Chapter 170: Atlético Madrid Reaps What It Sows, Tang Ye Delivers a Defying Through Ball!

OK, the tactics are set. Now, it's time for the second half!

At the call of Escrivá and Bruno, every Yellow Submarine player in the locker room, along with the assistant coach, gathered in the center.

Tang Ye rubbed his hands together, ready to join his teammates in shouting encouragement; he was feeling a bit excited.

Clear your throats!

"Come on, Tom!"

Bruno grabbed Tang Ye's hand, extended it into the center, and then placed his own hand on top of Tang Ye's: "Come on, everyone, all of you, join in!"

One by one, the players extended their hands, and once everyone had placed theirs, Escrivá put his right hand on the very top.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"VAMOS Villarreal!"

Boom!

Bruno kicked open the locker room door, with Tang Ye following close behind.

"This is China Central Television, broadcasting the second half of La Liga Round 15 between Villarreal and Atlético Madrid!"

"Atlético Madrid has immediately made a substitution!"

The camera focused on the empty space between the two teams' benches, where Atlético midfielder Saúl took off his bib and handed it to the kit manager.

According to the board held by the fourth official, Saúl was replacing number 5, Tiago.

Replacing the nearly 35-year-old Tiago with the younger Saúl made head coach Simeone's intention crystal clear.

In the second half, Simeone still wanted his players to maintain sufficient defensive intensity!

Escrivá stood on the sideline, watching Saúl run onto the pitch.

No panic; Atlético's substitution was exactly within Escrivá's expectations!

"So we sailed onto the sun~"

"Till we found the sea of green~"

Just as the second half began, the home fans in the stands immediately set the rhythm.

The current score was 2-1; as long as the Yellow Submarine could maintain this scoreline, they would win the match!

Win this match, defeat Atlético Madrid!

"Over there, go over there!"

Tang Ye pointed to his right side, and Rodri quickly ran up to provide support for Bruno.

He then passed the ball back to Tang Ye!

Before receiving the ball, he glanced forward; Sansone and Ale were positioned quite deep.

Escrivá had issued instructions for concentrated defense, so these Yellow Submarine forwards were playing rather conservatively.

To be honest, this style of play was somewhat uncomfortable for Tang Ye, but since it was the coach's tactic, he would just follow it.

After controlling the ball, he looked up, feinting a forward pass!

Seeing Tang Ye lift his foot, Koke and Griezmann were startled and immediately stretched out their legs to block.

Haha!

Tang Ye tapped the ball from his right foot to his left, then attempted to push forward.

Griezmann was clearly getting desperate, thrusting his right foot directly in front of Tang Ye!

Damn!

Tang Ye reacted incredibly quickly, jumping up immediately.

Although he avoided the sliding tackle from the side, Tang Ye was still tripped.

"Beep beep beep beep!!!"

"Whoooooo—!!!"

Fake whistles and boos filled the stands; the home fans were clearly displeased with Griezmann's violent tackle on their own golden boy.

The Yellow Submarine earned a set-piece opportunity; after getting up, Tang Ye stood at the spot marked by the referee and observed carefully.

The position for this kick was a bit poor, but it was still worth a try.

Players from both sides positioned themselves in the penalty area as Tang Ye raised his left hand.

To the center!

Because the Atlético defenders were positioned so well, Tang Ye needed to be bold.

Only a faster pass could achieve the element of surprise!

Boom!

Smack!

Tang Ye's set-piece hit Gameiro.

Damn!

The idea was good, but there was just a tiny bit of bad luck; Tang Ye's bold attempt ultimately failed to succeed.

"Clap clap clap!"

"It's okay, it's okay!"

Escrivá clapped quickly, put his hands back in his pockets, and then began pacing up and down the sideline.

Although his team was currently leading, to be honest, Escrivá was feeling quite a bit of pressure.

In the second half, Atlético's frequency of fouls was even higher than in the first half.

It seemed they had already found a way to deal with the Yellow Submarine!

Hiss—

Adjusting his breathing, Escrivá watched Tang Ye slowly retreating toward the defensive third on the field, his expression filled with worry.

Tom, be careful!

The clock hit the 68th minute; in Escrivá's plan, Yellow Submarine should have started pushing forward again.

But Yellow Submarine didn't do that, because Atlético Madrid, approaching the 70th minute, was still maintaining their own rhythm.

"Huff huff huff, huff..."

