Wembley Stadium instantly erupted into a clamor.
Ling, with his arm around Mahrez, ran to the sideline and waved to the roaring Manchester United fans in the stands, immediately drawing even louder cheers.
If one were to say that Manchester City is currently the most offensively potent team in world football, few would disagree.
Their near thirty-minute domination of Manchester United just moments ago was the best proof.
With two precise passing engines operating in the half-spaces, combined with three agile and quick forwards up front, they exerted immense pressure on Manchester United's defense.
If not for Kante's tireless sweeping ability across a wide area, the goal would likely have been breached again much earlier.
Manchester United fans had been holding back a massive surge of frustration, and now they finally had a chance to release it.
Their voices echoed throughout the entire 90,000-seat stadium.
"Boss, using Ling to directly target Zinchenko—as they say in Ling's hometown—is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Mahrez is more than enough to apply pressure on that side."
Assistant manager Rui Faria was so excited he was practically dancing in the technical area.
"We had to force an opening on the left flank instead. I bet Guardiola won't dare let Kyle Walker defend Ling alone one-on-one again."
Just as Ling had concluded during his film study earlier in the week, Kyle Walker excels at defending against speedy forwards in a straight footrace but struggles when faced with continuous, unpredictable changes in an opponent's rhythm and body shape.
However, most players in the Premier League are considered "rough and ready" when it comes to dribbling rhythm.
Of course, this is only relative to the highly technical La Liga, and the root cause ultimately lies in the Premier League's high physical intensity.
Sure enough, the opposing bench began a new round of frantic discussions.
Mikel Arteta, having played as a highly intelligent defensive midfielder himself, understood clearly how to strengthen the defense structurally.
"Pep, Zinchenko can't afford to lose his position easily by pushing up anymore. Have him adopt a 'holding' defensive role in the backline as a third center-back in possession," Arteta suggested, pointing at the tactical tablet.
"This way, Aymeric Laporte can mark Lukaku out of the game, while Otamendi and Kyle Walker can provide a permanent double-team to cover against Ling."
As the leader of Argentina's defense, Nicolas Otamendi handles the organization of the entire backline and had gradually curbed his tendency to lose composure and dive into tackles under Guardiola's guidance.
With Walker using recovery speed and Otamendi using aggression and technique, the two of them could absolutely freeze Ling out of the game.
"Mmm, let's go with that shape for now. But we can't completely neglect our right-side attack. We have to force Ling to participate heavily in defense so he's too tired to counter!" Guardiola nodded, his eyes filled with apprehension.
...
Ling suddenly glanced toward the Manchester City bench and flashed a bright, wide, almost mocking grin.
He had always sensed Guardiola's subtle, protective hostility toward him.
Even though they belonged to opposing footballing camps, there had to be limits!
So Ling had long been itching to give Manchester City a proper beating, not just for United, but to gain an absolute psychological advantage in the contest against his future father-in-law, essentially securing his future status at family dinners in advance~
Thinking of this, he waved toward a certain section of the VIP stands.
"Go for it, Jeremy!"
A few strands of hair at Maria's temples were damp with nervous sweat as she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted with all her might.
Her relationship with Ling had long been exposed by The Sun paparazzi.
As Guardiola's daughter, she was somewhat of a public figure herself.
So, after discussing it, they had decided not to hide the relationship and instead openly acknowledged it to the outside world.
Although it would attract a lot of toxic criticism from rival fans... with Guardiola and Mourinho around, it was sure to be fine.
The two bitter managerial rivals, one for his daughter and the other for his star protégé, had even made a rare, awkward phone call to discuss how to jointly mitigate the negative public opinion.
"Score another one!" Valentina's little face flushed bright red, looking utterly adorable as she cheered next to her sister.
When the die-hard Manchester United fans nearby recognized the two women's identities, they immediately waved eagerly and called over a stadium vendor.
"Mate, please bring two beers for these two lovely ladies! Oh, wait, Coke! No, juice! Juice is better!"
