Chapter 530: The Champions League Quarter-Finals Finally Arrive

Check Dongqiu Di Match Report: Greenwood and McTominay scored; Tang Ye started and was substituted off in the 61st minute; Manchester United defeated Watford 5:2 to advance, setting up another Manchester derby in the FA Cup final. (37,212 comments)

【Tang~~Ye! Started↑60 minutes, 0 goals 0 assists~~~】

【I beg you all, stop imitating Football Urine】

【So if my King Tang Tang Qiuwang has one bad game, the haters come out?】

【Haha, that's how anti-fans are; they only look at goals and assists, ignoring everything else】

The large screen in the stadium displayed the final score of the match.

5:2; with this score, Manchester United successfully advanced to the FA Cup final.

Just as the match report stated, this season's FA Cup final would be a Manchester derby!

"Hurry up, Mason!"

Greenwood was slightly shy about winning his first MVP award, so Tang Ye directly waved him over quickly.

"Haha, it's fine, it's fine!"

Tang Ye pushed Greenwood toward the podium, saying, "Just speak normally, speak normally."

"What exactly counts as speaking normally?"

Facing Greenwood's question, Tang Ye answered without thinking: "Speaking normally just means saying whatever comes to mind; that's how I've always been, so just don't be afraid."

"..."

Greenwood frowned.

How...

How did this feel different from what the coach taught?

However, Tang Ye's status in Greenwood's heart was still too high, so in the end, this Manchester United rookie chose to believe the words of his senior, Tang Ye?

What the master says cannot be wrong.

Then if it's wrong, it must be the coach's fault!

"Hmm, very talented..."

Tang Ye stood with hands on hips, watching Greenwood on the podium being interviewed by reporters.

This was the only player in the Manchester United squad younger than him.

Greenwood was only 18 this year, the same age Tang Ye was when he first arrived at Manchester United.

"You think he's very talented, haha."

Fan Fan Dejiahe walked up; clearly, he had heard Tang Ye's words from behind.

"Mm, of course."

Tang Ye shared his analysis with Fan Fan Dejiahe: "I feel Mason needs to work on his speed, though actually, he doesn't need to train for it; he'll run faster once he grows up."

"Then how do you compare him to Ziyech?"

Hm?

Tang Ye didn't know why Fan Fan Dejiahe would ask him such a question.

Comparing players against each other was indeed a somewhat sensitive topic, but Tang Ye trusted his Mr. Michel greatly, so he answered seriously.

"I feel Mason's talent is slightly better."

"Wow."

Fan Fan Dejiahe nodded gently: "Then... what about compared to Marcus?"

"This..."

Tang Ye tilted his head; clearly, this question was a bit difficult to answer.

"Forwards who can reach the level Marcus has achieved are rare, right? I feel Mason has a slight chance, but he needs to improve his speed and dribbling; those are his strengths, while shooting can be put on hold for now."

"But to be honest, Mr. Michel, I think Mason's ceiling might be a bit higher than Marcus's, because he is two-footed."

"Just like you."

"Haha, yes, just like me. But being two-footed is even more important for a forward; I haven't left much of an impression in that regard."

Fan Fan Dejiahe placed his hand on Tang Ye's back, and the latter fell silent, listening to the cheers from the home fans.

Manchester Evening Post — The 2018/19 season FA Cup final is confirmed to be a Manchester derby; combining historical scheduling experience with both teams' schedules this season, the FA Cup final will most likely be scheduled between May 10 and May 25.

"Mancheng has already been eliminated from the Champions League and also trails Manchester United by three points in the league, which means they will go all out to chase the FA Cup title."

Check Dongqiu Di Match Preview: In the early hours of April 11, in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, Manchester United hosts Paris Saint-Germain at home; Tang Ye versus Neymar.

Ten Hag accepted an interview with reporters: Among all the teams in the Champions League quarter-finals, Paris should be the most difficult opponent for Manchester United. I admit our luck might not be very good, but we will devise some specific tactics against our opponent; we have already spent enough time preparing for the Champions League.

The quarter-final between Manchester United and Paris was an undisputed focal match.

Besides Ten Hag being asked by reporters to elaborate on the game plan, Paris forward Neymar was also interviewed by reporters.

"Just as you said earlier, I look forward to facing Tom; I played against him many times when I was at Barcelona, back when he was still at Villarreal and his market value hadn't broken 100 million yet."

Recalling that period in La Liga, both Neymar and the reporters felt somewhat dazed.

