"Man United!!!" "Man United!!!" "Man United!!!"
The traveling cheers of the Manchester United fans, though not deafening in the massive stadium, clearly echoed inside the cavernous Camp Nou.
At the very start of the match, Manchester United gained possession through aggressive high pressing, followed by a rapid series of tactical adjustments, ultimately delivering the ball cleanly to Ling's feet in the box.
What a sight to behold!
All neutral fans watching this match shared the same exact thought at this moment.
However, the 90,000 Barcelona fans clearly couldn't accept it—why was the process so incredibly effortless?
They were, after all, the runaway leaders of La Liga!
Thus, the Camp Nou faithful began to unleash piercing, hostile boos, directed equally at both the celebrating Manchester United players and their own sluggish Barcelona defenders.
"Damn it, Lenglet! How can you be so useless!?"
"Blasted Valverde! If Umtiti were playing center-back, would that even happen?"
"Letting the Brits steal an early away goal!"
No matter what, Barcelona fans refused to believe the goal resulted from a genuine gap in player ability.
It must have been Mourinho using underhanded, sneaky tactics to catch them off guard!
Back when the Portuguese coached Inter Milan and Real Madrid, he often employed special setups at the start of matches to shock Barcelona.
Amidst the boos, jeers, and insults from over eighty thousand people, Ling performed his signature celebration—sprinting to the corner flag, leaping high into the air, and punching the Catalan sky!
Honestly speaking... Camp Nou truly felt different from other stadiums, carrying an unmistakable sense of heightened emotion and hostility!
Darren Fletcher: "Beautifully done! In less than five minutes into the match, Manchester United have taken the lead, achieving an absolute dream start in Spain!"
Steve McManaman: "And the one who scored for Manchester United... is the Premier League's top scorer and record breaker—Ling!"
Darren Fletcher: "Facing Lenglet's reckless, desperate challenge, he used the simplest of chips to create an excellent shooting angle and calmly slotted the ball into Barcelona's net!"
Steve McManaman: "I imagine Clément Lenglet must be filled with regret right now, Darren. He rushed out when he should have held his ground."
In the Chinese broadcast booth, Zhan Jun's eyes held a hint of surprise.
To be honest, he had fully expected today's match to be an evenly contested, cagey affair, with both teams battling for a long time before a goal was scored.
He never imagined the away goal would come so suddenly.
Fortunately, it was Manchester United who took the lead—the more Zhan Jun thought about it, the happier he became, a wide smile spreading across his face.
"Actually, you can't really blame Lenglet entirely for this. He's just at the level of a backup center-back forced into a massive role," Zhang Lu explained sympathetically to the Chinese audience. "Ever since he joined Barcelona, Samuel Umtiti has been frequently injured. It's hard to say whether this kind of luck is good or bad for Lenglet."
Lenglet did get a great opportunity to start in the Champions League quarter-finals, but what's the use if he can't seize it? Instead, due to his poor performance, he faces fierce criticism from fans and mockery from the demanding Catalan media.
Lenglet was feeling quite frustrated at the moment, casting a resentful glance at his defensive partner, Gerard Pique.
He recalled the pre-match tactical discussions, where it was clearly stated that he only needed to mark Riyad Mahrez, while Pique would handle Manchester United's No. 7.
But with just a slight tactical shift from the opposition early on, Pique was lured out of position like a hooked fish. In the end, the blame for the gap fell entirely on Lenglet.
Playing for Barcelona is truly difficult! Lenglet couldn't help but complain inwardly.
Pique felt somewhat embarrassed by his mistake and instead glared at the right-back, Nélson Semedo.
"Pay attention when defending, Nélson! Don't let Manchester United players get past you so easily out wide, or else I'll have to pull across to cover for you."
Semedo was left utterly confused by these words.
Could Pique even hear what he was saying? Facing both Ashley Young and Marcus Rashford alone on the flank, Semedo had no choice but to step up and pressure the ball carrier.
