Chapter 353: We Lost to Tom, Not Manchester United (Bonus Chapter, Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

"Come on, Rod, over here!"

Clutching the trophy, Tang Ye sprinted along the sideline with Rodri.

"Look at me, look at me!"

Tang Ye hugged the trophy tightly, then dropped into a knee slide!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!

The trophy was a bit heavy, making that knee slide extremely difficult.

But Tom still pulled it off!

"Roar!! Haha!"

Cradling the trophy in his arms, Tang Ye sat on the ground, facing the Manchester United fans singing the team anthem.

Tang Ye even spotted a support banner dedicated to himself!

The three English letters "TOM," and Tang Ye immediately found himself.

"Haha!"

Rashford dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around both Tang Ye's neck and the trophy, then sat down beside Tang Ye.

Late February in London was still somewhat chilly, but neither Rashford nor Tang Ye paid any attention to the cold seeping into their backsides.

"Champion! (Champion!)"

"Champion!"

"Champion!"

The fans in the stands continued shouting as Mata ran up from behind, first embracing Tang Ye, then pointing toward the podium in the center of the pitch: "Go get the MVP trophy, hurry up, the reporters have been waiting forever!"

Almost forgot!

Ggbond, with two goals and one assist, was the MVP of this match!

Click, click, click!

After receiving the final's MVP trophy, Tang Ye immediately ran off to celebrate with his teammates, but was quickly chased back by Ashley Young.

"Interview! You still have an interview!"

Tang Ye turned to look at the reporter, finding the latter gazing at him with an expectant expression.

Hmm... alright!

Although eager to celebrate, doing an interview wouldn't take much time.

"Hello Tom, I'm Keely from Sky Sports. You defeated Arsenal 3-0, and you were involved in all three goals in this match."

"Mm, thank you."

Tang Ye nodded, bringing his mouth close to the microphone: "I'm very excited right now because, well, because this is the result of hard work by me and my teammates; we've been looking forward to this day for a long time."

The Manchester United players on the pitch gathered around, watching Tang Ye being interviewed in the center, smiles on every one of their faces.

Ashley Young turned to look at Fan Fan Dejiahe: "I don't know why, but I feel like I'm watching my own kid win a championship..."

"Be careful."

Fan Fan Dejiahe whispered a warning, then glanced left and right before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

"What? What's wrong?"

"His father is here today; are you trying to steal someone else's son?"

"No, haha!"

Ashley Young spread his hands: "Michel, I was just joking, it's a metaphor; I just have that feeling, not that Tom is actually my son."

"Of course, if he were my son, I'd be very happy," Ashley Young added.

Tang Tang Zhengxiong was Ashley Young's role model.

Ashley Young also wanted to become a top scorer like Tang Tang Zhengxiong!

"Although we scored three goals, this match wasn't easy for us."

At the reporter's request, Tang Ye spoke about the mental journey he and his teammates had experienced during this match.

The fans cooperated, and Wembley Stadium gradually quieted down.

"When I played in the EFL Cup for the first time, my teammates told me we had to win the championship, so we've been expecting this title for a long time."

"At 1-0 and 2-0, we were all very nervous because Arsenal's attack was strong, so I had to track back often."

"And at 3-0?"

The reporter pressed, and Tang Ye suddenly burst out laughing.

"Haha, at 3-0 we really weren't nervous anymore; Mata told me we had already won."

The reporter nodded: "Tom, you basically led the team to victory in this match..."

"Oh, you can't say that."

Tang Ye glanced in Ashley Young's direction, remembering the words the captain had said to him.

"'Led' isn't the right word; I'm very grateful to my teammates—they created many opportunities for me, so this is the result of our collective effort."

Tang Ye raised the MVP trophy in his hands.

"Wow!!!"

The surrounding Manchester United players charged the podium, quickly encircling Tang Ye.

"Come on, come on!"

Valencia unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, gesturing for Tang Ye to hand over his MVP trophy.

"Wait, wait, this one has no hole; it can't hold water."

Ashley Young examined the MVP trophy in Tang Ye's hands, then spotted the championship trophy held by Rashford.

"Use this one, use this one!"

Ashley Young held the trophy while Valencia poured all the water from his bottle into it.

"Come on, Tom!"

"Huh? Are you sure, Young!"

Tang Ye did not immediately reach out his hand.

"Use this, use this!"

His teammates were all looking at him with expectant eyes, which got Tang Ye excited as well.

Taking a deep breath, he accepted the trophy.

"Damn, it's a bit heavy."

"Go for it, Tom!"

