Darren Fletcher: "Manchester United's foul on Messi was decisive there."
Steve McManaman: "Honestly, I think that's the right approach from Herrera. You simply can't give him any chance to shoot from there!"
Darren Fletcher: "Herrera also received a yellow card for the tug, but Manchester United was still fortunate. About 22 meters from the goal, this kind of free kick is very difficult to take, even for Messi."
Putting too much power into it could easily send it flying over the bar, while not enough power would fail to clear the tall United wall.
"A bit to the left! More to the left!" De Gea stood in front of his goalpost, constantly shouting and directing the wall.
Ling suddenly thought of something he had seen in training videos and said to Rashford, "Marcus, lie down horizontally behind the wall! Watch out for a low-driven shot under the jump!"
Rashford didn't object and quickly laid down behind the boots of his teammates.
Once the preparations were complete, the referee blew the whistle.
Messi struck directly for the top corner with his left foot!
The ball did clear the jumping wall, but its speed was far too slow, allowing De Gea to easily shift sideways and catch it cleanly.
Before Manchester United could launch a counterattack, the piercing whistle sounded again.
The first half finally came to an end.
...
Manchester United players breathed a collective sigh of relief as they walked down the tunnel.
Taking a precious away lead into halftime greatly boosted the players' morale.
Back in the dressing room.
"Against Barcelona's high press, we can't stop moving off the ball, or we'll fall into their slow rhythm," Mourinho drew a diagram on the tactics board.
"We also need to pay close attention to the synchronization of our three defensive lines. I noticed during the final stages of the first half that a massive gap appeared between the defense and the midfield!"
The Manchester United defense, terrified of Messi's explosive runs, instinctively wanted to drop deeper to compress the space behind them, but they overlooked the pressing from their own midfield and forward lines.
This directly led to a disjointed, stretched formation.
The reason Messi was able to roam freely in the half-spaces earlier was precisely because the defensive line had dropped too deep without the midfield following suit.
Mourinho continued, "David, you have a clearer view from the back. Don't forget to aggressively remind your teammates to step up."
De Gea nodded, taking a sip of water.
"Ling, having played the first half, do you have any thoughts on the attacking side?"
Hearing Mourinho's question, Ling organized his thoughts and walked to the tactics board.
"Right now, Rakitic is dropping very deep in possession, leaving a gap in the right central area. When we attack later, we can shift the ball there first."
"Once Busquets moves sideways to cover that gap, we can then quickly loop around and penetrate into Barcelona's defensive third, and I'll be dropping back into this exact area," Ling pointed to the board.
His idea was simple but effective.
With him currently marked tightly by Pique and Lenglet, he would have Pogba physically occupy Busquets, disrupting Barcelona's most crucial midfield shield.
Then, Mahrez would cut inside centrally, creating the impression of combining with Ling through quick passes.
If Lenglet's attention could be diverted for just a few seconds... Ling was confident he could beat Pique one-on-one.
After all, as the old saying goes: "A nickname is never given by mistake!"
Pique the "See-Through"!
He had previously been torn apart in isolation by the likes of Arjen Robben and Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Good. We've practiced similar overloading tactics before. Just remember them when the second half starts," Mourinho lightly applauded, his eyes full of appreciation for his captain's tactical acumen.
...
The fifteen-minute break passed quickly, and Camp Nou grew noisy once again.
The two teams switched sides!
Manchester United resumed their aggressive first-half posture, pushing their formation forward and launching all-out attacks.
Valverde's tactical adjustments were also evident.
Increase physicality!
They couldn't allow Manchester United to easily advance into the attacking third.
Suarez charged at Herrera, knocking the Spaniard straight to the ground in a heavy collision.
Steve McManaman: "Barcelona also understands that against Manchester United, they must physically control the attacking third."
Darren Fletcher: "Because Manchester United doesn't prefer slow build-up play; they're accustomed to using Ling's hold-up play, dribbling, and distribution to launch rapid secondary attacks!"
Steve McManaman: "Not many strikers in the world could pull this role off so effectively!"
Herrera quickly pulled down the collar of his jersey and, seeing no bite marks on his shoulder, finally let out a sigh of relief.
Who in the football world doesn't know?
Who isn't aware?
Suarez loves to bite people—he was famously banned for seven matches for biting Otman Bakkal, ten matches for biting Branislav Ivanovic, and four months for biting Giorgio Chiellini.
And before this match, Herrera had jokingly asked Ivanovic about it—Suarez's canine teeth hurt like hell when he bites.
Although Ander Herrera has high ideological awareness and isn't afraid of physical pain, it would be terribly embarrassing if word got out he was bitten.
The match continued.
The intensity covered every corner of the pitch, and the frequency of possession changes increased dramatically.
Manchester United actually quite liked this chaotic situation, precisely because they were used to the Premier League's lenient refereeing standards and physical nature, so they gradually adapted to the grueling rhythm of the game!
Another rapid transition from attack to defense.
