Meanwhile on chinese social media.
[Huh!?]
[Brothers, you know what? I was sitting in front of the TV watching the match when suddenly Ling's Pendulum Dribble knocked me under the sofa! What power!]
[I was knocked into the kitchen! My mum is asking why I'm screaming!]
[Hahaha! That was filth!]
[But this kind of move puts a lot of pressure on the knees. I suggest Ling do it less in the future. We need him for the next ten years.]
[Analyzing from a tactical perspective, Manchester United's two-pronged attack (Zlatan and Romelu) attracted the attention of Tottenham's defensive players, thus creating the vertical space for Ling. It was a setup.]
[And Kieran Trippier's defensive ability really isn't up to par, is it? No wonder City let him go. He was nowhere near him.]
[If it were Kyle Walker, Ling probably would have had a hard time scoring that goal. Walker has the recovery pace.]
[Indeed. But you play what's in front of you. And Ling destroyed him.]
At the edge of the pitch, the United bench was buzzing.
"Boss, we scored!?" Rui Faria wore an expression of disbelief, seemingly still immersed in the impactful, nostalgic beauty of the Pendulum Dribble.
"Correct!" Mourinho clenched his fist tightly and swung it vigorously.
"Exactly as planned."
The offensive tactics he had arranged before the match were specifically designed to counter Tottenham's zonal pressing.
Since Tottenham's forward players basically determined their pressing range by dividing the pitch into high zones, logically, their midfield and defense should also be divided by zones to maintain structure.
But clearly, this method is entirely unreasonable when stretched, because it creates significant defensive coordination problems.
Gaps appear.
So Pochettino could only resort to passive man-to-man marking at the back to cover the cracks.
And why did Mourinho have Ibrahimović and Lukaku make staggered runs? The purpose was to cause Tottenham's defensive players—Dier and Vertonghen—to lose their positions, creating vertical space for Ling.
And Ling lived up to his expectations, seizing this rare opportunity with ruthless efficiency.
It could be said to be a dual victory of tactics and individual brilliance!
On the other side, Mauricio Pochettino, seeing that the match had already resumed, quickly signaled the Tottenham players.
He made a flattening motion with his hands.
Reduce the pressing intensity.
He instructed the midfielders to drop deeper and take direct responsibility for zonal defense.
No more chasing.
Although this would create new problems—inviting pressure—the defensive effectiveness against the counter would improve significantly.
If United wanted to repeat the same trick, Ling would have to pull wide or drop back, all while dealing with the physical, close marking of Mousa Dembélé.
After completing his adjustments, Pochettino took a deep, contemplative look at the opposing team's bench.
Not long ago, Tottenham had lost 1-4 to Manchester City, becoming the backdrop for Guardiola's rapid, devastating attacks.
Would the same scenario play out today? Moreover, he noticed that both Guardiola and Mourinho favored sharp counterattacks, though with different emphases—the former focused on exploiting space through possession, while the latter emphasized compressing space and exploding.
Was he wrong? Was his high press a liability? But he quickly dismissed such thoughts.
He shook his head.
High-press counter-pressing to accumulate transitions from defense to attack was undoubtedly the most suitable tactic for the current Tottenham squad.
It was their identity.
As Marcelo Bielsa's successor, he firmly believed in this.
To change now would be to admit defeat.
His gaze returned to the pitch, where the game had resumed its previous pattern.
Although Tottenham's players had reduced their pressing intensity, they still managed to dominate Manchester United in terms of territory.
They camped in the United half.
However, they struggled to break down United's defensive shell.
They relied solely on Christian Eriksen's diagonal crosses or Son Heung-min's energetic runs to the byline for relentless, but ultimately fruitless, aerial assaults.
Luke Shaw's value as a left-back gradually became evident.
After a difficult period under Mourinho, he was playing with a point to prove.
With his excellent positioning, he consistently disrupted Tottenham's crosses, winning headers and blocking angles, alleviating pressure on his teammates in the penalty area.
Under these circumstances, even Harry Kane, the spearhead of England's attack, found it difficult to score headers against the towering defensive duo of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling.
