Chapter 366: The Second Premier League Summit Battle: Absolutely Cannot Let Man

Check Dongqiu Di Match Report: Mancheng lost 0:1 away to Bayern, suffering their first Champions League knockout stage defeat; Sterling missed the late winner. (29,812 comments)

【Mancheng lost.】

【Bayern is awesome!】

【So I feel United still has a great chance; didn't Bayern fail to play United during the group stage?】

【United > Bayern, Bayern > Mancheng, therefore United > Mancheng!】

Having just experienced a draw, fans worry that a poor mindset will affect the outcome of the next Manchester derby.

But now it seems the team whose mindset will be affected is not just United.

Mancheng also encountered misfortune in the Champions League, and their situation differs from United's draw.

Mancheng directly lost the match!

"Pep, do you think this defeat against Bayern will affect the next league match against United?"

Facing reporters' interviews, Guardiola's expression was not good.

Mancheng's form this season can be described as heaven-defying, so the team's plan is to win both the league and the Champions League.

But now with United chasing them in the league and Bayern handing them a 0:1 loss in the Champions League, Mancheng's pressure is considerable.

"Uh... this match's defeat was unexpected; naturally, both I and the players find this result hard to accept."

"But we will try our best not to let this match's result affect the game against United; United is absolutely an opponent worthy of respect. As you know, if we don't deliver our best performance, they might knock us down."

Click-click!

【Ultimate Mission: Win as many championships as possible; reward quality ultimately depends on the number of championships you obtain before the season ends.】

【Reward: Weakness Talent Optimization (Once-in-a-Lifetime / Widely Acclaimed / Astonishingly Superb)】

"..."

Sitting in his gaming chair at night, Tang Ye stared blankly at his system panel.

United's schedule in April is extremely difficult, which sparked an idea in Tang Ye's mind.

That is to claim the reward right now!

Boost the talent for his weak areas to the Once-in-a-Lifetime level!

If he draws the Physical Confrontation talent, then Tang Ye could possess the same upper limit of physical ability as his little brother Rothe.

Thinking carefully, if he possessed physical abilities like Rothe's, Tang Ye's performance in matches could almost be raised by an entire tier!

Of course, whether to claim the reward early is far too important a matter for Tang Ye, so he needs to think it over carefully.

Many people online say that one should not make important decisions at night.

It is currently night, so if Tang Ye wants to make any decision, it would be best to wait until daytime!

At the same time at the Carrington base, several members of United's coaching staff remained in the office after returning in the afternoon, having not left.

The summit battle against Mancheng is approaching, and Ten Hag now needs to quickly adjust the team's tactics.

The methods for dealing with Juventus and Mancheng are quite different; United's coaching staff needs to finalize the main tactics and starting lineup tonight, so that players can begin adjustments directly during tomorrow's training.

Lying on the sofa, Fan Fan Dejiahe covered his face with his notebook.

It was evident that this United assistant coach was already somewhat overwhelmed.

"Honestly, Erik, I think playing this way is already the best for us right now. Moreover... you know, even if we draw with Mancheng, our chances of overturning them are slim."

Fan Fan Dejiahe had started studying the schedules of the two Manchester teams long ago.

In April, United needs to face three BIG6 teams consecutively: Mancheng, Spurs, and Arsenal.

Meanwhile, Mancheng's upcoming opponents are all mid-table or even bottom-tier teams in the league.

Given the competitive ability Mancheng has displayed this season, there is basically no possibility of them slipping up against those bottom-tier teams!

"No, no, Michel. I know what you're saying, but we must go all out, okay? What we want is to win, to beat Mancheng. It's very difficult, but we can do it."

Ten Hag showed little expression on his face: "I never thought we were inferior to Mancheng; no team is invincible. We have hope to defeat any team—Spurs, Juventus, or Mancheng; we have a chance to beat them all, it's just that some matches will be harder than others."

"..."

Fan Fan Dejiahe removed the notebook from his face.

