Chapter 243: Three Consecutive Monthly Best Awards, Is Barcelona Inspecting the Goods?

Check Dongqiu Di Match Preview: At 0:30 AM on May 7th, the spotlight match of La Liga's 36th round sees Villarreal travel to face Barcelona.

The match between Manchester United and the Yellow Submarine has garnered significant attention, but that is merely a possibility; Manchester United and the Yellow Submarine may not actually meet in the final.

However, the upcoming La Liga match between Barcelona and the Yellow Submarine is certain to happen!

"This is the third encounter between the Yellow Submarine and Barcelona this season; in the previous two meetings, the Yellow Submarine recorded one win and one loss, demonstrating terrifying strength. They indeed have a chance to defeat Barcelona away from home."

So said Lu En, a host on SER Radio, during the pre-match warm-up program.

"Another highlight of this match is Tom; multiple clues indicate that Tom will transfer to Barcelona after the season ends, making Saturday's match an opportunity for Barcelona to inspect the goods."

"If they want to rely on Tom to contend with the Ceremonial Midfield Trio, they must first confirm that Tom possesses the ability to contend with the Ceremonial Midfield Trio!"

Before the start of the Barcelona versus Yellow Submarine match, the fans' attention was entirely focused on the Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

Real Madrid maintained their god-tier form from April into May, first defeating Atletico Madrid 3-0 at their Bernabeu home ground, laying the foundation for advancement.

The Madrid Derby between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid pushed the heat of La Liga to a peak; at this moment, the Spanish Football Association made another move, announcing the Player of the Month for April half a week early.

April Player of the Month: Tang Ye (Villarreal).

This is the third time this season that Tang Ye has been selected as Player of the Month!

Marca Front Page Headline—Selected as April's Best, Tom becomes the first loan player in La Liga history to be selected as Player of the Month three consecutive times, and he is also the first La Liga player since the 21st century to achieve three consecutive monthly best awards.

"Tom, come look, come look quickly!"

In the afternoon at Jidishitang, Bruno called Tang Ye over to his seat.

"What is it, Bruno?"

Tang Ye approached carrying his tray.

One spicy chicken burger, two portions of ketchup, one portion of salad dressing, and of course, a bottled Coca-Cola.

This was everything on Tang Ye's plate.

Tang Ye usually eats two dinners: one is the dinner served when Mr. Ferran is present, and the other is what Tang Ye currently holds in his hand.

It is very delicious food, but to eat these things one must trigger a condition, which is that Mr. Ferran must not be present!

"I called it, you won Player of the Month."

Bruno displayed his phone screen in front of Tang Ye, who widened his eyes to look closely.

"Before, I thought those idiots at the Football Association would prevent you from winning three times in a row because of your status as a loan player, but it seems I misunderstood them."

"Hmm, so that means after the match against Barcelona, I'll have to go pick up another trophy again."

Rodri made space for Tang Ye, who sat down with his tray in front of Bruno.

Taking a bite of the burger, Tang Ye operated the phone Bruno had handed him.

"Did Mr. Ferran not win the award? In April we only lost one league match, and they still didn't give Mr. Ferran a trophy?"

"Real Madrid didn't lose a single match in April, so the Player of the Month went to Zidane."

Bruno explained, then suddenly noticed Tang Ye hadn't spoken for a while, so he turned to look.

At this moment, Tang Ye was wearing his training kit and eating the burger in large mouthfuls.

"Mr. Ferran is here!"

"Damn, cough cough cough!"

Tang Ye suddenly looked up, turning his head left and right, instantly capturing everyone around him within his line of sight.

However, there was no sign of Mr. Ferran.

Chewing the food in his mouth, Tang Ye rolled his eyes at Bruno: "Bruno, you are not a good person."

"Hahahaha!"

The Yellow Submarine players at the dining table laughed loudly, watching Tang Ye finish everything on his plate.

Wiping his hands with a napkin, he said to his teammates: "We must win the next match."

"Is it because we need to defeat Barcelona to challenge for second place in the league?"

"That is one aspect, but there is another."

With the chicken in his mouth not yet fully swallowed, Tang Ye puffed out one cheek as he said: "After finishing the match against Barcelona, I have to return to the pitch to receive the Player of the Month trophy; it would be very awkward to receive a trophy after losing a match, so we must defeat Barcelona."