Otherwise, they could easily cut inside and shoot from the center. But "El Presidente" Pique had long established his political authority at Barcelona, and it wasn't something Semedo could challenge—otherwise, he'd find himself sold next season.
"It's just conceding one goal early. We'll equalize later, won't we?" Ivan Rakitic stepped in to mediate the tense defense. "I'll drop deeper from now on to prevent Manchester United from breaking through our lines again!"
Rakitic knew Semedo was quite capable, especially in short-distance passing, even better than most midfielders.
In this season's La Liga and Champions League matches, his pass completion rate had been over 88%. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become Barcelona's starting full-back.
Moreover, no one was really at fault for that earlier goal—it was simply a collective misjudgment of Manchester United's aggressive tactical setup.
"If there's a chance later, attack heavily down the right flank and force their full-backs back!" Messi also voiced his thoughts, adjusting his captain's armband.
With that, no one in Barcelona objected further, all nodding in understanding.
The match resumed!
Barcelona, having learned a harsh lesson from their earlier mistake, immediately pushed their formation forward after kickoff, fluidly keeping the ball to deny Manchester United time for high pressing.
However, Manchester United seemed to have anticipated this, holding their ground firmly in a mid-block on the halfway line.
But it wasn't passive defensive play—they continued with high-intensity pressing whenever Barcelona crossed the halfway line.
After all, if the game settled into a slow, positional battle deep in their own half, Barcelona's fluid tiki-taka passing combinations would come into play, putting immense pressure on Manchester United's defense.
The match quickly entered a tense, tactical phase.
Mourinho stood on the sidelines, hands in his pockets, carefully observing Ernesto Valverde's tactical adjustments and reminding his players of areas needing improvement.
"Boss, if we could just end the game like this today at 1-0, things would be much easier back at home," Assistant coach Rui Faria set down his tactical board.
"It won't happen. If things develop as you say, Valverde will go all out away from home," Mourinho shook his head.
"Our flanks are still too weak..."
The two legs of the Champions League quarter-finals were too close together, leaving little time for squad adjustments.
For the second leg at Old Trafford, Ashley Young definitely wouldn't be able to play due to accumulated cards, and Luke Shaw lacked big-match European experience, having also suffered a serious injury before... Could Shaw handle Messi alone? Mourinho didn't hold out much hope.
He understood Messi's terrifying ability to explode at critical moments.
Just like Ling.
So, scoring more away goals in the first leg was the safer tactical option, to avoid relying on another Old Trafford miracle.
"Watch out!" Faria suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the pitch.
After shaking off Pogba in midfield, Sergio Busquets delivered a brilliant, disguised through pass, finding Messi in a pocket of space on the right flank.
The Argentine didn't drive toward the byline after receiving the ball, as that would create too little threat.
Steve McManaman: "Messi cutting inside toward the center! He's actively seeking out Nemanja Matic—his footwork frequency is incredibly fast!"
Darren Fletcher: "He's past him—!"
Fletcher couldn't even finish his sentence before Messi used a simple shoulder drop and a rapid change of direction to easily bypass Ander Herrera.
Just as he prepared to continue his advance toward the box, a bald figure lunged aggressively from the side.
Ashley Young!
His defensive task today was to constantly double-team Messi with Herrera.
But Messi executed another delicate feint, effortlessly evading Ashley Young's desperate sliding tackle.
Camp Nou erupted in a deafening roar of support, Barcelona fans wildly waving their scarves, their eyes fixed on the King of Barcelona!
In their view, there was nothing Messi couldn't do with the ball at his feet.
Darren Fletcher: "Herrera turns and sprints to rejoin the defense, but Messi chooses to pass back to Rakitic rather than force it!"
Steve McManaman: "I understand now, Darren! No wonder Mourinho placed Herrera on the right side of the midfield—both he and Ashley Young have excellent mobility and stamina! When one gets beaten by Messi, the other can buy a vital bit of time, then quickly form a coordinated two-man defense again!"
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1 chapter is missing from the raw, cant find it.