After returning to the away team's locker room, Mourinho's expression was far from relaxed.
"In the first half, Atlético Madrid was constantly testing the referee's leniency. If nothing unexpected happens, the second half will be even more intense. Atlético's 'lumberjack tactics'—"
At this point, he looked up and locked eyes with Ling. "When our attacking players are fouled, remember to immediately put pressure on the referee. I'll also communicate with the fourth official from the sidelines to squeeze them."
"Boss, those are matters for later. I think we need to be more aggressive ourselves," Ling said, showing no hesitation.
"Since the refereeing is lenient, we should also loosen up our tackles."
If you adopt the attitude of being a righteous, innocent defender and remain indifferent even when opponents use dirty tactics, aren't you just letting yourself be bullied?
Having spent years navigating different leagues in his past life, Ling knew that fighting fire with fire was the fastest and simplest method to establish dominance.
Endless tolerance would only make the opponent escalate their aggression.
"Yes, I was going to mention that too," Mourinho nodded earnestly. "Currently, Atlético has accumulated far more yellow cards than us. Given Simeone's personality, he'll likely go all out at home to secure a win, aiming to comfortably defend a draw in the away leg at Old Trafford."
"So, trading yellow cards isn't a loss for us—in fact, it's a huge tactical gain. But the key is to protect yourselves and avoid getting injured."
Mourinho spoke carefully.
The current Manchester United squad was full of players in their early twenties.
Without seasoned, hot-headed veterans like Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young on the pitch, it was easy for the younger players' emotions to run dangerously high and result in foolish red cards.
"Ling, keep an eye on everyone and step in if there's a problem," Mourinho instructed.
"Got it, boss!" Ling nodded.
He checked his shin guards, tightened his boots, and led his teammates back into the tunnel.
Coincidentally, they ran into the Atlético players pushing open their own locker room door.
Ling instinctively glanced over and noticed that his specific position and jersey number were heavily marked in red marker on Atlético's tactical board.
"'Lumberjack tactics'?" Ling muttered to himself, his eyes instantly sharpening. "Don't get crushed when the tree you're chopping falls."
Back when Serie A was known as the "Little World Cup" in the 80s and 90s, many teams loved to use brutal lumberjack tactics to target the opposition's key players.
But legends like Diego Maradona and the Brazilian Ronaldo still managed to carve their way through the violence with sheer individual ability and grit.
Nowadays, the rules are much stricter than before, and Jeremy believed he could do exactly the same.
...
After the second half began, Manchester United started to tighten their defense, with even Ling dropping deep to help intercept the ball.
Atlético's two center-backs, Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin, both possessed highly solid passing abilities.
They often used precise medium-to-long diagonal passes to shift the opposition's formation left and right, stretching the defense to create space for their own wing attacks.
Thus, they were crucial, underrated components in Atlético's overall attacking system.
After receiving a pass back from a teammate, Jose Gimenez took a touch and was about to launch a long ball when he saw Ling charging fiercely toward him.
Panicked by the speed, Gimenez quickly aborted the long pass and played it sideways to Juanfran on the wing.
"Juanfran passes it back—a neat one-two between them," Clive Tyldesley noted. "Jose Gimenez is about to launch a long pass—"
However, before Gimenez could even complete the swinging action, Ling knocked him over firmly from behind with a heavy shoulder barge, instantly drawing sharp, angry whistles from the Atlético fans.
"What the hell are you doing?! Trash from China!" Gimenez scrambled up from the ground and immediately went head-to-head with Ling, bumping chests.
That's just how Atlético players operated under Simeone—some things they could do, but others weren't allowed to do it to them.
It's unclear whether it was Simeone's usual teachings that instilled this hypocritical, pathological mentality in his players, but it was highly effective at drawing reactions.
"What do you think I'm doing?!" Ling didn't even bother to look at him properly, standing his ground.
"I—" Gimenez immediately felt enraged by the sheer disrespect.
But he quickly adjusted his mindset, forcing himself to calm down as he realized Ling's true intentions.
