Chapter 236: For the Sake of the Team, Tom Took a Step Back

Beep, beep-beep—!!!

"The referee has blown the whistle!"

"After 120 minutes of fierce battle, home team Villarreal lost 2:3 to away team Beşiktaş."

"Currently, the aggregate score between the two teams is 5:5, and the away goals are also equal, which means they will decide the final outcome through a penalty shootout."

Beşiktaş achieved a scoreline against the Yellow Submarine away from home that no one could have imagined.

Leading the Yellow Submarine 3:2!

Head coach Güneş's tactics excellently restricted the performance of the Yellow Submarine's players!

Now, Villarreal and Beşiktaş will determine the final team advancing to the semi-finals through a penalty shootout!

Dongqiu Di live match report: Extra time ends, aggregate score tied, entering penalty shootout.

【Holy crap】

【Beşiktaş creating a miracle this time, locking down the Yellow Submarine completely with five defenders】

【Penalty shootout, brothers, it's a penalty shootout!】

【Beşiktaş has no chance; Aleix, Bruno, and Bakambu are all penalty experts】

【Talisca's penalties are fierce too, you know!】

"..."

Tang Ye said nothing; Beşiktaş's special tactics made him feel very uncomfortable playing.

Although they scored, they did not secure victory before the end of extra time!

Now it is a penalty shootout!

The first penalty shootout of Tang Ye's career!

Seeing anxiety in Tang Ye's expression, Aleix walked over and placed his hand on Tang Ye's shoulder.

"It's okay, it's okay, their penalties aren't as good as ours!"

While speaking, Aleix squeezed the muscles on Tang Ye's shoulder: "Trust me, Tom, I'll go first, and I will score my penalty!"

Shifting the pressure from his teammates onto himself was Aleix's responsibility as the team's primary penalty taker.

Suddenly thinking of something, Aleix leaned his mouth close to Tang Ye's ear: "Have you ever taken a penalty before?"

"During your time at Utrecht?"

"No, even further back!"

Aleix shouted.

Tang Ye spent only one season with the Utrecht first team, and Aleix had watched him progress through that period.

Tang Ye had never taken a penalty in any match for Utrecht, nor had he taken one in any match for Villarreal.

But now he was about to participate in a penalty shootout!

"I participated in a penalty shootout back when I was in the Chinese youth training system; we won that time!"

"Then that's great!"

Aleix broke into a smile: "If you have experience, then that's excellent; you won that penalty shootout, so you will win this one too!"

"But I didn't go up to take a kick in the one we won."

"..."

Tang Ye's answer left Aleix momentarily unsure of how to respond.

When Tang Ye joined both Utrecht and Villarreal, he brought tactical revolutions to both teams, which resulted in him rarely participating in penalty training.

Both Ten Hag and Escrivá were training his passing and attacking abilities!

"It doesn't matter!"

As the two walked toward the sideline, Aleix patted Tang Ye's shoulder again: "Tom, I will lead us to victory; that is my promise."

Tang Ye is an outstanding player; he should not be eliminated in the quarter-finals due to a penalty shootout.

He should be playing in the semi-finals!

And he should be playing in the final!

"Hurry, hurry!"

Escrivá urged; before the penalty shootout begins, both sides have a preparation period, and the Yellow Submarine's head coach called all eleven players on the field to the front of the substitute bench.

"I know you are very dissatisfied with this scoreline; I didn't expect it to end like this either. They played well, but that is not the focus right now!"

The stadium was very noisy; Escrivá had to shout loudly to ensure the surrounding players knew what he was saying.

"What we face now is a penalty shootout, and we need to win it."

Escrivá's lips were trembling.

Advancing via a penalty shootout!

The problem was that Villarreal had only trained the players on penalties three times this entire season!

Martí handed the tactical board to Escrivá, who then looked around at all the players before him.

"We need to determine the penalty order now! Sebastián, you are first; any problems?"

Aleix immediately indicated there were no problems.

"Then second, Bruno!"

"Third, Mateo (Musacchio)."

"Fourth, Bakambu!"

The lineup order for the penalty shootout basically followed the ranking of the Yellow Submarine's internal penalty takers.

As the primary penalty taker, Aleix would go out first.

