Pique stared at Ling under the harsh stadium spotlights, mentally replaying the youngster's sudden stop and explosive acceleration.
He felt powerless.
If he couldn't defend that combination, he just couldn't defend it—the gap in physical ability between them was evident.
If only he were a few years younger...
In the end, Pique could only blame his aging legs, as he couldn't find any other excuse for being beaten so cleanly.
But dwelling on regret was useless; the Champions League wouldn't pause for it.
Now, the pressing question was how to contain Ling for the rest of the match.
Should they push the formation forward to attack or stick to patient possession-based play?
The Barcelona players all looked toward their manager, Ernesto Valverde.
Last season, the Spaniard led Barcelona to a historic unbeaten streak of 43 consecutive league matches across seasons.
To say his tactical level was lacking would be nonsense. He also knew exactly where Manchester United's weaknesses lay.
They had to attack fiercely enough to intimidate Manchester United, forcing their dangerous wingers to drop back in defense.
This would naturally reduce the intensity of United's pressing in the attacking third.
Moreover, Manchester United's defensive line, due to their slower pace, rarely pushed up aggressively to support their midfield.
Once United's wingers dropped back, Barcelona could dominate the space between the midfield and defensive lines.
This seemed to be the only way to break the deadlock and turn this match around.
Without hesitation, Valverde made a double substitution: Arturo Vidal for Arthur Melo, and Ousmane Dembele for the struggling Philippe Coutinho.
Standing on the touchline, Dembele could hardly contain his excitement.
Since childhood, his dream had been to play alongside Messi—he could be called the number one Messi fanboy after Rakitic.
He had even gone so far as to eagerly collect Messi's jerseys after matches when playing for other clubs.
Now, with Barcelona in a crisis and Messi being contained by Manchester United's double-teaming, he had to step up.
If he could save Camp Nou, earn praise from his idol, and hear the roaring cheers of the fans, it would feel amazing.
Just thinking about it, Dembele was almost drooling.
After exchanging a quick high-five with the visibly frustrated Coutinho, he dashed onto the pitch like an unbridled wild horse, shouting and encouraging his teammates.
The gloomy atmosphere in the Barcelona camp lightened considerably with his injection of youthful energy.
Vidal, meanwhile, approached Sergio Busquets. "The boss wants you to get more involved in the attack. I'll handle the midfield defense and the dirty work."
Since joining Barcelona this season, the Chilean had primarily been used as a defensive destroyer to add steel to a soft midfield.
"Understood," Busquets nodded, glancing toward Manchester United's half.
As the match crossed the 60th-minute mark, the broadcast booth noted the tactical shift.
Steve McManaman: "Barcelona's attacking intensity has increased significantly since those subs. After all, they're playing at home and can't accept a 0-2 scoreline."
Darren Fletcher: "If the match ends like this, you'd have to think Manchester United have one foot in the semi-finals."
Fletcher was about to say that United had wrapped up the tie, but he suddenly remembered the famous Miracle of Istanbul and promptly bit his tongue.
It was unwise to celebrate any lead too early in European football.
...
The ball was frequently passed to Messi, using the Argentine's sheer gravitational threat to pressure Manchester United's right defensive zone.
Another twisting dribble saw Ashley Young with no choice but to pull him down, earning himself a yellow card and conceding a dangerous free kick on the right side.
In just twenty minutes of the second half, Young was already breathing heavily, hands on his knees.
Before the match, he knew defending Messi would be tough, but he had still vastly underestimated the physical difficulty.
The constant, rapid changes of direction while tracking him took a heavy toll on the body, especially since defenders were already at a reactionary disadvantage.
He was barely holding on.
Ander Herrera, playing as the defensive midfielder on that side, was in a similar situation.
Already carrying a yellow card from the first half, his movements were severely restricted, making him hesitant and overly cautious when defending against the maestro. In short, it was a grueling battle of attrition.
Ling had even dropped deep into his own half, close to the central midfielder position, to mark Busquets and cut off the supply line.
Otherwise, there was no other way to stem the tide. Valverde was frantically committing numbers to the attack.
With numerical superiority and their elite passing and control, it wasn't something a few United players could just win back easily.
"Hold on through this period!" Ling yelled to his teammates, clapping his hands.
He wasn't wrong.
The first effort might be strong, the second weaker, and by the third, an attacking wave exhausts itself.
As long as they could endure Barcelona's dominant phase, wait for the opponent to lower their attacking intensity, and then launch a few efficient counterattacks, they could kill the tie.
But according to Murphy's Law, things often don't develop as one expects.
In the 67th minute, David Luiz cleared the ball heavily to the front, but Ling was positioned too far back due to his defensive duties, allowing Pique to easily collect the loose ball unmarked.
Although his raw defending ability is often questioned, Pique's ball-playing level is elite.
He's a prime product of La Masia, and his vision allowed him to keenly spot the darting movement of Messi on the right side.
Smack!
The football flew perfectly through the night sky of Camp Nou.
At the exact same time, Messi suddenly accelerated, shaking off Young, and lifted his right thigh to cushion the dropping ball in motion.
The smoothness was mesmerizing.
The Argentine's ball control is historic. His exquisite first touch and dribbling stride are undeniably among the best in football history.
Cushioning the ball, nudging it, accelerating—each movement connected perfectly in a fraction of a second.
Ashley Young could only eat dust behind him, placing his desperate hopes on his center-back.
"Harry, whatever you do, don't lunge in! Just jockey him!"
Maguire took a deep breath, staring intently at Messi's feet.
When a defender is extremely focused, they often subconsciously make a reactionary move, so the moment Messi nudged the ball, Maguire also shifted his weight.
However, Messi cut the ball back inside with an even faster frequency, breaking Maguire's ankles and sending the big Englishman tumbling to the ground.
Darren Fletcher: "Only De Gea is left in front of the goal! Messi—"
Steve McManaman: "He slots it in!"
Before Fletcher could finish his sentence, Messi pushed the ball with his left foot, sending it toward the far left post.
The ball hit the inside of the post and bounced into the net!
1-2!
Camp Nou instantly erupted, the Barcelona fans looking at their king and unleashing deafening cheers.
The local Spanish commentator went crazy, chanting "Gol Messi, gol Messi, gol Messi..." over a dozen times in a few seconds, as if the mic were burning his mouth.
Messi chose not to celebrate wildly, instead picking the ball out of the net and walking briskly back to the center circle to save time.
During this, he raised a determined fist toward the fans in the stands, immediately drawing even louder cheers, which quickly evolved into rhythmic chants of his name.
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