morata is up front. Honestly, Ally, with this lineup, the intensity of their famous high press is likely to drop considerably."
On the screen, Jeremy Ling, wearing the Manchester United captain's armband, exchanged pennants with Atlético captain Diego Godín, with no further interaction or smiles.
Ling would usually exchange a few pleasantries with the opposition captain.
But there was no need with Atlético.
After the coin toss, Ling raised his arm and shouted, "Come on, lads!"
"COME ON!!!" the Manchester United players roared, clenching their fists.
In the Stretford End, the fans also rose to their feet, mimicking their captain by raising their right arms in unison.
"Manchester United, march on!" "Manchester United, victory is ours!"
The vibrant red jerseys reflected under the floodlights, making Old Trafford under the night sky look even more magnificent, like a dazzling dream factory!
Beeeeep!!!!!
After the referee's whistle blew, Ling passed the ball back to Pogba and immediately turned to sprint into Atlético's defensive line, heading straight for Jose Gimenez.
His task today was incredibly simple: completely suppress Atlético's right center-back.
Because Thomas Lemar's defensive ability on that flank was severely lacking—otherwise, he wouldn't have been sidelined so often by Simeone—the young Frenchman was Manchester United's main attacking target.
Focusing heavily on one point to influence the entire flank, creating immense pressure on that side, and ultimately spreading the advantage to generate opportunities in the attacking third!
Manchester United had prepared for this specific vulnerability for days, there was no reason they wouldn't execute it flawlessly.
The ball was quickly passed to Rashford on the left wing.
"Marcus!" Ling shouted.
He kept darting around dangerously in front of Gimenez, like a moving lure.
Not only was he adding physical pressure to Atlético's defense, but he was also reinforcing his role as a playmaker in the half-spaces, embodying the versatile modern center-forward.
As expected, Gimenez had no choice but to step up out of the defensive line and mark Ling tightly, even calling Rodri over to help double-team him.
Now, who in all of Europe doesn't know that if you give Ling even a yard of space, once he gets going, he's unstoppable—pulling and shoving won't hold him back!
But who would have thought Ling didn't even attempt to receive the ball? Instead, he let Rashford's pass roll right past him to the back post.
Ally McCoist: "Look at this dummy! So sneaky from Ling! He's drawn two men!"
Clive Tyldesley: "Pogba switches it out wide! Mahrez has it!"
Mahrez lightly nudged the ball with his left foot, neatly avoiding Godín's desperate tackle, and then curled a trademark shot directly toward the goal!
The ball traced a huge arc heading straight for the top right corner!
Clive Tyldesley: "MAHREZ! Oh, brilliant save! Oblak got a crucial fingertip to it at the last moment, the ball changed direction and hit the post!"
Ally McCoist: "Godín clears it out with a big boot, and the battle for the second ball is intense in midfield!"
In the midfield scramble, Koke, clearly out of position, gave Nemanja Matic a cynical hard shove in the back, completely throwing the Serbian off his balance.
Tweet!
The referee blew his whistle, walked over, and issued a firm verbal warning.
"Sir, watch your actions. Next time, I'll show a card."
Although UEFA vehemently denies acknowledging home advantage in refereeing, it definitely exists.
When faced with difficult or 50-50 calls, the referee will subconsciously give a slight edge to the home team fed by the crowd's energy.
Besides, Koke's cynical action wasn't even hard to judge.
On the touchline, Simeone saw the foul given and angrily confronted the fourth official.
"If that tiny level of contact is a foul in England, why don't we just put up a net in the middle of the pitch and have both teams play volleyball instead?!"
Next to him, Rui Faria couldn't hold back and spat out all the water in his mouth, laughing.
'Simeone is quite the character,' Faria thought.
Whether his argument holds water or not, that analogy isn't something just anyone could come up with in the heat of the moment.
The fourth official glared coldly at Simeone. "If you continue to harass me without reason, I'll report you to the referee and you'll be sent to the stands."
Simeone angrily shook his hands and walked back to his technical area, roaring toward the green pitch.
He was trying to artificially boost Atlético Madrid's players' morale this way.
Today, Atlético's only chance to win was to hold firm defensively first and then look for counter-attacking opportunities to sneak in a goal.
But he still severely underestimated Mourinho.
Targeted tactical setups had Manchester United absolutely dominating Atlético, leaving them no room to breathe or fight back.
If things continued like this, a goal was only a matter of time.