Ten Hag's fearless attitude when facing a high-difficulty schedule moved him somewhat.

"I can understand your thinking, Erik; I always understand you. But you must know that you are already very tired; only when one is full of energy can one make the best decisions. The details you are modifying now may not be correct for the team."

"We have no time to wait; the match starts on the afternoon of the 7th."

Ten Hag stared into Fan Fan Dejiahe's eyes: "Since everyone believes we cannot beat Mancheng, then we must win."

"Erik, listen to me first; my idea is to focus on defense, keep possession below 30%, even 20% is fine, and then look for opportunities from counterattacks. Marcus was substituted off early in the last match, so his stamina for playing against Mancheng will definitely not be an issue."

"Defense again."

Ten Hag spread his hands: "Am I worse than Guardiola? Every time we play Mancheng, you ask me to play defensively; am I worse than Guardiola or what?"

"No, Erik, I didn't mean to say you are worse than Guardiola; I was just saying..."

"Stop talking, Michel!"

Ten Hag directly interrupted Fan Fan Dejiahe.

"The match against Juventus has already shown that our pure defense is only relatively strong against weaker teams; against strong teams, problems will definitely arise."

"We need to let Tom control the ball in midfield; both he and Mata can control the ball; this is the key to beating Mancheng!"

Returning to the base the next day, Tang Ye took the opportunity during warm-ups to find Craig.

This is United's chief fitness coach, a guy Tang Ye greatly admires.

If there are questions to consult, finding him is definitely the right choice!

"Mr. Craig!"

Tang Ye fist-bumped Craig, then sat down beside him.

"What's wrong, Tom?"

A smile played across Craig's face.

He really did like Tom too much.

Great at football, and pleasant to talk to as well.

Such an all-around player is a rare find anywhere, isn't he!

"Hmm, it's nothing major, Mr. Craig, I just wanted to ask, I mean, if I had the physical gifts of Rod or Scott 【McTominay】, would training be much easier? What I mean is, with the same training, would my muscles grow faster?"

Hiss—

Craig took a deep breath, lowering his head to think.

"... I don't know how to put this."

Craig lifted his head to look at Tang Ye: "Actually, Tom, you don't need to envy other people's physical gifts; your focus is on the ball, and your ball-handling talent is the best in our team."

Mr. Craig thought Tang Ye was envying his teammates' strong physiques.

Tom did indeed envy his teammates' bodies.

But envy was not the point of this conversation.

"Mr. Craig, what I mean is, suppose, just suppose I had that kind of talent, would I suddenly become very strong?"

"For instance, my body suddenly develops, becoming incredibly, incredibly powerful."

"That question..."

Craig pinched his own chin: "Even with excellent physical gifts, building muscle still takes time."

"It takes at least one month for your muscles to show noticeable growth, and another month for your body to adapt to that muscle. Even if you're a late bloomer, like Michael Jordan, even in that case, you still need time."

"Is that so..."

It was already April; according to Mr. Craig's two-month theory, even if Tang Ye obtained a once-in-a-lifetime physical gift, his true phased improvement wouldn't arrive until early June.

Looking at it this way, claiming the reward in advance was indeed not a wise move.

"Thank you, Mr. Craig."

Tang Ye fist-bumped Craig, then ran off.

"Hey, Tom!"

"Focus on your strengths! With your physique, you must take it slow; you can't rush!"

Craig was genuinely afraid Tang Ye would rush to get stronger and blindly increase his training loads.

What if Tom got injured in the gym later on?

"Hiss..."

Thinking of this, Craig felt a chill run down his spine.

This was Ten Hag's killing intent!

Craig had already been at Manchester United for over ten years.

But he had a feeling that if Tom met with an accident in the gym, Erik would not hesitate to find Manchester United a new fitness coach!

The workplace is cruel.

When a head coach is a simp for a player, you had better protect that player well.

Otherwise, his simp will make your life very difficult!

Premier League Official: Salah named Premier League Player of the Month for March; Ten Hag named Manager of the Month.