The six-point match against Barcelona is extremely important for the Yellow Submarine, as it directly affects their standings ranking after the conclusion of the 36th round.

With only three days remaining until the match begins, Escrivá still conducted targeted training for the players.

During these few days, Tang Ye heard many things from Escrivá, such as the need to find ways to cut off the coordination between Barcelona's front-line players and prevent Iniesta from reaching the byline.

Although Escrivá said a lot, when playing the training matches over these few days, Tang Ye did not feel any changes in the team's tactics.

On the contrary, he very clearly felt a change in the team's atmosphere.

From three days before the match to the day before the match, the players within the Villarreal team became increasingly silent.

Tomorrow marks the third encounter with Barcelona, and an inexplicable pressure hung over the Yellow Submarine's training ground!

"I know you are under great pressure right now; my pressure is also great, we are all one family."

After the final training session before the match against Barcelona ended, Escrivá held a small meeting with the players in the cafeteria.

"You are very nervous, so you think our opponents are just as nervous, is that right?"

Escrivá shook his head: "I'm sorry, but if you think that, then you are wrong!"

Hmm?

The players lifted their heads to look at Escrivá before them.

Thump thump!

Knocking twice on the dining table, Escrivá's voice suddenly grew louder: "Let me tell you, the pressure on our opponents is absolutely greater than ours!"

"There is a huge gap between us and Atletico Madrid; even if we lose to Barcelona, we will still be in third place, but Barcelona is different!"

"We can only move forward, but if Barcelona loses the match, they will fall back!"

……

Check Dongqiu Di's pinned post: Villarreal releases a teaser poster for the match against Barcelona, featuring Piggy Xia Chuang and Bruno.

Spain's Channel Six: Regardless of the result of this match, Barcelona will officially submit an offer for Tom when the summer transfer window opens. However, Dutch journalists generally believe that if the Yellow Submarine wins this match, Utrecht will receive a more substantial transfer fee.

With four hours remaining until kickoff, the bus carrying the Villarreal players pulled up to the side gate of Montjuïc Stadium.

"Boooo——!!!"

Barcelona fans quickly surrounded the area, hurling jeers at the visiting players as they stepped off the bus.

It was clear that the Barcelona fans were very nervous!

They were afraid of losing this match!

Because it would cause them to drop from second place!

"OK, thanks, let's just leave this on the bus for now."

Piggy Xia Chuang grabbed his backpack and stepped off the bus; the Barcelona fans, who had been incessantly booing, suddenly changed their tune.

"Tom!"

"Tom! Wow!!"

"TomTom, are you coming to Barcelona? Will you come to Barcelona next season?"

"Come to Barcelona, and together we'll take down Real Madrid! Next season we can win the Champions League!"

Piggy Xia Chuang exchanged greetings with fans on both sides before walking through the small gate.

"Bruno was wrong."

Piggy Xia Chuang whispered to Martí beside him.

"What's wrong?"

Piggy Xia Chuang pointed to the bus at the entrance: "While we were on the bus earlier, Bruno told me that the Barcelona fans would jeer at us."

"But they didn't do that."

"Bruno thought too poorly of the opposing fans; actually, they aren't bad."

As kickoff time drew nearer, reporters from Marca quickly took their positions.

Among the crowd of Barcelona fans, the Marca reporter selected a fan wearing a Real Madrid jersey as his interview subject.

"Buddy, aren't you afraid of being blocked by Barcelona fans with that outfit?"

"No, no, I bought an away ticket."

The interviewed Real Madrid fan was extremely optimistic.

"Did you fly all the way from Madrid specifically to support Villarreal?"

"Actually, I'm a die-hard fan of Tom. I knew about Tom back at the start of the season when our home match against the Yellow Submarine ended in a draw; I came here specifically to support him."

"But of course, I also support Villarreal."

In front of the camera, the fan showed off the Villarreal jersey he was wearing underneath.

"If Villarreal beats Barcelona, we'll secure the La Liga title for this season!"

"A Villarreal fan for life!"

Attached: La Liga Standings (Matchday 35)

1. Real Madrid, 88 points (one extra match played).

2. Barcelona, 82 points.

3. Villarreal, 80 points.

4. Atlético Madrid, 73 points (one extra match played).

5. Sevilla, 62 points.

6. Real Sociedad, 58 points.

……

"China Central Television! Here is the live broadcast bringing you..."

