Chapter 182: Helping Sebastian Regain His Form, Advancing in the Copa del Rey

Time had arrived for the match day between Villarreal and Real Sociedad; Tang Ye sat in his spot in the locker room, stretching his calves, his heart slightly stirred with excitement.

In the first leg, the Yellow Submarine had defeated Real Sociedad 3–1, so in this second leg away match, they held the advantage.

A quick calculation showed that Villarreal needed only a draw in this match to advance to the quarterfinals.

Even if Villarreal lost today, as long as they lost by just one goal, they would still be the ones advancing to the quarterfinals.

One could say that the excellent performance in the first leg had given Villarreal a safety net.

"But that is not a reason for us to relax our mindset."

Escrivá shouted loudly: "Our opponent is strong, so what we need to do now is go all out; I need you to forget the advantage from the first leg and focus on this match right now."

"We must win two matches in a row, and then advance to that damn quarterfinal!"

Escrivá's rallying cry had a fine effect on the players' mindsets; Tang Ye felt only that his heartbeat was now pounding faster and faster.

"Rod, quickly touch my hand."

Tang Ye used his palm to press down on Rodri's hand, which was resting on the bench.

"What's wrong?"

Rodri's face was filled with confusion.

"Don't you feel how hot my hand is? I feel like my hand is burning up."

Hearing Tang Ye say this, Rodri indeed felt that this guy's hand temperature was a bit high.

Based on Rodri's understanding of Tang Ye, this guy shouldn't be too nervous.

Under the current circumstances, there was only one possibility: Tang Ye was now extremely excited!

Thinking of this, Rodri immediately felt that the pressure on him for today's match was immense.

Because when Tang Ye got excited, he would pretend to be a striker, and Rodri, as his bodyguard, needed to fill in his position in time!

……

"OK brothers, for today's Copa del Rey match, it's still Villarreal versus Real Sociedad."

"What was the score in the first leg... You don't even know the score of the first leg; are you a fake fan?"

Wang Chao sneered at the bullet comment that had just popped up.

Half a month ago, in the first leg of the Copa del Rey, King Tang of Football delivered an assist hat-trick with his own hands, tearing Real Sociedad apart.

This was the first assist hat-trick since Tang Ye joined Villarreal.

This is something fans must remember!

Now there are actually fans who have forgotten this matter; it is simply a heinous crime!

【Suggest the streamer check the background of that brother just now; I feel he probably isn't a pure Tang fan.】

【Hahahaha!】

【I feel Villarreal will likely conserve energy in this match; after all, they lead by two goals from the first leg, and this is an away game.】

【Impossible to conserve energy; Real Sociedad is fierce, and if Villarreal carelessly lets the opponent take the lead early on, being overturned is not impossible.】

"OK, players from both sides are already in position!"

"As we can see, Villarreal is once again fielding a 4-2-3-1 formation today; I won't introduce the starting lineup to everyone just yet."

"The top priority: Villarreal's number 10 at the very front, Tang Ye!"

The camera cut to Tang Ye on the pitch; his number 10 yellow home jersey looked extremely eye-catching.

The stadium screen displayed a ten-second countdown for the match; Tang Ye slowly chewed the gum in his mouth, then rubbed his hands together.

【OK brothers, the classic fly-rubbing hands; time to start my performance today~~~】

"Beep!"

"The match has begun!"

At the referee's single whistle, Hu Hu Anmi, taking the kickoff, passed the ball back to the defender Navas, who adjusted his step and then launched a long kick straight toward the front field.

"Faster, faster!"

Escrivá urged from the sidelines.

Real Sociedad wanted to use the kickoff opportunity to catch Villarreal off guard.

The match had only just begun, and many players had not yet entered their rhythm; this moment was extremely, extremely dangerous!

Tang Ye reacted quickly; the moment Navas played the long pass, he immediately retreated toward his own half.

Judging the landing point, this ball was likely intended for Oyarzabal and Zurutuza.

Tang Ye knew he had no advantage in contesting aerial balls, so he actively ran toward Illarramendi.

He intended to block off Zurutuza's possible passing lanes!

Gaspar and Bruno both ran toward the landing position.

Bruno and Oyarzabal jumped simultaneously!

