Chapter 455 - 455
Time flew by, and soon it was September 14th.
Premier League, Matchday 5.
Old Trafford.
Manchester United versus Leicester City!
The Foxes' squad had undergone a dramatic transformation compared to their miracle title-winning season.
Key players such as Kanté, Mahrez, and Drinkwater had all transferred away, leaving only Vardy, Kasper Schmeichel, and a few others from that legendary group.
Declining strength and reduced investment had kept Leicester stuck in mediocrity, making it almost impossible for them to recreate their past miracle.
📰 Sky Sports: Manchester United Host Leicester as Premier League Returns After International Break
📰 BBC Sport: Ling Back From England Duty as United Look to Continue Perfect Start
📰 Manchester Evening News: Mourinho Faces Rodgers at Old Trafford With Title Defence Gathering Pace
📰 The Athletic: Leicester Seek Surprise Against Ruthless United Machine
"I've studied Manchester United's tactics for a long time. I believe I can give you a surprise today."
Rodgers greeted Mourinho with a big hug.
Back when Rodgers was coaching Chelsea's youth team, Mourinho had been the first-team manager.
The two had exchanged tactics, ideas, and insights, gradually becoming good friends.
In a way, Mourinho was like a mentor to Rodgers.
"Compared to Liverpool, Leicester City suits you better. I hope you can achieve something here."
Mourinho was quite gentle in private.
Rodgers could only respond with a few bitter laughs.
Back when he coached Liverpool, his results had not been perfect, but he had genuinely been one step away from the Premier League title.
If not for Gerrard's slip, perhaps he would not have left.
However, when he thought about Klopp, who would now have to face both Manchester City and this Manchester United side, Rodgers inexplicably felt much better.
Winning the league would only become more difficult.
BEEP!
Soon, the referee blew the whistle, and the match officially began.
Playing at home, Manchester United did not hold back.
They immediately launched attacks down the flanks, using Sandro's dribbling to forcefully create opportunities on the left.
"The ball-control talent of Brazilian full-backs really is something special," Rob Palmer said.
"Let's see whether United can turn this attack into an early goal."
After seeing Jeremy Ling's gesture, Sandro abandoned the idea of crossing from the byline and instead passed the ball to him immediately.
In an instant, Ndidi closed in aggressively.
Now, all defensive players in the Premier League took pride in successfully dispossessing Jeremy Ling.
After all, even Van Dijk could not really manage it.
If there was one thing different about Ling compared to two years ago, it was his preparation style.
Back then, he would study the technical traits of every defender he faced in meticulous detail, then exploit those weaknesses during matches.
Now, he focused more on refining his own skills and relying on real-time judgment.
That was only possible when a player's ability had reached a certain level.
Ling flicked the ball to create space and pushed it forward with the inside of his right foot.
The ball sliced through Leicester City's defense like a scalpel and found Mahrez, who had surged forward.
Facing his former club, the King of Dribbling showed no mercy!
He stopped abruptly inside the penalty area and cut inward toward the center.
Then he curled a left-footed shot toward the far post.
But Kasper Schmeichel knew his former teammate too well.
Left foot: king.
Right foot: useless.
He anticipated the move and dove across, barely tipping the ball out for a corner!
"Oh, that was close!"
"Peter Schmeichel played for Manchester United for eight years and helped the club win countless honours, including the treble in 1998–99," Rob said as the replay rolled.
"And now his son Kasper has made a brilliant save against Manchester United."
"Perhaps this is the cycle of football history."
Amid the gasps of the home fans, Mahrez rubbed his head in frustration and gave Kasper Schmeichel a thumbs-up.
That save had truly been brilliant.
Perhaps affected by the FIFA virus, Manchester United's performance was not particularly impressive.
Of course, Leicester City were not much better.
Time slowly ticked away until the 37th minute.
Leicester City's single defensive midfielder setup finally caused them trouble.
Since developing his attacking attributes, Kanté had begun making frequent forward runs from deep.
Manchester United used continuous ball movement to create a numerical advantage in the center.
In an instant, they broke through Leicester City's first line of defense and delivered the ball into the most dangerous area.
"Havertz!"
"The talented young German — can he maintain his recent form at Manchester United?"
At this stage, Havertz had not grown taller yet, and his technical traits remained unaffected.
Ingenuity.
Watching him play, you could truly feel his creativity.
He feigned a combination with Sandro on the wing, only to flick the ball backward with his heel toward the edge of the penalty area.
Manchester United fans immediately perked up.
Evans hurriedly moved to cover, hands behind his back.
With Leicester City's defensive core Morgan aging and Maguire shamelessly poached by Manchester United, they had to rely on two younger players as temporary replacements.
When your reputation spread across Europe's top five leagues, defenders naturally became nervous when facing you.
So Evans completely missed the gap on the right side.
Immediately after, Ling drove the laces of his right foot through the middle of the ball.
A low-driven strike.
Kasper Schmeichel suddenly thought of his childhood friend, now naturalized as the Philippines' goalkeeper.
"Help me get revenge if you get the chance."
Even as Kasper stretched his body to the limit, he still could not stop the goal.
Lying on the turf, he watched Manchester United's number 7 leap up, throw a punch, and strike the air.
Old Trafford erupted with deafening roars!
And he was supposed to help someone get revenge?
On the sidelines, Mourinho rubbed his chin and stared intently at Leicester City's number 10 for a long time.
Rodgers became incredibly nervous.