Atlético's usual game rhythm was to aggressively test the referee's tolerance early in the match and adjust their foul intensity accordingly.
Today, however, the referee started with a strict warning against Koke, making the Spanish side a bit hesitant and cautious in their tackles.
The match soon reached the 15-minute mark.
During this time, Manchester United had two glorious chances, both coming from easily breaking through on Thomas Lemar's weak side and then switching play to the attacking third for a secondary attack. It's just that the final finishing was a bit rough.
Just as Simeone had feared, Manchester United's offensive pressure didn't let up from the start, clearly determined not to stop until the ball was in the net.
Clive Tyldesley: "Another wave of red attacks! Rashford makes consecutive bursts down the wing, completely shaking off Thomas Lemar!"
Ally McCoist: "He draws Rodri over to cover, and then cleverly slips the ball to Pogba in the center. Atlético's defense is instantly falling into disarray!"
"Paul, give it to me!" Ling stood at the edge of the penalty area, boldly calling for the ball even with Gimenez breathing down his neck.
He could clearly feel that he was in absolute peak form!
Hearing this, Pogba hesitated for a fraction of a second but still passed the ball over.
However, the hesitation had already wasted precious time, and the pass was flawed—an awkward, half-high ball that's very difficult to control under pressure.
Gimenez and Godín had also quickly dropped back into their defensive positions.
Everyone in the stadium thought this promising attack was going to fizzle out due to the poor pass.
But Ling had no time to complain.
If every ball in a match were perfectly weighted, then every player could become a superstar.
What's the reality? Only those who can still perform at their absolute best against the toughest defenses, who can make the most appropriate, creative decisions in the shortest time, are the true superstars!
Ling observed that no one was marking him too tightly on his left side, so he boldly cushioned the awkward ball down to his side with his chest, and instantly raised his left foot as if to unleash a furious volley!
Godín instinctively moved to block the impending shot, but he also kept his wits about him, staying on his feet.
Seeing that the veteran wasn't completely fooled by the fake, Ling shifted his weight dramatically, pulling off a few more rapid step-overs over the bouncing ball.
Then, regardless of how Godín reacted, he powered forward with explosive strength to create half a yard of space!
Creating the angle, he wound up his leg again.
Godín finally couldn't resist the bait and threw himself into a desperate sliding block!
Tap!!!
Ling's left foot deftly pulled the ball back sharply (a Cruyff turn) and he even physically held off Lucas Hernandez's challenge with his back in the same motion!
At this moment, Ling's heart was pounding like a war drum, as if electricity was racing through his entire body.
Although there was still a sea of blue defenders in front of him, he had a strange, overwhelming premonition—that he could score this goal!
Mourinho had once told him, "Besides talent and hard work, the most important thing for a top player is absolute confidence in the box."
Seeing this chaotic scene unfold, the Manchester United fans held their breath, tightly clenching their fists.
The commentary box was also in sheer chaos.
"No! A fake shot, then a touch! Is he dancing in the penalty area?!" Clive Tyldesley: "Still a feint! He holds off Jose Gimenez! He takes the shot!"
Jan Oblak had the near post sealed tight, unable to imagine how Ling could possibly score from that acute, crowded angle.
But he overlooked one crucial detail.
Following Ling's downward gaze, the ball was struck powerfully, skimming perfectly past Rodri's outstretched shoe and shooting cleanly through his legs!
Oblak was completely unsighted.
The ball smashed into the back of Atlético Madrid's net!
1-0!!! (2-1 on aggregate)
Being able to make the most advantageous, ruthless decision in the shortest time, maximizing one's strengths—that's the mark of a superstar!
And their superstar is Manchester United's number 7!
Old Trafford completely erupted into madness.
Ling sprinted toward the corner flag, leaped high into the air, and threw his signature, powerful punch at the sky!
Having taken on Atlético's entire defense almost single-handedly to score a magical goal, his emotions erupted like a volcano, instantly reaching their absolute peak!
This is the thrill that Champions League football brings!
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I'm looking for Manager fic now since i'm re reading a manager fic (Start with real madrid) if you havent read it be sure to read it because it was the best manager type fic here, i will post it here once i found the fic, preferly one that have less chinese influence. The chinese influence i mean is they always use 1 pair of commentator throughout the fic eg (zhan zun and zhanglu) 1 journalist (Ma fanshu) and a random restaurant chinese uncle whose name always the same and always exist in every country lol.