Chapter 302: Tang Ye's Chewing Gum: How to Make Tom the Number One Penalty Taker?

Tang... Tang Ye's chewing gum?

For a moment, he didn't quite react.

Had he seemingly drawn his own item?

Hiss—

Sancho was a lunchbox, Casemiro a pair of gloves, Hazard a hamburger, and Cristiano Ronaldo chicken breast and broccoli.

Why had it become chewing gum when it came to him?

Never mind that; first, let's see what this thing actually is.

【Tang Ye's Chewing Gum: Upon use, grants "Calm and Composed" for 10 minutes; during this period, you will not be disturbed by anything from the outside world】

Price: Counterattack Points * 5

For 10 minutes, one will not be disturbed by anything from the outside world.

And it costs only 5 Counterattack Points!

A super item!

For any professional footballer, this is absolutely a super item!

But...

Tang Ye discovered a problem, a very serious problem!

When he was playing on the field, didn't he already seem immune to interference from the external environment?

This...

"Damn it!"

Premier League Official Announcement: The Player of the Month for October is Mancheng forward Leroy Sané.

"Go straight, go straight!"

Bang!

【De Bruyne Curved Through Ball Lv4: Realistic】

Proficiency: 645/1000

Tang Ye played a precise through ball finding Luke Shaw making a run down the left flank to the byline; the latter quickly sprinted to the baseline to receive the ball.

Pa!

The cross was delivered!

"Far post, far post!"

Tang Ye shouted loudly as Valencia, making an overlapping run on the right wing, arrived at full gallop and fired a low shot.

Goal!

"Beautiful!"

Tang Ye quickly raised both arms, and Fan Fan Dejiahe on the sidelines made the same gesture.

"Luke has recovered very well."

Fan Fan Dejiahe recorded this crucial piece of information in his notebook.

Actually, Luke Shaw should have come on as a substitute in the previous match against Benfica, but due to special circumstances at the time, Ten Hag ultimately did not put him on the field.

"Perhaps we can consider it for the next match; Luke can bring something new to our left flank and activate Marcus's attacking abilities."

After speaking, Fan Fan Dejiahe waited for Ten Hag's response.

However, Ten Hag beside him remained silent, so Fan Fan Dejiahe turned his head.

Ten Hag's eyes were narrowed as if watching the players training on the pitch, but most likely his attention had already drifted away.

"Erik?"

"Oh!"

Ten Hag shook his head and suddenly said, "Recently I've been researching some things from China; there are many interesting videos on YouTube."

"China?"

"Don't you know China? It's Tom's hometown."

"Of course I know it, but why are you researching things from China?"

Fan Fan Dejiahe felt Ten Hag was acting a bit strange, but Ten Hag himself did not feel his behavior was strange.

"An excellent coach should proactively understand his players; this is something I have always emphasized. However... Michel, China indeed has many interesting things; some of their people can use magical power to jump down from mountains without getting injured."

Ten Hag looked toward a small hill in the distance of the training base: "Do you think Tom would get injured if he jumped down from a mountain?"

"..."

Fan Fan Dejiahe followed the direction of Ten Hag's gaze: "Hiss... I think it's best not to try that."

"Presumably not every Chinese person can jump down from a mountain. By the way, Erik, I must remind you of one thing."

Saying this, Fan Fan Dejiahe held up the notebook in his hand before Ten Hag.

"Although practicing penalties wasn't very smooth at the beginning, Tom's penalty success rate is now the highest in our entire squad."

"Wow."

A smile appeared on the corner of Ten Hag's mouth: "Higher than Marcus and Zlatan (Ibrahimović)?"

"Higher than Marcus, but not higher than Zlatan; but as you know, Zlatan currently cannot play at all, so Tom is the player available to us with the highest penalty success rate."

Fan Fan Dejiahe looked into Ten Hag's eyes: "His rate of improvement is truly very fast."

"Of course."

Ten Hag shrugged: "I would never make a meaningless transfer; meaningless transfers only squander the club's finances."

"But!"

Snap! Fan Fan Dejiahe slammed his notebook shut: "There's one more issue. Tom just transferred in this season; if you make him the primary penalty taker immediately, what do we do if the other players object?"

Fan Fan Dejiahe had considered every angle thoroughly.

The primary penalty taker, much like the team captain, holds an extremely important position.

