Chapter 457 - 457

The Manchester United players returned to the dressing room.

"Ajax really do have a system. Their high pressing in midfield and attack is intense, even by Premier League standards."

Nemanja Matić was still somewhat surprised.

Manchester United had faced Ajax before, but that had only been a friendly, making it difficult to judge their true level.

"They are a Dutch giant, after all. They have Champions League history."

Ling took off his boots.

He had seen Ten Hag's interviews before, and the idea of decentralizing the core was indeed good.

But why did it fail at Manchester United later?

That could only be blamed on multiple factors: players, tactics, management, dressing-room environment, and probably a dozen other things piled together.

"Alright, everyone, put down what you're doing."

Mourinho tapped the tactics board. "We need to make some minor adjustments for the second half, mainly in the way we attack forward. We can hold the ball in midfield to draw Ajax's defensive line higher. Just keep the offside line properly and don't worry too much about balls played in behind."

The previous centre-back pairing of David Luiz and Maguire could only defend deep because neither of them turned quickly.

Opponents could easily exploit the space behind them with long balls over the top.

Now, things were different.

Although Thiago Silva was older, he was agile, alert, and quick to recover.

That was why Mourinho felt confident about focusing more on midfield control.

Soon, the fifteen-minute break ended, and the Johan Cruyff Arena erupted with noise once again.

How good was Ten Hag's in-game adjustment ability?

You could see it from Ajax's changes.

Their two full-backs pushed forward more frequently, clearly trying to counter Manchester United's wing attacks.

Sandro was fine.

Wan-Bissaka's attacking ability was more limited, so once Ajax adjusted, he could only focus more on defending.

But soon, Ten Hag noticed something was off.

Kanté, Scott McTominay, and Nemanja Matić, the three defensive midfielders, had taken on more organizing responsibility and were advancing methodically.

Kanté needed no introduction.

He had sharpened his attacking instincts under Conte and had already achieved some success.

Nemanja Matić was a representative example of a midfielder who could contribute in both attack and defense.

Scott McTominay, after studying diligently for more than two seasons, had also developed some qualities of a playmaker.

Bruno Fernandes' wide-ranging movement as an attacking midfielder further created space for them to advance.

As time passed, Ajax's defensive territory was gradually eroded by Manchester United.

They were like a spring being constantly compressed.

Eventually, they would snap under the pressure.

In the 63rd minute of the second half, Van de Beek and Mazraoui were pulled wide toward the flanks.

Kanté decisively played a through ball.

Before Ling could receive the pass and turn, Lisandro Martínez closed in.

Ling had a simple habit.

Outskill stronger players.

Outmuscle weaker players.

Outsmart slower players.

This time, he actively sought physical contact and forcefully pushed Lisandro aside.

'So strong!'

Lisandro barely had time to marvel before charging back.

His defensive strategy was to stick like glue.

No matter how many times he was pushed away, he would come back and tackle again.

However, he was also worried Ling might suddenly take a shot, and that moment of hesitation damaged his positioning.

Smack.

Hearing the crisp sound of the ball being touched, Lisandro knew something was wrong.

He had been nutmegged.

Fortunately, Lisandro was short and quick to turn. If it had been Maguire, he probably would only have finished turning around after Jeremy Ling started celebrating.

But he was still clearly disoriented by Ling.

When he turned back, the ball was already gone.

Lisandro wanted to cry!

Where in the Eredivisie could you find a player like this, someone who toyed with defenders as if they were training cones?

He had not even defended Messi like this when playing for the national team.

"Mahrez is making the run on the right!"

"A placed finish!"

"Oh, the ball was already in the net before Onana even hit the ground!"

"That is another Manchester United goal."

"A beautiful attacking move from the front line, using collective pressure and movement to flatten Ajax's formation."

"Once Ajax's midfielders were dragged out of position, the vertical space opened up, and from that point, the goal almost felt inevitable."

Inside the Johan Cruyff Arena, the cheers of Manchester United fans gradually drowned out the home supporters.

"Ling, thanks!"

Mahrez gave him a big hug.

He felt it was great playing alongside Ling.

Although Mahrez did not usually receive much tactical support, when it came to passing, Ling never hesitated.

Of course, forwards needed to have a strong desire to score.

But the prerequisite was that you could actually finish.

Otherwise, if your teammate was in a better position and you still insisted on shooting, that was not ambition.

