As the iconic Champions League anthem began to play, the players walked out onto the pitch amidst the deafening cheers, greeted by a massive TIFO in the Stretford End!
On the left was a massive cartoon image of Manchester United's number 7, arms crossed, looking ahead with an air of absolute superiority.
On the right, a cartoon image of Barcelona's number 10 was depicted crying on his knees.
At the very bottom was a line of bold text: "Welcome to your Theatre of Nightmares!"
Although Old Trafford's capacity was smaller than Camp Nou, its imposing, vertical atmosphere was not far behind.
In fact, under the lights, it seemed even more claustrophobic and formidable for away teams.
As the anthem drew to a close, the players from both teams lined up for the handshake, and the broadcast camera quickly swept past them, lingering for a long time on the focused faces of Ling and Messi.
Everyone knew that the performances of these two specific players would determine the outcome of tonight's tie.
Would the former defend Old Trafford, or would the latter lead Barcelona to create another famous European miracle?
Hundreds of millions of fans around the world were eagerly awaiting the answer.
"Next up, introducing Manchester United's starting lineup!" The excited voice of the stadium DJ echoed in every corner of the ground.
"Goalkeeper: David De Gea!"
"..."
"Forward: LING!!!"
When the DJ shouted the captain's name, three thunderous drumbeats followed as 75,000 Manchester United fans raised their hands in applause, roaring at the top of their lungs.
"You Make Us Happy When Skies Are Grey!"
"Coz When It's Pouring You Just Keep Scoring!"
"LIIIIIIING!"
Tens of thousands of people chanting your name—though Ling had heard it many times before, he couldn't help but feel his blood stir.
Next, Barcelona's starting lineup was displayed on the big screens.
The stadium DJ announced the players' names one by one.
Following the fine tradition passed down by football fans worldwide, the home stands erupted with shouts of "Wanker!" after every single Catalan name.
In the English commentary box, Gary Neville grinned from ear to ear, forcing a serious expression as he explained the tactics.
"Ernesto Valverde has made very few structural adjustments. Ousmane Dembele replaces the struggling Coutinho at left winger, and Samuel Umtiti comes in at left center-back for the suspended Lenglet. Based on these two specific changes, Barcelona will clearly try to start the game at a very fast pace."
Jamie Carragher nodded beside him. "Barcelona is trailing by one away goal on aggregate, so it makes perfect tactical sense for them to push early. But they also need to be incredibly wary of Manchester United's counter-attacking traps to avoid repeating the exact same issues from the first leg."
A dark cloud drifted across the Manchester night sky, but no rain fell yet, only adding to the stifling, humid heat of the stadium.
Even before the match officially began, sweat was already beading on Ling's forehead.
Three minutes later, the referee pressed his watch and blew the whistle!
BEEP!!!
Ling passed the ball back to Pogba from kickoff and immediately turned to dart aggressively into Barcelona's defensive zone.
Pique, Umtiti, and Busquets instantly formed a tight triangle around him, cutting off all direct passing lanes.
Pogba didn't force the vertical pass and instead played it back again to the defense.
Manchester United, holding the aggregate advantage, was in absolutely no hurry, patiently circulating the ball in their own half.
If Barcelona didn't press high, United could keep possession until the final whistle.
Compared to the first leg, Barcelona was much more cautious, gradually pushing their block forward while maintaining incredibly tight marking on Ling.
But Ling was no static target man.
When Manchester United shifted their attack to the right, he drifted intelligently into the left half-space of Barcelona's defense, dragging markers with him, and vice versa.
Rashford and Mahrez were thriving in the massive spaces created by his gravity.
6th minute.
Pogba linked up diagonally with Mahrez, who easily dribbled past Arthur Melo and drove into the exact space vacated by Ling's decoy movement.
Gary Neville: "Mahrez lines one up! A long-range curling shot!"
Jamie Carragher: "What a precise angle! Ter Stegen didn't dare try to catch it, opting to play it safe by parrying the ball out for an early corner!"
Gary Neville: "Manchester United wins a corner!"
Neville slapped his thigh in the commentary booth, still regretting that the early shot didn't go in. Carragher pursed his lips and said nothing.
Seeing Manchester United take the upper hand so early made the former Liverpool defender feel uneasy all over.
Ling gave Mahrez a thumbs-up and praised, "Keep playing at this exact pace, Riyad. I'll do my best to create space in the middle for you."
Busquets frowned deeply nearby.
Ling's positioning just now was strange—not only was he hovering in his blind spot, but also exactly between Barcelona's two center-backs.
On the surface, it seemed Ling was being effectively contained by the triangle, but in reality, it was their own defensive shape being pinned down and manipulated.
Moreover, Manchester United's tactics had changed significantly.
Originally, their entire offense revolved around Ling receiving the ball, but now it spread much more to the wings to exploit the isolated full-backs.
