Chapter 191: Copa del Rey Life-or-Death Battle: There Is No Room for Retreat!

Bild's front-page headline: Transfermarkt staff have completed updating player valuations for leagues across parts of Europe, South America, and Asia. According to relevant staff, the keywords for the new season's Transfermarkt website cover are: young midfielder, two-footed.

Dongqiu Di match preview: Copa del Rey quarter-final second leg, Yellow Submarine travels to face Alavés; with tactical constraints in place, can Escrivá lead the team to break through the encirclement!

Riding the bus to the continent before Mendizorroza Stadium, the Yellow Submarine players are now under immense mental pressure.

Over the past few days, the players have undergone extensive training focused on tactical adjustments according to Escrivá's arrangements.

The objective is to defeat their opponent Alavés in this match!

Unfortunately, the schedule is congested, and the players have not had enough time to adapt to the new tactics.

Precisely because the training duration has been insufficient, the Yellow Submarine players currently lack full confidence.

Escrivá stood up, preparing to say a few words to the players, only then noticing that every player sitting beside Tang Ye was chewing gum.

Well then!

These guys are indeed under tremendous pressure right now!

"Lads!"

Escrivá called out, drawing the players' attention, just as the bus happened to drive onto the stadium's main road at that exact moment.

"Alavés!"

"Alavés!"

"Wow!"

Ahem!

Adjusting his demeanor, Escrivá continued, "The pressure in this match will be huge, but I need you to maintain a good mindset; trust me, we can win."

"Villarreal!"

"Shooo—!!!"

Escrivá:...

"Alright, we'll save the rest for the locker room."

"Wait, wait, almost ready, almost ready!"

Today's livestream popularity is so exaggeratedly high that even Wang Chao, who has witnessed many grand occasions, couldn't help but panic.

But it doesn't matter; for Wang Chao, managing this traffic flow won't pose too much of a problem.

"We can see both teams' players are already lined up and ready in the tunnel!"

"The first one on the right is Bruno, the Yellow Submarine's captain, thirty-two years old this year!"

"Behind him is the goalkeeper Asenjo, and behind Asenjo..."

"Oh! Tang Tang Qiuwang's positioning today is very advanced!"

"It's clear Tang Ye is in excellent form today; we can certainly back the Yellow Submarine."

【To be honest, betting on the Yellow Submarine again today would be pure sucker behavior.】

【Just support them, support them!】

【Trusting you one last time, GGBond!】

【Not looking optimistic; in the past, Xiao Chao would have told us to go all-in on the Yellow Submarine long ago; it seems today's match is indeed difficult.】

Fans who didn't watch the first leg, seeing the 1:2 scoreline, know the Yellow Submarine will face a tough game today.

And fans who watched the entire first leg know...

This match is damn well super difficult to play!

Half depends on the Yellow Submarine players' form today.

What about the other half?

It depends on luck!

Which side is God standing on today?

"Beep!"

The match has begun!

Today being Alavés's home game, head coach Pellegrino implemented the "home team sets the tempo" strategy, having Alavés press the Yellow Submarine relentlessly right from the kickoff.

However, Alavés started playing a bit too anxiously.

Not only did they fail to create good chances themselves, but they also handed possession over to the Yellow Submarine.

Ruiz, coordinating with Musacchio, directly completed the tackle on this ball.

The Yellow Submarine has gained possession!

Launch the counterattack immediately!

Slap!

A standard long-pass technique, a big kick from Musacchio!

Players from both teams begin moving toward the landing spot!

Tang Ye tilted his head upward, looking at the sky.

Although his eyesight is excellent, judging the landing point is something he truly finds a bit uncertain.

Left, left, right...

It should be here!

Tang Ye and Aleix ran together toward the landing position.

Because Aleix is present, Tang Ye will not directly engage in the contest.

He moves to the side to help block Gómez's position!

Okay, now Aleix can jump without any opposition!

Boom!

Under Tang Ye's cover, Aleix very easily secured the first point, decisively heading the ball back to Rodri, who was standing in an open space behind him.

After stepping back onto the grass, Aleix turned and began making a forward run.

This was a decent opportunity; Aleix needed to create as many forward passing options as possible for his teammates!

Hernández on the wing moved toward the penalty area; this was the tactic Alavés liked to use when facing the Yellow Submarine.

That was to compress the defensive line in their own half!

Rodri, in possession of the ball, still wanted to observe a moment before passing, but García had already rushed up.

There was no time to hesitate; Rodri's long pass found Sansone on the left flank.

Then, a familiar scene unfolded: Alavés's four defenders, coordinating with their two defensive midfielders—all six of them—moved toward the penalty area.

