Chapter 132: The Tackle That Puzzled Casemiro, A Last-Minute Equalizer Against Real Madrid!

"Madrid!"

"Madrid!"

"Hala Madrid!"

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!

Cristiano Ronaldo's brace sent the atmosphere at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium to its peak, with the home fans' cheers only highlighting the despair of the Yellow Submarine players.

The Yellow Submarine had a dream: a dream to draw with or even defeat the Galacticos.

But now it seemed God had no intention of granting the Yellow Submarine its wish.

As the match progressed, the Real Madrid players, playing at home, gradually found their momentum!

Casemiro grabbed Cristiano Ronaldo by the shoulders.

"VAMOS!"

Cough-cough!

Escribá sat back down in his chair, took the notebook from Martí, and quickly jotted down what had just occurred to him.

One problem the Yellow Submarine currently faced was player positioning.

In fact, Escribá had already noticed during the previous match against Real Sociedad that the 4-4-2 formation was not the most suitable for the Yellow Submarine this season.

But changing formations mid-match was obviously too late now; what Escribá needed to do was make some simple tactical adjustments.

He had to find a way to contain Cristiano Ronaldo and Bale, these two explosive threats on the wings.

This was crucial!

"Come on, come on! It's okay, we still have a chance!"

Captain Bruno was encouraging the Yellow Submarine players on the field.

Being one goal down in the 42nd minute wasn't actually an unwinnable situation.

"Beep!"

After the kickoff, the Yellow Submarine players launched a quick counterattack.

Their speed in adjusting their mindset was one of the Yellow Submarine's major advantages!

Alai's kickoff went straight to Musacchio in front of the penalty area, who temporarily kept the ball under control at his feet.

Wait for the Real Madrid forwards to come pressing!

As long as Benzema and Bale didn't run over, Musacchio was in no hurry to pass the ball.

He needed to wait for Real Madrid's attacking line to push up, which would leave fewer defenders in their backfield.

Currently leading, Real Madrid theoretically shouldn't be in a hurry, but if they didn't press, they wouldn't be Real Madrid.

Benzema and Bale ran forward, one on the left and one on the right.

That's about right!

Musacchio sent a long pass straight toward Tang Ye's position!

"Damn!"

Tang Ye felt a bit nervous.

His ball sense wasn't very good, so he often lacked confidence when dealing with these kinds of aerial balls.

Can I control it, can I control it...

Spotting Bakambu standing beside him, Tang Ye voluntarily gave up his position.

"You take it!"

What?

Bakambu froze for a moment but then reacted.

Tang Ye helped block Modrić's position while Bakambu brought the ball under control.

Bakambu's control wasn't actually that great, but with Tang Ye helping to block Modrić's positioning, his possession wasn't under threat.

After Bakambu had the ball fully under control, Tang Ye suddenly sprinted toward the right-wing baseline.

"Pass it to me!"

Thud!

Using the inside of his foot to deliver a through ball, Tang Ye started running down the right wing.

In the CCTV broadcast booth, the previously listless supporters of the Yellow Submarine suddenly lit up.

Posing as a winger!

That familiar feeling was back!

Was King Tang of the Ball about to step up and save the team!

Thud!

Casemiro arrived on the wing and completed a tackle on Tang Ye.

"Damn!"

Tang Ye rolled twice on the ground, and when he stood back up, his buttocks were covered in grass clippings.

Hiss—

He remembered that Cristiano Ronaldo and Bale had advanced just like this.

Why didn't it work when he tried it himself!

Tang Ye hadn't realized it yet, but his speed was simply too lacking.

If his speed attribute were just 10 points higher, in that position just now, Casemiro would absolutely have been unable to pose any threat to him!

It hurt a bit, but Tang Ye quickly recovered.

There was still a chance to...

"Beep!!!"

"The referee has blown the whistle to end the first half!"

"Thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's brace, Real Madrid currently leads by one goal, but that's fine; upon closer inspection, we can see that both teams are in similar form today. Real Madrid might be playing slightly better, but apart from Cristiano Ronaldo and Kroos, the performance of the other players can only be described as average."

