Chapter 537: FA Cup Champions! Manchester United's New Season Plan, Intercepted

"Damn, what the hell!"

"How could a shot like that be saved!"

Tang Ye fired a shot from inside the penalty area so stealthily it seemed supernatural, yet Ederson blocked it with his foot.

This made Wang Chao, who was providing commentary, extremely angry.

"That's a pure false alarm, brothers; how could anyone block a shot like that?"

It was now the 30th minute of the first half, and the score remained 0:0.

Neither side was faring well; Mancheng had failed to achieve their desired possession rate, while Manchester United had not launched the counterattacks they should have.

"Damn!"

Tang Ye rolled up his jersey to wipe the rain from his face.

Heavy rain had fallen in London at the start of the match, but by now it had turned into a light drizzle.

To be honest, it felt somewhat uncomfortable.

But upon careful analysis, this rain actually benefited Manchester United, who were not skilled at maintaining possession.

As long as Mancheng made mistakes in their passing and control, Manchester United would have opportunities to launch counterattacks!

"Don't rush, don't rush just yet!"

Noticing that the forwards were playing too aggressively, Valencia issued a reminder.

This month, Manchester United had played against Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City.

Of course, relegation-battling teams could be dominated easily, but today Manchester United was not facing some relegation-battling team.

This was Mancheng!

Using the mindset for playing against relegation battlers against Mancheng wasn't that just purely handing them opportunities?

"Don't rush! Take it step by step!"

Valencia ran over to Tang Ye's side and whispered, "Let's attack down the right."

Time reached the 34th minute of the first half!

Mancheng still held possession!

"Mahrez to Jesus!"

"Rodri, hey! Rodri, press him!"

"Rodri, what kind of pressing is that? Get up there!"

"Oh? Letting Smalling handle it? That works too!"

Manchester United had Smalling come out of the penalty area to make this defensive play.

Of course, Smalling was far too sluggish; Jesus used a few feints to shake off the Manchester United center-back.

Jesus passed back to Gundogan!

Gundogan fed Sterling!

It was a through ball; after receiving it, Sterling was already at Manchester United's goal line.

It was still the same familiar Mancheng; even with water on the pitch, their passing and coordination remained excellent!

"Don't give Sterling a chance!"

"Get him, get him!"

"Holy crap!"

Sterling combined a feint with acceleration to breeze past Valencia.

Valencia tried to foul and pull Sterling down, but Sterling dodged him directly.

This guy was just as slippery as Tang Ye; impossible to grab hold of!

Passed back to Silva!

Clap clap!

A one-two with Sterling successfully brought them into the penalty area.

"Wow!!!"

The Mancheng fans were currently in anticipation of their first goal.

Thwack!

Sterling fired a low shot.

The ball slipped between De Gea's arm and thigh, finally finding the back of the net.

"Gooo——aaaa——lllll!!!"

Goal!

A breakthrough goal from Sterling!

"Woww!!!!"

Amidst the cheers of the home crowd, Sterling ran out to celebrate.

"Damn it."

"If they score first like this, then how will we..."

"Eh!"

Wang Chao had already begun formulating a comeback plan for Manchester United, but suddenly the situation on the pitch changed.

The Mancheng players abruptly stopped celebrating because they noticed the referee had not pointed to the center circle.

As long as the referee did not point to the center circle and blow the whistle, it meant this Mancheng goal was invalid.

"Hey!"

Players from both sides gathered to argue with the referee, while the big screen displayed the replay.

As Sterling burst into the penalty area, Jesus also arrived inside the box and used his hand to knock down Bailly, who was preparing to intercept Sterling.

This was the reason the referee disallowed Mancheng's goal.

They committed a foul during their attack!

"VAR! VAR!"

Kong Pani shouted loudly, signaling the referee to review the VAR.

"Stop shouting, brother."

Tang Ye placed his hand on Kong Pani's shoulder, but the latter shoved Tang Ye away: "Get away!"

"Sigh, no, wait..."

Tang Ye spread his hands, looking somewhat innocent, then quickly explained: "There's no VAR in the FA Cup, brother; I wasn't messing with you."

"..."

Kong Pani felt somewhat awkward, rubbed his nose, and then walked away.

Without graduation, once a referee makes a decision, it cannot be changed; thus, Mancheng naturally lost this goal.

"Fuck!"

"Fuck you, what kind of referee is this???"

"Booooo!!!!"

There is no need to elaborate on how important the first goal was to Mancheng; the fans were now extremely angry, feeling only that Man United had bribed the referee.

This was truly too unjust!

During the Asian Cup final, Ggbond indeed bribed the referee with five dollars, but today Ggbond had no money.

Check Dongqiu Di halftime report: Sterling's goal disallowed; first half ends in a 0:0 draw between Man United and Mancheng.

