Pogba received Kante's drilled through ball with his back to goal, skillfully pulled off a quick V-turn to effortlessly shake off Rúben Neves, and then delivered a stunning no-look pass out wide!
It was absolutely dazzling!
Ever since Mourinho harshly disciplined him a few weeks ago, Pogba had given up on causing dressing room trouble and focused entirely on playing his beloved, creative attacking midfield role.
The camera quickly followed the flight of the ball.
Mahrez brought it down and delivered a first-time, whipped cross from the right byline.
However, his right-footed cross was a bit too central and was heavily palmed away by the Wolves goalkeeper, Rui Patrício.
The ball bounced high into the air and landed near the penalty spot.
Two rapid thoughts instantly flashed through Ling's mind as he tracked the dropping ball: If I can't generate enough power with a header from this far out, unless the goalkeeper fumbles it, it definitely won't go in.
So...
He forcefully pushed off the turf with his left foot while violently shifting his body weight backward, using the upward momentum to leap high into the air.
When his torso was perfectly parallel to the ground, he abruptly twisted his core with immense force!
Thump!
His right foot connected solidly with the dropping ball mid-air, sending it flying like a missile toward the left side of the goal!
It even took a nasty deflection off the ground right before reaching the goal, skimming just past Patrício's desperate, outstretched hand and crossing the line.
Guy Mowbray: "GOOOAAALLLL!!!"
Alan Shearer: "Unbelievable! Less than 10 minutes into the match, Ling seizes a chance out of absolutely nothing! A spectacular bicycle kick to put Manchester United ahead!"
Guy Mowbray: "That is the undeniable impact of a true superstar! He just invents goals!"
Ling excitedly high-fived his teammates by the corner flag.
No matter how many tap-ins or headers he scored in his career, a perfectly executed bicycle kick was always a welcome, beautiful addition to the highlight reel!
After all, scoring a bicycle kick was extremely difficult—every micro-movement and timing calculation had to be executed perfectly.
Even in daily, unopposed training, scoring one out of three attempts was considered a relatively high success rate.
Not to mention the complex, chaotic environment of a live cup tie.
After the match resumed, Manchester United continued to professionally control the tempo, giving Wolves no real chance to counterattack.
In the current Premier League landscape, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Liverpool were in a completely different stratosphere from the rest.
Although Wolves were a highly respectable seventh in the standings, defeating Manchester United to advance would essentially require United to field a half-rotated squad and play poorly.
41st minute.
Luke Shaw dribbled aggressively toward the left byline, while Ling and Mahrez charged straight into the six-yard box, drawing most of Wolves' panicked defensive attention with them.
Then, Shaw cleverly played a disguised cut-back pass to the edge of the box instead of crossing. Pogba followed up his late run with a fierce, low shot through traffic to score.
0-2!
But Wolves didn't lose their fighting spirit as expected. Ignoring Ling lurking dangerously in the backfield for counters, they bravely threw numbers forward into the attack.
Since they were likely doomed either way, they might as well go all out in front of their home fans! Maybe they could fight their way back into the tie.
Meanwhile, after taking a comfortable two-goal lead, Manchester United seemed to relax their intensity a bit, allowing their opponents to advance freely into the final third before intensifying their pressing block.
Rúben Neves launched a pinpoint long diagonal pass, targeting the space behind Maguire.
The Wolves forward, Diogo Jota, tried to control the dropping ball with a soft touch back inside, but the force of his touch was slightly too strong.
Unexpectedly, the bouncing ball happened to strike Maguire's trailing arm.
Initially, the referee signaled for play to continue, but he soon pressed his earpiece as if listening to the VAR room, then jogged over to the sideline to review the monitor.
"Every time I see the referee checking that VAR screen, I get a really bad feeling," Ling sighed helplessly, resting his hands on his hips.
"My hand was tucked close to my body—it can't be a penalty. Just put your mind at ease—" Before Maguire could finish defending himself, he froze in place.
The referee drew a TV screen in the air, blew his whistle loudly, and pointed firmly to the penalty spot, also showing a bewildered Maguire a yellow card along the way.
"Sigh, Sergio probably wants to kill you right now," Ling said helplessly, patting the big defender's back.
He didn't know what was up with Maguire's luck—every single time Sergio Romero came on as a cup substitute, Maguire either clumsily gave away a penalty or got dispossessed in a dangerous area.
Romero had lost several clean sheet contract bonuses because of it this season.
Sensing Romero's resentful glare from the goal line, Maguire hurriedly said, "Ling, you have to put in a good word for me! Last time was unintentional, and this time definitely wasn't my fault either! The ball played me!"
"David is close with him. You can go talk to him about it later," Ling gave him a "good luck" look and walked to the edge of the box.
Beep!
Romero took a deep breath, glared intensely at Diogo Jota, and dove to his left.
