Chapter 471: Champions League Round of 16 Draw: Maguire's Header Secures a Last-Gasp Victory

Bang!

Bang bang!

As the Manchester United team bus departed Anfield Stadium, it received a "friendly" greeting from Liverpool fans.

It is worth noting that today also marked Liverpool's first defeat in the Premier League this season.

And the opponent that defeated them was their arch-rival, Manchester United!

"Tom, I think it would be better if you didn't open the curtains,"

Rodri suggested.

Tang Ye paused for a moment, then nodded, withdrawing his hand that had been hooking the curtain.

"I've been pondering a rather serious question."

"What question?"

"If I open the window, can I throw the water bottles they toss back at them?"

"..."

The corner of Rodri's mouth twitched: "I suggest you'd better not do that."

"I know, I know."

Tang Ye nodded rapidly: "I know I shouldn't do that, but Rodri, don't you think their aim is terrible? Hardly any bottles even hit the window. If it were me, I could probably hit nine out of ten."

Rodri placed his hand on his forehead.

This was his third year knowing Tang Ye, soon to be the fourth.

If he had known Tom for as long as ten years, would he be able to guess what was going on inside Tom's head?

Hmm...

Rodri took a shallow breath.

It would probably still be quite difficult.

"You're the only one, babe~"

A Korean song suddenly blared inside the bus; without thinking, one knew Lin Lin Jiade had connected via Bluetooth.

"Wow!!"

Valencia shouted, and the Manchester United players joined in loudly.

"Change it, change it! How many of us actually speak Korean?"

"Haha!"

Ashley Young called out, and Lin Lin Jiade quickly switched to an English song.

Tang Ye pricked up his ears to listen.

The intro was...

OK!

He knew how to sing this song!

"Yeah, you can be the greatest!"

"You can be the best!"

"You can be the King Kong banging on your chest..."

"Wow!"

The new coach, Dennis, joined the players' chorus.

At the very front, Ten Hag and Fan Fan Dejiahe exchanged a glance.

"You two sing too!"

Dennis tugged at Ten Hag's clothes, but the latter refused: "No, no, no, that's not my style."

Looking for Fan Fan Dejiahe.

Unfortunately, the Manchester United assistant coach was not the singing type either.

"Oh, you two."

Dennis shook his head.

"I'll sing both of your parts for you."

Pinned post on Dongqiu Di: 45 minutes remaining until the draw for the Round of 16 of the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League.

Pot 1 teams: Dortmund, Barcelona, Paris, Porto, Mancheng, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Lyon.

Pot 2 teams: Atletico Madrid, Tottenham, Liwupu, Schalke 04, Ajax, Roma, Juventus, Bayern.

With 16 teams total, matching Pot 1 against Pot 2, and applying the same-season avoidance rule, Manchester United had five possible opponents.

They were Atletico Madrid, Schalke 04, Ajax, Roma, and Juventus.

"Ajax again."

Still on the return train, Tang Ye was already watching the draw ceremony together with his teammates.

The first slip of paper drawn by the guest presenter bore the name Ajax.

However, this time it was not Manchester United facing Ajax, but Real Madrid.

And then...

【Dortmund (GER)】

"Are we not about to face Mr. Ferran again?"

Tang Ye took a deep breath.

"Dortmund is in Pot 1."

Rashford reminded him.

"Oh, right, then it's fine."

Tang Ye breathed a sigh of relief.

Teams in the first pot cannot draw other teams from the first pot, so according to the draw rules, it is impossible for Manchester United to meet Dortmund.

Good news.

Soon, the guest drew out the small white ball representing Manchester United.

The opponent is...

"Hmm."

The carriage was extremely quiet; Tang Ye looked at Rodri, and Rodri was likewise looking at him.

Check Dongqiu Di pinned post: Champions League Round of 16 draw results are out, Cristiano Ronaldo faces his former club Manchester United, Liwupu vs. Real Madrid.

Even when he was still playing at Villarreal, Tang Ye felt that the Champions League and Europa League draws were manipulated by UEFA.

The knockout stage draw results for this season prove this point once again!

Having just transferred to Juventus, Ronaldo immediately collided with Manchester United.

"This is a confrontation between Manchester United players from two different eras; it is worth mentioning that I feel this is not a favorable draw result for Ronaldo."

"The Prince of the Theatre of Dreams has already changed hands; this season, the combat power displayed by Juventus is clearly weaker than that of Mancheng. Tom will show him what it means to be the new king of Old Trafford," the Sky Sports commentator said in the new season/phase Champions League column.

English media speaking up for English teams is a very normal thing, but in the comments section, all the Manchester United fans were wailing.

