Chapter 136: Winning a Penalty in the Box, a Hat-Trick of Quasi-Assists!

Three forwards were loitering; Rodri didn't know how to handle the ball at his feet, so he passed it to Bruno on his right.

Bruno stopped the ball!

He played it to Soriano on the right.

Bacambu dropped back to support!

Thump!

With a push of the instep, Soriano steadily passed the ball at his feet to Bacambu.

Although he didn't know why it was Bacambu and not Tang Ye who dropped back to support, since the attack had already developed, everything was fine.

Bacambu passed the ball forward to Tang Ye!

"Haha!"

Tang Ye was now standing in a forward position.

Tang Ye now had a premonition: he was about to fulfill the words he had spoken on the bus.

That was...

Scoring a goal!

Glancing left and right, he extended his foot to control the pass from Bacambu.

Seeing Tang Tang Qiuwang receiving the ball in the front field, Ale had already started making a run down the left flank.

Unfortunately, constrained by the offside line, Ale could not run too far forward.

"Here!"

Tang Ye glanced to the left.

Ale's position was actually not very good.

At least not as good as his own!

Go for it!

Tang Ye took a sharp breath into his belly, then sprinted straight into the penalty area.

"Hey!"

Unable to sit still any longer, Escrivá jumped up from his chair: "Pass! Pass!"

The Yellow Submarine's substitute bench was simply too far from Tang Ye's current position, and with the roar of the home fans so loud, there was no way Escrivá's words could possibly reach Tang Ye's ears.

Moreover, even if he had heard them, it would have been useless.

Tang Ye was already heated up!

"Watch the near post!"

Osasuna's defenders and goalkeeper quickly divided their duties: the defender covered the near post, the goalkeeper the far post; one person per side was always the most stable defense!

Stepping onto the edge of the penalty area, García charged at Tang Ye.

Damn!

Tang Ye was startled and quickly passed the ball from his right foot to his left.

This was where his ambidextrous ability came into play; his two feet were exactly the same, both capable of passing and shooting!

García didn't know what to do, so he didn't rashly extend his leg.

At that moment, Tang Ye swung his left leg out!

He was about to shoot!

García immediately dove, preparing to make a very handsome block.

But Tang Ye stopped the ball dead!

Passing the ball back from his left foot to his right, Tang Ye chuckled.

A mere defender; he had been completely fooled by the feint!

García, already uncomfortable lying on the ground, was further provoked when Tang Ye laughed right in front of him.

Without a second thought, he hooked Tang Ye's left leg.

Only one step remained between him and the goal!

Tang Ye did not want to fall!

But this was not under his control; after struggling for a moment, Tang Ye, having lost his balance, still fell to the ground.

Just as he was about to get up and continue shooting, Tang Ye suddenly remembered something, so he immediately rolled on the ground, pretending to be injured.

Falling in the penalty area—this would result in a penalty kick!

"Beep!"

The referee pointed to the penalty spot.

As expected, this was a penalty kick!

Phew...

Exhaling deeply, Tang Ye stood up from the ground.

【At the advanced age of 38, you were tripped and injured by an opponent in the penalty area, but you did not attempt to extort money from the opposing defender; this reflects your excellent professionalism.】

【You have obtained 10 Counterattack Points.】

The reward for winning a penalty was the same as for an assist!

Tang Ye noted this piece of knowledge, then stood outside the penalty arc.

A penalty opportunity for Villarreal!

Captain Bruno would take it personally!

"Villarreal!"

"Villarreal!"

The fans in the stands before them were cheering for the players, while in the camera lens, Bruno took a deep breath to adjust his state.

Run-up!

Shoot!

A violent volley sent the ball crashing fiercely into the net.

"GGGG——OOOOO——LLLLL!!!"

"Goal! Bruno has scored!"

Bruno, having expanded the lead once again, ran toward the sideline and encountered Tang Ye along the way.

The two stood facing each other.

After preparing, they shouted in unison.

"VAMOS!"

"Haha!"

【Awesome!】

【Damn it, whoever just said Tang Ye was faking as a striker, stand up!】

【Top-tier penalty draw, Tang Tang Qiuwang!】

The camera cut to Escrivá on the sideline; no one knew when he had sat back down on the bench.

The Spanish head coach really wanted to curse Tang Ye for pretending to be a striker, but Tang Ye had indeed drawn the penalty.

