Chapter 289: World-Class Strike, MVP Trophy, and Golden Boot!

Dongqiudi pinned: Manchester United are away at Liverpool, match in progress, current score 0:2, Manchester United trailing.

【Liverpool is tough】

【Don't the fans know the GGBond song? This is unbearable】

【Don't panic, brothers—I'm Tang the Ball King already observing】

Moving to the right flank posing as a forward, Tang Ye receives a through ball from Mkhitaryan.

Run forward!

On Tang Ye's right is the Manchester United fan section; fans are wildly excited as they see him driving forward with the ball.

"Faster, faster!"

"Tom, go faster!"

"Shoot! Shoot!"

The fans are too eager—they're urging Tang Ye to shoot from this position.

But Tang Ye can't hear them.

He focuses solely on the rolling ball ahead and the positioning of the defenders.

Tang Ye must make a quick decision.

Imagine how you'd handle this situation in a game!

Got it!

He directs attention to Moreno on the flank, then stops in place once Moreno runs over.

He points toward the right baseline.

Mkhitaryan sprints past him!

Moreno immediately runs toward Mkhitaryan, leaving Emre Can to mark Tang Ye.

The problem is Emre Can is still some distance away—Tang Ye seizes the chance and cuts inside.

Snap!

Mkhitaryan's cutback!

To Tang Ye!

As he controls the ball, he deliberately kicks it toward the arc's top.

Accelerate!

Snap!

【De Bruyne's far-post curler LV5: Replication】

Proficiency: 0

The lack of a dominant foot is now evident.

Without adjustment, Tang Ye curls the shot—his sudden strike leaves Liverpool's defenders in the box frozen.

"This one's in!"

"World-class!"

"Tang Ye's outside-the-box world-class strike!"

"Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!!!!"

The stadium is flooded with fake whistles; Tang Ye sprints left after scoring.

He meets Rashford and pulls him along.

Then he spots Ashley Young!

Pull Ashley Young in too!

Now Tom's celebration squad has three people!

"Look at me! Look at me!"

"Three, two, one!"

Boom!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!!

"Roar—!!!!"

【You gained 15 Reverse Points】

15 Reverse Points!

This is what the Five Leagues are like…

【Your father is watching—bonus Reverse Points *1】

He almost forgot his father was here; because of the system's 1-point bonus, Tang Ye's actual Reverse Points total is…

【Disobedient, Reverse Points -2】

So Tang Ye's actual Reverse Points total is 14!

Damn!

In the end, he lost one point!

"Tom!"

Rashford grips Tang Ye's shoulders and jumps up.

"Hey, that hurts, that hurts—I don't have strong shoulders, Marcus!"

He nearly got crushed by his best friend, but Tang Ye quickly shook him off.

On the stands, arrogant Liverpool fans give him the middle finger; Tang Ye walks slowly over.

"Roar!!!"

Scare you to death!

Dongqiudi live report: World-class strike from outside the box! Tang Ye equalizes with a powerful shot; Manchester United trail 1:2.

Dongqiudi live report: Tang Ye's father appears on the big screen, expression stern.

【Tang Ye's father… damn, every time I see him I get an Ultraman-father vibe】

【GGBond scored, but GGBond's dad isn't smiling】

【Break the bloodline suppression!】

【What's Manchester United's striker doing? The only shot on target in the second half came from midfield】

【Fun fact: Just now, Tang Ye played as a right winger】

【Right winger? Free man across the whole pitch!】

Fans fiercely debate Tang Ye's position on the pitch but never reach a consensus.

Of course, they could never reach a conclusion.

Because Tang Ye himself isn't clear about his role on the pitch.

Hmm, he just feels doing this helps the team, so he does it.

Though it requires observation and calculation, it's not too difficult for Tang Ye.

"Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart～"

"And you'll never walk alone～"

"You'll never walk alone～"

"You'll Never Walk Alone"—this is Liverpool's anthem.