Escrivá, on the sidelines, narrowed his eyes.

Just as he had anticipated!

Since Alavés had won the first leg, head coach Pellegrino would definitely have his team stick to the same tactics used in that first match.

This was good news for the Yellow Submarine.

Because three days prior, Escrivá had arranged training tasks for the players based precisely on this compact defensive tactic!

"Boooo!!!"

Sansone was compressing the opponent's defensive line, while the fans in the stands continuously booed.

They wanted to disrupt Sansone!

However, even if the fans hadn't interfered, Sansone would have had no room to maneuver anyway; Alavés's defensive line was compressed far too tightly.

The penalty area was full of defenders!

Costa came up from behind to support, received Sansone's pass, and immediately delivered a 45-degree cross straight into the box!

"Aleix jumps!"

Just as Aleix prepared to leap, Laguardia and Ely jumped simultaneously; the two center-backs formed an arch-like barrier, pinning Aleix down so he couldn't jump at all.

This attack failed to materialize!

"Back, back, back, hurry back!"

Escrivá urged his players to retreat and defend.

Alavés's counterattack!

Pacheco hugged the ball and ran all the way to the edge of the penalty area; Aleix tried to interfere with the goalkeeper's distribution but was shoved aside directly by Ely.

Pacheco threw the ball to Llorente, and the Alavés defensive midfielder began his work of advancing with the ball.

Run forward!

The speed was fast!

"That number 6 on the opposing team is running a bit fast; the Yellow Submarine needs to run faster too!"

Wang Chao thought expectantly.

The Yellow Submarine was already one goal behind their opponent after the first leg.

If they conceded another goal, they would truly be finished!

"Wowww!!"

The fans in the stands gradually became excited as Llorente dribbled the ball all the way into the center circle by himself.

After running several more meters beyond the center circle, Llorente finally made his passing decision.

To Toquero on the right wing!

Bruno had just prepared to stretch out his foot to intercept Llorente's pass, but he failed.

Damn!

Trouble is coming!

This was the immediate reaction of both the Yellow Submarine players and their fans.

Slap!

Toquero very skillfully controlled the ball forward, giving himself an excellent head start.

Slowly approaching the baseline!

Slowing down!

He was waiting for his teammates to support!

Davinson in the center!

"The middle!"

Asenjo shouted loudly, and Musacchio hurried to mark Davinson's position.

But Toquero chose to shoot directly!

"Boom!"

A pushed shot; the ball rolled across the grass right in front of Asenjo, nearly grazing the post as it rolled into the goal!

"GGGG——OOOO——LLLL!!!!"

The stadium announcer shouted completely into the microphone.

Toquero's goal!

With a 2:1 lead already secured away from home, Alavés had scored another goal!

The Alavés players on the field rushed toward the substitute bench to celebrate together with the coach and the substitute players.

"Toquero!"

"Toquero!"

The fans shouted the name of the goal scorer, Tokoro.

Check Dongqiu Di live match report: 21st minute, Alavés successfully counterattacked; Tokoro feinted a pass and shot to score. Alavés leads 1:0 at home, and 3:1 on aggregate against Yellow Submarine.

【Aaaaaah!!】

【Damn, I can't accept this, brothers!】

【I told you, you still can't follow Wang Chao's lead; the King's Cup knockout stage is a completely different version from the Eredivisie, okay? Tang Tang Qiuwang alone cannot save the team!】

【Find a chance to pass to Tang Ye!】

The fans wanted Tang Ye to save the team, but right now Tang Ye was already holding his head in both hands and sighing.

It felt exactly the same as in the first leg.

At the start, it was clearly our side attacking, but then in the blink of an eye, the opponent scored!

Damn it!

Alavés' counterattacking technique was simply too lethal for Yellow Submarine!

"It's fine, it's fine, adjust, just adjust!"

"Watch the backfield!"

Escribá loudly instructed the players on the field a few times, but after speaking, he gradually fell silent.

Both the players and the fans could see that Yellow Submarine was now at an absolute disadvantage, and Escribá, as the team's head coach, naturally saw it too!

Shaking his head and sighing, he slowly sat back down on the bench chair.

Even after sitting down, he kept shaking his head.

Escribá didn't say a word, but Martí, sitting beside him, could tell exactly what was on the Spaniard's mind just by looking at his current state.

Yellow Submarine was truly going to be stopped in the quarter-finals!

Shifting his gaze away from Escribá, Martí looked toward the pitch directly ahead.

Come to think of it.

For Yellow Submarine, reaching the quarter-finals was actually not entirely unacceptable.

It's just a pity; they should have abandoned the King's Cup earlier and focused on La Liga like Real Madrid and Barcelona!

