Chapter 516: March Kicks Off the Premier League: Manchester United Launches a Three-Match Siege (Requesting Monthly Tickets!!!)

"Damn it, I really missed that penalty."

Back in the locker room, Tang Ye discussed the match with his teammates.

"From his stance, he clearly intended to dive left, yet when I shot left, he dove right."

While speaking, Tang Ye gestured with both hands, trying to help his teammates visualize the penalty scene.

"I know, I know, I saw it."

De Gea laughed heartily: "You were clearly tricked, Tom. His center of gravity hadn't fully shifted; he was just feinting. I told you this during training, but haha, you still fell for it."

"No, no, no. David today was different from training; it wasn't the same."

"His body moved so fast, just like a real save; there was nothing I could do about it."

GG Bond is indeed a penalty expert.

Of course, even an expert isn't omnipotent; he makes mistakes sometimes too.

Especially in a situation like just now, where the Crystal Palace goalkeeper played a nasty little trick, causing the master's penalty to miss!

"Looks like you'll need to be more careful next time."

Fan Fan Dejiahe walked over from behind and patted Tang Ye on the shoulder.

"I've learned my lesson."

Tang Ye raised both hands: "If we meet again, he won't be so lucky."

GG Master's greatest strength is actually his learning ability; he makes in-game adjustments based on the opponent's actual situation. This is also why the Master rarely makes the same mistake twice.

Rashford went to the mixed zone to collect his MVP trophy, while the other players celebrated in the locker room.

The end of the match against Crystal Palace marked the conclusion of all Manchester United's competitions for February.

Good news: after Tang Ye's return, Manchester United's win rate surged dramatically, nearly matching their performance in the first half of the league season.

Bad news: their neighbors Mancheng also won their match.

Currently, the gap between Manchester United and Mancheng remains zero points and five goal differences.

Dongqiu Di Match Report: Round 28, Manchester United defeated Crystal Palace 2-0 away; Tang Ye missed a penalty, Rashford scored twice. (29,123 comments)

Sky Sports interviewed Ten Hag: "Manchester United's goal for March is very clear; we will knock Mancheng off the top spot in the league."

"Manchester United held the first position in the league for a while this season, so I can feel very clearly that this is where Manchester United belongs."

Professional Footballers' Association of England, Premier League Player of the Month Candidates for February:

1. Fan Daike, Liwupu.

2. Zaha, Crystal Palace.

3. Luke Shaw, Manchester United.

4. Rashford, Manchester United.

5. Aguero, Mancheng.

【"That Is Where Manchester United Belongs"】

【"Ten Hi! Oh, wait, with such a high win rate recently... that makes it Ten Saint!"】

【"It feels like Luke Shaw's injury has had a huge impact on Manchester United; Ashley Young's form this season is indeed poor."】

【"Actually, it doesn't matter; as long as Rashford and Ye He are fierce enough, with Tang Ye threading killer passes through the middle, the opposition simply can't get the ball through."】

Manchester Evening News — Outstanding league performance in February puts Rashford in the lead for Player of the Month. The English striker could become the only Manchester United player besides Tang Ye to win the Premier League Player of the Month award in the past two seasons.

"If Rashford indeed wins the title, he will break TY's monopoly on the Premier League Player of the Month award."

"This is undoubtedly good news for Manchester United; many matches this season have proven that having multiple scoring threats makes it easier for Manchester United to handle strong teams," stated a Man Evening reporter.

Three consecutive victories temporarily secured their second-place position in the league.

Meanwhile, Manchester United has only five matches in March: three Premier League games, one Champions League match, and one FA Cup tie.

The relatively sparse schedule is undoubtedly good news for Manchester United, whose bench depth is not great.

The balance of power in both the league and the Champions League seems to be tilting towards Manchester United.

Many Manchester United fans engaged in fierce discussions on Twitter and Instagram, with most holding views consistent with Ten Hag's.

March will be Manchester United's opportunity; if they can win all five matches in March, they will ascend to the top of the league table for the second time.

However, not everything favors Manchester United.

Just as March began, on March 1st, Manchester United officially released a statement via Twitter.

Manchester United Official: Midfielder Jesse Lin Lin Jiade suffered a calf strain during training and is expected to be out for at least four weeks.

Just as Valencia recovered, Luke Shaw and Lin Lin Jiade suffered injuries one after another; the physical issues accumulated by Manchester United players during the dense first-half schedule have finally erupted at this moment.

In response, Sky Sports launched a special program specifically analyzing the title race situation in this season's Premier League.

"First, it is certain that Mancheng absolutely has the highest probability of winning the championship among the three teams. Although Manchester United and Liwupu possess strong attacks, their bench depth falls far short of Mancheng's. Plus, as you've seen, Manchester United is now showing signs of an injury outbreak."

