"To defend against Ling, we can't just man-mark him. We must cut off his connection with his teammates and prevent him from getting the ball."
Mauricio Pochettino stood in front of the tactics board in the home dressing room.
He knew it was unrealistic to rely solely on Toby Alderweireld to mark Jeremy Ling, especially since even Virgil van Dijk wasn't confident he could do it alone.
So the key issue still lay in the midfield battle.
Tottenham's diamond midfield lacked sufficient defensive width, making it difficult to restrict Manchester United's ball distribution when counterattacked.
But Pochettino had already reduced the number of attacking players to compensate.
If only Harry Kane was left isolated up front, they simply couldn't threaten Manchester United's defense, which would allow United's entire formation to push forward recklessly.
"After the second half begins, we need to adjust our tactics, Kieran." Pochettino looked toward the right-back on the side of the locker room.
"You don't need to push forward too frequently. Coordinate with Toby to defend against Ling, ensuring that when Ling receives a pass, there are always at least two players marking him."
"Got it, boss!" Kieran Trippier nodded.
Despite his quick agreement, he couldn't help but feel uneasy inside.
His defensive ability wasn't his strongest suit to begin with, and paired with a physically slower partner in Alderweireld, there was a high chance Ling would overpower them both.
This kind of thing had happened before.
But Trippier certainly couldn't back down either—after all, he was hailed by the media as the "successor to Beckham."
...
Meanwhile, in the away team's locker room.
"Kante, you'll replace Scott in the second half." Jose Mourinho looked at Scott McTominay. "Don't overthink it, Scott. You played very well in the first half, but we need more mobility in the center to free up our wide midfielders and forwards to join the attack."
After speaking, Mourinho picked up the magnetic pieces and began adjusting the formation on the board.
The midfield shifted from a narrow 1-3 setup to a flat four-man midfield.
In other words, they changed from a 4-3-1-2 to a classic 4-4-2, allowing them to control possession better or execute a devastating defensive counterattack through a compact midfield structure.
Many legendary teams had won championships with this exact tactic in the past.
For example, Porto in the 03-04 season, Inter Milan in the 09-10 season, and Real Madrid in the 16-17 season.
That's right—all three of those teams won the Champions League playing this way.
And the head coach of the first two teams was Mourinho himself, making him arguably the person in the world who understood this tactic best.
"Kante, the pressure as a lone defensive pivot will be immense, but I believe you have exactly what it takes," Mourinho said with a warm smile.
"Thank you, I'll do my best!" Kante scratched his bald head.
The locker room immediately erupted in laughter, as his heavily accented "thank you" had sounded perfectly like "fuck you" again.
Mourinho forced a smile, shaking his head at the banter before turning to his captain.
"Ling, for your forward movement later, still spread out to the wings to find space. But we need to start controlling the tempo and switch to a vertical passing pattern. Look for quick one-twos in the half-spaces. You'll also need to time your drop-backs to receive the ball or act as the playmaker to carry it forward yourself."
"I understand!" Ling looked at the magnetic pieces on the tactics board, instinctively visualizing the movements.
Although Manchester United had two strikers on the pitch, mindlessly launching long passes from the back to the front wouldn't maximize the 4-4-2 formation's strengths.
The real way to unlock it was through rapid short passes, pinning the opponent's players in the central areas, then advancing quickly through the wide-open spaces on the flanks, and finally seeking shooting opportunities in the attacking third.
And his own positioning also needed to shift constantly according to the different attacking patterns.
'Talk about pressure!' Ling sighed inwardly, then suddenly stood up and addressed the room with a confident smile.
"Last time we played them here, we scored seven goals! So even if we're a bit off today, we should at least aim to get five!"
"Let's go!!" The Manchester United players roared at the top of their lungs.
Kante watched Ling's departing back as the captain led them out, and he suddenly grinned, revealing his bright teeth.
He realized the atmosphere in the Manchester United dressing room was truly different from Chelsea's.
There was no scheming between players or between players and coaches, no suffocating, toxic pressure—everyone was moving happily toward the exact same goal.
To describe it in one word: Pure!
...
Wembley Stadium grew noisy again.
After the two teams switched sides, the referee blew his whistle!
The second half officially began!
An impassioned melody rang out from the away end at Wembley—it was the classic version of Manchester United's anthem.
"You've got to hear the masses sing with pride!"
"United! Man United!"
Manchester United fans held a deep, historic attachment to Wembley Stadium.
Because in the 1968 European Cup final, Manchester United endured immense hardships—from the tragedy of the Munich Air Disaster to finally winning the title at Wembley—becoming a truly great team as Sir Matt Busby achieved his own ultimate redemption.