With stats of six goals and one assist, Salah beat out Tang Ye; honestly, this was a very regrettable matter.

However, as the league enters its final stages, things like Player of the Month or Manager of the Month no longer hold much significance.

Whether or not we can play the remaining few matches well is what truly needs to be considered.

"I just won Manager of the Month, but I won't say it, because this is nothing worth boasting about."

On the training ground, Ten Hag paced back and forth in front of the players.

"But, but, Mr. Erik, you just said it."

Tang Ye reminded him quietly, but was quickly glared at by Ten Hag, so he immediately stepped back.

"What I mean is, I won't take this out to show off, but you need to believe in me."

"Of, of course we believe in you, Mr. Erik."

Ten Hag briefly went over some details regarding the match against Mancheng the day after tomorrow with the players.

In addition to their original counter-attacking strategy, Ten Hag also instructed the players to incorporate midfield possession.

Upon receiving this news, Tang Ye felt extremely excited.

Midfield possession, and he himself was a standard possession-style midfielder.

This was simply like a tactic tailor-made for him!

And besides excitement, Tang Ye now also felt a tremendous amount of pressure, a sense of responsibility.

This season, Manchester United had barely played any possession football, so suddenly picking it up again would be quite difficult.

The packed schedule made Tang Ye feel as though time was passing very quickly.

On the day of the Manchester Derby at noon, the Manchester United bus departed from the base, encountering the Mancheng bus directly on the road.

"Damn, it's Mancheng."

Tang Ye pulled open the curtain.

The blue Mancheng bus drove ahead, while the red Manchester United bus followed behind.

Mancheng and Manchester United's bases are very close; unexpectedly, their chosen departure times were also nearly identical, resulting in the current situation.

The coincidence struck Tang Ye as highly amusing; when the two buses drew level at a traffic light, Tang Ye gave De Bruyne a thumbs-up.

"Rod, that's Kevin; you must know him—he's also my friend."

After exchanging greetings with Sterling as well, Tang Ye continued speaking to Rodri.

"During the Ballon d'Or event previously, I went with Kevin and David (De Gea); we flew on the same plane and even played poker."

"It was the Ballon d'Or ceremony, not an event."

Having been at Manchester United for nearly a year now, Rodri's outstanding linguistic aptitude had helped him rapidly learn English.

"Same thing, same thing—so it was the ceremony then; but I still think 'event' is better, as it can summarize everything; simply too powerful."

The Ballon d'Or ceremony...

Leaning back in his seat, Rodri fell into deep thought.

When would he be able to attend the Ballon d'Or ceremony like his big brother Tom?

If he did attend, what ranking could he achieve?

Rodri only hoped that if he could attend the Ballon d'Or ceremony, he would be ranked close to his big brother Tom.

Since Tom's ranking would certainly be extremely high, being close to Tom meant his own ranking would definitely not be poor!

So how could one achieve a Ballon d'Or ranking close to Tom's?

Rodri was not yet clear on the specific actions required, but he understood the general direction quite well.

Follow Tom's rhythm!

Tom would lead him down the correct path!

The Sun: Manchester United and Mancheng buses photographed heading to the Etihad Stadium simultaneously by fans.

"This should be a coincidence, and a very interesting one at that; we followed them the entire way, De Bruyne exchanged greetings with Tom, and Sterling seemed in good spirits," said an on-site fan.

The Mancheng bus drove in front, with the Manchester United bus following behind; at traffic lights, the two vehicles would again arrive at nearly the same position.

This was just like the current situation in the Premier League.

Manchester United was trying every possible method to catch up to Mancheng!

"Bluemoon (oh, blue moon)"

"You saw me standing alone~ (you saw me standing alone)"

"Without a dream in my heart~~"

"Without a love on my own~~ (nor do I have a love of my own)"

At the Etihad Stadium, Mancheng fans welcomed the Manchester United bus with their team anthem.

Rodri quickly noticed Tang Ye's strange expression and asked softly, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"No, Rod; I'm just thinking about something."

