Chapter 517: Twenty is a Special Birthday: The King of Comebacks, CR7, Amidst Rising Storms (Bonus Chapter, Seeking Monthly Votes!)

Match Preview: In the early hours of March 7, the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 sees Manchester United host Juventus. Can the Red Devils, leading by two goals from the first leg, hold on to their advantage?

With all matches of Premier League Round 29 concluded, unsurprisingly Manchester United directly lost their position at the top of the league table.

But Manchester United fans were not saddened by this.

Because they had placed all their attention on the upcoming match against Juventus.

Leading the opponent by 2:0 in the first leg of a knockout tie should, logically, be extremely secure, yes.

But you must remember, Manchester United's opponent is Juventus.

That is the place where the King of Comebacks resides!

There is a video on YouTube of a reporter interviewing Manchester United fans.

"Hmm... although Cristiano has left Manchester United, I am still a fan of his for life."

A Manchester United fan unzipped his down jacket to reveal the Manchester United jersey underneath, bearing the Chevrolet logo.

One didn't need to think twice to know this was CR7's jersey.

"I have always supported Cristiano, the problem is that Juventus is now down by two goals. I've watched football for 15 years, hmm... almost 16 years, and in the Champions League knockout stages, being two goals down after the first leg basically means there's no chance of a turnaround."

The fan shook his head gently, a clear sense of regret showing in his eyes: "If Juventus had managed to score one goal in the first leg, then I think they would still have a chance, but the fact is they didn't score."

"So you think Manchester United will defeat Juventus in the second leg and advance to the quarter-finals?"

"Yes, of course!"

The fan answered quickly: "Cristiano is, after all, a thing of the past; the current king of Manchester United is Tom."

"..."

Exit full screen, then turn off the phone.

Sitting on a cafeteria chair, Tang Ye now wore a rather unpleasant expression.

"Damn it, why do they have to hype us up before the match even starts?"

Tang Ye held his head and complained to Ale across from him: "Fans should know that Cristiano is good at comebacks. So, Seba, we cannot say anything negative about Cristiano before playing against him, otherwise we might suffer retribution."

"Haha!"

Tang Ye's worried demeanor relaxed Ale, who had originally been tense.

This guy Tom has too much comedic effect!

"Tom, I recall you don't believe in God; you Chinese don't have many religious people."

"No, no, no!"

Tang Ye shook his head repeatedly to explain: "This has nothing to do with religion; this is..."

Tang Ye wanted to say 'feng shui', but for a moment couldn't think of how to express the term 'feng shui' in English.

"Hmm, this is metaphysics; we must eliminate things unfavorable to us before the match starts. Otherwise, those unfavorable things will affect our win rate."

"Isn't that just believing in religion?"

Mata interjected from the side.

"No, no, no, it's not believing in religion; I don't believe in religion."

Realizing his teammates still hadn't fully understood what he was saying, Tang Ye immediately became anxious.

"Then Tom, tell me, who do you pray to?"

Ale asked, subsequently receiving a negative from Tang Ye.

GG Bond does not pray.

It was simply because Cristiano possessed the attribute of 'King of Comebacks' that Tang Ye felt praising himself before the match would have a negative impact on the result.

"Alright."

Mata waved his hand at Ale: "It seems this is the difference between religion and metaphysics. Tom doesn't pray, but he believes in this."

After finishing his explanation to his teammates, Tang Ye took out his phone and opened Check Dongqiu Di.

【Leading by two goals in the first leg, tell me what Juventus should do? Tell me?】

【CR7's form was obviously poor in the first match; now he has to pay the price.】

【Damn it, stop jinxing it, stop jinxing it, can you please stop jinxing it?】

【Keep jinxing and we'll be jinxed to death, bro.】

【Everyone is saying Manchester United will surely win; you guys are making me very scared with this.】

"Phew..."

Looking at the fans' comments, Tang Ye breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed he wasn't the only one with such worries.

Really, we can't jinx it anymore.

If we mock CR7 a few more times, what will we do if we really get turned around in the end?

To avoid such a situation...

Juventus must win!

Tang Ye said silently.

The Sun: Juventus fans release a warm-up video for advancing to the quarter-finals; Tang Ye likes it, then cancels the like 27 minutes later.

"Happy birthday to you~"

"Happy birthday to you~"

"..."

"Wow!!!"

On the Carrington training ground, Manchester United players sang the birthday song for Tang Ye.

Although reporters had previously said that twenty was a very important stage in life, Tang Ye still decided to spend his twentieth birthday simply.

"Happy Birthday, Tom!"

