Chapter 190: Tactical Adjustment: 3 Days to Prepare for the Second Leg of the 14th Final!

On Escrivá's side, the head coach of Huangqian arrived alone at the press room.

After being shut out at home, Escrivá was under immense pressure.

It was only after a reporter reminded him that they realized this was Huangqian's first shutout loss of the season.

This season, Huangqian had been known for their mysterious and sharp attacks, and today's match was the only one this season in which they failed to score.

They lost 0:2 to Valencia, a team whose offensive strength isn't particularly strong!

Remember, Huangqian scored against Real Madrid and Barcelona.

A little analysis reveals that the team's tactics have failed—this is why Huangqian struggled more against Valencia than they did against Real Madrid and Barcelona!

"I take full responsibility for today's defeat—this is certain."

Escrivá showed a willingness to admit fault, but the reporters didn't let him off the hook.

"Ferran, it seems other La Liga opponents have thoroughly studied your tactics—do you feel that way?"

The second reporter to stand up asked the key question.

Losing to Alavés could be coincidence, but now losing again to Valencia? That's unlikely to be coincidence.

La Liga coaches are gradually realizing: counterattack is the best way to beat Huangqian!

Now, other La Liga coaches only need to check the standings—when they have three weeks left before facing Huangqian, they immediately begin training their teams in counterattacking tactics.

Players in La Liga are all geniuses; three weeks is more than enough time for them to implement counterattack drills into actual matches.

Alavés did exactly that—and their move left Huangqian completely lost.

"..."

Faced with the reporters' questions, Escrivá was momentarily speechless.

He had already noticed this problem himself.

"I'm still looking for a solution."

"Still looking? But you have only three days before the second leg against Alavés. Are you planning to give up the Copa del Rey?"

The reporter's question was sharp—it was the inevitable result of Huangqian's rising popularity this season.

They would attract an enormous amount of media attention!

"I have no intention of giving up the Copa del Rey. We can adjust quickly—that's Huangqian's strength."

Despite being bombarded with questions, Escrivá maintained a relatively composed demeanor.

Only heaven knew how much pressure he felt inside!

Click-click!

Click-click-click!

Amid a chorus of camera shutters, Escrivá slowly left the press room.

The reporters still had many unanswered questions, but Escrivá no longer wished to answer them.

"If you don't say anything else, they'll think you're avoiding the issue."

As he closed the press room door, Ma Di, waiting outside to watch the livestream, reminded him.

"I know, but I can't help it—their questions are nonsense. I don't understand what those reporters are thinking."

Walking toward the locker room with Ma Di, Escrivá was in low spirits.

"Ma Di, you understand: right now, all we can do is eliminate Alavés in the second leg—only then will those reporters shut up."

Ma Di followed closely behind Escrivá, silent for a long while before speaking: "Then how should we adjust? Increase the frequency of forward interchanging runs?"

"That's not enough. Just adjusting the forwards won't work. Counterattack makes us suffer—every player must adapt."

Escrivá wanted to explain his ideas in detail to Ma Di, but they had already reached the locker room door.

Escrivá turned around, his back to the locker room door.

"Of course, the players' mindset also needs adjustment—that's the most important..."

Creak...

For some reason, the locker room door behind Escrivá suddenly opened.

Tang Ye's head popped out, staring directly into Escrivá's eyes: "F-Ferran, what a coincidence."

Escrivá frowned: "Tom, what are you doing out here?"

Tang Ye pointed inside: "No one's talking in there—it's terrifying. I came out to breathe."

"..."

From Tang Ye's words, it was clear the team's morale was in poor shape.

Escrivá stood still, briefly organizing his thoughts, then gently pushed Tang Ye back inside.

"Go on."

Tang Ye whispered from the side.

Huh...

"Clap-clap!"

Escrivá walked to the center of the locker room and clapped to draw the players' attention.

