Chapter 120: Defeated! Escrivá's Realization

Check Dongqiu Di live match report—Tang Ye makes a brilliant tackle, Mbappé's cut inside fails, the score remains 1:1.

Right now, at least several hundred thousand people are watching this match in the CCTV broadcast studio.

Tang Ye is playing in the Champions League playoff; Chinese fans selectively ignore the word "playoff."

My Tang Tang Qiuwang is playing in the Champions League, and damn it, he even scored!

In the 67th minute of the match, Escrivá begins making substitutions!

Rodri comes on to replace Castillejo.

Both of Yellow Submarine's geniuses are now ready.

Do not look down on Rodri just because he is only 20; his market value is still 500,000 euros!

"Bakayoko, Bakayoko's long pass goes directly to Germain up front!"

"Germain heads it back!"

"To Mbappé!"

"A square pass to Lemar!"

"Monaco's attacking rhythm is incredibly fast!"

"Villarreal is feeling the pressure now; their defenders have not all gotten into position yet!"

"..."

"Bernardo Silva chips the ball into the penalty area!"

"Germain, a header sending it straight toward the goal!"

"Goal!"

"Oh my god, it's a goal!"

"Monaco has taken the lead again!"

"Wowww!!"

"Monaco!"

"Monaco!"

Germain's goal successfully ignites the atmosphere inside the Stade Louis II.

The score moves to 2:1; Monaco is leading once more!

Alright, Escrivá can no longer sit still; he rises from his chair on the substitutes' bench.

"Focus, damn it! The defensive line is too loose!"

The camera cuts to Tang Ye on the pitch.

With his team falling behind again, Tang Ye's expression is far from good.

Chewing slowly, he realizes the gum in his mouth has been chewed by Tang Ye until it has lost all flavor.

He spits it out and swaps it for a new piece.

At the same time, he cannot help but sigh with emotion.

Monaco's offense is truly fluid!

"Come on, Tang Ye!"

He Wei shouts.

Nominally, the CCTV commentators are neutral, but the moment a Chinese player appears on the field, their stance immediately shifts to being "neutral."

The commentators hold a Chinese perspective; they need to support Tang Ye, and they hope Tang Ye will play in the Champions League.

This is the intention of the television station's leadership, and also the commentators' own desire.

"Huff, huff."

To be honest, Tang Ye is already a bit tired now, Escrivá narrows his eyes.

Trigueros' ankle has not fully recovered, so Tang Ye must persist and finish this match!

The match reaches the 75th minute!

Bang!

This is a low driven through-ball from Yellow Submarine's backfield; Gaspar's pass accurately finds Rodri.

Without hesitation, Rodri passes the ball to Tang Ye.

To better utilize his First-Touch Passing Module, Tang Ye chooses not to stop the ball.

Before even moving into position to receive from Rodri, he had already memorized the locations of all his teammates in the attacking third.

As the ball rolls toward him, Tang Ye swings his left foot directly at it.

It goes to Pato on the right wing!

Pato dribbles down the baseline!

The attack is on!

After completing the pass, Tang Ye starts running forward; Pato is currently engaged in a one-on-one duel with Monaco's fullback, the two locked in a stalemate for several seconds.

With Bruno's help, he shakes off the fullback and charges into the penalty area!

"Ohhh!!!"

The home fans rise to their feet.

They are starting to feel nervous!

Pato takes a direct push shot!

Goalkeeper Subašić uses gravity to drop straight to the ground, using his feet to block Pato's push shot and keep it out of the net.

It's over!

This is Pato's immediate reaction.

In this match, Pato missed a scoring opportunity for the second time!

However, just as the home fans had breathed a sigh of relief, the blocked ball fell right in front of Tang Ye.

Are you kidding me, buddy?

Every fan who witnessed this scene had only one question in their minds.

Master, why are you here?

"Here it comes!"

This time it wasn't a push shot; fearing Glik would reach it before him, Tang Ye opted for a stab shot!

"GOOOOO——AAAAA——LLLLL!!!"

"Tang Ye!"

"A goal by Tang Ye!"

Hoo...

Although already exhausted, Tang Ye still ran out.

【You have obtained 30 Counterattack Points】

【Brace achieved; you have obtained an additional 30 Counterattack Points】

After sprinting a few steps, Tang Ye, unable to run any further, stopped before even reaching the corner flag.

He bent over, propping his hands on his knees.

Hoo hoo hoo!

"Tom!"

The Yellow Submarine players on the field tightly embraced Tang Ye.

Escriba raised both arms, pretending to be calm, before sitting back down on the substitutes' bench.

"So this is the midfielder you bought."

Marti was struggling to suppress his laughter: "A midfielder who scores more goals than the strikers."

"Haha."

Escriba leaned back in his chair, clapping his hands continuously.

