Chapter 210: Tang Ye's Triple Power, Zidane's Confusion

【Damn!】

【SIU! No, wait, damn it, I'm a fan of Tang Tang Qiuwang!】

【He's already in shooting range just past the halfway line; what is Yellow Submarine going to do now?】

【Teammate gap!】

【You can't say 'teammates'; if you talk about Tang Ye's teammates, Tang Ye will be unhappy.】

【Why hasn't Tang Tang Qiuwang stepped up?】

【Look at how many times Tang Ye has even touched the ball so far.】

"Viva Ronaldo~ (Long live Ronaldo)"

"Viva Ronaldo~"

The away fans ignored the home fans' boos, singing their song for C. Ronaldo, who had just scored, regardless.

Escrivá narrowed his eyes into slits and, while the camera wasn't pointing his way, took a glance at the area in front of the away team's substitute bench.

Zidane, wearing a down jacket, stood with both hands in his pockets.

Having both hands in one's pockets isn't scary; what's terrifying is that Zidane is also bald, which is truly hard to bear.

Compared to their last encounter, Real Madrid had improved their tactics against Yellow Submarine.

Casemiro kept his eyes fixed on Tang Ye, not allowing him to run freely, and the Brazilian defensive midfielder's exceptional tackling ability made Yellow Submarine's teammates afraid to pass to Tang Ye.

"Huff... huff..."

Gasping for breath, Tang Ye ran left and right, yet he simply couldn't find any good opportunities.

In terms of physical strength, he couldn't outmuscle Casemiro.

In terms of speed, he was no match for Casemiro either.

In terms of stamina...

Well, there was no need to compare that.

By the 37th minute of the first half, Kroos delivered a super-precise through pass to Benzema.

This was almost a one-on-one opportunity, but Benzema faltered in front of the goal; his pushed shot hit Asenjo's ankle, and the Yellow Submarine goalkeeper quickly smothered the ball.

"Move forward, move forward!"

Clutching the ball, Asenjo ran toward the edge of the penalty area while signaling his teammates in the back to push up.

Benzema tried to stop Asenjo from taking the quick restart, but Asenjo cleverly ducked his head to dodge him.

Throw the ball out and volley it!

Slap!

The ball traveled fast; Bakambu ran over and controlled it steadily at his feet, and at this moment, Tang Ye had temporarily shaken off Casemiro's defense.

"Here!"

While shouting, he turned his head to assess the situation upfront!

From the corner of his eye, he saw Casemiro running toward him.

Bakambu passed the ball over; Tang Ye didn't dare to control it, immediately pulling the ball behind him on his first touch and successfully returning it to Bakambu, who was making a forward run.

If not for the boost from the 【Fernandes First Touch Module】, Tang Ye probably would have had an even harder time in this match!

"Tang Ye, that ball handling was excellent!"

"Casemiro's man-marking didn't work!"

"Bakambu, keep running forward!"

Yellow Submarine was mounting their attack; Tang Ye observed constantly, thinking all the while he watched.

Casemiro was sticking to him relentlessly; in this situation, standing at the arc, Tang Ye definitely wouldn't get a chance to touch the ball.

Thinking this, Tang Ye immediately followed Bakambu, running toward the right-wing baseline.

Oh!

The fans in the stands suddenly saw the light!

Tang Ye has switched modes!

He'd played nearly 40 minutes in attacking midfielder mode without finding an opportunity; now let's see if striker mode has anything to offer!

"Give it to me, give it to me!"

Tang Ye took the ball from Bakambu's feet and then ran into the penalty area.

Ramos ran toward Tang Ye.

Ramos was very close to Tang Ye, and he was also very tall, which directly deprived Tang Ye of any chance to chip the ball into the penalty area.

However, Tang Ye had a bold idea.

Curl it with his left foot!

Slap!

Tang Ye's pass struck the grass right in front of Ramos, and any further would have gone out of bounds, but at that moment... the ball suddenly curved!

Damn?

Damn!

Realizing the danger, Ramos decisively slid to tackle.

What a pity; his foot was just a fraction short of reaching the ball!

Tang Ye's pass reached inside the six-yard box!

Ale!

"Bang!"

