With a 1-0 lead, the New Manchester United players were visibly excited. Back in the dressing room, everyone congratulated Juninho and praised him for scoring the team's first goal of the season.
Mourinho and the rest of the coaching staff entered with smiles on their faces.
"Well done, lads!" Mourinho began with praise.
"Our opponents started the match with a very aggressive approach, but we weren't intimidated. Hleb, for example, was fouled several times, yet he never backed down and earned us the free kick that led to the goal. That counts as an indirect assist!"
The players all laughed.
Inside the New Manchester United dressing room, everyone knew that winning a set piece within 35 metres of goal was almost equivalent to providing an indirect assist.
From that range, Juninho was equally dangerous when shooting directly or delivering the ball for a teammate, and his success rate was remarkably high.
It was so high that teams facing New Manchester United routinely warned their players before matches to avoid committing fouls within 35 metres of goal.
After all, New Manchester United had a specialist who treated free kicks almost like penalties.
The newspapers had presented it as an amusing story, but everyone believed such warnings were common.
"I don't believe Queens Park Rangers will give up easily, but we're already one goal ahead. If they attack, that's exactly what we want.
"So, at the start of the second half, we'll first strengthen our defence and see what they intend to do."
At this point, Mourinho smiled.
"If they dare to attack, we'll counter them with an even sharper and more aggressive offence. We'll force them back and dominate them in every area, in momentum, performance, and attacking play.
"I want a complete victory!"
The New Manchester United players responded in unison, each of them looking especially excited.
"Also, Malouda and Senna, I want both of you to be more active in the second half. Make more runs and take some of the pressure off Hleb.
"Otherwise, I think his legs will be badly swollen by the end of the match!"
The players immediately looked toward Hleb, who was receiving treatment from the team doctor, and laughed.
He had been closely marked throughout the first half.
Even so, Hleb's performance had been extremely lively, and he had repeatedly appeared in dangerous areas.
Under New Manchester United's 4-3-3 system, both wingers dropped deeper when defending, but pushed high against the opposition's back line in attack.
Whether it was Hleb or Malouda, the closer they moved to the defensive line, the greater their influence became.
Juninho and Senna were both excellent passers. They could consistently deliver the ball either to the wingers' feet or into the space behind the defence.
In one-on-one situations, Hleb was capable of taking on almost any opponent.
That was precisely why he was fouled so often.
...
Sitting in the stands, Ethan felt relatively relaxed.
He chatted and laughed with Mark, Walsh, and the others because he knew that after taking the lead, New Manchester United could finally breathe a little easier.
According to data provided by OPTA, New Manchester United had almost never lost a match after scoring first.
The worst result had been a draw.
For that reason, Ethan believed they already had one hand on the victory.
In fact, the second half unfolded exactly as Mourinho had predicted.
Queens Park Rangers attacked from the restart because they could not afford to drop points at home.
If they wanted promotion, they needed to win enough matches.
This fixture against New Manchester United was clearly one they had intended to win.
However, New Manchester United did not retreat in the slightest.
They met their opponents head-on and continued playing aggressive attacking football.
At that point, the performance of New Manchester United's defenders became especially impressive.
The centre-back partnership of Curtis and Terry remained as reliable as ever.
Curtis stepped forward to apply pressure, while Terry covered behind him. Against Queens Park Rangers' predictable attacking methods, they allowed almost no opportunities.
Abidal and Touré were equally solid on the flanks, shutting down the opposition's attacks from wide areas.
Essien was like a wall in midfield.
He controlled a large area between midfield and defence. Even late in the second half, he continued running tirelessly across the pitch.
His tackling and interception efficiency had improved considerably, while his movement had also made significant progress.
Whether making off-the-ball runs to support attacks or positioning himself to intercept passes defensively, he had improved in every area.
Juninho and Senna, positioned ahead of Essien, also contributed defensively.
Senna in particular frequently dropped back to support Essien, allowing Juninho to focus more heavily on attacking.
Drogba was another highly active defender.
Although he played furthest forward, he immediately joined the press whenever New Manchester United lost possession.
His influence in attack was equally significant.
By occupying the opposing centre-backs, he created space for Malouda and Hleb on the wings.
This became New Manchester United's most effective attacking method in the second half, with Drogba contributing one assist and playing a decisive role in another goal.
The outstanding player on the pitch, however, was Hleb.
He had won the free kick that led to Juninho's goal in the first half, then scored twice after the break.
One came from Drogba's assist, while the other followed a cross from Malouda.
His performance earned him the Man of the Match award.