Recalling the scene carefully, if García hadn't been so flustered and determined to foul, Tang Ye might have scored the goal himself!

Hiss—

Escrivá shook his head.

This positioning ability was truly somewhat heaven-defying!

"Everyone of us has all we need～"

"Sky of blue and sea of green～"

With less than 60 minutes played and a three-goal lead, the home fans had already begun singing in celebration.

However, Osasuna was not a team that could be bullied so easily.

The match reached the 67th minute!

A long pass from the away team's defender Fuentes accurately found the forward León.

Unable to compete in possession against Villarreal, Osasuna had found an opportunity for a counter-attack.

León controlled the ball steadily and calmly slotting it home to score.

The score became 3:1.

"Too high! Too high!"

Escrivá shouted at the players on the field: "Watch the offside line, Víctor! That striker was right beside you; didn't you see him?"

After being scolded by the coach, the Yellow Submarine's defenders finally behaved themselves.

"It's fine, it's fine! Keep going, keep going!"

Bruno was encouraging his teammates.

Tang Ye was currently in great form, and he also felt a certain longing.

A longing for goals!

The 72nd minute!

Soriano's pass accurately found Tang Ye, who was loafing on the right wing.

Oh?

Actually, Tang Ye's plan had been to rest for a while and then exert himself at the very end.

But now his teammate's pass had already arrived!

Control the ball!

Pass immediately to Rodri!

Then run forward!

Bang!

A through-ball was delivered; Tang Ye, having shaken off Kelek, received Rodri's pass up front.

Running while looking.

Although playing as a central attacking midfielder, Tang Ye greatly favored receiving the ball on the wing.

This was because when receiving the ball on the wing, Tang Ye only needed to observe three directions to grasp the state of the entire situation.

This was something impossible when receiving the ball in the center!

Spotting Bacca ahead, Tang Ye executed an outside-of-the-foot through-ball toward the right-wing baseline.

The curve was slight, but the purpose of Tang Ye's pass was not the arc itself.

He needed to use the outside of his foot to impart spin on the ball.

A spinning ball is more comfortable for a striker to handle!

This was Tang Ye's consideration as a midfielder for his strikers!

"I'm going over there!"

After completing the pass, Tang Ye called out to his teammate and then ran toward the center.

According to his plan, Bacca should be engaging the opposing defender in a one-on-one duel near the baseline.

At this moment, he only needed to occupy the position at the top of the box!

And then...

This is the chance to score!

"Bakambu is tangled up with Fuentes on the wing; Villarreal's players are already pushing forward."

"Pass back to Bruno!"

"Bruno passes again to Ruiz!"

"Villarreal has shifted the ball from the left flank to the right because Osasuna has slightly fewer defenders on that side!"

Ruiz controlled the ball and immediately saw Tang Ye reaching out toward him.

Slap!

The pass goes out!

OK!

Confirming the ball's rolling trajectory toward him was safe, Tang Ye turned his head to look into the penalty area.

Unfortunately, this was not a shooting opportunity.

But it was a passing opportunity!

He actively ran toward the ball, extending his left foot.

Without stopping the ball, he flicked it up with his toe and sent it to Bakambu on the right side of the penalty area!

"Woww!!"

Tang Ye's highly creative pass triggered screams from the fans; Bakambu jumped up and hammered the ball down with a fierce header.

Slap!

The ball rebounded off the grass and then rolled into the net.

【You have obtained 10 Counterattack Points】

"GGG——OOOO——LLLL!!!!!"

"Goal!!"

"A header from Bakambu!"

"Tang Ye's back-to-goal lob played a perfect role!"

At the moment of the goal, the Yellow Submarine players simultaneously rushed toward the sidelines, enjoying the sound of fans in the stands shouting their names.

Top-league teams are generally not afraid of opponents keeping possession.

Because as long as they maintain a solid defensive line, the opponent's passing and control will amount to nothing.

But there are exceptions, such as when the opponent suddenly produces a pass that no one expected.

If the defenders didn't even think of it, then naturally, defending against it becomes impossible!

"Clap clap clap clap!"

Escrivá, standing before the substitute bench, clapped incessantly.

4:1!

This is the Yellow Submarine's biggest league victory of the season!

After the match reached the 80th minute, Osasuna, trailing by a large margin, pushed their entire team forward, determined to narrow the score gap.

But it was useless.

Apart from the mistake that led to the goal in the second half, Villarreal's defensive line had been extremely solid today.