This made things incredibly difficult for Barcelona's defensive structure.
"We can't keep going like this. Samuel, mark him tightly. I need to hold the midfield zone!" Busquets instructed Umtiti.
"Don't forget to cover the space behind me," Umtiti didn't refuse, as this was the pre-match plan, but he couldn't help feeling deeply nervous inside.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on you," Pique patted his chest and assured his defensive partner.
Umtiti's face scrunched up while thinking, 'You're the least reliable one here, Gerard. I'd better watch out for myself.'
At worst, he could just take a yellow card and foul.
Manchester United's corner was whipped into the far post of the penalty area, where both Ling and Umtiti were stationed.
The two immediately engaged in a fierce physical battle for position.
Thud!
Umtiti felt his repaired knees go weak, and his jump fell far short of the United captain.
'If it were before my injury, I definitely wouldn't have been out-jumped like this!'
He could only watch helplessly as Ling cleanly won the header, used his immense core strength to hang in the air, and sent it flying powerfully toward the goal!
Clang!!!
The ball slipped completely through Ter Stegen's desperate hands, struck the crossbar squarely, and bounced back into the chaotic penalty area.
Pique frantically cleared it out for a throw-in.
"It's fine if you can't win the initial header, Samuel, but the key is to disrupt his balance! Disrupt him! Understand?!" Ter Stegen roared angrily at his defender after getting up.
If not for Barcelona's luck with the woodwork, the aggregate score would have already changed.
Umtiti hung his head, taking the scolding. He had tried to disrupt Ling earlier, but it just didn't work against his sheer strength.
Could he really risk pulling his shirt in the penalty area? But he was too embarrassed to admit he was simply overpowered.
Seeing Barcelona's atmosphere growing increasingly tense and fractured, Messi glanced at the captain's armband on his sleeve and stepped up to encourage the team.
"Stop arguing. Get the attack going, and the pressure on the defense will ease naturally."
The match resumed.
Barcelona began deliberately moving the ball to the right, feeding it constantly to Messi, hoping to use the Argentine's individual magic to break through the disciplined United block.
McTominay stood ready.
He shared the same obsessive habit as Ling—analyzing opponents through hours of video footage.
But this tactical approach only worked against ordinary players with predictable patterns.
Messi still dropped his shoulder and changed direction rapidly, waiting for McTominay to commit his weight before touching the ball with even greater speed to bypass him.
After being beaten on the initial move, McTominay didn't stop or give up.
Because he had intelligently turned his body sideways in advance, he barely managed to keep up with Messi's terrifying pace.
Gary Neville: "McTominay applies the pressure! Scott is clever here, using his physical strengths against his opponent's weaknesses!"
Jamie Carragher: "Messi! Withstands the physical pressure, cuts into the edge of the penalty area!"
At that exact moment, Barcelona's other attackers moved.
Suarez suddenly made a sharp forward run, drawing David Luiz completely away from the center.
Dembele was playing a slick two-man game with Wan-Bissaka on the other flank.
A brief, terrifying gap opened up directly in front of the penalty area.
Maguire was too slow to step up and cover in time.
"I've got it!" Nemanja Matic charged in from the side, wisely opting not to lunge in for a rash tackle, but instead to use his large frame to block the primary shooting angle.
Far post!
Messi's preferred foot is his left, so if he were to shoot from that angle, he'd most likely aim for the far post.
That's the mark of a defender who thinks on the pitch.
But Messi accelerated his footwork once more, his speed terrifying as he forcefully created just a fraction of an inch of space to shoot!
Jamie Carragher: "Here it comes, watch this shot! Far post!"
Carragher raised both hands in the booth, ready to erupt in celebration the next second.
The ball took a nasty, skidding bounce just before reaching the goal—the exact kind of dipping shot goalkeepers hate most—but De Gea dove incredibly low and sideways, extending his long frame to just tip the ball away with his fingertips!
Gary Neville: "Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!"
Jamie Carragher: "Oh my word..."
Gary Neville: "The guardian of the Red Devils! He's saved Messi's certain goal—that's David De Gea!"
Whoosh!!!
At Old Trafford, the 75,000 Manchester United fans roared as well, unleashing their collective anxiety and excitement.
Football isn't just about goals.
Crunching tackles, impossible saves, dazzling dribbles, sweeping long passes… every element sends adrenaline surging.
That's the true magic of football.
Maguire reached down and pulled De Gea to his feet, spraying spit in his ear as he shouted over the noise.
"David, you're my god!"
De Gea tried to play it cool and act completely unfazed by the world-class save, but the upward curl of his lips betrayed his pride.
'I really am worthy of being the world's second-highest-paid goalkeeper!'
And who's number one? Atlético's Jan Oblak, earning £300,000 a week—just a few thousand less than Ling.