Chapter 535: 34 Rounds, 91 Points: Leading the League Continues, But a Life-or-Death Champions League Battle Arrives

Bang!

Arnautović leaped high, heading the ball back to Tang Ye.

Tang Ye!

Slap!

Reacting instantly, Tang Ye seized the opportunity and fired a shot.

But the ball was blocked by a defender!

It seemed West Ham United had defused the crisis, but in reality, their danger was not yet over.

The moment Tang Ye's shot was parried, the referee blew the whistle the very next second.

"A penalty for Manchester United!"

"Clearly, Tang Ye's shot hit Zabaleta's hand!"

"That's a penalty!"

With West Ham leading 1-0, the awarding of a penalty to Manchester United saw West Ham players immediately surround the referee.

Tang Ye and Rice were tangled together, ending with Tang Ye pushing Rice down.

Beep!

The referee blew the whistle again; this time, it was a yellow card for Tang Ye.

"He pushed me first!"

With both players clashing yet only he receiving a card, Tang Ye was naturally unconvinced.

Pointing at Rice, he shouted, "Check the replay, will you? Check the replay!"

Only after pressing a hand to his earpiece to listen to feedback from the booth did the referee issue a yellow card to Rice as well.

Only then did Tang Ye relent, beginning his preparations for the upcoming penalty kick.

Trailing 0-1 with the team's morale low, this penalty opportunity was immensely crucial for Manchester United.

As he walked toward the penalty area holding the ball, Tang Ye deliberately glanced at the stands.

Rashford was sitting in the stands; he had promised his teammates he would attend all of Manchester United's remaining matches this season live.

Tang Ye gave a thumbs-up in Rashford's direction, then placed the ball on the penalty spot.

He was ready!

"Tang Ye... runs up, shoots!"

"Goal!"

"Goooo——aaaaa——lllll!!!"

Goalkeeper Fabianski guessed the wrong direction.

Manchester United successfully leveled the score!

【You have obtained 15 Counterattack Points】

【Mission Progress: Penalties (2/3) / Goals (3/8)】

"Wow!"

Jumping up, Tang Ye threw an uppercut toward the stands.

Rodri ran over to pull Tang Ye back, but the latter had already anticipated it.

"Get the ball, get the ball!"

Signaling for Arnautović to retrieve the ball from the net, Tang Ye led his teammates in a rapid retreat.

Just as Ashley Young had said not long ago, Manchester United had to secure victory in this match no matter what.

Otherwise, all their previous efforts would be in vain!

"United! Man United!"

The fans in the stands were shouting loudly as time slowly ticked into the 70th minute of the second half.

West Ham United had scored a goal in the 65th minute, though that goal was eventually disallowed by the referee.

Now it was Manchester United's chance.

Mata received the ball on the right wing and cut inside!

"Here!"

Tang Ye stopped to prepare for a pass from Mata, but he was marked tightly by Lanzini.

Mata did not pass immediately; instead, he kept the ball under control himself.

Seizing the opportunity, Tang Ye shifted laterally to shake off Lanzini.

It's clear!

Mata passed the ball back.

Without controlling the ball first, Tang Ye directly drove it toward the baseline on the left flank.

Now in possession was Ashley Young!

"Ashley Young, time for the cross!"

"Let's see the quality of Ashley Young's cross!"

The cross from the byline reached the far post, where Valencia, making a run from the right, met the ball.

This was a combination play between Manchester United's two full-backs, executed quite well.

Valencia passed to McTominay.

Bang!

McTominay fired a long-range shot, but the goalkeeper pushed it away.

Bang!

Rodri and Noble collided, with Rodri ultimately coming away with the ball.

"Here!"

Tang Ye reached out and took the ball from Rodri's hands.

With his back to the goal, he forcefully flicked it into the penalty area using his heel.

It was a very sudden pass, through which Tang Ye also completed his penetration past the center-back.

Haller!

Smack!

The shot was taken; in the 73rd minute of the match, Manchester United pulled the score to 2:1.

"Woww!!!!"

Only after this goal did Manchester United finally begin their celebration.

"Seba!!!"

Tang Ye jumped onto Haller.

Damn, today's match was truly not easy to play!

……

Check Dongqiu Di Match Report: Round 34, Manchester United reversed the game at home to beat West Ham United 2:1; Tang Ye scored from a penalty kick, breaking through 30 league assists for the season. (Comment count: 32,515)

Interview with Pellegrini: We were almost able to win this match, but Manchester United displayed the resilience expected of a top-tier team.

"Nice!"