A 3-0 victory over such a strong opponent gave New Manchester United an enormous boost.
Their match sharpness and tactical execution received unanimous praise from the professional media, who described them as a team filled with determination and fighting spirit.
Following such an emphatic win in the opening round of League Two, New Manchester United naturally attracted even more attention.
At the same time, TIME published its interview with Ethan, causing New Manchester United's reputation throughout English football to rise sharply.
Everyone now knew that the club had an owner who had appeared on the cover of TIME.
Fortunately, New Manchester United did not disappoint him.
On August 7, New Manchester United travelled to face Scunthorpe United in the first round of the League Cup.
Once again, they displayed their attacking strength, winning 4-1 away and advancing comfortably to the second round.
In that match, new signings Drogba and Senna scored their first official goals for New Manchester United.
Drogba took advantage of a set piece in the attacking third, powering Juninho's delivery into the Scunthorpe net.
Senna later scored with a long-range strike from outside the penalty area, sealing the victory.
Scunthorpe did not score until shortly before the final whistle, taking advantage of a mistake from Chiellini, who had replaced Curtis in the second half.
Mourinho had originally intended to bring Chiellini on while New Manchester United held a commanding lead, allowing him to experience the atmosphere of a competitive match.
Curtis had also played with great intensity in the opening two fixtures.
Although he was exceptionally talented, he was still only 16 years old and at an important stage of physical development.
He should not be placed under such heavy match demands.
However, Chiellini had never played centre-back in a competitive match before.
After coming on, he made a careless mistake that allowed the opposing striker to score from close range.
Even so, Mourinho still praised Chiellini highly in the dressing room afterward.
He highlighted the young defender's willingness to engage in physical duels and the fighting spirit he had shown after entering the match.
He did not mention the mistake at all.
The other players also comforted Chiellini.
Every one of them had once been an inexperienced youngster who made mistakes.
Making a mistake was not frightening.
What mattered was recognising the problem and improving.
As vice-captain, Curtis repeatedly encouraged Chiellini and gave him as much help as possible during training.
With the support of his teammates, Chiellini quickly escaped the shadow of his error and regained his usual determination on the training ground.
At that point, Professor Fryer's laboratory arranged for him to enter the Meditation Chamber and confront the mistake directly, helping him understand exactly what had gone wrong.
Mourinho clearly did not believe young players should be punished for making mistakes.
As a result, during New Manchester United's home match against Port Vale in the second round of League Two, Mourinho once again brought Chiellini on for the excellent Curtis in the 65th minute.
This time, Chiellini performed adequately.
He made no mistakes, although he was given few opportunities to distinguish himself.
New Manchester United's only conceded goal had come in the first half and had nothing to do with him.
New Manchester United won 3-1 at home, with Hleb, Drogba, and Malouda scoring.
After the match, the players did not immediately leave the City Ground.
Instead, under the guidance of the coaching staff, they visited the stadium's exhibition hall.
The two balls used for Drogba and Senna's first official goals for New Manchester United had been placed in display cases by club staff.
The players personally carried them into the exhibition hall and placed them in their designated positions.
Above each ball was the player's autograph.
Numerous reporters and supporters witnessed the entire process.
It was soon praised as another unique New Manchester United tradition and became widely discussed among the fans.
Following the match, the draw for the second round of the League Cup was also announced.
With Premier League teams entering the competition, supporters once again called for New Manchester United to be drawn against the Red Devils, Manchester United.
Once again, their wish was not granted.
New Manchester United were instead drawn against League One side Rotherham United, with the match scheduled for August 21.
Before then, New Manchester United still had two League Two fixtures to play on August 14 and 18.
They would face Wycombe Wanderers at home before travelling to meet their familiar rivals, Cardiff City.
New Manchester United's schedule during this period was extremely demanding, with league and League Cup matches arriving in quick succession.
This placed considerable pressure on players who had not yet fully settled into the rhythm of the season.
As a result, Mourinho began rotating the squad for the match against Wycombe on August 14.
Shaun Wright-Phillips replaced Hleb, Alou Diarra came in for Essien, Hangeland replaced Curtis, and Evra started ahead of Abidal.
Perhaps because of the changes to the starting lineup, Wycombe immediately took control at the beginning of the match and scored against New Manchester United.
The goal almost drove Mourinho mad on the touchline because he knew it had resulted from a lack of understanding between the two centre-backs.
However, the New Manchester United players soon found their rhythm.
They scored once before half-time and again in the second half, completing a 2-1 comeback victory over Wycombe and securing another win.
(To be continued.)