"As for Villarreal, both Bruno and Tang Ye have performed very well."

"Yes, the main reason Villarreal is trailing is their inability to deal with Real Madrid's high press."

"This is a very hesitant point: you want Tang Ye's creativity in attack, yet you also need a sufficient number of midfielders dropping deep to provide support."

"Running back and forth between the front and rear lines—fans familiar with Tang Ye know that his running coverage area is very small."

While the live broadcast room replayed highlights from the first half for both sides, the two CCTV commentators began discussing tactical matters.

The conclusion they reached was: judging by player form, Villarreal actually still has a chance.

Tactical adjustments in midfield will be crucial!

In the home team's locker room.

"Sit down quickly!"

Zidane moved to the center of the locker room, rapidly shifting the magnetic flags on his tactical board with a "snap-snap" sound.

"To be honest, our performance in this match hasn't been good enough; of course, I must admit that our opponent was more impressive than expected."

Villarreal has always been a team exceptionally skilled at defeating stronger opponents with weaker forces; a starting lineup valued at just over 100 million euros has not prevented them from occupying third place in the league standings.

Zidane extended his right index finger, displaying it before the players: "In the first half, we conceded a goal because of that number 99 on the other side."

"That player is strange; I don't know exactly how to put it, but he's just a bit strange."

Zidane's language system seemed to have malfunctioned; the seated Real Madrid players widened their eyes, and some were even beginning to frown.

A bit strange.

But don't know how to say it?

Then exactly why is he strange?

"You don't need to worry about his performance in attack; all you need to know is that he loses possession easily. When Tom has the ball, I need you to press him. This is very important; it can help us achieve a higher possession rate!"

The frowns on the players' faces relaxed.

Simply put, they just needed to frequently press that number 99 and snatch the ball away from him!

For the Real Madrid players, this was clearly not a difficult task.

Back in the player tunnel, Tang Ye stood in place, occasionally shaking his two legs.

He very much wanted to greet Cristiano Ronaldo, but since Cristiano Ronaldo was chatting with Ramos, Tang Ye ultimately gave up.

"Keep going!"

Ale placed his hand on Tang Ye's shoulder, and the latter took a deep breath.

Trailing by one goal, they absolutely had to think of a way!

"Madrid!"

Bang-bang!

"Madrid!"

Bang-bang!

The match reached the 56th minute, and Real Madrid earned a set-piece opportunity.

After some discussion, Real Madrid ultimately decided to let Kroos take this set piece!

Tang Ye ran in front of Kroos, acting as the first man in the wall.

"Kroos!"

"Pass it into the penalty area!"

"Villarreal's penalty area has descended into chaos!"

"Goal!"

"A header! Who scored this goal!?"

The Real Madrid players rushed toward the corner flag, and the director's camera focused on Ramos.

A replay was shown.

Ramos, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Ale all jumped together; Ale was pressed underneath, and finally, Ramos, who had the superior position, reached the ball first.

Two players challenging for the header together, Asenjo's attention didn't know where to focus.

When Ramos shot, Asenjo didn't even make a saving motion!

Check Dongqiu Di live match report: Ramos scores with a header, Real Madrid leads 3:1 at home!

"Huu..."

He exhaled a long breath.

Originally, the running distance in this match was already quite long, and Tang Ye needed a bit of willpower to support himself.

But now, trailing by two goals, the little fighting spirit Tang Ye had left was completely crushed.

His legs went soft, and Tang Ye squatted on the ground.

The condition of the other Yellow Submarine players on the field was not much better than Tang Ye's; Escrivá held his head in both hands.

Ramos's header had stripped the Yellow Submarine of their last hope!

For the Yellow Submarine, the only good news now was that there was still plenty of time left in the match.

The problem was, how to utilize the remaining time while already at a disadvantage?

Looking at the dejected Yellow Submarine players on the field, Escrivá made a decision.

A very bold decision!

"Tom, move forward! No need to defend!"

"No need to defend anymore!"