If Tang Ye were to stop and listen carefully, he'd realize this is the same sound he heard that morning when he and his friends were trapped in the bus!

Back then, Liverpool fans sang to intimidate the opposition.

They wanted to scare the Manchester United players inside the bus.

Now they sing because they themselves are afraid!

Afraid that Manchester United will find their rhythm and destroy their team!

Sitting in the VIP section, Tang Zhengxiong clenches his fists together.

"Go Liverpool, go…"

mun: 46%

mun: 49%

mun: 50%

In the second half, Manchester United's possession gradually rises; by the 70th minute, the Red Devils overtake Liverpool in total possession.

The stats are improving, but Fan Dejia isn't relaxing.

Manchester United still trail by one goal—that's the reality they must face!

78th minute!

Snap!

Tang Ye launches a long pass straight toward Rashford up front.

The Tom-Marcus connection is formed!

Rashford controls the ball and drives toward the baseline.

Unfortunately, Rashford doesn't clear the ball immediately, giving Liverpool defenders a chance to close in.

Master La can't use his signature speed!

Tang Ye runs over to support him and helps find a safe passing option.

Tang Ye has the 【Toni Kroos Safe Pass Template】—a solid superstar template—but he rarely uses it and never melts it in the Forge.

This is because he can use this template to help his teammates make certain judgments.

Thus improving the team's ball possession rate!

"Behind! Behind! Yang! Yang! Yang!"

Rashford passes back to Ashley Young, and at the same time Tang Ye makes a run down the center.

Thud!

Ashley Young delivers a through ball.

"It's for Tang Ye!"

"Let's look at how United handled this attack!"

Slap! Slap!

Two quick touches—Tang Ye and Martial execute a rapid one-two.

Finally, Tang Ye takes the ball to the edge of the box.

Matip steps forward to press; Tang Ye stops his body, maintaining distance from Matip.

Move right!

Facing the goalkeeper with one center-back between him, what to do next is obvious.

Aim for the far post!

Shoot the near post!

Goalkeeper Mignolet didn't guess Tang Ye's shot choice, but Tang Ye's shot was poorly struck.

The ball grazed the left post and flew out!

"Fuck!"

Tang Ye clutches his head with both hands, mouth wide open.

"Phew…"

Tang Zhengxiong exhales in relief.

Damn, that was so close!

"It's okay, it's okay, keep going, keep going!"

By now, everyone's tired; team captain Ashley Young encourages the players.

Just entering the 80th minute, Martial is fouled by a Liverpool player and falls to the ground; the team doctor rushes on.

"Fuck, are you okay, Anthony?"

Tang Ye runs over, carefully examining the spot where Martial was tackled.

Because he's often tackled himself, Tang Ye can almost feel the pain Martial is feeling now.

It's excruciatingly painful!

Two team doctors help Martial off the field.

"Martial's condition seems serious."

"United will make a substitution—Lingard is coming on."

Martial can't continue; United has no suitable striker left, so they push Mkhitaryan up front.

DQD Real-Time Report: 82nd minute, Rodri lofts a ball to Mkhitaryan, who heads it just wide.

"Liverpool!"

Thud! Thud!

"Liverpool!"

Thud! Thud!

Liverpool's defensive tactics have been extremely successful; United has had very few shooting chances in the second half.

Captain Ashley Young suddenly increases the tempo.

"Ashley Young, look at the quality of his cross!"

"Ashley Young, look at the quality of his cross! Oh～～"

Seems like he's too eager—both of Ashley Young's crosses have been bizarre.

87th minute!

Ashley Young and Rashford combine on the left flank; finally, team captain Ashley Young drives to the byline again.

Left foot cuts inside, then right foot!

"Ashley Young's crossing now!"

Slap!

The third cross is finally solid—delivered into the box to Rashford.

Tang Ye helps Rashford make the decision.

"Don't shoot, give it to me, give it to me!"

Thud!

Rashford heads it to Tang Ye; the ball bounces up after hitting the grass right in front of him.

