When the final whistle blew, players from both teams wished they could just lie down on the pitch and fall asleep right then and there.
As for the match result? The expressions of the fans from both sides in the stands made it abundantly clear who was satisfied and who wasn't.
Clive Tyldesley: "The full-time whistle brings a brutal, exhausting first leg to a close. Atlético Madrid 1, Manchester United 1. Although it looks like a dead heat on paper, there's no doubt Manchester United leave the Spanish capital holding a distinct advantage."
Ally McCoist: "Spot on, Clive. Due to yellow cards picked up tonight, Saul Niguez, Filipe Luís, and Diego Costa will all be suspended for the second leg at Old Trafford. This is terrible news for Atlético Madrid, as it severely diminishes their attacking threat and width."
Clive Tyldesley: "Clearly, Jose Mourinho has achieved his objective tonight. Gritty, pragmatic, and utterly effective."
Throughout the match, Atlético Madrid's players had covered 13% more distance in the first half trying to press, and those three resulting yellow cards were exactly what Mourinho intended to provoke.
Not to mention, Manchester United had also secured a highly valuable away goal.
Ling was fairly satisfied with today's result.
Although he didn't score himself, he at least had a crucial assist to his name.
Besides, under Mourinho's ultra-defensive tactical setup today, he hadn't received many attacking resources.
'Time to go all out at Old Trafford,' Ling thought to himself as he walked off the pitch.
He never hid his burning desire for glory—the Premier League Golden Boot was no longer enough to satisfy him.
He wanted the Champions League Golden Boot!
Over the past nine years, the Champions League Golden Boot had been completely monopolized by the two alien superstars, with Lionel Messi winning it five times and Cristiano Ronaldo four times.
This season, he wanted to try and break their dominance.
However, the difficulty was much greater than winning the league Golden Boot, as the opponents were all European giants, and it was incredibly hard to create massive goal differences against them.
Add to that his own manager's pragmatic tactical approach, and the margin for error was razor-thin.
'Can't waste opportunities,' Ling sighed to himself before leading his exhausted teammates over to thank the traveling fans.
The Manchester United fans in the high away section hadn't left.
Instead, they waited until the players stood below the stands and sang the club anthem, "Glory Glory Man United," in unison.
The stirring melody was filled with heroic passion, making anyone who heard it feel their blood boil!
Ling wrapped his arms around his teammates' shoulders and sang along.
...
During the post-match press conference, Diego Simeone didn't show any signs of frustration or anger despite being held to a draw at home.
On the contrary, he remained fiercely confident.
"Atlético Madrid never gives up the pursuit of victory. We'll prove it to you at Old Trafford."
In truth, the Argentine wasn't particularly worried.
After all, since he took over Atlético Madrid, he had faced countless situations far more challenging than this—like reaching the Champions League final twice but painfully missing out on lifting the Big Ears Cup both times.
Unable to match the heritage of the established giants and lacking their vast financial resources, he relied entirely on the fighting spirit born from humble beginnings.
He embraced that rugged personality, letting actions speak louder than words.
That was Simeone's core coaching philosophy.
Mourinho didn't have much to say in response, leaving the media with only a brief remark.
"Proving it with facts on the pitch is good. We will wait for them."
...
Late at night, the English media began their extensive, biased coverage.
"Atlético Madrid's New Nemesis—Jeremy Ling!"
"Neville: Three Key Players Suspended—How Will Atlético Play in the Second Leg? It Could Very Well Be a Massacre at Old Trafford!"
"Simeone's Decision to Not Go All Out at Home Sealed Atletico's Champions League Fate!"
"Mourinho's Pragmatic Style Perfectly Suited for High-Intensity European Nights!"
Without a doubt, the English media leaned heavily in favor of Manchester United, almost to the point of completely disparaging Atlético Madrid's efforts.
There were far fewer media outlets speaking up for the Spanish side.
Although Atlético had risen rapidly in recent years, they hadn't cultivated their own global mouthpiece media.
In their usual media battles with Barcelona and Real Madrid, they were mostly at a severe disadvantage.
However, Atlético players themselves stepped into the online fray to rally the troops.
Alvaro Morata posted a passionate message on Twitter, essentially stating that he had been a hardcore Atlético fan since childhood and had always dreamed of playing for them in big European nights.
He declared that even though Diego Costa was suspended, he was ready to step up at any moment for the badge!
It was clearly an attempt to show loyalty to Simeone and try to secure a starting spot for the second leg.
This thoroughly disgusted Diego Costa, who had never seen someone so publically shameless, even surpassing Costa's own lack of shame!
But there wasn't much the suspended striker could say.
After all, Simeone was even harsher than Antonio Conte.
If Simeone found out Costa was causing toxic trouble within the team over a tweet, he'd probably receive another "leave the club" text message.
...
After returning to Manchester, life settled back into a routine.
Manchester United's next match wasn't until February 19th, the FA Cup fifth round, away against Chelsea.
Yes, Chelsea again.
The two teams had just played the English League Cup semifinals not long ago, with Manchester United staging a strong comeback on the second legs.
Then, just a few days ago in the FA Cup draw, the two teams coincidentally met again.
One could only say fate works in mysterious ways.
But Chelsea fans weren't too thrilled about the reunion.
With Nemanja Matic, David Luiz, and Kante all having been poached by Manchester United in recent years, what did they truly have left to compete with?
'Who knows how the FA arranged this rigged draw!' they complained online.
But the result was set and couldn't be changed, they had to accept it.
Interestingly, upon hearing the draw, Maurizio Sarri increased his daily cigarette consumption from three packs to five.
...
As late February approached, Ling suddenly became very busy off the pitch.
Due to the packed football schedule earlier, he hadn't had any time to review his university studies and had to apply for deferred exams.
Now, the new deadline had crept up on him rapidly.
He couldn't exactly email his professor and say, "I have a Champions League match tomorrow, can I get another two-week extension?"
Given his massive fame in Manchester, it might actually work, but Ling didn't want to delay his education any further.
Better to get it over with sooner.
So, recently, after Carrington training every day, he would take Maria to the local university library, enjoying a brief quiet taste of normal student life.
It must be said, the business exams at the University of Manchester were quite challenging!
...
The day before the FA Cup fifth-round match, Ling finally completed all his overdue exams.
After checking his transcript online, he couldn't help but remark, "This string of low 60s scores... the proffesors probably went easy on me."
He wasn't some genius who could ace complex business exams after such short, crammed study periods.
But he was quite satisfied with passing.
As long as he didn't fail and drop out, that was fine. His ultimate focus had always been on football.
When Ling went to the faculty office to submit his midterm assignment, his tutor, Professor Spasoye Poulsen, smiled and said, "Ling, the assignment is very well done. You actually have quite a talent for business analytics."
"Thank you for the compliment, Professor," Ling smiled politely.
As he spoke, Ling took a pristine Manchester United jersey from his bag, signed by the entire first team and Mourinho, and then handed over several VIP tickets for the Champions League knockout second leg against Atlético.
Professor Poulsen quickly glanced down and saw they were for the best executive box at Old Trafford.
His smile grew even wider.
Who says there's no such thing as personal connections abroad?
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