Chapter 450: South Korea Has Son Heung-min and Li Xianghe, Tang Ye Is on the Bench

Dongqiu Di match report: Tang Ye and Rashford rested; Manchester United lost 1-2 away to Chelsea in the EFL Cup and were eliminated. (Comments: 17,235)

It was still a bit regrettable how the match went.

Although the key players were absent and they played away, the Manchester United players' performance on the pitch was actually quite decent.

If Aleksei had been more clinical with his chances, Manchester United might have eliminated Chelsea outright.

"GloryGloryManUnited…"

The away fans sang their team song in the stands.

They lost their first match of November, but Manchester United fans weren't upset.

Because they knew their team was playing a bigger game!

Getting eliminated from the EFL Cup was preparation for the league and the Champions League!

…

Repost: Tang Ye and his girlfriend appeared at Incheon Munhak Stadium to watch the League of Legends final between IG and FNC; this stadium hosted the 2002 World Cup match between South Korea and Portugal.

【I knew it, guys】

【This isn't just a guess—there's very little that can attract my King Tang】

【GGBond, go back! Manchester United got crushed by Chelsea!】

【No way, what kind of status qualifies you to be GGBond's girlfriend? Let me at it!】

"Damn, it's cold."

Rubbing his hands, Tang Ye curled up, not expecting the evening temperature here to drop so sharply.

Why isn't it cold from morning till morning like in Manchester?

"Do you want my coat?"

Zhou Ye took off her coat: "If you catch a cold, won't you miss the match?"

"Wow, thanks, bro."

He reflexively called her "bro," but Tang Ye had no intention of correcting it.

When you're close, you're brothers—gender doesn't matter!

The match was about to start; Tang Ye's face appeared on the big screen.

"Wow!!!"

South Korea still had a large fan base, and FNC was a British club—so at least half the crowd here were also football fans.

"Tom, are you cheering for us?"

"Tom, cheer for us!"

The British fans in the stands shouted.

Some spectators were even wearing Manchester United jerseys.

Uh…

Tang Ye scratched his nose: "I'm cheering for LPL (here, that's IG, FNC's opponent)."

"Oh!"

"NO!!!"

"Tom, NO!!!"

…

Dongqiu Di match report: IG defeated FNC 3-0 to win the S8 World Championship, Tang Ye scored a hat-trick.

The report included a photo of Tang Ye wearing Zhou Ye's baseball cap.

Seoul Sports

"Can we interview you for a few questions, Tang Ye?"

After the match, Tang Ye gave an interview on the infield stands.

"Yeah, of course."

"You came from England to watch the match—what's your overall impression?"

"Hmm…"

Tang Ye glanced at the stage: "It's fine. I think Fnatic's jungler had some issues—he looked strong in the group stage; I saw news praising him—but in this match, he didn't perform at all."

"His jungle rhythm was completely controlled. I feel he didn't even know where the enemy jungler was. How could he win? With such a huge jungle disadvantage, all three lanes become unplayable."

"…"

After Tang Ye finished speaking, the reporter stared at him blankly.

"Uh… what's wrong?"

"Actually, Tang Ye, I wanted you to talk about your experience coming here to watch the match, not your analysis of the match."

The reporter explained.

Clearly, Tang Ye had misunderstood the question slightly.

"Haha."

Zhou Ye laughed beside him, then sneezed.

"Oh oh, watching the match? Since I got this vacation last-minute, I thought it was fine—just that the flight was slow. If it had been faster, it'd be better."

"I see…"

The reporter hadn't expected Tang Ye to complain about flight speed—his prepared draft suddenly felt inadequate.

"Next January's AFC Asian Cup in the UAE—China and South Korea are in the same group. What do you think about that match? It might be your first encounter with Son Heung-min on the national team."

"Yeah, that's right."

Tang Ye reached to touch his hair but, wearing a cap, his hand brushed the brim instead.

"I'm looking forward to it—I know South Korea has many good players, including…"

Tang Ye paused mid-sentence.

"Tang Ye?"

"Including Son Heung-min… and then, then…"

Okay, Tang Ye couldn't remember any other South Korean players.

"This…"

The South Korean reporter stood before him, looking hurt; Tang Ye's face turned red.

"No no, I didn't mean anything else—South Korea definitely has many great players, and Son Heung-min is the best."

"Can you name one more South Korean national team player?"

He'd expected the reporter to let him off like Chinese journalists would—but instead, the reporter pressed on.

