Mourinho celebrated with a firm punch of the air before quickly settling again.
There were moments this season when managing United almost felt easier than it should have.
Whenever a match became uncomfortable, Ling seemed willing to accept responsibility for changing it.
He handled the expectations, the constant media attention, and the decisive moments on the pitch with remarkable consistency.
Mourinho occasionally wondered whether too much responsibility was being placed on someone still so young.
Then he reminded himself that Ling was considerably younger and fitter than he was.
'Good for his development.'
It was a convenient justification, but Mourinho saw no reason not to use it.
Beside him, Faria raised his arms and celebrated before his thoughts wandered toward his own future.
Al-Duhail's offer from Qatar remained difficult to ignore.
A few years on that salary could secure his family financially, and if his first managerial job went badly, he had already imagined how he might defend himself.
He had spent years working with a Ballon d'Or winner, a Premier League record scorer, a Champions League record holder, and one of Manchester United's most successful captains.
He could always claim he had helped develop Ling and ask why his new players could not perform at the same level.
Faria smiled to himself.
It sounded convincing enough.
...
Sarri had sunk into his seat.
United's new padded benches were comfortable enough to resemble aircraft seats, but he barely noticed.
The goal had made the situation brutally clear.
Juventus were almost certainly heading out.
If the reports from Turin were correct, Sarri's job might disappear with them.
Buffon sat nearby and appeared far more philosophical about the situation.
He had already experienced enough during his long career to avoid treating one elimination as the end of the world.
Looking across toward De Gea's goal, an absurd thought crossed his mind.
Perhaps he should have joined Manchester United when he left Juventus instead of going to Paris.
A couple of seasons as De Gea's backup, a few cup matches, several trophies, and far less pressure.
It sounded strangely appealing now.
...
Juventus restarted, but the goal had clearly affected them. United sensed it and increased the physical pressure rather than retreating.
Both teams were beginning to tire, but morale changed the way fatigue felt.
United continued to compete for every loose ball with enthusiasm, while Juventus increasingly seemed to be carrying the weight of the aggregate score.
Bruno received possession in midfield and quickly switched play before McTominay held off Pogba and sent Wan-Bissaka forward on the overlap.
Bernardeschi tried to close him.
Wan-Bissaka went past surprisingly easily.
That alone produced an amused reaction from the crowd.
Nobody considered him an attacking full-back on the level of Trent Alexander-Arnold, even though his work in the final third had improved considerably this season.
If he was beating Bernardeschi that comfortably, Juventus were beginning to struggle badly.
Wan-Bissaka reached the right edge of the penalty area but hesitated once the space opened.
He had beaten his man successfully; deciding what to do afterward proved more difficult.
Eventually he lifted a high cross toward Ling.
"Watch him!" Szczęsny shouted.
De Ligt had already moved close enough to disrupt the aerial duel.
Rather than trying to outjump Ling cleanly, he leaned into him just as the forward left the ground, disturbing his balance enough to prevent a proper header.
The ball sailed over the crossbar.
"Good defending from De Ligt," Beglin said. "He knows that allowing Ling a clean jump is dangerous, so he uses his body before the header without doing enough to give away a penalty."
Drury added with a hint of humor, "De Ligt once finished behind Ling in the Golden Boy voting. Tonight his reward is spending ninety minutes trying to stop him."
The Dutch defender could only give a tired smile.
Every moment around Ling demanded concentration.
A slightly poor angle, a delayed reaction, or one mistimed challenge could immediately become another chance.
...
"Push up!" Cristiano shouted toward his teammates. "We have to attack!"
He clapped his hands repeatedly, but frustration was beginning to show in his voice.
Cristiano had never hidden his emotions well during defeats.
His competitive nature often inspired the players around him, but it could also make him impatient when he felt they were not matching his urgency.
Tonight, the encouragement did little to change the mood.
Juventus pushed higher because the score demanded it, not because they suddenly believed a comeback was coming.
...
As the clock moved into first-half stoppage time, Juventus's defensive line had advanced close to halfway.
Maguire looked up from the back and spotted Ling already beginning his run.
The center-back immediately sent a long pass over the top.
Ling accelerated.
De Ligt turned and chased.
For several seconds, the Dutchman ran as hard as he could, but the distance between them continued to grow.
With no realistic chance of recovering through pace alone, he reached out and grabbed the back of Ling's shirt.
The fabric tore loudly.
Ling stopped, looked down at the ruined jersey, then turned toward De Ligt.
"What kind of quality is this from Adidas?"
Several United players burst out laughing.
The referee was less amused and showed De Ligt a yellow card.
