Chapter 369: Manchester United Is Waiting for a Miracle, But the Miracle Has Not Arrived

PINNED: April 12, 2:00 AM, Champions League quarter-final second leg, Manchester United away at Juventus; can the Red Devils of Manchester, who drew the first leg at home, break through to the semi-finals?

The second leg between Manchester United and Juventus is about to begin.

Considering the stalemate in the first leg, the second leg will undoubtedly be equally thrilling.

【VICTORY】

"Phew..."

Letting out a long sigh, Tang Ye casually tossed the controller onto the bed.

Sitting cross-legged on the soft bed, he faced a crystal-clear game screen, with a chilled glass bottle of cola resting on the headboard.

Tang Ye greatly enjoyed this relaxed and comfortable state, yet the impending match made it impossible for him to feel at ease.

The super powerhouse Juventus!

In the first leg, Manchester United drew 3-3 with Juventus at home; on the surface it seemed like no loss, but only the Manchester United players themselves knew how grueling that match had been.

Whether in wing attacks or compact defense, Juventus's strength was half a tier above Manchester United's.

The second leg being an away match added another layer of difficulty to an already challenging game.

He remembered dreaming of senior C. Ronaldo the other night; that damned Cristiano had killed the mouse in the Carrington Trophy Room.

According to Zhou Gong's Dream Interpretation, a dead mouse in a dream signifies good luck.

Tom did have good luck, but the problem was that dream had happened quite some time ago.

He didn't know if he was still in a state of good fortune!

Thinking of this, Tang Ye suddenly grew tense.

After a moment's thought, he turned off the game in progress, then switched off the room lights.

He needed to sleep first, to see if he could dream of C. Ronaldo again.

Hmm, or perhaps Messi.

Dreaming of Messi would work too!

"Good morning, Marcus; good morning, Mata."

Walking into the gym, Tang Ye greeted his teammates.

"What's wrong, Tom?"

Mata noticed Tang Ye's expression: "You don't look in good form."

"Oh, it's just that Juventus is so difficult to handle, so I'm a bit nervous right now."

Tang Ye explained: "I had a dream before, and after that dream we went on a long winning streak."

"Hmm... and so?"

Rashford clearly didn't understand Tang Ye's meaning.

"My idea is, if I can have that dream again, I can bring good luck to the team once more; Marcus, don't you want to defeat Juventus?"

"Haha!"

Rashford nodded quickly: "So what was the dream you had?"

"It was..."

Just as he opened his mouth, Tang Ye quickly clamped it shut.

Ten Hag had previously scolded Rashford as the "mouse of Carrington," something Rashford had kept in mind ever since.

Tang Ye couldn't reveal his dream, otherwise his good friend Marcus might get upset!

"Alright."

Seeing Tang Ye had no intention of speaking, Rashford shrugged: "What's there to hide? Even if you dreamed I was killed, it wouldn't matter; things in dreams don't happen in reality. But Tom, if you don't want to say, that's fine too."

"Hurry up and change your clothes; Craig will be here soon!"

Mata reminded him, and Tang Ye quickly rushed to the locker room to change into his training kit.

Turin, Italy, on the day of the second leg between Juventus and Manchester United.

Quickly adjusting his breathing, Tang Ye followed Rodri out of the player tunnel.

Juventus (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Buffon

Defenders: De Sciglio, Barzagli, Chiellini, Alex Sandro

Midfielders: Costa, Bentancur, Pogba, Asamoah

Forwards: Dybala, Higuain

Learning from the experience of the first leg, Allegri slightly adjusted his team's formation for the second leg.

Among these adjustments, there was one particularly crucial point.

The return of the team's starting defensive midfielder, Paul Pogba, from injury was a major variable in this match.

On the Manchester United bench, Ten Hag and Fan Fan Dejiahe exchanged a glance.

Back when Tang Ye was still at Utrecht, Fan Fan Dejiahe had written a scout report on him.

However, Fan Fan Dejiahe had used Pogba and Eriksen as templates for Tang Ye, formulating training plans based on this in the hope that Tang Ye would develop in Pogba's direction.

But now, it seemed there was truly no need for that anymore.

