"Inter are using the full width early on, with former Atlético Madrid defender Diego Godín carrying the ball into the attacking third," Rob said.
"Wan-Bissaka looks composed here, not as reckless as he could be at times last season."
"United's defensive shape is clear."
Seeing no good opportunity, Godín passed the ball back to Barella.
Barella cheekily chipped the ball behind Ashley Young.
But this was a contract year for 'Professor' Young, and under the influence of some mysterious footballing boost, his level had improved by a notch!
Lukaku used his strength to push past Young, but he never fully shook him off and could only send in a hurried cross.
"Inter's tall-and-fast duo!"
"The big striker drifts wide to cross, the quicker one attacks the box. It's a simple idea, but a reasonable one."
"Lautaro rises—"
"Oh, Maguire has absolutely flattened him! Man and ball together. That was like being hit by a main battle tank."
Lautaro rolled across the grass to absorb the impact, grimacing as he rubbed his shoulder.
It hurt!
The moment they collided, he felt as if he had been struck head-on by a bulldozer and almost lost his balance completely.
Maguire really was worthy of being a 100-kilogram tank of a centre-back.
Outside the box, Kanté had just secured the second ball when Brozović quickly closed him down, pushing and shoving from behind with both hands to disrupt his touch.
But the Frenchman's lower body was extremely stable.
The reason was simple: the shorter the player, the lower the center of gravity, and the better the balance.
Shrugging off Brozović's interference, Kanté sent a diagonal pass toward the right flank.
Wan-Bissaka.
The Premier League's little bulldozer consciously pushed forward and joined the attack instead of simply sitting back in defense.
After all, people always had to improve. Standing still only meant being left behind, especially at a club like Manchester United.
"Wan-Bissaka still isn't quite decisive enough in possession, but he gets the ball forward."
"Havertz now, wearing Manchester United's number 10 shirt."
"Beautiful!"
"He shaped as if he was dropping back to receive, but he let the ball roll past him instead. That was very smooth."
Manchester United fans breathed a long sigh of relief.
So Havertz was not a flop after all.
In fact, before Havertz's second growth spurt, his technique had been quite refined, similar to that dead-fish-eyed German player.
Last season in the Bundesliga, he averaged 2.25 long passes per game with an accuracy rate as high as 89.6%.
At the same time, he attempted an average of 3.76 dribbles per match, though his success rate was only 59.1%.
'What should I do next?'
Havertz fell into quick self-reflection as he drove forward with the ball.
In front of him, Diego Godín had dropped into the right-back zone, temporarily forming a four-man defensive line.
Havertz definitely could not get past them on his own.
Following his habits at Bayer Leverkusen, he would most likely pass to the wing and look for a cross or a second-phase attack.
Just then, a voice rang out.
"Kai!"
Havertz looked up and saw Ling reaching out for the ball.
Without a second thought, he passed it over.
Amid the roaring cheers of tens of thousands of fans, Manchester United's number 7 turned his back and shielded the ball from the charging Candreva.
He lifted his right foot as if preparing to pass back.
In reality, he subtly pulled the ball the other way with a shift of his center of gravity.
Cruyff Turn.
The perfect combination of feint, flexibility, and explosive power left the Italian all-round midfielder stumbling forward.
Immediately after, Ling planted his right foot firmly and accelerated.
Like a red hurricane, he charged toward the Inter Milan penalty area.
Škriniar rushed across to cover and Ling stopped abruptly.
Cut the ball.
Stopped again.
Several rapid switches between horizontal and vertical dribbling left the Slovak Footballer of the Year completely disoriented.
'Are young players these days really this good?'
Staggering slightly, Škriniar gave up space and could only watch as Ling breezed past him.
Whoosh!
Gasps of amazement echoed through the Olympic Sports Center.
The simple yet brutal style of dribbling was visually stunning.
It was a unique style unmatched in modern football, grand in its overall force and mesmerizing in its technical detail.
Inter Milan goalkeeper Handanović hurried toward the near post.
Honestly, he had not expected his team's defense to be breached so easily.
Crumbling like a house of cards?
Against the individual brilliance of the Seven-Title Winner's core player, Inter Milan, who had finished fifth in Serie A last season, truly had no effective means of containment.
Havertz, who had sprinted into the penalty area to support, widened his eyes in disbelief.
He watched as Ling bulldozed past Škriniar, adjusted his shooting stance in the shortest possible time, and curled the ball toward the far corner with his right foot twisted at an almost ridiculous angle.
The next moment, the cheers of the home fans surged like a tidal wave, threatening to engulf the entire pitch.
