Chapter 369 - 369

Gary Neville: "Now let's introduce the starting lineups for both teams today at Goodison Park."

Wayne Rooney: "Everton has deployed a familiar 4-2-3-1 formation under Marco Silva, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin as the lone striker up front."

Gary Neville: "The attacking midfielders are Richarlison on the left, Gylfi Sigurdsson in the center, and Bernard on the right. The defensive midfielders are Morgan Schneiderlin paired with Idrissa Gueye, with the backline consisting of Seamus Coleman, Michael Keane, Kurt Zouma, and Lucas Digne."

Wayne Rooney: "After signing the young Brazilian player Richarlison for big money, Everton's wing strength has been unprecedentedly enhanced. He brings a lot of flair and aggression."

Gary Neville: "Manchester United, on the other hand, has lined up in a slight variation today, a 4-3-1-2 formation, with Paul Pogba playing just behind a front two of Ling and Riyad Mahrez. This narrow lineup specifically strengthens the central midfield to dominate possession, likely as Mourinho's countermeasure to nullify Everton's wingers by starving them of the ball."

Goodison Park was buzzing.

Amid the loud cheers of the passionate Everton fans, the referee blew his whistle to start the match.

BEEP!!!

Everton kicked off first, launching an early, aggressive offensive.

After two seasons of gelling under different managers, they had gradually stabilized their position in the top ten of the league, though expectations were always higher.

In the commentary box, Wayne Rooney was chatting with Gary Neville.

Rooney had famously scored a screamer in his Premier League debut for Everton upon his return from United, seemingly following a perfect script of aging gracefully—but what happened next?

After the Christmas fixtures that year, he went 15 league matches without scoring.

The most awkward part for him was that in the season immediately after he left for the MLS, Everton's overall performance actually began to steadily improve.

"Look at Manchester United's solid, organized defense at the back under Mourinho—it's nothing like the chaos when I left under Van Gaal!" Rooney's tone carried a hint of natural bitterness.

He felt that if he hadn't left so early, he might have been able to win a couple more trophies as a squad player.

"Oh, come off it, Wazza! With your massive wages, how could the club justify keeping you on the bench?" Neville retorted bluntly. "The club treated you well enough."

Back then, Rooney had one year left on his massive contract with Manchester United.

Not only did United allow him to join his boyhood club Everton for a free transfer, but they also subsidized part of his astronomical wages and bonuses, totaling up to £15 million just to get him off the books.

Of course, this pragmatic move also financially paved the way for Romelu Lukaku's massive transfer in the other direction.

"Sigh... if Ling had joined the first team half a year earlier, I would never have left, no matter what," Rooney sighed wistfully, then turned to praise the current captain.

"Who knows, Gary, you might even have seen the Red Devils' old and new iconic numbers playing together!"

Neville shot him a disdainful, amused look.

There's an old football saying that rings true—time is a cruel butcher's knife.

Now, Rooney's figure in the booth could only politely be described as "bloated."

Neville honestly doubted whether his old friend could even sprint twenty yards anymore.

Actually, Rooney wasn't even that old in football terms—like Cristiano Ronaldo and Ashley Young, he was born in 1985.

So why were the others still playing as key, athletic players in top-tier leagues, while Rooney was already retired and commentating?

"I know you're just reminiscing about past glories to hide your current anxiety about your waistline, Wayne, but—"

Neville was interrupted by the action.

"Let's look at Everton's attack here!" Neville's voice suddenly rose three octaves.

Everton's "hand grenade" tactic saw a massive long throw-in launched directly from the touchline into the crowded penalty area.

Maguire stepped up to challenge, but his header didn't generate enough clearing power under pressure.

The ball happened to drop perfectly toward Richarlison just inside the box.

The Brazilian youngster leaned slightly to the side, adjusting his body, before decisively falling backward into the air!

A spectacular sideways bicycle kick!

David De Gea didn't even have time to react or dive before the ball nestled violently into the top corner of the net.

1-0!!!

The entire stadium was instantly filled with deafening cheers as Everton fans wildly waved their arms in celebration of the wonder goal.

Although Everton are traditionally viewed as friendly "little brothers" to Manchester United compared to Liverpool, that didn't mean they didn't desperately want to win today.

They urgently needed European qualification to make up for their recent financial losses and regain the full support of the Goodison crowd.

After scoring the incredible goal, Richarlison was extremely arrogant.

He sprinted dozens of meters toward the away end, leaped high into the air, spun, and landed with a powerful thrust of his arms!

SIIIUUU!

Gary Neville: "Arrogant! Too arrogant from the young Brazilian!"