After all, Ling could now be considered Manchester United's undisputed crown prince, his status arguably no less than that of Ryan Giggs from the legendary Class of '92.
Back when the Red Devils' empire was on the verge of total collapse after Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, a hero was urgently needed to step forward.
And Jeremy Ling, raised at Manchester United, famous from a young age, had led a group of veterans and brothers to restore United to the throne, then braved wind and rain to help them win the Champions League.
His blood seemed inherently compatible with Manchester United.
United fans all hoped Ling could reign supreme, leading the club to unprecedented, sustained glory.
If he could stay with them all the way, fighting for United his entire life, the story would be as perfect as a knight slaying a dragon.
Perhaps, outside Old Trafford, a new bronze statue would be erected next to the Holy Trinity!
United fans even dreamed that one day far in the future, they could take their children's hands and point beneath a new stand at Old Trafford.
That fan would say, "I watched Jeremy Ling play back in my day. He was practically limitless—he kicked the Scousers back to the seaside, sent those Manchester City brats stumbling all the way back to Maine Road. Too bad you missed the best of times, kid!"
Today, Ling had once again withstood immense pressure to help United equalize in a cup final.
Out of love for the club and everyone associated with it, even if it were two hundred cups of juice instead of just two, the United fans would happily pool their money to buy them for his girlfriend and her sister!
Maria and Valentina didn't refuse the kind gesture, smiling brightly as they accepted the juice and sweetly thanked the fans.
They nearly melted the hardcore United fans' bones with their charm.
Guardiola followed Ling's gaze up to the stands and felt as if he'd taken ten thousand points of emotional damage.
He gritted his teeth as he roared to his assistant.
"Tell Kyle to get physical, ramp up the intensity on Ling—I don't care if he fouls! If Ling gets past him easily again, Walker can spend the next two weeks training with the youth team!"
In the Manchester City fan section of the neighboring stand, young Marius, sensing the gloomy atmosphere among the City fans after the equalizer, even took off his cap and waited for someone to offer him a complimentary drink.
But after waiting half the day with no one recognizing him, he could only cast a deeply envious glance at his sister Valentina, thinking to himself that next time he'd rather die than not sit in the Manchester United family section~!
...
On the green pitch.
As Ling led his teammates back to their half for the restart, the nearby Manchester City players wore slightly complicated, nervous expressions.
In previous Manchester derbies, it had also been Ling's goals that directly ignited United's unstoppable momentum.
"Did you hear what the gaffer said? Everyone, focus!" David Silva shouted, clapping his hands to remind them of the plan.
Kevin De Bruyne took a deep breath.
He was among the first players in the entire Premier League to notice Ling's raw potential.
But even he hadn't expected Ling to develop this phenomenally quickly into a world-beater.
Early last season, De Bruyne hadn't felt that kind of individual pressure, but in today's match over these past few dozen minutes, he'd actually started feeling hesitant and restrained in possession.
He was afraid that pushing too far forward would leave him unable to track back and defend in time against United's devastating counterattacks.
'The gaffer said before the match we'd use attack to suppress their attack, but from how things look on the pitch right now, we're the ones being suppressed,' De Bruyne worriedly rubbed his nose.
BEEP!!!
A sharp whistle sounded, and the match resumed.
Both teams' basic strategies remained largely unchanged.
Manchester United still happily conceded sterile possession, waiting for City to reach the midfield trigger line before aggressively pressing.
And they, too, began significantly increasing their physical intensity and bite in tackles.
Mourinho had once told them, "Football has never been a gentleman's sport, I want you all to become ruffians when we don't have the ball!"
With his head full of white hair, the passionate Mourinho directed the game from his technical area, never believing he was weaker than anyone else.
On the contrary, he always carried the arrogant mindset that he was the "Special One."
Guardiola was equally frantic in his touchline instructions, wishing he had a PlayStation controller in hand to command the exact micro-movements of his players on the pitch!