Tang Ye walked slowly on the field, gasping for air; just as he wanted to catch his breath, Atlético's wing attack launched immediately.

Damn!

Tang Ye had a question that remained unanswered.

That was: why were every single one of Atlético's players so capable of running!

"Faster, faster!"

Urged by Escrivá, Tang Ye began accelerating his retreat.

His task was to mark Gabi.

Mark Gabi...

Got it!

Spotting Correa's intention to pass toward the center, Tang Ye suddenly pushed off the ground and accelerated.

Just as Correa delivered the pass, Tang Ye, having suddenly accelerated, reached the spot in front of Gabi and kicked the ball back to Musacchio!

"Tang Ye! Beautiful!"

"That acceleration to press after chasing back was truly perfectly timed."

Just when everyone thought Atlético's attack had ended, Griezmann suddenly ran toward Musacchio.

Griezmann's movement was extremely bizarre; if Asenjo hadn't shouted a warning from behind, Musacchio wouldn't even have known someone was standing right beside him!

Adjust quickly, pass the ball back to Asenjo immediately!

Griezmann continued running toward Asenjo!

With no time at all to observe the positions of teammates upfield, Asenjo hastily booted a long ball, sending it directly out of bounds.

"Watch your flank!"

Escrivá shouted several times at Musacchio.

Don't let the fact that Atlético played a 4-4-2 with only two forwards fool you; the pressing coverage of both Griezmann and Gameiro was extremely strong—the two of them could completely produce the effect of 2.5 players!

After briefly emphasizing the defensive issues, Escrivá gave out the next arrangement.

Switch from defense to attack!

Finally here!

Tang Ye's eyes lit up.

Every time he played defense, he felt extremely uncomfortable; not only was it exhausting, but he couldn't do much of anything.

Because he only had one tackling ability and one ability to anticipate movements in advance.

But when attacking, the things he could do were far more numerous.

Like right now!

Tang Ye accelerated forward, simultaneously raising his right hand to call for the ball.

Slap!

Costa launched a long ball from the backfield; after slowing down, Tang Ye extended his left foot to control it.

Successfully controlled the ball!

Ready to observe, on the left was a...

Bang!

Saúl took Tang Ye down directly from behind.

"Beep!"

After blowing the whistle, the referee ran over and showed a yellow card to Saúl, who had committed the foul.

Saúl helplessly spread his hands; just now, Atlético's defensive players in the backfield hadn't gotten into position, and he absolutely could not allow a player like Tang Ye, who possessed the ability to deliver threatening passes, to receive the ball in this position!

"Shit!"

Intense pain shot up to his brain; Tang Ye rolled back and forth on the ground, while at this moment, players from Yellow Submarine and Atlético had already started fighting on the sidelines.

"Holy crap!"

"Huff..."

Squatting on the ground, he took a moment to recover before standing up again.

Adjusting his breathing, although it hurt very much, judging by the speed at which the pain subsided, this injury shouldn't be any major problem.

The opposition is truly ruthless...

【Saúl, are you trying to destroy Chinese football!】

At this moment on Check Dongqiu Di, fans had already begun to crusade against Saúl; of course, besides Saúl who had "drunk vinegar," many other Atlético players could not escape either, and even coach Simeone had been dragged out and cursed.

According to statistics compiled by some fans, this was already the 11th time Tang Ye had been fouled in this match.

Directly treating Tom like a ball to kick!

"Aletico! (Atlético)"

"Booo—!!!"

Atlético's style of play aroused great dissatisfaction among the fans; in the stands near the substitute bench, some fans were already insulting head coach Simeone's family members.

"Are you okay?"

Bruno patted Tang Ye's arm; the latter shook his head: "It's nothing, should be nothing."

The referee resolved the conflict between both sides, and the match resumed.

In the 79th minute, Tang Ye, who had just been brought down, got up to make a forward run, eventually receiving the pass headed back by Sansone.

Perfect!

This was a great opportunity; Tang Ye prepared to accelerate and deliver a through ball, but suddenly a powerful force slammed into his right arm, causing him to lose balance almost instantly and crash to the ground.

"Gabi has brought Tang Ye straight down; this is a tactical foul!"

"Gabi controlled it well; this foul probably won't earn a card, though it's a pity for Villarreal—a very good attacking opportunity suddenly interrupted..."

Just as everyone expected Yellow Submarine to take the set piece again, Tang Ye, who had fallen beside the ball, suddenly reached out to touch it.