United briefly appealed for a red, but Bonucci had been positioned deeper and still had a plausible opportunity to cover the run.
The referee therefore judged it as stopping a promising attack rather than denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.
Ling jogged toward the touchline to change shirts, and by the time he returned, there was barely enough time to restart play.
The referee blew for halftime.
Manchester United 1–0 Juventus.
United led 3–0 on aggregate.
Drury summed up the half in a far more measured tone.
"Juventus came to Old Trafford needing two goals and now require three. Ling has scored the only goal of the night and, in doing so, moved beyond Cristiano Ronaldo to set a new single-season Champions League record with eighteen."
"Manchester United are forty-five minutes away from a third consecutive European final."
...
The full-time whistle confirmed Manchester United's place in a third consecutive Champions League final.
They had beaten Juventus 2–0 at Old Trafford and 4–0 on aggregate, with Ling scoring three of United's four goals across the semifinal.
His long-range strike in the first half had broken Cristiano Ronaldo's single-season Champions League scoring record, while his second goal had taken the new mark to nineteen.
For the commentators, the most striking part of the tie was not that Cristiano had suddenly become a poor player or that Messi and Ronaldo's era could simply be declared finished after one season.
It was the increasingly obvious shift in football's spotlight.
Both veterans remained capable of deciding major matches, but Ling was now producing the kind of performances that naturally drew comparisons with the two players who had dominated the previous decade.
"Manchester United are through to the Champions League final for the third year in a row," Peter Drury said as the celebrations began around Old Trafford.
"Ling has been the decisive figure again tonight, first with a tremendous strike from distance and then with an extraordinary piece of close control inside the penalty area."
Beglin was more cautious about the generational comparisons.
"There's always a temptation to announce the end of one era whenever a younger player produces something exceptional. I wouldn't go that far. Cristiano and Messi have spent more than a decade setting standards almost nobody could reach. What we can say is that Ling has now established himself at that level of conversation, and this season he's been the player everyone else is chasing."
The point was difficult to dispute.
Since making his first-team breakthrough in 2017, Ling's development had been relentless.
He had gone from an academy graduate competing for minutes to a Premier League record scorer, a Ballon d'Or winner, United's captain, and now the owner of the Champions League single-season scoring record.
During this year's knockout stage alone, United had eliminated Barcelona and Juventus.
Messi had been on one side, Cristiano on the other, and Ling had been decisive against both.
The final would provide one more opportunity to extend the story.
Before turning away from the broadcast, Drury briefly looked ahead to United's remaining domestic schedule.
Their position in the Premier League was strong but far from secure.
They still had four matches remaining: Southampton, West Ham United, Crystal Palace, and finally Manchester City. City were three points behind United with an inferior goal difference, while Liverpool were only two points back and waiting for either of the Manchester clubs to stumble.
United therefore controlled their own fate, but there was little margin for complacency.
...
Old Trafford remained full long after the whistle.
Scarves moved throughout the stands as supporters celebrated another trip to a European final.
United had entered the season as two-time defending champions, and now they were one victory away from completing a Champions League three-peat.
Near the technical area, Mourinho allowed himself a satisfied fist pump.
His relationship with Champions League semifinals had not always been kind.
Porto and Inter had carried him all the way to the trophy, but Chelsea and Real Madrid had both fallen agonizingly short during other periods of his career.
Some of those defeats had remained with him for years.
Faria approached and wrapped him in a hug.
"Boss, we're going to Lisbon."
Mourinho smiled.
"To the Estádio da Luz."
His expression became slightly nostalgic.
"I remember Lisbon very well."
Before his breakthrough with Porto, Mourinho had spent a brief and turbulent spell managing Benfica.
He had been only thirty-seven and far more confrontational than the man now standing on the Old Trafford touchline.
Changes in club leadership quickly created tension between him and the board, and after only a few months he chose to resign following a victory over Sporting CP.
Benfica went on to endure a miserable domestic season, while Mourinho rebuilt his career with União de Leiria before eventually moving to Porto and winning both the UEFA Cup and Champions League.
Returning to Benfica's stadium for another Champions League final therefore carried an amusing sense of symmetry.
"Football likes bringing people back to old places," Faria said.
"Usually when they're old enough to appreciate the joke," Mourinho replied.
Sarri approached from the opposite technical area.
His face showed the disappointment of a manager who understood what this elimination might mean for his future, but he still offered his hand.
"Congratulations."
"Thank you," Mourinho replied.
There was no need for another argument.
Mourinho had always respected managers who worked their way upward without the advantages of a famous playing career, and Sarri's journey through Italy's lower divisions qualified.
Whether Juventus's board would show the same patience was another matter.