At that time, in the eyes of players and reporters, Tang Ye was undoubtedly the most talented midfielder in La Liga, but everyone's expectations for him topped out at his market value breaking 100 million.

No one expected that two years later, this guy would be nearly on par with Messi and Ronaldo.

"Then do you consider Tom to be the world's number one now? On the same level as Ronaldo and Messi?"

"Hiss..."

Neymar pursed his lips, the tattoos on his body very conspicuous in the camera frame: "First, he is the world's best midfielder; that is unquestionable. In my view, he was already the world's best midfielder during the second half of the season at Villarreal; I felt the pressure he brought upon me during the Copa del Rey final back then. But... I feel Tom is still some distance away from being the true world number one."

"I don't know how to describe it."

Saying this, Neymar laughed.

"The distance I'm talking about isn't in terms of ability, but in other aspects; I don't know exactly what it is, it's a kind of feeling. Tom doesn't yet have that feeling that Messi possesses."

Neymar spoke in riddles, yet the fans could roughly guess his meaning.

The feeling Neymar described was, unsurprisingly, a kind of dominance—a dominance unique to Ballon d'Or winners.

Or, from another angle, what Neymar meant was... that Tang Ye's trophy cabinet was somewhat lacking?

A market value of 200 million euros, with statistics across all competitions surpassing everyone else globally.

Ggbond indeed possesses great strength, that is true, but you must know, all he has is strength.

A little-known fact: Ggbond currently holds no title from any of the top five leagues.

"Then do you believe you can defeat Manchester United in the quarter-finals?"

"In terms of raw strength... I cannot make a comparison, but our schedule is more relaxed, so we have more preparation time."

Neymar remained calm, his answer carefully considered: "When the gap in strength between both sides is not significant, I believe sufficient match preparation and a perfected starting lineup will be our advantage."

Crack!

Crack crack!

As the Champions League quarter-finals approached, the atmosphere at the Carrington Base gradually grew tense.

Why the tension? Because the players knew how important this match was for them.

Tang Ye was under immense pressure as well, so he liked to repeatedly browse his panel after training ended.

From the attribute panel to the talent panel, then checking the levels of his various items—this was his way of passing the time.

And right below the attribute panel, there hung a very prominent mission description.

Three penalties or eight goals.

This mission seemed to have no difficulty on the surface, but in reality, the requirements were quite high.

Because you must know it is already April; Manchester United has not many matches left this season!

Between the three penalties and the eight goals, clearly, scoring eight goals was easier to accomplish.

At least, that was the case for Tang Ye.

If they failed to advance to the Champions League semi-finals, Manchester United would have only nine matches left this season, basically equivalent to averaging one goal per game.

Above the training ground, a ray of sunlight suddenly shone upon Tang Ye's face. After the clouds drifted away, Carrington welcomed its first sunny day of April.

"Let's go!"

Valencia patted Tang Ye's shoulder, and the Manchester United players quickly ran over to Ten Hag.

Tomorrow was the match against Paris, and the Manchester United coaching staff now needed to re-emphasize the match arrangements to the players.

"Tomorrow we won't play a 4-2-3-1; we'll play a 4-3-3, starting with a 4-3-3. If the situation goes awry, we will adjust the formation back in the second half. However, Michel and I have had some discussions, and the 4-3-3 shouldn't pose too many problems."

"Then regarding the starting players, let me first announce the starting lineup for tomorrow's match."

L'Équipe — The crucial battle arrives; Paris chairman Nasser stated that the Manchester United they faced this season was the strongest in past seasons, but this still remained within the team's acceptable range.

"Due to Manchester United's excellent league and Champions League performances, Paris immediately launched preparation work against Manchester United after the round of 16 concluded, giving the Paris players and coaching staff immense confidence."

Paris chairman Nasser stated before the match that the team would defeat Manchester United at Old Trafford.

However, these boastful news reports actually failed to attract much attention from the fans.

Compared to Nasser's words, the news from France Football was somewhat more interesting.

France Football front-page headline — The Qatari consortium behind Paris is very interested in TY; they are willing to bear TY's exorbitant transfer fee, which may exceed 200 million euros.

【Trying to snatch the person away before the match, huh? Fortunately, it's not the transfer window yet, otherwise you might actually succeed.】

【What's the situation with the Qatari lords? They want Mbappé and they want Tang Ye; you two want the two most valuable players, is that it?】

【The competitive level of Ligue 1 isn't strong, right? I feel Ligue 1 isn't as entertaining as the Premier League; Tang Ye better not go there.】

【Qatari Lord: Annual salary of 50 million euros, are you coming or not?】

【Why so eager to make money? My Ggbond hasn't won the Ballon d'Or yet.】

Originally it was Juventus and Borussia Dortmund; now Paris Saint-Germain has jumped in halfway, turning the number of clubs seeking Tang Ye from two into three.