You think an attacking midfielder's role is to organize the team's offense?

No, actually, the reason an attacking midfielder is called an attacking midfielder is that they can score goals just like strikers.

At least, that's how it is with Tang Ye!

Check Dongqiu Di live match report: 74th minute, Tang Ye scores a brace, leveling the score at 2:2.

"Tom!"

"Tom!"

Tang Ye's name echoed from the away stand.

Among them were even some fans who, before the season started, believed Tang Ye lacked the ability to play in La Liga.

Now, they no longer thought so.

The performance Tang Ye delivered in this match was absolutely at the level of a team core!

Play resumed; Tang Ye's goal had somewhat disrupted Monaco's rhythm.

However, head coach Jardim immediately broke into a smile.

Because he saw Tang Ye on the field, gasping for air non-stop.

Cough cough!

The massive demand for oxygen forced Tang Ye to spit out the chewing gum in his mouth; for the next ten-plus minutes, he wouldn't be able to chew that stuff.

The score is now 2:2, which looks like a draw, but upon closer thought, Monaco held a one-goal lead from the first leg.

If the 2:2 scoreline holds, only Monaco will advance!

The Yellow Submarine players on the field grew increasingly anxious; in the 85th minute, Tang Ye, on the wing, used the outside of his left foot to deliver another pass that pierced through the opponent's defensive line.

To Pato!

"!!!"

The hearts of fans from both sides hung in the balance at the same moment.

Tang Ye's pass had given Villarreal the chance to kill the game!

"Pato's one-on-one!"

"A calm push shot!"

"Subasic blocked it!"

"Monaco has defended their goal!"

In the broadcast booth, He Wei clasped his hands around his head.

Pato failed to capitalize on this one-on-one opportunity.

"Damn it!"

Escriba angrily flung out his arm, while Pato on the field covered his face with his hands.

Unbelievable, simply unbelievable!

Pato's form today was truly terrible; Escriva actually didn't substitute him off in the second half!

"Hoo..."

Pressing his hands together in a steeple shape over his nose, Tang Ye didn't know how to express his current emotions.

Logically speaking, he should have recorded two goals and two assists in today's match.

Why only two goals and no two assists?

"Beep, beep beep!!!"

The entire match ended, and Tang Ye sat down on the ground.

The director's camera immediately cut to this MVP from the losing side.

【Invincible, he directly made our Tang Tang Qiuwang doubt his very existence】

【The Villarreal you imagined: Tang Ye isn't qualified to start; the actual Villarreal: Tang Tang Qiuwang carried hard but simply couldn't save them】

【Monaco is truly awesome, damn it】

【Is it that Monaco is great or that Yellow Submarine is weak? Tang Ye already scored two goals and still couldn't win; is that Pato even human? Even my school team's goalkeeper could have scored those two goals】

【Escriva should be fired; there's a reason he's not as good as Ten Hag; how could he keep that Pato on the field?】

【Tang Ye: Let me sit and calm down for a while】

It looked as if Tang Ye were sitting on the grass contemplating life, but in reality, he had heard the system's voice.

【At 38 years old, you dragged the team to score two goals; your goal was a Champions League spot for the new season, but unfortunately, you failed to complete this achievement at the advanced age of 38】

【...】

【At 38 years old, you are about to follow the team to participate in the 2037-2038 Europa League season; you have received a new mission】

【Lead the young kids in the team to break into the Europa League knockout stage!】

Reward: Money Jar

It's the Money Jar again!

Leaving other things aside, Tang Ye's system is quite considerate.

It knows Tang Ye really wants this Money Jar, so after one mission failure, it arranged a second one.

The Europa League...

Tang Ye lowered his head and pondered.

Hiss—

He seemed to recall that the Premier League team led by Mr. Sitting Like was also participating in this season's Europa League?

As soon as he thought of Ten Hag, Tang Ye quickly shook his head.

Manchester United is a top-tier football giant; he certainly didn't hope to clash with a team of that caliber in the group stage!

"Villarreal Football Post" post-match ratings: Tang Ye 8.9, Bruno 7.2, Pato lowest at 3.0, head coach Escriva 4.2.

Hupu Community post-match ratings: Tang Ye 9.9, Pato -1.2, Escriva -3.5.

【Tang Ye's brace couldn't save the team; Escriva's substitutions were heaven-defyingly bad】

After being eliminated by Monaco, Yellow Submarine will participate in the Europa League group stage in the new season.

This defeat was extremely fatal for Yellow Submarine.

Lacking the broadcast revenue share from the Champions League, the already not-wealthy Yellow Submarine would find it very difficult to come up with enough money for their transfers during the winter window.

And because they had no money to buy players, Yellow Submarine's results might continue to decline!

This was a chain reaction, a chain reaction sufficient to affect the team's entire season!

