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Tottenham's morale collapsed after the fourth goal.

Son continued running professionally, attacking space whenever it appeared, but one forward's effort could not repair an entire team.

As normal time approached its end, Herrera received near the right touchline and delivered a diagonal cross toward the far post.

McTominay arrived from midfield.

He rose and headed beyond Lloris.

5–1!

Tottenham's supporters fell silent.

It was another humiliation, although at least United had stopped at five rather than repeating the seven-goal punishment inflicted upon Barcelona.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The referee ended the match.

Peter Drury offered the final summary.

"Manchester United 5. Tottenham Hotspur 1."

"Ten Hag's side competed, equalized, and briefly threatened to make this an uncomfortable evening."

"Then Ling took control."

"Four goals for the Premier League's most devastating forward, another for McTominay, and another emphatic step toward the title."

Beglin considered Tottenham's position.

"They resemble Manchester United from several years ago: a talented squad caught in a difficult rebuild, divided between the remains of one project and the beginning of another."

"Ten Hag needs time, unity, and the authority to reshape the team."

"Whether Tottenham provide all three remains the larger question."

Ling had extended his scoring record but had not yet reached the next landmark being discussed by reporters.

With another goal in the following league match, he could become the first player in Premier League history to establish a new single-season scoring record in three consecutive campaigns.

New history remained one match away.

...

Ling appeared relaxed during his post-match interview.

"The Premier League situation is still very close," he said. "Talking about the title now would be pointless."

"We have to win every match."

A reporter asked whether the individual scoring record had become a personal target.

"Every striker wants goals," Ling replied. "There's no point pretending otherwise."

"I'll continue chasing them, provided it never damages the team."

Another journalist mentioned Manchester City and Ling's relationship with Guardiola.

"Pep is Maria's father," Ling said. "That's our relationship away from football."

"On the pitch, Manchester City are our opponents. Nothing else matters."

...

The results dominated the following morning's coverage.

📰 The Guardian: Liverpool Beat Crystal Palace 4–0 as Klopp Refuses to Surrender Title Chase

📰 The Mirror: Manchester City Edge Chelsea 2–1 but Show Signs of Fatigue During Run-In

📰 Manchester Evening News: Four-Goal Ling Destroys Tottenham and Extends Premier League Record

📰 L'Équipe: Manchester United to Visit Turin for First Leg of Champions League Semifinal

Klopp promised Liverpool would fight until the final day, determined to end the club's long wait for a Premier League title.

City remained within the race after defeating Chelsea, although their performances suggested the schedule was beginning to wear them down.

United could not relax.

📱 @JuveWorld ✔

Juventus look almost unbeatable right now. Pogba and Cristiano are both in excellent form.

📱 @UnitedStand ✔

People watched United score seven against Barcelona and suddenly think five against Tottenham is ordinary.

📱 @TacticalTimes

Juventus defend far better than Tottenham. Their midfield is balanced, and their forwards punish mistakes. This will be United's hardest tie.

| ↳ 📱 @StretfordEndTom

| Reply: Real Madrid had Ramos, Varane, Casemiro, and Modrić. Ling still found a way.

📱 @NeutralUCLWatch

United should think about Chelsea first. The FA Cup semifinal comes before Turin.

📱 @ChelseaYouthProject

Lampard's team nearly took points from City and have improved considerably. Do not dismiss them.

📱 @RedDevilBeijing

United have beaten Chelsea repeatedly. The psychological advantage is enormous.

...

April 22nd.

Wembley Stadium.

Manchester United faced Chelsea in the FA Cup semifinal.

The intensity became clear from the opening minutes.

Every loose ball produced a physical battle, and neither team allowed the other to establish an easy rhythm.

Zouma arrived late on Mahrez and received an early yellow card.

United won a free kick on the right.

Mahrez stood over it.

He curled the ball toward the far post.

Ling attacked behind Azpilicueta.

The Chelsea captain jumped with him but could not match his height or strength.

