November 23rd.Basel, Switzerland.
The air in St. Jakob-Park was freezing, biting through layers of thermal wear.
In the 89th minute, the scoreboard still read 0-0.
The match had been a drab affair, a tactical stalemate played on a pitch that seemed to harden with every passing minute of the Swiss winter.
Then, Basel earned a final, desperate corner kick.
Raoul Petretta whipped the ball to the far post.
The marking was slack.
Michael Lang, arriving late and unmarked, easily headed the ball past Sergio Romero.
The stadium erupted.
It was a last-gasp victory for the Swiss champions over the mighty Manchester United.
Soon after, the referee's whistle signaled the end of the match.
The Swiss powerhouse Basel had won, bringing Manchester United's perfect Champions League winning streak to an abrupt end.
However, the damage was minimal.
The current Group A standings were as follows:
Manchester United: 12 points
Basel: 9 points
CSKA Moscow: 6 points
Benfica: 0 points
Due to their vastly superior goal difference and head-to-head record, Manchester United would advance as group winners regardless of the final round's outcome against CSKA.
On the sidelines, José Mourinho wasn't overly concerned.
He shook hands with the Basel manager, his expression neutral.
To maintain his players' condition during this brutal winter schedule, he had deliberately fielded a heavily rotated squad.
No De Gea, no Valencia, no Matic.
His goal was to avoid the fatigue of travel and conserve energy for the upcoming league title race.
Losing a dead rubber in Switzerland was a calculated risk.
However, this pragmatic move infuriated CSKA Moscow.
The Russians accused Manchester United and Basel of "colluding" to eliminate them from the competition, claiming United hadn't tried to win.
They even filed a formal complaint with UEFA.
In the end, nothing came of it.
Rotation is a manager's prerogative, and a 1-0 loss in the 89th minute could hardly be labeled as "match-fixing."
...
Meanwhile, on the flight back to Manchester, Ling sat with his laptop, analyzing data.
After continuous training during this period, his physical attributes had seen significant improvement.
His [Strength] was up, his [Pace] was elite.
But one thing troubled him: the slow progress of the [Filippo Inzaghi "King of the Offside Trap" Module].
Unlike the dribbling or shooting modules, this one couldn't be improved through repetitive physical practice.
You couldn't just run drills against a wall.
Instead, it required a terrifying level of mental processing.
It required anticipating the formations, positioning, and movements of both teams' players simultaneously to make split-second judgments on when to run. It was about living on the shoulder of the last defender.
He soon realized, however, that he could combine it with his tactical learning.
By analyzing the flow of the game and the intentions of the opposing players, he could achieve results.
For instance, the [Bergkamp "First Touch"] module emphasized countering and dismantling the defensive mindset of opponents physically.
The Inzaghi module did the same mentally.
After figuring this out, Ling developed his own unique method.
He would study match footage, placing himself in the shoes of the defending players.
He would work backward from the outcomes to deduce why a run worked.
'If I am the defender, what do I fear? Where is my blind spot? When do I blink?'
...
November 25th.
The 13th round of the Premier League was about to begin.
Ling and his teammates arrived in Brighton, a southern coastal city once designated as a royal summer resort, renowned for its beautiful scenery and pier.
However, they didn't have time for a healthy sea bath or fish and chips.
They headed straight to the American Express Community Stadium (The Amex) located in the rolling hills of the suburbs.
Brighton & Hove Albion has a long, turbulent history.
They were a founding member of the Southern League but gradually declined, nearly falling out of the Football League entirely in the 90s.
They even lost their home ground, playing in a converted athletics stadium for years.
The turning point came in the 2010-11 season when new capital injection from owner Tony Bloom—a professional gambler and data genius—revitalized the club.
After suffering three consecutive playoff defeats in the Championship, they finally secured promotion last season.
This marked their first return to the top flight of English football since 1983.
This season, Brighton had started incredibly well, breaking into the top half of the table.
Fans were even whispering about them replicating the "Leicester City miracle."
Amid the cheers of 30,000 passionate fans, a massive TIFO unfurled in the North Stand.
It depicted a giant Seagull.
It's worth noting that in most of England, seagulls are seen as pests—chip-stealing, noisy nuisances.
But here, they are icons.
In fact, Brighton's previous emblem was a dolphin, later changed to a seagull as a form of resistance against their rivals, Crystal Palace (The Eagles).
Seagulls eat Eagles, or so the chant goes.
With the referee's whistle, the match officially began.
The well-rested Manchester United players were full of energy, having skipped the Switzerland trip.
But their tactics at the start were somewhat conservative.
Mourinho respected Brighton's home form.
The entire formation did not press too high up the pitch, instead focusing on defending in their own half and looking for the counter.
Brighton, however, showed no signs of being a newly promoted team.
