Peter Drury: "Oh, what skill and nerve from Kante! He just picks his pocket!"
Jim Beglin: "There's no obstacle on a football pitch you can't overcome... except N'Golo Kante!"
Before Jim Beglin could even finish his sentence, Kante had already cleanly dispossessed the ball and passed it securely to the dropping Nemanja Matic.
"Fall back! Fall back!" Sissoko pointed toward his own goal and roared in panic.
Tottenham's entire formation immediately and orderly retreated.
Alderweireld instinctively glanced behind his own shoulder, and what he saw sent shivers down his spine!
When did Manchester United's number 7 make that run?! With this burning, terrifying question in his mind, Alderweireld hurriedly turned and chased after Jeremy Ling.
Matic saw the red figure sprinting brilliantly ahead into the open space and, without hesitation, launched a raking, diagonal long pass over the top.
Boom!
The ball traced a precise, looping arc and plummeted downward toward the edge of the Spurs box!
Peter Drury: "Matic... launches it long! Looking for Ling!"
Stopping a dropping ball—the most fundamental of basics—is one of the most important skills for any professional player.
Imagine if your first touch under pressure sent the ball ten meters away.
Stopping the ball perfectly while moving at full speed, under immense physical pressure, and seamlessly linking it to the next action... this is what separates good players into different, elite tiers!
Alderweireld used every limb to grapple with Ling as they ran side-by-side.
If not for the fact that they were already inside the penalty area, he would have strongly considered sliding in to cynically bring him down and take a red card.
However, Ling's center of gravity remained impeccably stable, like a solid brick wall!
He even briefly glanced back over his shoulder at the dropping ball's trajectory, raising his left knee and naturally relaxing his muscles at the exact moment of contact, perfectly deadening the immense impact carried by the 40-yard pass!
Then, he seamlessly connected with a second touch using his left foot to push it forward.
Seeing the goal getting closer and closer, Alderweireld gritted his teeth and threw his body out fiercely for a desperate sliding block!
But Ling didn't just connect with one predictable move—within a brief microsecond, he nudged the ball again, this time cutting inside slightly with his right foot.
The ball completely evaded Alderweireld's sliding foot and also avoided Lloris's desperate, rushing dive, rolling leisurely toward the Tottenham goal.
Vertonghen sprinted back, still wanting to stage a last-ditch, heroic clearance on the goal line.
Unfortunately, Ling didn't give him the chance to be a hero.
He easily caught up to the rolling ball and blasted it violently into the roof of the net, producing a delightful, echoing sound as it hit the back of the net!
Immediately after, the cheers of Manchester United fans erupted, echoing in every corner of Wembley Stadium.
Peter Drury: "LING!!! IT'S MAJESTIC! A brace! Ling has scored his second goal of the match, and what a goal it is!"
Jim Beglin: "It all started with Kante's crucial interception in the backfield, Peter! Followed by Matic's direct long pass behind Tottenham's defense, and Little Ling's incredibly clever run to claim the first touch!"
Peter Drury: "Let's take another look at the replay of this goal. The absolute softness of his first touch on the run is simply breathtaking! And it was under intense, physical pressure from Alderweireld! All we can say is that Little Ling's physical prowess and technique are simply off the charts. He completely overpowered the defender!"
@UtdFaithful: THAT FIRST TOUCH CAME FROM HEAVEN! Kante wins it, Matic pings it, Ling finishes it. Poetry.
@SpursOfficial_Fan: We are actually cursed against this guy. Two defenders couldn't stop him.
@SkySportsPL: Jeremy Ling makes a 40-yard pass look like a 5-yard training drill. Pure magic at Wembley. ✨
...
The camera returned to the green pitch.
Ling and his teammates had just finished celebrating by the corner flag and were now walking back to their half with joyful, confident strides.
It was only the 60th minute of the match, and Manchester United was already leading 2-0 away from home.
From here on, as long as they played steadily, the scales of victory would only continue to tip in their favor.
Then they would secure their first hard-fought, statement victory of 2019.
After conceding another goal, Lloris clearly couldn't hold his tongue back any longer, furiously venting his frustration at Alderweireld.
"If you can't win the ball, fine! But why couldn't you even disrupt him?! His touch wasn't the slightest bit affected—otherwise, I might have had a chance to reach the ball when I came out!"
Alderweireld wasn't about to take it quietly from Lloris either.
Having spent years at Atlético Madrid under Diego Simeone, he was usually mild-mannered, but that didn't mean he'd let himself be pushed around and blamed publicly.
Not even by Tottenham's captain!
Seeing the escalating situation, Vertonghen quickly pulled his Belgian compatriot back.
"What's the point of arguing now?! The match isn't over yet—we still have a chance to equalize if we focus!"
Harry Kane also came over to exhaustedly calm his teammates down.
He felt utterly drained, having to organize plays, make deep runs, and take shots up front while also constantly soothing his teammates' frayed nerves.
On top of that, the club chairman kept using vague, emotional notions of 'loyalty' to bind him to the club without investing in the squad.
Just think about it—among the Premier League's BIG 6, which team's absolute star player earns a weekly wage of only £200,000?
If that's not pure exploitation of loyalty, what is?
The worst part was, even with the low pay and lack of spending, they never won any trophies.
In recent years, Tottenham hadn't even come close to lifting the FA Cup or the English League Cup—competitions with relatively lower prestige.
...
After Kane finally calmed his teammates, the match resumed.
Pochettino could no longer stay seated.
He decisively substituted Winks for Erik Lamela and Sissoko for Fernando Llorente, clearly signaling a desperate, do-or-die approach to strengthen their attack at all costs by throwing big bodies forward.
And he made highly targeted tactical arrangements.
The plan was to take advantage of Kante's 1.68m height by frequently delivering half-high, looping balls near the edge of the penalty area where the Frenchman operated.
However, the effect was very limited.
As for the reason? Behind the diminutive Kante stood Manchester United's massive aerial aircraft carrier, Harry Maguire, and the former Chelsea warrior, David Luiz!
Moreover, Kante and Luiz had previously partnered at Stamford Bridge, so there was absolutely no need to worry about chemistry or communication issues.
As soon as a hopeful ball passed over Kante's head, it would be powerfully, dominantly headed out by Maguire or Luiz.
Tottenham's desperate aerial attacks didn't even threaten Manchester United's goal.
Soon, Mourinho also made his own substitution adjustments, replacing Ashley Young with Luke Shaw to freshen up the legs, and Mahrez with Lingard for more pressing energy.
Pochettino on the other side saw this and was completely dumbfounded.
Because the United defense was now like an impenetrable brick wall!
Mourinho's intention was to heavily strengthen the defense, using Tottenham's desperate attacks to refine and practice Manchester United's new defensive system, while actually reducing their offensive resources.
Even Ling dropped deep and actively participated in the defensive efforts, only occasionally looking for rare opportunities to launch counterattacks.
It must be said, Manchester United's tactical effect was quite brilliant.
In the end, Tottenham failed to break through Manchester United's goal, with their few desperate long-range shots all comfortably blocked or saved by De Gea.
When the final whistle blew, a 2-0 victory for United, the Tottenham fans actually breathed a collective sigh of relief as they headed for the exits.
It was likely a lingering, traumatized aftereffect from the last time they had been force-fed "7-Up" by Ling.
Losing 2-0 felt almost merciful.
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