Amidst cheers that echoed to the sky, the players walked out of the tunnel one after another.
For today's English League Cup final, the number of fans in attendance was close to eighty thousand, even after the FA deliberately left some buffer stands empty to prevent crowd trouble.
It showed just how massive this match was.
Clive Tyldesley: "Good evening, and welcome to the grandest stage of them all! Wembley Stadium shimmers in the London sun! Today, we bring you the first major silverware of the season—the Carabao Cup Final!"
Ally McCoist: "It's the Manchester Derby on the biggest stage, Clive! Red versus Blue. Mourinho versus Guardiola. It absolutely does not get any bigger than this!"
Clive Tyldesley: "This is a clash of titans, as the two Manchester giants face off once again. Let's look at the lineups. Wearing their famous red, Manchester United. Interestingly, Jose Mourinho has not opted for the narrow 4-3-1-2 formation today. Instead, he has revived last season's trusted 4-2-3-1!"
Ally McCoist: "And Jeremy Ling returns to his familiar left-wing position today. Many thought he might play on the right to target young Zinchenko, but Mourinho clearly has a specific tactical plan in mind to suppress City's right side."
Clive Tyldesley: "For Manchester City, Guardiola fields his relentless 4-3-3 formation. With Benjamin Mendy out, Oleksandr Zinchenko does indeed start at left-back. He has been a lucky charm for Pep, but today, his defensive inexperience will be tested to the absolute limit!"
@CityZenHQ: Zinchenko starting in a final makes me nervous, but the kid hasn't lost a game yet! C'mon City! 💙
@UtdFaithful: Ling back on the left wing! He's going to cook Kyle Walker today. 🔴🔥
@NeutralFan: Pep vs Jose in a cup final. Grab the popcorn, this is going to be incredibly toxic.
The camera returned to the green pitch.
Captain Antonio Valencia guessed the coin toss correctly, taking it as a good omen.
Surprisingly, he chose to pick the half of the field rather than the kickoff.
David Silva wasn't surprised.
Because the match started at 3:00 p.m. local time, and the usually gloomy London sky was unusually bright today, Valencia cleverly chose the right half of the field to ensure the glaring sun would be directly in the eyes of the City players and their goalkeeper.
"Those are minor details not worth worrying about! The kickoff was our first choice anyway, so let's play according to our plan!" Guardiola clapped his hands vigorously on the sidelines, his bald head shining brightly under the brilliant sun.
"Glory, glory, Man United, the Red Devils march on!"
"United! United!"
The Manchester United fans treated Wembley Stadium as if it were their second home, cheering for their team with deafening songs!
In comparison, Manchester City's anthem seemed far too subdued.
The next second, a giant, magnificent Tifo unfurled across the United end, beautifully depicting the back of Manchester United's number 7 leaping into the air and throwing his signature powerful punch.
The splattered ink design showcased the raw beauty of his strength.
Ling grinned and raised his arm high, shouting with all his might to the crowd.
"Victory is ours!"
BEEP!!!
With the referee's whistle, the cup final officially began!
Manchester City started in possession.
Sergio Aguero passed the ball back to Ilkay Gundogan, who then shifted it smoothly to De Bruyne.
Without hesitation, Ling charged forward like a heat-seeking missile, actively seeking physical contact to aggressively disrupt De Bruyne.
This was Manchester United's pre-match strategy—implementing a ferocious high press in the first half.
Given that they were unlikely to dominate total possession, the United players had to seize opportunities, using numerical advantages in specific areas to immediately suffocate Manchester City's midfielders, preventing them from comfortably building attacks from the back.
De Bruyne handled the heavy pressure quickly, passing it directly down the line to Bernardo Silva up front before taking the hit.
'He might not look that strong, but he's got plenty of muscle on him,' Ling thought, staggering slightly from the shoulder barge before quickly retreating to assist in defense.
Earlier in the week, Ling had approached Mourinho, expressing his desire to try playing as a right winger specifically to target the inexperienced Zinchenko.
But Mourinho had flatly refused: "Manchester City's right flank has Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, and Bernardo Silva—their most lethal attacks always start from there. So, I need you on the left."
'So, I'll use my individual ability to completely suppress Manchester City's right flank,' Ling resolved to himself.
That's why he had stuck to his usual position on the left.
"I haven't had the chance to face him head-on for a full ninety minutes before. Today, I'll see just how fast Kyle Walker really is," Ling muttered.
Ling dropped deep, forming a tight, disciplined defensive block with N'Golo Kante and Ashley Young.
Seeing absolutely no opportunity to break through the red wall, Bernardo Silva opted to pass safely sideways to the supporting Gundogan.
The German midfielder, who had joined from Borussia Dortmund, had spent two and a half years as a rotational player at City before finally securing a vital starting spot.
Accurate passing, elite defensive positioning, and midfield versatility were his most notable strengths.
But his sheer lack of pace was his biggest weakness, and it was often exploited by aggressive opposing teams.