That was selfishness.

There was no doubt about that.

Ling could play selfishly if he wanted to, but there was really no need.

"Next time we play a weaker team, try to win a few more penalties for me," Ling said to Mahrez. "I need to chase the Champions League all-time scoring record."

"You shouldn't be asking me about that."

Mahrez shrugged. "Grealish is the best one for penalties. For some reason, whenever I see him, I feel like kicking him too."

Ling nodded in agreement, then glanced toward the substitutes' bench.

Grealish was giving a thumbs-up, signaling to the lads that they were playing brilliantly.

He was itching to get on the pitch himself!

The Champions League.

After all those years of ups and downs in the Championship and the Premier League, he had never played in the Champions League before.

"I'll bring you on later," Mourinho said, noticing Grealish's expression.

"Boss, I'll give it everything!"

Grealish almost jumped for joy.

Recently, to prepare for the league and Champions League, he had barely gone out to bars.

For the nightclub prince, that was basically torture.

Now he needed to release that energy on the pitch.

...

The match continued.

Ajax had sold players worth a combined 160 million euros. Ten Hag claimed it had not affected them at all.

But was that possible?

No way.

Even the best young players needed time to develop.

Unless, of course, they were cheating the system.

Manchester United gradually took control of the game, and in the 75th minute, Mahrez cut inside from the wing and delivered a cross.

Ling met the ball, once again muscling past Lisandro Martínez before shaping as if to shoot.

Poor Martínez was fooled again.

There was no choice.

Ling's dummy was far too convincing. Apart from not actually shooting, it looked exactly like the real thing.

Besides, Lisandro was still too young.

Maybe once he grew to the point where he could treat Haaland like a toy, he would truly be able to challenge Ling on the pitch.

After creating shooting space, Ling unleashed a powerful left-footed strike before Perr Schuurs could throw himself into the block.

The ball nestled into the bottom left corner of the net.

0–3!

"Ling scores his second of the match!"

"Both teams have changed significantly, but Manchester United's spending power is five times that of Ajax, and as the saying goes, the only downside of expensive things is the price."

"That certainly feels true tonight."

"Manchester United have completely taken control of the game. Last season's dark horses, Ajax, have had a terrible night against the reigning champions."

Some Ajax fans inside the Johan Cruyff Arena, stirred up by certain individuals, began chanting.

"Ten Hag out!"

"Ten Hag out!"

"Ten Hag out!"

Last season, Ajax had managed to beat Real Madrid, and the season before that, Real Madrid had narrowly lost to Manchester United.

According to football's most unreliable formula, Ajax should therefore defeat Manchester United.

Ten Hag scratched his head in confusion.

This proved one thing.

Fans of any club were difficult to deal with.

...

With a three-goal lead, Mourinho began making substitutions, bringing on defensive players one after another.

That's right.

Grealish was one of them.

And he was even more effective than the defensive players.

Ten Hag looked at Mourinho with resentment.

'The manager of a top club truly had no shame.'

He needed to learn a thing or two himself... he would use it at the press conference later!

'Ajax lost, but I didn't.'

In the end, Ajax 0–3 Manchester United.

The first round of the Champions League group stage concluded.

Ling, who scored twice, was named Man of the Match.

When reporters asked him how he viewed Cruyff, his answer was simple.

"He was a great player."

"Who was better, him or Beckenbauer? Sorry, I never played with them, so I don't know the answer."

"..."

📰 Sky Sports: Ling Scores Twice as Manchester United Beat Ajax 3–0 in Amsterdam

📰 BBC Sport: United Begin Champions League Defence With Commanding Away Win

📰 The Athletic: Mourinho's Midfield Adjustment Crushes Ajax After Half-Time

📰 Manchester Evening News: Ling Named Man of the Match as United Start Three-Peat Bid in Style

📰 De Telegraaf: Ajax Outclassed by Ruthless Manchester United at Johan Cruyff Arena

📱 @UnitedStand ✔

Ajax 0–3 United. Away from home. First Champions League match of the season. Ling already has two goals. We are so back.

| ↳ 📱 @StretfordEndTom

| Reply: Ten Hag said decentralization. Ling said bottom corner!

📱 @AjaxMarketWatch

Good news: lots of scouts watched Ajax tonight.

Bad news: they mostly watched Ling destroy Ajax.