Busquets wanted to repeat his old trick to turn out of trouble, but Pogba wasn't a fool—he kept an eye out, anticipated the turn, and stretched out his long leg!
Smack!
He knocked the ball cleanly to Mahrez on the side while also taking down Busquets heavily in the process without holding back.
The graduate of La Masia's acting academy immediately began his performance, rolling on the turf.
But the referee paid no attention, crossing his arms to signal no foul.
As for the Manchester United players, they were even more decisive—as long as the whistle didn't blow, they wouldn't stop playing.
Immediately after. Barcelona fans seemed to see another Messi on the pitch!
Mahrez's continuous shifts in balance and high-frequency touches allowed him to seize the moment, cut inside aggressively, and shake off Alba!
"Push up, push up!" Pique urged anxiously.
"Understood!" Lenglet was very obedient this time, actively closing in on Mahrez to stop the shot.
He'd rather face a mid-tier version of Messi than deal with Ling.
And what was Ling doing at this exact moment?
In the corner of the broadcast screen, he was sprinting diagonally to the right—his destination was precisely the massive space left behind after Lenglet moved to cover Mahrez. Pique followed him step by step.
But Ling didn't play fancy tricks with him—he simply used his explosive raw speed to create a timing gap.
If Pique could keep up, more power to him.
However, compared to Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos, Pique's turning and recovery speed were well-known weaknesses.
This was something football fans all over the world knew.
"Damn it!" Pique cursed under his breath, his face flushed red as he barely managed to catch up to the winger.
But the next second...
When the short, incisive pass from Mahrez arrived, Ling's explosive sprint suddenly came to a dead halt!
Pique instinctively slammed on the brakes, risking a muscle strain to stop his momentum, and mustered his last ounce of strength to stretch out his right leg to intercept.
Watching Pique's desperate, off-balance interception attempt, Ling calmly completed his follow-up action.
Ever since he started playing professional football, he had developed a habit: actively countering the defensive logic of defenders and using his individual ability to choose more threatening, unexpected ways to handle the ball!
As for individual ability? For example, his powerful core ability to turn, half-turn, and twist his body allowed him to continue handling the ball with precision even after an abrupt stop.
Smack!
His right foot gently pushed the ball forward, while his left foot forcefully stomped the ground to accelerate again!
The ball slipped cleanly through Pique's outstretched legs, and Ling swept past him from the side—the entire sequence was incredibly smooth and seamless.
'Stopping abruptly and accelerating again like that—are you an alien?' Pique's eyes widened in disbelief, and he felt utterly defeated.
He suddenly remembered an old acquaintance who used to do that to him in training at Carrington: Cristiano Ronaldo.
As Ling got past Pique, Camp Nou fell completely silent for a moment.
Everyone held their breath, afraid of affecting the tense situation on the pitch.
Ter Stegen had anticipated this exact moment when he saw Pique chasing back in a panic.
So he had already rushed aggressively out of his goal in advance!
Lowering his center of gravity and spreading his arms wide, he maximized his defensive coverage.
But Ling repeated his old trick—with a simple, devastating change of rhythm, Ter Stegen lost his balance.
He accelerated again, bursting forward and pushing the ball to the left to round the keeper!
Darren Fletcher: "He's past him again! A push into the empty net... Semedo fails to clear it off the line!"
Steve McManaman: "0-2!!!"
Darren Fletcher: "In the 56th minute, Manchester United scores again, and this is Ling's second away goal of the night!"
Steve McManaman: "Unbelievable! Look at this goal, Darren—Ling perfectly demonstrates what explosive power means at the elite level!"
Darren Fletcher: "Using explosive power to seize the initiative, then forcing two consecutive breakthroughs against Pique and Ter Stegen, instantly shattering Barcelona's defensive setup! This kind of impactful, powerful breakthrough makes your blood boil just watching it!"
In the Chinese broadcast booth, Zhan Jun was left speechless in shock.
"Beautiful! Beautiful! Beautiful!"
After all, this was La Liga leaders Barcelona, not some weak team like Crystal Palace.
They had just beaten Atlético Madrid 2-0 not long ago. And Manchester United's performance against Atlético wasn't much better, was it?
But football isn't that simple—you can't just compare strengths and weaknesses based on previous scores.
Atlético's physical, "logging" tactics were somewhat effective against Manchester United.
As for Barcelona's possession-based system, as long as enough pressure was applied, their midfield struggled to deliver the ball to the forwards—unless Messi dropped deep and carried it all the way himself.
Moreover, if we really want to compare... if Diego Costa were replaced by Ling, who would win between Atlético and Barcelona?
Simeone would probably think his team had the upper hand.
Under the corner of the stands at Camp Nou, Ling raised his fist toward the small pocket of Manchester United fans, met with passionate and fervent cheers!
Amidst the flashing camera lights and the fervent gazes of the traveling supporters, Ling roared.
"Manchester United, march on!!!"
"Manchester United, march on!!!"
The bitter humiliation they once suffered at Camp Nou in 2011 was now being washed away by the new generation of Red Devils!
That sense of honor echoed in every chest!