Chapter 334: The Rattan Armor Army Returns to Posts

L'Équipe — 65 million euros! Manchester United has already paid the release clause for Allé; the player will report to Carrington before the 15th.

A striker valued at 40 million euros isn't considered a major star, but Allé possesses another identity.

This noble status has granted him immense popularity!

Opening Dongqiu Di, the first thing to catch the eye was the splash screen poster announcing Allé's transfer.

In the poster, Ten Hag stood with arms crossed over his chest, smiling as he looked at Allé, who was dressed in rattan armor.

Accompanied by a line of artistic text: The Rattan Armor Army has returned to its posts!

【Damn, which genius photoshopped that rattan armor on?】

【Allé has arrived, so can De Jong be far behind?】

【He should have come earlier; otherwise, Allé might already be second on the Premier League top scorer list.】

【Invincible, but to speak honestly, every member of the Rattan Armor Army is quite fierce.】

【Well, just look at who our Great General of the Rattan Armor is—it's GGBond!】

Click-clack!

At the Estadio de la Cerámica, Villarreal manager Escrivá accepted interviews from reporters in the press room.

"I don't know what to say; it's too crazy; everything is because of money."

Escrivá was not in a good state right now.

Last summer, he lost Tang Ye and Rodri.

This winter, he had lost Allé again!

It was true that Ten Hag was his idol.

But this was going too far!

……

Dongqiu Di Match Preview: At 3 AM on January 10, in the EFL Cup semi-final, Manchester United hosts Leicester City at home; Ten Hag and Tang Ye sprint toward the first trophy of their Manchester United careers.

Romano — Here we go! Southampton defender Van Dijk transfers to Liwupu for a fee of no less than 80 million euros.

"It's Van Dijk."

In the base locker room, Tang Ye, who was browsing Dongqiu Di, suddenly spoke up.

"What's wrong?"

Rashford walked over and handed Tang Ye a circular badge; it was a commemorative gift from the previous charity event.

"It's that center-back from Southampton; we played against them twice, and that defender was quite formidable."

Rashford shook his head; Tang Ye had clearly misunderstood his meaning again.

He had almost forgotten that Tom's way of thinking was a bit different from that of normal people.

"I know who Van Dijk is; I meant, what about Van Dijk?"

"Oh, this? Van Dijk has gone to Liwupu; they say the fee was no less than 80 million euros."

Sitting beside Tang Ye, Rodri said, "Van Dijk was definitely going to Liwupu; Southampton couldn't keep him."

Looking at the floor beneath his feet, Tang Ye spoke while thinking.

"We've only played against Liwupu once this season; now that Van Dijk has joined Liwupu, we might encounter him during a match."

"This isn't good news; I don't really like playing against him."

Feeling curious, Rashford asked, "Why is that? Because his defense is very good?"

"Yes; in the last match against Southampton, Tom was bumped by Van Dijk at least five times."

Rodri laughed loudly: "Haha, I saw it very clearly from behind."

"No, no; I was just in poor form during that match."

Tang Ye strongly disagreed with Rodri's words: "If I were in good form, he wouldn't be able to bump me because my reaction is fast; I would dodge."

"The good news is that Liwupu has already been eliminated from the EFL Cup."

Hearing the three of them chatting, Mata reminded them from a distance.

Although an 80-million-euro defender had joined, the already-eliminated Liwupu could not stop Manchester United from charging for the EFL Cup title.

Realizing this, Tang Ye lifted his head, looked at Rodri on his left, and then looked at Rashford standing in front of him.

He had already figured out how to celebrate after winning the championship!

……

Repost: Manchester United releases the starting lineup for the semi-final against Leicester City, led by Tang Ye and Rashford, with Martial starting.

【Ibrahimović didn't even make the squad list?】

【Manchester United probably isn't planning to renew his contract; Ibrahimović definitely doesn't want to stay either. With Allé arriving, do you think Ten Hag will still give Ibrahimović a chance to play?】

【What about De Jong? Hurry up and find a substitute for Mata.】

【Buy my ass; Manchester United has already spent nearly 300 million euros this season. Ten Hag is truly a top-tier corporate player; both the leadership and the boss trust him.】

In the Huandle Dou livestream room, Wang Chao was already prepared.

As usual, CCTV did not hold the broadcasting rights for the EFL Cup, and this match between Manchester United and Leicester City was a hot event.

At this moment, Wang Chao knew he had to step up!