Ling powered the header toward goal.

Caballero reacted too slowly.

1–0.

"LING RISES AT WEMBLEY!" Drury exclaimed. "Azpilicueta is beaten in the air, Caballero is rooted beneath the crossbar, and Manchester United strike first in the semifinal!"

Chelsea refused to collapse.

Kovačić and Jorginho worked together in midfield, protecting the defense and making it difficult for Bruno Fernandes to receive between the lines.

Mourinho adjusted.

He instructed Ling to drop deeper and participate in the buildup.

United's number 7 moved into midfield and received with Jorginho approaching.

A sharp V-pull carried the ball beyond the Italian.

Kovačić charged toward him.

Ling drove through the shoulder challenge and continued forward.

Mahrez appeared on his right.

They exchanged a quick one-two.

Zouma stepped from the defensive line.

Ling powered past him as well.

Caballero rushed from goal.

One body feint sent the goalkeeper in the wrong direction.

Ling rolled the ball into the empty net.

2–0.

Peter Drury's voice followed him toward the supporters.

"FROM MIDFIELD TO THE NET—AND CHELSEA COULD NOT STOP A SINGLE STEP!"

"Jorginho is turned. Kovačić is overwhelmed. Zouma is broken through. Caballero is deceived."

"This is the full Jeremy Ling experience: technique, power, speed, and absolute certainty at the finish!"

Lampard stood on the touchline with a helpless expression.

Chelsea had used a 3-4-3, with Rüdiger, Zouma, and Azpilicueta forming what appeared on paper to be a strong defensive unit.

Against Ling, the structure seemed paper-thin.

Chelsea continued fighting, but United managed the remaining minutes professionally.

The final whistle confirmed the result.

Manchester United 2–0 Chelsea.

United were through to the FA Cup final!

...

April 25th, 2020.

Turin.

The capital of Piedmont was Italy's third-largest city, one of Europe's great automotive centers, and a place where layers of ancient history existed alongside modern industry.

It was also home to two football clubs.

Torino and Juventus.

Ling watched the city through the window of Manchester United's team bus as they travelled toward their hotel.

They had not come to face a fading Torino side.

They were here for Juventus, the dominant force in modern Italian football and their opponent in the Champions League semifinal.

Founded by a group of students in 1897, Juventus had won more Serie A titles than any other club.

They had also become the first team in history to win all three of Europe's major club competitions: the European Cup, the UEFA Cup, and the Cup Winners' Cup.

Their history was enormous.

Their current ambition was simple.

Win the Champions League again.

As the bus moved through Turin, Ling noticed a mural of Cristiano Ronaldo performing his famous celebration.

The Portuguese forward had left Real Madrid for Juventus two years earlier, arriving as the Champions League's all-time leading scorer and declaring that he intended to bring the trophy back to Turin.

Two seasons had passed.

Juventus had not yet reached the final.

There were several explanations.

Their midfield lacked creativity.

The buildup was often too slow.

The defense no longer possessed the stability of earlier years.

Their tactical system struggled to support Cristiano consistently in the most difficult European matches.

Juventus had responded aggressively.

They paid compensation to bring Maurizio Sarri back to Italy, trusting him to construct a more sophisticated attacking system.

Then they spent more than €100 million to re-sign Pogba.

The Frenchman supplied the ball progression and invention their midfield had been missing.

What remained?

Only the trophy itself.

Juventus had reached the semifinal carrying the belief that this might be their moment. To fulfil that ambition, they had to eliminate Manchester United.

For several of their players, the tie felt personal.

Pogba had left Old Trafford after losing a power struggle with Mourinho and Ling. Whatever explanations he offered publicly, the rejection still wounded his pride.

Defeating his former club would allow him to prove they had made a mistake.

Cristiano had even more reasons.

He wanted to lift the Champions League for a sixth time and demonstrate that his European success had never depended solely on the clubs around him.

He wanted to protect his scoring records.

