Chapter 296: Advancing to the Round of 14 Quarterfinals, Preparing for the Final October Match Against Spurs

Dongqiu Di live match report: Tang Ye's shot from inside the box flies wide; Lin Lin Jiade comes on as a substitute to replace Rodri.

Ten Hag substituted Rodri off for Lin Lin Jiade, which made Fan Fan Dejiahe, who had been sitting on the bench, unable to resist glancing toward the Manchester United manager's position.

After the EFL Cup match against Swansea, Manchester United would face Tottenham; Ten Hag chose to conserve Rodri's stamina at this moment...

"Well done."

After embracing Ten Hag, Rodri walked over to Fan Fan Dejiahe.

"Good job, my boy!"

Fist-bumping Rodri, Fan Fan Dejiahe wore a smile on his face.

Rodri had performed excellently, so he earned Ten Hag's heavy reliance; this was a good thing.

At the same time, this also indirectly illustrated one matter.

Ten Hag truly held no selfish motives!

The team comes before everything!

"Viva Tom Tom~"

"Viva Tom Tom~"

The Manchester United fans were still singing!

On the pitch, Tang Ye was strolling.

"Strolling? Don't you guys understand football? In a 90-minute match, one must definitely rest."

"Tang Ye is about to fall asleep... Moderator, ban this user; yes, ban him directly."

"Although my livestream quality isn't great, you should be able to see clearly."

"King Tang has been observing the whole time!"

That's right, observing!

Tang Ye was currently searching for the right moment to receive the ball.

One last goal!

Ten minutes remaining!

Checking the situation, Valencia had the ball on the right wing; after hesitating briefly, he chose to dribble forward himself.

Tang Ye analyzed the defensive players ahead of Valencia for him.

With Herrera beside Valencia, he should be able to dribble out with the ball.

OK, activate directly!

Jostling for position with the Swansea players, that damned Klukas actually tried to reach out and pull Tang Ye.

However, Tang Ye reacted quickly; his upper body suddenly tilted, dodging directly away.

Boom!

A through pass from Valencia!

Control the ball!

Move toward the right side of the penalty area!

Shoot directly with a volley!

Slap!

The goalkeeper parried the ball away; Tang Ye stood in place, shaking his hand.

That shot was slightly too rushed...

Check the time!

Eight minutes left!

Strive once more!

"Tang Ye, moving to the center!"

"Tang Ye has been brought down!"

"Number 16, damn it, can't make out the name, but it's definitely a foul."

A very obvious pulling motion; Manchester United earned a set-piece opportunity.

After exchanging a few words with Rashford, Tang Ye ultimately decided to take the set-piece himself.

Players from both sides had already taken their positions inside the penalty area.

"Hoo... hoo..."

Regulating his breathing, Tang Ye focused his entire attention on the leather ball resting on the grass before him.

The entire world seemed as if a mute button had been pressed.

At that moment, a sharp whistle broke the silence.

Run-up!

The distance from the ball to the goal was relatively close, so Tang Ye's choice was quite decisive.

【Ronaldo-style Knuckleball Free Kick!】

Boom!

Kicking up a patch of grass clippings, he lifted the ball.

Aiming for the top right corner of the goal!

Watch the goalkeeper!

Swansea's goalkeeper Nordfeldt leaped out, parrying a free-kick shot that was nearly into the dead corner.

"Damn it..."

Biting his jersey, Tang Ye felt somewhat unwilling to accept the outcome.

His intention to shoot directly was detected by the opposing goalkeeper!

"It's fine, it's fine, watch out for the corner kick, watch out for the corner kick!"

"..."

The match ended; playing away, Manchester United defeated their opponent Swansea with a score of 3:1, becoming the first team to advance to the EFL Cup quarter-finals.

Tang Ye squatted on the ground, panting.

For the last twenty-plus minutes, he had run back and forth with the goal of achieving a hat-trick in mind; even with the help of the +5 level Red Bull, this was an extremely exaggerated physical exertion for Tang Ye.

"Still okay?"

Lin Lin Jiade walked over and pulled Tang Ye up; beside them, Mata was walking over: "You look exhausted, haha."

"Damn, I can't catch my breath!"

Tang Ye breathed through both his mouth and nose, inching slowly toward the substitute bench.

Mr. Sitting Like was waiting for him there!

Although he had played exhaustingly and failed to score in the end, upon careful reflection, Tang Ye had no reason to be sad.

He hadn't completed the Manchester United chest quest, but they had won the match with a decent score of 3:1.

He had played exhaustingly, but his teammates Jesse and Mata would come over to support him whenever Tang Ye couldn't walk.

And of course, there was also Mr. Sitting Like!