"…"

Tang Ye looked at Zhou Ye beside him: "Is Ki Sung-yueng South Korean or Japanese?"

"You, don't ask me!"

"Oh oh, there's also Ki Sung-yueng."

Tang Ye turned to the reporter, offering an answer he wasn't sure about.

"And another one, Li, Li Xiang…"

"Oh no, wrong."

Shaking his head, Tang Ye gave up—he simply couldn't recall.

Don't ask anymore.

If the reporter kept asking, Tang Ye would have to say Faker.

…

Nikkan Sports—Contempt of a Great Power? Tang Ye Cannot Name South Korean Team Players. Previously, South Korea lost to Tang Ye's China national team in the Asian qualifiers.

Korea Football Daily—Tang Ye has already boarded a flight out of South Korea; it's unclear whether he'll play in the match against Burnley two days later.

Dongqiu Di news column: IG's jungler Ning posted a photo with Tang Ye on Weibo, captioned: "Learning rhythm from the master (cheer) (strive) (champion)."

【Is he trying to say Li Xianghe?】

【Reporter: Who's on the South Korean team? GGBond: Faker!】

【Faker didn't play in S8, but he was named during the final】

【It's not Tang Ye's fault—doesn't South Korea only have Son Heung-min and Ki Sung-yueng playing in the Premier League?】

【Whatever, next January we'll watch Tang Ye vs. Faker】

Half a day after the match, Tang Ye was already in the air.

Worried about negative fallout, at his agent Paul's suggestion, Tang Ye apologized to South Korean fans on Twitter.

Sorry, Tang Ye watched highlights of Manchester United vs. Chelsea, then scrolled through Dongqiu Di.

Dongqiu Di reposted Tiandao Zhoubao: Tang Ye apologized on social media, claiming he meant South Korean midfielder Li Qinglong, not Li Xianghe. But Li Qinglong is actually a forward.

What the hell?

Realizing the mistake, Tang Ye quickly exited the app, opened Twitter, and edited his post.

Now it was finally correct.

Repost: After being reminded? Tang Ye changed "South Korean midfielder Li Qinglong" to "South Korean player Li Qinglong."

…

Back at the training base, Tang Ye lay flat on the grass, enjoying the long-missed sunlight.

Of course, he wasn't alone—Denis lay beside him; they had just finished their morning training.

They had only known each other for a short time, but Tang Ye and Denis, twenty years apart in age, quickly became close friends.

But upon closer thought, Tang Ye would be forty-one next year, so it was perfectly normal to befriend someone in his forties.

"Denis, the clouds are blocking the sun—why not hang a big electric fan on the plane and blow all the clouds away?"

"People here get very little sunlight each week. If it were me, I wouldn't be happy. Denis, I'm willing to donate my idea free of charge to the British government."

Tang Ye squinted carefully.

Today was sunny, but not truly, absolutely sunny.

Because Tang Ye could see a few thin, mist-like clouds drifting beneath the sun—these were the enemies of the inhabitants of Great Britain.

And Tang Ye never showed mercy to his enemies.

"You're very thoughtful, Tom."

Denis imitated Tang Ye's posture, placing both hands behind his head so the grass wouldn't prick his scalp as he lay on the ground.

"That way, Tom, I'll take a quick nap. If you see Eric coming, wake me up."

"Sure thing, go ahead and sleep, Denis."

Tang Ye crossed his legs.

In this moment, it felt like he was back at school, keeping watch for his classmates.

Tang Ye wouldn't let the coach hurt his classmates.

Nor would he let Mr. Eric hurt his Mr. Denis.

【You've received a new side quest】

【The Premier League has officially entered the Three Kingdoms era. As the oldest player on Manchester United and also the Grand General, you must step forward to protect your younger teammates.】

【Objective: 10 Premier League assists】

【Reward: Random Serie A club chest (no lower than intermediate tier)】

The system thought exactly like Tom.

He also wanted Tom to protect the team, protect his teammates!

……

【China Central Television! This is live coverage of Premier League Matchday 11: Bournemouth versus Manchester United.】

【As you can see, Tang Ye is sitting on the bench today, as he has just returned from a short vacation.】

【Yes, but Tang Ye arrived in Manchester two days ago, so I think his chances of playing in this match are quite high.】

After kickoff, CCTV's two commentators began discussing Tang Ye, soon turning to the incident where reporters had asked him to name South Korean players.