"Today was a poor match—we lost. I know none of you are feeling good. This game hurt all of us, including me. Just now in the press room, reporters asked me many harsh questions..."

The players lifted their heads and all looked at Escrivá.

If anyone still kept their head down—like Bruno—Escrivá would walk over to him directly, forcing him to raise his head.

"Two losses in a row. Now many fans and reporters are watching us closely, and the pressure is enormous."

"Put league matters aside for now—the Copa del Rey is coming up. I must remind you:"

Escrivá raised two fingers of his right hand: "It's a two-leg tie, quarterfinals are two-legged. Alavés won the first leg—they're temporary winners. But if we defeat them in the second leg, we become the winners—the final winners. That's what we must do now."

At this point, every player in the locker room lifted their head to look Escrivá in the eyes.

And Escrivá saw confusion in their gazes.

Huangqian's players wanted to overturn the deficit and beat Alavés in the second leg.

But the question was: under a 1:2 deficit, how could Huangqian possibly turn it around?

Their tactics were neutralized!

"Huh..."

Regaining his composure, Escrivá began explaining the tactical adjustments he had envisioned.

"The second leg against Alavés won't be easy. The Copa del Rey is their only chance at a title this season—they'll take it more seriously than we do."

"We still need forward interchanging runs—that's essential. But midfielders and defenders: widen the distance between you. Defenders stay back to protect, but midfielders push forward to join the attack. If defenders and midfielders become disconnected, it's fine—it's fine. Rodri and Bruno must support Tom. We must attack, but also protect ourselves against counterattacks."

"This new tactic involves many changes. I know you're all geniuses—some even among the greatest—and your learning ability is strong. But I need you to spend more time adapting to this new style."

Escrivá delivered bad news to the players.

That is: the planned rest day tomorrow was canceled!

Huangqian's players must resume training tomorrow!

However, the good part was: no player in the locker room objected to canceling the rest day.

Not even Tang Ye, who usually hated training.

Huangqian's players were all feeling deeply frustrated.

The second leg was their best chance to prove themselves.

Tang Ye understood this—he also knew that sometimes proving yourself requires giving up something.

"For the next few days, I won't play games at home. I'll sleep early to prepare for training."

Tang Ye whispered.

Dongqi Di top post: 0:2 home loss to Valencia, Villarreal's third defeat in January—have Huangqian's tactics been fully studied?

Marca front page headline—Three straight wins! Real Madrid's league surge begins—will they overtake Barcelona soon?

Barcelona reporter Romero: Real Madrid is charging forward. There's division within Barcelona over the Copa del Rey—some players have suggested Enrique abandon the cup and focus on the league, but Enrique rejected the idea. "Enrique believes Barcelona can win the Copa del Rey, the league, and the Champions League all at once."

Attached: La Liga standings (Matchday 19)

1. Barcelona, 48 points.

2. Real Madrid, 47 points.

3. Villarreal, 44 points.

4. Sevilla, 40 points.

5. Atlético Madrid, 40 points.

6. Real Sociedad, 37 points.

【The top three are slowly pulling away from the rest...】

【Holy shit, so Real Madrid really is giving up the Copa del Rey? That's good for Huangqian—they'll face Celta in the semifinals!】

【But right now, unless a player has a breakout performance, Huangqian has almost no chance to beat Alavés—counterattack is just too frustrating.】

【Can Escrivá find a way out?】

【Strongly suggest Escrivá focus entirely on the Copa del Rey—it seems Real Madrid and Barcelona are both willing to sacrifice the cup to fight for first place in the league. Huangqian's chance!】

【I still think Escrivá isn't reliable—this is a dead end against Alavés.】

【Believe in Huangqian.】

On the way home with Bruno, Tang Ye immediately told Dembélé he wouldn't be playing games for the next few days.

Dembélé asked Tang Ye why he couldn't play games, and Tang Ye replied:

I still have something to do. Do you know the King's Cup? I want to take my friend and win that trophy.

