Chapter 286: Winning the Last Battle of September: Does Tom Have a Chance to Contend for Player of the Month

"Today Manchester United's starting midfield consists of Tang Ye, Mata, and Herrera."

"Tang Ye remains in the attacking midfielder position; Manchester United needs him to coordinate with Rashford and Martial. As for the defensive midfielder spot... Herrera is replacing Rodri from the previous match."

"Yes, that's right. Rodri delivered outstanding performances in the last few games. At least on the defensive end, Rodri's impact is definitely greater than Herrera's."

He Wei and Yang Zhi briefly analyzed Manchester United's starting lineup for this season.

Currently, the most controversial spots should be the three players: Rodri, Herrera, and Fellaini.

The camera cuts to Herrera.

The pressure on Manchester United's defensive midfielder must be the greatest right now.

Because the newly arrived Spaniard has already launched an assault on his starting position!

Swinging through the central area, Tang Ye spotted an opportunity and quickly drifted to the left flank.

However, Crystal Palace's tactics had been specially designed; just as Tang Ye reached the left flank, he was marked.

He attempted to shake off the defender to find a receiving opportunity, but failed.

With no other choice, Tang Ye could only run back to his central position.

Mata, carrying the ball, ran over and passed it to Tang Ye.

Running proactively toward the rolling ball, Tang Ye prepared himself and, with his first touch, immediately sent the ball to Valencia, who was making a run down the right flank.

"Wow!"

The Manchester United fans in the stands rose to their feet!

That familiar one-touch pass!

Tom is firing on all cylinders!

"Valencia has gone down the line!"

Among the many problems Manchester United had displayed previously, one was that the full-backs were not participating sufficiently in the attack.

Luke Shaw's injury still had too great an impact on Manchester United.

Therefore, Ten Hag conducted some special training for Valencia and Ashley Young to address this issue.

The effect of that training was evident in Valencia's aggressive forward run just now!

"Go, go, go!"

Tang Ye and Mkhitaryan ran together toward Valencia's direction.

Crystal Palace tried every means to cut off Valencia's passing lanes, while Manchester United sought ways to create more passing options for Valencia.

Valencia faced Van Aanholt one-on-one!

Tang Ye swapped positions with Mkhitaryan behind him, then ran past in front of Valencia.

Boom!

Valencia pushed a through ball; Tang Ye got ready!

Snap!

【De Bruyne's Down-the-Line Cross Lv4: Realistic】

Proficiency: 55/800

This time, Tang Ye delivered a low-driven ball; let's see how the recently upgraded 【Down-the-Line Cross】 performs!

Rashford!

Boom!

With a driven shot, Rashford successfully opened the scoring against Crystal Palace.

"Gooo——aaaa——lllll!!!"

"Macusrashfordddd (Rashford)!!!!"

In less than 15 minutes since kickoff, Manchester United had already breached Crystal Palace's goal.

"Wow!"

Ten Hag, sitting on the substitutes' bench, raised both his hands.

Indeed, when impersonating a striker, Tang Ye's offensive aggression was incredibly exaggerated!

His off-the-ball movement and ability to deliver long passes into the penalty area were simply too good; this meant that even though he wasn't a striker, he could display aggression even more exaggerated than a real striker.

What's truly terrifying is never dribbling past opponents, but rather pass after pass that, through precise calculation, directly tears open the defensive line!

Tom's passing!

First colliding with Mkhitaryan, the two then ran together toward the left flank where Rashford was positioned.

【You have obtained 10 Counterattack Points】

"Marcus!"

Shouting loudly, Tang Ye jumped directly onto Rashford's back from behind.

"You're too strong, Marcus!"

Tang Ye discovered a crucial point: Rashford's shooting was incredibly intuitive.

He would find a suitable angle and then slot the ball passed by Tom into the goal!

【Rashford is awesome!】

【Rashford's value in the winter transfer window is probably going to hit 50 million euros】

【50 million? You're underestimating our Master Rashford's pedigree; it's 70 million!】

The comment section was now extremely lively because Rashford's ranking on the top scorers list was rising just a bit too fast.

A familiar feeling.

Just like...

The Chinese fans recalled a guy they were very familiar with.

Allé!

Sébastien Allé!

The guy who won the Silver Boot in his very first season in La Liga!

The match continues!

The 27th minute!

Tang Ye received Martial's pass back in the center, only to be immediately marked by an opposing defender.

Fans familiar with Tang Ye were already getting tense.

Based on the fans' understanding of Tang Ye, two scenarios might unfold next.

One: Cabaye presses up, Tang Ye avoids the confrontation and loses possession.

Two: Cabaye presses up, Tang Ye panics and passes away, losing possession.