【Hey, you can't blame him. Indeed, aside from Son Heung-min, this South Korean squad has no other players with notable reputations—by "notable," we mean at least a market value of 30 million euros.】

The first half reached the 20th minute.

For some reason, perhaps because Tang Ye wasn't playing, Manchester United led in possession.

But both teams had roughly equal offensive attempts, leading the home fans to feel they could hold United to a draw.

"Up the Cherries!"

"Up the Cherries!"

The fans shouted loudly.

The seats ahead were empty, so Tang Ye propped his feet up on the backrest of the chair in front.

At that moment, Manchester United launched an attack.

Boom!

After a tackle, Rodri played a direct through ball to Martial.

"Martial!"

"He's controlling it well—let's see if there's an opening."

Cutting inside from the left to the center, Martial chose to shoot directly instead of passing.

Snap!

The ball bounced once on the grass and clipped the inside of the right post before going in.

It struck the bottom-right corner.

Goal!

"Wow!"

Manchester United took the lead; players on the bench quickly applauded.

Tang Ye looked at De Jong beside him: "I feel we've already won."

Tang Ye's favorite thing was analyzing the rhythm of both teams' play.

If he felt his side had the better rhythm, he would open the champagne early—he loved doing that.

Soon, Manchester United went into halftime leading 1-0. As a substitute, Tang Ye slipped quickly back to the locker room, chatting with De Jong as he walked.

"Those two fullbacks on the other side are so slow, haha."

Tang Ye laughed heartily, and soon Tenghahe arrived.

"Stop laughing—you're coming on in the second half."

Tenghahe pushed Tang Ye back to his seat and began summarizing the first half.

"Our right-side attacks still lack threat. If we only play at this intensity, we won't score against Bayern or City later."

"Of course, I'm only talking about today's match."

Tenghahe stared at the players: "Bournemouth isn't focusing on defending the flanks—so what should we do? We attack the flanks! The fullbacks push up, and we create chances—that's the logic!"

That's the logic!

Funny enough, every time Mr. Eric said that, Tang Ye felt it made perfect sense.

Mr. Eric himself was always a man of logic.

"Here we go, get ready!"

"Three, two, one!"

"Manchester United, go!"

……

Running out from the player tunnel, Tang Ye felt fully prepared.

"Substitution in the second half."

"Tang Ye replaces Lingard!"

"Ah, Manchester United is going serious now in the second half!"

Tenghahe brought Tang Ye on in the second half for two main reasons.

First, to help Tang Ye regain match rhythm, since United's next two opponents are very strong.

Second, goal difference.

Manchester United desperately needed Tang Ye's offensive ability to boost goal difference.

"Just push forward!"

Tenghahe shouted loudly; on camera, Tang Ye's yellow hair bounced with each stride.

"I've got it, I've got it!"

Moving to the left flank to assist, Tang Ye and Martial executed a quick one-two.

Martial broke through Bournemouth's midfield defense!

He's going down the line!

"Go for it!"

He signaled Ale to not hesitate, then sprinted behind Martial.

At the byline, Martial was marked by a defender.

Tang Ye ran past him from behind!

Boom!

A through ball was played to the overlapping Tang Ye.

Tang Ye!

Snap!

He delivered a low cross into the box.

The first point—Ale jumped but didn't connect.

Second point—Ziyech!

He controlled the ball, then suddenly cut inside.

Snap!

He fired a shot.

But the goalkeeper pushed it away!

"Mine, mine!"

Ziyech raised his hand in apology.

But it wasn't a big deal—Manchester United players immediately prepared for the corner.

Hands on the opposing players' waists, Tang Ye bounced up and down.

He's got tons of energy after just coming on!

Snap!

The corner kick is taken.

First point position!

Thud!

Bale heads toward the penalty area, but the opponent quickly heads the ball away again.

Tang Ye sneaks into the landing spot!

"Inside!"

Thud!

A pass strikes Ale on the body!

!!!

By the time Ale reacts, the ball hitting him has already begun to drop.

Step back one step.

A volley shot!

"GOOOO——AAAA——LLLL!!"

Goal!

In the 56th minute of the second half, Manchester United opens Burnley's goal for the second time!

Tang Ye and Ale collide, and Tang Ye stumbles backward several steps.

Fortunately, Ale grabs him, or he would have fallen straight to the ground.

【You gained 10 Reverse Points】

【Quest Progress: Assists: 1/10】

Just received the quest, and now the first assist is already cleared.

……

(End of Chapter)