According to UEFA Champions League rules, yellow cards accumulated in the group stage carry over into the knockout phase and are automatically cleared only after the quarter-finals, so they won't affect the semi-finals.
Atlético's highly aggressive tactical style has predictably led to many players picking up yellow cards.
Diego Costa, Angel Correa, Jose Gimenez, Filipe Luis, and Thomas Partey—these five key players will be suspended for the second leg at Old Trafford if they receive just one more yellow card in Madrid.
Manchester United, on the other hand, only had Ashley Young and Nemanja Matic sitting on yellow card warnings.
So, Mourinho planned to secure a gritty draw away from home and deliberately force Atlético players into committing fouls and earning yellow cards, laying a massive tactical advantage for victory over the two legs.
"Training starts promptly at nine tomorrow morning. No one is allowed to take leave!"
When the bus stopped at the entrance of the Carrington training base, Mourinho spoke sternly to the players.
He was worried that some might get too excited by the 3-0 win and head to bars or nightclubs to indulge themselves late at night, so he required the players to have breakfast together at the facility in the morning before starting targeted training.
This was a strict habit he had developed since the beginning of his coaching career to monitor discipline.
...
After driving home, Ling turned on his TV just as the highly anticipated Manchester City vs. Arsenal match was nearing its end, with the score temporarily at 3-1.
Sergio Aguero was in absolutely explosive form, completing a ruthless hat-trick in under sixty minutes.
The solitary goal for Arsenal was scored by Laurent Koscielny.
The first half had seen both teams trading blows evenly, but after Guardiola brought on Leroy Sane, Manchester City's left flank completely came alive.
They suppressed Arsenal so heavily that the Gunners failed to register a single shot on target in the second half.
A Sky Sports commentator remarked on the broadcast, "What's frightening isn't the 3-1 scoreline, but Arsenal's complete inability to mount any sort of coherent counterattack when trailing. This isn't just a tactical issue—it's also about the players' fragile mentality and lack of spirit."
When Matteo Guendouzi lost the ball lazily in the backfield, instead of immediately turning to chase back and recover his mistake, he simply threw up his hands in frustration and blamed his teammates.
Ling didn't continue watching.
He already understood that, given Arsenal's current fragile state, they wouldn't pose much of a threat to the title race this season.
Manchester United's real opponents were still Manchester City and Liverpool.
The next day, in their match against West Ham United, Liverpool secured a gritty 2-1 victory with vital goals from Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
@StatmanDave: Aguero hat-trick, Salah and VVD scoring. The title race between City, Liverpool, and United is going to go down to the final day.
@ArsenalFanTV: Guendouzi walking back while City score is everything wrong with this club right now. No passion.
@CityZenHQ: We are inevitable! Bring on the League Cup final against United!
...
Time flew by, and soon it was February 9th.
In the 26th round of the Premier League, Manchester United faced Fulham at Craven Cottage.
The Cottagers had been hovering around the relegation zone almost every single year, and now they were second from the bottom with only 22 points, trailing 17th-placed Brighton by 10 points.
So they played with fierce, desperate determination today.
It's worth noting that Premier League broadcasting revenue is distributed incredibly fairly—even the bottom-placed relegated teams earn no less than top teams in other major European leagues.
Thus, absolutely no one wants to be relegated and miss out on the financial windfall.
Faced with the Cottagers' desperate, all-out physical style of play, Mourinho felt his eyelids twitch on the touchline.
If a few key players get injured today, how will we fare in the Champions League knockout stages next week?
But at this exact moment, they absolutely could not back down from challenges, otherwise, the opponent would completely seize the physical initiative.
Fortunately, the Manchester United players possessed superior individual abilities, and in the 23rd minute of the match, they finally broke the physical deadlock.
Ander Herrera aggressively intercepted the ball in the attacking third and passed it to Jeremy in the central area.
Faced with two or three desperate defenders closing in, Ling couldn't break through centrally either, so he simply played a disguised diagonal pass to the right flank.
Mahrez received the ball, cut sharply into the penalty area, stopped abruptly to send a defender sliding past, and then laid it back neatly to the edge of the box.
Since Ling had drawn a large number of defenders with his run, Pogba made a late forward run completely unmarked and unleashed a high-quality volley to score.
