Neville reminisced about the past glory days under Sir Alex and sighed after a long while.
"Indeed, skip. When it comes down to it in these massive derbies, tactics go out the window. Matches are decided by sheer willpower and who wants it more. And in Manchester United's dictionary, there's no such word as 'impossible.'"
Ling nodded slowly in agreement.
That striking red jersey seemed to have a magical, heavy quality—every time he wore it, he felt something special.
That is his hidden ability to resist negative emotions, fatigue, and solve those incredibly difficult problems on the pitch.
'Hmm. It's like a piece of RPG equipment with a permanent stat bonus,' Ling thought, finding that gamer description quite fitting.
...
As the Manchester Derby rapidly approaches, social media is buzzing with intense excitement and debate.
Opinions on who will win the title-deciding match are fiercely varied.
@CityTactics: Guardiola has come up with a brilliant new invention recently—inverted full-backs dropping deep into midfield, no longer emphasizing extreme pressing against opponents, but instead utilizing the individual technical abilities of players like Cancelo to form quick, high-quality passing triangles in midfield, continuously accumulating possession advantages to eventually create forward overloads. So I think Manchester City has a much higher tactical chance of winning.
@JoseMasterclass: Do you know which coach among the many clubs in the top five leagues understands how to destroy Manchester City's tactics the best? That's right, it's Jose Mourinho. I believe he can perfectly exploit Manchester City's defensive transitions!
@SpursFan: Actually, Manchester United could learn from Tottenham's recent Champions League tactics: pressing to the extreme in the midfield and forward lines, then attacking with ruthless efficiency on the break.
@RedDevil_99: As long as Ling is starting at Manchester United, I'm not worried about Pep at all.
@TacticalAnalyst: Manchester City's physical weakness in the central midfield is quite obvious, especially in the defensive midfield position. Whether it's Fernandinho aging or Ilkay Gundogan filling in, both have issues with insufficient defensive intensity against pure pace. As long as Ling has some space to run at them, he can easily break through the spine of the defense.
@KDB_Fanboy: Not necessarily true. Kevin De Bruyne is simply too strong right now, elevating Manchester City's attacking intensity by a whole level. Manchester United's midfield trio is definitely no match for his vision.
@CityTikiTaka: Exactly. De Bruyne directly enables Manchester City's structured attacks. No team in Europe at this stage can withstand them head-on for 90 minutes.
Meanwhile, at Manchester City's luxurious, state-of-the-art Etihad Campus training base...
"I never recommended limiting Ling from the start by double-marking him, because that would consume far too many of our own tactical resources and ruin our shape. It's better to allocate more players to the midfield and forward lines to strengthen possession and control the ball. He can't score without it."
"As long as we can create numerical superiority against Manchester United's weak side—usually their right flank—we can generate excellent, high-xG opportunities."
Pep Guardiola stood animatedly in front of the massive tactical board, tapping his marker aggressively at the complex passing lines and zones drawn on it.
Then he looked directly at De Bruyne: "Kevin, you need to pay close attention to controlling the formation's positioning tempo, making Manchester United willingly give up a bit of space behind their midfield line. I believe with your elite vision and technique, you can definitely deliver the ball to your forwards' feet in those half-spaces."
As David Silva slowly ages out of his prime, Manchester City's absolute core position has shifted firmly to De Bruyne.
And the Belgian has shouldered the immense responsibility well.
He can both dictate possession from deep and make devastating off-the-ball runs into the channels, while also delivering high-quality, defense-splitting passes.
The entire fluid process of Manchester City's attacking buildup is essentially orchestrated by him.
What is a complete, all-around modern midfielder? This is it.
De Bruyne thought carefully for a moment, then asked with slight tactical hesitation.
"The core premise of this tactic is absolute possession, boss. If the ball is easily intercepted in the forward line during transition, Manchester United can launch a rapid long pass counterattack through Pogba, and our high defensive line probably won't be able to stop Ling in a footrace. Isn't that far too risky? Maybe playing slightly more steadily with a double pivot would be better?"
"We have to go all out," Guardiola shook his bald head firmly.
Based on his long, bitter history and deep understanding of Mourinho, Manchester United will definitely choose to fight desperately for a win because they mathematically cannot accept a draw if they want the title.
In massive clashes between top teams, if the momentum or tactical bravery falters even slightly, it's basically a death sentence.
As the old coaching saying goes: "Football at this level is like modern warfare. Hesitation kills."
If Manchester United seizes the initiative in the match, could Ling tear through our defense? Guardiola held a deeply pessimistic view on that.
He knew the answer was yes.
"We must pursue extreme possession and control to completely suppress and starve Manchester United!" Guardiola looked at the seated Manchester City players and said passionately, "We have absolutely nothing left to lose in this title race. After missing out on the League Title last year to them, we must give it our all this time and leave Manchester United with absolutely no hope or opportunity!"
"Finally, Manchester United historically sees us as just a 'noisy neighbor,' but tomorrow, I hope you can show the entire world who the true, modern master of Manchester is!"
The Manchester City players responded with loud, determined cheers.