【Even this goal gets disallowed; this referee is truly invincible.】

【If this goal isn't disallowed, then what goal would be? The person above must be a Mancheng fan; as a Man United fan, I say this goal should definitely be disallowed.】

【Can the rain get any heavier? Let the opposition see my Master's ability in rainy matches!】

【Feels weaker than during the league season; maybe everyone just wants a holiday.】

【This isn't weak; it's just that no goals were scored. Which Premier League matches this season have been more exciting than this one?】

Mancheng fans were anticipating their first trophy of the season; the FA Cup championship represented a title to restore Mancheng's honor.

Man United fans, meanwhile, were anticipating their second trophy.

Everyone says Man United has revived; since Man United has revived, how could they possibly lose to Mancheng?

A revived Man United should be the king of the Premier League!

"Damn, that... scared the hell out of me, damn it."

Tang Ye sat in his seat, using a Mao Jin to wipe the rainwater off his body.

The Man United players were now under immense pressure.

"Do you want a holiday? Is that what you want?"

Ten Hag was somewhat angry: "If that goal in the first half hadn't been disallowed, we would be trailing right now; should we be trailing?"

"Actually, you all saw that Mancheng didn't play very well; we should have been suppressing them, but in the first half we failed to suppress them; that is our problem."

Ten Hag was extremely dissatisfied with the team's overall performance in the first half.

In the plan, Man United was supposed to score in the first half.

But the actual situation deviated slightly from the plan.

"I know you are under great pressure right now, but will pressure affect your state?"

"No."

Tang Ye jumped in to answer; he knew he should agree with the head coach at this moment.

"No my ass!"

"Of course it will!"

"Oh, oh, my mistake."

Having failed to grasp He De Xiang Fa, Tang Ye felt somewhat embarrassed and quickly apologized.

"Pressure naturally affects match performance; I am certain of this because I have seen it, but you must know I also saw something else: Mancheng—they were also affected by pressure, and their pressure is even greater than ours."

"Because they have no trophies, not a single one! They will be affected even more; this is our opportunity, but the performance you put forth does not look like you intend to seize this opportunity."

Ten Hag pointed at the locker room door: "You can imagine it; imagine Guardiola scolding the Mancheng players; Guardiola is definitely scolding them much harder than I am right now."

Ten Hag criticized every player in the locker room from various angles before finally beginning tactical adjustments.

Time moved into the second half.

After halftime, Tang Ye had an additional task: to specifically target Bernardo Silva.

"..."

"Oh, here comes Tang Ye!"

"Without Rashford, Tang Ye drives down the left flank himself!"

"Oh, oh, oh! Very fast speed!"

"Brothers, if I were a Mancheng player, I would be under maximum pressure right now!"

"Cross it in!"

"Damn, a feint!"

Pretending to cross to shake off Kyle Walker, Tang Ye immediately cut inside instead.

Running toward the center, De Jong happened to be rushing up from behind.

Tang Ye and De Rong exchanged a glance; both knew what the other intended to do.

Bang!

A through pass was pushed forward, and De Rong got ready.

Bang!

A long-range shot was struck, hitting Ederson's hands.

It rebounded out!

Haller!

Smack!

"Goal!"

"Haller!"

"Brothers, this is exactly what I said before!"

"Man United takes the lead!"

"Awesome!"

"Brothers, I've already calculated that in this match, Man United will win by at least two goals against Mancheng."

The Man United players ran out to celebrate.

"United!"

"United!"

The Man United fans shouted incessantly.

For the fans, regardless of the win or loss in the FA Cup final, Man United's season had already been perfect in every aspect.

They carried no burden.

Just go for it!

"Glory Glory Man United!"

"Glory Glory Man United!"

"..."

Check Dongqiu Di live match report: Tang Ye scores from a penalty kick, 3:3 in the 117th minute, Man United equalizes at the death.

"Tang Ye!!!! (voice cracked)"

"Brothers, this is the strength of Man United's number one penalty taker!"

"Phew..."

Wang Chao let out a huge sigh of relief.

When Mancheng chased back three goals, he had thought Man United was done for in this match.

Now it seemed those worries were completely unnecessary.

Man United played too relaxed; it took falling behind by three goals to fully ignite the players' fighting spirit.

Tang Ye sprinted out at his fastest speed, sliding on his knees across the Wembley Stadium turf.

Swish swish swish!

It was still the familiar three stripes; after the knee slide, he jumped up again.

"Woohoo!!!"

In the camera shot, Guardiola placed his hand on his bald head.

He was truly having a headache now.

Because of a defensive error by Laporte, Mancheng would have to face an additional penalty shootout against their opponents.

And Mancheng might very well lose to Man United because of this penalty shootout.

But now Guardiola could not criticize the players; all he could do was encourage them.

"Mancheng is making substitutions now, preparing for the penalty shootout."