Gabi:?

Unable to generate power with his thighs while lying on the ground, Tang Ye propped himself up with his left hand and then rotated his body a quarter turn.

Gabi:!

OK, now his thigh has sufficient swing speed!

Bang!

A precise pass found Bakambu on the right wing.

This is a quick free kick from Tom!

"Oh my god, what was that!"

"Tang Ye completed his passing task while lying on the ground; Bakambu heads straight for the byline!"

"Cross!"

Because they never expected Tang Ye to take the free kick quickly, Atletico Madrid's defenders had not yet returned to their proper positions.

Bakambu's cross precisely found Sansone making a forward run at the far post.

A simple push shot!

"GGGG——OOOO——LLLLL!!!!"

"Goal!"

"Goal!"

"Sansone scores!"

"Tang Ye seized the opportunity created by this foul! Villarreal has extended their already leading score!"

Trailing by one goal, Atletico Madrid's defense was impenetrable as an iron bucket; Yellow Submarine could find no opportunity no matter how they attacked.

The result came all because of this foul!

Atletico Madrid damn well suffered for their own mistake!

"VAMOS TOM!!!"

Bruno let out a roar, yanked Tang Ye up from the ground, and dragged him running toward the sideline.

The home fans were celebrating together with the players; on the large screen above El Madrigal Stadium, a replay of Yellow Submarine's attack was shown.

Sansone heads the ball back to Tang Ye.

Tang Ye controls the ball in front of him, then dribbles forward.

Gabi suddenly charges up from Tang Ye's right side and knocks him straight to the ground.

OK, up to this point everything is normal, correct.

And then!

Here comes the key moment!

Lying on the ground, Tang Ye reaches out to touch the ball, props his body up with his left hand, plants his left foot, and then, through a sudden rotation, whips his thigh up to deliver the ball directly to Bakambu, who is standing dumbfounded ahead.

"Holy shit..."

Escrivá reached up to scratch his hair, then put his hand back in his pocket.

This way of playing football...

Is it really something a creature like a human being could conceive?

"VAMOS!"

"Vamos!"

Tang Ye and Bruno shouted at each other; the joy of the team's goal swept away all the unpleasant emotions Tang Ye had accumulated from being fouled earlier.

Can you imagine that feeling? After rotating a quarter turn on the spot while on the ground, you deliver a wonderful assist to a teammate up front!

Tom used his favorite rotation to help the team extend their lead!

After Yellow Submarine's players finished celebrating and the match resumed, the broadcaster's camera focused on Tang Ye for about five or six seconds.

Actually, Atletico Madrid could have ended the match with a 1:2 score and then quietly slipped away from El Madrigal Stadium by bus.

But they were incredibly clueless, actually committing fouls against the Ball King repeatedly.

The final result was that they conceded another goal before the match ended.

Tom, along with his friends, completed their revenge against Atletico Madrid!

The score is 3:1!

"..."

"Beep, beep-beep——!!!"

With the score at 3:1, Atletico Madrid's fate was sealed; even though Tang Ye was substituted off by Escrivá in the 85th minute, they ultimately failed to equalize (although Tang Ye wasn't much use in defense, but that doesn't count here).

"Wow!"

Tang Ye and Bruno stood up together on the substitutes' bench, looking toward the home stands behind them.

"Tom!"

"GoldenBoy! (Golden Boy)"

"GoldenBoy!"

Raising his right hand to wave at the fans in the stands, Tang Ye's face was covered in smiles.

He greatly enjoyed this feeling of fans chanting his name, especially when those cheers came after an outstanding performance on the pitch; this feeling was even more comforting!

Stimulated by his excited emotions, Tang Ye directly vaulted over the substitute bench chairs and arrived below the stands.

"Tom! Here! Here!"

"Here, Tom!"

Tang Ye stood at the very bottom of the stands, looking left and right; he was searching, searching for a fan who had brought a marker pen.

There it is!

Tang Ye quickly ran over, took the jersey and marker pen from the fan's hands.

Swish, swish, swish—he quickly wrote his signature on the jersey, then handed the jersey back to the fan: "Brother, can I borrow this pen for a..."

"Tom, will you still stay in Spain after your loan contract ends?"

"I..."

"I don't know..."

"But, good buddy, I can tell you that I really like it here."

Tang Ye gave the fan in front of him a huge hug.

The matter of the loan contract could wait another half year; what Tang Ye needed to consider now was the La Liga matches, the team's fans, and of course, his teammates.