Osasuna's two strikers tried every trick in the book but simply could not find a shooting opportunity!

"Beep, beep beep——!!!"

The full-time whistle blew; the Yellow Submarine kept the final score at 4:1.

"Tom!"

Bruno raised both hands and slowly walked toward Tang Ye; the latter, mimicking his captain, also raised his hands.

But Tang Ye clearly did not understand Bruno's intention. The Spanish captain walked over, grabbed Tang Ye's arm, and suddenly thrust it upward.

"Tom!"

A faint sound emerged from the stands.

"Hey, Bruno, what's this for?"

Tang Ye was a bit bewildered, yet he did not resist Bruno's action.

Bruno lifted Tang Ye's hand again.

"Tom!"

This time, the sound was louder.

Wow!

Tang Ye's face suddenly turned red.

He had only been at Villarreal for a short time, yet now the fans in the stands were chanting his name in unison.

He felt a bit shy.

However, this feeling was truly exhilarating!

The Yellow Submarine's home stadium was larger than Utrecht's, and its attendance rate was also higher.

The cheers from the fans were consequently louder!

"Tom!"

"Tom!"

"Tom!"

Although he did not score, Tang Ye was undoubtedly the MVP of this match.

An MVP deserves the cheers of the fans!

After shouting for a long time, people could still faintly hear someone calling his name from outside even after Tang Ye walked into the player tunnel.

The fans were truly passionate!

Besides Tang Ye, Escrivá also received cheers from the fans.

The reason was simple: this summer, he had brought Tang Ye over from the Eredivisie with a loan fee of 3 million euros.

Renting a super assist provider for 3 million euros!

The fans absolutely had to thank him!

The only fly in the ointment was that Tang Ye's loan contract lacked a buyout clause.

This was exactly what Escrivá admired so much about Ten Hag.

His ability to identify talented players was simply too outstanding!

Inside the locker room, Tang Ye and Bruno walked in one after the other.

"Haha, that felt so good; they were shouting so loudly!"

Tang Ye shook all the gum wrappers out of his pockets into the trash bin, then grabbed a bottle of mineral water from the table and gulped it down.

Tang Ye had experienced this feeling a few times last season while at Utrecht, but he would never grow tired of it!

"Tom, you deserve it; later you still have to go accept the MVP trophy,"

Bruno reminded him.

"Oh, right!"

Tang Ye suddenly remembered: "So why did you do that?"

"Huh?"

Bruno stretched his neck out long: "We shouted your name twenty times, and now you're asking me why we did it; so you didn't know from the start?"

"If you don't tell me, how could I possibly know?"

Tang Ye said matter-of-factly, directly making all the players in the locker room burst into laughter.

"Haha, Tom, can your reaction be any slower? With a reaction speed like that, there's no way you can score goals!"

"Alright, alright, it was an assist hat-trick,"

Bruno said.

An assist hat-trick?

Tang Ye frowned.

He held up one finger, then held up another finger.

The third finger remained unraised for a long time.

"I only had two assists, right?"

"There was also a penalty!"

Bruno patted his football boots: "The penalty you gave me; that can also count as an assist, at least that's how I see it."

"What you think doesn't count, though."

Tang Ye placed his hand on his head.

"Doesn't matter; if I say it counts, then it counts!"

Bruno was extremely domineering.

According to his explanation, what Tang Ye had achieved was a "quasi-assist hat-trick."

"It's slightly different from an assist hat-trick, but it's still a hat-trick."

Patting Tang Ye on the back, Bruno stepped onto the bench in the middle, raising both hands high.

Together, the more than twenty players in the locker room shouted loudly.

"Vamos Villarreal!"

Haha!

Tang Ye shook his head.

Who cares whether this hat-trick was authentic or not.

Anyway, they ended up winning!

Winning a match meant one should be happy!

……

Check Dongqiu Di Match Express: Yellow Submarine defeated Osasuna 4–1; five wins and one draw in six rounds is an impressive record.

Check Dongqiu Di Pinned Post: Currently, Tang Ye's league assist count has reached five goals, which equals the sum of Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi's assist counts (Heat Value: 4679).