Wayne Rooney: "He's copied the celebration!"

Gary Neville: "Who in Europe, or even the world, doesn't know who made that celebration famous at Old Trafford?! It's not that Cristiano Ronaldo's celebration is strictly patented and other players aren't allowed to use it, but the key is the context! Doing it right in front of the Manchester United fans... it's a massive provocation."

Neville almost couldn't hold back from cursing live on air.

After taking a deep breath to adjust his emotions, he continued, "But I want to tell him that having high ambitions and swagger as a young player is a good thing, but it also heavily depends on whether you have the consistent ability to back it up!"

Rooney nodded quietly beside him.

He felt Richarlison's attitude was very similar to a young Cristiano Ronaldo's, except their raw abilities and dedication were currently worlds apart.

Ling stood calmly inside the center circle, waiting for the Everton players to finish celebrating so they could kick off.

Richarlison jogged past him, his expression and eyes filled with blatant provocation.

Just as Neville had said, the young Brazilian had massive ambitions, considering himself a big star who could match anyone in the league in terms of sheer ability.

Although he hadn't achieved any remarkable results or trophies yet, he believed it was solely because of his inferior teammates.

Ling didn't even bother to acknowledge him with a glance.

Whether in the Premier League or the Champions League, too many young players wanted to make a quick name for themselves by stepping on the current king.

It couldn't be helped.

Who made him the most famous, dominant player of the younger generation?

Richarlison couldn't help but feel visibly disappointed.

He had actively wanted to provoke a physical conflict with Ling to stir up some media hype and get in his head.

But he didn't expect Ling to treat him like thin air.

"Don't let this wonder goal affect us," Ling reminded his teammates calmly as they lined up. "We have a much stronger squad on paper. If we play our steady game and control the tempo, we can definitely equalize before the half."

"Don't worry, skip, we're only one goal behind. This isn't a big deal," Pogba grinned, adjusting his socks.

"Since when can Everton ride all over us?!" Ander Herrera also rallied his teammates, shouting angrily.

"Come on! We have to crush them today! Don't let them disrespect the badge!"

The match restarted, and Ling passed the ball back to the defense.

Manchester United played calmly, constantly probing their opponents' shape in midfield.

Everton's tactical response was simple—a highly aggressive pressing and tactical foul strategy to disrupt Manchester United's rhythm and stop their advance as much as possible.

No matter how strong Ling was individually, what use was it if the midfield couldn't get the ball to his feet?

"Attack down the flanks! Stretch them!" Ling directed the formation to shift, pointing to the right wing.

Ander Herrera received the ball and moved forward, only to be immediately fouled by a tracking Richarlison.

The free kick was quickly taken short to Pogba.

Pogba didn't hold onto the ball for too long, quickly spraying a long, raking pass out to the right flank.

The ball traced a series of rapid zigzag lines across the green pitch as United combined, cleverly avoiding Everton's heavily congested central areas, eventually reaching Riyad Mahrez's feet on the wing.

Wayne Rooney: "Manchester United adjusted their attacking direction perfectly in time, completely unaffected by Everton's central press!"

Gary Neville: "Beautiful! This is playing with actual intelligence and patience!"

Neville excitedly clenched his fist in the booth.

Casual fans often incorrectly assumed Manchester United under Mourinho were brave but lacked attacking strategy, relying solely on defensive counter-attacks or individual brilliance to force their way through.

But in reality, this Manchester United squad had a rich, varied tactical arsenal.

Mourinho wasn't only capable of parking the bus.

The Portuguese manager stood on the touchline with his arms crossed, his gaze fixed intently on the green pitch.

The tactical purpose of attacking down the flanks wasn't necessarily to immediately create a threatening cross, but to horizontally stretch Everton's compact defense.

"Cross it to the far post!" Ling shouted loudly as he made a darting run into the box.

Beside him, Kurt Zouma's nerves instantly tightened.

He stuck closely to Ling step by step, terrified of letting the forward out of his sight for even a second.

Even Lucas Digne had tucked in from full-back, providing close defensive support.

High pressing and tactical fouls in midfield combined with tight, double-marking defense in the box—this was Marco Silva's targeted, specific strategy to stop Ling!

But as Ling suddenly shifted his run aggressively to the left, dragging both Zouma and Digne with him, a massive gap opened up near the top of the penalty area.

After Mahrez cleverly dribbled past Seamus Coleman on the right, he cut inside and played a smart, sideways cut-back pass instead of crossing.

Paul Pogba arrived perfectly on time and followed up with a thunderous, first-time strike!