Because in the 2011 Champions League final, Manchester United, the Premier League powerhouse that had reached the final three times in four years, faced off against Barcelona at Wembley.
But Manchester United succumbed to Pep Guardiola's near-total dominance, losing 1-3. Calling this defeat a "rout" was no exaggeration.
Barcelona's adaptability on the day, their fluid passing, and Lionel Messi's transcendent performance left a Cristiano Ronaldo-less Manchester United utterly overwhelmed.
It also marked a changing of the guard in the new era, as Manchester United began their slow decline from then on.
But today, amid the passionate singing of the traveling fans, the team launched a fierce offensive, actually pinning Tottenham—who had wanted to start the half strong—deep back in their own half.
Peter Drury: "We can already see N'Golo Kante's immense contribution to this side. With him sweeping up there, Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera can push forward without restraint, creating a five-versus-four numerical advantage in the midfield and attacking third."
Jim Beglin: "Matic looks up... excellent vision! He switches play directly to the left flank!"
Peter Drury: "Ashley Young is there!"
Professor Young had already played for Manchester United for eight seasons, amassing over 210 matches.
Whenever it was a contract year, he famously seemed to elevate his game to a much higher level.
Locking down Eden Hazard, containing Sergio Aguero—he could handle almost any top Premier League winger on his day.
But the problem was that Manchester United and Ashley Young had just signed a two-year contract extension, meaning he wouldn't supposedly hit that peak form again until next year.
Besides, he was already 33 years old.
However, as the old saying goes: "Adversity breeds progress."
He had never slacked off in training, always maintaining a supremely solid level of fitness.
Plus, with all those years of experience playing as an out-and-out winger, facing the physically weaker Trippier today, he used a series of clever changes in rhythm to beat him on the outside and gain half a step of space.
His sharp cut-back pass to the edge of the box near the byline found Jeremy Ling, who quickly followed up and swung his right foot for a first-time shot.
Clang!
Unfortunately, the ball grazed Alderweireld's calf, deflected, then struck the outside of the left post and went out for a goal kick.
Lloris broke out in a cold sweat, having nearly conceded to Ling again!
"The defensive line needs to shift as a single unit toward the side with the ball! Otherwise, the opponent can easily cut in and shoot!" Pochettino screamed from the sidelines, his face flushed with anger.
He didn't expect Mourinho to be so decisive, bringing on Kante right at the start of the second half and continuing to strengthen the attack by pushing the midfield higher.
This left Tottenham's defensive strategy lacking focus and numbers.
Fortunately, luck was on their side, as the home stadium's goalpost had saved them.
Manchester United took a tactical short corner, passing it back to Matic, who then curled a deep cross toward the left side of the penalty area.
The ball spin fiercely and struck Harry Maguire's massive head, only to be parried away brilliantly by the quick-reacting Lloris.
Absolute chaos immediately erupted in Tottenham's penalty area.
Countless legs stretched out, turning the ball into a three-dimensional pinball machine, until it finally rolled out of the box and was hacked desperately forward by Harry Winks.
As luck would have it, the ball's trajectory landed right near Dele Alli near the halfway line.
The Tottenham prodigy glanced ahead—Ashley Young hadn't yet returned to the defensive line, and Matic was at least fifteen meters away.
If Alli could reach Manchester United's exposed right flank, it would create a lethal three-on-two counter-attacking situation for Spurs.
Amid the loud, expectant cheers of the Tottenham fans, Alli decisively dribbled forward toward the right, only to suddenly hear a panicked voice.
It was Son Heung-min shouting a warning. "Dele! There's someone in your blind spot!"
A small, bald-headed figure burst forward from the shadows.
While the outside world often lazily saw Kante as simply "unstoppable in running," if stamina were his only attribute, he would never have become a world-class defensive midfielder.
More importantly, Kante possessed truly exceptional, psychic defensive awareness.
Taking advantage of Alli's absolute focus on Manchester United's retreating defensive line, Kante had hidden himself perfectly in Alli's blind spot, closing in like a silent ghost to make a tackle!
Alli reacted quickly, instinctively trying to pull the ball back with his studs to attempt a dribble past him.
But another of Kante's elite defensive skills was his incredibly precise body positioning.
Most defensive midfielders would choose to recklessly slide in and disrupt the play when an opponent's touch was slightly heavy.
However, the best outcome of such a desperate approach was merely clearing the ball out of bounds, and there was always a huge risk of losing balance due to a missed tackle, handing the opponent an even better attacking opportunity.
Instead, Kante used his explosive burst of acceleration to simply step his body in front of Alli and the ball, successfully and legally shielding it, limiting Alli's attempt at a second touch entirely.
------
No more tottenham next season.... feels bad man