Tang Ye frowned, employing his clever brain to ponder for quite some time, yet he simply could not find a suitable answer.

Rodri suddenly became serious.

Considering Tom's excellent game-reading ability, could he have discovered something crucial?

"You can state the problem; let's think about it together."

"No dreams and no love; Rod, don't you find Mancheng's team anthem rather strange?"

Tang Ye voiced the doubt he had harbored just moments ago.

If it were Tom, he would absolutely never stand alone without dreams.

Tom would call upon friends to stand together with him.

Then he would secretly tell those friends his dreams.

That dream was...

Hmm...

Thinking carefully, Tang Ye realized he needed to devise a dream for today's version of himself.

That dream was to defeat Mancheng!

How could Mancheng, standing alone, possibly defeat Tom, who stands together with friends!

"China Central Television! Here is the live broadcast bringing you..."

"The referee is checking his watch!"

"The match has begun! Now I will introduce the starting lineups for both sides in this game."

"First, the home team Mancheng, wearing blue jerseys and white shorts, attacking from the left side of the screen to the right; this is currently the first-place team in the Premier League!"

Mancheng (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Ederson

Defenders: Danilo, Kong Pani, Otamendi, Delph

Midfielders: Gundogan, De Bruyne, Fernandinho

Forwards: Sterling, Aguero, Sane

Head Coach: Guardiola

The Champions League quarter-finals took place just a few days ago, yet both Mancheng and Manchester United fielded their strongest available squads.

The reason was simple: this match was simply too important for both sides!

Check Dongqiu Di Top Story: The Manchester Derby, the Premier League's pinnacle clash, officially kicks off; can the Red Devils hold onto their last hope?

【Go Tang Ye! Long live Manchester United!】

【"Damn it, you're all shouting 'Long live Manchester United,' but then you all bet on Mancheng to win? What the hell does that mean? I'm so frustrated."】

【"Manchester United is still quite strong; the problem is that Mancheng is simply too strong."】

【"Tang Tang Qiuwang is loyal!"】

According to feedback from backend data, CCTV5 currently has 6.7 million real-time viewers.

Keep in mind, the match has only just begun not long ago!

Based on predictions from past situations, the peak number of real-time online viewers on CCTV5 today should be able to break through 10 million.

This data has already surpassed some of the less popular matches from the 2014 Brazil World Cup!

Clap! Clap!

Gundogan and Sterling executed a very fluid one-two pass combination on the wing.

Sterling dribbled the ball toward the baseline!

Sterling's buttocks were quite perky; as he ran, he held both hands up, looking just like a duck.

It looked very funny, but Sterling ran with a great sense of rhythm, and his dribbling ability was also very strong, putting immense pressure on Ashley Young.

Retreating little by little!

"Middle, middle!"

De Gea signaled his teammates to pay attention to Aguero's position.

That was Mancheng's top scorer!

They had to target him carefully!

Suddenly cutting inside to the edge of the penalty arc, Sterling passed the ball to the supporting De Bruyne.

De Bruyne passed the ball right back!

Sterling drove forward with the ball himself!

Charging straight into the penalty area!

"Oh!!!"

Smack!

A horizontal pass found Sane on the left.

Sane took the shot!

De Gea jumped up and punched the ball directly over the crossbar.

The match had only reached the 5th minute, yet Mancheng had already launched an attack that could be called perfect!

"Man City! Man City! (Mancheng)"

The stands were entirely a sea of blue, putting some pressure on the Manchester United players now.

Of course, the pressure on the Manchester United fans was also very great.

The current Mancheng gave the audience a certain feeling.

That was that they could break open Manchester United's goal at any moment!

"It's a corner kick opportunity for Mancheng; let's take a look..."

"De Bruyne!"

"Smalling, beautiful!"

In just a short two minutes, Manchester United had repeatedly turned danger into safety.

But when would Manchester United's opportunity finally arrive!

(End of this chapter)