Bruno won the first point, but because it was a header made under physical confrontation, the ball Bruno delivered was not well-placed, going directly to Zurutuza's feet.

Tang Ye blocked Illarramendi's position, preventing him from running toward Zurutuza.

Then he gave a signal to his teammates.

Watch out for Hu Hu Anmi up front!

Musacchio saw Tang Ye's signal; he also guessed who Zurutuza would pass to.

Zurutuza played the ball out!

Musacchio, charging up, directly intercepted the ball!

Tang Ye turned and ran straight toward the front field.

This retreat position wasn't too deep, but it was not where Tang Ye should be standing.

He had to get to the forward position sooner!

Musacchio advanced with the ball, ran a few steps, then passed it to Bruno.

Then Bruno took the ball and ran forward!

"Tang Ye, where's the camera on Tang Ye!"

"OK, he's just a bit ahead of Bruno; can he make a pass from this position!"

Wang Chao watched in anticipation; at that moment, Bruno played a through ball straight to Tang Ye.

Here it comes!

Tang Ye focused his attention, did not rush to stop the ball, and first observed the positioning of his teammates ahead.

He actively vacated his own spot, letting the ball run past him to the front.

Just then, Berchiche charged up trying to steal the ball; Tang Ye trapped it under his foot and spun 270 degrees on the spot right in Berchiche's face.

Originally facing the goal, Tang Ye's turn now had him facing the right touchline.

"..."

Escrivá suddenly narrowed his eyes.

He seemed to have already guessed what would happen next.

"Tang Ye, cut straight to the right wing!"

"Bakambu is waiting on the flank for him!"

Having Bakambu on his right hand side was the reason Tang Ye went right instead of left.

Slap!

With his left foot, he passed to Bakambu, then immediately ran ahead of Bakambu.

Bakambu hesitated not a bit; he struck the ball with the inside of his foot, sending a direct through pass toward the right-wing byline.

Tang Ye glanced back to avoid the ball hitting him, then continued running forward.

At this moment, Bakambu's pass had already arrived in front of him!

Berchiche quickly caught up, using one arm to pin Tang Ye's position, giving him no chance to cut inside toward the center.

But it didn't matter; Ale, who had originally been in the center, ran over to support and was now right in front of Tang Ye.

Pass the ball to Ale!

Since he didn't have the ball at his feet, Berchiche couldn't restrict Tang Ye's movement.

Tang Ye ran toward the center; ahead, Ale feigned a run to the byline but actually passed the ball back in front of Tang Ye.

Tang Ye began cutting inside!

"Tang Ye, posing as a striker! So fierce!"

"Damn, wait, hey!"

In the footage, Martínez ran out of the penalty area and directly knocked Tang Ye down.

"Holy crap, that was a perfect chance for a cut-inside shot!"

Tang Ye rolled half a circle on the ground; he still wanted to replicate his earlier spinning assist, but unfortunately, the referee blew the whistle immediately.

Due to Martínez's foul, Yellow Submarine earned a set-piece opportunity!

Bruno ran up beside Tang Ye and whispered, "I'll provide cover for you."

He didn't ask Tang Ye if he wanted the ball because Bruno was also a set-piece taker, and he could see this set-piece position was excellent.

A ball like this should be left to Tom to handle!

Bruno wanted Tang Ye to stand on the left so that he, as a left-footer, could stand on the right, but Tang Ye indicated he also wanted to stand on the right.

Unable to tell whether it was a left-footed or right-footed setup, Tang Ye lifted his left leg and patted his thigh: "This ball will be better handled with this side."

Bruno and Tang Ye stood one behind the other; Bruno, standing in front, raised his right hand, signaling to the teammates in the box that he was merely a decoy.

Then behind him, Tang Ye raised...

He raised both hands!

The Yellow Submarine players in the penalty area felt slightly nervous.

Because this was the gesture for a direct shot from a set piece in today's match.

Tom is very brave!

After the referee's whistle, Bruno ran out first, but upon reaching the ball, he simply stepped over it.

Behind him, Tang Ye had just finished his deep breath; he bit down on the gum in his mouth and ran straight toward the ball.

Left foot!

Strike directly!