Hearing his name, Tang Ye looked up and found Escrivá on the substitutes' bench speaking to him, so he stood up: "What?"

"No defending, no need to defend!"

Escrivá made a forward-pointing gesture: "You and Bruno will both play as attacking midfielders!"

At this current score, even if Yellow Submarine's defense was impenetrable, the final result would still be a loss.

Since that was the case, they might as well take a gamble.

Let this guy Tang Ye play freely.

He has plenty of ideas!

Learning he could press forward without worry, Tang Ye's passion, which had just been crushed, was dragged back.

After briefly explaining the compact defense to the defenders on the field, Escrivá sat back down on his chair.

For some reason, Escrivá suddenly felt a chill on top of his head.

This feeling was strange, indescribable.

It was as if...

All his hair had suddenly vanished?

?

He quickly reached out to touch his head.

Confirming that all his hair was still there, Escrivá breathed a sigh of relief.

Why did he have this feeling?

Unbelievable!

The match continued, and with Escrivá's authorization, Tang Ye began his most classic move.

He rubbed his hands together, then gave Aleix a thumbs-up.

!!!

Aleix's eyes lit up.

Tang Ye's feeling must have arrived.

Then how far away could his own feeling be?

Villarreal's momentum rose quickly; Tang Ye ran back and forth in the front field, making the Real Madrid players nervous, and the Yellow Submarine players even more damn nervous!

Musacchio was a center-back with excellent vision, and since Tang Ye was exceptionally good at running into open spaces, the two immediately formed a tacit understanding.

A long pass was launched!

Although he knew his ball control wasn't great, Tang Ye still summoned the courage to run over.

Try extending his foot?

Yo, it worked!

Haha!

He knocked the ball behind himself with his right foot, shook off Casemiro, and immediately started advancing toward the front field!

The speed wasn't fast, but the momentum was truly immense!

Aleix sprinted quickly to the left baseline, raising his left hand.

He needed to let Tang Ye know he was there!

Tang Ye was in no hurry to pass the ball to Aleix.

Passing was like playing Go; considering only the first move was not enough.

He had Aleix as an outlet, but Aleix had no outlet himself, so Tang Ye would not make that pass.

Waiting until Rodri on the left ran into position, Tang Ye lifted his foot.

Pass to Aleix?

No, he chose to dribble the ball himself into the penalty area!

Tang Ye wanted to show off, something Ramos would not allow, so he came straight up to intercept.

Tang Ye stepped on the ball and fed it toward Ramos's feet.

Ramos:?

Then he suddenly dashed into the penalty area!

Ramos and Varane both ran into the penalty area following Tang Ye, but soon Varane realized something was wrong.

Hey buddy, where's the ball?

Looking back, he saw that Tang Ye had somehow flicked the ball back to Rodri behind him.

Rodri!

One step to adjust!

Strike it directly!

Duang!

The ball hit the post and rebounded out.

Rodri's heart went cold, but unexpectedly, Bacambu happened to be right at the landing spot.

Between shooting and passing, Bacambu chose to pass the ball back to Rodri.

Rodri shot again!

"This one's in!"

"Beautiful!"

The stands were filled with boos from Real Madrid fans; having scored, Rodri sprinted quickly toward the corner flag.

"Bastard!"

"Fuck you!"

Although Rodri bore no personal grudge against Real Madrid, he had scored against them, something their fans could not accept.

Surging emotion overwhelmed Rodri's mind as he dashed toward the sideline.

He had intended to shout "VAMOS," but then he heard Tang Ye's voice.

"Sergio!"

When Tang Ye ran over, the two of them shouted together.

"VAMOS!"

Haha!

Chewing gum, Tang Ye wore a broad smile, feeling immensely satisfied.

The celebration took place near the corner flag on the side of Real Madrid's substitute bench, yet for some reason Escrivá had run over.

Seeing Escrivá approach, Tang Ye took the initiative to greet him: "Mr. Ferran, how was my pass?"

"Get back, get back now!"

Escrivá pushed Tang Ye and Rodri back onto the pitch: "One more goal, one more goal!"

Oh, right!