"Hard work, well done!"

Ten Hag continuously patted Tang Ye's back with his hand as the two walked together toward the locker room.

After handing Tang Ye a bottle of water, Ten Hag slowly spoke once they reached a place with no one else around.

"In the final moments, you played a bit too anxiously."

"Gulp gulp."

"Cough cough."

"I still wanted to score another one; one more would have been a hat-trick."

He took a few sips, then used the water to wash the grass clippings off his hands.

"Tom, I really appreciate this attitude of yours; you need to maintain your desire for goals."

"But I must remind you..."

"Your rhythm is very important for the team; you must stay steady."

Ten Hag explained slowly; Tang Ye stuffed the water bottle into the trash bin, carefully pondering the words Ten Hag had just spoken.

Manchester United Official: Tang Ye voted Man of the Match by fans for the EFL Cup game.

Fan voting results.

1. Tang Ye, 78%.

2. Rodri, 13%.

3. Mata, 5%.

4. Rashford, 2%.

In the locker room, Tang Ye reposted the tweet about the Man of the Match voting, then skillfully added three sunglasses emojis.

"Time feels like it's passing so quickly."

Tang Ye leaned against the cabinet behind him, cupping his head with both hands.

Beside him, Rashford turned his head over: "What's wrong?"

"I feel like I just arrived at Manchester United, yet now we've already advanced to the quarter-finals."

Tang Ye hadn't specifically counted, but based on his vague memory, he shouldn't have played many EFL Cup matches yet.

At this moment, Rodri provided the answer: "I've researched this before; Manchester United is a Premier League team, so we started directly from the third round. Winning the third round means reaching the round of 16, which is why you feel time has passed quickly."

"Well, even so, I still feel time is passing very fast."

Tang Ye played with his phone.

Since childhood, he had heard the elders in his family say that as one grows older, time seems to pass faster.

Tang Ye's current age was... 39 years old.

At the age of 39, feeling that time passes quickly was not without reason.

"Let me check our opponent for the next match, the quarter-finals..."

Bristol City vs Crystal Palace.

"Well, the opponent for the next match hasn't been decided yet."

"But I feel neither of these two teams is a match for us."

Tang Ye was formidable, and his teammates were also formidable.

Eleven formidable people in one team, striving for the same goal.

Then there was nothing to fear!

Check Dongqiu Di Match Preview: October 28th, 7:30 PM, Premier League Round 10, Manchester United hosts Tottenham Hotspur; can Tang Ye secure victory in his second clash against a top club?

Manchester United's final match in October is against fellow Premier League Big Six member Tottenham Hotspur.

Tang Ye going head-to-head with Harry Kane; this is obviously a match with plenty of highlights to watch.

Expectations aside, Chinese fans are currently more concerned. Although Manchester United is currently ranked second, the team has many visible integration issues; if they truly face Tottenham, it will likely be very difficult to handle.

With only three days until the match begins, fans are now very nervous.

The Manchester United players, of course, feel the same!

"Damn, Osman, let me tell you, I'm about to play against Spurs. Do you know Kane? The English striker."

"I'm under huge pressure right now. Hey, there's an A-site, I'll take it, I'll take it."

"Okay okay, kill him, kill him."

The sound of keyboards clacking filled the apartment; Tang Ye was now under maximum pressure.

Four dead teammates watched him operate.

"Huff, huff huff..."

A little sweat beaded on his forehead.

Focus...

"Haha!"

!

"How was that, Osman!"

In the end, Tom still came out on top!

A new round began, and Tang Ye checked Dembélé's current stats.

2/10/4

Hiss—

Frowning, Tang Ye remembered that his good friend Osman should be performing better than this!

He should be at 3/7 or 4/8; that's the kind of performance Osman should be putting up!

"Osman, are you not in good form?"

"Mm... a little bit."

Just as expected!

Whenever his friends were in a bad mood, Tang Ye could always detect it immediately, and this time was no exception.

After a brief chat with Dembélé, Tang Ye learned the general reason.

As the most expensive signing of the La Liga season, Dembélé, with a transfer fee of over 130 million euros, had failed to deliver a performance worthy of conquering the Barcelona fans.

"I don't even dare to look at the comments section on Instagram anymore."

Dembélé's humble remarks made Tang Ye feel somewhat heartbroken for him.

"It's alright, Osman; when I first went to La Liga, I was sitting on the bench too."

"Let me teach you how to do it."

"First, train hard to get a chance to play, then once you're on the field, rack up a few assists."

"You're a forward, so just score a few goals, and then you'll be in the starting lineup."

Dembélé was still very lucky; his teammates were super strikers like Messi and Suárez.