"Currently, players from both sides are ready in the tunnel!"

"Due to the renovation of Camp Nou, today's match is being held at Barcelona's Montjuïc Stadium."

"This is good news for the visiting team, Villarreal; the number of home fans Montjuïc Stadium can accommodate is much smaller compared to Camp Nou!"

Since Piggy Xia Chuang had just been officially announced as the Player of the Month for the third consecutive time a few days ago, the director gave him a long close-up shot while he stood in the player tunnel.

【Tang Tang Qiuwang~ The match hasn't even started↑, yet an eight-second close-up shot↑, the status is a bit exaggerated~~~】

【This is even longer than Messi's screen time, right?】

【Take down Barcelona, take down Barcelona!】

【Barcelona is pitiable; having to face the Yellow Submarine in May means there's no hope for the La Liga title now.】

The fans in the live stream were somewhat excited.

Because they knew they might be witnessing a historic moment today!

Villarreal breaking the Real Madrid-Barcelona monopoly on the top two spots in La Liga!

"Beep——!!!"

The match began; Aleix passed the ball back to Musacchio, and He Wei started introducing the starting lineups for both sides.

Barcelona (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: ter Stegen

Defenders: Roberto, Piqué, Umtiti, Digne

Midfielders: Rakitić, Busquets, Iniesta

Forwards: Messi, Suárez, Neymar

Head Coach: Enrique

Facing the dark horse Villarreal, Barcelona fielded their strongest current lineup.

The Yellow Submarine, of course, did the same.

The camera cut to Tang Ye, who was jogging on the pitch.

The strongest man is already in the formation!

Shortly after the match began, Barcelona's front-line players started applying high-intensity pressure on Villarreal's defense; by the 6th minute, striker Suárez had even run straight up to Asenjo's face, making the fans in the live stream tremble with fear.

"..."

Hands in his pockets, Escribá glanced in Enrique's direction.

Did this guy Enrique learn something from Ajax?

"Here, here!"

Costa ran to his own goal line to ask Musacchio for the ball, just as Musacchio found himself blocked by both Messi and Rakitić.

Decisively pass it back!

Messi dodged Musacchio and charged straight at Costa, while Rakitić cut off Musacchio's passing lane.

"Damn it..."

Shaking his head, he quickly ran back toward his own half.

Hell!

Isn't this the exact same tactic Ajax used before!

In the first leg of the semi-finals, Ajax's high-press defensive tactic had caused Villarreal no small amount of trouble.

Back then, Ajax directly scored two goals!

And Barcelona's front line is even stronger than Ajax's!

Although he hated leaving his position up front, Tang Ye knew he had to drop back to defend now!

Messi charged straight at Costa's face!

Costa's original idea was to clear the ball directly out of bounds, thereby securing a corner kick.

But Messi suddenly accelerated, so Costa, playing it safe, could only kick the ball out over his own goal line.

"Oh~"

"Xuu—!!!"

Costa's cowardly act drew mockery from the spectators in the stands.

"In the 11th minute of the match, Barcelona earned their third corner kick of the game!"

"Left to Rakitić to take!"

Pa!

The corner kick is delivered!

Tang Ye, hiding outside the penalty area, quickly judged the trajectory of the ball and shouted loudly: "Near post!"

After giving the warning, Tang Ye observed the Barcelona players inside the box, then locked eyes directly on Messi.

The corner was delivered to the near post, where Suárez was marked tight.

Busquets headed the ball straight for goal!

Pa!

Asenjo slapped the ball away with one hand!

Messi immediately ran to the landing spot.

He controlled the ball!

"Wow!!!"

"Take a shot!"

Bang!

Tang Ye rushed out from who-knows-where, sliding on the ground to block Messi's shot.

"Haha!"

Having completed the block, Tang Ye and Asenjo collided chest-to-chest.

【High-difficulty block: You gained 5 Counterattack Points】

5 Counterattack Points?

Fist-bumping Musacchio, Tang Ye was somewhat surprised by the system's sudden message.

He hadn't expected that this kind of block could also earn him money?

But thinking about it, it made sense; for Tang Ye, the chance for such a high-difficulty block was even smaller than his chance to make an assist!