Since it's his first touch, Tang Ye feels an inexplicable surge of confidence.

Left foot lifts—Thud!

Direct volley!

After the shot, Tang Ye stands still, watching his strike fly into the net.

"Aaaah!!!"

He sprints toward the sideline with arms wide open!

Ashley Young tries to catch him mid-run, but Tang Ye dodges.

He's going to run out as fast as he can!

Then—slide tackle!

Swish—!!!!

He tears three stripes into the grass, slides to a stop, then sits down hard on the turf without rising.

"Fuck your mother!"

Tang Zhengxiong in the VIP box is flushed red.

"I fuck your mother!"

United players rush to Tang Ye's position.

"Tom!"

!

Ashley Young and Rashford kneel beside Tang Ye, and as Lingard and Rodri arrive, they tightly hug his upper body.

【You gained 15 Reverse Points】

【Hat-trick! You gained an extra 30 Reverse Points】

【Father watching, you gained an extra reward: 1 Reverse Point】

【Blasphemous! Your Reverse Points balance -2】

DQD Real-Time Report: Tang Ye scores a volley in the final minute of regulation, equalizing for United.

The director replays the goal: a beautifully extended volley.

Though the angle was average, any volley is inherently cool.

But after replaying the goal, the director makes a strange choice.

Crowd replay!

In the VIP section, Tang Zhengxiong and Liverpool's deputy director both stand up, pointing at United's players and shouting.

The Liverpool executive's lip movement is clear: "fuckyoushit"—the crowd knows it well.

But they don't know what Tang Ye's father is saying.

The crowd doesn't understand, but Chinese fans watching on CCTV do!

What did Tang Zhengxiong say?

He said: "Tang Ye, I fuck your mother!"

"Awesome, Tom!"

Rodri punches Tang Ye's arm.

Midfielder, sixth Premier League match.

But five goals.

If any other player had this record, Rodri would be speechless with shock.

But this is Tang Ye!

So Rodri isn't surprised!

His big brother is just that good!

"You're great too, Rod."

Tang Ye punches Rodri back: "I thought we were gonna lose, haha!"

Back on the bench, Ten Hag shows no expression.

But in truth, he'd only just recovered.

Again… saved again.

……

"Beep, beeeep—!!!"

The final whistle blew. Tang Ye, feeling exhausted, was about to squat down when Ling Jiade came over and slapped his hand: "Well done!"

"You too, Jesse!"

After slapping hands with Ling Jiade, Tang Ye ran toward Luo De.

"Luo De, how do you feel now? I think you're ready to start."

Herrera's passing is excellent, but Tang Ye prefers playing with Luo De because Luo De always thinks exactly the same way he does!

Luo De shrugged and replied: "I feel I'm almost there."

Even for such a crucial Merseyside Derby, Ten Hag gave him over forty minutes.

This proves Luo De has a brilliant future!

As the two walked toward the tunnel, they realized many Liverpool fans were already red-hot, yelling insults at every Manchester United player they saw.

"Fuck off!"

"Lick my ass!"

Tang Ye raised an eyebrow, covered his mouth, and tilted his head toward Luo De: "Do you think someone might come down and attack us?"

"Haha."

Luo De was about to say Tang Ye was too tense—when, right under his gaze, a young man in black jumped down from the stands, only to be immediately tackled by security.

Tang Ye pushed Luo De toward the tunnel.

"Run, Luo De! We're gonna get beaten!"

DQD Match Report: Manchester United drew 2-2 away against Liverpool; Salah and Firmino scored; Tang Ye netted a stunning goal to equalize.

"Vivatomtom～vivatomtom～"

In the away locker room, Manchester United players welcomed their man of the match with songs.

Without doubt, it was Tom!

Holding the trophy, Tang Ye sat back down on his bench, then placed the trophy on the floor.

"Pity—if we'd scored one more, we'd have gotten three points."

At halftime, he'd fantasized about scoring three more goals in the second half for a hat-trick.

