Chapter 300: Ten Hag's 4-3-1-2 Formation Attempt, Rashford Beats Two in the Box

Gonçalves dribbled forward, breaking through consecutively on his own, before finally sliding a through ball to the overlapping full-back.

"Wow!"

Look at Grimaldo!

Slap!

A back pass to Gonçalves, who was cutting inside!

Grimaldo's pass wasn't quite perfect; Gonçalves stopped to adjust it slightly.

"Up! Up!"

Urged on by De Gea, Smalling ran out of the penalty area to apply pressure.

Gonçalves quickly passed back!

To Fejsa!

Slap!

A 45-degree cross from the Benfica defensive midfielder!

Jiménez!

The Benfica striker jumped, attempting a header, but De Gea, who had rushed out, claimed the ball directly.

"Phew..."

Tang Ye breathed a sigh of relief.

Benfica had launched a rapid attack right at the start, but fortunately, his teammates were up to the task, successfully neutralizing this early crisis.

Manchester United launched a counter-attack; after turning, Tang Ye immediately began making a forward run.

"De Gea, throw the ball out to Rodri!"

"Rodri accelerates, shaking off the pressing Benfica players directly!"

Rodri's speed wasn't particularly fast, but he possessed excellent endurance for sustained running.

He looked for Tang Ye immediately!

Unfortunately, Tang Ye hadn't yet reached a suitable position...

Just as Rodri was preparing to make a conservative forward pass, Tang Ye suddenly veered to the left, creating distance from the defender.

Seizing the opportunity, Rodri sent a through ball.

What a great pass!

"Wow!!!"

Amidst the shrieks of the Manchester United fans, Tang Ye controlled the ball and continued moving forward.

He pointed toward the gap on the left side of the penalty area!

Slap!

【De Bruyne Curved Through Ball Lv4: Realistic】

Proficiency: 634/1000

A mid-range through ball that suddenly changed direction after bypassing Luís.

Rashford, making a run down the left wing, easily controlled the ball!

"Rashford!"

"A placed shot!"

Rashford displayed his stable finishing technique; his placed shot grazed the right post before finding the back of the net.

"Goooo——aaaaa——lllll!!!!"

"Goal! Goal!"

"Beautiful!"

"An assist from Tang Ye; in the 4th minute of the match, Manchester United has directly broken open Benfica's goal!"

Benfica's rapid opening attack failed to yield a goal; instead, Manchester United executed a successful counter-attack.

"Marcus!"

Tang Ye shouted the scorer Rashford's name, as if wanting everyone to know that he was his friend.

He quickly ran over, embraced Rashford, and then roared toward the Manchester United fans in the stands.

【You have obtained 15 Counterattack Points】

【Progress: Goals (1/2), Key Passes (8/10)】

Assisting Rashford to help the team score a goal.

This was naturally a key pass!

The match had only just begun, yet Tang Ye's mission progress had already increased significantly.

Only one more goal and two more key passes remained.

Securing two key passes in the remaining nearly 90 minutes.

It wasn't Tom showing off, but securing two key passes in 90 minutes was indeed not a difficult task for him.

The difficult part was scoring goals.

For this, strength alone was insufficient; a little bit of luck was also required!

Hmm...

In any case, the probability of completing the mission in this match was quite high; all Tang Ye needed to do was strive for it diligently.

Slap!

After high-fiving Mata and walking toward the halfway line, Tang Ye exchanged a glance with Ten Hag on the sideline; both men gave a thumbs-up.

The Benfica coach was still marveling at Tang Ye's curved through ball, but Ten Hag had long since become accustomed to such things.

The through pass suddenly curved.

It sounds absurd, but this is far too simple for Tang Ye!

Tom can even time the curve of the pass.

Because only then can the striker receive the ball comfortably!

"United!"

Bang bang!

"United!"

Bang bang!

The atmosphere was lively, but Benfica, trailing by one goal, was in deep trouble.

The Champions League group stage standings are very important.

Because the knockout stage draw rule is that the group runner-up plays the group winner.

Simply put, if Benfica finishes as the group runner-up, they will very likely face super giants like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the first round of the knockout stage!

This is something Benfica does not want to see.

They need to defeat Manchester United to gain more points!

The match reached the 15th minute of the first half, and the backend displayed the possession rates for both teams.

Mun: 55%.