So let's see what happens next!

Boom!

Cabaye charged in, Tang Ye quickly sidestepped to avoid him, but lost possession.

Well...

The fans in front of their TVs felt a bit awkward.

Tom is still that same Tom!

As the match entered the 37th minute of the first half, Crystal Palace created an excellent counter-attacking opportunity.

After completing a tackle near the sideline, the center-back sent a long pass straight into the attacking third!

It was aimed at the striker, Sakho!

"Help, help!"

The ball was traveling too fast to control cleanly with his foot, so Sakho called out to Pongolle.

Chest control!

Thump!

He laid it off to Pongolle in front of him, then turned and made a direct forward run.

Pongolle trapped the ball!

A quick push!

Smalling hit the ground trying to block Pongolle's through pass, but he was just a step too slow.

Sakho found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, De Gea!

Slap!

"Saved!"

"Saved!"

De Gea's spectacular split-leg save successfully kept Sakho's one-on-one push-shot out of the net.

Sakho wanted to follow up on the rebound, but the ball bouncing in the box had already been kicked upfield by Jones.

Perfect!

Watching the ball fly toward him, Tang Ye turned and sprinted toward the Crystal Palace goal.

At the same time, he confirmed the positions of his teammates in the attacking third.

Rashford, Martial, and Mkhitaryan!

Hmm, perfect!

Turning his body sideways, Tang Ye used his left foot to control the ball.

He made contact, but the control wasn't great; the ball still bounced up off the grass.

But it didn't matter; Tang Ye leaned his upper body to the right, extended his left leg, and struck it directly on the volley!

Crack!

A very crisp sound; the flying ball hit the grass.

Because it carried spin, the ball did not bounce up after hitting the grass.

This pass was designed by Tang Ye.

The goal was to make it more comfortable for Rashford to receive!

"Beautiful!"

"Rashford has controlled the ball!"

"Passing across to the far post!"

"Rashford has set up a cannon for Mkhitaryan!"

Boom!

Rashford did not waste Tang Ye's through pass; his delivery was extremely steady.

And Mkhitaryan did not waste Rashford's layoff either.

His shot blasted open the goal defended by Hennessey!

Tang Ye, who had been running into the box to get on the end of the play, saw the ball go in and immediately raised both hands.

"Woohoo!"

Check Dongqiu Di halftime report: Home team Manchester United leads Crystal Palace 2:0, with Tang Ye and Rashford each providing an assist. Crystal Palace's defense was actually quite decent, yet Manchester United still managed to secure a two-goal advantage before the end of the first half.

This alone is enough to demonstrate the dominance of Manchester United's attack!

Of course, there is another statistic: goal difference!

Manchester United's goal difference is currently the highest among all twenty Premier League teams.

Manchester United has played just one more match, but their goal difference is a full four goals better than Mancheng's!

After fifteen minutes of adjustment, Tang Ye followed Valencia back onto the pitch.

"As the reds go marching on on on~ (The Red Devils march on!)"

"Just like the Busby Babes in days gone by~ (Just like those 'Busby Babes' of the past!)"

"We'll keep the red flags flying high! (We will keep the Red Devils' flags flying high!)"

In the final moments of the first half, both Manchester United and Crystal Palace upped their tempo, making the Manchester United fans in the stands extremely passionate!

Singing the team anthem, the Manchester United fans expressed their thirst for more goals with their voices!

"Are you ready?"

Mata tugged at his jersey while speaking to Tang Ye beside him.

!

Tang Ye twisted his ankle: "I have always been in top form."

Beep!

"..."

Snap!

Manchester United goalkeeper De Gea once again demonstrated his excellent diving speed, successfully blocking the Crystal Palace full-back's shot with his shin.

"Phew!"

Ten Hag shook his head.

When Van Anholte had the ball in the penalty area, he thought Crystal Palace was about to score.

A false alarm!

"David's (De Gea's) ability to get down low is the best, at least in the Premier League."

Fan Fan Dejiahe voiced his opinion, and Ten Hag nodded beside him.

With time approaching the 70th minute, Tang Ye, having found an opening, signaled for Fellaini, who had been hiding in the back, to move forward, then moved to the right flank to receive Smalling's pass.

Look far first, then near!

The situation in the penalty area was good, but Tang Ye first needed to shake off the defender in front of him!

Feint a step-over to test the waters, then suddenly accelerate!

However, Tang Ye was too confident in his own speed and was immediately brought down by Cabaye.

"Beep!"

"A technical foul by Crystal Palace; this ball should be awarded to Tang Ye."

"Tang Ye..."

"Cross it into the penalty area!"

"First point, Smalling!"