"To be honest, brothers, I feel Mancheng's substitution is a bit slow; they should have substituted earlier, but this is fine too—it's purely handing Man United an opportunity." The match entered the penalty shootout.

Ten Hag was arranging the order for the players to take their kicks.

"Tom, you're first."

"OK."

Tang Ye was drinking water and took a moment to answer Ten Hag.

Having just scored a penalty in extra time, his form was now at its peak.

The number one penalty taker should be the first to step up and kick!

"We choose to kick first."

Tang Ye said to Valencia, meaning that if they won the coin toss, Man United would take the first kick.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Haha, alright."

The plan had been to choose the goal, since today was a neutral venue and the goal position would still be quite important.

But since Tang Ye had said he wanted to kick first, then they would kick first.

"OK..."

"Man United won the coin toss, but they gave up choosing the goal, letting Mancheng go first..."

"Damn, brothers! Man United kicks first!"

Tang Ye hugged the ball and walked toward the goal, exchanging greetings with Ederson along the way.

Seeing Tang Ye's relaxed expression, Edson felt a bad premonition.

"Tom!"

Bang bang!

"Tom Tom!"

Bang bang bang!

The cheers were loud; Tang Ye arrived below the Mancheng stands.

No rush to wait for Edson first; while waiting, he juggled the ball to get a feel for his footing.

"Beep!"

"Coming, brothers!"

"Phew..."

Tang Ye began his run-up, tracing a small arc.

Bang!

A pushed shot aimed straight at the left post.

Duang!

It struck the post, rebounded, and went into the goal.

"Wow!"

Tang Ye held up a "1".

Manchester United takes the lead!

Then it was Mancheng's turn; the first to step up was Fernandinho...

"Rodri!"

"Goal!"

"5:3!"

"Manchester United made all five shots!"

"FA Cup champions!"

After Rodri scored the penalty, the stadium instantly erupted.

Because this successful goal also meant Manchester United had won the penalty shootout.

They were the victors of this FA Cup final!

"Roar—!!!!"

Bang!

Tang Ye and Rodri roared at each other, then the two collided directly.

【Mission Objective: Win as many championships as possible in 2019】

【Mission Progress: 3】

"Wow!!"

The Manchester United players on the bench rushed out and embraced the players on the field.

"Come on!"

Tang Ye moved behind Ten Hag, preparing to lift up his respected Mr. Eric.

But he failed; Tang Ye alone could not lift Ten Hag.

"Damn it."

"Seba! Help me, help me!"

The teammates all came over, and then it became easy.

"Hey hey hey!"

Ten Hag pretended to resist but actually enjoyed it.

Toss him up!

"Ten Hag!"

"Ten Hag!"

"Eric Ten Hag!"

"..."

Clap clap clap clap!

Clap clap clap clap!

Amid the applause of the Mancheng players, the Manchester United players stepped onto the red carpet and received their championship medals from the FA officials.

And, of course, the championship trophy!

That was the most important thing!

"Wow wow wow wow~~~"

"United!"

Bang!

Bang bang bang!

Golden fireworks exploded as Valencia and Ashley Young lifted the trophy together.

【2018-19 Season England FA Cup Champion】

【Manchester United】

"Wow!!!"

Allardyce tossed the trophy out, then handed it to Tang Ye.

"Hoo..."

He lifted it high with a sudden burst of strength!

"Wow!!!"

Haha!

After every player had held the trophy, Rodri hoisted it onto his shoulder and walked toward the lower stands alongside Tang Ye.

Ten Hag, meanwhile, made his way to the area beneath the main podium.

In the stands sat Joel Glazer and Avram Glazer of the Glazer family.

Ten Hag looked into Joel Glazer's eyes and raised both hands high.

At this moment, the team's celebration was not yet over.

"Come!"

Tang Ye took the medal from around his neck.

He threw it forward with his hand!

Crack!

With a precise volley kick, he sent the medal flying straight to Tang Tang Zhengxiong in the stands.

"Fuck..."

Rodri took a deep breath.

"Give it back to me, Rod."

Tang Ye snatched the trophy from Rodri's hands.

He grabbed it and ran!

"Hey!"

"Haha, Rod, I'm slipping away first!"

"Sigh..."

Rodri didn't chase; he simply stood where he was, watching Tang Ye run farther away with a benevolent smile.

One year at Villarreal, two years at Manchester United—Rodri had witnessed the rise of a super midfielder all along.

He had learned much from the master.

But...

Master, when will you finally become more steady!

Ten Hag's end-of-season address: Manchester United is walking on the right path; I believe the future Manchester United will shine even brighter than the past one, because miracles are created by people.

Manchester United Official: Second trophy of the season! The club has won the 2018-19 FA Cup championship.

FA Official: The MVP of the FA Cup Final is Manchester United midfielder Tang Ye.

