At the junction of Europe and Asia, in the southeastern part of the Caucasus region, lies Azerbaijan.
Traces of human habitation there date back to the late Paleolithic era, and after countless years of history, the Olympic Stadium in the capital city of Baku welcomed the 2019 UEFA Super Cup final.
Last season's Champions League winners, Manchester United, faced last season's Europa League winners, Chelsea.
📰 Sky Sports: Manchester United Face Chelsea in Baku With UEFA Super Cup on the Line
📰 BBC Sport: Ling Leads United Into Third Straight UEFA Super Cup Final
📰 The Athletic: Mourinho Tests New Midfield Shape as Bruno Starts Ahead of Havertz
📰 Daily Mail: Lampard's Chelsea Era Begins With Trial by Fire Against United
📰 Manchester Evening News: Red Devils Aim to Defend Super Cup After Historic Seven-Title Season
"Good evening from Baku. The UEFA Super Cup brings together the champions of Europe's two great club competitions, and tonight, it gives us an all-English meeting between Manchester United and Chelsea," Peter Drury announced as the camera swept across the stadium.
"Manchester United lifted this trophy last year after beating Atlético Madrid, and this is their third straight appearance in the final. They lost to Real Madrid in 2017, but since then, Mourinho's side have become a very different beast."
Jim Beglin looked down at the team sheets and added, "There are some important changes in United's midfield and forward line tonight. Bruno Fernandes starts as the attacking midfielder instead of Havertz, with McTominay and Mahrez also coming into the side. Mourinho is clearly still searching for the right balance after Pogba's departure."
"As for Chelsea," Peter continued, "Maurizio Sarri has gone, and Frank Lampard has taken over the Blues. A club legend returns to the dugout, and before the season began, he made a bold promise: give him three transfer windows, and he would lead Chelsea to the top of England — no, the top of Europe."
Many fans found that line strangely familiar.
Wasn't it almost the same declaration Mourinho had made before taking over Manchester United?
It felt as if Lampard had copied and pasted it without changing a single word.
According to a recent tabloid story from The Sun, Chelsea had originally considered appointing another club legend, John Terry, who was working as an assistant coach at Aston Villa.
The report was written in the usual shameless tabloid tone, joking that several Chelsea players were less than enthusiastic about the idea.
Terry did not back down because of it, however, and instead became involved with Chelsea's youth setup.
Unlike last season's UEFA Super Cup final against Atlético Madrid, Chelsea also had a rivalry with Manchester United, but they did not play with the same level of dirtiness.
Moreover, Chelsea now had a nickname among some fans: the Red Devils' Youth Academy.
Why?
Because Manchester United always seemed to poach players from Chelsea!
From Nemanja Matić to David Luiz, and now the current world's best defensive midfielder, N'Golo Kanté, all of them had been taken from Chelsea.
Meanwhile, due to a transfer ban, Chelsea were prohibited from signing players for the next two transfer windows, so their lineup was mostly made up of familiar faces and academy products.
The match began quickly.
Manchester United's first attack came down the wing, with Alex Sandro driving the ball forward at speed.
The Brazilian full-back's pace and technique were impressive.
Facing 30-year-old Azpilicueta, he repeatedly shifted the ball, feinted outside, and cut inward before passing to Ling.
Christensen stepped up.
According to statistics, among all defenders dribbled past by Ling last season, the Danish youngster ranked first with 24.
It was worth noting that Manchester United had faced Manchester City five times, yet no City defender had produced such an exaggerated number.
Ling received the ball and carried it toward Chelsea's penalty area.
Christensen kept adjusting his balance.
He knew Ling's feints were realistic and quick, making it almost impossible to rely purely on reaction speed.
He could only try to anticipate.
A sharp Matthews-style shoulder drop.
A sudden cut inside.
Christensen almost uncontrollably stuck out his foot!
Thud.
Near the left edge of the penalty area, Ling was tripped.
The referee's whistle blew immediately.
"Two simple moves, but they've completely fooled Christensen there," Peter Drury said. "He knows he's in trouble, he reaches out with the foot, and Ling has won United a free kick in a very dangerous area."
"One-on-one, Ling might be the most devastating dribbler in the game right now," Jim Beglin noted. "The speed, the balance, the way he sells the body shape — defenders are forced into guesses, and when you guess against him, you're usually finished."
The camera then cut briefly to the referee.
"Stéphanie Frappart is in charge tonight," Peter said. "A French referee who became the first woman to officiate in Ligue 1, and she also worked at the recently concluded Women's World Cup."
Neville, sitting in the studio as part of the English broadcast panel, had just finished introducing the referee when he noticed Rooney beside him making an awkward face.
Neville immediately looked suspicious.
What did that expression mean?
Was Rooney suddenly interested in older women again?
Well, Stéphanie was only 36, but she spent years running under the sun while officiating matches, so her face carried the weathered look of someone older.