"Xuuu——!!"

"Xuuu——!!!"

The fans in the home stands had already begun mocking the Yellow Submarine players!

They were extremely arrogant!

Although Tang Ye was very focused when playing and not easily able to hear the voices of the fans in the stands.

Yet today, the momentum created by the home fans was simply too exaggerated, inevitably affecting Tang Ye.

Tang Ye was very unhappy right now, and his teammates were naturally the same.

Think of a way...

Think of a way quickly!

Tang Ye increased the frequency of his observation of the pitch.

In this match, the team was being suppressed quite severely, so merely observing for himself was not enough; he also needed to observe ahead of time for the players who would receive his passes.

Only when confirming that a teammate would be safe after receiving the ball, or could create an opportunity, would he then make the pass!

Simply put, before passing, one must calculate one step or even several steps ahead, just like playing Go.

The responsibility had increased; Tom needed to work even harder!

For example...

Rodri right now!

If Rodri could get the ball, he could pass it to Sansone on the left wing, or to Ale in the central position.

Hmm, these options were all relatively good, but they seemed unable to create any great opportunities.

【Vision: 94→95】

Something strange suddenly floated up in his mind, but this was not what Tang Ye needed to think about right now.

Got it!

"Quickly, over here!"

Tang Ye waved to Gaspar; the latter prepared and kicked a high ball upward directly toward Bacambu's position.

Bacambu turned to prepare to stop the ball with his chest, at which moment Tang Ye pointed to an empty space to his front-left: "To my front!"

Bang!

Bacambu's pass landed precisely at the spot Tang Ye indicated; the latter ran up, tapped the ball inward with his right foot, and directly sent it to Rodri in the center.

Can observe a bit more!

At this moment, some changes occurred in the situation on the field, and Tang Ye needed to re-evaluate.

Move toward the right-wing baseline together with Bacambu!

Noticing two teammates pulling wide down the right flank, Rodri decisively played the ball out, passing it precisely to Bacambu.

After receiving the ball, Bacambu stopped and held his ground against Hernández, while Tang Ye ran behind Hernández into the baseline.

Glanced toward the center.

OK, not offside!

Bang!

Rodri sent out a through ball, and Tang Ye ran forward with the ball.

"About to go out of bounds!"

"Tang Ye!"

Boom!

【De Bruyne Bottom Cross LV3: Simulation】

Proficiency: 48/400

The cross sent out by Tang Ye flew toward the center.

It was not a low-driven ball.

Tang Ye delivered a relatively high cross, soaring over the near post and heading toward the far post.

Costa, making a run down the left flank, leaped up and headed the ball into the penalty area.

Then it was Aleix!

Boom!

Aleix's powerful header whizzed past Pacheco's ear.

Because the distance was simply too close, Pacheco had absolutely no reaction time.

"Goal!"

"Goal!"

"Damn! Tang Ye created a perfect chance!"

"Tang Ye's pass found Costa on the left wing, and Costa's header set up Aleix!"

"Tang Tang Qiuwang had calculated all of this long ago!"

【Awesome, awesome; Yellow Submarine's attack this time is undeniable, played really well】

【I know Tang Ye is awesome, but saying he calculated all of this is a bit too outrageous; playing football isn't like playing Go】

【Hahahaha, regardless of whether he calculated it or not, GGBond is just amazing!】

【The counterattack has begun, brothers!】

"Roar—!!!"

Aleix and Tang Ye roared at each other near the right-side baseline; startled by Aleix's roar, Tang Ye shuddered, then grabbed Aleix's shirt and ran toward the area below the stands.

"VAMOS!"

"VAMOS!"

Two roars erupted, and the home fans immediately responded with boos.

"They're getting anxious!"

After finishing the celebration, Tang Ye smiled as he walked back toward his own half.

"Villarreal!"

"Booooo—!!!!"

The Alavés fans were being extremely pretentious, which made Tang Ye very uncomfortable.

Being pretentious was something he liked to do; if the opposing fans stole all that from him, what else could he possibly do?

He needed to snatch back the right to be pretentious.

This was important!

"Come on!"

"Come on, Tom!"

Tang Ye high-fived Bruno, who had rushed up from behind.

He glanced toward the sideline.

It was now the 34th minute of the first half; Villarreal was tied 1:1 with Alavés.

This scoreline might seem decent at first glance, but you must remember that the quarter-finals are played over two legs, and Alavés led Yellow Submarine 2:1 after the first leg.

"So right now we are still behind by one..."

While walking back to his position, Tang Ye held up his fingers to count.

The pressure was somewhat immense, but that goal just now had restored the Yellow Submarine players' confidence.