Knowing full well that Cristiano Ronaldo comes with a comeback attribute, are you still here buffing Manchester United?

【Commentator, you must be a Liwupu fan; depressed after losing the match?】

After the conclusion of the Double Red Derby, the Manchester United players received a long-overdue holiday.

Alas, December was already a cold winter, and Tang Ye was the type of person who feared the cold rather more, so he could only hole up at home.

Actually, it was quite a pity.

He had only recently obtained his driver's license, and Tom still hadn't had the chance to show off his skills!

Tang Ye opened his wireless keyboard, preparing to play an intense game.

At this moment, Rodri pushed open his door.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Rod? Do you want to play? I'll carry you."

"Have you started yet?"

Rodri glanced at Tang Ye's computer screen: "Hmm, good that you haven't started."

"What's wrong, Rod?"

Tang Ye grew even more curious.

"Watching the match, Mancheng versus Leicester City."

Tang Ye and Rodri often watched matches together on the living room sofa; this had already become a habit.

However...

Because of preparations for the Double Red Derby, Tang Ye hadn't played games for several days.

"Mancheng playing Leicester City is definitely a win; we don't need to watch it, right?"

Tang Ye wanted to play games somewhat, but he didn't want his little brother Rod to watch the match alone in loneliness.

In the end, he decided to fulfill his duties as the big brother and shut down the computer he had just opened.

Bang!

Crack!

He skillfully flopped onto the sofa, but this time something seemed to have gone wrong.

"Hmm, did you hear that, Rod?"

Tang Ye stood up quickly, while Rodri examined the sofa that Tang Ye had just smashed: "Hmm... if nothing unexpected has happened, then your sofa must have met with an accident."

"Haha, it's fine, it's fine; even if it's broken, it can still be used."

Tang Ye searched around for things, while Rodri turned on the television.

Grab a few bags of potato chips, and get a few bottles of drinks too.

Let's have some nuts as well.

The match had already started; the current score was 0:0.

Mancheng's possession rate was still unusually high, now approaching 70%.

"I told you, Rod, Leicester City is no match for Mancheng."

Tang Ye gnawed on melon seeds: "Damn, these seeds are so hard to crack, hiss... I won't eat them for now."

"Honestly, Rod, even if I took the second team to play Leicester City, we might not necessarily lose; they are too weak."

Leaning against the cushion, Tang Ye felt very relaxed.

Suddenly, he stood up together with Rodri.

"Damn, awesome!"

In the 12th minute of the match, Albrighton rushed to meet a corner kick and directly opened the scoring against Mancheng's goal.

"Leicester City is too strong!!!"

Mancheng trailed 0:1!

Tang Ye clutching his head.

No way, no way...

Sitting back down on the sofa, Tang Ye suddenly stopped eating.

"Impressive, Albrighton."

He nodded lightly: "Luckily I took the second team to play them, otherwise we would have been crushed. Leicester City is truly impressive."

Check Dongqiu Di live report: Albrighton scores with a close-range shot, Leicester City leads Mancheng 1-0.

【Alright, actually I am a Leicester City fan.】

【When a blue team wants to block Manchester United, another blue team will lend a hand!】

【Leicester City is truly impressive, but I feel Mancheng can turn it around.】

Ding ding ding ding!

Rodri and Tang Ye's phones were about to explode; the Manchester United first-team group chat was full of people discussing this match.

Ashley Young stated he dreamed of Mancheng losing.

As a result, before the first half ended, De Bruyne scored a long-range shot to level the score.

No!

Kevin!

Tang Ye slumped onto the sofa.

A 1-1 score.

But it's still okay; as long as Leicester City doesn't concede again in the second half, Mancheng will have to settle for a draw.

In the next round, Manchester United will win easily.

So as long as Mancheng doesn't get 3 points in this match, they will likely lose the top spot.

Mancheng will give Manchester United a chance, but Manchester United won't be so polite!

The Sun — 5 fans were arrested by Liwupu police for violent behavior during the Double Red Derby.

Repost: Tang Ye posted a photo of himself watching the Mancheng vs. Leicester City match on his personal social media; in the tweet, Tang Ye cheered for Leicester City.

Check Dongqiu Di live report: Aguero's goal was offside; the score remains 1-1.

The match has reached the 70th minute of the second half, and the score on the field is still 1-1.

Manchester United fans must be the most excited right now.

Is what they are waiting for about to happen?

"What a pity!"

"Leicester City is looking for a chance to score again, but the yellow card on Harry Maguire might be a hidden danger for the remaining time."

"Yes, Jason, if I were a Mancheng player, I would deliberately provoke a foul from Maguire at this moment."

Tang Ye and Rodri were watching intently in the living room.