In the locker room, the Manchester United players appeared somewhat excited.

When they had previously beaten West Ham United, Manchester United had not shown such emotions, but today's victory was truly hard-won.

"I feel scoring has become harder for us now, but we can still score because their defense isn't very good."

Tang Ye analyzed with his teammates: "Today we could have scored three."

"Haha!"

Ashley Young stood up and gave Tang Ye a hug.

"It's fine; anyway, we ended up winning."

Ashley Young pointed at the locker room door: "The fans thought we would lose, the reporters thought we would lose, but we won in the end; that is the final result. Eric was right; as long as every one of us performs a bit better, we can fill the gap left by Marcus."

"From today onward, I don't want to hear any talk about us losing again."

Standing in the middle, Ashley Young picked up the responsibility he had carried as captain last season.

"If any of you say anything about us losing, I won't be polite with you."

"Wow!"

After Ashley Young issued his harsh words, Tang Ye raised both hands.

The importance of this match to Manchester United goes without saying.

One could say that Manchester United regained all their lost confidence in a single match.

"Okay, okay, we did very well; everything was very good."

Unlike usual, after today's match ended, Ten Hag did not immediately conduct a tactical summary with the players.

"Although there are some obvious problems in the forward line, as you have seen, we are capable of winning every match."

Thump!

Striking the tactical board with his fist, Ten Hag pointed at Manchester United positioned above Manchester City.

"91 points; after this match, we have 91 points. With only 4 league matches remaining, you all clearly know what we need to do now."

……

The Mirror — 2:1 reversal against West Ham United; Manchester United defends their standing in the table with 91 points after 34 rounds.

Attached: 2018-19 Premier League standings (as of the end of Round 34):

1. Manchester United, 91 points.

2. Mancheng, 88 points.

3. Liwupu, 87 points.

4. Chelsea, 65 points.

5. Tottenham, 63 points. Manchester Evening Post — After assisting Haller's goal against West Ham United, TY's league assist count officially broke through the 30 mark.

"Besides 30 assists, TY has also scored 15 goals in the Premier League this season; even if TY records no stats in the next 4 league matches, he will still claim the Player of the Season award for the Premier League."

"However, according to speculation by Manchester Evening Post reporters, TY's goal tally may further increase in the upcoming matches, as Rashford's absence will lead to an rise in the player's status within the team's offensive system."

The Manchester Evening Post published its views on Manchester United's prospects in its new season/phase issue.

It was originally thought that Manchester United would be in trouble after Rashford suffered his injury, but it now appears that despite the injury to their main winger, Manchester United still possesses decent offensive capability.

Of course, Manchester United's current forward line cannot compare to teams like Mancheng and Liwupu.

Reporters and commentators have pointed out a path for Manchester United: a shift in offensive focus.

Manchester United needs to transfer the offensive pressure originally borne by Rashford onto the three midfielders: Tang Ye, Rodri, and De Jong.

If the forwards cannot attack, then let the midfielders attack; it sounds somewhat absurd, but in fact, this is truly the only option Manchester United has left.

……

The Times reporter: If Manchester United fails in both the league and the Champions League this season, TY may possibly seek to leave the team.

The remarks of The Times reporter quickly surged to the top of the trending searches.

However, this was not stated personally by Tang Ye or his agent, but rather fabricated by this reporter.

Nevertheless, this news story still gained significant traction.

Because, thinking from Tang Ye's perspective, what The Times reporter said does indeed seem correct.

Whether it was the forward line, the full-backs, or the center-backs, Manchester United had far too many flaws within the squad to provide Tang Ye with sufficient support.

rac: It's impossible for Ty to leave Manchester United, because Ten Hag will definitely persuade the player to stay.

Rumors regarding Tang Ye's transfer had been slowly brewing last month, and by mid-April, they finally exploded.

Tang Ye opened Check Dongqiu Di; after the advertisement, the app's homepage appeared.

【A 200 Million Midfielder Leaving? Why Can't Manchester United Build a Powerful Forward Line?】

【Teammates Too Weak to Stay? A Brief Analysis of the Reasons for Tang Ye's Departure?】

【...】

【Barcelona May Join the Race for Tang Ye】

There were six news items on the homepage, five of which concerned transfers.

It certainly looked impressive, but to be honest, Tang Ye did not enjoy this feeling.

He hadn't said a single word, yet reporters and fans had already paved the road ahead for him.

Many fans were almost certain that Manchester United would lose the Manchester Derby and consequently lose the Premier League title.

This made Tang Ye extremely angry.