Fan Fan Dejiahe walked over and high-fived Tang Ye, followed by Ten Hag: "Happy Birthday."

Ten Hag wore a smile and looked very happy.

But for some reason, whenever this guy said "Happy Birthday," he always gave Tang Ye a strange feeling.

Perhaps Mr. Erik was just this kind of serious person!

"Tom, wow!!!"

The players ran around Tang Ye, coming up one by one to high-five the birthday star.

Everyone thought this was Tang Ye's twentieth birthday, yet only Tang Ye himself knew the truth.

Hehe, Grandmaster GG is already forty-one years old this year!

【Starting today, you are already forty-one, which means you have taken another step forward on the path of middle age. It may seem ordinary, but remember, you are now playing in England's top-tier league.】

【Old man, you have broken your own record for the oldest player in the Premier League.】

【You have received a new mission.】

【Mission Objective: Win as many championships as possible this year; the quality of your reward depends on the number of championships you win.】

Current Progress: 1

Just like before, it was the ultimate mission regarding the number of championships.

This season, Manchester United had abandoned the EFL Cup, so there would be one fewer championship target to contest.

The good news was that the system had counted Tang Ye's Asian Cup championship, so he already had progress the moment he received the mission.

As many championships as possible...

Hanging his head low, Tang Ye engaged in his thoughts.

Counting the Asian Cup championship, this season he should win at least two championship trophies, possibly three (if counting the Premier League title).

The best-case scenario would be four, which would require including the Champions League title as well.

Of course, judging from the Premier League situation this season, wanting to win both the Premier League title and the Champions League title simultaneously was simply harder than climbing to the heavens.

"Tom!"

Ten Hag's voice came from afar, pulling Tang Ye's thoughts back to reality.

"Tom, don't zone out; it's training time now!"

Although today was Tang Ye's birthday, that was no reason for him to lose focus!

"Sorry, sorry, Mr. Erik!"

Tang Ye quickly ran over, and Ten Hag placed his hand on his back.

"You were very focused during the match; I need you to maintain that same focus during training. Do you understand what I mean, Tom? Only by maintaining sufficient focus during training can you achieve greater results."

Ten Hag instructed.

After nearly four seasons of tempering through Serie A, La Liga, and the Premier League, Tang Ye's technical characteristics had mostly taken shape by now.

But in Ten Hag's view, Manchester United's number 10 still had plenty of room for improvement.

However, the further one goes, the harder it becomes to improve; if Tang Ye wanted to continue becoming stronger, he needed to maintain sufficient focus in every training session. "Grandmaster is not the endpoint!"

Ten Hag said to Tang Ye, and the latter nodded repeatedly.

He certainly knew that Grandmaster was not the endpoint.

After Grandmaster came Grandmaster Supreme!

After Grandmaster Supreme came King!

Currently, GG Bond was only a Grandmaster; he still had a long road ahead before becoming a true King.

Juventus Official: All club players and staff have arrived in Manchester to prepare for the upcoming second leg of the Round of 16.

Juventus Official released a video on Twitter showing the players disembarking from the plane.

English reporters surrounded the plane; as Cristiano Ronaldo stepped off, voices in the video could be heard asking him whether he could overturn the match tomorrow.

"Of course!"

After speaking, Cristiano Ronaldo gave a thumbs-up, then walked away with the team.

Juventus's video spread widely among fans online.

If it were just an ordinary player making pre-match boasts, it would be perfectly normal, and Manchester United fans wouldn't take it seriously.

But here was the problem: the person making the boasts this time was Cristiano Ronaldo, so you needed to be a bit cautious.

Because he truly had the potential to overturn the match!

"Ronaldo! Ronaldo!"

At the hotel entrance, Manchester United fans who had been lying in wait welcomed Cristiano Ronaldo.

He was a former child of the Theatre of Dreams and also the pride of Old Trafford.

"Will you win tomorrow? Win and defeat us?"

Cristiano Ronaldo gave the fans his autograph: "I'm sorry, but I think yes; if you want to win, you must play better."

"No!"

A fan shouted loudly and, half-jokingly, snatched back the jersey he had prepared for an autograph.

"I'm sorry, Ronaldo."

With conflicting interests laid bare before them, Manchester United fans could no longer stand on the same side as Cristiano Ronaldo!

That evening at dinnertime, at the Carrington Base.

Dinner was normal dinner, of course; but since today was Tang Ye's birthday, every Manchester United player also received a small piece of bubblegum-flavored cake.

"Tom, you could actually celebrate your birthday a few more times; this bubblegum cake is really quite good."