Tang Ye gave a thumbs-up: "Watch me drink it all, keep your eyes peeled."

Whoosh...

He lifted the trophy.

Glug glug!

"Wow!!!"

The live camera focused in as Manchester United players and fans shouted simultaneously.

Five hundred milliliters of mineral water had been poured entirely into the trophy, and Tang Ye's current goal was to drink it all in one go.

Head tilted back, hands tightly cupping the trophy.

Glug glug!

Glug glug!

"Cough!"

"Cough cough!"

Shaking his head, Tang Ye lifted the trophy again: "Damn, I'm going to burst from being so full..."

"Haha, Tom!"

The Manchester United players huddled together again; Tang Ye's head was blocked by his teammates, but the large screen showed the trophy he held above his head.

That was the fruit of Manchester United's efforts in today's match!

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

"We're the boys in red and we're on our way to Wembley! (We are the red-clad youths, we march on the road to Wembley!)"

"Wembley! Wembley! (Wembley! Wembley!)"

"We're the famous Man United and we're going to Wembley! (We are the great Man United, we march on the road to Wembley!)"

Check Dongqiu Di pinned post: Manchester United wins the 2017-18 EFL Cup championship. (15,319 comments)

With nearly twenty thousand comments, the most outrageous part was that less than twenty minutes had passed since Manchester United won the title.

From this data alone, one could see that the number of Chinese fans watching this match was quite astonishing.

This was because everyone was certain Manchester United would take the championship!

GGBond always steps up at the critical moment!

Besides the pinned post, Check Dongqiu Di also created a championship poster for Manchester United.

Since the poster was made by Chinese people, GGBond naturally took the center position!

"Damn, I'm so full from drinking."

Walking back to the locker room, Tang Ye stumbled a few steps, nearly falling to the ground.

"Are you drunk, haha?"

Rodri came over to steady Tang Ye, who quickly shook his head: "Damn, no, I need to hit the restroom first."

Having suddenly drunk so much water, Tang Ye's mind now contained only the urge to urinate.

"Hurry up, we need to take a group photo." "Got it, got it, give me a sec!"

Tang Ye rushed out of the locker room, then ran back, poking his head out: "You must wait for me, don't start shooting yet."

"Got it, got it, just go do your thing."

Manchester United Official: Tang Ye voted Fan's Player of the Match against Arsenal.

After the match ended, Manchester United's official account posted three tweets in succession, including a group photo of the players in the locker room and the officially produced championship poster.

Worth noting is that whether in the photos or the poster, Tang Ye, who earned MVP honors in this match, was given the center position.

Regarding this, Sky Sports commentator Dawson remarked: "Just as I predicted, Tom led Manchester United to defeat Arsenal with a fine scoreline, and Tom's own performance in this match can only be described as that of the world's number one midfielder."

"At eighteen years old, serving as Manchester United's core—this statement alone is enough to illustrate Tom's future."

【Is this Dawson possibly Chinese? Haha】

【So loyal, damn it? Is he trying to snatch GGBond from us? No way, I need to investigate this commentator.】

!

【Saint Dawson's loyalty to Tom needs no further explanation, and you guys still want to investigate him?】

Dawson's praise for Tang Ye made fans cannot help but sigh; Tang Ye's fanbase was truly growing larger and larger.

Perhaps this is the power of the Little Goat!

GGBond deserves exactly this many fans!

Click click!

After the match concluded, Arsenal manager Wenger accepted interviews from reporters in the press conference room.

"Arsène, there are rumors that this is your final season at Arsenal. And given the current state of the league and the FA Cup, losing this match means you have lost the last trophy you could possibly win with Arsenal."

Under the gaze of the cameras, Wenger's expression was far from good.

Of course, there was no helping it; after all, Arsenal had prepared for this final for a long time.

Arsenal had invested more effort than Manchester United, yet they lost to Manchester United with a score of 0:3, something both Wenger and the Arsenal players found hard to accept.

"I feel we should have had a chance to win the match, but neither I nor our players were prepared."

Wenger sighed: "As for whether this was our closest approach to a title this season, I am not clear on that either."

"Judging by the scoreline, you lost thoroughly; was this a tactical issue?"

A reporter pressed further.

"No, I do not believe it was a tactical problem; Manchester United's tactics were not flawless, and I would even argue that our tactics were superior to theirs."

Wenger looked the reporter in the eyes: "You say we lost thoroughly; I do not share that view."

Hiss...

Taking a deep breath, somewhat hesitant, Wenger ultimately spoke the words he wanted to say.

"In my opinion... we lost to Tom, not to Manchester United."