Tang Ye suddenly focused on the league, which put some pressure on Dembélé.

Could it be that he's the only one left slacking off?

Tang Ye comforted Dembélé, telling him that once they got past this toughest period, he'd get back online and dominate the game with him.

Hearing this, Dembélé immediately felt better.

After all, if you don't play games with good friends, they're not fun at all!

Tang Ye, sitting in the front passenger seat, slipped his phone into his pocket and suddenly spoke up.

"Bruno, will our upcoming training be too exhausting?"

"Why ask that?"

Bruno glanced at Tang Ye in surprise as he steered the wheel: "Hmm… if we're just adjusting tactics, it won't be too physically taxing, but it'll be mentally draining—you'll need to stay sharply focused."

"So if we train hard, we'll win the match?"

"Win the match? You mean the second leg?"

"Yes."

Tang Ye nodded. Bruno fell silent for a moment.

A traffic light lay ahead. Bruno had been about to floor the accelerator, but because he was thinking about Tang Ye's question, he let the opportunity pass.

"I can't say for sure, but it'll at least improve our chances."

Three days won't change much.

Escrivá's tactic of separating the midfield and defense might work, but the training came too late.

If we'd started earlier, Alavés wouldn't have been a match for Huang Qian.

But now…

All we can say is there's a chance—but a slim one.

Tang Ye watched a young man, about his own age, walk past him.

"Even improving our chances is good enough. The next match is crucial for us. If we win, I'll shout loud enough to scare the hell out of their fans!"

"Haha."

Bruno found Tang Ye's words amusing and asked another question.

"What if we lose?"

"If we lose…"

Tang Ye lowered his head: "Then after the match, I'll sprint straight back to the locker room and turn off my phone so I don't have to look."

"But that's too humiliating. We really need to win. Have you seen the comments? The fans say if we make it to the quarterfinals, we're likely to reach the final—the semifinal opponent isn't strong."

The King's Cup Final!

Just thinking about it is thrilling!

Barcelona is in the other half!

Maybe… they could avenge Barcelona in the King's Cup Final?

"Haha, we'll definitely win."

Bruno placed his hand on Tang Ye's shoulder, then steered the wheel with one hand.

"Vroom!"

Both feet on the accelerator, Bruno sped off with Tang Ye.

"Bruno."

"What's wrong? Are you scared? Haha! Don't worry—I'm an excellent driver."

"You don't need to go through that traffic light. My place is right behind the training base. You've driven me too far."

"... I forgot."

…

The next morning, after the fitness coach Kyle led the players through their warm-up, Escrivá began explaining the tactical adjustments needed.

Escrivá had briefly outlined this tactic after yesterday's match; today, during formal training, he refined it further.

Overall, Tang Ye's role as a front-line playmaker must remain unchanged.

Rodri, a product of Huang Qian's youth academy, would still stay behind Tang Ye to provide protection.

Huang Qian lost the first leg by one goal, so the attack must be stronger!

As for defense…

"Originally, one center-back dropped back to protect. Now we'll use one center-back and one full-back dropping back together…"

Tang Ye crouched on the ground, listening intently to Escrivá.

He listened carefully, but soon noticed something odd.

Every change Escrivá proposed involved other players.

From the frontman Alem to the last-line defender Musacchio, everyone had new responsibilities.

But this new tactic seemed to have…

Nothing to do with Tang Ye?

"Mr. Ferran."

Tang Ye stood up: "What do I need to change?"

Escrivá looked into Tang Ye's eyes but didn't answer right away.

"More offensive opportunities."

"Even more offensive opportunities."

"Tom, that's what you need to do."

Escrivá placed his hand on Tang Ye's shoulder.

Modern football increasingly demands clear on-field roles so players can maximize their ability and stamina.

And Tom!

Your job is to create more and more chances for your teammates!

…

(End of Chapter)