【Not bad; one news item has silenced both Messi fans and Cristiano Ronaldo fans.】

【Tang Tang Qiuwang, magnificent!】

【Laughing to death; Messi and Ronaldo fought over the GOAT title for half their lives, only to discover in the end that the GOAT wasn't either of them.】

【Tang Tang Qiuwang, the Little GOAT!】

【Attacking midfielder, three goals and five assists in six league matches; how do you explain these stats? Brother Meng is truly the carry!】

【Indeed awesome, but Brother Meng's weaknesses are too obvious; Messi and Ronaldo are elevated so highly because their skills are comprehensive.】

【Comprehensive skills? Messi can't head the ball, and my Tang Tang Qiuwang can't head the ball either; I ask you, in what way is Messi superior to my Tang Tang Qiuwang?】

Every time a Yellow Submarine match ended, Check Dongqiu Di would become extremely lively, and this time was no exception.

There was no helping it; Tang Ye's performance after arriving in La Liga was simply too stunning.

In the history of La Liga, no player had ever achieved the feat of five assists in six league matches.

Tang Ye was still in the phase of adapting to the league's style.

"To possess, one must first understand how to accept loss~"

"Once wandered along the snowy road, why do tears flow for good things~"

"Who can, by force of love~ claim Mount Fuji as their own~~~!!!"

On the return bus, Tang Ye chewed his gum while singing along to the song playing in his earphones.

"..."

"Everyone only has those two hands; even with an embrace, it is hard to possess you..."

"Hey, Tom!"

Rodri waved his hand in front of Tang Ye, who pulled off his earphones: "What's up?"

"Look at this."

Rodri handed his phone to Tang Ye; Tang Ye hung his over-ear headphones on the seatback in front, then took the phone Rodri offered.

Diario Sport front-page headline—A super genius emerges: Tang's assist count in the current league equals the sum of Messi (3) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2).

Rodri looked at Tang Ye's eyes with a broad smile, holding up both index fingers.

"This is Ronaldo, this is Messi, and you are the sum of both!"

"Damn..."

Tang Ye returned the phone to Rodri, then pulled his own phone from his pocket.

Diario Sport had spotted this highlight; the newspaper's original intent was probably to ride the wave of traffic surrounding Messi and Ronaldo while giving Tang Ye some praise as well.

Because of this news published by Diario Sport, Tang Ye's Instagram account suddenly gained over 300,000 followers, and the number was still rising.

"Not bad, Tom!"

Bruno, sitting in the front row, turned his head around.

Professional players usually keep up with major newspapers like Diario Sport, Marca, and AS.

"You're already being compared to Messi!"

Bruno joked: "Those Germans should tag your value at 100 million euros; otherwise, I feel it doesn't do justice to your performance!"

"Damn! Don't be like that!"

Tang Ye spread his hands to show his innocence.

To be honest, he was just as bewildered.

It's only five assists; is there any need to hype it this much?

What Tang Ye didn't know was that the gap between La Liga and the Eredivisie was not just a little bit.

In the Eredivisie, the assist king usually needs around 20 assists.

But in La Liga, where playing styles are more cautious, generally 13 to 15 assists are enough to compete for the assist king title.

In the 2015-16 season, Barcelona star Messi won the La Liga assist king title with 16 assists, and now, with only five rounds of the league completed, Tang Ye has already achieved one-third of that.

It wasn't just ridiculously outrageous; it was truly too outrageous!

Scrolling through Instagram, then Twitter, Tang Ye blushed from all the praise.

Originally, Check Dongqiu Di had already hyped him outrageously enough, and now Instagram was doing it too.

Of course, where there are many people praising, there will surely be many cursing as well.

Comments like "Tom's ball control isn't even as good as my kid's," "He doesn't run as fast as Ronaldo did at age 12," and "His ball control isn't even as good as Messi's grandpa" were endless.

Tang Ye was furious and replied one by one under those insulting comments.

But soon Tang Ye realized he couldn't do that.

Because there were simply too many haters; it was impossible for him to respond to them all!

With no other choice, Tang Ye quickly exited Instagram, planning to browse some meme videos on Bilibili to relax.

Big data was truly terrifying; Tang Ye actually saw football content on the mobile homepage of Bilibili.

Tang Ye raised an eyebrow.

Could it be that big data had already calculated his identity as a football player?

Unable to understand such high-tech stuff, Tang Ye decided to watch this homepage video first.

Over 800,000 views; pretty impressive!

A 【Genius Midfielder】 with a value of 【18 Million Euros】; what level is his 【Ball Control】?

Uploader: Football Elements.

"Oh?"

(End of Chapter)