Chapter 224: Advance to the 14th Final! Win All Matches in March!

【CHARGE! CHARGE! CHARGE!】

【Villarreal forward!】

【To be honest, Lyon really isn't a match for Huang Qian; Genesio might as well go wash up and sleep early.】

The match enters the 82nd minute of the second half!

Goalkeeper Anthony Lopez plays a pass from the back!

Accurately finds Gonon in the front!

Considering this was a hurried pass by Lopez under pressure, handling it this well is quite impressive.

Pah!

Chest control, then passes to the nearby Vidal.

Bruno runs toward Vidal, who immediately sends a through pass forward.

To the striker Lacazette up front!

"Back! Back!"

Asensio shouts loudly.

The mass forward movement of Lyon's players gives him an uneasy feeling—he must call all defenders outside the box back.

Mousquinho quickly cuts off Lacazette's path, leaving him no chance to turn and shoot after receiving the ball!

With no option, Lacazette can only pass to Tolisso, who has run up from the left.

Lyon's long-ball counterattack failed to launch immediately, giving Tang Ye time to retreat.

"I'll take it! I'll take it!"

Tang Ye volunteers to step in front of Tolisso, beginning his one-on-one defense as Escrivá watches skeptically.

Tang Ye knows he lacks one-on-one ability, so he doesn't try to tackle—he simply stands in front of Tolisso.

Wherever Tolisso moves, Tang Ye moves with him.

Tolisso, clearly pressured, suddenly accelerates.

Tang Ye holds his position and strikes at the perfect moment!

The ball is knocked out between Tolisso's feet.

"Hah!"

Realizing he's won the ball, Tang Ye immediately sprints forward.

Gonon runs over to support; Escrivá shouts loudly: "Clear it! Clear it!"

At this position, if Tang Ye keeps the ball, Gonon will surely steal it—better to kick it out of bounds.

But Tang Ye rarely hears the coach's shouts during matches.

His mind is racing.

Thinking of a solution only he can execute!

Charge forward and take control.

Gonon rushes in to tackle!

Now's the moment!

Tang Ye focuses, pushes the ball from his left foot to his right, then back to his left, shifting his center of gravity rapidly side to side, leaving Gonon completely confused.

Dribble past!

"Wow!!!"

Tang Ye wears a grin.

So cool!

Though not from a god's-eye view, Tang Ye knows—he just pulled off a killer nutmeg!

After today's match, he'll already be able to see the highlight clip of his nutmeg…

Thud!

Ma Leier charges in from nowhere and kicks the ball clean off Tang Ye's foot.

Tang Ye flies up and crashes to the ground.

"…."

Damn!

The camera cuts to Tom sitting on the ground,

Villarreal's attacking midfielder sighs, regretting his failed attempt to show off.

DQZ report: Huang Qian defeats Lyon in the second leg, wins both legs 2-0, advances to the quarterfinals, where they'll face Beixi.

Villarreal defeated the strong Ligue 1 side Lyon and successfully reached the quarterfinals.

"Villarreal!"

"Villarreal!"

After the match, the home fans don't leave immediately—they keep singing the team anthem.

The fans are excited because, barring surprises, the teams Huang Qian will face in the quarterfinals and semifinals won't be too strong.

They have a real chance to reach the final!

In the post-match interview, Spanish reporters immediately ask Escrivá about the next knockout match.

"Beixi is strong—they're a Champions League team. We must give everything against them because we want to reach the semifinals."

…

"Vamos!"

In the locker room, captain Bruno shouts into the air; the players immediately echo him.

"Tom, you don't seem happy?"

Bruno spots Tang Ye, head down in thought, in the corner, and walks over with Ale: "Winning should make you happy."

"I know, but…"

Tang Ye shrugs: "I executed the nutmeg—I was supposed to pass it forward, but… damn, I got tackled!"

In Tang Ye's plan, he was supposed to nutmeg the defender, then deliver a pinpoint long pass to the front—this was the complete, correct sequence.

But Tang Ye only completed half of it!

"Hah!"

Bruno places a hand on Tang Ye's shoulder: "The nutmeg was awesome—I didn't even know you could do that. But that loss afterward shouldn't have happened. You're good at reading the game—you'd already beaten Gonon, no need to look back."

"I, I…"

Tang Ye's face turns red: "I just wanted to tease him…"

…

After the Lyon match, Huang Qian had only one game left in March: the 26th league round away against Las Palmas.

The day before the match, while eating dinner in the cafeteria, Tang Ye received a call from his agent, Bole.

Bole wanted to discuss summer transfer possibilities.

It was already mid-March—less than three months until the season ended!