Unfortunately, the powerful ball skimmed just inches over the crossbar.

"No worries, Paul, keep it up! Good hit!" Ling offered a word of encouragement before jogging over to Ashley Young on the left flank.

"Push further forward on the overlap later, Ash, and we'll attack down the left. I'll make runs to draw their full-back inside to create as much space as possible for you out wide."

"No problem, skip. My foot feels hot today—I'll shoot whenever there's a chance," Ashley Young smiled, rubbing his bald head.

He hadn't been pushing forward as frequently in recent games, not because he couldn't, but due to Mourinho's strict tactical and fitness requirements to protect the defense.

After all, before he was known affectionately as "Professor Young" the full-back, he had another famous nickname: "Young the Left Envoy"—a lethal, goal-scoring winger!

No explanation was needed to understand the weight of that attacking pedigree.

When it was Everton's turn to build from the back, Manchester United also employed a suffocating high press, refusing to let Everton easily cross the halfway line.

The midfield quickly resembled a brutal meat grinder, with possession changing hands rapidly through tackles and interceptions.

But both coaches on the touchline noticed something crucial.

Manchester United maintained a stable, disciplined structural formation even while pressing, while Everton began to look somewhat disorganized and frantic under the pressure—a clear reflection of the difference in tactical discipline and overall player quality.

In the 24th minute of the match.

Richarlison, true to his Brazilian flair and perhaps still riding the high of his goal, audaciously attempted a rainbow flick to get past Ander Herrera on the wing.

Could the proud Basque midfielder tolerate that level of disrespect? He wasn't N'Golo Kante—standing at 181 cm tall, if he got nutmegged or flicked over like that, he might as well retire on the spot in shame!

"Get out of here with that rubbish!" Herrera muttered angrily under his breath.

With veteran, cynical savvy, he entirely ignored the ball, turned his body, and positioned himself to forcefully block the Brazilian's run, shoulder-checking him heavily.

Richarlison stumbled but tried to press immediately, but Ander Herrera had already recovered his balance and released a quick pass.

"Switch! Switch it!" Nemanja Matic sprinted into position to offer an angle.

Kante received the ball from Matic and delivered a perfectly weighted, splitting through ball on the ground, slipping it brilliantly between Sigurðsson and Bernard.

Wayne Rooney: "Beautiful! Beautiful! What a penetrating pass from Kante!"

Gary Neville: "Ah, but Idrissa Gueye was already in defensive position, stepping up to block Matic's receiving path. The Everton man has great awareness!"

Wayne Rooney: "Wait! Look at this!"

Matic didn't even attempt to touch the pass, intelligently opening his legs and letting it roll cleanly past him instead. It was a perfectly executed dummy!

Ashley Young surged forward from the left-back position with speed, precision, and aggression, sprinting through the damp English air as if he were back in his prime winger days at Aston Villa!

Professor Young didn't dwell on the past, driving the ball aggressively toward Everton's penalty area.

"Give it to me!" Ling peeled away from the congested penalty area, moving smartly into the left half-space to offer a receiving option.

Kurt Zouma naturally followed him closely out of the box.

Everton's right-back, Lucas Digne, now faced a terrible defensive dilemma: should he step up to tackle the charging Ashley Young, or stay tucked in to help Zouma double-team the lethal Ling?

He only ever passes to Manchester United's number 7, Digne reasoned in a split second.

Before Digne could even fully commit to his decision, he saw Ashley Young release the pass toward Ling. Digne quickly shifted half a step inside to provide cover and cut off the angle.

"Don't let him turn, Kurt, but don't get too close either!" Digne yelled.

As one of Mourinho's former protégés at Chelsea, Zouma's one-on-one defensive ability was generally beyond doubt. His control of distance was usually precise.

Ling glanced back quickly before stepping up to meet the rolling ball, seemingly trying to create space to turn.

It was this simple, deceptive movement that made Zouma commit fully, closing the distance aggressively.

He aimed to forcefully intercept the ball or foul Ling in the exact split second he made contact.

Mourinho had once famously told Zouma. "Every attacking player has a brief moment of vulnerability when initially handling the ball—even if it's Diego Maradona. A defender's primary job is to aggressively exploit that exact moment and disrupt the play."

Ling had heard this exact coaching philosophy too, so he wouldn't give Zouma the chance to apply it.

With the outside of his right foot, he didn't trap the ball; he deftly flicked it.

Tap!!!

Under Zouma's astonished, horrified gaze, the football slipped quietly and perfectly through his open legs, skimming the wet grass as it rolled rapidly toward the space on the left flank!

And it even completely evaded the covering Digne.

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