But Jota coolly sent the ball flying to the right.
1-2!
Wolves pulled one back just before halftime, and their fans in the stands erupted in deafening cheers.
Perhaps they could really upset the Red Devils and advance to the FA Cup semi-finals!
...
During halftime.
As expected, Mourinho unleashed his fury in the dressing room—though surprisingly, it wasn't directed at Maguire.
After all, the manager knew he was truly an innocent victim of a harsh handball rule.
"Why did you all let your guard down after scoring the second?! Are you so happy about beating Liverpool last week that you think you can casually jog around and win against the seventh-placed team in the league?!" Mourinho roared, kicking a laundry basket.
"If you approach the game with that arrogant mindset, how can you compete with Manchester City for the title?! How can you possibly face Messi and Barcelona?!"
"Don't let one victory cloud your judgment. As long as you're standing on that green pitch wearing this shirt, remember your responsibilities at all times! In the second half, I don't want to see the same lazy attitude happen!"
Everyone was scolded so harshly they couldn't lift their heads to make eye contact.
...
The result was that in the second half, every single pass, tackle, and run was executed with utmost seriousness and intensity.
74th minute.
A desperate Wolves midfield long pass was expertly intercepted by Nemanja Matic, who instantly delivered a high-quality, raking long pass in the opposite direction.
Ling, despite initially trailing the play by two body lengths, hit top speed and managed to reach the bouncing ball just before Wolves' retreating center-back, Conor Coady.
He was clean through on goal!
The classic, terrifying step-over move reappeared. The exact moment Patrício lost his balance and shifted his weight, Ling pushed the ball to the right with even greater speed to bypass the keeper.
Then, he calmly slotted it into the empty net.
1-3!
Wolves paid the ultimate price for their aggressive, high-risk attacking approach, while Manchester United ruthlessly capitalized on their trademark counterattacks to extend their lead and kill the cup tie.
In the end, the score remained unchanged until the final whistle.
With that, the FA Cup semi-final lineup was officially confirmed.
Manchester City, Manchester United, Brighton, and Watford.
The draw results would be announced three days later.
Who would face whom? This became a hot topic in English football pubs.
Given the FA's usual commercial tendencies, fans believed they would surely separate Manchester United and Manchester City in the semi-final draw—otherwise, how could they maximize viewership for the final at Wembley?
If things played out as fans predicted, with United and City meeting in the final, it would be the third high-stakes encounter between the two Manchester clubs this season.
In the previous Carabao Cup final, Manchester City narrowly lost to Manchester United on penalties, leaving their fans heartbroken for a long time.
Although they now potentially had a chance for revenge in the FA Cup, they couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.
Mainly because they'd been heavily beaten down over the last two seasons by their rivals.
Ling alone had scored six goals against them in his young career, just one shy of the historic record set by Mane against City.
But it's worth noting that Mane's goal tally against City dates back to his Southampton days in the 2014-15 season, while Ling achieved his in less than two seasons.
Ling didn't dwell too much on these stats.
However, he did consider one amusing possibility: if he beat Manchester City again in another cup final, would he still be allowed into Maria's home for dinner?
Of course, defeating Manchester City wouldn't be easy. Last time, the two teams battled it out to a grueling penalty shootout. What about this time?
...
After the match, the international break arrived.
With nothing else on his schedule, Ling invited his parents to England to show them around and relax.
Standing in front of the iconic Big Ben in London.
"Son, what are your and Maria's plans for the future?" his mother asked curiously while taking photos.
"It's still way too early for that, Mom!" Ling shook his head, laughing. "At least wait until after I graduate from university."
Although many professional football players marry and have children early—for example, Manchester City's Phil Foden had a son at 18 and reportedly wants a second child soon—Ling felt it was better to focus entirely on his career first, aiming to win a few more major trophies while he's young and unburdened.
"Alright, we're not rushing you. As long as you have your own plans, that's fine," Yan Lanxia didn't press further.
In the afternoon, Ling took his parents to Cambridge University because his father, Ling Changzheng, was very fond of the famous Chinese poet Xu Zhimo, who had studied there.
However, while punting along the picturesque River Cam, Ling Changzheng got seasick and nearly vomited, completely shattering his beautiful, romantic impression of the Cambridge bridges.
The international break came and went quickly.
Soon, it was March 30th, with Manchester United hosting Watford at Old Trafford, the latter ranked 12th in the league table.
After being severely reprimanded by Mourinho some time ago, the Manchester United players remained sharply focused throughout the match, wrapping up the game with a clean, professional 2-0 victory.
Unfortunately, Ling's luck wasn't on his side today, as both of his powerful shots hit either the crossbar or the post.
Meanwhile, Mahrez was in exceptional form, scoring a brilliant brace.
With the 32nd round of the Premier League concluded, time moved into April, and the intense flames of the Champions League quarter-finals were about to ignite once again.