With teammates this skilled, getting assists was an incredibly simple matter.

Put up some good stats, and then you'll be a starter!

Dembélé fell silent for a long time, then suddenly shouted: "Tom! What do we do if someone comes to the bomb site!"

"Simple, simple, just kill him; he probably has no health left."

Chinese fans were awaiting the match between Manchester United and Tottenham.

Just two days before the match began, a Tottenham team reporter released news that the team's striker, Harry Kane, had been discovered to have been injured during the match against Liwupu.

This sudden news quickly topped the trending searches on major platforms.

【Was it that collision with Moreno? To be honest, I felt right then that Kane might be injured.】

【Here comes the classic hindsight.】

【Wait, the match ended three days ago and they're only just noticing? What are the Tottenham team doctors doing?】

【Manchester United: Game over.】

Originally, both sides had a 50% win rate for this match, but Kane's absence due to injury directly pushed Manchester United's win rate up.

For Manchester United, this was certainly good news, but not entirely good news.

Ten Hag was accustomed to finalizing tactics three or four days before a match, and his tactics were designed specifically for a Tottenham side with Kane.

But now that their top scorer Kane was injured, Tottenham would definitely change their playing style!

4-2-3-1?

Or 3-4-2-1?

In the office, Ten Hag and Fan Fan Dejiahe lay back in their chairs, staring blankly at a laptop.

This was Kane's first absence of the season, making it difficult for the Manchester United coaching staff to guess how Tottenham would actually play in the match two days later.

After careful consideration, Fan Fan Dejiahe offered his guess: "Son should be moved to the front; his shooting ability is very strong."

"Just like Tom, he is also Asian; Son is also excellent."

"No, no, no."

Ten Hag shook his head quickly, directly rejecting Fan Fan Dejiahe's view.

"Eric, there is a very high probability that Son will play as the striker."

Fan Fan Dejiahe insisted on his own viewpoint.

"That's not what I'm talking about."

Ten Hag explained: "Son and Tom are not on the same level at all; do not compare Son to Tom."

"..."

Fan Fan Dejiahe rubbed his nose.

This...

Alright.

But... what Fan Fan Dejiahe just said didn't imply that Son Heung-min and Tang Ye are on the same level.

Is Erik being a bit too sensitive?

The day before the match against Tottenham, Luke Shaw, having completed his rehabilitation training, participated in a scrimmage and performed quite well.

"Luke, you really do run fast."

Sitting on the training ground, Tang Ye chatted with Luke Shaw beside him: "My fitness coach told me before that people with bigger butts run faster."

"You've told me this before,"

Luke Shaw reminded him.

"Wow, is that so?"

Tang Ye racked his memory carefully, but simply couldn't recall it.

But Luke would never lie to him, so Tang Ye must have said this before.

"Hey, Tom!"

Rodri tossed a bottle of water to each of Tang Ye and Luke Shaw; Tang Ye squatted on the ground and habitually rinsed his hands with the water.

"You're washing your hands now, won't they just get dirty again later?"

Rodri sat on an empty spot next to Luke Shaw.

He knew Tang Ye had a habit: when relaxing, Tang Ye liked to prop his hands behind him; he had made this move after winning both the King's Cup and the Europa League!

"It's fine; I can just wash them again later."

After washing his hands and taking a big gulp of water, Tang Ye, who had been squatting, now sat down.

He glanced at Rodri beside him.

"Rod, you seem a bit happy."

"Hm? Do I look that happy?"

Rodri laughed: "You can even tell that?"

"Of course; last night a friend of mine wasn't in a good mood—I could tell just by looking at his match results."

Rodri nodded slightly.

After Luke Shaw was called away by Ten Hag, Rodri shuffled his butt over to the spot Luke Shaw had just occupied.

"Tom, let me tell you some news."

"What is it?"

Rodri's mysterious expression piqued Tang Ye's interest.

"I'll be in the starting lineup for the next match."

"But Mr. Erik hasn't said anything yet; he hasn't sent a text message, has he?"

"Erik just called me away; that's exactly what we talked about."

Rodri was somewhat excited: "Erik told me that if I can maintain my current form, I'll have a stable spot in the starting lineup from now on."

"Haha, Rod!"

Tang Ye raised his right hand and bumped fists with Rodri: "I told you to take it slow; you're excellent, so Erik will give you a chance."

Rodri passed his good mood on to Tang Ye, and now Tang Ye was very happy too.

Because the Tom-Rod combination was about to dominate the Premier League!

Repost: Manchester United releases a teaser poster for the match against Tottenham, featuring Rodri alone.

PS: Three updates today, begging for monthly tickets!

(End of chapter)