There was no need to worry about complaints from the neighbors upstairs or downstairs, because they had rented out several suites nearby.

Tang Ye hugged the pillow tightly.

Come on, come on...

Maddison passes to Vardy!

Vardy looks for Pereira on the wing making a run down the line!

Cross!

Manchester United fans and Leicester City fans are equally nervous now.

Crack!

Albrighton takes a powerful shot, but the ball is saved by Ederson.

"Damn!"

"What a quick reaction."

Tang Ye shook his head.

But it doesn't matter.

There isn't much time left; Leicester City just needs to maintain this current score.

Then Manchester United can take the opportunity to rise to the top!

Crack!

The corner kick is taken.

By the time Rodri reacted, the ball was already inside the goal.

"Hol... shit!"

Rodri stood up: "Who scored, Tom?"

Tang Ye looked at the TV and slowly spoke the name of the scorer.

"Mag... uire."

Check Dongqiu Di match report: Albrighton breaks the deadlock, Maguire scores a header winner, Leicester City hands Mancheng their first defeat of the season 2-1. (Comments: 10231)

In the 17th round of the Premier League, Liwupu slipped up and lost.

In the 18th round of the Premier League, Mancheng immediately returned the favor, also suffering their first defeat of the season.

The Foxes' miracle has reappeared; judging by the current situation, the Premier League team that hasn't lost yet will hold an advantage in the standings.

So which team in the entire Premier League has not lost yet?

So hard to guess!

Manchester Evening News front-page headline — Mancheng suffers a shocking defeat! Manchester United, having played one fewer match, has the same points as Mancheng but three fewer goal difference. And Manchester United's opponent in the 18th round is Cardiff City, the Premier League promoted team of this season.

Very simple logic.

Unless the newly promoted team can defeat Manchester United, Mancheng will be the ones to suffer.

The Mancheng players now look at Cardiff City just as the Manchester United players once looked at Leicester City.

However, there is one difference.

The AI-predicted win rate for Mancheng playing against Leicester City is 77%.

But the AI-predicted win rate for Manchester United playing against Cardiff City is 92%!

……

"I don't know what I should say right now."

After the loss, Guardiola accepted an interview with reporters.

The Mancheng head coach's eyes were red; unsurprisingly, the team's locker room must have been extremely heated just moments ago.

"We did something wrong, so we must bear the consequences. We knew Manchester United was chasing us from behind, but we just didn't expect to lose the match at this moment..."

The downside of a congested schedule has emerged; in order to snatch first place in their Champions League group from their fellow group-stage opponents, Mancheng expended far too much energy in their previous match.

They did manage to snatch first place in the Champions League group, but they lost in the Premier League!

"Then... do you think Manchester United will defeat Cardiff City as the fans predicted, and snatch first place in the league from your hands?"

The reporter held the microphone up to Guardiola.

Guardiola looked at the reporter with the expression one reserves for an idiot.

"Although Manchester United and Liwupu are our biggest rivals this season, there is no need for us to belittle them at a time like this."

"Buddy, the question you asked simply isn't one worth answering, okay?"

Guardiola left the interview area.

Click-clack! Click-clack!

Check Dongqiu Di reposts from Sky Sports: When a reporter asked Guardiola whether Manchester United would defeat Cardiff City, Guardiola told the reporter it was not a question worth answering.

Match Preview: In Round 18 of the Premier League, Manchester United plays away against Cardiff City; the Red Devils need only remain unbeaten to ascend to the top.

Remain unbeaten to ascend to the top.

Manchester United fans now only hope their home team does not suddenly falter at this critical moment.

Perform normally!

As long as they perform at their normal level, Manchester United will be first in the league once the match ends!

When the day of the match arrived, fans waited at the entrance of the training base for the Manchester United team bus.

"Go for it!"

"Go Manchester United!"

"Tang Ye! Tang Ye! Tang Ye!"

The website thescored analyzed the match statistics for Manchester United and Cardiff City from both this season and last season, ultimately providing a prediction.

Manchester United 5:0 Cardiff City—this is the predicted score derived from the data analysis.

Although it seems a bit exaggerated, this illustrates that a gap between the two teams indeed exists.

Cardiff City carries not only the heavy burden of avoiding relegation but also the hopes of Mancheng fans.

Mancheng, Cardiff City—we are all "City," all standing on the side opposite Manchester United.

Go for it, Cardiff City!

……

Repost: Manchester United officially releases the poster for Round 18 of the league; Tang Ye looks up at the sky.

The sky is blue, but the sky reflected in Tang Ye's pupils is red.

CCTV-5.

"China Central Television, this 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 teams! First, the home team, Cardiff City!"

……

(End of Chapter)