Chapter 488: Manchester United Painfully Loses First Place in the League; Quarterfinal Showdown Against a Strong Opponent

Today's Headlines—Keep Moving Forward! 3:0 victory over Thailand; in the Asian Cup quarterfinals, the national team faces Iran.

Manchester Evening News—Mancheng overtakes Manchester United to top the Premier League on goal difference; Guardiola's prediction comes true!

AFC Official: Asian Cup Group Stage Best XI (3-4-3):

Goalkeeper: Shafi (Jordan)

Defenders: Kim Min-jae (South Korea), Adnan (Iraq), Tristan (Thailand)

Midfielders: Songklasin (Thailand), Hwang In-beom (South Korea), Tang Ye (China), Goodwin (Australia)

Forwards: Wu Lei (China), Son Heung-min (South Korea), Ali (Qatar)

Head Coach: Sánchez Bas (Qatar)

With two knockout matches now past, the officials have finally released the Group Stage Best XI.

But to be honest, many Chinese fans do not recognize most of the players in this Best XI.

Anyway, as long as Tang Ye and Wu Lei are confirmed, the rest does not matter.

What currently attracts Chinese fans' attention even more is the Premier League standings.

Just as the Manchester Evening News stated, after winning the 23rd round of league matches, Mancheng overtook Manchester United thanks to their superior goal difference.

After the match, the sky over Manchester changed from red to blue!

On the podium, Tang Ye, holding his fourth MVP trophy, felt a slight awkwardness.

The great GGBond had actually been proven wrong!

"Tom, you said in a previous interview that even without you, Manchester United could maintain their winning streak and hold the top spot in the league. But... the current situation seems a bit different from what you said?"

"..."

The reporter interviewing Tang Ye was British, speaking with a thick London accent.

"Well... actually, some mistakes are normal; I have always trusted my teammates. I make mistakes too, just like I missed that penalty today."

Tang Ye pinched his nose: "When the match ended, I checked the news and the standings. Currently, both we and Mancheng have 60 points; strictly speaking, we haven't lost the top position. We're just slightly behind on goal difference, which can be made up."

"Even if we fall behind in points, we can still catch up."

Tang Ye shrugged.

"I believe many Manchester United fans now hope you will return; regarding this..."

Tang Ye looked up and interrupted the reporter; he was now feeling somewhat at a loss.

"I don't know what to say; I very much want to return and help the club, but I also need to help my national team. We must give our all in every match here."

"As soon as the matches here are over, I will definitely buy the earliest flight ticket back to the club; I can guarantee it, I won't lie to you."

Tang Ye gave his promise.

Just as he said, he did not know what he should do now.

Making a promise seemed to be all he could do.

Walking from the pitch back into the tunnel, Tang Ye looked up at the ceiling.

GGBond was under immense pressure.

But GGBond said nothing.

"Tang Ye!"

Seeing Tang Ye emerge, Zhang Zhang Yuning waved and called out: "He wants you to come over for a moment."

Players liked using "He" to refer to foreign coaches; Tang Ye naturally knew who Zhang Zhang Yuning was talking about.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know."

Zhang Zhang Yuning shrugged: "He just kept standing by the tactical board, then told me to come find you."

Nodding, Tang Ye walked toward the locker room.

Dortmund team reporter: After the match against Leverkusen, head coach Escrivá was photographed watching the Asian Cup match between China and Thailand on the team bus.

"He is lovesick," the team reporter concluded.

Nowadays, seeing similar news no longer surprises Dortmund fans.

Escrivá suffers from his daily case of lovesickness.

No matter how much Ferran misses Tom, it doesn't matter; we just hope he doesn't go making reckless signings in the transfer window because of it.

Previously, when Escrivá bought Wu Lei, he was criticized severely!

"Crush Iran!"

"Semifinals!"

"Crush Iran!"

"Semifinals!"

Outside the stadium, Chinese fans appeared somewhat agitated, directly surrounding the bus just as it emerged from the parking lot.

"Tang Tang Qiuwang!!!"

Hearing someone call his name, Tang Ye naturally pulled open the curtain.

"Go! Go!"

Tang Ye now had a feeling that the fans were even more enthusiastic than during the World Cup.

"It feels a bit uncomfortable..."

Wu Lei, sitting beside Tang Ye, suddenly spoke.

After a brief stunned pause, Tang Ye turned his head: "What's wrong, Brother Lei?"

"Actually, it would have been best for us to lose one match in the group stage."

Wu Lei's words were startling; Tang Ye's eyes widened: "This is... why?"

"We've set the bar too high..."

Seeing the confusion in Tang Ye's eyes, Wu Lei realized he couldn't put it that way.