"Uh, Bruno, I'm going outside to take a call."

Tang Ye grabs his phone and runs out of the cafeteria.

"Yes, Barcelona still has interest in you."

Bole says slowly: "Enrique watched your two games against Real Madrid—he thinks you'd thrive at Barcelona."

Huang Qian drew both matches against Real Madrid this season—results aren't dazzling—but Tang Ye genuinely suppressed Real Madrid's three central midfielders!

That's exactly what Barcelona wants!

"So I'm going to Barcelona next season?"

"Not certain. Real Madrid wants you too, but when I spoke with them, I sensed their interest wasn't firm… Hmm, you should also consider Bayern, and Juventus."

"Tom, if you sign with any of these clubs, your weekly salary will jump to at least 130,000 euros—ten times your current pay!"

"…."

Tang Ye says nothing, lost in thought.

Barcelona, Bayern, Juventus—honestly, all are excellent options.

Bole recommends Barcelona, to compete for La Liga and Champions League titles.

Though Tang Ye is only 18, Enrique told Bole that if Tang Ye maintains this season's level, he'll be an undisputed starting midfielder at Barcelona.

"By the way,"

Bole suddenly remembers: "But it's not necessarily just these three clubs—yesterday, an English Premier League club also contacted me, though they haven't reached out to Utrecht yet."

"Premier League club?"

Tang Ye's eyes light up.

Erik is now Manchester United's manager—if Tang Ye goes to England, won't he be facing Erik directly?

Just thinking about it is thrilling!

Tang Ye holds a naked photo of Erik, kicking a Premier League match ball.

Defeat Erik's Manchester United!

"Bole, which Premier League club?"

"Manchester United."

"…."

Sssss——

Tang Ye took a deep breath, grabbed his hair, and felt his mind grow slightly confused.

He had already prepared to choose between Barcelona and Bayern, and now suddenly Manchester United shows up?

Is this Eric's idea?

He pulled his phone back out of his pocket.

He checked the time—training at English clubs should have already ended.

Tang Ye opened WhatsApp, thought for a moment, then began typing on his phone's keyboard.

【Mr. Eric, are you trying to get me to join Manchester United?】

「…」

Looking at the Dutch text he'd typed on his screen, Tang Ye hesitated, quickly deleted it, and finally sent only a question mark.

Not sure how to phrase it—better send a question mark first and see what Ten Hag says.

Tang Ye was about to put his phone back in his pocket when it suddenly vibrated.

【Ten Hag: Tom, did your agent contact you?】

【Yeah, so Mr. Eric, what should I do now?】

【Ten Hag: Reject Barcelona and Bayern—that's not where you belong. Special players belong on special teams.】

Tang Ye didn't know how to reply, so he said he still had to prepare for Villarreal's next match and that the transfer issue could wait until the summer window.

「What's wrong, Tom? 」

Back in the cafeteria, Mousquiao greeted Tang Ye.

「Nothing, nothing important. 」

He sat back down, picked up his half-eaten burger, and buried his head in it.

…

「Beautiful! Tang Ye! 」

「Perfectly placed shot—angled near post, the goalkeeper had no time to react! 」

「3:0! 」

「Villarreal leads Las Palmas 3:0! 」

At the 77th minute, Villarreal led home team Las Palmas 3-0.

It was a decisive victory!

An unquestionable victory!

「Villarreal! 」

「Villarreal! 」

Though this was Villarreal's away match, the home fans had fallen silent under the 3-0 lead.

The stadium was filled with Villarreal supporters' voices!

Dongqiu Di report: Villarreal won 4-1 away against Las Palmas, completing a perfect March across all competitions.

「Hahaha! 」

In the locker room, Tang Ye twisted open a bottle of mineral water and kept pouring it over captain Bruno.

Bruno tried to escape, but Tang Ye chased after him.

「Wet him down, Tom! 」

「Go! Go! Go! 」

「Hahaha! 」

A few minutes later, Tang Ye sat in his seat, wiping his body with a towel.

「Rode, pass me the trash bin. 」

Roder kicked the bin over; Tang Ye twisted the towel hard, and water dripped into the bin with a "tap-tap-tap."

Even his hair was dripping.

「Rode, haven't we lost a single match this month? 」

「Not 'haven't we Haoxiang '—we haven't lost a single one. 」

Bruno interrupted: 「League, Europa League—we've lost none. And we just won the King's Cup final a week ago. 」

Tang Ye wiped himself again with the wrung-out towel, then flung it straight at Bruno.

「Haha! 」

「Tom, get lost! 」

Bruno threw the towel back; Tang Ye dodged, and it landed on the floor.