With so many star players within Manchester United, Ten Hag ought to take their opinions into account.

"The team must always come first."

Ten Hag's expression was grave.

Indeed, in Ten Hag's heart, the Manchester United squad would forever be placed in the foremost position.

For the sake of the team as a whole, he should let the player with the highest penalty success rate take the spot kicks!

Doing so was what truly benefited the team!

As for the Manchester United youth academy lineage?

Ten Hag maintained respect for it.

But when that youth lineage clashed with the team's future, Ten Hag would unhesitatingly choose the team's future.

"Phew!"

Shaking his head, Tang Ye plopped straight down onto the grass the moment training ended, gesturing for Rashford beside him to sit as well.

The weather today was excellent; such days were relatively rare in Manchester, so they had to make good use of it.

"Tom, Marcus."

Rodri, returning from the rest area, brought a bottle of mineral water each for Tang Ye and Rashford, then sat down beside Tang Ye.

Unscrewing the cap, Rodri suddenly said, "Actually, we were just a hair's breadth away."

"True; from that position just now, had I aimed for the top corner, it definitely would have gone in, but I feared missing entirely, which would have been disastrous."

Tang Ye also twisted off his cap and gulped the water down in long swallows.

"Tom, I'm not talking about training; I'm talking about the Player of the Month matter."

"Player of the Month?"

Tang Ye paused for a moment, but quickly caught on: "Last month's Player of the Month? Who won it?"

"Sane, that winger from Mancheng."

Rashford jumped in to answer: "His stats are very similar to yours, but last month Mancheng won every league match, so..."

Rashford shrugged; the meaning of his unspoken words was obvious.

"Well, I'd heard from fans before that I probably wouldn't get it, but I didn't expect that to actually be the case."

Tang Ye exhaled: "It was the same last season in La Liga; I made the shortlist several times in a row, but never ended up winning."

Recalling his experiences from last season, Tang Ye added, "Still, I feel winning Monthly Best in the Premier League should be slightly easier than in La Liga. In another two months, I should be able to claim the award."

Tang Ye had already made his plans: spend August, September, and October blending with the team, then explode onto the scene starting in November!

Premier League Player of the Month? He would take it outright!

"This month and next? I don't know about next month, but this one won't be easy."

Rodri offered a reminder.

"The day after tomorrow we play Chelsea, and it's an away match."

Check Dongqiu Di Match Preview: Early morning, November 6, Premier League Round 11 spotlight match, Manchester United visits Stamford Bridge for a head-to-head showdown between Tang Ye and Hazard.

Chelsea vs. Manchester United—a clash between Premier League Big Six sides!

【Here we go, Chinese Burger versus Belgian Burger!】

【The person above, remember to turn off your direct messages.】

【Morata? Earlier Real Madrid was saying they wanted to buy Morata or buy Tang Ye.】

【Morata only cost 60 million euros; that sum couldn't even buy one of GGBond's hula hoops, okay?】

【Morata is fiercely good, you know.】

On match day, the Manchester United players arrived at Stamford Bridge stadium.

"This is my first time at Stamford Bridge."

Tang Ye murmured softly; Rodri beside him nodded: "But... this is your first season in the Premier League, so no matter which team you face, it's your first time visiting their home ground."

"Seems that makes sense."

Tang Ye acknowledged Rodri's point; just then, Ten Hag, having finished his pre-match interview, pushed open the door and entered the locker room.

"Okay, lads, I need to emphasize something about today's match: Chelsea is playing with three center-backs."

While speaking, Ten Hag glanced in Tang Ye's direction: "Hmm... I know we're said to be adept at dealing with three-center-back setups; fans and pundits say as much. But I must tell you, today's opponent is different."

"Chelsea possesses a highly refined three-center-back system."

Ten Hag spoke rapidly, giving Tang Ye the feeling of a math teacher analyzing problems back in his school days; before long, his mind began to wander.

He shifted his attention to his system.

【Mission Requirement: Score 6 goals or provide 6 assists in domestic English competitions (Premier League, EFL Cup, FA Cup).】

【Reward: Manchester United Chest · Legendary.】

Six goals or six assists, with a Manchester United Legendary Chest as the reward.

This was what Tang Ye now needed to strive for.

He took out his phone to check: counting today's match against Chelsea, Manchester United had five matches in November, four of which were Premier League fixtures.

Four matches, with a target of six assists.