The fourth penalty taker, Bakambu, would go out fourth!

"Then there's the fifth person..."

Saying this, Escrivá took a deep breath.

Finding Tang Ye hiding behind Ale: "Tom, are you willing to go up?"

Tang Ye's contribution to the team this season was obvious to all; he deserved the chance to take a penalty at this moment!

"The fifth spot carries too much pressure; you can choose to go fourth, or second!"

Escrivá added, and Bruno immediately said: "Tom, I can swap positions with you; I can go fifth."

"..."

"Huff, huff, huff..."

Tang Ye's breathing quickened; Ale reached out and grabbed his arm: "Tom, you can do it."

Hesitating, Tang Ye did not answer Escrivá immediately; at that moment, cheers from the Villarreal fans in the stands rang out.

"Villarreal!"

Bang bang!

"Villarreal!"

Bang bang!

This was the sound of Villarreal fans shouting their team's name!

This was their longing for advancement!

"..."

Turning his head back, Escrivá and Martí were staring dead into his eyes.

After comprehensively considering his own penalty-taking ability, Tang Ye ultimately took a step back.

"Mr. Ferran, I'm sorry..."

"It's fine, it's fine! This isn't anything shameful; everyone has their own strengths."

Escrivá reached out and grabbed Tang Ye's shoulder: "The fifth penalty taker will be changed to Nicola (Sansone)."

The shooting order was now fully confirmed; Captain Bruno went to the referee to flip a coin for side selection, while the other players stayed by the sideline to adjust their mindset.

Tang Ye squatted on the ground; Escrivá had ultimately given him the eighth shooting order, meaning he would not need to take a kick unless something unexpected happened.

Looking at the grass before him, Tang Ye's expression showed some grievance.

If only he were a penalty expert as well; then he wouldn't have needed to take that step back just now.

"It's okay."

Ale had squatted down beside Tang Ye without him noticing when: "Ferran said that everyone has their own strengths; we'll take you to the final, and you'll lead us to win the final. Tom, believe me, I will score the first goal."

Tang Ye said nothing, merely nodding lightly.

"He really gave up."

In front of the substitute bench, Martí held his head in his hands.

"I told you already; most likely he wouldn't take it. You still don't understand him."

Looking at Tang Ye squatting on the grass, Escrivá felt somewhat heartbroken, yet at the same time felt a trace of admiration for this little guy.

As Villarreal's top star player, Tang Ye should have been granted the right to take a penalty at this moment; this was also the reason Escrivá, despite knowing clearly that Tang Ye's penalty technique was not outstanding, had arranged for him to go fifth.

But Tang Ye ultimately refused.

Because he knew that taking a step back would be beneficial for the team.

"Players from both sides are ready; Villarreal, having won the coin toss, chose the goal, placing it on the side farthest from the away fans."

"Beşiktaş has chosen to shoot first!"

"The first to go up is Talisca!"

Ten Villarreal players stood in a line on the center circle, arms over each other's shoulders, each chewing gum.

Talisca, holding the ball, approached the penalty spot; standing before him was Villarreal's starting goalkeeper, Asenjo!

The home fans in the stands issued jeers directed at Talisca!

"Beep!"

"Talisca, let's see if Beşiktaş can score the first goal..."

"Goal! A very tricky pushed shot; even though Asenjo guessed the direction correctly, it was useless!"

Beşiktaş: √

Villarreal:

Talisca's penalty taking was strong; this was also the reason Beşiktaş had chosen to shoot penalties first.

They wanted to seize the momentum first!

Next up was Villarreal!

The first to go up was Ale!

"Watch me."

Ale patted Tang Ye's shoulder, then walked forward.

"Go, Ale!"

"Go!"

"Go, go!"

The Villarreal players were under great pressure; Tang Ye could clearly feel Rodrigo pressing down on his shoulder with significant force.

Tang Ye's shoulder hurt a bit, but he said nothing.

"Villarreal!"

"Villarreal!"

Villarreal's first kicker is Ale!

Ale easily slots the ball in!

"Beautiful, Ale!"

"..."

"Bakambu missed the penalty!"

"Villarreal missed the chance to defeat their opponent directly with the fourth kick!"