Facing the camera, the commentator shared his views on this 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'.

"Manchester United has only five matches in March, giving the players ample rest time,"

another commentator reminded.

"Yes, but... while it's true there are only five matches in March, you must realize that given the current situation, Manchester United will likely defeat Juventus to advance to the Champions League quarter-finals. Once they reach the quarter-finals, Manchester United will have two additional matches directly in April, plus potential FA Cup games, meaning they have a total of seven matches to play."

The commentator pointed out the crux of the issue.

Five matches are perfectly acceptable for Manchester United, even considered relatively easy.

But seven matches are different; moreover, these seven matches include two extremely difficult Champions League knockout games.

The commentator shrugged.

"Actually, Manchester United's current situation is far less optimistic than fans imagine."

"If they cannot overtake Mancheng to claim first place before the end of March, then I feel Manchester United will have no more opportunities this season."

The other commentator's viewpoint remains unclear for now, but what is certain is that the commentator currently speaking leans toward Mancheng's side.

The fact is that sufficient depth on the substitute bench is extremely important for top-league teams.

Mancheng possesses the ability to cope with a high-density schedule, something neither Manchester United nor Liwupu have.

……

Training concluded on March 1st.

In the evening, the official Manchester United account simultaneously released a poster across various social media platforms.

In the poster, Ten Hag and the Manchester United players are clad in ancient battle armor, standing before a hard city wall cast from reinforced concrete.

Ten Hag holds a commander's flag, upon which two large Chinese characters are written: "Siege."

Dark clouds fill the sky, seemingly preparing for the impending great battle of the siege.

This is the official warm-up poster from Manchester United; in the accompanying text, the officials provided the team's league schedule for this month.

From round 29 to round 32, the three matches are against Southampton, Arsenal, and Watford respectively.

Whether the Red Devils can shatter the city wall and enter the fortress depends entirely on these three matches!

……

Check Dongqiu Di reposted a Sky Sports program: Premier League pundit Jensen stated that March is Manchester United's last chance; otherwise, the tragedy of last season's 91 points and second-place finish will be replayed upon Manchester United.

Match preview: On the evening of March 2nd, Beijing time, Manchester United hosts Southampton, marking the first battle of their three-match siege.

"……"

"Tang Ye, play the long pass!"

"Find Ziyech on the right wing!"

"It's clear that the coordination between Tang Ye and Ziyech is becoming smoother with every play."

"Yes, and at the same time, the frequency of their cooperation is increasing."

Ziyech received Tang Ye's long pass.

The first touch wasn't very good; he adjusted before taking a second touch.

A defender approached, so Ziyech quickly dragged the ball and turned to find a teammate.

No rush.

Waiting for Valencia to come up, Ziyech passed back to him.

Valencia passed to McTominay!

The moment McTominay received the ball, Southampton players pressed him, hoping to force an error from the Manchester United defensive midfielder.

However, McTominay remained quite calm and, under Rodri's instruction, passed the ball back to Smalling behind him.

"Pass it directly!"

Ten Hag's voice came from the sidelines; Smalling made his preparations and launched a long kick to the front field.

Inside the penalty area, Martial controlled the ball and passed it to Tang Ye!

Tang Ye pointed toward the penalty area and then delivered a through ball with the inside of his foot.

Martial, making a run forward after turning, received the ball and immediately fired a shot.

A very decisive attack, and Manchester United had indeed pulled it off.

"Goooo——aaaaa——lllll!"

"Goal!"

"A very beautiful combination play by Martial."

The shot itself was ordinary, but to score this goal, the coordination among all Manchester United players was nothing short of perfect.

1:0!

Manchester United takes the lead at home!

It is only the 13th minute of the first half, and after scoring a goal, Manchester United has not slowed their attacking tempo.

Manchester United intends to chase Mancheng.

They must chase not only in points but also in goal difference.

Therefore, Southampton is quite pitiable; they will become the sacrificial victim in the rivalry between the two Manchester giants.

"This is an indirect free-kick opportunity..."

"Should we let Tang Ye take it?"

"Not given to Tang Ye; Manchester United has chosen to give this ball to Luke Shaw."

The indirect free-kick goes to Luke Shaw; Manchester United's tactic made the Southampton head coach on the sidelines frown.

This is a new tactic!

Let's see what happens!

Luke Shaw raised his left hand, then began his run-up.

He swung his right leg as if to deliver a cross, but actually suddenly cut the ball inward.

Possession went to Tang Ye, who was running forward into the center!

Bang!

A powerful long-range shot was struck; the ball flew past the goalkeeper and steadily entered the net.