"It's just that our continuous winning streak gives others the impression that we're incredibly strong, especially after that 8-1 match. Now everyone thinks we're nearly invincible."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"But think about it: doesn't that mean their expectations of us—meaning the fans'—have risen?"

Wu Lei looked into Tang Ye's eyes.

"What happens if we suddenly lose a match now?"

"..."

This...

Tang Ye fell silent.

At first, he felt Brother Lei's words were a bit nonsensical.

But after hearing the explanation, they suddenly seemed quite reasonable.

"So you're saying we must keep winning?"

"More or less, haha. Do you think we can keep winning?"

Wu Lei had asked a question that even he himself lacked confidence in answering.

Tang Ye didn't answer directly; instead, he looked out the window.

One day later, all Round of 16 matches concluded, and the final list of eight quarterfinalists for this Asian Cup was confirmed.

Upper half: China, Iran, Vietnam, Japan.

Lower half: South Korea, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Australia.

No need to worry about the lower half; just focus on the upper half.

Iran, Vietnam, and...

Japan.

On the hotel bed, Tang Ye stared blankly at his phone.

Just earlier, he had scrolled through highlights of Japan's group stage matches on Bilibili; admittedly, compared to other participating teams in the Asian Cup, Japan's overall strength was indeed exceptional.

Bang!

Jumping off the bed to grab a piece of chewing gum, Tang Ye decided not to dwell on the matter.

Beat Iran first; Japan is a concern for later.

Besides, GGBond currently bears a great mission!

Exiting Check Dongqiu Di and opening WhatsApp, Tang Ye located a folder within his chat window with Madaloni.

It was a compressed archive containing many items.

【2016-17 Season Kante Match Highlights】

【2017-18 Season Rodri Match Highlights】

【2016-17 Season Pogba Match Highlights】

【...】

Altogether, there were over twenty files, all of which Tang Ye needed to watch.

The team needed Tang Ye to contribute more.

It might seem somewhat unfair, but Tang Ye was perfectly willing to accept it.

At the Chinese national team's training ground in Abu Dhabi, Tang Ye sat on the steps outside the cafeteria, watching a bird flying in the sky.

When the bird flew left, Tang Ye's gaze shifted left.

When it flew right, his gaze shifted right.

"Tang Ye!"

"Mm, good morning, Brother Lei!"

"What are you looking at?"

Wu Lei looked in the direction Tang Ye had been staring and spotted the small brown bird that had captured Tang Ye's attention.

"Haha, why are you watching a bird?"

"I don't know myself; maybe because I have nothing else to do. Training hasn't started yet."

Wu Lei sat down beside Tang Ye: "He wants you to play as a defensive midfielder? Have you played that position before?"

"Yes, I have. At Yellow Submarine, and I think I also played it at Utrecht."

Tang Ye tried to search his memories.

However, it had indeed been quite some time, so his recollection was a bit fuzzy.

"Honestly, I feel his approach makes considerable sense, because if you play as a defensive midfielder, we can adopt a counter-attacking strategy."

Wu Lei gestured as he spoke.

If Tang Ye played as a defensive midfielder, both China's attacking line and defensive line would push deeper, inevitably leading to increased time spent defending.

Simply put, Lippi's plan was to draw the opponent into their own half, then utilize Tang Ye's rhythm to execute defensive play.

As for offense, it would similarly rely on Tang Ye's ability to launch counterattacks with long passes.

This was the tactic that both Lippi and Madaloni had always believed China should employ against strong opponents.

Regardless, defense is indeed more important than offense.

The Chinese team is indeed the Little Manchester United, but China simply does not possess such an exaggerated player configuration as Manchester United; replacing defense with offense is not applicable to them.

"Brother Lei, then you're going to be under a lot of pressure."

Tang Ye placed his hand on Wu Lei's shoulder: "Because I'm going to pass to you frequently, you need to find good positions and run forward."

"Haha."

……

AFC Asian Cup Top Scorers List (as of the end of the Round of 16):

1. Tang Ye (China), 8 goals.

2. Ali (Qatar), 6 goals.

3. Shomurodov (Uzbekistan), 4 goals.

4. Osako (Japan), 3 goals.

5. Mabkhout (UAE), 3 goals.

The Guardian Asian Cup Special Edition—With just one more goal, Tom will break the record for most goals scored in a single Asian Cup tournament.

The Times—4 matches, 2 goals, 0 assists; Son Heung-min's Asian Cup performance has been mediocre. Have South Korea's tactics and teammates dragged down this Premier League attacker?

This year's Asian Cup has truly gone global; not only Asian media outlets, but many reporters from Europe and the Americas have arrived at the match venues in the UAE.