【De Bruyne Far-Corner Curling Shot Lv5: Replication】

Proficiency: 0

The position of this set piece was about the same as where Tang Ye usually received the ball to curl it toward the far corner.

So, struck by a sudden idea, he decided to use this set-piece opportunity to complete the curling shot he hadn't finished earlier!

The ball flew toward the front-left.

Navas and Odriozola jumped up simultaneously!

But both of their heads barely missed reaching the ball!

Goalkeeper Rulli began shifting right, leaping out!

Reaching out to touch!

Rulli failed to make contact as well!

"Goal!"

"Tang Ye scores directly from a free kick!"

"Perfect!"

"Hmm, this is almost a dead angle!"

After scoring, Tang Ye stood still, facing the penalty area with his arms spread wide.

"TOMMM!!!"

Bruno turned and roared, then immediately hugged Tang Ye in his arms.

"Hiss..."

Escrivá shook his hands.

He put his hands into his down jacket pockets, but then thought better of it; thus, Escrivá took his hands out of his pockets and gave the players on the field his applause.

"Villarreal!"

"Villarreal!"

Check Dongqiu Di live match report: In the 4th minute, Villarreal counterattacked; Tang Ye won a set piece and took it himself, scoring directly. Villarreal leads Real Sociedad 1:0 at home.

【Awesome, my Tang Tang Qiuwang's shooting is getting more and more accurate】

【Pretending to be a striker? Nonsense, he IS a striker!】

【Advanced to the quarter-finals! Could the King's Cup be Tang Tang Qiuwang's first trophy in Spain?】

【Just wait until we meet Real Madrid or Barcelona, then you'll behave】

"Haha!"

Tang Ye came below the stands, looking at the fans dancing endlessly in the stands, feeling extremely happy in his heart.

【You have obtained 15 Counterattack Points】

Soon the second goal of the first half was kicked off; after taking a one-goal lead, head coach Escrivá went directly to the substitutes' bench and sat down.

Let alone ten minutes; in less than five minutes, the Yellow Submarine had already scored one against the opponent.

Escrivá was now completely at ease!

"So we sailed onto the sun~ (Thus we boarded a ship and sailed toward the sun)"

""

"Till we found the sea of green~ (Until we found that emerald sea)"

"Now we live beneath the waves~ (Now we live beneath the waves)"

"..."

"Villarreal!"

Bang bang!

"Villarreal!"

Bang bang!

The first half reached the 25th minute.

At this moment, Real Sociedad's possession rate was at approximately 55%, indeed slightly better than Villarreal's. When playing against Barcelona previously, Villarreal's possession rate had also trailed the opponent by about five percentage points.

But unlike the match against Barcelona, although Villarreal's possession rate was trailing in today's game, the situation on the field gave people the feeling that Villarreal was stronger.

Because every five minutes of possession, Villarreal could create roughly one relatively good attack, whereas Real Sociedad needed about eight to ten minutes.

Looking at it this way, Villarreal actually had more attacking opportunities!

32nd minute!

"Rodri, great pass, damn it!"

"Directly to Sansone on the left; Sansone is dribbling forward himself!"

"Where is Tang Ye?"

"Tang Ye!"

In the frame, Tang Ye was running behind Sansone.

Seeing this, Eusebio was already starting to panic a bit.

He glanced toward the neighboring substitutes' bench.

!

As expected!

Escrivá was sitting now!

"Hiss—"

Taking a deep breath, Eusebio had already witnessed the terror of Escrivá's tactics during the first leg, and now he had to experience it again in the second leg!

Sending Tang Ye to play as a striker on the left or right flank was absolutely the best decision Escrivá had made.

Take this current attack, for instance.

If any other La Liga team were here, one attack would involve at most two strikers: one winger and one center forward.

But Villarreal was different; they had a full three people on this left-flank attack!

One left winger, one center forward, and one pretending-to-be-a-striker.

Three attacking players loitering together near the baseline—just ask yourself, aren't you scared!

After Sansone was trapped with the ball, Ale and Tang Ye almost simultaneously ran over to help.

Ale had originally intended to leave the penalty area directly, but seeing Tang Ye go to support Sansone, Ale immediately abandoned his idea of leaving the penalty area.