The angle was decent, but for this goal, the angle was not the most important factor.

Tang Ye generated an incredibly exaggerated ball speed, leaving the Southampton goalkeeper with very little reaction time.

2:0.

Manchester United successfully expanded their advantage!

Tang Ye celebrated briefly with his teammates before returning to the halfway line to prepare for the kickoff.

It was evident that the gap between the current top three Premier League teams and the rest remained quite significant.

For Southampton to hope for a win was unrealistic; all they could do now was try to concede as few goals as possible.

As the clock hit the 43rd minute of the first half, Ward-Prowse capitalized on McTominay's mistake to execute a tackle.

Simultaneous with the tackle, he passed the ball to his team's striker.

This was a one-on-one breakaway!

"..."

Ten Hag fell silent immediately.

With this kind of chance, there was truly nothing to be done; it all came down to luck.

The striker dribbled with the outside of his foot, closing in on the goal.

De Gea rushed out!

The striker pushed a shot, and De Gea decisively dropped to the ground.

The Southampton striker's shot struck the Manchester United goalkeeper squarely.

"Wow!!!"

The attacking player fell to his knees, sighing in despair.

The Manchester United fans had already begun their celebrations!

They had already secured victory in this match!

They entered the second half leading 2:0.

The advantage was considerable, yet there remained a fairly long interval before their next Champions League match against Juventus.

To boost their goal difference in the league, Ten Hag made no substitutions.

Tang Ye dribbled down the wing to the left baseline!

Slap!

【De Bruyne Wing Cross Lv5: Replication (Transcendent State)】

Proficiency: 429/3500

The cross found Martial in the penalty area with pinpoint accuracy; the latter pushed a shot that firmly sent the ball into the net.

3:0!

At the 61st minute, Rodri committed a foul in his own half, granting the opponents a direct free-kick opportunity.

Ward-Prowse...

Slap!

A curling shot flew past De Gea's fingertips and into the net.

This was the best scoring chance of the match aside from the earlier breakaway, and the Southampton player had indeed capitalized on it.

Ward-Prowse raised his hands in excited celebration.

His direct free-kick had restored some dignity for his team.

By the 80th minute, the score remained 3:1, with home side Manchester United leading by two goals.

"We're the boys in red and we're on our way to Wembley! (We are the red youths, we march on the road to Wembley!)"

"Wembley! Wembley! (Wembley! Wembley!)"

"We're the famous Man United and we're going to Wembley! (We are the great Manchester United, we march on the road to Wembley!)"

Bang bang!

Bang bang bang!

The fans in the stands at Old Trafford began celebrating early, rejoicing in Manchester United's first victory of March.

"Beep, beep-beep—!!!"

Check Dongqiu Di Match Report: Round 29, Manchester United defeated Crystal Palace 3:1 at home to take all three points; Tang Ye scored a world-class long-range goal and provided an assist. Having played one extra match, Manchester United temporarily tops the league table. (Comments: 31,562)

Premier League Standings (Round 29 not yet fully concluded):

1. Manchester United, 76 points.

3. Liwupu, 74 points.

2. Mancheng, 73 points. (One match fewer played)

4. Chelsea, 57 points.

5. Tottenham, 53 points.

Click!

Click click!

"Mancheng's next match begins tomorrow at 6 PM; until then, you are the number one team in the Premier League. Tom, do you have any comments on this?"

A reporter extended a microphone toward Tang Ye.

"Uh..."

"This is only temporary; because Mancheng has played one fewer match, we have taken first place, but this first place is not eternal."

Tang Ye shared his thoughts with the reporter: "So this isn't worth celebrating. I believe it will be worth celebrating only when we have played the same number of matches as Mancheng and still rank above them. Right now isn't ideal, because I have a premonition that we will lose our top spot tomorrow."

The reporters below raised their eyebrows, appearing somewhat surprised.

Compared to when he first arrived at Manchester United two years ago, Tang Ye had indeed matured considerably.

Then again, that was only natural.

"Tom, in two days it will be your 20th birthday; twenty is an important stage in life. Do you have any plans for how to spend your birthday?"

Twenty years old is an important stage in life...

Tang Ye squinted his eyes; this was the first time he had heard such a statement.

But whether it was an important stage or not didn't matter; to Tang Ye, every birthday was special.

Club teammates would gather together to celebrate the birth of ggbond.

This was something that happened only once a year.

"I haven't decided yet, I haven't decided yet, but we should eat cake together in the Dideshitang; we did that last year. We also ate cake when Marcus had his birthday before, but Marcus's cake wasn't tasty; I think my cake should be tastier than Marcus's cake."

"Because you said that twenty years old is a special stage."

"Then... happy early birthday, Tom!"

(End of Chapter)