Tom played a season at Villarreal, and within that single season he completed his full, monstrous development.

The current Tom was no longer someone Pogba could compare to!

Just after the first half began, Manchester United launched attacks targeting Juventus down the left flank where Rashford was positioned.

Snap!

Long pass to Rashford!

Rashford controls the ball!

A very quick attack, but alas, Rashford's ability to handle the ball near the penalty area was still a bit lacking, and in the end, Chiellini intercepted it.

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

Check Dongqiu Di live match report: Manchester United away against Juventus in the Champions League knockout stage is underway; current score 0:0, aggregate score over two legs 3:3.

The comment section is filled entirely with fans cheering for Manchester United.

Having just defeated Mancheng 3:2, Manchester United's form can be said to speak for itself.

The only concern is the physical recovery status of the Manchester United players.

Less than five days separate this match from the Manchester Derby, so the Manchester United players may not have recovered from the high-intensity Manchester Derby.

In contrast, Juventus is in a very comfortable position; between the two legs of the Champions League knockout, they had neither a league match nor a cup match, allowing them to focus all their energy entirely on Manchester United.

Di Di Bala receives the ball on the wing!

Cutting inside!

Direct shot!

De Gea punches the ball away!

"As we can see, the attitude of both teams in this match is quite obvious: to establish control over the game situation directly in the first half..."

"Yes, currently it seems Juventus is doing better in this regard."

"..."

"Beep, beep beep!!!"

Check Dongqiu Di halftime report: Juventus temporarily leading Manchester United 2:0; Rashford's direct free-kick shot was saved, Higuain scored, Pogba scored a world-class goal.

"..."

Glancing at the score displayed on the big screen, Tang Ye bit the gum in his mouth, feeling terrible inside.

As expected, Pogba's return has brought a significant improvement to Juventus's attack.

In the first half, Manchester United was almost completely dominated!

Rashford walked over and high-fived Tang Ye; neither of them spoke.

Tang Ye could feel Marcus's sorrowful emotions, and of course, Marcus could also feel Tang Ye's emotions.

The Tom and Jerry combination should have produced something in the first half.

But they failed to do so!

"Keep going, keep going!"

"Go Manchester United!"

Cheers from the fans came from the away stand as the Manchester United players walked back to the locker room with heads bowed, every single face extremely serious.

Juventus is now leading Manchester United by two goals; chasing two goals in 45 minutes might not seem too difficult at first glance.

But you must know that Juventus is playing very well in this match, making it hard for Manchester United to find scoring opportunities.

And the most critical thing!

The Champions League counts away goals; Juventus currently has three away goals, while Manchester United has zero.

Therefore, even if Manchester United scores two consecutive goals in the second half to tie the score at 2:2, Manchester United, with only two away goals, would be directly declared the loser.

They must score at least three goals in the second half.

Only then can Manchester United secure victory!

In the locker room, Ten Hag was inspiring the players.

Manchester United now needs to wait for a miracle!

A great miracle!

"Tang Ye! Directly finding Martial!"

A long-distance grounded through pass from the center circle went straight to the front field.

It was delivered very comfortably, and Martial easily controlled the ball!

Watch what happens next!

Martial!

Moving laterally inside the penalty area to create space.

Found an opportunity!

Bang!

A volley was fired, and Buffon made a save.

"Goal!"

"Beautiful! Martial!"

1:2!

In the 57th minute of the second half, Manchester United pulled one back!

【You have obtained 15 Counterattack Points】

【Phase Three Mission Progress: Assists (6/6)】

The Phase Three mission of six assists was finally completed!

Tang Ye was very happy, but he truly had no mind to attend to this mission right now.

They still need to score two more goals to win this match!

"Martial has abandoned the celebration; Manchester United must be making a final push!"

Allai's absence had a negative impact on Manchester United, though Martial's performance in this match was still quite good.

Let's see if there's a chance!

The 77th minute!

Di Di Bala receives a pass from a teammate near the baseline!

This is a chance for Juve!

Slap!

A square pass into the penalty area.

It goes to Zhu Jiqi, who was substituted on not long ago!

Zhu Jiqi!

Boom!