It seems... it's time to eat?

"Come, here!"

Tang Ye received Sansone's pass, and Tang Ye immediately swung his left leg out!

Prieto thought Tang Ye was going to cross, so he lifted his foot directly to block Tang Ye's pass, but Tang Ye swung his foot and missed the ball completely.

Clearly, he did it on purpose!

A left-footed cross from that position just now would have been excellent, but Aleix had just returned to the penalty area; his positioning was poor, so Tang Ye couldn't pass at that moment.

He feinted with his left foot, shifting the ball to his right.

Then crossed with his right!

Crack!

【De Bruyne 45-Degree Cross Lv4: Realistic】

Proficiency: 125/500

Escribá shot up from his chair!

This was Tang Ye's third 45-degree cross of the match!

Watch for the chance!

Aleix, having adjusted his center of gravity, darted between Martínez and Navas.

He leaped!

Header!

"Bang!"

"Roar—!!!!"

Aleix let out a roar.

However agonizing it had been for Aleix to miss the equalizer against Barcelona a few days ago, that was exactly how exhilarated he felt now.

Aleix charged out of the penalty area; knowing he was heading for the corner flag, Tang Ye ran there first to wait.

"Sebastián!"

Tang Ye grabbed Aleix by the neck: "I told you, I said I'd pass to you!"

Suddenly, Aleix wrapped both hands around Tang Ye's head and opened his mouth wide.

"Vamos!!!"

Tang Ye was utterly startled, standing frozen in place, daring not to move a muscle.

"I... damn..."

Check Dongqiu Di Halftime Report: Yellow Submarine leads Real Sociedad 2:0 at home; currently leading the two-leg aggregate score 5:1 with overwhelming dominance.

"Haha, Sebastián, didn't I tell you!"

Back in the locker room, Tang Ye sat directly beside Aleix.

Just before the 40-minute mark of the first half, he had secured an assist.

But that assist was merely secondary.

Most importantly, Tang Ye had fulfilled his promise to Aleix!

He had promised to pass to Aleix.

Now he had done it!

"So there's no need to worry with Tom around; we only lost one match, and Tom can solve our scoring problems,"

Bruno said with a smile.

"No, no, it's a small issue, a small issue."

Tang Ye's face flushed red from the praise; he sheepishly returned to his seat.

Sitting silently on the chair, Tang Ye was nevertheless in high spirits.

Because he could feel that after scoring this goal, Aleix's form had improved significantly.

Helping a good friend emerge from their low point was an incredibly fulfilling achievement!

The second half began quickly; given the 2:0 first-half lead, Escribá substituted Tang Ye off in the 60th minute.

With a four-goal lead on aggregate, this match was already secured; Yellow Submarine now needed to prepare for the upcoming La Liga fixtures.

They had just been crushed by Real Madrid and now urgently needed to climb back up the standings!

"Substituting me?"

Tang Ye pointed at his own mouth, looking at the number "10" displayed on the board with a puzzled expression, but still walked toward the bench.

Clap clap!

After high-fiving Dos Santos, Tang Ye walked off the field, and Escribá placed a hand on his shoulder.

Tang Ye looked left and right, then finally leaned his head close to Escribá: "Mr. Ferran, did I play poorly?"

Having scored one goal and provided one assist in the first half while helping Aleix overcome his shadow should have been a joyous occasion, yet unexpectedly, Escribá had pulled him straight off the pitch.

This felt terrible.

Hearing Tang Ye's question, Escribá paused for a moment, then comforted Tang Ye as they walked toward the bench.

It was the same issue as before; Escribá needed to explain to Tang Ye the benefits of substituting a core player early for the team.

"So am I a core player?"

Having just finished drinking water, Tang Ye blinked, looking at Escribá before him.

"This..."

Escribá glanced at assistant coach Martí, who was likewise looking at him.

"Let's just say, you are a core player under special circumstances."

A core player under special circumstances...

Tang Ye frowned, pondering Escribá's words.

"Damn, why substitute now!"

Wang Chao roared in the livestream room.

Escrivá's substitution just now directly caused the real-time viewer count in his livestream room to drop by a "0".