Mourinho naturally wouldn't let such a physical opportunity slip.
Kante swiftly darted out from Gundogan's blind side, like a leopard lurking in the tall grass.
He seized the perfect moment and pounced fiercely!
Clive Tyldesley: "A brilliant, snapping tackle from N'Golo Kante! He just picks Gundogan's pocket!"
Ally McCoist: "Kante's impact on this Manchester United side is simply immense, Clive. His sweeping coverage across the midfield makes it incredibly difficult for Manchester City to penetrate centrally as they usually do!"
Clive Tyldesley: "But look at Manchester City's counter-press! It is lightning-fast! This is Guardiola's famous 'three-second rule'—immediately swarming to delay the opponent's counterattack after losing possession!"
Kante remained completely calm under the swarming blue pressure, showing no tendency to dawdle on the ball.
"Paul!" he shouted.
Just as he did so effectively with the French national team, Kante lofted a beautiful precise pass directly to Pogba up front.
Pogba glanced back and noticed Nicolas Otamendi closing in aggressively to foul him.
Without even stopping the ball, Pogba elegantly volleyed a first-time pass out to the left flank.
Ling received it perfectly on the run.
He quickly shifted his weight forward, executing a rapid feint, but Kyle Walker didn't bite.
The English full-back had no choice but to backpedal slightly and then close the gap.
Ling knew Kyle Walker preferred not to commit early to tackles, instead relying entirely on his world-class recovery speed to counter-press and then seize the exact moment to muscle players off the ball—a defensive technique that Walker had highly refined.
After all, Walker was currently the fastest right-back in world football.
'Let's give it a try!' The thought flashed through Ling's mind as he abruptly changed his dribbling rhythm.
His studs dug fiercely into the pristine Wembley turf, channeling a surge of explosive power, as if he were physically slicing through the air!
Whoosh!!!
Nothing in the world is more thrilling than raw speed and power.
Kyle Walker seemed to have been prepared for the burst, instantly stepping forward and accelerating to his maximum gear to keep pace with Ling shoulder-to-shoulder!
On the touchlines, Guardiola nervously held his bald head in his hands, while Mourinho stood statuesque with his hands in his pockets.
Both managers locked their eyes firmly on the blazing footrace between the two athletes.
Don't be fooled by Kyle Walker's usual off-pitch antics—his athletic skills were unmatched.
In European football, the number of players who could genuinely keep up with Ling's first three explosive steps probably didn't exceed the fingers on one hand.
Walker was one of them.
'Damn, this kid's clever!' Just as Kyle Walker's sense of physical superiority began to surface, he saw Ling, who held a very slight half-step lead, suddenly decelerate.
Ling cleverly positioned his body directly across Walker's running path and subtly dragged his trailing right leg to shield the ball!
This was the brilliant "cutting across" technique Ling had learned from studying Eden Hazard.
By cutting directly into the defender's path at high speed, the defender is forced to either completely stop their momentum or unavoidably clip the attacker's legs from behind.
Caught completely off guard by the sudden deceleration and change of path, Kyle Walker's momentum carried him forward.
His knees clipped Ling's trailing leg, and the City defender tripped awkwardly, falling flat on his face onto the turf!
Clive Tyldesley: "LING BURSTS AWAY! Oh, what a blistering footrace! And Walker goes tumbling down!"
Ally McCoist: "That's a rare and incredibly clever way to get past someone of Walker's pace! We see Kyle Walker furiously appealing for a foul, but Ling simply cut across his path legally! The referee signals for play to continue!"
Clive Tyldesley: "Otamendi scrambles across to cover! He intercepts Ling just outside the penalty area! Is Ling going to attempt another dribble?!"
No.
Passing is always the most efficient method to dismantle a scrambling defense.
Ling slipped a perfectly weighted, disguised diagonal pass to the near post of the penalty area.
Romelu Lukaku used his massive frame to expertly hold off Aymeric Laporte with his back to goal, laying it off perfectly for the arriving Pogba to set up a first-time strike.
Clive Tyldesley: "Pogba shoots! What a thunderous strike!"
Ally McCoist: "EDERSON! The Brazilian makes an absolutely world-class, diving save, preventing Manchester City from conceding right from the start!"
Clive Tyldesley: "Kyle Walker should be personally thanking his goalkeeper for bailing him out there!"
In reality, Kyle Walker was already blinded by sheer competitive rage.
As the ball went out for a corner, he walked aggressively up to Ling, getting in his face and fiercely spoke, "Next time, you better watch out, mate. I'll see if I don't go straight for your ankles!"
He knew arguing with the referee about the trip was pointless, so he simply resorted to intimidation.
"Sure. I'll be waiting," Ling shrugged casually, completely unfazed.
If he were afraid of physical threats, what would be the point of playing professional football?
Besides... with his system's injury immunity module, he fully intended to embarrass the full-back a few more times before the night was over!
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