Slb: 45%.

That opening goal helped Manchester United gain an advantage in possession, which was rare for them.

Coach Victoria was panicking, pacing back and forth in front of the bench.

In comparison, Ten Hag was very calm, standing still without moving a muscle.

He certainly saw the current possession statistics, but to be honest, he wasn't particularly impressed by that data.

Since winning the Eredivisie title last summer, Ten Hag has not believed in so-called possession rates!

That thing is useless!

Time moved to the 29th minute of the first half.

Snap!

Ruben Dias sent a long pass from the back!

It was aimed at Salvio on the right wing!

Manchester United's defensive line was fully spread out, so Dias's long pass posed no real threat.

But just at that moment, Herrera on the left wing made a mistake.

He and Rashford, who was providing cover, were not on the same page, and in the end, Salvio ran away with the ball.

"Come back, come back!"

Smalling urged, while Tang Ye and Rodri were quickly retreating.

Snap!

Salvio passed to Jimenez in the center, and Jimenez stopped the ball in place.

"Go press!"

Tang Ye shouted loudly, but it seemed too late already.

Jimenez gave a light push, directly setting up Pizzi for a shot.

Boom!

A long-range shot from Pizzi!

The ball went in!

"1:1!"

"Benfica has equalized the score!"

"Although Manchester United launched a counterattack right at the start, Benfica seized this attacking opportunity very well!"

"A goal from attacking midfielder Pizzi!"

Beep beep!!

Beep beep beep beep!

The stadium was full of fake whistles blown by Manchester United fans, and Pizzi, who scored with a long-range shot, was directly booed to death.

"Fuck!"

Herrera shook his head and shrugged with Rashford.

Tang Ye stood in place, watching the Benfica players celebrating at the corner flag.

Rodri walked up and clapped hands with Tang Ye: "Next goal, next goal."

"I should have pressed that number 66 just now."

Tang Ye shook his head.

The team is playing a 4-3-1-2 today; without a striker pressing up front, the Benfica defenders and goalkeeper have enough time to adjust their long passes!

Check Dongqiu Di halftime report: Pizzi scores with a long-range shot, Benfica equalizes, 1:1!

【So why play with two strikers?】

【Ten Hag, don't do research right now, the group ranking is very important.】

【I feel the 4-3-1-2 still has its logic, but the timing to bring it out was indeed a bit early... it should have been gelled a bit more.】

【The problem is Martial is injured, and Manchester United has only Rashford as a striker.】

The camera feed switched to the home team's bench; Ten Hag had sat down at some unknown time.

Hmm... let's take a look at Ten Hag's expression.

His expression hasn't changed much, but it's clear Ten Hag is struggling to think.

The first half continues!

"Huff huff"

Running while observing, Tang Ye searched for every suitable attacking opportunity.

The opponent had equalized the score, so now Tang Ye had to do his utmost to make up the goal difference!

First, dribble down the right flank.

Seeing no good opportunities, Tang Ye signaled for Mata to come collect the ball, then moved back to the center.

He called out to Mkhitaryan: "Get to the byline!"

After giving the instruction, he moved to the position at the top of the arc.

"Mata has the ball; he feints first, but breaking through one-on-one is indeed quite difficult..."

"Pass to Mkhitaryan!"

Manchester United's attack is developing!

The Benfica defenders begin retreating!

After receiving the ball, Mkhitaryan prepared to pass to Tang Ye, but upon seeing Tang Ye's rejecting gesture, he chose to drive down the flank himself.

Tang Ye felt uncomfortable being marked tightly by Augusto.

Using his body to shake him off was definitely not going to work.

At times like this, one needs to use their brain!

Pretending to move right to receive, he actually darted suddenly to the left.

Mkhitaryan reacted quickly, delivering a precise inverted triangle pass straight to Tang Ye's feet.

Continue moving toward the center!

Curl it with the left foot!

【De Bruyne Far-Corner Curling Shot Lv5: Replication】

Tang Ye used the shooting template, but his actual intention was to pass.

Ashley Young charging up from behind!

A header!

Boom!

Ashley Young's header smashed into the grass, rebounded, and was caught by the Benfica goalkeeper.

"Ooh! Ashley Young's header was struck very well!"

"But Svilar reacted very quickly!"

Fuck!