It was somewhat difficult, but Tang Ye felt he could give it a try!

After all, this was a Manchester United Legendary Chest that could yield Cristiano Ronaldo!

Just as Tang Ye was calculating how many assists he needed to get in each match, Ten Hag suddenly mentioned his name, and Tang Ye's attention immediately returned to the coach.

"If we get a penalty in this match, let Tom take it."

Before Tang Ye could react, Rodri beside him nudged him with his elbow first. "This is because in the training sessions over the past week, Tom's penalty success rate has been the highest."

After speaking, Ten Hag turned to look at Fan Fan Dejiahe, who also hadn't expected Ten Hag to bring up this issue at this moment and could only nod hurriedly: "Yes, that's correct."

All the Manchester United players in the locker room looked at Tang Ye, who rubbed his nose.

"No problem, right?"

"I can do it. Mr. Erik."

Tang Ye hadn't expected Mr. Erik to give him the penalty duty for this match, which surprised him somewhat.

Originally, Tang Ye wasn't under much pressure, but the suddenly added responsibility seemed to urge his heart to beat faster.

Thump-thump.

Sitting in his spot in the locker room, Tang Ye could clearly hear the sound of his own heartbeat.

Hiss—

Recalling the 【Tang Ye's Chewing Gum】 he had just unlocked not long ago, Tang Ye decided to give it a try.

!

【You have purchased Tang Ye's Chewing Gum】

Taking a deep breath, he carefully felt this so-called "calm and composed" effect.

Hmm... it felt like it was slightly useful, yet it also felt like it wasn't useful?

This...

Forget it, let's just play the match first.

If it really wasn't useful, he could simply stop buying this chewing gum.

"China Central Television! Here we are broadcasting live for you..."

"The referee is checking his watch!"

"The match has begun! Now let me introduce the starting lineups for both teams in this match!"

"First, the home team Chelsea, wearing blue jerseys, attacking from the left side of the screen to the right!"

Chelsea (3-4-1-2)

Goalkeeper: Courtois

Defenders: Azpilicueta, Christensen, Cahill

Midfielders: Zapacosta, Kante, Bakayoko, Fabregas, Marcos-Alonso

Forwards: Morata, Hazard

Head Coach: Kong Di

"Manchester United is still using a 4-3-1-2 today; they first tried the 4-3-1-2 in their previous match against Benfica and achieved good results..."

The fans in the stands shouted the name of the home team Chelsea, while the CCTV-5 commentators began analyzing the tactics of the two teams.

Speaking of which, Chelsea's formation was actually quite similar to Manchester United's, both employing two forwards.

The difference lay in the defensive line.

Manchester United had one extra defender, while Chelsea had one extra defensive midfielder.

Standing by the sideline, Ten Hag glanced intentionally or unintentionally in Kong Di's direction.

Currently, in the entire Premier League, only Chelsea was playing a 3-4-1-2; one didn't know who gave Kong Di the confidence to do this.

Shaking his head and sitting back on the substitutes' bench, Fan Fan Dejiahe immediately saw Ten Hag's worry: "They have two players worth over a hundred million, Hazard and Kante; both of these players are very formidable."

Ten Hag held up two fingers: "We have two Mr. Hundred Millions."

"..."

Fine, alright...

Fan Fan Dejiahe could not refute Ten Hag's words.

The time reached the 19th minute!

Making good observations, Tang Ye actively pushed forward.

Manchester United currently had no striker, which meant that sometimes Tang Ye needed to move forward to fill the gap left by the striker.

As for the position Tang Ye left vacant...

That would be left to his little brother Rod to handle!

"Rodri! He started and played the full match in the Champions League game against Benfica in the previous round!"

"In that match, his running distance was the highest in the entire game!"

Young stamina is just good!

Of course, Tang Ye was an exception, after all, he was an elderly player who had retired and then made a comeback.

Elderly people cannot run fast; at times like this, young people need to step up and care for the elderly!

And Rod!

He was the defensive midfielder in the Manchester United team who was most filial to the elderly!

Rodri dribbled forward, immediately looking for Tang Ye's position.

Tang Ye's position was acceptable, so Rodri decisively passed the ball.

To Tang Ye!

"Wow!"

As soon as Tang Ye received the ball, he was near the edge of the penalty arc, causing the Chelsea fans to panic completely.