"Do you want to take this free kick?" Ling asked curiously when he saw Bruno holding the ball and refusing to let go.
"No, I'm just helping you set it up."
Bruno hesitated for a moment, wiped the ball with his jersey, and placed it carefully inside the foam ring.
He did want to take it.
But he did not dare to say so.
Given Ling's current status at Manchester United, Bruno might have dared to steal a free kick from Cristiano Ronaldo before he dared stealing one from Ling!
"Oh, then step aside."
Ling nodded.
Bruno fell silent.
He had thought Ling would show some sportsmanship and let him take it.
'Sigh.'
Being the team's star player really was great!
At that moment, Bruno quietly planted the seed of becoming a true team leader in his heart.
Ling could still play for at least fifteen years, but Cristiano Ronaldo probably only had around five years left at the top, so Bruno still had a chance to become the star of the national team.
Ling aimed at the top right corner of Chelsea's goal, took a deep breath, and stepped back three or four paces.
In the wall, Kovačić kept swallowing nervously.
Everyone knew Ling's shooting power was terrifying.
He had even injured defensive players before with his shots.
If someone got hit by one of those strikes, a bruise would probably be the least of their problems.
The camera locked onto Manchester United's number 7.
Run-up.
Arm swing.
Shot!
His body twisted almost horizontally, generating enough spin to send the ball curling over the wall.
Kepa saw it rise, bend, brush past his fingertips, and fly into the top right corner.
1–0!
"Beautiful!" Peter Drury shouted.
"Less than two minutes gone — one minute and fifty-seven seconds, to be precise — and Manchester United have already changed the score!"
"That zone again," Jim said. "The JL zone, as some analysts call it. Ling's curling-shot conversion rate from that area is absurdly high, and once he gets the angle, the goalkeeper is in serious trouble."
"The curve, the speed, the placement — it is a perfect free kick," Peter added.
The Manchester United fans inside the stadium roared excitedly.
Look at their core number 7.
He had shed his earlier immaturity and grown into a mature leader.
He would create a true Red Devils era!
The disappointment of losing the Community Shield a few days earlier was washed away almost instantly by that goal.
Bruno ran over excitedly and hugged Ling.
"Well done!"
"You did well too," Ling said politely.
Bruno smiled awkwardly.
What had he done?
He had not even touched the ball since kickoff.
Wait.
His positioning seemed to have created space for Ling to break through.
'I'm really great!' Bruno silently cheered himself on.
Kepa fished the ball out of the net and helplessly kicked it forward.
This time, he did not lose his temper with his teammates.
Because he knew it would be pointless.
For Chelsea to beat Manchester United now was even harder than Manchester United beating Real Madrid in the 2017–18 Champions League final.
Chelsea had won the Europa League largely thanks to Emery.
If the "King of the Europa League" had not experimented with a three-center-back system at Arsenal, Chelsea might not even have had the chance to play in this UEFA Super Cup.
Christensen sighed as well.
During the Premier League awards ceremony earlier, when defenders from various clubs gathered, the most discussed topic had not been honours or clean sheets, but how many times each of them had been dribbled past by Ling.
"I was beaten by Ling eighteen times."
"Twenty-one for me."
"Ten for me."
"Only seven for me."
"No wonder you made the Team of the Season!"
Christensen had grown used to it and no longer bothered dwelling on being beaten.
Besides, he planned to leave Chelsea in a few years.
If he could not beat Ling, could he not simply run away?
La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 — anywhere but the Premier League.
The match quickly resumed.
After taking the lead, Manchester United did not rush to attack.
This was a good habit they had developed over the previous two seasons.
Back then, United had been competing on multiple fronts, with constant injuries in the squad, forcing them to adopt a "1–0 mentality."
Win with minimal effort.
At first, Manchester United fans found it ugly and protested for quite some time.
Then they realized the team could win trophies that way.
Well, that changed everything.
No matter how ugly the process looked, if trophies kept arriving, it was acceptable.
They were not as demanding as Real Madrid fans.
Ugly football? Not acceptable.
Defensive pragmatism? Not acceptable.
Only one goal? Also not acceptable.
There was once a Real Madrid player who had been booed so harshly by his own fans that he asked the manager to only play him in away matches.
On the sidelines, Mourinho sat in the dugout, watching the players on the pitch.
There had been a time when he thought his second spell at Chelsea would leave behind a brilliant story.
But the ending had been far from perfect.
Of course, it had been dramatic enough: palace intrigue, internal spies, backstabbing.
It had played out like a grand palace drama.
He had once held some resentment toward Chelsea, but now he could not even summon the interest.
"Tell Scott to make more forward runs consciously," Mourinho instructed. "He underestimates his own attacking ability. The classic late run into the box — I was using it fifteen years ago, and it's still useful."
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