Chapter 467: The Most Important Premier League Match in December: The Double Red Derby Arrives

Check Dongqiu Di pinned post: Rashford scores twice, Man United defeats Fulham 2:1; after the Manchester derby, Man United wins all four rounds. (17,232 comments)

The Mirror — Five goals sweep Bournemouth, Liwupu continues the chase; can Liwupu overtake and reach the top in December?

Manchester Evening News cover — Four consecutive wins! Will Man United challenge for first place in the league in December?

Attached Premier League standings (as of Round 16):

1. Mancheng, 42 points.

2. Man United, 42 points.

3. Liwupu, 41 points.

4. Tottenham, 32 points.

5. Chelsea, 30 points.

"Just when you think four consecutive wins will put you in first place, Mancheng and Liwupu always surprise you."

On CCTV-5's special channel, Teacher Zhang Lu and the host began discussing the current Premier League situation.

Mancheng, Man United, and Liwupu—three teams are all on winning streaks.

Liwupu thought they were about to surpass Man United.

No, that was an illusion.

Man United thought they were about to surpass Mancheng.

Hmm, that was also an illusion.

The league isn't even halfway through, yet the gap between third and fourth place has already widened to nine points.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms intensifies; it's hard to imagine whether Luo Luo Guanzhong, if he lived in this era, would write a book specifically about this.

Anyway, even if Luo Luo Guanzhong doesn't write it, the fans will.

Zhang Lu walked slowly in front of the tactical board.

"December looks like it has a dense schedule, but in my opinion, there's only one key match: next week's Double Red Derby."

"The result of the match between Man United and Liwupu will most likely directly affect the ecology of the Premier League standings this month."

At this moment, the host stood up.

"Instructor Zhang Lu is right; since last month, Man United has always been one point ahead of Liwupu, and if Man United can defeat Liwupu in a direct confrontation, they can widen the gap with their arch-rivals."

After winning, Man United takes 3 points while Liwupu takes 0; thus, the original one-point gap becomes four points—this is what Chinese fans currently hope to see.

However, Zhang Lu has Ji De Xiang Fa.

"Many fans feel Liwupu shouldn't be a match for Man United because Man United didn't lose to Liwupu last season. But in my view, Man United might not actually find it easy to play against Liwupu."

To support his viewpoint, Zhang Lu offered several reasons of his own.

1. The maturity of Klopp's tactical system; the high pressing efficiency of the trident Salah, Mané, and Firmino poses a major threat to Man United, whose defensive line often makes mistakes.

2. The forward runs of full-back Alexander-Arnold.

3. Tang Ye was just injured; after missing two matches, he may not guarantee peak performance against Liwupu. Facing a strong team of Liwupu's caliber, if Tang Ye isn't performing at 100%, Man United will struggle.

It is December 10; now there are only six days left until the Premier League's Double Red Derby between Liwupu and Man United.

The Double Red Derby is important, but before that, Man United has one more thing to do: travel to Spain for their final Champions League group stage match.

"Actually, you didn't need to come; we're already first."

On the plane, Rodri, who was playing cards, started chatting with Tang Ye.

Originally, Ten Hag hadn't planned to let Tang Ye go to Spain, but unexpectedly, Tang Ye insisted he must go, so there was no other way.

"If you don't play matches for a long time, you might not be in good form when the time comes."

Tang Ye slapped all the cards in his hand onto the table: "Hehe, I won."

"The key is still that Liwupu match; tomorrow when we play Valencia, I'll come on as a substitute to maintain my form," Tang Ye said.

Tang Ye spoke.

Of course, he actually had another reason.

The Phase Two Champions League mission required him to secure four victories.

Considering the generous Counterattack Point rewards for the mission, tomorrow's match was actually quite important for Tang Ye.

Man United beat reporter: Tom may not be able to play in the match against Valencia, but it is confirmed that the player is currently in good physical condition and should be ready.

The match between Man United and Valencia has attracted the attention of many Premier League fans, especially those of Mancheng and Liwupu.

Saying Tang Ye is fine, Tang Ye is indeed fine.

Whether this injury has affected Tang Ye's match condition is what Mancheng and Liwupu are most concerned about.

Chinese fans, of course, feel the same.

However, Chinese fans also have news belonging to them.