A toe-poke shot flies out; Zhu Jiqi successfully breaches the Manchester United goal defended by De Gea.

Damn it!

The moment the goal was scored, Tang Ye looked directly at the linesman.

He now only hoped this was an offside goal.

But the goal was not offside!

Pah!

Spitting the gum out of his mouth, Tang Ye kept his lips slightly parted, his face showing no expression whatsoever.

The other Manchester United players were the same.

They roughly knew what awaited them next.

……

"Beep, beep-beep!!!"

"Alright, the full-time whistle has blown; ultimately, in the second leg, Juve posted a 3:1 scoreline, defeating Manchester United 6:4 on aggregate across both legs to advance to this season's Champions League semi-finals."

"To be honest, Manchester United were rather unfortunate in this match, failing to convert some decent chances in both halves."

"Additionally, the winter signing Allai being unable to play due to regulations was also a major problem."

The commentators expressed their regret over Manchester United's elimination.

The match had ended, yet the fans in front of their televisions had not turned off their screens for a long time.

GGBond has been defeated!

This result was simply too difficult for Chinese fans to accept!

The mighty GGBond, the GGBond who could summon the Flame Dragon Armor, could he actually lose...

"Juve, storia di un grande amore~ (Juve, you are a great love)"

"Bianco che abbraccia il nero~ (White embracing black)"

"……"

The stadium echoed with Juve's team anthem; having successfully defeated the strong foe Manchester United to reach the semi-finals, the Juve fans were celebrating.

The live camera focused on Tang Ye, yet Tang Ye did not notice the lens pointing at him from afar.

At this moment, he was squatting on the ground, eyes fixed on the turf beneath him—the place where he had lost today's match.

The Champions League knockout stage was different from the group stage.

Losing in the knockout stage meant immediate elimination!

Tang Ye now only hoped to replay the second leg.

If they played again, he would definitely seize the opportunities.

But that, of course, was unrealistic.

A loss was a loss; Manchester United were the losers of this match.

Tang Ye felt extremely guilty now.

Although Juve was very strong, he had a feeling that if he had controlled the rhythm of this match even slightly better, Manchester United would still have had a chance to win.

3:3, 4:3.

Or even 5:3!

A shadow suddenly appeared over the grass before him; Tang Ye lifted his head to find Ten Hag standing right in front of him.

"Mr. Erik, I, I..."

Ten Hag squatted down and placed his hand on Tang Ye's back.

Ten Hag did not speak, because he knew Tang Ye needed some time to think on his own.

……

Check Dongqiu Di Match Report: Manchester United lost 1:3 away to Juve, ending their Champions League journey this season. (87,652 comments)

【Pogba just recovered from injury and can play this well; I thought Pogba would choke.】

【What a pity; Rashford barely had any screen time today.】

【If you want screen time, you have to look at my GGBond; controlling the ball alone in the center for half a minute, the man in all of Manchester United who wants to win the most.】

【Manchester United needs to strengthen the forward line ASAP; don't let Mata play as a striker anymore; he truly lacks explosive capability.】

【Why does Juve suddenly feel like they've become stronger...】

The Manchester United locker room after the match was extremely quiet; even Tang Ye, who usually loved to talk the most, remained silent.

Rrip!

Quickly unzipping his backpack, Tang Ye took out a piece of gum, tore open the wrapper, and put it in his mouth.

Feeling it wasn't enough, Tang Ye then took out another fresh piece.

Chewing two pieces of gum together, the strong mint flavor gave his brain a cool sensation.

Ice cubes can reduce muscle swelling; Tang Ye now only hoped the chilling sensation of the mint gum would calm his brain down.

Just as he placed his hand on Rashford's shoulder, preparing to say something, Fan Fan Dejiahe entered from outside.

Tang Ye still had one interview to complete!

"Uh... can I not go?"

Tang Ye asked in a low voice.

To be honest, he didn't really feel like interacting with reporters right now.

Fan Fan Dejiahe nodded gently: "You don't have to, but I suggest you go anyway, otherwise those reporters will make a big deal out of this."

"Alright, Mr. Michel."

Tang Ye patted Fan Fan Dejiahe's arm, then walked toward the mixed interview zone.