Ye He said, currently enjoying the delicious cake on his own plate.

"Do you guys think this cake tastes good?"

Tang Ye widened his eyes: "This mint flavor is way too strong; I feel it's not as good as the last one."

"Do you know why you think it doesn't taste good?"

Rodri walked over, placed his hand on Tang Ye's shoulder, bent down, and looked at the unfinished bubblegum cake on Tang Ye's table: "Because you've eaten too much bubblegum!"

"Eat a little less, Tom!"

Rodri patted Tang Ye's shoulder.

"Hey, Rod!"

Tang Ye spread his hands, appearing somewhat helpless.

Little brother, Rod has been acting a bit too arrogant lately.

But it doesn't matter; Big Brother Tom is very generous and won't mind these little things.

While Tang Ye was eating, Ten Hag walked toward him, bringing Fan Fan Dejiahe along behind him.

"Ale said you're worried we'll get overturned?"

Mm.

Hearing Ten Hag's voice, Tang Ye quickly lifted his head.

He was somewhat surprised, because in Tang Ye's memory, Mr. Erik was usually in the main building's office at this time.

"Mm..."

It was a bit awkward, but Tang Ye still spoke: "That is indeed the case; Mr. Erik, haven't you seen the comments online? Cristiano is very good at overturning matches; I watched him play since I was a child; he will lead Real Madrid to overturn their opponents."

CR7 will overturn his opponents.

And now CR7's opponent is Manchester United.

Lay out the equation, proceed step by step.

Reach the conclusion: CR7 will overturn Manchester United.

As soon as he thought of this, Tang Ye couldn't help but shake his leg.

The public opinion environment has put Master GG under huge pressure!

"Haha!"

Before Ten Hag could speak, Fan Fan Dejiahe behind him burst out laughing: "Let's talk with data, okay? Tom, we're currently leading by two goals! This season, no team has ever come back from two goals down to beat us."

Fan Fan Dejiahe reminded Tang Ye of something he didn't know.

However, what the Manchester United assistant coach didn't know was that saying this made Tang Ye even more nervous.

Poisonous milk 【jinxing】—this is something Chinese people fear greatly.

"Mr. Michel, stay calm; if we get too arrogant, we will lose the match."

"Haha!"

Tang Ye suddenly became cautious, causing the Manchester United teammates and coaches beside him to couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Sigh...

Tang Ye let out a long breath.

He understood his teammates' carelessness.

Not every player possesses Tang Ye's 41 years of life experience; being young and impulsive is perfectly normal.

Especially little Rod; he is only 24 years old.

Too young, too young!

Although everyone seemed to just laugh off Tang Ye's nervousness, in reality, the players still took this matter quite seriously.

As early as during the Utrecht period, it was said that a two-goal lead isn't much; on the morning of the match day, Ten Hag had specifically emphasized Juventus's tactics to the players.

The goal was to prevent any unexpected situations from occurring!

"No accidents are allowed in today's match; we will take victory from Juventus's hands; we are the victors of today's match."

"Wow!!!"

The Manchester United players on the bus let out screams.

They were already prepared!

Dongqiu Di pinned post: 3 AM, Champions League Round of 16 second leg, Manchester United vs. Juventus at home; first leg Manchester United led 2:0; can the Red Devils double-kill the Old Lady and advance to the next round?

【Stop jinxing, stop jinxing, brothers, just watch the match properly; watch my Tang Tang Qiuwang perform.】

【Messi fans are here; go Manchester United!】

【I really feel something isn't right; watching the videos, Brother Luo seems a bit fierce today.】

【Stacking buffs here, huh? I wasn't panicking about leading by two goals originally, but after you guys praised them like this, I'm starting to panic directly.】

With 32 minutes remaining until kickoff, both teams released their starting lineups together.

Looking at CR7 in Juventus's starting lineup on his phone screen, Tang Ye's expression was somewhat complex.

He didn't know if it was because they had both played for Manchester United, but Tang Ye always felt entangled with CR7.

He often dreamed of CR7 in his dreams, and in those dreams, he was often scolded by Cristiano.

Moreover, according to Tang Ye's observations, unsurprisingly, Cristiano had also dreamed of GG Bond in his dreams.

It's just unknown whether in the dream, he had also scolded Cristiano a good one?

This is the match between Manchester United and Juventus.

But in Tang Ye's view, this match was a fated confrontation between him and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Grandmaster GG and Cristiano Ronaldo were destined for a calamity, one that could not be avoided.

They had to determine who was superior!

……

(End of Chapter)