On the very day Man United departed for Spain to prepare for the final Champions League group match, the Chinese men's football team announced the 23-man roster for the UAE Asian Cup.

In the first row and first column of the midfield players, the two large characters "Tang Ye" instantly ignited the emotions of the fans.

CCTV. com: National team announces preliminary 23-man roster for January's Asian Cup, led by Tang Ye; 38-year-old Zheng Zhi selected again, Lippi leads the team to compete in the UAE.

Fox Sports — The Chinese men's football team's Asian Cup training camp will begin early on December 13 in Guangzhou; leadership and players generally believe this is a highly promising Asian Cup for the Chinese team.

Manchester Evening News front-page headline — Tang Ye confirmed to participate in January's Asian Cup; will the Red Devils consequently drop out of the Premier League title race?

Mestalla Stadium.

"Wow!"

Parejo's long-range shot successfully gave Valencia the lead; the on-field score became 1:0.

"It can be seen that Man United is holding back in this match; Rashford, Rodri, and even the recovering Tang Ye are all waiting on the substitute bench."

"So what is Ten Hag planning to do? Just throw this match away..."

In the 27th minute of the match, Manchester United trailed by one goal, with all their key players sitting on the bench.

This situation gave people the impression that Manchester United intended to gift the three points to Valencia.

De Jong cleared the ball away, and the director seized the opportunity to cut the camera to Tang Ye on the substitutes' bench.

It was raining at the venue today; Tang Ye, wearing his jacket's hood up, was chatting with his teammates.

He seemed to be in quite a good mood?

"Rodri, go warm up!"

Ten Hag called up Rodri, who was sitting next to Tang Ye, but Tang Ye and Rashford remained seated, waiting for orders.

"Bring Tom on!"

Beep beep beep beep!!!

Seizing on this, the Valencia fans booed their opponents.

As for whether Tang Ye and Rashford would actually play, that still depended on Ten Hag's thinking.

Ten Hag stood by the sideline at that moment, frowning in thought.

After pondering for a while, he walked over to the substitutes' bench to confer with Fan Fan Dejiahe.

"They are in great form today."

Fan Fan Dejiahe covered his mouth, speaking in a voice only those nearby could hear.

"Yes, it will be troublesome if we want to win."

Ten Hag replied, also covering his mouth.

After speaking, he glanced behind him, then covered his mouth again: "Let's see how things go; if it stays like this, we'll just let this match go."

Fan Fan Dejiahe nodded.

Valencia was in good form today; to turn things around, Manchester United's main players would have to exert considerable effort.

But with the match against Liwupu coming in a few days, rather than fighting Valencia for these unnecessary three points, it was better to just play badly and wait for the Double Red Derby.

"So we're really not playing?"

Tang Ye's head popped out from behind.

"Hey!"

Prompted by Mata, Tang Ye covered his mouth and asked again: "So I'm not playing in the second half?"

"Don't rush; it depends on the situation. Tom, how do you feel your recovery is going?"

Ten Hag glanced down at Tang Ye's calf.

"Pretty good; I feel I'm ready to play."

"I'm talking about four days from now. Can you recover to your best condition in four days?"

"..."

Tang Ye did not answer Ten Hag's question immediately; instead, he burst out laughing.

"Haha, Mr. Erik, you'll see when the match comes."

Check Dongqiu Di Match Report: In the final round of the Champions League group stage, Manchester United lost 1:2 away to Valencia; finishing first in the group, they advanced to the knockout stage. Martial scored but couldn't save the team; Ten Hag and Tang Ye chatted on the bench. (18,293 comments)

Attached: 2018-19 Champions League Group H Standings (End of Group Stage):

1. Manchester United, 13 points. (Advanced as seeded team)

2. Bayern, 11 points. (Advanced as unseeded team)

3. Valencia, 8 points.

4. Young Boys Bern, 1 point.

The match between Manchester United and Valencia was the final game of this season's Champions League group stage; once it ended, the group stage concluded.

Although they didn't secure the planned 16 points, obtaining seeded status ahead of Bayern was already extremely difficult.

As for the timing of the knockout stage draw:

Hmm, let me take out my phone and check.

What a coincidence; this year's knockout stage draw is on the very night the Double Red Derby ends!