Because in his view, he and his teammates had already regained their proper form, and defeating Mancheng was not an entirely impossible task.

Because in his view, he and his teammates had already regained their proper form, and defeating Mancheng was not an entirely impossible task.

As the second leg of the Champions League match approached, the Manchester United players arrived in France a day early.

Click-clack! Click-clack!

As soon as they stepped off the bus, fans and reporters near the hotel began snapping photos of the players incessantly.

Since today's match was a do-or-die Champions League game for Manchester United, it naturally could not avoid attracting the attention of fans.

"Do you feel you've been worn down by the congested schedule?"

The reporter thrust the microphone toward Ten Hag's mouth, but Ten Hag simply raised his right hand and pushed the microphone away.

He was unwilling to answer that question.

"Tom! Tom, look at me!"

"You're down by one goal and playing away; will you give up tomorrow's match?"

"Uh... no."

Tang Ye stopped to briefly say a few words to the fans: "We are down by one goal, not three; being down by one still leaves a chance to catch up. Moreover, this is a Champions League knockout match; we cannot give up on the knockout stage."

"What about the next match against Mancheng?"

"Hmm, I feel..."

Tang Ye still wanted to express his views on the match, but Rodri walked up from behind and pushed Tang Ye toward the hotel.

Under the current circumstances, topics concerning the Champions League and the league were too sensitive; Rodri signaled Tang Ye not to say too much for now.

"China Media Group! Here is the live broadcast bringing you..."

The second leg match officially kicked off at the Parc des Princes.

Compared to the first leg, both sides had made relatively significant changes.

Playing at home, Paris chose to deploy a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Mbappé, originally a winger, moved directly into the striker position.

Then on Manchester United's side, with Rashford absent, Ten Hag adopted a 4-3-3 formation.

"Both sides have made quite significant changes to their formations..."

The commentator sighed; the pressure on fans both at the stadium and in front of their televisions was exaggeratedly high.

With major changes to both formations and starting lineups, the uncertainty of this match was very strong.

"..."

Paris's team anthem rang out in the stadium; at the start of the match, both sides played quite steadily, and even by the 20th minute, there had been hardly any shots on goal.

At this moment, Ashley Young and Marquinhos clashed, and the conflict between players quickly escalated into a conflict between the teams.

Ashley Young and Marquinhos were each shown a yellow card.

It seemed the conflict had ended after the two yellow cards, but this actually became the catalyst for both sides to accelerate their attacking tempo.

"Di María receives the pass from Verratti."

"Beautiful! That pass from Verratti was truly accurate!"

"Di María is dribbling forward; now it's up to Valencia!"

"Wow!"

To avoid Valencia, Di María knocked the ball, turned, went down the line, and immediately cut inside.

Just as Valencia moved toward Di María, Bernat stepped forward along the sideline nearby.

Slap!

Di María made the pass.

Bernat!

Slap!

He went down the line and crossed, precisely finding Mbappé inside the penalty area.

"Ohh!!!"

The Paris fans stood up, but Mbappé directly volleyed the ball into the stands.

"Ah!!"

Mbappé clutching his head; having wasted such a good opportunity, the French striker was visibly distressed.

"Fuck!"

De Gea cursed outright, signaling the defenders in the penalty area to focus.

Check Dongqiu Di live match report: In the 29th minute, Mbappé cut inside into the penalty area and then blasted his shot wide.

【Mbappé's form isn't great either.】

【Two 200-million-euro players feeding each other mistakes, is that it?】

【Don't be so harsh; at least my GGBond has controlled the tempo. Just say it, isn't Manchester United's attack more frequent than Paris's?】

【Why not sub Mbappé off yet? What is Tuchel doing? Using Cavani as the center forward?】

【Don't sub, don't sub, absolutely don't sub!】

This second-leg match between Paris and Manchester United kicked off at 4 a. m. China time, yet it became the highest-rated broadcast on CCTV-5 for the entire month of April.

After all, this was the second leg; losing meant elimination!

As the clock hit the 34th minute, after some deliberation, Ten Hag made a rather controversial choice: substituting Greenwood for Mata.

"Hmm... Ten Hag must feel Manchester United's impact on the right flank isn't strong enough, so he needs the faster-running Greenwood."

"Yes, after all, Manchester United is currently trailing, and Paris still holds three away goals."

"Come!"

Tang Ye received the cutback from Greenwood and immediately unleashed a long-range shot.

Boom!

The long-range shot carried tremendous power, but Buffon parried it away from extreme range.

(End of Chapter)