Chapter 43: Groningen's Counterattack!

【At 37 years old, you touched the ball twice and scored once; your strength is truly terrifying.】

【Reward: Counterattack Points * 10】

"That's it, beautiful!"

Ten Hag raised both hands, sharing the joy of this goal with Tang Ye.

Seeing Tang Ye's training bear fruit, Ten Hag was naturally delighted.

Was the goal on the field spectacular?

It was earned with sweat!

The match continued; because of Tang Ye's opening goal, the Groningen players on the field had to pick up the pace.

Because they were behind!

And suddenly behind at that!

The number 99 on the opposite side had sneaked into their penalty area like a thief, then placed the ball inside their own goal just like a thief!

"Pull yourselves together, pull yourselves together! Wake up!"

John kept shouting to the players on the field: "We can win this; keep your mindset, watch the rhythm!"

Taking advantage of the next kickoff while teammates slowly walked back to their positions, John called over Bonnet and De Rost.

John issued an unprecedented order.

That was to specifically target that number 99 who acted like a thief!

"Tang Tang Qiuwang has helped Utrecht establish an advantage; now it depends on whether the Utrecht players can maintain Tang Tang Qiuwang's advantage."

"The away team is playing aggressively; number 17, what's number 17's name? De Rost, okay, De Rost push forward!"

"Tang Ye! Tang Ye, who was waiting in the center, is running forward!"

"Targeted and marked one-on-one by Tang Tang Qiuwang, De Rost is in trouble!"

"Tang Ye extends his foot directly..."

"Tang Ye has been shaken off!"

"Can any defensive players come over to help!"

"The situation is urgent! Amrabat is moving toward the center, but it seems a bit too late!"

Captain De Rost handled the ball very reasonably; after shaking Tang Ye off onto the grass, he found open space.

Facing his teammate's call for the ball, De Rost did not rush to pass it out.

He dribbled forward himself!

Both De Rost and Ramselaar liked to dribble the ball themselves.

But Ramselaar was a fake possession-style midfielder.

De Rost was a possession-style midfielder in the truest sense!

After running nearly 20 meters, De Rost still hadn't passed the ball; ultimately, it took Amrabat and Strijd pressing up together to force the captain to make the pass.

To Antonia!

Antonia, a cutback...

Nganioni, rushing back to defend, destroyed Antonia's pass with one kick.

Unfortunately, however, the cleared ball still ended up at the feet of a Groningen player.

You again, Tjibbe!

"I'm here!"

Tang Ye slowly ran back from the front; some grass clippings hung on his jersey, the mark of the weak.

He had just been shaken to the ground!

Tjibbe, a 45-degree cross!

In the central penalty area, this is striker De Leeuw's chance!

Bang!

De Leeuw did not disappoint his teammates; his header after leaping high successfully opened Utrecht's goal.

"GOOOOO——AAAAAA——LLLLLLL!!!!"

"De Leeuw!"

1:1!

The Dutchman De Leeuw's header goal successfully helped Groningen equalize the score.

When De Leeuw headed the ball, he did not touch any Utrecht defenders, and the assistant referee did not raise his flag to signal offside.

There was absolutely no problem with this goal!

"What are you doing!?"

Goalkeeper Ruiter shouted at Strijd: "Can't you even mark one man? Why?"

Ramselaar and Timor-Lechte quickly ran up to pull the two apart.

De Leeuw's goal not only equalized the score but also brought out the conflict between Utrecht's defenders and the goalkeeper.

Seeing the situation turning sour, Ten Hag quickly shouted instructions, telling Tang Ye, who was playing as an attacking midfielder, to shift his position backward.

Huh?

Tang Ye didn't quite understand Ten Hag's meaning, but this was the head coach's order, so he could only comply.

At the 19th minute, the score was tied 1:1; the match continued.

Once he moved to the defensive midfielder position, Tang Ye immediately felt the pressing intensity from the opposing forwards; De Leeuw, Lin Sen, and Antonia were all pressing forward together.

Forget about passing to attack; you didn't even know how to shield the ball!

Under this kind of offensive pressure from the opponent, the weaknesses of Utrecht's 5-3-2 formation began to expose themselves.

Facing Deleu's fierce pressing, Tang Ye found it extremely difficult to play.

Just before the end of the first half, Antonia drew a penalty in the box, and Deleu, taking the spot-kick, scored with a single strike.

The score was reversed!

As expected, Strijd and Ruiter started arguing again.

【Damn, this is directly finished.】

【Crap, seeing Tang Ye score, I thought this match was already in the bag...】

【Groningen has tremendous staying power; this high press is making Utrecht unable to even pass the ball.】

【Regret it, brothers; we should have bet on Groningen.】

【Don't believe in our King Tang anymore?】

【Your King Tang has been moved by the coach to play defensive midfielder; do you think Utrecht still has a chance?】

【Damn it, that idiot Ten Hag, I'm speechless; is Tang Ye f*cking a defensive midfielder that you use him as one?】

"Holy crap..."

Tang Ye gritted his teeth; his form was somewhat off.

Groningen's pressing was intense, causing him not only to play exhaustingly but also to find no offensive opportunities.

"Beep, beep-beep!"

The referee blew the whistle ending the first half, and players from both teams began walking toward the tunnel.

"Come on!"

"Tom! Come on!"

The fans' cheers were loud; Tang Ye heard his name once again, which made him feel much more comfortable.

In the locker room, Ten Hag and Fan Fan Dejiahe emphasized a series of points to the players regarding the second half.

They soon turned to Tang Ye.

"Tang."

Ten Hag turned to look at Tang Ye, speaking with some hesitation.

Obviously, the Dutchman was not entirely confident in the tactics he was about to arrange.

"Around the 50-minute mark, we will substitute you off."

?

???

Tang Ye spread his hands: "What?"

Tang Ye had already prepared to debate with Ten Hag, but the guy suddenly changed his tune: "Hmm... actually, play a bit longer; try returning to the attacking midfielder position, and leave the defensive midfield to Balat and Sofyan."

Ramselaar, whose name was called, stood up: "The opponent has three forwards pressing together; with only two of us, Sofyan and I, it will be very difficult to handle."

"Then find a way to get the defenders involved!"

Ten Hag shouted.

During those few minutes in the first half, he had already realized that using Tang Ye as a defensive midfielder was completely useless.

He could only tackle.

If the first tackle missed, Tang Ye's defensive ability was even worse than those U15 kids!

"Thanks."

Learning that Ten Hag intended to give him more opportunities, Tang Ye simply offered thanks and then began to think.

He had already scored one goal, yet the Portugal Chest in the system still displayed the words 【High Grade】.

Obviously, one goal was insufficient to raise the Portugal Chest to the 【Superstar】 level.

Must find another opportunity!

They were already trailing by one goal in the first half.

Tang Ye needed to find an opportunity in the second half!

This second half concerned whether Tang Ye could upgrade the chest to a higher level, and equally concerned the starting position he had worked so hard to obtain.

How to avoid Ten Hag's malicious extra training?

Solidify his position as a starting player.

How to solidify his position as a starting player?

Conquer Ten Hag with a sufficiently brilliant performance.

And then...

Keep Ayoub pinned firmly on the bench!

(End of Chapter)