The CCTV commentator held his head in his hands; in the camera frame, four or five Yellow Submarine players were squatting on the ground.

Beşiktaş: √×√×

Villarreal: √√√×

Because Bakambu missed his penalty, the suspense carried over to the fifth kick. "It's okay, it's okay!"

Bruno pulled Bakambu over: "It's fine, we're still leading; if they miss their next kick, we win."

Tang Ye squatted on the ground watching as Beşiktaş's fifth penalty taker walked out.

It was Hutchinson!

During regular time and extra time, Tang Ye had practically pinned Hutchinson down, but that didn't matter now.

Penalty-taking ability was the focus now!

Hutchinson's penalty ability was something Tang Ye couldn't compare to!

"Beep beep beep beep beep!!!"

"Xuuuuu——!!!"

"Trash! Trash!"

"Piece of trash!"

The home fans were constantly trying to distract Hutchinson!

Because if Hutchinson missed, the Yellow Submarine would win outright.

【Miss! Miss! Miss!】

!

【No need for Tang Tang Qiuwang to step up; Hutchinson, just cut your own throat.】

【Asenjo! Counting on you, Asenjo!】

"Hutchinson, standing before the penalty spot!

"Hutchin

son is under immense pressure now, because this kick will directly decide the team's fate..."

"Run-up and shoot!"

"Goal!"

Beşiktaş: √×√×√

Now both sides had three goals; the Yellow Submarine still had one chance left.

If the Yellow Submarine scored their fifth kick, they would claim victory in this match.

If they missed, it would go to another round!

"Damn, damn..."

Breathing gradually quickened; Tang Ye high-fived Sansone, who was preparing to go up and take the penalty.

Come on, Nicola!

Please don't make us go to a second round!

If it went to a second round, Tang Ye would be forced to go up!

In the camera frame, Sansone walked out and took the ball from the referee's hands.

Seeing that Sansone was the fifth penalty taker, fans in the live broadcast room and in the stands were all somewhat dumbfounded.

【?????】

【Not letting Tang Ye take it?】

【What is Escribá thinking? Not giving the Europa League top scorer a spot in the penalty shootout?】

【Awesome!】

The discussion unfolding in the Check Dongqiu Di comments section was exactly what Escribá had worried about before.

The fans didn't know whether Tang Ye had penalty-taking ability; they only knew that as the team's star player, Tang Ye should have had the right to appear in the penalty shootout.

In the fans' view, Sansone had stolen Tang Ye's spot!

Escribá narrowed his eyes, watching Sansone on the pitch.

Sansone was now under the greatest pressure!

Even greater than Ale, who had kicked first!

In front of the substitutes' bench, Cherishev silently prayed to God.

"Sansone!"

"Villarreal's fifth player to step up is Sansone; to be honest, when I saw Sansone, I was actually somewhat surprised."

"That's right; Escribá probably considered that Tang Ye is young and couldn't handle the pressure, so he chose not to let him take it."

"But it doesn't matter; let's see how Sansone does!"

The referee blew the whistle!

Sansone began his run-up!

Shot!

Goalkeeper Favri guessed the direction correctly, and the Yellow Submarine fans held their breath.

However, Sansone struck this penalty with an excellent angle!

"Goal!"

The image on the large screen at the Estadio de la Cerámica suddenly changed; the 2-3 score vanished, replaced by the high-definition crest of Villarreal.

【villarrealwin】

"Roar—!!!!"

Escrivá, along with the substitute players behind him, rushed directly onto the pitch, while the players already on the field began sprinting rapidly.

"Vamos!"

Tang Ye and Bruno embraced each other.

"Vamos!!!!"

A match lasting nearly three hours.

Villarreal had been constrained by Beşiktaş's tactics.

Yet in the end, they still secured victory!

"Brilliant, Nicola!"

Tang Ye and Bruno collided with Sansone: "We won, we won!"

"Villarreal!"

"Villarreal!"

"Villarreal!"

"Villarreal!"

Fans in the stands cheered loudly; Escrivá hugged Sansone and Bruno in succession, finally embracing Tang Ye.

"Mr. Ferran, we..."

"Tom, we won!"

Although it was not the final, the arduous process gave the players a different feeling about this victory.