As the excitement faded, Tang Ye remembered his team was still trailing; he immediately sprinted back.

Just in time, captain Bruno had already run into the goal to retrieve the ball.

Check Dongqiu Di live match report: Is it coming? In the 65th minute, Villarreal newcomer Rodri scores with a long-range shot; the score is now 3:2!

The celebration had just ended, yet Ramos and Varane remained somewhat dazed.

The Real Madrid defenders did not know what had happened, but fans with a god's-eye view saw everything clearly.

Tang Ye stepped on the ball with the front of his foot, then flicked it backward to Rodri.

However, his timing on that flick was impeccable, occurring precisely when Ramos and Varane were turning, which was why they failed to notice the ball had already vanished from Tang Ye's feet.

【What's happening? Are they going to turn it around?】

【Tang Tang Qiuwang is in great form; is Real Madrid about to suffer?】

【Cristiano Ronaldo is bold indeed, daring to score two goals against Villarreal; isn't he afraid of provoking my Tang Tang Qiuwang?】

【It feels like Tang Ye's positioning is getting further and further forward; is this really safe?】

【An attacking midfielder doesn't need to defend; Escrivá should learn from Coach Teng and let Tang Ye play as a striker!】

After halftime, many fans fell asleep, causing the real-time viewership of the CCTV broadcast to drop to 1.5 million; however, after Rodri scored, the number of viewers in the broadcast room suddenly began to recover.

3.5 million—that is the current figure, and it continues to rise!

Villarreal slowly launched their counterattack, causing home-team Real Madrid to become the side with weaker momentum on the field.

In the 70th minute, Kroos made a defensive mistake on the left flank; Bakambu executed a gorgeous turn and drag-back to beat his man, though Marcelo ultimately managed to stop him.

"Pull yourselves together, pull yourselves together!"

Cristiano Ronaldo could not bear to watch any longer; waving his hand at his teammates in the backfield, he shouted: "Focus! We are about to win!"

Real Madrid's defense was already off-form today, and now it was becoming even more disastrous.

If this continues, it will not bode well for Real Madrid!

The camera cut to Tang Ye on the field.

He was panting heavily, yet still within a range Tang Ye could endure.

Since joining La Liga, Tang Ye felt he was pushing the limits of his stamina in every match, but there was no helping it.

Improving stamina was proving much slower than Tang Ye had imagined!

"The current situation is somewhat unfavorable for Real Madrid; of course, we can see that Villarreal is not playing comfortably either—the forward line composed of Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Bale has brought immense pressure to Villarreal's defense."

"Ruiz!"

"Ruiz doesn't know who to pass to!"

"This is a situation Villarreal must pay attention to; if Real Madrid's forwards complete a steal in their own half, given Cristiano Ronaldo and Bale's exquisite shooting skills, Villarreal's goal could very well be in trouble!"

"Rodriguez! The freshly substituted Rodriguez immediately passes to Cristiano Ronaldo!"

"Cristiano Ronaldo is waiting for his teammates' runs! He passes to Casemiro in the center!"

Casemiro controlled the ball; at that moment, Tang Ye closed in.

Escrivá had told Tang Ye he did not need to defend thereafter, but that applied only to most situations.

When an exceptionally good opportunity arose, Tang Ye did not mind showing the fans his exquisite defensive abilities!

"Someone behind!"

Ramos and Varane shouted simultaneously.

Casemiro noticed Tang Ye.

If any other player had been pressing, Casemiro might have passed the ball immediately; but the Brazilian knew clearly that Tang Ye's tackling technique was poor, so he made a rather greedy choice.

That was to dribble the ball himself toward the arc!

Although a defensive midfielder, Casemiro possessed a very strong desire to attack!

Tang Ye focused his attention on Casemiro and the ball at his feet, searching for a suitable opportunity.

Okay, it should be about time.

Reaching out to touch Casemiro's shoulder, he turned sideways and fell to the ground!

He directly tackled the ball away!

"Wow!"

Casemiro quickly jumped up, but by then Tang Ye had already passed the ball to Rodri on the flank.

Damn it!