Besides the team encountering difficulties, Escriva also faced condemnation from fans online.

According to records from the data company, Yellow Submarine's head coach Escriva was the La Liga head coach cursed at the most over the past 14 days.

The reason was simple: in the first leg against Monaco, he kept a player who could have changed the game's pattern on the bench.

This was an absolutely, absolutely wrong decision!

On the night after the match ended, Escriva returned gloomily to his apartment in Villarreal City.

He turned off the Do Not Disturb mode on his phone.

"Ding ding ding ding ding ding!"

"Ding ding ding!"

Countless news messages popped up; Escriva very much wanted to turn off his phone, but in the end, he couldn't resist clicking on these messages.

【Fuck Escriva, with this level of skill he still comes to coach in La Liga】

【One question: why wasn't Pato substituted off after playing the first half?】

【Poor that Chinese kid, scored two goals in the midfield but still lost in the end, haha; Escriva should never have come to coach Yellow Submarine!】

【Is it really that hard to put Tom in the starting lineup? Must he insist on his possession play? Monaco isn't afraid of possession play at all】

"..."

Escriva operated his phone, unsubscribing one by one from the newspapers he followed.

Damn fans; they couldn't comprehend the difficulties Escriva was currently facing!

Bang!

Sitting heavily on the bed, Escriva began the contemplation he had been conducting every day recently.

That was how to make Tang Ye adapt to the team's possession system.

How to adapt...

Hiss—

Escriva thought of Erik Ten Hag; why could the Dutchman achieve success through Tang Ye?

He remembered what Ten Hag had said on the phone previously.

"Last season, Utrecht faced a relegation crisis; I had no other choice but to start Tang"

Unlike Ten Hag's situation, Escriva's Villarreal was a La Liga powerhouse.

Wait!

Escriva realized something and suddenly sat up straight.

If they continued with last season's style of play, Villarreal would at best be a top-four La Liga team.

Ahead of them stood powerhouses like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético, and others; all possessed exceptional passing and possession capabilities, so trying to play possession football against them offered Yellow Submarine no chance of victory!

Since that was the case, why not seek a breakthrough instead?

While everyone else played possession football, Yellow Submarine would do the exact opposite, catching their opponents completely off guard.

Laozi damn well isn't playing possession football anymore!

Clenching his fists tightly, Escrivá made up his mind.

He was going to walk a certain path!

That was the path once walked by the great Ten Hag!

Whether fighting relegation in the Eredivisie or securing a top-four finish in La Liga, it ultimately all boiled down to one word: "survival."

Everyone was in the same boat; Escrivá would simply copy Ten Hag directly.

Ten Hag equaled great.

Utrecht equaled Villarreal.

Escrivá equaled Ten Hag.

Escrivá equaled great!

……

September 4th, six days remained until the third round of La Liga match between Málaga and Villarreal.

Fitness coach Kyle led the players through stretches on the training pitch.

"Allé, guess what we're doing today?"

Tang Ye performed lunges, thoroughly stretching his thigh muscles.

After losing to Monaco, Yellow Submarine's players had suffered a prolonged emotional slump, but by now everyone had mostly recovered.

Anyway, going into the Champions League in this condition would just get them crushed by opponents, so they might as well fight hard in the Europa League!

"I don't know; Ferran hasn't mentioned any plan, has he?"

Allé said.

"I guess we'll probably practice passing again today."

Tang Ye continued pressing his legs.

Villarreal's training differed greatly from Utrecht's; at Villarreal, both head coach Escrivá and assistant coach Martí loved rondo drills.

Apart from rondos, it was small-sided 3v3 matches.

One could say at least half of Villarreal's daily training time was devoted to passing and possession; Tang Ye wasn't sure if other La Liga teams were the same, but he estimated it was probably similar.

This was the local custom!

Tang Ye and Allé had made a bet: if Tang Ye guessed correctly, Allé would have to run a lap around the pitch after training ended.

If Tang Ye guessed wrong, then he would have to run.

Beep!

Martí blew the whistle, and the players gathered before Escrivá.

"Next, we'll do some tactical drills: long-pass combinations, through balls, passes behind the defense—these are what we need to train. Then comes off-the-ball movement; forwards' positioning is crucial..."

As Escrivá spoke, Tang Ye, sitting on the ground, suddenly raised his hand: "Mr. Ferran, aren't we playing a rondo first today?"

"Not for now."

"Why the sudden change?"

Tang Ye's expression suddenly soured.

"It's none of your business."

"I didn't say it was my business either..."

"Uh..."

Escrivá adjusted his hair, pretending to remain calm: "I know, I know. What I meant to say is that today's workload is heavy; we need to focus all our time on long-passing and positioning drills, so we'll temporarily skip short-passing practice."

……

(End of chapter)