Ashley Young roared in anger, while Tang Ye waved his hand in frustration behind him. 【Progress: Goal (1/2), Key Pass (9/10)】

Although Ashley Young failed to score, Tang Ye had registered a key pass statistic.

One step closer!

Svilar ran out with the ball, while the Manchester United players on the field retreated quickly.

"..."

"We can see that in the current situation, both sides have roughly equal chances."

"Whether in terms of possession or attacking statistics, the gap between Manchester United and Benfica isn't too large."

"And now the score is level as well!"

"Yes, that's exactly right."

"Actually, I think the most suitable approach for Manchester United might still be counter-attacking from the back."

The commentators analyzed the tactics and winning methods of both teams, while Benfica's attack developed at this very moment.

!

Tap tap!

Tap!

A series of short passes near the penalty area, until finally Salvio's cross found Jimenez at the penalty spot.

Boom!

Jimenez struck the ball into the net; De Gea, who dove to intercept, failed to touch the ball.

"Goooo——aaaaa——lllll!!!"

A goal from the striker Jimenez!

Benfica has taken the lead!

"Boooo——!!!!"

"Booo!!!"

These were boos from the Manchester United fans!

Jimenez accelerated toward the stands, then performed his favorite knee-slide celebration.

"Roar——!!!"

The camera cut to Ten Hag; the Manchester United manager's expression was truly terrible now!

Spit!

Tang Ye spat his chewing gum into the wrapper, his mood not very good.

Today his position had been pushed forward; logically speaking, he should have produced better attacks.

But he didn't deliver it—that is the problem!

"Benfica!"

"Benfica!"

"..."

Check Dongqiu Di halftime report: Manchester United trails Benfica 1:2 at home; Tang Ye assisted Rashford's opening goal, but Benfica scored twice in succession to overturn the result.

【Damn】

【Saint Teng, switch the tactics back immediately】

【Hard to say; feels like even three forwards will struggle to score—Benfica's defense is excellent】

Rarely trailing, Manchester United fans launched fierce discussions in the Check Dongqiu Di comment section.

In the third round away against Benfica, Manchester United still handled things with ease, but today they were somewhat lacking.

This was because, having gained experience from their previous encounter, Benfica's head coach Vitória adjusted his team's tactics.

Although this second meeting was at Manchester United's home ground, Benfica, with refined tactics, had become stronger.

Manchester United, of course, was also refining its tactics.

But Manchester United's schedule was simply too congested; Ten Hag did not have as much operational time as Vitória!

"This feels awful, damn it."

Tang Ye plopped down onto a bench in the locker room.

Without rushing to deal with the trash in his pocket, Tang Ye leaned directly against the cabinet behind him.

While Ten Hag and Fan Fan Dejiahe were still fiddling with the tactics board, Tang Ye started chatting with Rashford beside him.

"Marcus, we played too conservatively in the first half."

Rashford shook his head: "I can't keep dribbling past people; I need an outlet to play the ball forward."

"You can have Yang make forward runs."

Tang Ye pointed at Ashley Young opposite him, offering his suggestion.

Soon, Ten Hag and Fan Fan Dejiahe finished their discussion.

"Our first half was terrible; we indeed had some issues adapting to the new formation."

Ten Hag tapped the tactics board once: "But judging from the data feedback, the 4-3-1-2 has no fundamental errors. We will stick with this approach in the second half. Compared to the 4-2-3-1, the 4-3-1-2 is absolutely more suitable."

Benfica had spent half a month studying Manchester United's tactics; if Manchester United reverted to their previous 4-2-3-1 now, the situation might be even worse than it is currently.

Of course, everything ultimately depended on actual conditions; Ten Hag explained his thoughts to the Manchester United players.

"The 70th minute is a key point. If we are still trailing at the 70th minute, I will shout from the sidelines, and we will switch to the 4-2-3-1 then."

Tang Ye leaned his head toward Rodri: "Rod, remember to remind me then; I might not hear it."

Just after speaking with Rodri, Tang Ye suddenly noticed Ten Hag's gaze fixed on him, nearly startling him out of his skin.

"Tom, you need to play more aggressively. We are now in a 4-3-1-2; we have three defensive midfielders, so you can boldly push forward—it's fine."

Ten Hag's hand gestured back and forth across the tactics board.