Christensen stepped out of the penalty area to stop Tang Ye's forward run, while Kante arrived alongside him, using an arm to block Tang Ye from moving laterally.

For Chelsea, Manchester United was naturally an opponent worth studying; before the match even began, Kong Di had emphasized Tang Ye's technical characteristics to the players.

A curled shot from near the arc.

Tom is very good at this!

The defensive players were extremely dense, but Tang Ye did not give up immediately.

He pulled the ball under his body with his right foot, then planted that foot beside the ball.

Tang Ye tried to use his body to prevent Kante from sticking out a leg to tackle, and he indeed succeeded.

But this did not give Tang Ye an opportunity to advance forward; Kante and Christensen had perfectly blocked his position.

Shielding the ball with his back to goal, feeling he was about to lose possession, Tang Ye passed the ball back to Herrera, who was supporting from behind.

Boom!

Herrera struck it directly!

But goalkeeper Courtois punched the ball away!

"Good, good!"

Tang Ye offered encouragement to Herrera, then began preparing for the corner kick.

While Mata ran toward the corner flag, Tang Ye's brain quickly processed thoughts.

Although those guys in blue jerseys were playing with three defenders, their defensive midfielders possessed strong coverage abilities.

It looked like a three-defender system, but in reality, every time Tang Ye attacked, he faced a defensive line composed of five defenders.

Chelsea's rear-field defense was simply too solid; this was the reason Manchester United could not find any attacking opportunities!

"I'm watching the near post, I'm watching the near post!"

As the corner kick was being prepared, Tang Ye communicated with his teammates inside the penalty area.

Mata gave a thumbs-down.

Near post!

The corner kick was taken, and Tang Ye immediately ran toward the near post.

Smalling helped block the defensive player, and Tang Ye and Hazard began battling for the ball.

Hazard got to the ball first, but he did not pass it immediately, so Tang Ye stuck out his foot and pulled the ball away from under Hazard's feet.

Haha!

Got it!

Shield the ball with his back to goal!

Hazard still wanted to come up and challenge, but Tang Ye directly unleashed his god-tier skill of shielding the ball with his back to goal.

Using the 【Modric Back-to-Goal Escape Template】, he stepped left, then right, before finally passing the ball back to Valencia, who was providing cover from behind.

"To the far post!"

Tang Ye shouted, and Valencia controlled the ball.

He adjusted one step, then launched a long pass!

Ashley Young and Azpilicueta were battling for it!

Slap!

Azpilicueta cleared the ball out for a throw-in, and Ashley Young spread his hands helplessly toward Valencia.

That pass was a bit too inaccurate!

"Blue is the colour, football is the game~ (Blue is our dream; football is our sport)"

"We're all together, and winning is our aim~ (United as one, victory is our goal)"

"So cheer us on through the sun and rain~ (Whether the sun shines bright or the rain falls endlessly, please keep cheering for us)"

"Chelsea!"

Boom boom!

"Chelsea!"

Boom boom!

The home fans were starting to exert their influence!

Tang Ye didn't care about this; at this moment, he was searching for a suitable attacking opportunity.

He moved to the left flank to support Rashford.

"Pass to me, pass to me!"

Calling for the ball from Rashford, he simultaneously turned his head to observe Chelsea's penalty area.

Then he checked the positioning of the defensive players on the near side.

Slap!

Rashford passed the ball over, and Tang Ye evaded Kante.

Drag the ball and turn!

Just as Kante was preparing to press up, Tang Ye launched a long kick directly to Mkhitaryan on the right baseline.

He had already calculated his next move before even receiving the ball!

"Wow!"

The spectators in the stands stood up.

Focus on Mkhitaryan!

"Quick, quick!"

Tang Ye ran toward the center while urging Rashford to make a forward run.

He knew he wouldn't make it in time, but Rashford, who had run out ahead of him and was faster, should have a chance!

Slap!

Mkhitaryan's cross finds Rashford!

Rashford controls the ball, performs a step-over feint, then compresses the defensive line.

A cutback pass to Tang Ye!

Tang Ye lifts his left foot!

Feigning a shot, he actually traps the ball before flicking it directly to Rodri behind him.

Turning around, he shouts, "Shoot straight!"

!

Boom!

Rodri unleashes a long-range shot, then stands still, watching the ball he just struck.

Courtois fails to touch it.

Goal!

(End of Chapter)