"Tom! Go for it!"

The away stand was right nearby, and Tang Ye heard the fans shouting his name.

The fourth corner kick was delivered; this time Barcelona's corner was somewhat lackluster, and Asenjo jumped up to catch the ball directly in his arms.

"Move forward, move forward!"

Suárez stood in front, denying Asenjo the chance to distribute the ball immediately.

Asenjo feinted left and right until he reached the edge of the penalty area, then threw the ball out to Bruno!

"Up front!"

Bruno pointed to the right wing and launched a long pass directly!

Finding Aleix directly!

However, Alai was quickly blocked by Digne!

A teammate had to move up to provide support!

Tang Ye was rushing forward!

Slap!

Alai's back pass found Bacca, who was running over.

Alai continued running toward the right-wing baseline, while Bacca held his position on the right flank.

Iniesta wanted to steal the ball!

He had to pass.

Bacca's pass found Tang Ye.

This was a chance!

Slap!

【De Bruyne Standard Long Pass Lv4: Realistic】

Proficiency: 152/1200

"Tang Ye!"

"Play a through ball behind their defense!"

"It's going to Sansone!"

"Beautiful!"

Tang Ye's long pass from the backfield accurately found Sansone!

After controlling the ball with his thigh, he sprinted forward!

In that instant, Sansone exploded with incredible speed!

That's how one-on-one situations work; if you don't seize the opportunity immediately, your opponent won't give you another chance later.

He charged straight at Roberto!

Roberto blocked Sansone's path!

Right now, Sansone just wished a teammate would come support him, but unfortunately, none of his teammates had arrived yet.

There was no other way!

Bang!

Sansone chose to force a push shot, but the resulting ball grazed the far post and rolled out of play across the goal line.

"Damn!"

Escriba felt extremely frustrated.

They had failed to capitalize on this counter-attacking scoring opportunity!

Tang Ye stopped in the backfield and shook his hand.

What a pity.

That pass should have been played with half a meter more lead!

"Tom!"

Prompted by Rodri's reminder, Tang Ye looked toward the substitutes' bench, where Escriba was shouting loudly at him.

"Fall back first, fall back first, and defend against their upfront attack!"

Having learned a lesson from the previous match against Ajax, Escriba decided to adjust his team's tactics for today's game.

Barca wanted to attack first and defend later.

Then Yellow Submarine would defend first and attack later!

Barca was very strong; playing conservatively was definitely the right choice!

Tang Ye gave Escriba a thumbs-up, and after ter Stegen kicked the ball long, he actively shifted his position backward.

Tom had to stay together with Rod.

Only a compact midfield defense could stop the MSN attack!

【What's going on with Barca's tactics?】

【Ajax: Barca copied us】

【Damn, Tang Tang Qiuwang is forced to defend again】

【Just say whether Tang Ye's penalty area blocking is fierce or not】

The Yellow Submarine fans were actually quite relieved right now.

Fortunately, Ajax had unveiled this tactic first, giving Yellow Submarine experience in dealing with it.

If Enrique had been the first to use this style of play against Yellow Submarine, considering Barca players' excellent coordination ability, Yellow Submarine would most likely have suffered in this match.

"Currently, Villarreal's defensive line is in a rather compact state."

The striker Alai dropped back to the halfway line.

The fake forward Tang Ye was already standing on the same line as the defensive midfielders!

"I got it, I got it!"

Tang Ye rushed up to block Iniesta's position, helping Gaspar gain control of the ball.

Matic and Rod had taught him a lot of knowledge about defensive midfield play; although Tang Ye had forgotten much of it, he still remembered the most basic parts.

"..."

Slap!

Busquets pulled the ball from the left to his feet, then pushed it to his right.

A "V"-shaped drag-back!

Coupled with a precise through ball!

It successfully pierced Huang Huang Qian's defensive line.

Musacchio dove to block the ball.

But he failed!

The through ball found Messi, who made a diagonal run into the penalty area from the right flank!

Messi shot directly!

With a "bang," a pushed shot sent the ball straight into the net.

"GGGG——OOOO——LLLLLL!!!!!"

"Goal!"

"1:0!"

"Barcelona has opened the scoring against their opponent!"

……

(End of Chapter)