"GGGGG——OOOOOO——LLLLLLL!!!"

"Goal!"

"Hmm, Tang Ye's pass shows remarkable imagination; that was an incredibly exaggerated spinning change of direction!"

Aleix spread his arms toward Tang Ye.

"Haha!"

Tang Ye likewise spread his arms, and after the two embraced, they ran together toward the stands below.

【You have gained 10 Counterattack Points】

【You exploited Real Madrid at their most vulnerable moment to launch an attack; although somewhat unsportsmanlike, you nevertheless helped the team's young player breach Real Madrid's goal】

【Counterattack Points balance: -2】

【You have gained an additional 5 Counterattack Points】

This...

There were too many messages; Tang Ye, still celebrating, needed a moment to process them.

He was penalized 2 Counterattack Points for taking advantage of an opponent's weakness, but for helping a teammate score against Real Madrid, Tang Ye received an extra 5 Counterattack Points.

5 is greater than 2, so Tang Ye came out ahead.

Then all is well!

Zidane waved his hand and sat back down to rest.

"Something feels off..."

Zidane's words caught assistant coach Betoni's attention: "What feels off?"

"A familiar feeling; this guy seems somewhat like Luka (Modrić)."

"But Luka is right-footed, while he is left-footed,"

Betoni reminded him.

"But he seems capable with his right foot as well."

So does that make Tang Ye a PLUS version of Modrić?

No, that was clearly impossible.

Among all active midfielders, Modrić's ability ranked in the first tier, the so-called T1.

Below T1 lay T2, but there was nothing above that; Tang Ye could not possibly be a PLUS version of Modrić.

He merely possessed some insight into using the outside of the foot.

Oh, rather, he had a little insight into using the outside of both feet.

Thinking this, Zidane suddenly turned his head: "So why can he use the outside of both feet? Does La Masia teach that?"

Roberto shook his head: "According to feedback from our spies, La Masia only trains the outside-of-the-foot technique for players with unique talents, and even then, they train only one foot, not both."

"Alright."

Zidane nodded, then suddenly recalled something and said: "I remember that guy is also good at tackling; oh, here it comes."

Just as Zidane finished speaking, Tang Ye executed a flying tackle on Kroos from the wing, helping Bacambu regain the lost possession.

"See, I wasn't mistaken."

Zidane looked at Roberto, who seemingly didn't know what to say.

Seventeen years old, capable with the outside of both feet, plus tackling skills maxed out in proficiency.

How many damn hours a day must he train to achieve this!

"Beep——!!!"

Dongqiu Di halftime report: Villarreal trailing Real Madrid 1:2 at home; Tang Ye delivered a short-range outside-of-the-foot through ball into the small penalty area, followed by C. Ronaldo's spectacular long-range worldie.

【Damn, this match is truly thrilling】

【Benzema missed a one-on-one; otherwise, Real Madrid would be leading by two goals】

【Tang Ye played games too late yesterday; otherwise, Villarreal would be leading by ten goals now】

【Hahahaha】

【Villarreal needs to find ways to get King Ball Tang more touches; although this might increase turnovers, going without the ball constantly isn't viable either】

"What Villarreal needs to do is ensure Tang Ye receives the ball more often; only then can they create chances."

"Although the other two midfielders on the team can also create some opportunities..."

As he spoke, Zhan Jun gradually fell silent.

Because he realized that Rodri and Bruno seemingly lacked the ability to create chances.

Well, there was a reason why Escrivá ignored Tang Ye's ball-control abilities last summer to recruit him from the Eredivisie.

Bruno was too conservative; he needed a young player beside him to stir things up!

"Bruno!"

On the way to the locker room, Tang Ye placed his hand on Bruno's shoulder: "I feel we can still get a result today; we just need to equalize again in the second half."

【Comforting a young teammate; you have gained 1 Counterattack Point】

"Keep it up, Tom!"

Bruno pressed down on Tang Ye's outstretched hand; Tang Ye's hand, like his current emotions, was warm.

Casemiro's marking made Tang Ye feel very uncomfortable, so in the second half, Tang Ye needed to proactively create some moments for himself!

"I feel the cameras probably barely captured me in the first half."

Accelerating his pace, Tang Ye suddenly said.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I barely touched the ball a few times; I need to get more touches."

Entering the locker room, Escrivá, who was drawing on the tactical board with a marker pen, gestured for Tang Ye and Bruno to hurry up.

"Thump! Thump!"

"Our first half was too strange."

"Their wide midfielders all pushed up to attack; that's why we couldn't get the ball out. They had a numerical advantage; once the ball was in our defensive third, it got stuck, and then we lost!"

"So we need to find a way to control the ball in midfield or on the wings. Bacca and Nicola (Sansone) should take more touches; controlling the ball on the wings is safe for us because Ronaldo and Bale won't frequently drop back to defend."

"Then, regarding the attacking midfielder position: if Tom gets marked out of the game, Ale, you drop back and stand alongside him, make crossing runs; you can even send Tom into the penalty area."

Escrivá was a sensible man.

If Tang Ye got marked out of the game, Ale would have almost no chance to receive the ball inside the box; that was also why Ramos and Pepe kept running outward during the first half.

They simply weren't afraid of Ale inside the penalty area.

Because as long as Tang Ye was shut down, Ale couldn't fulfill his role as a target man!

Playing as a target man wasn't working...

Then it might be better to let the striker-by-default give it a try!

Crossing runs.

With Ale?

Didn't that mean he would become the center forward?

It was truly an exciting prospect, but Tang Ye needed to stay calm right now.

Because only calm players could step up when their team needed them most!

In the second half, he would step up!

Soon, under Escrivá's call, the Villarreal players gathered and took their positions in the center circle.

"Everyone thinks we're going to lose, but judging by the first half, we still have a chance. We can take points from Real Madrid, even though it won't be easy."

"The second half is our best opportunity to prove our strength."

Breathing slightly quicker, Tang Ye stretched out his hand and placed it in the very center.

"We can take points!"

"Three, two, one!"

"VAMOS Villarreal!"

"Alright, this is China Central Television. We are now in the second half of Matchday 24 between Villarreal and Real Madrid; neither side has made any substitutions so far."

Zidane and Escrivá both agreed that their current lineups were appropriate.

Villarreal's strongest lineup should be used against Real Madrid's strongest lineup!

Both sides were in good spirits, but no goals had been scored by the 65th minute of the second half.

At this point, Zidane was already considering making a substitution to shore up the defense, but just as he was about to make his first change, Villarreal launched an attack.

To avoid Casemiro's tight marking, Tang Ye ran all the way out to the center circle.

It was exhausting, but worth it!

Bang!

That was a pass from Bruno; Tang Ye pretended to go for the ball, tricking Casemiro into closing in, only for Tang Ye to suddenly lift his foot.

Bruno's pass went right through the legs of both Tang Ye and Casemiro!

At that moment, Tang Ye immediately turned and sprinted forward!

"Stop him!"

Zidane shouted loudly.

Casemiro reacted extremely quickly; since it was too late to block the position, he simply reached out with his hand!

Casemiro wanted to use a yellow card to halt Villarreal's counterattack.

The idea was good, but it was useless; Tang Ye, who had prepared for this, suddenly sidestepped and directly dodged Casemiro's pull.

Did you think Tang Ye only knew how to dodge collisions?

Wrong!

Whenever there was an opportunity, he would find a way to avoid any degree of physical contact!

By now, Bruno had sensed the opportunity, so he shouted forward to help Tang Ye: "Go!"

Time to eat!

A smile appeared on Ale's face as he stood on the offside line, ready to burst forward at any moment.

Tang Ye found his position.

Make good use of his first touch!

Snap!

【De Bruyne Curved Through Ball Lv4: Realistic】

Proficiency: 231/1000

It looked like a curved through ball, but in reality, it was a pure straight through ball executed with the technique of a curved pass.

This ball barely curved at all; the purpose was to pursue faster ball speed!

Pepe blocked Ale's position, but Ale reacted quickly, planting his foot directly inside the penalty area, preventing Pepe from making any major moves.

Ramos went straight to the ground!

He still wanted to slide-tackle Tang Ye's through ball!

But!

Tang Ye's through ball was so fast that Ramos still failed!

It went straight to Ale's feet!

Ale!

"Shoot directly!"

"GGGGG——OOOO——LLLLLL!!!!"

"Goal!"

"Ale!"

"Villarreal has equalized the score!"

Zhan Jun shouted with effort.

After falling behind 0:2, the Yellow Submarine scored two consecutive goals to directly level the match.

How could this not stir excitement?

Why was Villarreal able to equalize?

Because of Tom!

"Roar——!!!"

Ale and Tang Ye shouted together toward the stands.

Tang Ye greatly enjoyed roaring alongside Ale, for Ale's voice was extremely rough; shouting with him gave Tang Ye a fierce feeling that could frighten many people.

【You have obtained 10 Counterattack Points】

【Scoring twice, you have obtained an additional 10 Counterattack Points】

This goal did not trigger any hidden Easter egg, but it didn't matter anyway.

For the current Tang Ye, Counterattack Points were ultimately secondary.

The most crucial thing was the match itself!

The significance brought by the assist far exceeded the reward of Counterattack Points!

"Mark your man properly!"

Navas roared at Pepe.

Villarreal's equalizer caused a slight conflict among Real Madrid's defensive players.

"Calm down, calm down!"

Captain Ramos quickly stepped forward: "Stop arguing; our lead has been erased!"

Since they were competing for the title, Real Madrid's objective in this match was to take all three points.

Three points meant three points, not one.

Head coach Zidane had already stated this in the locker room at halftime.

Real Madrid would make no concessions whatsoever!

Cristiano Ronaldo from the front line also ran back to encourage his teammates alongside Ramos.

Although he was only the fourth captain, Cristiano Ronaldo's words held very important significance for the Real Madrid players.

The match continued!

【Brothers, it feels like the Yellow Submarine is still very formidable】

【Damn, he truly is a heavenly substitute; even with Casemiro marking Tang Ye so tightly, he still found an opportunity】

In the director's slow-motion replay, the details of Tang Ye's movements were magnified.

There was no particularly exaggerated speed, nor any acceleration.

It was simply rhythm and imagination; Tang Ye used these two traits to break through Casemiro's tight marking.

Of course, there was also Casemiro's tactical foul!

"A very strange feeling"

Recovering from his anger, he recalled the image of Tang Ye shaking off his marker just now.

That eerie sense of rhythm.

Hmm...

Zidane always felt he had seen this thing somewhere before.

Could it be the ability of another Real Madrid player again?

Zidane compared Tang Ye's rhythm from just now with each of the eleven Real Madrid players on the field one by one, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

That was terrifying!

Possessing partial characteristics of the Ceremonial Midfield Trio was already too absurd.

Surely you, Tang Ye, cannot single-handedly match four Real Madrid players?

"I have a sense of familiarity"

Roberto suddenly said.

Surprised, Zidane turned his head: "You have this feeling too?"

Roberto shook his head: "I can't recall clearly; it's a flavor from very long ago"

Time ticked by second by second.

In the 83rd minute, this was Real Madrid's chance; Bale carried the ball all the way to the edge of Villarreal's penalty area, but when he shot, he failed to keep his center of gravity low, and the struck ball flew straight into the stands.

"Oh!"

Zidane clasped his head with both hands.

Escrivá must have said something in the locker room, as Villarreal's defense in the second half was clearly a tier better than in the first half.

Bale's volley was almost certainly Real Madrid's best scoring opportunity of the second half.

After this failed attempt, Bale seemed to have some issues with his ankle, so Zidane substituted him off.

Real Madrid's attack continued.

"Hold the line!"

"Villarreal has only one task right now, and that is to hold the line!"

Morata came on at full fitness, and Cristiano Ronaldo was not substituted off; this shows that Zidane must still be craving victory.

There were fewer than 2,000 Real Madrid fans in the stands, and now they were cheering for their home team!

As the match reached the 90th minute, the referee announced the stoppage time for this game.

Five minutes of stoppage time!

In this match, Casemiro, Kroos, and Ramos had all committed many fouls against Tang Ye.

"At least three of these five minutes of added time belong to Tang Ye,"

Zhan Jun remarked jokingly.

It was now the 90+1 minute mark; Real Madrid kept organizing attacks in the front field, and Cristiano Ronaldo took another volley shot.

But Asenjo still punched the ball away.

Asenjo's form today was simply maxed out!

It felt like Yellow Submarine could really take points from this!

"What a pity for that shot by Cristiano Ronaldo..."

"Corner kick for Real Madrid; Kroos is checking the position!"

"Inside the penalty area!"

"Cristiano Ronaldo!"

"Header!"

"Eh! Oh my god! Goal!"

"Goal!"

"GGGGG——OOOOOO——LLLLLLL!!!!"

Inside the penalty area, Cristiano Ronaldo shook off the marking from Ruiz and Gonzalez, rushed to a spot near the penalty spot, jumped up, and scored directly with an extremely tricky angled header.

Asenjo stood frozen in place, his expression stiff.

It was true that his form was great today, but one couldn't create chances like this!

With a header from such close range, there was not the slightest chance based on reaction time alone!

"Ohhh!!!"

The away fans in the stands began their carnival.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"SIUUUUU!!!!"

Check Dongqiu Di live match report: 92nd minute, Cristiano Ronaldo scores a last-gasp header from a scramble in the box; Yellow Submarine 2:3 Real Madrid.

Tang Ye stood still, watching the Real Madrid players celebrating wildly near the corner flag, feeling terrible in his heart.

Zidane, having just finished roaring, happily returned to his seat.

"It doesn't matter anymore!"

Whatever strange feeling, whatever familiar feeling—it all didn't matter now.

Tang Ye was not the key to this match.

Real Madrid killing Villarreal 3:2 with a last-minute goal was the key, and also the result.

Real Madrid had taken 3 points at the Ceramic Stadium!

The match restarted, and the dejected Escrivá also sat back down in his position.

Although he was standing on Yellow Submarine's side, the fact was that the match had already reached 93 minutes and 16 seconds.

Villarreal had lost their chance!

However, just as Escrivá's buttocks touched the chair, a sudden uproar erupted from the stands.

"Woww!!!"

Near the center circle, Tang Ye intercepted Modric's through-pass to Morata with a slide tackle.

His anticipation had seized an attacking opportunity for Yellow Submarine!

Hmm?

Escrivá put his hands in his pockets, his attention fully focused.

How about it, is there a miracle?

"Here, here, take it!"

As soon as Tang Ye got up, he immediately passed the ball to Gaspar, who was supporting on the wing, and then charged forward without caring about anything else.

Huff, huff!

The feeling of cerebral hypoxia made Tang Ye feel very uncomfortable.

But Tang Ye had to accelerate his run.

Because compared to cerebral hypoxia, the feeling of being killed off in the 91st-plus minute was even more unbearable!

His head felt a bit dizzy, but Tang Ye's vision was not too affected.

Casemiro was chasing over!

No matter; anyway, Tang Ye did not have possession now, and Casemiro, who already had a yellow card, would not dare to take him down.

Gaspar passed the ball to Bakambu, who dropped back to receive; after completing the pass, Gaspar moved closer to Tang Ye's position, and then Bakambu returned the ball to Gaspar.

Gaspar passed to Rodriguez on the left, and Rodriguez then fed the ball to Tang Ye.

Villarreal used quick passing combinations to bypass the blocking lane set up by Casemiro.

Possession goes to Tang Ye!

After receiving the ball, Tang Ye dribbled forward.

Although extremely excited, Tang Ye could think with absolute calm; this was an ability he had developed from playing games since childhood.

When the opposing jungler comes to gank, you must think extremely quickly to find the best way to handle the situation!

Casemiro reached out to pull, but Tang Ye passed the ball to Sansone on the left the instant he fell, then quickly scrambled back up.

The referee signaled advantage to the attacking side.

"Pass it back to me!"

Huh?

Sansone froze for a moment, then hurriedly kicked the ball back in front of Tang Ye.

Casemiro, who had just run toward the penalty area, suddenly regretted his decision.

Lift the right foot!

Curl it directly toward the far corner!

The ball flew past Casemiro's shoulder, entered the penalty area, and soared over the heads of Ale and Ramos.

!

Navas jumped out!

He didn't touch it.

The ball...

Went in!

(End of Chapter)