With the Ball King subbed off at the 60-minute mark, there could no longer be any traffic for Wang Chao's livestream room afterward.

After a brief exchange with Tang Ye, Escrivá returned to the sideline.

Yellow Submarine's next task was to hold the current 2:0 scoreline.

Of course, scoring a goal would certainly be even better.

The match reached the 70th minute.

As expected, after Tang Ye left the field, Yellow Submarine's possession rate began to slowly rise, even reaching 48% and 49% at one point, nearly overtaking Real Sociedad in possession.

In the past, Escrivá would have been pleased by such a situation, but now Escrivá could not feel happy.

"Left! You can go in on the left!"

"Pass!"

"Pass!"

Escrivá shouted wildly toward the pitch, but Bruno and Rodri acted like two idiots.

Passing was indeed what they were doing.

But why were they passing directly to the opposing defenders?

"Middle, middle! Check the middle!"

"Damn!"

Escrivá clasped his hands over his head; in the 74th minute, Real Sociedad's counterattack broke open Yellow Submarine's players.

The score became 2:1!

Now Yellow Submarine led by only one goal!

Escrivá was very anxious; he quickly called over the few players nearest the bench and, taking advantage of the opponents' celebration, directly substituted Rodri off.

After high-fiving Cherishev, Rodri ran quickly to the substitute bench, picked up the mineral water handed to him by Martí, and gulped down one-third of it.

"What's wrong?"

Cote placed his hand on Rodri's back; after screwing the cap back on the bottle, Rodri casually tossed the water bottle beside his feet.

"I don't know; suddenly I just don't know what to do!"

"Damn!"

Punching the backrest of an empty seat in front of him, Rodri took deep breaths quickly to adjust his current emotions.

Everything had been fine just at the start of the second half!

But after ten-plus minutes, he suddenly didn't know how to play football anymore!

Cote thought carefully for a moment, then said: "Is it because there's no Tom setting the rhythm anymore?"

Mm!

Rodri suddenly lifted his head.

……

The match continued, and Escrivá returned to the sideline to direct play.

Real Sociedad suddenly accelerated the pace, which made Escrivá feel considerable pressure.

In the 87th minute, Yellow Submarine launched a very good attack; after Bakambu went wide to the byline, his cut-back pass accurately found Bruno.

"He's passed, he can pass!"

Ale's position was excellent; at this moment, Bruno only needed to deliver the ball into the penalty area, and there was a high probability of scoring.

But Bruno did not pass immediately; he chose to control the ball first!

This was a habit all midfielders possessed.

Compared to passes received from teammates, they felt balls they had adjusted themselves were more comfortable to kick.

Comfortable it may have been, but after that adjustment, Ale had already been locked down by the opposing defenders.

"Damn!"

Escrivá shook his hands in exasperation.

If that ball had been passed by the guy who could spin on the spot, it would most likely have resulted in a goal.

Unfortunately, Bruno couldn't spin!

Eh, wait!

Unfortunately, Bruno couldn't play one-touch football!

"Beep, beep-beep——!!!"

Check Dongqiu Di match report: Second leg, Villarreal defeated Real Sociedad 2:1, advancing to the quarter-finals with an aggregate score of 5:2. Villarreal's opponent for the quarter-finals has not yet been determined.

Front-page headline of "Villarreal News": After the match, Real Sociedad's head coach Eusebio praised Escrivá, stating that Escrivá "fully deserves more Monthly Best trophies".

Although it was rare for a head coach to speak such words after losing a match, Eusebio praised Escrivá despite the defeat; the fact remained that this season, Real Sociedad had already been defeated by Yellow Submarine three times.

And this was still Escrivá's first season with Yellow Submarine!

Looking at it this way, it indeed seemed understandable; Escrivá had completely convinced Eusebio through sheer dominance!

But the next piece of news was not so easy to understand.

Front-page headline of "Marca": Yellow Submarine rising star Tom completed two pages of a November mathematics homework assignment in French. "This leaves reporters puzzled".

Front-page headline of "AS": The accuracy rate for those two pages completed in French in Tom's homework notebook was very low, below the average accuracy rate for all answers in the entire notebook. "This leaves reporters extremely puzzled".

Oh?

……

(End of Chapter)