"OK brothers, I prepared early today; this stream source should be quite clear."

"Ahem!"

"Let me first introduce to you brothers that the EFL Cup semi-final format is slightly different."

"Both the quarter-finals and the final are single-match deciders, but the semi-finals are a two-legged tie; Manchester United plays at home first, then away."

"But I feel whether it's one match or two makes no difference; with Tang Ye, Manchester United is extremely stable."

"Here it comes, here it comes!"

Wang Chao dragged his avatar frame in the video to the bottom right corner, fully revealing the live broadcast feed.

In the camera shot, the Manchester United number 10 walking out while holding the hand of the little ball boy was none other than Tang Ye!

"Let me introduce the starting lineups for both sides."

"For the home team, Manchester United, the starting midfielder is the Red Devils' core, Tang Ye."

"Then there's Tang Ye's number one assistant, Rodri; number two assistant, Rashford; number three assistant, Mata..."

Leicester City (4-4-1-1)

Goalkeeper: Schmeichel

Defenders: Fuchs, Maguire, Morgan, Danny Simpson

Midfielders: Albrighton, Matthew James, Okazaki, Ndidi, Mahrez

Forward: Vardy

Head Coach: Shakespeare

The lineup Leicester City fielded was basically no different from their last match.

One could say this was Leicester City's strongest formation of the season!

"The streamer's pick for this match... don't even ask about the pick; anyway, whenever Manchester United is playing, I favor Manchester United."

【Isn't the streamer a Villarreal fan? How did he become a Manchester United fan?】

【Being a fan of two clubs is quite normal; I'm even a Utrecht fan.】

【Utrecht plus Villarreal plus Manchester United; that composition is too 'Tang'.】

"OK, the director is very sensible; the camera goes straight to my Tang Tang Qiuwang!"

"Dribbling himself, Tang Ye isn't advancing very fast, but his rhythm is perfect."

"Passing to Rodri!"

"Tang Ye must feel he needs to conserve some stamina, so he chose to let his junior bear the burden of pushing forward!"

Rodri dribbled forward and soon faced an aggressive challenge from Leicester City's defensive midfielder.

Rodri fell into confusion.

Think fast!

Think quickly!

If it were Tom, what would he do in this situation!

Rodri imagined himself as Tang Ye, preparing to make the choice Tang Ye might make.

At this moment, Tang Ye's voice came from behind.

"Mata!"

Rodri made a sudden stop and passed the ball to Mata on the right wing.

"Switch positions, switch positions!"

Tang Ye and Rodri completed a crossing run, after which Tang Ye received Mata's cutback pass.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Leicester City's defense quickly closed in.

The situation was extremely urgent!

"Marcus!"

Tang Ye shouted loudly, then immediately curled the ball toward the goal with the outside of his right foot.

"..."

Seeing Tang Ye's outside-of-the-foot curled shot fly into the goal, defender Maguire sighed in front of Rashford.

He had been deceived!

But judging by the expression on Rashford's face, it seemed this guy had been deceived too?

"Wowhoo!"

Tang Ye quickly ran toward Rashford, embracing his good friend Marcus inside the Leicester City penalty area.

"Haha, Tom!"

Rashford hugged Tang Ye tight.

Deceived.

However.

Manchester United had scored!

【You have obtained 10 Counterattack Points.】

"Awesome, Tang Tang Qiuwang! A direct curled shot with the outside of the foot; are you Quaresma or Modric!"

"The director is showing a replay; let's take a look at Tang Tang Qiuwang's move just now..."

"Receiving Mata's pass, he adjusted the ball to a comfortable position while controlling it."

"Then, eh!"

Although the video quality was only 480p, Wang Chao still used his eyes to spot some key details.

"Before shooting, Tang Ye first shouted in Rashford's direction, then deceived both Maguire and Simpson!"

"Awesome, Tang Tang Qiuwang!!"

"Bang bang bang bang bang!"

Less than ten minutes into the match, Manchester United led Leicester City 1:0.

Before the match, some fans actually thought Leicester City could pull off an upset and defeat a Manchester United side without Mkhitaryan and Ibrahimovic.

Now it seems that was absolutely wrong!

"Sorry, Marcus!"

Tang Ye high-fived Rashford, who then punched his fist against Tang Ye's chest: "Haha!"

Ten Hag called the Manchester United players over: "Their wide defense is very dense; the focus of this match is the center. The left and right flanks are both feints—feints, don't forget!"