Even the head coach of Borussia Dortmund was secretly watching the China versus Thailand match on the team bus!

Fans, of course, clearly understand the reason behind this.

The FIFA President, the AFC President, and the President of the Chinese Football Association were photographed appearing together at the Chinese team's training base.

All three officials hope the Chinese team will perform admirably.

When will the beacon of Asian traffic become the true beacon of Asia?

……

Douyin.

"Asian Cup Quarterfinal Team Preview: Team Iran!"

"The striker is Sardar Azmoun from a Russian top-tier club, boasting excellent football intelligence and positioning."

"The midfielder is Majid Hosseini, a 22-year-old genius attacking midfielder from the Turkish Super League with first-class organizational abilities."

"……"

"The Iranian national team has won the Asian Cup championship three times in its history and is unquestionably one of the powerhouses of Asian football. Head coach Queiroz's goal is to lead the team in a charge for the title and return to the pinnacle of Asia!"

【Sounds pretty fierce, but didn't Iran lose to us during the Asian qualifiers?】

【Iran was the group stage winner in the Asian qualifiers, ranked higher than us.】

【Tang Ye: A genius attacking midfielder? Let me take a look.】

【Isn't Iran playing China in the quarterfinals? Why introduce them with a 'genius midfielder'? Ask Hosseini if he dares to call himself a genius in front of Tang Ye.】

【Go China!!!】

As the knockout stage progressed deeper, the Asian Cup garnered increasing attention.

Now, promotional posters related to the tournament could be seen in shopping malls across many parts of the country, giving people a feeling of dreaming back to the World Cup.

However, unlike the World Cup, the Chinese team survived their first knockout match in the Asian Cup.

Their next objective is to defeat Iran and charge into the semifinals!

……

Clap! Clap!

Inside the locker room, the Chinese team players clapped their hands separately, trying to hype themselves up.

Tang Ye appeared relatively calm by comparison, simply sitting in his own spot meditating.

Lippi walked over.

"Let's play normally first, though we can be slightly more aggressive. We must secure our advantages."

"Iran is stronger than both Thailand and South Korea; if the situation goes south..."

"I feel that shouldn't happen."

Tang Ye interrupted Lippi: "We already beat them during the Asian qualifiers."

"I know, but just to be safe, I'm telling you this."

Lippi spoke slowly: "Iran is stronger than when we last met them; if an unexpected situation arises, I will try having you play as a defensive midfielder."

Tang Ye nodded, then high-fived Lippi.

"Good luck, Tang Tang Qiuwang (in Chinese)."

"Haha, thank you, Mr."

……

#ChinaVsIran easily topped the Weibo trending searches, and the players were all ready.

Outside the tunnel, a beam of light shone in, landing precisely on Tang Ye's forehead.

"Damn!"

His eyes flashed from the glare, and Tang Ye quickly dodged away.

"China Media Group, China Media..."

"We can see that players from both sides have walked out of the player tunnel."

The camera followed Tang Ye and the ball boy he was holding hands with as they moved slowly.

The wind blew, lifting his brownish-yellow hair.

"Beep——!!!"

"Alright, the match has begun. Now I will introduce the starting lineups for both teams, starting with the Chinese team!"

China (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Yan Yan Junling

Defenders: Liu Liu Yiming, Feng Feng Xiaoting, Shi Ke, Liu Yang

Midfielders: Hao Hao Junmin, Tang Ye, Zhang Zhang Chengdong

Forwards: Wu Lei, Gao Lin, Yu Yu Hanchao

Compared to the previous match, the changes in China's starting lineup for today's game are quite significant.

Not only has the formation shifted from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3, but many of the starting players have changed as well.

"Lippi must have some kind of plan."

"Mm, as we said before, if Lippi hadn't deployed Tang Ye as a forward, the award for Best Coach of the Group Stage would surely be his."

"Right, because Lippi's level is among the absolute top tier when compared to all the coaches in the entire Asian Cup."

Slap!

Right at the start of the match, Tang Ye boldly played a long pass straight into the penalty area, but unfortunately, Gao Lin failed to handle the ball properly.

"Eh!"

"It's fine, it's fine, good! Good!"

Madaloni looked somewhat anxious.

This month of the Asian Cup was likely the most pressured month of his life.

"China~ China~ I fight for you!"

"I am proud of you~"

"China, China!"

"I cheer for you, I am proud of you~~"

"Ole ole ole ole ole ola..."

Boom boom!

Boom boom boom!

The atmosphere in the stadium had heated up, and the Chinese team players were gradually finding their rhythm.

Seeking monthly votes for the beginning of the month!!!

(End of Chapter)