He didn't receive the FA Cup Player of the Season award, but it didn't matter.

GG Master already has so many individual awards this season; missing one FA Cup MVP makes no difference.

Additionally, besides GG Master, GG's mentor also received his own individual award after the FA Cup concluded.

Erik ten Hag!

This is GG Master's mentor.

He is also this season's dual Best Coach for both the Premier League and the FA Cup!

Ten Hag is a man who keeps his promises.

He suppressed Guardiola and suppressed Klopp.

Just as he said in front of the camera before this season began.

Professional Footballers' Association, 2018-19 Premier League First Team All-Stars (4-3-3):

Goalkeeper: Ederson (Mancheng)

Defenders: Robertson (Liwupu), Laporte (Mancheng), Fan Daike (Liwupu), Alexander-Arnold (Liwupu)

Midfielders: De Jong (Manchester United), Tang Ye (Manchester United), Rodri (Manchester United)

Forwards: Mané (Liwupu), Agüero (Mancheng), Sterling (Mancheng)

Head Coach: Erik ten Hag (Manchester United)

While the PFA Best Team's forward was Sterling, the Premier League Official's Best Team replaced that position with Salah; everything else remained exactly the same.

No matter who selected the Premier League Best Team, the head coach was always the great Ten Hag.

Meanwhile, the midfield remained unchanged, featuring Manchester United's combination of one big brother and two little brothers.

What is the "one big brother and two little brothers" combination?

It's simple: it's just a formation of one older brother and two younger brothers.

"We've got the money."

In the familiar office, Ten Hag delivered the good news.

"Hmm?"

Fan Fan Dejiahe, who had just entered, widened his pupils: "You actually made the Glazers pay up?"

"That's not a problem."

Ten Hag spread his hands: "Everyone knows how long it has been since Manchester United won the Premier League title, and moreover, we won both the Premier League and the FA Cup championships; regardless, they had to pay, because this money was earned by us through our championships."

Unlike his previous communication with Joel Glazer, Ten Hag now adopted a completely different attitude when speaking to Fan Fan Dejiahe.

Ten Hag was celebrating his victory!

With such good news, Fan Fan Dejiahe quickly sat down: "How much are they willing to pay?"

"200 million pounds; I think we can push it higher. It depends on the actual summer transfer window situation. If we time it right, 210 or 220 million should be possible."

Ten Hag smiled broadly.

Getting money from the Glazer family was truly no easy task.

Yet he had indeed managed it!

But...

"If Barcelona won't release Dembélé, there's nothing we can do. We can't spend 150 million on Dembélé alone."

"Eric."

Fan Fan Dejiahe looked up, meeting Ten Hag's eyes: "I have an idea. I started thinking about it last month, but I felt its feasibility was low at the time, so I didn't mention it."

"Hmm?"

Ten Hag raised an eyebrow.

In transfer matters, Ten Hag was always the radical, while Fan Fan Dejiahe was more conservative.

"Are you planning to develop Greenwood...?"

"No. What I mean is, isn't Real Madrid looking to buy Hazard? Let's just snatch him instead. We have the money, after all."

"... How so? Moreover, Hazard plays as a left winger; his position clashes with Marcus's."

"I know, but we can do this."

Fan Fan Dejiahe explained his plan to Ten Hag.

"Hazard isn't a speed-based winger, but he has excellent dribbling. He can create synergistic plays with Tom."

Swish!

Fan Fan Dejiahe pulled a pen from the holder and quickly sketched on Ten Hag's notebook.

"Since we can't buy a target man, let's abandon that idea entirely and switch to a double-striker formation."

Swish swish!

"Marcus and Ziyech/Greenwood on the left and right respectively."

"Behind them, Hazard and Tom."

"We'll play a 4-2-2-2, letting Hazard and Tom handle possession and dribbling. Hazard lacks finishing ability, but Tom has it."

Swish!

Another stroke of the pen.

"Rodri partners with Frenkie to carry the ball from the back line to midfield, then passes to Hazard. Hazard and Tom manage the dribbling and possession; we hardly need to worry about them losing the ball. They push forward until reaching a suitable position, where Hazard feeds Tom. Tom can then shoot from distance or slot it along the bottom line. At that moment, Hazard can also drift wide to assist, joining Marcus and Ziyech."

Fan Fan Dejiahe gestured with his hands.

"Rashford and Hazard break through together on the left flank near the bottom line, with Tom stationed at the top of the arc and Rodri providing cover nearby... Eric, can you imagine how much pressure the opponent would face?"

"..."

Ten Hag stared intently at the notebook on the table, then lifted his gaze to fix it on Fan Fan Dejiahe.

Ten Hag was the radical; Fan Fan Dejiahe was the conservative.

Yet the conservative felt the radical was too conservative.

(End of Chapter)