The summer window won't open until June, but fans can already foresee how spectacular this summer window will be.

April 10th.

"Booooo!!!"

"Screw you!"

Outside Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester United and Paris fans were entangled together, with local special police using riot shields in an attempt to separate the two groups of fans.

"What are you arrogant about? Next season Tom will come to play for Paris!"

"How much annual salary can you offer Tom!"

Seeing they couldn't out-shout the larger crowd of Manchester United fans, the Paris fans directly changed tactics, declaring they would snatch away Manchester United's star player.

This maneuver instantly enraged the Manchester United fans on site.

Although the competitive intensity of Ligue 1 was not high, considering Paris could directly pay a transfer fee of 200 million euros while also providing Tang Ye with a huge salary.

Actually, this French team posed a greater threat to Manchester United than Juventus and Dortmund!

Bang!

A water bottle from a Manchester United fan smashed onto the forehead of a Paris fan.

Soon, this involved fan was taken away by the special police.

This fan who was taken away seemed to have made some sort of sacrifice; with his right hand clenched into a fist, he shouted one phrase after another, his mouth constantly yelling things.

"Long live Manchester!"

"Long live Manchester!"

……

"China Media Group! Good evening, dear audience friends. This is the live broadcast of..."

"As we mentioned earlier, this match is absolutely crucial for both Manchester United and Paris."

"Especially for Manchester United; since Tang Ye joined last season, the team has gradually entered its most prosperous period in recent years. For Manchester United fans, this is the team's chance to rise again."

While the two commentators chatted happily in the broadcast booth, the players on the field completed their entrance ceremony.

"5, 4, 3..."

"1!"

"Alright, the match has begun!"

"Now, let me introduce the starting lineups for both teams!"

"..."

Paris (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Buffon

Defenders: Bernat, Kimpembe, Thiago Silva, Thilo Kehrer

Midfielders: Draxler, Marquinhos, Verratti

Forwards: Mbappé, Cavani, Neymar

Head Coach: Tuchel

As soon as the match started, the director cut to the VIP box, where the Glazer family, shareholders of Manchester United, and the Qatari consortium behind Paris sat on chairs outside the private suite.

Although guests from the Middle East were watching live today, the Manchester United fans showed the Glazers no respect whatsoever.

【Glazers Get Out!】

【The Glazer Family Is the Stumbling Block to Manchester United's Revival!】

【Stop Your Greed, Glazer】

"What are those?"

The Qatari pointed toward the south stand; the banners hung by the Manchester United fans had caught his attention.

Although he couldn't fully understand what was written on the banners, the Qatari knew they were directed at the Glazers.

"No need to pay attention."

The Glazer didn't even glance in that direction.

The Manchester United fans wanted the Glazer family to contribute more to the team, putting up more money to help the club through its difficulties.

But in the eyes of the Glazer brothers, this was highly unrealistic.

A football club exists to make money; how could one ask shareholders to make contributions?

"Hmm."

The Qatari nodded slightly, glanced at the pitch where the big screen displayed live footage of Tang Ye running, and said, "I'd like to ask about TY's situation."

The 10th minute of the first half!

Marquinhos's pass successfully found Neymar.

Neymar passed the ball back and forth between his left and right feet; Rodri, responsible for marking him, observed carefully, seized the opportunity, and decisively cleared the ball.

It's a throw-in for Paris!

"Go, go, go! Behind!"

Kehrer tossed the ball to Cavani, who came to support. Cavani stepped on the ball to stop abruptly, waited for Rodri to shift his center of gravity, then suddenly dribbled forward.

"Wow!!!"

Paris launched an attack from a throw-in opportunity!

Cavani was rushing toward the right-wing byline.

Ahead of him stood Ashley Young!

Facing the defense, Cavani was extremely decisive.

He passed straight back to Neymar!

Neymar then passed to Marquinhos!

Marquinhos!

Slap!

A long pass flew to the left wing; Draxler brought the ball under control!

He decisively passed to Mbappé!

Mbappé took on De Jong one-on-one!

Manchester United fans thought Mbappé would choose some feint to beat his man, but unexpectedly, the guy simply kicked the ball forward.

Then he accelerated!

……

(End of Chapter)