"Yellow submarine~ Yellow submarine~~~"

Villarreal's team anthem rang out across the pitch as Tang Ye and Bruno waved to the fans in the stands.

"Do you regret not taking a penalty?"

"What?"

The noise at the venue was so deafening that Tang Ye failed to hear Bruno's words clearly.

"I said, do you regret not taking a penalty?"

"No regrets!"

Tang Ye needed no hesitation to answer; pointing his index finger at Favri, who sat before the goal looking utterly dejected, Tang Ye shouted: "He is formidable at saving penalties; if the fifth kick had been mine, I wouldn't have scored."

This was the absolute truth; given Favri's ability to commit to a direction, Tang Ye's feints would most likely have failed to deceive him.

Fortunately, Tang Ye had declined the opportunity to take the fifth kick; otherwise, this penalty shootout might well have extended to a second round.

"Tom!"

"Didn't I say I would lead you to victory?"

Aleix smiled as he ran up from behind, high-fived Bruno, then stood beside Tang Ye, the three of them waving together to the fans in the stands.

"So, Tom, will you lead us to win the final?"

"Let's not rush to the final just yet, Sebastian?"

"Why do you say that?"

"We haven't even started playing the semi-finals yet..."

"Oh, that's true."

After a moment's thought, Tang Ye added: "If we truly reach the final, I will definitely give my all. Hmm, even if we don't reach the final, I will still give my all; I'll start working hard during the semi-finals."

Check Dongqiu Di match report: Aggregate score 6-6, defeated Beşiktaş 4-3 on penalties; Villarreal advances to the Europa League semi-finals, where their opponent will be Ajax.

Check Dongqiu Di hot discussion: What's your take? Escrivá didn't assign Tang Ye an early spot in the penalty order—was it due to lacking penalty ability or lacking mental fortitude?

【Although Sansone's final kick was very accurate, I still feel ggbond should have taken it.】

【Doesn't matter, we won in the end anyway.】

【Is it that Tang Ye can't take penalties?】

【Your Europa League top scorer can't take penalties?】

【Hiss, mainly Tang Ye's technical characteristics are extreme; whether he can or not is truly hard to say.】

【I'm done, Tang Tang Qiuwang was the MVP of this match, yet he didn't participate in the penalty shootout after receiving the MVP award.】

Click-clack!

In the press conference room, Escrivá, Martí, and Bruno sat together.

Escrivá, seated in the center, felt a sense of relief.

The Yellow Submarine's choice of penalty takers was highly controversial.

Fortunately, Sansone scored with the final kick; otherwise, Escrivá estimated he would have been ripped apart by the hot-tempered Spanish fans!

"First, Ferran, I need to congratulate you on winning this match; you lost during regular time and extra time today; Beşiktaş's tactics seemed to have effectively restricted you; could you comment on that?"

"Hmm... they 【referring to Beşiktaş】 were in very good form today; of course, it was mainly due to their special tactical arrangement; their pressing prevented our defensive players from distributing the ball, directly causing Tom to be unable to display his abilities."

"A very good tactic, but I have already thought of a solution; after returning today, I will further modify the team's tactics."

The season is nearly over; discovering such flaws in the team's qualification path at this stage must be addressed quickly.

Next month, they still have to play against Barcelona at Camp Nou!

"Then can we talk about today's penalty shootout? You won the shootout, but Tom didn't take a penalty kick. Was this your arrangement? Could you explain the reason for arranging it this way?"

Tang Ye deserves a spot in the penalty order; fans and reporters all think so.

Why didn't Escrivá let Tang Ye go up to take a penalty kick?

"In my initial design, Tom was our fifth penalty taker."

"Then why..."

"He told me he wasn't ready yet; his penalty state today might not have been very good, so he refused."

As he spoke, images of Tang Ye squatting on the grass floated through Escrivá's mind.

It is regrettable that Tang Ye failed to step up at that moment.

But objectively speaking, what Tang Ye did was not wrong.

Tom was right!

PS: Thanks to "WhoSeesPersimmonTurnWhite" for the donation of 10,000 points!

Thanks to "SheSheDeDeDe" and "CatGuardingTheMouse" for the donations of 5,000 points each!

(End of Chapter)