📱 @TacticalTim ✔

Mourinho's second-half adjustment was excellent. United drew Ajax forward, compressed them, then attacked the spaces behind the midfield. Simple, controlled, brutal.

📱 @GrealishCalves17

Grealish came on as a defensive substitute and immediately became the most foulable man in Europe. Generational role player.

Since there were still several days until the next league match, Mourinho gave the team a day off.

Where could they go?

Amsterdam was famous across Europe, and what was Amsterdam known for?

The Red Light District.

Grealish claimed he had never seen it before and begged everyone to go take a look.

So Ling.... reluctantly agreed.

It definitely was not because he was curious himself!

...

Not long after, they arrived at De Wallen.

Amsterdam's most famous red-light district was also one of its main tourist attractions.

Well.

They were there for tourism, not the red-light district.

There was a unique feature here.

The streets were lined with transparent windows, and under the dim, desire-filled lighting, the window workers stood in their own spaces.

Some negotiated at the door, some used intercoms, and each had a different way of handling customers.

"Can you stop letting your eyes wander?"

Mahrez slapped Maguire on the back of the head.

"Aren't they standing in the windows for people to look at?" Maguire said righteously. "Just like us playing football, it's a legitimate profession. Don't discriminate, okay?"

Ling fell silent.

He never imagined that one day Maguire would say something like that.

A window worker nearby froze when she heard him, looking genuinely moved.

As sex workers, they often faced discrimination and even various forms of humiliation.

But making money was not shameful.

Now, finally encountering someone who could treat them as equals, and with a physique and appearance that happened to match her taste, she even wanted to offer him special treatment.

"Actually, I read a book by Marlies called When Sex Work Becomes Work."

Maguire seemed to radiate a brilliant light.

"When she worked in the industry from sixteen to twenty, she needed money. Later, she felt she needed to help her former self, so she established an information center for sex workers, helping people access advice and unite together."

"Most importantly, she refused operational subsidies from the authorities."

Maguire continued, "The whole world should recognize sex work and legalize it properly. That's the only way to regulate the industry and protect the workers."

De Gea looked like a curious child.

"Do the workers here have autonomy?"

"Of course. They can look through the curtains to check customers and choose targets. If they like what they see, they open the window and flirt a little."

Maguire said this very naturally.

"So the workers here actually have strong autonomy and don't need to be controlled by pimps."

Ling was shocked.

Had Big Head Maguire worked in this industry before?

But after looking around for a while, he did not see any male workers.

Just as Maguire was introducing the place to everyone, the window worker beside them winked at him.

Maguire nodded kindly.

The girl looked slightly disappointed, then closed the curtain.

Perhaps she rarely met someone who interested her.

But who could blame her for running into Big Head Maguire?

He was a family man!

Besides, he already had a wife and kids, so he definitely would not mess around outside.

Grealish thought for a long time, then imitated Maguire and walked straight ahead without looking around.

But his flamboyant hairstyle and walking posture gave him away at a glance.

Who the hell walked like they were swaying through a nightclub?

Some people were simply not meant to be good men.

For example, the famous Premier League defender Kyle Walker.

"You really can't deny there are a lot of people here."

Mahrez had no reservations and looked around openly.

Click.

Suddenly, a flash went off ahead.

Someone was secretly taking photos of the window workers!

The local police were not pushovers.

Several plainclothes officers emerged from the crowd and quickly subdued the person.

And then?

Then they threw it straight into the river nearby.

Oh, the phone.

Not the person mind you!

The area instantly cleared out as tourists became afraid of getting involved.

"Don't cause trouble here," Ling said seriously.

Amsterdam was not Manchester.

But as long as you did not do anything outrageous, it was fine.

"Don't worry. We're just tourists. How could we cause trouble?"

Grealish gave his guarantee.

If you ignored the window workers, De Wallen really was a tourist paradise.

After wandering around for a while, everyone prepared to leave.

"That... my stomach hurts a bit. You guys go back first."

Grealish held his stomach.

Ling fell silent.

Even if Grealish said he wanted to contribute to Amsterdam's economy, what could Ling say?

Besides, these things were personal freedom, and Ling did not want to interfere.

A few young players who saw this also started getting restless!

"If your stomach hurts, go deal with it first. We'll head back to the hotel. Don't come back too late tomorrow."

Ling waved his hand.