Hmm?

Fan Fan Dejiahe watched Tang Ye walk away slowly, then looked back at the locker room.

Tom actually went to the interview this time without bringing anyone along.

Was it because he needed some alone time after losing the match?

Click-click!

The camera flashes in the interview zone made it hard for Tang Ye to keep his eyes open, so he could only raise his arm to shield them.

Reporters asked Tang Ye about his feelings regarding this match.

"..."

Tang Ye kept his mouth shut, thinking for about half a minute.

"Tom?"

A reporter prompted.

"Oh, sorry, sorry."

Tang Ye shook his head and sat up straight: "We played this match with great regret; originally, our plan was to win and advance to the semifinals, but in the end, we failed to do so. Juventus played even better than we imagined."

"Although Juventus is very strong, I still think we had some chances, um... although we failed to seize those opportunities."

Due to his terrible mood combined with nervousness when facing reporters, Tang Ye's language organization system had already malfunctioned.

"Um, actually, when Anthony 【Martial】 scored a goal in the second half, I thought we might have a chance to turn things around, but soon they scored another goal."

Tang Ye looked at the reporter in front of him: "After that goal was scored, I realized the match was already over."

The reporter nodded: "Has the recent schedule affected you? For instance, the match against Mancheng—did you expend too much energy in that game?"

Tang Ye thought briefly.

There was definitely an impact, but he wouldn't say it in front of reporters.

In Tang Ye's view, making excuses for a loss was an extremely shameful thing.

What Tang Ye desired most was to return to two hours ago and replay the match against Juventus; in that match, Manchester United would definitely defeat their opponent.

But Tom was not Doraemon; his pocket contained only gum, not a time machine.

"Mancheng Evening Post"—Champions League defeat and elimination: This season, Manchester United has only two remaining tournaments where they can still contend for a title, namely the FA Cup and the Premier League.

Just as the "Man Evening" reporter stated, after losing in the Champions League, Manchester United was left with only two title opportunities, but neither of these two chances was easy to seize.

To win the FA Cup title, Manchester United must defeat Tottenham Hotspur to reach the final, and then beat either Chelsea or Southampton in the final.

It is most likely to be Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, and these two Premier League powerhouses are obviously not easy to deal with.

However, comparatively speaking, the FA Cup is still the better option; winning means claiming the title, meaning fate rests in their own hands.

But the league is not like that.

In the remaining six Premier League matches, Mancheng must lose at least one game and draw at least one for Manchester United to have a chance to overtake them, but for Mancheng this season, losses and draws are merely low-probability events.

April is the second-to-last month before the season ends, and the pressure on players and fans is increasing day by day.

Time moved to noon the next day.

Manchester United players flew from Turin back to Manchester, and just as they arrived at the training base, news of trouble came from the neighboring club as well.

In the second leg, Mancheng lost to Bayern Munich with a score of 3:4, resulting in a crushing elimination with an aggregate score of 4:6.

Thus, not a single Premier League team remained alive in the Champions League knockout stage.

"Kevin and the others are out too."

Upon hearing this news, Tang Ye, who had just stepped off the bus, felt somewhat surprised.

In his impression, Mancheng's strength was truly formidable; they should have been able to defeat Bayern Munich.

Just as Manchester United managed to do during the Champions League group stage this season!

"Rod, I've noticed something."

Walking together toward the parking lot, Tang Ye suddenly turned to look at Rodri: "If we had been drawn against Bayern and Mancheng against Juventus, wouldn't we have both advanced?"

"Hmm... that makes sense."

Rodri expressed agreement with Tang Ye's words.

"Right, you think so too."

Tang Ye shook his head, pulling UEFA out of his blacklist only to torture them again mentally.

Back in the Round of 16, it was UEFA that paired Manchester United with Villarreal, forcing Tang Ye to defeat his old friend just to advance!

However, the matches had already concluded nearly 24 hours ago; dwelling on these matters now could not change anything.

Just as Mr. Eric had said in the locker room.

Manchester United players now needed to focus their attention on the upcoming matches!

The FA Cup and the Premier League—the remaining two competitions are both extremely important for Manchester United!

……

(End of Chapter)