It still felt like there was hope!

"The first half continues!"

"Just now, thanks to Tang Tang Qiuwang's cross, Yellow Submarine immediately pulled one back..."

In the broadcast booth, Wang Chao began analyzing the situation for the viewers.

"Whether Yellow Submarine's overall form has picked up remains unclear, but Tang Ye's form is definitely maxed out."

"Can Tang Tang Qiuwang save the team!"

The camera cut to both teams' benches; Pellegrino's expression was no longer good.

Because he realized that Yellow Submarine seemed to be slowly figuring out a way to deal with them.

Then came the visiting team's bench...

Oh?

Escribá, the visiting head coach who had sat down not long ago, had somehow stood up again.

He was now quickly directing the players on the field to adjust their tactics.

Not bad, not bad; this first goal not only boosted the players' confidence, but even Escribá had found his rhythm.

Facts proved that Yellow Submarine had a chance to win this match!

Time reached the 44th minute; Alavés intercepted the ball in their own half, and Laguardia played a through ball directly into the space ahead of García.

García ran toward the ball.

Another counterattack!

In the broadcast booth, the fans' hearts hung in suspense.

At this moment, Tang Ye ran over from the left and dropped to the ground the instant Garcia gained control of the ball.

Boom!

A very fast tackle; Tang Ye successfully knocked the ball out for a corner!

"Beautiful!"

Escrivá roared, and Bacambu hurried over to embrace Tang Ye, who was sitting on the ground.

In critical moments, it always has to be you.

Tom!

"Beep——!!"

"The first half is over!"

"It's a pity Yellow Submarine didn't score two goals; I feel Yellow Submarine should have had the chance to score twice, but Ale failed to seize the second opportunity."

"But it doesn't matter; just now, Tang Ye's tackle and counter-press in the attacking third directly stopped Alavés's buildup from their defensive half."

"Perfect form!"

"Barring any surprises, Yellow Submarine will be even fiercer in the second half."

Check Dongqiu Di Halftime Report: Yellow Submarine away 1:1 Alavés, aggregate score 2:3, trailing by one goal but keeping promotion hopes alive.

VS Alavés, Tang Ye's first-half stats: 5 chances created, 1 big chance, 1 interception, 5.1 km distance covered.

Looking closely, Tang Ye's stats aren't actually that flashy, but anyone with eyes can see that this guy's impact on the field is simply ridiculously huge.

Tom and Garrod together can create the feeling of 2.5 people in attack!

"Boooo!!!"

The home fans clearly realized something was wrong, incessantly booing as the Yellow Submarine players walked toward the tunnel.

Bruno gritted his teeth, wanting to curse a few times, but Escrivá came up directly from behind and pushed Bruno into the tunnel.

"Now is not the time."

"It is still not the time."

"Arrogance will definitely exact a price, but not now."

In the locker room, Escrivá told the players what he had observed during the first half.

Tang Ye listened very attentively; he also learned about his new task for the second half.

Swapping positions with the forwards!

As the most advanced midfielder, Tang Ye needed to execute position-swapping combinations with the team's forwards.

More cross-cutting runs; only this way could they disrupt Alavés's compact defense.

"This..."

Tang Ye sat on the bench, squinting his eyes as he fell into deep thought.

Mr. Ferran's tactics are good, but the problem is he hadn't practiced this kind of tactic during training...

It was a bit difficult to understand.

"It's just pretending to be a forward."

Rodri helped Tang Ye summarize it.

"Oh, then I get it."

Tang Ye's eyes were shining!

"Clap clap clap!"

Escrivá clapped quickly, signaling all players to gather in the center.

Tang Ye knew what to do; he ran quickly, reached the very center, and was the first to extend his hand.

"Tom, you're in a hurry."

Escrivá placed his hand underneath Tang Ye's.

"Then this time, you do the chant."

"Wow, me doing the chant?"

"Okay okay."

Tang Ye took a deep breath, looked around in a circle, and ensured all players had placed their hands in.

"Ma Ti!"

Tang Ye shouted once because assistant coach Ma Ti was standing on the side with no intention of coming in to celebrate.

"Ma Ti, come in quickly, Ma Ti!"

"Me?"

Ma Ti pointed at his own mouth, somewhat surprised, since he usually didn't participate in this segment.

"Come!"

Ale pulled Ma Ti in, and the Yellow Submarine assistant coach placed his hand on the very top.

Okay!

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"VAMOS Villarreal!"

The players used their roars to give themselves psychological reinforcement.

The low point of Villarreal's tactical adjustments had ended!

Now was the time for the Yellow Submarine to accelerate forward!

"Take them out!"

……

(End of Chapter)