0-1 to United!
As the intensity of the physical battles on the pitch increased, the Manchester United players gradually grew more fired up and aggressive.
Who said attacking players were inherently at a physical disadvantage?
Relying on his injury immunity module, Ling played even more fearlessly than the bruising Fulham center-backs.
Whenever a Fulham defender sought a hard physical challenge, Ling would immediately throw his full weight into the collision, leaving the Fulham backline players battered, bruised, and in considerable pain.
Under Ling's combative leadership and example, Manchester United gradually took total physical control of the game.
"Slow down, control the tempo!" Mourinho watched from the sidelines, his eyelids twitching with anxiety, and couldn't help but angrily scold.
"What a bunch of reckless youngsters! We have Madrid next week!"
However, in the noisy, compact Craven Cottage stadium, his voice didn't carry far before being drowned out by the fans.
Apart from their desperate, physical style of play, the relegation-threatened team had little technical quality to be proud of.
Once the opponent showed greater physical dominance, their true colors were quickly exposed.
Soon, Pogba's long-range shot was caught by Fulham goalkeeper Sergio Rico, who then quickly threw the ball to Denis Odoi on the right flank to start a counter.
"Press!" Ling shouted, immediately cutting off the passing lane between Fulham's full-back and center-back, while Rashford and the rest of his teammates joined in a coordinated, aggressive high press.
Fulham's ability to play out from the back was already statistically poor, and under Manchester United's relentless high press, they instantly became flustered and panicked.
Former Arsenal player Calum Chambers, after receiving the ball under pressure, was subtly nudged forward by Nemanja Matic, causing his resulting pass to Maxime Le Marchand to be far too powerful.
Ling immediately changed direction and charged like a bull toward Le Marchand.
Seeing the fierce, rapid approach of United's number 7, Le Marchand panicked and thought about passing safely back to the goalkeeper, allowing Rico to clear the ball with a big kick.
But at the exact moment he attempted to pass the ball, Ling seemed to predict the angle perfectly, stretching out his long leg to brilliantly intercept the football and then instantly swinging his right foot for a powerful shot without breaking stride.
Bang!
The ball raced violently toward the right side of the goal.
Rico couldn't even react, standing frozen in place as it hit the net!
Martin Tyler: "GOAL! A masterpiece of modern pressing! Manchester United's high-pressing tactic in the attacking third restricts Fulham's ability to play out from the back and forces a fatal error!"
Gary Neville: "It must be said that Mourinho has become much bolder tactically this season, Peter. He is no longer confined to a single, deep defensive counterattack tactic. But of course, the prerequisite for this press is having sufficiently energetic, excellent players."
Tyler: "Compared to Chelsea's lack of leadership we saw recently, since Jeremy Ling took the armband at Manchester United, these players rarely find themselves lost or confused on the pitch!"
The Manchester United fans who had traveled from afar roared wildly in the London away end.
They gradually recaptured the exact feeling of the Red Devils' invincibility from twenty years ago, when the most anticipated event of the week was simply gathering with friends to watch Manchester United inevitably win.
Time had passed, and many fans were no longer young, but fortunately, their passion hadn't faded.
After scoring, Ling rushed to the corner flag to celebrate, forcefully punching the air with extreme aggression, as if violently venting his frustration.
Recently, criticism from the outside world regarding the Crystal Palace draw and his Future Talent program in China had been relentless, with cynical reports appearing frequently.
Even without actively seeking it out, Ling would always learn about the hate through various channels.
To be honest, he was incredibly annoyed.
Couped with the highly aggressive, dangerous play of the Fulham players today, the fire in his heart was directly ignited.
That's why he had been fighting so desperately and physically just now.
...
In the end, Fulham lost 0-2 to Manchester United in a bruising encounter.
In the second half, Ling originally wanted to continue fighting, but he was forcefully substituted by a worried Mourinho.
The main reason was that Ling was clearly losing his temper, and if he continued throwing himself into reckless tackles, there was no telling if he might get injured or sent off.
After the Premier League match ended, the Manchester United players boarded a flight to Madrid, Spain, that same night.
They were preparing for the biggest match of their season: the Champions League round of 16 against Atlético Madrid four days later.
---------
Read 30 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator