Chapter 211: Not Only Is the Score Tied, the Stats Are Too

"Come on, hurry up!"

Tang Ye raised his hand to call his teammates, and Rodri and Sansone rushed over immediately.

The others were still on their way, but he could already hardly wait!

Charge out!

Swish-swish—!!!!

"Vamos!!!"

Tang Ye's roar completely ignited the Cerámica Stadium.

【You have gained 15 Counterattack Points】

Both cheeks flushed red; the surge of excitement left Tang Ye's mind completely blank.

The System's voice sounded right on schedule, but he couldn't hear it.

Apart from the thrill of scoring, Tang Ye felt nothing else at all.

"Tom!"

"Tom!"

Fans in the stands were shouting Tang Ye's name; at that moment, Aleix rushed up from behind him and wrapped his arms directly around Tang Ye's neck.

"Vamos Tom!!!"

The Real Madrid players stood on the pitch, several defenders wearing expressions of sheer helplessness.

A total of five minutes of stoppage time had been added; it was already past the 94th minute—who could have expected Villarreal to bloody well score again?

And it was a long-range shot!

Thud!

Navas punched the goalpost with his fist, causing Real Madrid's goal to visibly shake.

"Wave to the stands, quickly!"

Bruno shouted loudly.

Regaining his composure from the wave of excitement, Tang Ye raised his right hand, and all the home fans rose to their feet.

They needed to respond!

They needed to respond to the earlier taunts from the Real Madrid fans!

"Viva Tom Tom~ (Long live Tom)"

"Viva Tom Tom~ (Long live Tom)"

"Villarreal!"

"Villarreal!"

Tang Ye slowly made his way along the touchline toward his own half.

An uppercut!

"Viva Tom Tom!"

One more time!

"Viva Tom Tom!"

Haha!

Tang Ye and Bruno fist-bumped.

Finding hope again from the despair of being down 2:3 was a feeling impossible to describe.

It could only be experienced by the Villarreal players on the pitch and the Villarreal fans watching this match!

"Oh my god, haha!"

"I thought Cristiano Ronaldo's header was already the winning goal, but it seems calling that earlier goal by Ronaldo the winner might have been a bit premature."

"Villarreal executed what can only be called a perfect attacking combination, culminating in Tang Ye scoring the equalizer."

"3:3!"

Dongqiu Di Live Match Report (Edited): Cristiano Ronaldo aggressively scores with a well-timed header; Real Madrid leads Villarreal 3:2.

Dongqiu Di Live Match Report: After a series of quick, short-range combinations, Tang Ye scores with a long-range shot; Villarreal equalizes at the death!

【"Dongqiu Di Administrator has recalled a message"】

【"Boss Luo's attempt at a last-minute winner failed"】

【"Awesome! Tang Tang Qiuwang has stepped up!"】

【"Where are all those haters now? Don't delete your accounts so fast!"】

【"Fun fact: Villarreal is very likely the only team this season that hasn't lost to Real Madrid; even Barcelona lost to Real Madrid!"】

【"Villarreal > Barcelona, brothers, I've already found the answer for the King's Cup!"】

Without anyone knowing exactly when, Zidane had sat back down on his chair, his face taut as he watched Tang Ye on the pitch.

He was furious, furious at the terrible performance of the Real Madrid players during the final minutes!

They had been far too careless!

After taking a 3:2 lead, they believed the opponent couldn't possibly score anymore, which caused Casemiro, Modrić, Ramos, and others to let their focus drift.

If you lose focus while defending against Tom, how can you possibly cope with Tom's changes in rhythm?

Villarreal's celebration consumed a great deal of time; it was already the 90+6 minute, yet the next kickoff had not yet taken place.

Standing on the pitch, Tang Ye cast a glance toward the home fans' section.

"Viva Tom Tom!"

Haha!

They were getting addicted to singing!

Nevertheless, Tang Ye was very happy.

It was an extremely comfortable feeling!

"And our friends are all aboard~"

"Many more of them live next door~"

"And the band begins to play~"

Amidst the home fans' singing and the away fans' silence, the match ended.

Wanting to use similar tactics to take points from Real Madrid again was an unlikely prospect, especially for a team like Real Madrid, whose players possess such extraordinary individual ability that they can change tactics at any moment, making this even more difficult.

But the fact was, Yellow Submarine had indeed done it!

【Evenly Matched!】

【At 39 years old, you led your team to a draw against Real Madrid; your record of one goal and two assists will secure your place on the candidate list for La Liga Player of the Month for February】

【You have obtained the Real Madrid Chest·High Grade】

Jumping up in the open space before the player tunnel to high-five the fans, Tang Ye ran happily into the tunnel.

The cameraman wanted to chase after him, but was quickly blocked by the staff.

"Viva Tom Tom~"

"Viva Tom Tom~"

The locker room was lively; the players sang the song the fans had chanted during the match. Tang Ye did not sit in his own spot; instead, he sat together with Bruno, because this position was relatively central, allowing him to hear his teammates' singing very clearly.

"So, Bruno,"

Tang Ye turned his head over: "What does 'Viva' mean?"

Wow?

Bruno raised an eyebrow: "So you actually don't know what this phrase means?"

"Uh, I know what 'Tom' means; 'Tom' refers to me."

"But... I don't know what 'Viva' means."

Bruno shook his head with a smile.

"Long live!"

"What?"

The locker room was now filled with the sound of "Viva Tom Tom"; to speak with Tang Ye, Bruno had to lean his mouth right up to his ear.

"It means 'Long live'!"

"Long live Tom!"

Wow!

Long live Tom!

Sitting on the chair, Tang Ye could not utter a single word.

Although he knew these were words of praise, he hadn't expected the fans to praise him so extravagantly.

Long live Tom!

Hmm, setting aside the exaggerated elements within it.

Actually... it was still quite nice!

"Tom, come outside for the award ceremony."

Matí arrived late; at this moment, Tang Ye was still sitting on the bench chatting with Bruno.

They were discussing a crucial issue, so Tang Ye did not want to stand up.

"Hey, do I have to shout 'Viva Tom' before you're willing to stand up?"

"I'm going, I'm going right now!"

Emerging from the locker room, Tang Ye quickly ran out of the player tunnel according to his memory.

Back at the Ceramic Stadium!

"Tom! Wow!"

Most of the fans in the stands had not yet left; they were standing in their spots, waiting.

Because they knew that Tom would definitely come out again!

Of course, besides Tom, the team captain Bruno, who had also performed well in this match, needed to come out together to accept the interview.

"If the fans discover that you actually don't even know what 'Viva' means, will they feel they shouted in vain, haha!"

Bruno nudged Tang Ye with his elbow, teasing him; at this moment, the latter was greeting the fans in the stands: "I already know what it means now, Bruno, don't speak for now."

Arriving at the newly set-up award podium, Tang Ye received his MVP trophy from the staff member. "Was I also the MVP the last time we played against Real Madrid?"

Tang Ye asked Bruno beside him, but before Bruno could answer Tang Ye's question, the reporters' questioning had already begun.

"Your long-range shot helped the team equalize the score; this is something no one expected."

"Actually, I didn't expect it myself either,"

Tang Ye added.

"Is that so? What were you thinking just when stoppage time began and Cristiano Ronaldo scored with a header?"

"Well, um..."

Because of this question from the reporter, Tang Ye began to recall the scene at that time.

Tang Ye could no longer remember clearly what he had felt at that time, but he remembered very distinctly the scene of Cristiano Ronaldo's goal.

"When Ronaldo went up for the header, I was standing at the edge of the penalty arc; he jumped very high, and the angle of his header was found very well. At the very moment the goal went in, I seemed to haven't even reacted yet, and then the Real Madrid players went to the corner flag to celebrate."

Tang Ye continued speaking: "At that time, there were many people near the corner flag; their players were very happy, and since we were the ones who had conceded the goal, the feeling was certainly not very good."

!

"Ronaldo wanted to take off his shirt then, but Marcelo stopped him; Ramos was beside Ronaldo, and Benzema was also beside Ronaldo, but I can't tell you specifically which side, because I don't know either."

Tang Ye's words left the reporter stunned: "You remember all that? It seems conceding that goal really had a huge impact on you."

"But you helped the team equalize in the end; congratulations, Tom!"

"Thank you!"

Tang Ye shook hands with the reporter.

Walking back out from the players' tunnel, Tang Ye happened to run into Cristiano Ronaldo, who was heading to the press conference room.

The two walked toward each other; Cristiano Ronaldo raised his hand, and the two fist-bumped with perfect understanding.

"So hard."

"What's wrong?"

Tang Ye's words made Bruno turn his head.

"Ronaldo's fingers are very strong; just like the man himself, they carry a powerful sense of strength."

Tang Ye sighed with emotion.

Although he was now a stable starter for a top-tier La Liga team,

there were still gaps even among starters!

"Don't overthink it, Tom."

Bruno placed his hand on Tang Ye's shoulder: "This is a match worth celebrating; after earning these two points, we won't face Real Madrid again this season, which is a good thing."

……

The Athletic long article: Ferran Escrivà's tactical reforms and correct player selection helped Villarreal emerge from their January slump; he is the best-performing head coach in La Liga so far this season.

Spain's Channel Six: Suffering Tom's last-minute equalizer, Real Madrid's momentum is gone; the upcoming La Liga matches will be Barcelona's stage.

Relevo front-page headline: Real Madrid and Barcelona are trying to pull away from Villarreal, but this won't be easy; Yellow Submarine's league opponents in March are all weak. "They have a very good chance to catch up."

Attached: La Liga standings (Round 24)

1. Real Madrid, 60 points.

2. Barcelona, 59 points.

3. Villarreal, 54 points.

4. Atlético Madrid, 48 points.

5. Sevilla, 46 points.

6. Real Sociedad, 44 points.

With the league reaching Round 24, the title race between Real Madrid and Barcelona has entered a white-hot phase.

Villarreal currently trails second-place Barcelona by five points; it seems like a lot, but actually, it isn't too much.

Looking comprehensively at the March schedule, Villarreal's league opponents in March are all relatively weak.

Real Madrid and Barcelona are different; Real Madrid must play Atlético Madrid, and Barcelona must play Real Sociedad.

Neither of these two teams is easy to deal with!

【Actually, Villarreal still has a chance to overtake them.】

【Villarreal's March league schedule is a breeze, but the Copa del Rey and Europa League matches are tough...】

【Stop talking; right now I just want to see Villarreal get revenge on Barcelona.】

After the match ended, fans continued heated discussions on Check Dongqiu Di; by the time they woke up at noon the next day, Check Dongqiu Di had added another news item worthy of fans' attention.

La Liga Official: La Liga February Player of the Month candidate list.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

2. Griezmann (Atlético Madrid)

3. Iniesta (Barcelona)

4. Tang Ye (Villarreal)

5. Bale (Real Madrid)

This was the third time Tang Ye had been selected as a candidate!

The previous two times, Tang Ye narrowly missed the Monthly Best award, but some fans pointed out that February should be his most hopeful month yet.

Because among these five candidate players, Tang Ye's statistics were the best!

Villarreal's February league performance was quite impressive; besides Tang Ye, Villarreal head coach Escrivà was also selected for the Monthly Best Coach candidate list.

Escrivà was about to launch an assault on his second Monthly Best Coach trophy!

On the other side, after the match ended, on the return train, Real Madrid head coach Zidane and assistant coach Roberto sat together.

The train would take a long time to reach Madrid, so Roberto used this time to process data on his laptop.

If he finished processing now, he could clock off early and go home once they returned to Madrid.

During this data processing, Roberto discovered something very interesting.

"Zinedine, look at this."

Roberto patted the silent Zidane beside him; the Real Madrid head coach turned his head: "What is it?"

"I compared Luka's and Tom's data."

Tang Ye vs. Modrić!

Tang Ye: 14 chances created, 4 big chances created, 2 tackles won, 2 shots on target.

Modrić: 5 chances created, 2 big chances created, 1 shot on target.

"The gap is quite large..."

Roberto sighed with emotion; in response, Zidane just smiled and shook his head.

Tang Ye was in good form, coinciding with a period when Modrić was in poor form.

These statistics are actually quite normal.

One can only say that while Tang Ye managed to overwhelm Modrić's stats in this match, there is no guarantee he can perform like this in every game.

Looking at the interface displayed on Roberto's laptop, Zidane's face showed no expression.

Just as Roberto prepared to turn the laptop back, Zidane suddenly reached out his hand.

Having risen from the position of assistant coach, Zidane was also proficient with the red trackpad on the laptop; simple Excel operations posed little difficulty for him.

"Modrić" plus "Casemiro" plus "Kroos."

"Zinedine, this..."

Roberto held his head in both hands, marveling at Zidane's imagination.

Let's see what the situation is.

Tang Ye: 14 chances created, 4 big chances created, 2 tackles won, 2 shots on target.

The Ceremonial Midfield Trio: 14 chances created, 4 big chances created, 2 tackles won, 2 shots on target.

Oh!

There is...

... a slight coincidence...

What Zidane and Roberto did not know was that fans had statistically recorded Tang Ye touching his head four times during this match, exactly the same number of times Real Madrid's head coach Zidane had touched his own head on the sidelines.

Hiss—

Phew...

After simply adjusting his breathing, Zidane suddenly said, "We need to submit an offer to Yellow Submarine, yes, an offer for Tom."

"This..."

Roberto felt somewhat surprised by Zidane's words: "Although this guy's market value is only 50 million, if we really want to buy him, I estimate there's no chance without 80 million euros."

An 80-million-euro forward is already a rarity in today's football world, let alone a midfielder, whose prices are generally lower than those of forwards!

For Real Madrid, the 80 million euros is actually secondary.

The midfield combination of Modrić, Casemiro, and Kroos has only just been established for a short time.

Even though Tang Ye is very strong, Zidane absolutely cannot allow Tang Ye to come to Real Madrid and disrupt their existing midfield combination.

"I didn't say we were going to buy him."

Zidane spoke slowly: "Whatever price Barcelona offers, we just need to outbid them by 10 million; anyway, we must not let this guy stay in La Liga next season."

Tang Ye's through-ball ability would definitely not create any chemistry with Benzema, but if a player with extremely strong box presence like Suárez were to arrive...

Real Madrid would be in danger!

They would be beaten by Barcelona so badly they couldn't lift their heads!

Therefore, under no circumstances can Barcelona obtain Tom!

Absolutely not!

(End of Chapter)