There were many personal reasons they wanted to win—perhaps to prove themselves, perhaps to avoid being continually underestimated by the red half of the city.
In truth, this was also their own kind of faith.
...
As day turned to night and night to day, the highly anticipated Manchester Derby finally arrived!!!
On Sir Matt Busby Way, Old Trafford stood quietly in the early afternoon, with Sir Matt Busby's bronze statue gazing ahead, his sculpted eyes showing no hesitation or doubt.
Not far from the statue stood the somber Munich Clock, forever frozen at February 6, 1958.
Yet time in reality continued to flow, and slowly, the plaza grew bustling with immense noise, color, and aggressive excitement!
Inside Old Trafford, over seventy-five thousand fans erupted in deafening cheers as the players took the pitch for warm-ups.
"Make sure to warm up thoroughly, lads. It's going to be incredibly intense from minute one," Ling reminded his teammates, doing high-knees.
"Guys, I have a really strong feeling—I think I'll score a header from a corner today!" Harry Maguire shook his massive head and suddenly blurted out.
"Harry! Get rid of that feeling right now, because with our luck it'll be an Own Goal!" Riyad Mahrez joked, stretching his hamstrings.
But David De Gea's expression suddenly changed to sheer panic, thinking that Maguire always seemed to have a terrifying knack for making bizarre, clumsy mistakes in high-stakes matches.
He had to stay extra vigilant on his line today.
As for why he didn't just tell Maguire directly to focus on defending, it was because doing so would crush the fragile Englishman's confidence.
Truly, De Gea was the kind-hearted guardian!
...
Not far away, in the blue half of the pitch.
"Kevin, given the relationship between the boss's daughter and Ling, do you think he might shockingly come to City in the future?" David Silva asked idly while jogging.
"Probably not," De Bruyne replied uncertainly.
But he genuinely, deeply hoped Ling would come.
How unbelievably strong would Manchester City be then?
Who in Europe could even stand against them?
And as a master midfielder skilled at delivering assists, what he wanted most in the world was a highly efficient, clinical striker.
Just look at Raheem Sterling playing his "happy football" every day.
He could use his pace to get into incredible positions, but he frequently couldn't capitalize on the easiest scoring chances—missing absolute sitters from two meters out, shooting with his right foot only to hit his own left knee...
Those frustrating, comical antics made De Bruyne want to pull his own hair out!
"Sigh... aside from being our biggest opponent, Ling really has absolutely no footballing flaws,"
David Silva sighed, then turned to Aymeric Laporte and said seriously, "Remember to stay perfectly steady today, Aymeric. Don't hesitate with smart tactical fouls high up the pitch—just don't do anything reckless or stupid inside the penalty box against him."
There was no other way.
Since Guardiola had boldly decided to go all-in on possession and a high line, they, as players, simply had to execute the risky plan perfectly.
In truth, the Manchester City players were quite fond of that aggressive tactical approach.
Regardless of how difficult and physically demanding it was to implement, the feeling of pressing forward with everything they had was exhilarating.
This was the collective mental state of the Manchester City players—thrilling, arrogant, and passionate!
As for the mindset of the Manchester United players?
"Glory, Glory, Man United!!!!" "As the Reds go marching on, on, on!"
The thunderous, intimidating cheers from the Stretford End said it all.
After the intense warm-up session, the players returned to their respective locker rooms for final preparations.
Mourinho briefly reiterated the defensive pressing triggers.
Finally, making intense eye contact with each Manchester United player, he said with utmost seriousness and gravity.
"If the physical intensity and determination of our pressing aren't enough to completely disrupt Manchester City's passing accuracy, then none of the counter-attacking strategies I mentioned earlier can possibly work!"
"Look at Manchester City's recent opponents: Liverpool played cautiously, neither daring to press nor fight in midfield, and ended up losing the match. Arsenal defended conservatively for 40 minutes after taking an early lead, only to concede three consecutive goals to City's sustained pressure. Tottenham held on for a draw for 85 minutes, then retreated defensively in the final five minutes, allowing Manchester City to effortlessly tear apart their deep defense with continuous passing before delivering a deadly through ball to win the match."
"So—as long as you still have breath in your lungs, you cannot stop moving and pressing!"
The dose of aggressive motivational words warmed their hearts, and the Manchester United players felt as if they were burning with passion, their morale soaring to its absolute peak at this moment.
"Let's go!" Ling shouted, clapping his hands.
He tightened his captain's armband over his bicep, pushed open the heavy wooden door, and walked out into the player tunnel.
The atmosphere was incredibly tense and grim!
As the players from both teams emerged side-by-side from the tunnel, Old Trafford erupted into a wall of sound.
Whoosh!!!
Gary Neville: "Live now is the massive, title-deciding 36th round of the 2018-19 Premier League season!"
Jamie Carragher: "Manchester United hosting Manchester City at home in the derby!"
Gary Neville: "Without further ado, here are the starting lineups for both teams. Unsurprisingly, both Mourinho and Guardiola are fielding their absolute strongest, most trusted lineups, as the outcome of this match will directly impact who lifts the Premier League Title!"
Jamie Carragher: "As for who will emerge victorious in the end... let's wait and see!"