And even if he won the aerial duels, a peak David De Gea stood firm in United's goal, catching crosses with an air of utter boredom.
In the 42nd minute of the match. Dele Alli, finding a pocket of space, delivered a precise lofted pass to the advancing Kieran Trippier, who surged toward the byline.
Though defensively vulnerable, Trippier's right foot was a weapon.
His Beckham-esque curling crosses had prompted Pochettino to devise a specific tactic: left-side defense (Davies staying back) and right-side attack (Trippier bombing on).
Even Son Heung-min had to cede possession to accommodate this delivery system.
"Close him down! Don't let him cross!" Smalling shouted, while tightly marking Harry Kane.
He signaled for Shaw to track back and defend the flank.
Luke Shaw immediately closed in, sliding to block, but he was a step too late—Trippier had already struck the ball fiercely with his right foot.
Thump!
The ball didn't arc toward Harry Kane.
It swerved in a massive, deceptive curve, aiming for the edge of the box.
Dele Alli controlled the ball with his chest, ready to showcase his skills against Nemanja Matić charging from the side.
He prepared to volley.
But before he could act, he stumbled uncontrollably.
Matić had already closed him down.
The Serbian giant applied immense physical pressure, nudging the slighter Alli away from the dangerous area with a shoulder barge, before calmly poking the ball to Ashley Young on the flank.
This brief duel showcased Matić's elite defensive skills in tight spaces.
After all, during his time at Chelsea, he had trained daily against Eden Hazard—could Dele Alli, talented as he was, surpass that level of close control?
Ashley Young surged forward with the ball.
Though his crossing was inconsistent and his shooting subpar, his speed and work rate were undeniable.
At 32 years old, he still held his own against Son Heung-min, who was tracking back.
Young managed to release the ball before Tottenham's double-team could converge.
Zlatan Ibrahimović received the ball near the center circle.
Harry Winks rushed to tackle him.
Zlatan didn't panic.
With a languid grace that belied his size, he effortlessly evaded Winks' tackle with a feint and a turn—a Cruyff Turn.
His footwork was remarkably fluid, a stark contrast to his towering 6'5" frame.
Deployed as a number 10 today, his quality made him more than capable—after all, he had notched double-digit assists last season.
His extensive career had honed his exceptional game-reading ability to a razor's edge.
He saw it instantly.
With Trippier pushed high up the right flank to cross, a massive space had opened up behind him.
Ibrahimović didn't look.
He delivered a perfectly weighted, outside-of-the-boot through ball into the gap.
Ling was already poised for the move.
He controlled the ball seamlessly in stride and drove toward the penalty area.
In the blink of an eye, they reached the thirty-meter zone.
But Mousa Dembélé was there.
The Belgian powerhouse aggressively closed in. He didn't dive in. He applied pressure, using his immense strength to shepherd Ling wide, slowing down the attacking tempo.
Under such rugged, intelligent defending, Ling's speed gradually decreased until he came to a halt on the left side of the penalty area.
He quickly glanced up.
Tottenham's defensive line had already recovered and set up their shape.
The forwards were dropping back.
The moment was gone.
With no other options, Ling sensibly passed the ball back to Herrera.
The match had settled into a positional battle.
Coincidentally, neither team excelled at this specific phase right now—Manchester United lacked Paul Pogba, their creative heartbeat, while Tottenham's pressing tactics were designed for chaos, not order.
As possession frequently changed hands in a midfield scrap, time flew by.
During first-half stoppage time, Harry Kane found a yard and unleashed a trademark long-range shot.
It swerved, but De Gea collected it comfortably, falling to his knees to smother the ball.
The referee blew the whistle to end the first half.
Old Trafford erupted with thunderous applause.
Half Time: Manchester United 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur.
Although some Manchester United fans disdained the conservative tactics, they could grudgingly accept them if they led to victory in big games.
But if they could actually win the championship one day... the thought hung in the air.
Meanwhile, the Tottenham fans remained undaunted.
They sang loud and proud.
They were only one goal behind, and they had the firepower to equalize in a second.
Moreover, Pochettino was a coach adept at making in-game adjustments.
They believed Tottenham would show a different, more potent performance in the second half.
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