"Playing with Ling is really simple," Havertz murmured with genuine admiration before shooting a sidelong glance toward Lukaku.
"Beautiful!" Rob shouted.
"Ling's explosive dribble down the left side has torn Inter Milan's defense apart!"
"And that curled finish into the far corner is the final touch of cruelty!"
Terry could not help adding, "Look at the angle of that ankle. If I didn't already know how flexible he is, I'd be worried he'd injured himself taking the shot."
As the Manchester United players gathered to celebrate, Grealish got up from the grass and approached the referee to complain.
"Just now, when I made a run into the penalty area, Inter's number 95 deliberately pulled me back. That kind of foul deserves a yellow card."
Even though Manchester United had scored, the foul still had to be punished.
And so, Bastoni received a yellow card.
He gave Grealish a strange look, wondering why he felt an urge to foul him every time he saw that face.
Mourinho waved toward the enthusiastic fans and realized he was quite popular in China too.
He wondered if it had something to do with his disciple.
"Tell Kai to play those through balls boldly," Mourinho instructed. "He has a great sense of space and will definitely click with Ling."
He had not spent 85 million euros on Havertz just to put him on the bench.
"Can I really do it?"
Perhaps Ling's brilliance had dimmed the confidence of Bayer Leverkusen's wonderkid by a tiny bit.
"Just pay attention to the direction I'm facing when I change my run, and you'll find the gaps," Ling encouraged him.
"The gaffer once told me confidence is the key to unlocking potential. If you don't believe in yourself, it's hard to become a true football star."
Havertz absorbed those motivational words, and the hesitation in his eyes faded.
Soon, the match resumed with Lukaku passing the ball back from kickoff.
When Conte swept through the Premier League with his three-at-the-back system, who was the first to figure out how to crack it?
That's right.
Mourinho.
Back then, almost every Premier League club had ended up with a copy of the playbook.
The result was that Chelsea, who had won the league title the previous season, delivered a follow-up campaign that was unacceptable to their fans.
Now, facing Conte again, Mourinho simply applied his old adjustments.
Stretch the width.
Attack through the middle.
After only a few moves, Inter Milan's defense was already on the verge of collapse.
In the 25th minute of the first half, Candreva broke through down the wing with the ball.
He had a well-known nickname.
The Machete!
It meant his attacks were as sharp as a blade.
Candreva shook off Nemanja Matić and played a diagonal pass to Lukaku.
Although the Belgian often played "happy football," his ability to hold up the ball as a target man was truly useful.
He muscled past Maguire and laid the ball off to Lautaro.
The Argentine striker met it with a fierce shot.
But out of his blind spot, a bald head suddenly appeared and snatched the ball away at the last possible moment.
"It's Kanté again!"
"His coverage is so important for United right now, especially when he has to compensate for the lack of mobility around Matić."
"This time, instead of building through the wing, he goes straight into Havertz!"
"What will the young German do?"
Havertz was not strong in physical duels, just as his build suggested.
He was a bit like a bamboo pole.
Especially later, drained by his girlfriend, he would become downright gaunt.
And Brozović happened to excel in physical battles.
Hit by a challenge from behind, Havertz stumbled, and his touch changed.
But before losing balance, he cleverly flicked the ball with his heel.
"What an imaginative pass!"
"Modern football keeps making players more versatile, but sometimes it also takes away that spark of creativity. Players like this are rare."
Grealish received the ball on the left wing and pulled off a series of feints.
Atlético veteran Diego Godín stuck to the old-school style.
Without hesitation, he went in hard with a tackle, missing the ball but catching the man.
Thanks to his genetically thick calves, Grealish shrugged off the foul and kept pushing forward, completing the dribble.
On the sidelines, Mourinho exclaimed, "His playing style isn't as flashy as Neymar's, but he has this strange magic that draws fouls from defenders. Science really can't explain it."
"Boss, maybe it's his thick calves. They subconsciously make defenders feel threatened," Faria speculated.
"Could be."
Mourinho chuckled and turned his gaze back to the pitch.
In the blink of an eye, Grealish approached the penalty area, paused briefly, and delivered a cross.
The ball rolled toward the area just outside the box, slightly deeper than expected.
Manchester United's number 7 stepped from the edge of the frame into the center of the action as his leg swung forward.
Boom!
Amid the gasps of the home fans, the ball blasted into the Inter Milan net like a cannonball fired from its chamber!
Conte sat back on the bench, his face ashen.
In truth, he felt a faint sense of relief.
Relief that he had left the Premier League!