"Mm, that is exactly it."

Click-click!

"What do you mean by saying you lost to Tom and not Manchester United? Could you please explain?"

A reporter in the audience stood up to press the question, but Wenger walked away without even turning his head.

At Wenger's age, he had seen many things.

But to miss out on a title at the very last moment...

Mm, this is something no coach can accept!

On the return flight, Tang Ye, having just finished watching Wenger's interview video, tilted his head.

Lost to Tom, and not to Manchester United?

Tang Ye did not know why Wenger would say such a thing; clearly, he and his teammates had performed quite well in this match.

Mm, although he did not know the reason behind Wenger's statement, Tang Ye was certain that Wenger was mistaken.

His bond with his friends was unmatched.

That was the reason Arsenal lost the match!

Exiting the Sky Sports website, he opened Twitter.

Less than three hours had passed since the match ended, and now Twitter was entirely filled with discussions about Manchester United.

Scanning quickly, Tang Ye spotted what he considered the most important keyword: Manchester United Revival!

In the eyes of many fans, the EFL Cup title meant that Manchester United had sounded the horn of their revival.

Tang Ye strongly agreed with this viewpoint!

Adjusting his seat, Tang Ye prepared to put down his phone and sleep, when suddenly he received a notification.

【Bilibili】

【The uploader you follow: Football Elements has released a new video!】

"..."

Ahem! Ahem!

Pulling his seat back, Tang Ye adopted a serious expression.

What to do, watch it or not?

Tang Ye was currently conflicted; on one hand, he very much wanted to know what video Niao Su had released, as he wished to see fans' evaluations of him, even those from anti-fans.

But on the other hand, he feared that one additional view would allow his anti-fans to earn even more money.

How could he let those detestable anti-fans make money!

"..."

Staring at his phone in thought.

Forget it, let them earn it; let's see what exactly is going on!

Football Elements: 【18-year-old】 【Champion Midfielder】, passing the ball 【to thin air】!

【Tang~~Ye! Signaling teammates to pass, then he himself pan~ics~~disastrously~~a backheel pass, losing↑possession in his own half】

【To avoid↑contact, refusing to mend his ways↑despite repeated lessons, stubbornly↑going his own way, obstinately↑clinging to delusion】

"Wow, is this your highlight reel?"

Rodri leaned over, discovering Tang Ye was watching a video of today's match against Arsenal: "The fans work fast; they've already produced this."

"What are they saying?"

Tang Ye exited the interface, then stuffed his phone into his pocket: "He said I played very well, and even used several idioms in succession."

"That is certain, though it seems you didn't finish watching it?"

Tang Ye shrugged: "The Wi-Fi is too laggy; I'll watch it after we land."

Professional Footballers' Association, Premier League Player of the Month Candidate List for February.

1. Salah, Liwupu.

2. Hazard, Chelsea.

3. Agüero, Mancheng.

4. Dembélé, Tottenham.

5. Tang Ye, Manchester United.

Once again on the shortlist for Player of the Month, Tang Ye has been selected.

In the February Premier League, the performances of these five players were undoubtedly outstanding, but judging by the statistics, the February Player of the Month will inevitably be decided between Salah and Tang Ye.

The stats for these two guys from the red clubs are about the same.

Although Tang Ye remains a strong contender for Player of the Month, many Manchester United fans still feel regret.

If Manchester United had played well in that match against Chelsea, Tang Ye would have basically locked up the monthly award.

Instead of waiting for votes from reporters and commentators like now!

Besides Tang Ye, Manchester United manager Ten Hag has also been included in the shortlist for Manager of the Month for February.

The mentor-disciple duo stands together once again!

This is the fundamental reason for Manchester United's good results this season!

After the final against Arsenal, time quickly moved into March.

During the morning meeting on March 1st, Ten Hag gave a speech to the players.

The theme of the speech was the team's upcoming matches.

"It is already March; March, April, then May, and then what?"

"And then the season ends; the last three months."

Standing to the side, Fan Fan Dejiahe suddenly interjected: "Well, actually it's not quite three months..."

"Right, not quite three months; this season is about to end, so I hope you can move on from the emotions of winning the championship."

Ten Hag swept his gaze across the Manchester United players in the conference room: "The EFL Cup championship is an honor belonging to us, but now I need you to move on from this honor."

"The league, the FA Cup, and the Champions League—this season we still have much to pursue."

Fans all say the EFL Cup championship is the beginning of Manchester United's resurgence, but in manager Ten Hag's view, one EFL Cup title is far from enough.

Manchester United needs more!

(End of Chapter)