L'Équipe's Selection for the 2018-19 Champions League Group Stage Best XI (4-5-1):

Goalkeeper: De Gea (Manchester United)

Defenders: Alba (Barcelona), Fan Daike (Liwupu), Chiellini (Juventus), Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund)

Midfielders: Neymar (Paris), Messi (Barcelona), Tang Ye (Manchester United), Witsel (Borussia Dortmund), Rodri (Manchester United)

Forward: Lewandowski (Bayern)

Carrington Training Ground.

Christmas was approaching; the training ground was terrifyingly cold in the morning, so much so that even Tang Ye had put on a knitted hat.

When early December arrived, the Double Red Derby felt far away, but now only a few days remained.

"Hey!"

A ball flew over from the distance; Tang Ye instinctively turned and controlled it.

"Tom, warm up!"

"Move it, move it!"

Ten Hag's voice rang out; Tang Ye raised his hand in apology, then immediately started passing the ball with Rashford.

"Damn, Marcus, I feel I'm in great form today; if only we were playing Liwupu right now."

Tang Ye rubbed his hands together.

Winter is just like this; you wake up in the morning thinking you're in poor form, but after a warm-up, you discover your state is exploding.

"So are you going to crush them?"

Rashford suddenly asked.

"Wow? Marcus, how did you know?"

"Because you said the same thing yesterday."

"Oh, is that so."

Tang Ye huffed out a breath, then tapped the pass Rashford had pushed over up from the ground.

He juggled it once with his lower leg, then switched to his thigh.

"Marcus, look at me, look at me!"

Tang Ye juggled the ball with his thigh, letting it slowly come to rest on his thigh.

His muscles suddenly exerted force, and the ball seemed to be pushed upward by some divine power.

It rose above Tang Ye's head!

Looking upward, Tang Ye adjusted slightly to the left, then slightly to the right, and quickly stabilized the ball.

"Isn't this very simple for you?"

At Rashford's request, Tang Ye headed the ball over.

Rashford juggled the ball...

Suddenly he kicked it high!

His right leg circled around the ball once, then returned underneath to cushion it back up.

"I think I've seen this while scrolling through videos; is it called... atm?"

"It's atw! (Around The World)"

Before Rashford could speak, Mata, standing nearby, could no longer bear to listen.

"How could you remember that as atm?"

"Damn, isn't 'm' just a reversed 'w'? It's normal to remember it backwards; I don't even know what the English meaning is."

Tang Ye grabbed another ball himself and imitated Rashford's movements.

"I've seen this before, but I've never tried it."

He cushioned the ball up to give it a try.

The first attempt failed, but the second succeeded.

atm is easier than I imagined.

"Wait, Marcus, let me see if I can spin twice."

Tang Ye had a sudden inspiration and first cushioned the ball up.

He kicked it high!

"Hey!"

He shouted once and began spinning his left leg in a circle.

"One, two!"

Then he went underneath to catch it!

Because it was his first time doing it, Tang Ye failed to control the ball after catching it.

But he had indeed succeeded.

"This isn't difficult either; honestly, I feel my limit is three spins."

While the Manchester United players were happily spinning in circles, the coaching staff was worrying about the day-after-tomorrow's Double Red Match.

【Salah, Firmino, Mané】

Fan Fan Dejiahe wrote three names in his notebook.

These were Liwupu's front-court trident.

What kind of strength does this trident possess?

Hmm, similar to Mancheng's Agüero, Sterling, and Mahrez.

It was unclear which trident was stronger, Liwupu's or Mancheng's.

But one thing was extremely clear.

That was that Liwupu's trident was definitely stronger than Manchester United's.

Check Dongqiu Di pinned post: In the early hours of December 17, the new Premier League season's first Double Red Match sees Liwupu hosting Manchester United at home; Premier League second versus Premier League third—can the Red Devils take points from Anfield?

A Thai comic artist released a teaser comic for the 17th round of the Premier League.

In the comic, Guardiola lies on a sun lounger drinking juice, watching a match taking place on the arena before him.

The two people standing in the arena are none other than Liwupu's head coach Klopp and Manchester United's head coach Ten Hag.

The 17th round of the Premier League is very relaxing for Mancheng.

But for Liwupu and Manchester United, it is not so.