Tang Ye gave a thumbs-up.

The 27th minute of the match!

Seizing the opportunity, Matthew James's through ball found Vardy making a forward run with pinpoint accuracy!

Both of Manchester United's defensive midfielders are pushing up too far!

Herrera reached out, attempting a tactical foul.

But Vardy dodged it!

"Holy crap, don't do it, don't do it!"

"Phil Jones, get up there and block him!"

"Vardy is shooting directly!"

"Bailly!"

Smack!

Vardy's long-range shot from the edge of the box was blocked by Bailly's body.

Leicester City's attacking rhythm was still decent, but Vardy, perhaps having drunk too much Red Bull, seemed a bit too rushed today.

"Get back faster on defense!" Ten Hag shouted at Herrera and Rodri.

"Let me check the current odds... hmm... currently, Manchester United's line still looks quite solid."

"Although there's only one goal from Tang Ye so far, I still think the probability of an over is relatively high in this match."

"Also, brothers, take a look at Tang Ye's four pieces of gum in the first half; there's a high probability we can cash in on that."

"Of course, bet against the favorites, brothers!"

The match approached the 40th minute.

Leicester City was desperate to equalize before the end of the first half.

But they had clearly overlooked Manchester United's counter-attacking ability!

"Pass it straight to me!"

Boom!

Valencia played a low through ball to find Tang Ye, who turned his body to make space.

His right foot extended directly!

Smack!

【De Bruyne Standard Long Pass Lv4: Realistic】

Proficiency: 1079/1200

"Wow!!!"

!

Tang Ye immediately played a through ball behind the defense; Rashford and Martial in the front field started their runs simultaneously.

Tang Ye's pass was, of course, intended for Martial.

Martial stretched out his foot!

Martial didn't handle this ball well, and Morgan caught up to him!

"Fuck!"

Ten Hag angrily waved his hand.

If that ball had been controlled properly, it would have been a one-on-one.

Antony, what the hell are you doing!

Martial, having missed the chance, covered his face as Tang Ye's voice came from behind.

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

【No way, if Martial keeps playing like this, does he even want to be in the starting lineup anymore?】

【I can no longer see any future for Martial.】

【Damn, Martial isn't part of the 'Teng Armor Army,' so what gives him the right to waste opportunities like this?】

Not just the fans in the live stream, but even Wang Chao, a loyal Manchester United supporter, was now extremely dissatisfied with Martial.

A one-on-one opportunity—is that something you can just waste like this?

Dongqiu Di Halftime Report: Manchester United leads Leicester City 1:0; Tang Ye scored directly with an outside-of-the-foot chip shot, while Martial mishandled a one-on-one chance.

"Stay calm, stay calm, can you do that?"

In the locker room, Ten Hag specifically pulled Martial aside to speak: "Antony, your performance this season has not been as good as last season; you must be clear about this."

Looking at Martial next to him with his head bowed, Rashford thought of himself from last month.

No matter how great a player's contribution to Manchester United has been, if problems arise during a match, they will be criticized.

Ten Hag truly shows no mercy!

However, to be honest, Martial is still quite lucky.

Rashford lowered his own head.

At least he hadn't been called a rat!

"United! Man United! (Manchester United! Manchester United!)"

"We're the boys in red and we're on our way to Wembley!"

From outside the tunnel came the sound of Manchester United fans singing their team anthem together; Tang Ye looked at Harry Maguire, the tall Leicester City center-back in the adjacent lane.

"Tom!"

Maguire reached out his hand to Tang Ye, so Tang Ye extended his own hand as well: "Hello, Harry."

After shaking hands with Maguire, Tang Ye suddenly thought of something, walked forward, and found Rashford.

"Marcus, do you see that number 15? Maguire. His speed is very, very slow. You can stand beside him; that way, it will be easy for me to pass you a one-on-one ball."

The second half was about to begin, yet two Manchester United coaches were still in the locker room.

"Erik, it is still match time; you should be encouraging him. Save the scolding for after the game, okay?"

Fan Fan Dejiahe pointed out Ten Hag's earlier mistake, but Ten Hag did not believe he was wrong.

"Martial is exactly that kind of player; he needs pressure to play well."

"I just want him to perform better in the second half; I had to do it. It was appropriate."

Fan Fan Dejiahe was speechless.

Because he himself did not know whether Ten Hag or he was the one who was right.

"Okay, brothers, welcome back!"

The second half had begun.

Ten Hag soon noticed something very strange.