He wanted revenge for Kyiv, where Manchester United had destroyed Real Madrid's attempt to win three consecutive European titles.

Above all, he retained the same competitive hunger that had driven his entire career.

Manchester United possessed their own reasons to believe.

The arguments had begun long before either team arrived at the stadium.

...

The rivalry between Juventus and Manchester United stretched back to the previous century.

"Did Juventus qualify?"

Gary Neville had asked that question after United drew with Bayern Munich during the 1998–99 group stage.

Juventus had endured a disastrous campaign and failed to win any of their first five matches.

Only a victory on the final matchday allowed them to squeeze into the knockout rounds.

When Neville received confirmation that they had survived, his expression reportedly resembled that of a man who had just been informed of an approaching natural disaster.

That reaction reflected Juventus's reputation at the time.

Marcello Lippi's team had reached three consecutive Champions League finals.

They lost two of them, but during the late 1990s, they remained the standard by which Europe's strongest teams measured themselves.

Beating Juventus felt almost equivalent to winning the competition.

In the 1996–97 season, the two clubs were drawn together in the group stage.

Before United's match in Turin, Sir Alex Ferguson stood inside the tunnel and compared his players with the Juventus team nearby.

The Italians seemed bigger.

Stronger.

More experienced.

Neville later admitted that merely standing beside them created a sense of intimidation.

United escaped with a 1–0 defeat.

Neville would joke years later that the score should have been ten.

It remained one of the most difficult matches of his career. Manchester United did not produce a single shot on target.

That fear did not last forever.

Sir Alex continued building his team, and United gradually became a European power capable of meeting Juventus as equals.

The defining confrontation arrived in the 1998–99 semifinals.

Juventus led the first leg at Old Trafford until stoppage time, when Ryan Giggs scored from a rebound to rescue a 1–1 draw.

The result kept United alive.

In Turin, Juventus struck twice through Filippo Inzaghi within the opening eleven minutes.

The aggregate score became 3–1.

United were close to elimination.

Then Roy Keane scored.

Dwight Yorke equalized.

Andy Cole completed the comeback.

For nearly seventy minutes, United overwhelmed Carlo Ancelotti's team and left Turin with a 3–2 victory.

The rest became club mythology.

Manchester United faced Bayern Munich in the final at Camp Nou and produced one of the most famous stoppage-time comebacks football had ever witnessed.

As European football moved into a new era, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Manchester United became increasingly dominant.

Juventus gradually slipped from their late-1990s peak, and meaningful meetings between the two clubs became rare.

Now they were facing one another again.

Cristiano.

Pogba.

Ling.

Mourinho.

Sarri.

The history provided more than enough material for two weeks of arguments.

📱 @JuveWorld ✔

Juventus are returning to the summit of Europe. Pogba has completed this team.

📱 @UnitedStand ✔

Sarri struggled at Chelsea, Juventus paid to bring him back, and now people pretend he has created Europe's greatest attacking system. Lazio have already exposed them repeatedly.

📱 @SerieATactics

Juventus's wide players have produced very little. Cristiano and Dybala have carried the attack between them.

📱 @RedDevilBeijing

Pogba remains brilliant with the ball and lazy without it. United will attack the space he leaves behind.

📱 @JuveMidfield

People are underestimating Juventus because United destroyed Barcelona. This defense is far more organized than Barça's.

📱 @TacticalTimes

Mourinho's narrow setup may not suit this tie. Juventus protect the center well, so United need genuine width.

| ↳ 📱 @StretfordEndTom

| Reply: 4-3-3. Grealish and Mahrez wide, Ling through the middle. Attack Cuadrado and Pogba's side.

📱 @UCLNumbers

Ling has fifteen Champions League goals this season. Cristiano Ronaldo's single-season record is seventeen.

| ↳ 📱 @LegacyFootball

| Reply: A hat-trick in Turin would break Ronaldo's record while playing against Ronaldo. Football loves drama.

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