This was a psychological tactic he often used himself to get under an opponent's skin.
"You just wait," Gimenez spat.
After leaving this threatening remark, Gimenez took the free kick from the backfield and passed the ball to Rodri.
The world-class Spanish defensive midfielder, already heavily rumored to be pre-signed by Manchester City for the following season, showcased his exceptional ability with a swift, laser-guided long pass directly into the penalty area.
Although Harry Maguire's massive transfer value might have been somewhat inflated by the English media, his one-on-one defending was undoubtedly among the absolute best in the Premier League.
Facing the past-his-prime striker Diego Costa, as long as Maguire maintained his composure and didn't fall for the dark arts, he could handle the Spaniard with ease.
As the match progressed, Ling also actively adjusted his playing style.
He no longer passively waited for Atletico Madrid players to "chop" him down when he had the ball. Instead, he proactively harassed and aggressively pressed them.
Thomas Partey, Rodri, Diego Godin, and Jose Gimenez—none of them escaped his intense physical attention.
"He's using himself as a defensive forward!" the commentator observed. "But you have to admit, it's working quite effectively. Atletico's overall attacking rhythm has been completely slowed down by Ling's work rate."
Ling's aggressive change in approach left the Atletico Madrid players extremely unsettled.
Yet, they couldn't afford to ease their tight marking on him for a single second, given his exceptional, lethal ability to seize opportunities.
Meanwhile, Manchester United also shifted their attacking tactics, focusing more on attacking down Marcus Rashford's left side.
Juanfran, now 33 years old, was no longer at his physical peak, and it was widely rumored he would transfer after this season.
Thus, Rashford could heavily leverage his raw speed advantage to force Atletico to desperately allocate more defensive resources to his side, freeing up space elsewhere.
"Give it to me!" Rashford demanded.
After just a few successful attacking runs that burned past Juanfran, Rashford was feeling in top form.
But the next moment...
Saul Niguez slid in aggressively from behind, his studs raised, sending Rashford tumbling violently to the ground in a heap.
It's worth noting that after a severe collision earlier in his career, Rashford had suffered serious kidney issues—vomiting, blood in his urine, and even requiring a catheter.
Yet, his desire to continue playing was so strong that he had once genuinely considered surgically removing his right kidney just to return to the pitch faster.
Such a person's craving for victory had reached a truly fanatical level, and he wasn't about to stay down now.
BEEP!!!
The boos from the traveling Manchester United fans were quickly drowned out by the deafening, hostile protests of the Atletico Madrid supporters.
The referee had shown Saul Niguez a yellow card.
Home fans cared very little about the actual fairness of the decision—they cheered for favorable calls and viciously cursed unfavorable ones.
In truth, this was the same for passionate home fans of every team worldwide.
Thus, referees faced significant, intimidating pressure in stadiums like the Metropolitano, which often led to phenomena like "home advantage officiating."
However, referee Zwayer remained resolute, refusing to change his decision despite the overwhelming, deafening abuse from the stands.
"Saul Niguez seems to have lost his cool! With this yellow card, he'll be automatically suspended for the crucial second leg at Old Trafford."
"And Atletico's substitute for that right midfield role is significantly weaker than Saul. Simeone must be quite worried right now."
"His only option now is to secure a win at home today and aim to park the bus for a draw in the away leg!" Clive Tyldesley said.
Manchester United took a tactical free kick, laying it off for Paul Pogba, who attempted a thunderous long-range shot from outside the box.
Although the shot was struck with immense power and good quality, it sailed just inches over Jan Oblak's crossbar.
Then, Manchester United made their first substitution, bringing on David Luiz to replace Eric Bailly.
After nearly sixty minutes of dealing with tight, dirty marking, Bailly had long been provoked to the absolute point of fury by Diego Costa.
If it continued, the fiery Ivorian might have resorted to physical retaliation, so Mourinho wisely substituted the more experienced, calmer David Luiz.
Diego Costa frowned deeply at the sight.
David Luiz was his former Chelsea teammate, and they knew each other's tricks very, very well.
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