「So are we high up in the league table now? 」

Tang Ye's question silenced the locker room. Bruno rummaged through his locker for his phone: 「Let me check… let me check… Barcelona's match hasn't finished yet—our position should still be good…」

While Bruno fiddled with his phone, Tang Ye also found his own.

He turned on the screen!

No response?

He shook the phone, then held down the power button.

Still no response.

「…」

Tang Ye ran toward Bruno's spot; Bruno looked up: 「You don't have a phone? 」

「Mine got wet. 」

「Hahaha! 」

Bruno burst into laughter, opened Google, and typed a URL into the keyboard.

Suddenly, the screen glitched—Bruno's phone displayed a corrupted image.

Tang Ye and Bruno stared at each other. Tang Ye blinked: 「Bruno, your phone's wet too. 」

「Damn it! 」

Bruno tossed his phone into the trash bin and joined Tang Ye to check Mousquiao's phone.

Mousquiao had been smart—he'd placed his phone on the top shelf during the celebration.

His phone worked fine!

La Liga Table (Matchday 28)

1. Real Madrid, 70 points.

2. Barcelona, 66 points (one game in hand).

3. Villarreal, 66 points.

4. Atlético Madrid, 57 points.

5. Sevilla, 50 points (one game in hand).

6. Real Sociedad, 49 points.

「Wow, Real Madrid has 70 points! 」

Tang Ye took a deep breath.

La Liga has 38 matchdays—Real Madrid already has 70 points after only 28!

「I think they'll drop off later. 」

Mousquiao said: 「Once the Champions League reaches the quarterfinals, Real Madrid will start sacrificing league games—we'll probably do the same. 」

Escribano had already explained to the players in a meeting: the choice between Europa League and league.

Before reaching the Europa League semifinals, Villarreal must prioritize the league.

But if they reach the Europa League semifinals, they'll need to sacrifice some league matches to focus on Europe.

The club's goal: win one more trophy this season, besides the King's Cup.

Winning La Liga is unlikely, but Villarreal will still fight for it!

「April will be crucial. 」

Ma Di walked over: 「Our schedule in April is packed—seven La Liga matches. By then, our final position will be decided. 」

「Yeah, April's coming soon…」

Tang Ye muttered, then added: 「I've got national team games too. 」

「Ma Teao, check the Asian qualifiers schedule for me. 」

Tang Ye asked Mousquiao to look up the Asian qualifiers on his phone, but Ma Di answered immediately.

「Your games are March 23 and March 28—only one league match might be affected. No big deal. 」

Ma Di smiled.

Villarreal's luck had been pretty good.

If Tang Ye's national team matches had been scheduled for April, Villarreal wouldn't have known how to handle next month.

「Good. 」

「The 23rd? It's less than a week away—aren't you leaving yet? 」

Bruno turned to Tang Ye: 「I thought national team reporting required at least a half-month notice. 」

「I talked to the national team—they told me to finish these matches first. 」

Bruno nodded: 「They really trust you. 」

Why say that?

You've been selected for the national team for the first time, and you're being thrown straight onto the field after just five days of preparation—what else is that if not trust?

Tang Ye laughed heartily.

"Then I've got to play my heart out."

He rubbed his hands together, his eyes blinking rapidly.

As a child, he watched national team matches on TV—the Asian Cup, the Asian qualifiers…

Yeah, and the Olympics too!

Tang Ye often watched national team games and knew many of the stars on the squad.

In just a few days, he'd be one of them.

Just thinking about it made him excited!

…

DQD Hot Discussion: 7 league matches and 2 Europa League games—how should Villarreal handle their grueling April schedule?

La Liga Official: Candidates for La Liga's March Player of the Month.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid).

2. Tang Ye (Villarreal).

3. Messi (Barcelona).

4. Aspas (Celta).

5. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid).

【Now I know why La Liga's viewership can't match the Premier League—it's always the same few teams putting on shows.】

【Though Messi was also impressive this month, the Player of the Month is unquestionably Tang the King—no debate.】

【Tang Ye is almost certainly March's best player, but the real key is April.】

This month, Villarreal didn't lose a single league match, and Tang Ye scored a 7.8+ rating in every game.

Compared to the other four candidates, Tang Ye's March stats were likely the best.

After their match against Las Palmas, Villarreal's entire March schedule was complete.

But Chinese fans weren't worried about the next dozen days being dull.

Because the Asian qualifiers were about to begin!

At 3:00 p. m. China time on March 19, a news post featuring only a single photo topped DQD's homepage.

In the photo, Villarreal's superstar number 10 stood at the Capital International Airport wearing a blue sweater knitted by his mother.

The Tang King has arrived!

…

(End of Chapter)