He had many, many friends at Villarreal!

Check Dongqiu Di Match Report: Villarreal defeats Atlético Madrid 3:1 at home, Tang Ye delivers a Gyro Through Ball.

Gyro Through Ball?

What kind of thing is this?

Fans who hadn't watched the match wore completely bewildered expressions upon seeing these four characters.

How could the words 'gyro' and 'through ball' be combined together?

But once they watched the replay, they would understand.

Nothing describes Tom's passing better than a gyro!

After concluding the press conference interviews with reporters, Escrivá and Martí walked together toward the team's locker room.

"Damn it, they asked me why Tom would pass like that; how would I know the answer to that question?"

Although he cursed those football reporters in the press room with his mouth, Escrivá's mood was actually extremely happy.

Defeating Atlético Madrid at home by a two-goal margin was a result Escrivá had never imagined.

"They can't interview Tom every time, so they can only ask you."

Martí said: "This simply isn't a question that can be answered, because ordinary people find it very difficult to know the thoughts of a genius."

"Let's not discuss the issue of ordinary people versus geniuses for now; what we should discuss is whether he belongs to the human species."

Escrivá stopped in front of the locker room door: "As you know, I have always maintained a skeptical attitude toward this question."

"He has to do homework; apart from humans, no other creature has to do homework."

"Oh? Are you sure he does homework?"

Martí had just offered a piece of evidence that Tang Ye was human, yet Escrivá immediately cast a look of suspicion.

"Well, this example doesn't seem very appropriate..."

"Haha!"

Escrivá pushed the door open, then immediately stood frozen at the entrance.

"What's wrong, Ferran?"

Martí walked over, stood on tiptoe, and peered into the locker room over Escrivá's shoulder.

Inside the home team's locker room at the El Madrigal stadium, Bruno, Musacchio, Aleix, and Rodri—four men in total—were lying on the floor.

Their movements were all identical: one hand propped on the floor, constantly attempting to rotate their thighs, trying to kick away the empty mineral water bottles beside them.

"Damn it, why can't I spin?"

"Tom, come see what problem I have; I feel like my body is stuck."

Rotating on the ground to deliver a through ball.

It seemed as if having creativity alone was enough to execute this kind of pass.

But if you truly believed that, you would be gravely mistaken.

Succeeding on the very first attempt during the match.

This is talent!

Talent belonging to Tom!

Absolute talent!

"We're done for!"

This was Martí's immediate reaction.

The players within the Yellow Submarine team had already been poisoned by Tom!

And the condition had already begun to worsen!

"Ferran."

"Hmm, Ferran?"

Looking at Escrivá beside him, Martí discovered that Escrivá was laughing heartily with Ruiz, discussing the possibility of rotating in place while lying on the ground.

Damn!

Ferland, you're acting weird too, damn it!

"See you the day after tomorrow, Tom!"

Tang Ye got out of Bruno's Maserati, then tapped on the passenger window: "See you the day after tomorrow!"

Walking toward the apartment elevator, Tang Ye was still operating his phone in his hand.

Just while in the car, Tang Ye had contacted Dembele and downloaded the video clip of his spinning pass from the internet to send to his French friend.

Although that pass didn't count as an assist for Tang Ye, being able to make a pass of that caliber naturally made Tang Ye extremely excited.

Seeing the surprised expression Dembele sent over on his phone, Tang Ye arrived at his room with a smile on his face.

He pressed to send a voice message to Dembele: "Ousmane, get on the game, let's play Battlefield today!"

"Hurry up, Ousmane!"

While waiting for Steam to log in, Tang Ye went on Instagram to check the latest football news.

ESPN: The Champions League knockout stage draw will begin at 7 PM on December 17.

Wow!

Remembering there was also the Europa League knockout stage coming up, Tang Ye quickly typed a few words into Google.

【Europa League Draw】

The Europa League and Champions League knockout stage draws begin on the same day.

Only...

Hmm, less than 5 days left!

PS: 16,000 characters update, please vote for monthly tickets!

Pushing hard continuously; this month, there won't be a single day with less than 15,000 characters.

Everyone remember to vote and urge for updates; I remember it all. Later, when the backlog is larger, I might release 16,000 or 17,000 characters like this.

Voting casually also lets you participate in the monthly ticket lottery; during the double monthly ticket period, the probability is also doubled.

(End of this chapter)