Tang Ye did play decently in the second half, but it still fell short of his fantasy.

"Didn't think too much about it."

Ashley Young tossed Tang Ye a drink: "If you hadn't scored those two, we wouldn't have gotten a single point today."

"Their defense retreated too deep into their box—we couldn't get our attackers into the area, fuck!"

Bang!

Ashley Young kicked the tactical board in the center, clearly frustrated over two wasted crosses in the second half.

"Yeah, the pitch had something to do with it."

"It rained this morning, so the grass was slippery—that's one major reason we didn't win."

Facing reporters, Ten Hag's emotions were complex.

On one hand, he wasn't satisfied with the 2-2 result.

Because reporters had pulled out his old quote from his Utrecht days.

"The team ranked higher on the table should beat the team ranked lower—it's obvious."

English reporters used Ten Hag's own words to attack him, making the Manchester United manager deeply uncomfortable.

But on the other hand, Manchester United had been trailing until the 88th minute.

In the final minutes, his players equalized—and it was Tom who equalized. Ten Hag was, of course, thrilled.

Thus, Ten Hag now felt a complex mix: happy, yet tinged with regret.

"You seem unable to break through Liverpool's compact defense."

The reporter checked his phone: "In the second half, you had only five touches inside the box."

"They had too many defenders in the box. Clearly, they didn't want us to use our offensive strengths."

Ten Hag shrugged: "We had plenty of chances in the first half, but our players warmed up slowly and failed to capitalize."

"In the second half, Martial got injured, leaving us without a player who could hold the ball in the box."

"That's part of the game—wrong fouls led to wrong outcomes."

Wrong fouls led to wrong outcomes.

As he said this, Ten Hag's expression wasn't good.

The reason was simple…

"How's Martial?"

"Not good. He'll probably need some rest."

Martial is injured!

Ten Hag had no reason to hide it—everyone had seen what happened clearly.

Any normal person would've been injured by that tackle.

Unless you're like Tom and can dodge instantly!

……

Liverpool vs Manchester United, post-match player ratings: Tang Ye 8.7 (highest), Firmino 7.9, Salah and Ma Ta 7.7, Luo De (sub) 7.1.

【If Tang Ye's father hadn't suppressed him, I'm sure he'd have gotten at least a 9.0 today.】

【Ggbond is still top-tier—the most lethal spear of the La Liga underdog!】

【What's wrong with Martial? Is he injured again? Manchester United won't have a striker next.】

【Ten Hag: Ale return to the pitch!】

【There are still two damn months until the winter window—how can Manchester United play without a striker?】

【Trust Ten Hag—even though I have no idea what good he does.】

Less than ten o'clock after the match, fans stayed glued to the DQD app, checking for news on Martial's injury.

Ibrahimović hasn't recovered yet; Luke Shaw just returned to training.

If Martial is also out, how will Manchester United manage?

After waiting half an hour, fans didn't get any news on Martial.

But they saw something else.

Manchester United's column reposted a fan interview video from Sky Sports.

Normally, interview videos get little traffic—they're boring.

But this Sky Sports video went viral in minutes.

Because the interviewee was a famous Liverpool fan.

He had another identity: Tom's father!

"I don't feel good."

Familiar Chinese—Tang Zhengxiong's Mandarin was quite standard.

"We were leading in the first half, so getting equalized at the end was painful."

"Your son plays for your club's arch-rival. What do you have to say?"

"I sort of guessed he'd join Manchester United. Of course, I want him to score more goals."

"Except against Liverpool."

Tang Zhengxiong smiled bitterly: "Today, he scored a bit too many."

"Haha!"

Soon after the interview at Anfield, Tang Zhengxiong was surrounded by Manchester United fans.

Even though Tang Zhengxiong was a Liverpool supporter, United fans still asked him for autographs.

He's Tom's dad!

Tom scored two goals today—so is he the top scorer?

No, not at all.

Tom's dad is the real top scorer!

……

(End of Chapter)