As the trailing side, Leicester City had not accelerated their attacking tempo; instead, they had actively slowed the pace down.

Glancing at Shakespeare next door, Ten Hag sat back down on the substitutes' bench.

"Their tempo has slowed!"

Fan Fan Dejiahe reminded him.

"I know. Regardless, our plan remains unchanged."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Ten Hag suddenly stood up, while behind him, the home stand erupted in screams.

Herrera dribbled the ball all the way forward, then accurately found Tang Ye on the right flank, where he was stationed alongside Mata.

Facing a defender rushing up to challenge, Tang Ye knocked the ball back with his heel to Mata.

【Ronaldo's Heel Knock】!

"Tang Ye! Awesome!"

It was a pass full of imagination; Tang Ye had created an attacking opportunity for the team.

After completing the pass, Tang Ye collided with Shinji Okazaki; he scrambled up from the ground and immediately rushed forward to support the play.

Manchester United was attacking down the right flank!

Tang Ye followed behind Mata.

Slap!

Mata passed the ball back to him!

Tang Ye began moving closer to the penalty area!

Tang Ye's plan had been to pass the ball to Rashford or Luke Shaw at the far post, but goalkeeper Schmeichel's positioning gave him a Xin De Xiang Fa.

Slap!

"Cross it!"

"Wait, that's a chip shot!"

Tang Ye's cross grazed the crossbar and flew into the goal.

"Goooo——aaaa——lllllll!!!"

"Goal!"

"2:0!"

Sliding on his knees, he rushed straight to Mata; Tang Ye then stood up from the ground.

He let out a loud roar.

"Mata!"

Tang Ye felt that he was much more powerful now.

Previously, he would not have been able to shout this loudly!

【Brace achieved; you receive an extra Counterattack Point *20】

"Two goals!"

"Tang Ye! What do you say? Is there a chance for a hat-trick today?"

In the live stream, Wang Chao was extremely focused.

As a loyal Tang Ye fan, Wang Chao seemed to see an opportunity for a hat-trick.

Of course, Wang Chao was not the only one who saw this situation!

"Hat-trick!"

"Hat-trick!"

Fans in the lowest tier of the stands reached out their hands, wanting to touch Tang Ye's head: "Tom, hat-trick!"

"They want you to get a hat-trick."

Rashford walked beside Tang Ye: "There are still 30 minutes left; I feel the chances are quite good."

Tang Ye smiled very happily.

"Haha, I think so too!"

Two goals constitute a brace; three goals constitute a hat-trick.

And Tang Ye's next goal was a hat trick!

Clap clap!

"Go, go!"

Ten Hag was clapping rapidly from afar.

The 76th minute of the second half!

"After taking the ball, he immediately started advancing!"

"Tang Tang Qiuwang! Is there a chance for a hat trick today!"

Bang!

Before even reaching the penalty area, Tang Ye seized the gap ahead and fired a long-range shot.

However, limited by his 78 physical confrontation stat, Tang Ye's long-range shot was actually not as powerful as he had imagined.

Not enough power was applied!

The ball was saved by Schmeichel!

【Is Tang Tang Qiuwang being a bit too impatient?】

【I saw the desire for a hat trick in the Ball King's eyes】

【Rashford should pass a few more times】

"Phew"

Watching his long-range shot get saved, Tang Ye shook his hand.

He really had played a bit too impatiently!

Adjusting his mindset to prepare for the corner kick!

"It's okay, don't rush"

Mata walked over, put his mouth close to Tang Ye's ear, and whispered, "Don't rush, we will support you"

The Manchester United players could see Tang Ye's desire for a hat trick.

As Tom's friends, they would naturally step up at this moment!

Slap!

Mata took the corner kick!

It was aimed at Rashford in the far post position!

A direct header!

Bang!

Rashford's heading ability was still a bit lacking; the header he produced ended up going over the crossbar.

Manchester United was currently leading 2:0.

But they just couldn't find an opportunity to score the third goal!

Instead, on Leicester City's side!

Okazaki looked for Vardy inside the penalty area!

Vardy passed back to Mahrez!

Bang!

A volley was struck, and goalkeeper De Gea jumped up on the spot.

But he failed to save the ball!

The moment the goal was conceded, Ten Hag immediately looked toward the linesman.

If Vardy had been offside at the instant Okazaki passed the ball, this goal would have been invalid.

Unfortunately, Vardy was not offside!

(End of chapter)