The match poster for Manchester United versus Liwupu has not yet been released, but the newspaper "442" has already begun its analysis.

"442" Special Issue—Liwupu 4-3-3 vs Manchester United 4-2-3-1, Klopp's high pressing vs Ten Hag's midfield infiltration.

"The Chinese team's Asian Cup preparations have begun, but reporters staking out Manchester Airport have still failed to photograph Tom. Tom sacrificed national team training time to stay at the base; this fully reflects Manchester United's attitude toward this match."

"Liwupu is the same; currently, there is only a one-point difference between the two sides, so neither side can afford to lose this match," the "442" reporter briefly introduced the background of this game.

This season's Liwupu is the strongest they have been in the past five years.

This season's Manchester United is also the strongest they have been in the past five years.

When the peak states of two teams collide, it is hard to imagine just how wonderful the match will be.

Reporters briefly analyzed the match data of both teams and reached a conclusion.

Liwupu's forward line and defensive line are stronger than Manchester United's; indeed, their forward line can be said to be more than just a little stronger.

Manchester United naturally has advantages too, and their advantage lies in the midfield.

The midfield combination of Tang Ye and Rodri, with a combined market value exceeding 200 million euros, will become the key for Manchester United to win.

betway: Wonderful data from the Double Red Derby.

Liwupu outright win: 1 to 2.35.

Manchester United outright win: 1 to 2.42.

Draw: 1 to 3.45.

Liwupu's odds are slightly higher, but not by much.

The strength gap between the two sides in this match is too small; even seasoned betting experts cannot determine the direction with certainty.

Daily Mail front-page headline: To ensure the Double Red Derby takes place as scheduled, Liwupu police will deploy additional forces near Anfield Stadium.

There are many police officers, yet the English people are not afraid in the slightest.

With four hours remaining until kickoff, Liwupu fan organizations arrived early outside Anfield Stadium to display their banners.

【Home tickets 35 pounds, away tickets 40 pounds. Greed knows no bounds; 20 pounds would be enough!】

It is another classic protest against ticket prices, but since today is the Double Red Derby, many fans have shifted their attention to other matters.

"Ten Hag!"

"Erik Ten Hag, you are going to jail, Erik Ten Hag!"

"Manchester has no future!"

【Crush Manchester United, crush Tom, crush Ten Hag; we should be number one!】

"Beat Tom back to China!"

"Beat Tom back to China!"

Liwupu fans gathered together, attempting to break through the special police cordon.

The scene was a mix of red and gray intertwined with thick smoke, choking and unbearable.

The Sun: Three Liwupu fans ignited fires outside Anfield Stadium, burning jerseys bearing Tom's name and Ten Hag's name; Manchester United fans responded by burning Salah jerseys.

Today, the scene cannot merely be described as being full of the smell of gunpowder.

Because there is literally gunpowder, in the physical sense!

"It is a simple principle: their forward line is strong and will press us. Therefore, we must attack more, preventing their forwards from coming forward."

With less than twenty minutes remaining until kickoff, Tang Ye sat on the bench and tied his shoelaces.

"This will bring great pressure to our attacking players, but we must do this."

"And if the opponent exerts dominance, if we encounter problems playing out from the back... I feel we should not encounter problems playing out from the back, but I cannot guarantee it, because you know the strength of Liwupu's forward line. What I mean is, if this situation arises, we need to widen our defensive line at the back and then look for opportunities to pass forward."

"What we want is the lead, is the advantage."

"Not zero points, not one point; we want three points!"

Boom! Boom!

Ten Hag knocked on the tactical board beside him, and the Manchester United players stood up and gathered together.

"Are you ready?"

"Ready!!"

Tang Ye shouted loudly.

He had not played a match in a week.

Facing an opponent of Liwupu's caliber right off the bat, Tang Ye was likely the most nervous player within the entire Manchester United squad.

Nervousness can affect a player's performance.

However...

For Tang Ye, being a little nervous might be a good thing.

"Let's go!"

Following Alex out, Tang Ye rubbed his neck.

Repost: Liwupu vs. Manchester United starting lineups announced; Rashford matches up against Alexander-Arnold, Tang Ye faces off against Fabinho.

"China Central Television! This is the live broadcast of the 2018-19 season..."

(End of Chapter)