Smalling jumped the highest near the landing spot, but he failed to control his core; by the time he touched the ball, he was unable to shoot.

He gently headed it to Fellaini.

"Fellaini!"

"This one's in!"

Returning from mid-air to the ground, Fellaini looked at the ball already in the goal that he had headed in, his expression indescribably excited.

After coming to his senses, he quickly ran toward the corner flag on the right.

Tang Ye was running there too!

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Just past the 70th minute, the score was 3:0.

This match can be said to be secure for Manchester United!

【3:0!】

【5 wins in 7 rounds! This is Manchester United】

【Not bad, damn it, but Crystal Palace's striker's form was too poor in this match; even without Tang Tang Qiuwang tackling in the backfield, they couldn't score.】

【De Gea is awesome!】

Actually, Crystal Palace's attack in this match was quite decent, but De Gea was in great form, saving two one-on-one chances in a row, resulting in the away team still having zero goals.

However, as long as there are enough attacking opportunities, even the best goalkeeper is useless; Crystal Palace soon proved this principle!

"Goooo——aaaa——lllll!!!"

"Sako!"

"Finally, a goal!"

"1:3!"

Sako's ghostly positioning helped Crystal Palace regain some face.

But it was already the 80th minute; it was basically impossible for the away team to get a single point from Manchester United.

The camera switched; Ten Hag had appeared on the sidelines at some point.

Obviously, the Manchester United manager was not very satisfied with his team's goal conceded just now.

Rashford's defensive recovery was not in position, and the center-backs in the penalty area had not done what they should have.

Bang!

【Casemiro tackling template】!

Directly flipping the Crystal Palace attacking player to the ground!

Since arriving at Manchester United, Tang Ye's opportunities to tackle have decreased due to Ten Hag's customized tactics.

But this did not mean Tang Ye would forget his tackling ability.

On the contrary, his tackling ability had received an epic-level enhancement!

Why?

Because the turf quality at Old Trafford was genuinely excellent!

Sliding felt like accelerating, and it didn't even hurt!

"Sorry."

Tang Ye stood up, patted Townsend on the shoulder, then pulled the Crystal Palace winger up from the grass.

"United!"

Boom! Boom!

"United!"

Boom! Boom!

The match ended; Manchester United defeated Crystal Palace 3-1 at home, securing three points.

This was Manchester United's final match of September!

In September, across seven matches total, Manchester United won six of them!

"Wow!"

Tang Ye jumped up and touched the canopy above the player tunnel.

"Haha, Tom, what are you doing?"

Fan Fan Dejiahe, holding a notebook, happened to walk over just then.

"I just touched this."

Tang Ye pointed to the red canopy overhead, the spot players had to pass under when emerging from the tunnel.

Clearly, Tang Ye had misunderstood Fan Fan Dejiahe's question; in reality, Fan Fan Dejiahe had wanted to ask why Tang Ye made that gesture.

But there was no need to investigate further; Fan Fan Dejiahe shook his head and disappeared around the tunnel corner together with Tang Ye.

"Do you think you can win a trophy?"

Fan Fan Dejiahe turned to look at Tang Ye, who tossed his half-empty mineral water bottle into the air and caught it again: "A trophy? That's Marcus's thing, but I'll go with him to collect it shortly, and handle some reporter interviews while we're at it."

"Not the Man of the Match for this game—I mean Player of the Month."

Fan Fan Dejiahe reminded him: "September has already ended."

!

Realizing this, Tang Ye bit down on his gum and thought carefully: "I should be able to get it; I feel my performance in the last few matches has been quite good."

Then something occurred to him; Tang Ye turned to face Fan Fan Dejiahe: "Right, I also have a hat trick—an assist hat trick!"

"That was in August."

"Hmm."

Tang Ye's expression froze, then Fan Fan Dejiahe gave him a push: "Haha, you've got the timing wrong; the assist hat trick happened in Round 2, and we're already at Round 7 now."

Scratching his head, he said: "Alright, I remembered wrong, but I feel I scored many goals this month, and provided many assists too."

Many images of his own goal-scoring moments flashed through Tang Ye's mind, yet he simply couldn't recall the specific times.

If only the memories played back like a computer screen, with timestamps displayed in the bottom-right corner!

"Hmm... did you perhaps include the national team matches as well?"

After a brief moment of thought, Fan Fan Dejiahe quickly figured it out, pushing Tang Ye toward the locker room: "You counted goals and assists from the national team and the Champions League, plus the EFL Cup! You're comparing your stats across four competitions against their single competition; of course your numbers look better."

"Damn, so my Player of the Month is gone then."

Tang Ye shook his head and sat back down in his spot.

(End of Chapter)