Casemiro hurried back to defend.

Tang Ye's tackling technique was better than imagined; Casemiro paid the price for his greed.

A standard tackling motion; though it lacked a sense of impact, the timing and angle were grasped perfectly.

While retreating, Casemiro pondered.

Perfect timing.

Perfect angle selection.

In Casemiro's memory, there was one person who possessed this same tackling technique as Tang Ye.

That was...

Himself!

Of course, there was no time for Casemiro to think so much now; Yellow Submarine's attack had already launched!

"Tang Ye's interception has created an opportunity for the team; let's see if Villarreal can seize this counter-attack chance!"

"Rodri's speed is very fast!"

"Kroos and Rodríguez are chasing!"

"Kroos is protecting upfront, Rodri! Directly passes to Bruno!"

"A very smart choice!"

Apart from that long-range shot goal not long ago, Rodri's form in today's match was truly excellent.

If it were other players, with such good form they might choose to dribble themselves, but Rodri was not greedy.

He needed to make the calmest decision; only then could he improve his starting position in Escrivá's eyes!

Bruno dribbled forward and immediately passed to Ale!

Ale passed back to Bruno!

The left flank was blocked!

Then there was no other way!

After pulling the ball, Bruno moved laterally, finding an opportunity to pass to Soriano, who was running up quickly on his right.

Bacca and Soriano executed a crossing run near the arc, ending with Bacca receiving the ball at the baseline!

A very fluid attack; it remains to be seen how Real Madrid will handle this!

"Wowoww!!"

"Beep beep beep!!!"

Fans in the stands used noise to interfere, but Bacca remained relatively calm.

He played a horizontal pass into the penalty area!

Bacca's intention was for Bruno or Ale to rush for the point, but because the pass wasn't accurate enough, by the time Ale controlled the ball, Varane was already standing in front of him.

No shooting opportunity!

Ale was hesitating when Tang Ye's voice came from behind him.

"Quick, to me!"

!

Ale pulled the ball behind him, then quickly moved out of the way.

Here it comes!

Tang Ye knew this was an opportunity, so he dared not be negligent.

He saw Bacca, who had run from the right baseline into the small penalty area.

He played a very steady short pass with the inside of his foot!

Bacca prepared to rush for the point!

"Holy crap!"

The instant the pass went out, Tang Ye realized something was wrong.

His pass wasn't accurate!

It's over!

But the result...

The ball rolled past Casilla; Bacca stretched his leg but failed to reach it.

Duang!

The ball hit the right post.

Rebound!

Into the goal!

In...

It's in!

"Wow!"

Tang Ye's eyes suddenly became clear.

Standing still, because he was simply too excited, he needed some time to think.

"Vamos!"

Ale shouted at Tang Ye: "Let's go, move fast!"

Tang Ye didn't move, so Ale and Bruno directly grabbed him and dragged him toward the sideline.

【You have gained 15 Counterattack Points】

【Scoring against Real Madrid during their weakening phase may not fully reflect your strength, but it is still an achievement worthy of pride】

【You have gained an additional 5 Counterattack Points】

"Tang Ye!"

"That was a shot into an absolute dead angle!"

"The time now is the 84th minute!"

"This is a last-minute equalizer; this could very well be a last-minute equalizer!"

The CCTV commentator could no longer contain his excitement.

Villarreal pulls off a stunning upset to equalize against Real Madrid at the death.

Yet that is not the most important part.

What matters most is that the equalizing goal was scored by Tang Ye!

The opponent is Real Madrid.

A last-minute equalizing goal.

The scorer is a Chinese player.

With all these buffs stacked, it can be said that a spot on tomorrow's Baidu Hot Search is already reserved.

"I'll do it myself, I'll do it myself!"

Tang Ye broke free from Bruno's right hand and accelerated on his own.

Cristiano Ronaldo has his own celebration style, and of course, so does Tang Ye!

Swish, swish, swish!

Four stripes, two light and two dark.

Tang Ye left his mark on the turf of the Bernabéu.

"Vamos Villarreal!"

……

(End of Chapter)