Leicester City were practically becoming Manchester United's second team.
If they kept getting picked apart like this, they might really get dragged toward relegation.
...
In the end, the match finished Manchester United 2–0 Leicester City.
Ling scored, and Grealish, who came on as a substitute, added another.
📰 Sky Sports: Manchester United Beat Leicester to Maintain Perfect Premier League Start
📰 BBC Sport: Ling and Grealish Strike as Mourinho's Side See Off Foxes
📰 Manchester Evening News: United Return From International Break With Controlled Old Trafford Win
📰 The Athletic: Ling's Deeper Role Continues to Add Layers to Mourinho's Attack
📱 @UnitedStand ✔
Not our prettiest match, but 2–0, clean sheet, five wins from five. Mourinho is collecting points like overdue rent.
| ↳ 📱 @StretfordEndTom
| Reply: Ling came back from scoring five for England and immediately scored again for United. Normal service.
📱 @LeicesterTalk
Mahrez nearly scored against us, Maguire already plays for them, and Mourinho is staring at Maddison like he's browsing a transfer catalogue. This is emotional damage!
📱 @TacticalTim ✔
Ling's role is evolving. He's still scoring, but the way he drops, receives, and picks the attacking direction makes United less dependent on one pure No.10.
📱 @ThreeLionsWatch ✔
England used Ling deeper. United used Ling deeper. Everyone has discovered the same cheat code.
...
"Mr. Ten Hag, there are only three days left until Ajax face Manchester United. How do you view United as a team?"
At the entrance of Ajax's training base, a reporter from The Guardian raised his microphone.
"Hmm."
Ten Hag rubbed his bald head. "They won the Champions League two years in a row and became the Seven-Title Winners, something never before seen in English football. Manchester United are a great team. I think there is no doubt about that."
"Of course, I know what you're really interested in. Ling is a phenomenal player. No one among active players can match his attacking performance, at least in my opinion."
"But what I want to emphasize more is his tactical understanding. He reminds me of the legendary Cruyff."
"To put it in slightly exaggerated terms, if Ling had been at Ajax last season, we could have won the Champions League."
"As for the match in three days, I still have some confidence."
"Because modern football requires decentralization. Putting all your chips on one person is not a wise move."
"What would I do if I were coaching Manchester United?"
Ten Hag's eyes suddenly brightened.
"First, I'd sign Antony. No, no, not Carmelo Anthony from the Trail Blazers, nor Anthony Davis from the Lakers, but our own Antony Santos!"
"His ability to drive down the wing is exceptional, and he can create maximum space for Ling."
The Guardian reporter could not help but smirk.
He finally realized Ten Hag was marketing.
Wasn't this just a way to sell his own player for a higher price?
Actually, this was a common tactic among Europe's famous "black-market" clubs.
They did not only hype up players through the media, they also helped those players pad their stats whenever possible.
If you did not understand football, you might look at those flashy numbers and think the player was worth a hundred million.
But once you bought him, all he might do was spin in circles.
"Do you have any plans to coach Manchester United in the future?"
The Guardian reporter asked his final question.
"Of course!"
Ten Hag's eyes sparkled. "Coaching Manchester United has been my dream since childhood."
He was not lying.
Born in 1970 in the small Dutch town of Haaksbergen, Ten Hag's father owned the largest agency and financial services company in the area.
That meant if Ten Hag had failed in football, he would probably have had to go home and inherit the family business.
Although his playing career had not been especially glorious, his coaching career had gone quite smoothly.
From Twente to Go Ahead Eagles, then to Bayern Munich's second team.
Oh, right.
He had also become Guardiola's assistant.
He had not only learned Guardiola's tactics, but also inherited his bald head!
Ten Hag dreamed of coaching a top club because that would mean taking a significant step in his life and having his football philosophy recognized by the world.
"Will the sale of players worth a total of 160 million euros have any impact on Ajax?"
The Guardian reporter suddenly became more interested.
"On the contrary."
Ten Hag said confidently, "The team hasn't lost its competitiveness despite losing key players. Instead, we've become even more dominant in the Eredivisie."
"This is the advantage of my tactical philosophy. It doesn't rely on any specific player. As long as the pieces are combined reasonably, the system can still be effective."
The Guardian reporter was filled with respect.
He suddenly felt that the man he was interviewing might genuinely become a future tactical master.
After all, one had to admit it.
Just as programmers seemed to become stronger the less hair they had, football had similar unwritten rules.
Ten Hag's bald head was a symbol of strength!
📰 The Guardian: Ten Hag Praises Ling Before Ajax's Champions League Clash With Manchester United
📰 Sky Sports: Ajax Boss Claims Modern Football Cannot Depend on One Superstar
📰 The Athletic: Ten Hag Uses United Question to Promote Antony Ahead of Group Stage Opener
📰 Manchester Evening News: Mourinho Warns United Not to Underestimate Ajax Away
📱 @UCLWatch ✔
Ten Hag praising Ling, comparing him to Cruyff, then immediately advertising Antony is elite salesman behavior.
| ↳ 📱 @AjaxMarketWatch
| Reply: Ajax don't do interviews. They do transfer-market previews lmaooo!
📱 @UnitedStand ✔
Ten Hag said his childhood dream is coaching Manchester United. The man is already submitting his CV through press conferences.
📱 @TacticalTim ✔
He's right about one thing: Ajax's system is serious. Even after losing De Jong and De Ligt, United can't treat this like an easy away match.