Under Chris Hughton, they were organized and fearless.
They made aggressive tackles and dared to launch attacks against the Red Devils.
23rd Minute. Unnoticed by the casual observer, the game shifted on a moment of controversy.
Victor Lindelof executed a clean, sliding tackle on the edge of his own box.
Brighton's winger, Anthony Knockaert, went down screaming, clutching his calf as if he'd been shot.
The referee, Neil Swarbrick, waved play on.
He saw no foul.
Lindelof didn't hesitate.
He passed the ball quickly to Paul Pogba.
Pogba looked up. He keenly spotted a massive gap in Brighton's formation—their right-back had pushed up, expecting a free kick.
Pogba decisively delivered a through pass over the top.
Ling, operating on the shoulder of Lewis Dunk, the Brighton captain, abruptly switched from lateral movement to vertical movement.
It was the Inzaghi Module in action.
He timed his run to the millisecond.
Brighton players immediately raised their arms in unison to signal offside.
It was a synchronized appeal.
But the referee did not blow his whistle.
The linesman's flag stayed down. Ling paid no attention to the shouts.
Play to the whistle.
He accelerated.
One-on-one! With ample space ahead, he didn't need to use the "Pendulum Dribble" or any fancy tricks.
He simply used his raw pace to bypass the onrushing goalkeeper, Mathew Ryan.
He rounded him with a heavy touch and calmly slotted the ball into the empty net.
0-1!
Martin Tyler: "And Ling is through! The flag stays down! He rounds Ryan... and scores! Manchester United lead amidst controversy!"
Gary Neville: "Brighton are furious! Look at Knockaert down on the ground. But you have to play to the whistle. It's ruthless from United. And look at the run from Ling—he's just onside. Dunk plays him on by a toe. That is intelligent movement."
This angered the Brighton fans in the stands.
Boos rained down.
They felt the opponents should have stopped play when their player was "injured."
"CHEATS! CHEATS! CHEATS!"
But they soon fell silent.
Because Anthony Knockaert, seeing the match about to restart and realizing he wasn't getting a free kick, suddenly "sprang" to his feet as if nothing had happened.
The miracle cure of conceding a goal.
In fact, some weaker teams often employ this "time-wasting" or "disruption" tactic against stronger opponents, frequently feigning injury to break the rhythm.
United had just punished it.
After the match resumed, Brighton adjusted.
Two defenders, Bruno and Duffy, closed in on Ling whenever he got the ball, making it difficult for him to find space through his movement alone.
Mourinho, seeing the game becoming a physical scrap, immediately substituted the lightweight Mkhitaryan, bringing on the more direct and powerful Marcus Rashford.
Manchester United then adopted the simplest strategy: attack from both wings.
Use pace to reach the byline, then cross.
In the 54th minute. The strategy worked.
Rashford broke through on the right flank, using a step-over to beat Gaëtan Bong.
He delivered a whipped cross directly into the corridor of uncertainty.
Nemanja Matić, surging from deep like a locomotive, capitalized on the momentum.
He charged forward, outjumped Dunk, and powerfully headed the ball into the net.
0-2!
However, Brighton's players displayed remarkable mental fortitude.
They maintained their fighting spirit even while two goals down, consistently using long balls to exploit the space behind United's defensive line.
They were fighting for survival in this league, and they played like it.
In the 78th minute of the match.
Brighton's German playmaker, Pascal Groß, advanced with the ball.
He suddenly delivered a lofted pass into the box.
Victor Lindelof committed a rather basic error.
He tried to intercept the ball's trajectory with a header but misjudged the flight.
He slipped on the wet grass.
Glenn Murray, the veteran striker, was waiting. He raced past the fallen defender and, facing the onrushing De Gea, deftly chipped the ball into the net with a veteran's cool.
1-2!
This goal boosted Brighton's morale to fever pitch.
The Seagulls smelled blood.
They seized the opportunity to launch relentless attacks, repeatedly lofting the ball into the penalty area to create chaos and seek an equalizer.
The Manchester United players could only retreat defensively, forming a low block, barely surviving this dangerous period.
De Gea made two crucial saves. Smalling blocked a shot on the line.
In the 87th minute. De Gea launched a long ball from the back toward the left flank to relieve the pressure.
Ling elegantly controlled the dropping ball with his [Bergkamp Touch], killing it dead.
He evaded Knockaert's tackle with a swivel of his hips.
Just as he prepared to counter-attack into the open field, Knockaert, frustrated and tired, wrapped his arms around Ling from behind in a rugby tackle.
Beeep!
Knockaert earned a yellow card. But more importantly, the clock ticked down.
The match ultimately ended 1-2.
Manchester United secured another gritty victory, extending their unbeaten run in the Premier League.
They were relentless. They were winning ugly.
And they were keeping pace with City.