Sitting on the bench, Tang Ye watched Ten Hag place the magnetic flag at the edge of the penalty area, his brain beginning to think rapidly.

Mr. Erik was absolutely right.

The team is currently trailing, so they ought to play more fiercely.

Tang Ye did not want to draw with the Eagles!

He wanted to defeat them!

"You've got to see yourself from far and wide~"

"You've got to hear them assessing with pride~"

"United! Man United!"

Walking out from the player tunnel, the fans' chorus of the team anthem suddenly seemed amplified.

Run together with your teammates!

"Come on!"

"Come on, come on!"

The second half had begun!

Fans noticed many people standing in front of Manchester United's substitute bench, but Ten Hag had not yet made any substitutions.

He intended to persist a little longer with the first-half tactics!

"Let Mata play as a striker!"

"Make a substitution, Ten Hag! Substitution!"

Some Manchester United fans in the stands behind had already voiced their suggestions, but Ten Hag stuck to his own viewpoint.

"Here, here! I'll go up front, I'll go up front!"

Remembering what Ten Hag had said at halftime, Tang Ye actively picked up his pace in the second half.

He did not know exactly what the attacking rhythm of a 4-3-1-2 should be, so he could only rely on his own instincts.

Rashford, carrying the ball on the left flank, was marked tightly by defenders; Tang Ye prepared to drive down the left wing but quickly remembered that Manchester United had no center forward today.

Tang Ye now had two options.

First, he could have Mkhitaryan on the right fill the center forward position, but according to Tang Ye's judgment, this was not the best solution for the current moment.

That left option two!

"Go down the line, go down the line!"

Tang Ye instructed Ashley Young to drive down the wing while he himself remained in the central channel.

The annoying Augusto was still staring at him!

"Attack down the left flank, Ashley Young has the ball!"

"Look at the quality of Ashley Young's cross!"

Ashley Young had originally intended to cross, but he noticed Tang Ye running into open space.

He played a cutback!

Tang Ye actively ran toward the ball; Augusto still tried to block his position, but Tang Ye directly planted his right foot in front of Augusto.

This was the 【Hazard Self-Sacrifice Ball Shield Template】!

Tang Ye hadn't touched the ball yet, but he could fully use this template to prevent Augusto from marking him closely!

He took control of the ball!

He kicked the ball from his left foot to the right, then began cutting inside!

Outside the penalty area!

Slap!

【De Bruyne Far-Corner Curling Shot Lv5: Replication】

A curling shot was delivered.

The ball speed was fast, but the accuracy was slightly off.

Tang Ye's far-corner curling shot flew over the crossbar!

"Phew..."

He sighed.

Just a little bit off!

"It's fine, it's fine, very good, very good!"

Ten Hag clapped quickly: "Just like that, keep up this rhythm."

"Be more aggressive, play more aggressively!"

Although they hadn't scored, Manchester United's opening attack of the second half successfully built up their momentum.

This was extremely important for Manchester United!

"Faster!"

Tang Ye shouted to Rashford and Ashley Young: "You can run faster, I can get the ball to you!"

After this attack, Manchester United's pace grew faster and faster.

The 67th minute!

Receiving the ball at the center circle, Tang Ye assessed the situation upfield and made his choice.

Slap!

【De Bruyne Standard Long Pass Lv4: Realistic】

Proficiency: 628/1200

"Let's look at Tang Ye's long pass!"

"He found Mkhitaryan directly!"

Slap!

Mkhitaryan controlled the ball very steadily.

Since Tang Ye had worked so hard to create this chance, Mkhitaryan naturally didn't want to waste it.

He accelerated, running toward the penalty area!

Slap!

He passed to Rashford on the left!

Rashford remained very calm; for this opportunity, he was in no rush to shoot.

He trapped the ball!

Inside the penalty area were Luisão and Rúben Dias!

Rashford passed from his left foot to his right, then from his right to his left, threading directly between Luisão and Dias through the penalty area.

"Wow!!!"

Bang!

A goal from Rashford!

"Goooo——aaaaa——lllll!!!"

"Goal!"

"Rashford!"

"Manchester United has equalized the score!"

The system did not count Tang Ye's long pass as a key pass.

But it didn't matter!

The score was finally tied!

"Marcus!"

Tang Ye ran toward Rashford together with Rodri.

"Beating two men, that was too cool, Marcus!"

(End of Chapter)