Chapter 544: Dembélé's Debut Goal for Manchester United; Manchester United Charges Toward Premier League Victory

"Beep beep beep!"

As soon as Dembélé received the ball, boos erupted from the stands.

So he needed to stay calm now...

Accelerating before Robertson could turn, Dembélé successfully shook off his defender.

Moving toward the center of the penalty area!

Dembélé looked up, preparing to pass back to Rashford, who was making a supporting run.

But Rashford's position was marked!

"Shoot directly!"

Tang Ye's shout came from behind.

Dembélé moved further toward the center.

Van Dijk was coming out!

Dembélé now had to make a choice quickly.

Before Van Dijk could reach him, Dembélé lifted his left leg.

Crack!

A curled shot was delivered; the ball flew past Van Dijk's waist and finally entered the net beside the left post.

"Goooo——aaaa——lllll!!!!"

"Goal!"

"Goal, Dembélé!"

"1:0! Manchester United leads!"

Confirming the goal, Dembélé quickly ran toward the lower section of the stands.

【You have obtained 10 Counterattack Points】

The long-unheard voice rang out; Tang Ye ran toward Dembélé together with his teammates.

"Wow!!!"

Fans are very realistic; just moments ago they were booing Dembélé, but now there was nothing but cheering.

Because of Dembélé's curled shot, Manchester United was now leading!

"Osmane..."

"Dembélé!!!"

"Wow!"

Tang Ye took a running start, jumped, and hung directly onto Dembélé's waist: "Fuck, Osmane!!!"

Tang Ye kissed Dembélé on the head.

"Mm, this is Dembélé's first goal for Manchester United, his debut goal!"

"Yes, and this was a display of pure individual ability; the shooting choice and angle were flawless."

【Tang Ye!】

【The Ball King returns!】

【Dembélé is decent, but Rashford could have scored this too; it's just a matter of left foot versus right foot.】

【Laughing to death; before the match, Brother Tang Zhengxiong said on his Douyin livestream that Tang Ye's debut would be a disaster.】

【Is this the Premier League's top assister from two seasons ago?】

Although Dembélé scored, the fans chose to focus their attention on Tang Ye, who provided the assist.

This was the Premier League's top assister from two seasons ago, securing an assist directly in the Red Devils derby.

As for why the Premier League's top assister from two seasons ago has only one assist this season...

Don't ask about that just yet.

"Wow, beautiful!"

The Manchester United players gathered to celebrate; Tang Ye rubbed his hands: "I feel like we're going to win."

"Haha."

Beep!!!!

The match continues!

"Tang Ye!"

"Tang Ye!"

The fans in the stands were still shouting, while Ten Hag stood in place, wearing a smile.

A familiar feeling.

A familiar Tom!

Manchester United had regained their form from last season!

The 34th minute!

Thanks to Dembélé's earlier curled shot, Manchester United now led Liwupu 1:0, causing Liwupu's momentum on the field to dip slightly over the past few minutes.

This was also the first time this season that Liwupu had been suppressed in the league!

Boom!

Tang Ye completed a tackle to steal the ball from Fabinho.

Hehe!

"Go, go, go!"

Rodri immediately came up to take the ball, simultaneously signaling for Tang Ye to make a forward run.

Waiting for Tang Ye to break free from the defender's control...

Uh, it seems he can't break free.

Unsure about passing the ball to Tang Ye immediately, Rodri chose a more conservative approach.

Slowly reducing speed, waiting for De Jong to run ahead of him.

Passing the ball to De Jong.

Facing the press, De Jong dragged the ball back, adjusting his body posture to shield it.

Boom!

A grounded pass shot out, aiming straight for Tang Ye.

Taking a look, Tang Ye and Wijnaldum ran forward together.

Wijnaldum placed his hand on Tang Ye's shoulder, and Tang Ye instantly jumped up in response.

Boom!

【Ronaldo's Heel Flick】!

To Rashford waiting behind!

Rashford surged down the flank!

Rashford's form had been excellent since the start of the new season, and this sprint was perfectly timed.

Near the byline!

A very classic Rashford versus Alexander-Arnold duel.

Dragging the ball plus a feint, then cutting inside, Rashford's combination of moves knocked Alexander-Arnold straight to the ground.

Boom!

To Haller!

Haller stopped the ball with his foot, withstand the pressure from Fan Daike behind him, and passed it back to Wan-Bissaka coming up from behind.

Wan-Bissaka accelerated toward the byline!

Cutting inside!

"Behind you!"

Shouting loudly to signal Wan-Bissaka not to continue running forward, the Manchester United defender finally took Tang Ye's advice.

Passing back to Dembélé!

Cutting inside!

Arriving near the arc of the penalty area, Dembélé suddenly stopped the ball abruptly.

"Here!"

Tang Ye moved up to receive the ball, accelerating straight into the penalty box.

Fan Daike reached out to pull, but Tang Ye dodged him.

Slap!

To Haller!

Haller adjusted slightly, then passed to Rashford.

Rashford shoots!

Also aiming for the far post, but Rashford chose a grounded drive.

Goal!

2:0!

"Wow!!!"

In just twenty minutes, Manchester United had breached the Liwupu goal twice in a row!

"Oh my god, Rashford!"

The camera focused on Rashford and Dembélé celebrating together.

Just as the commentators had said before the season started, the difference between a single-point breakthrough and a double-point breakthrough was night and day.

With two fast wingers, it was extremely difficult for the opponent to deal with them!

"Vamos!"

Rodri and Dembélé shouted together.

"United!"

Boom boom!

"United is back! (Manchester United is back!)"

Boom boom boom!

Leading by two goals, the atmosphere in the stadium reached a climax.

"Don't let him in!"

Alisson shouted at Fan Daike; the Dutchman had bitterness he couldn't express, so he could only turn to Matip, also a center-back: "I got beaten, you go up!"

"How was I supposed to know you'd get beaten? He passed it directly!"

Matip shot back: "Don't rush out! Why did you go out?"

"If I didn't go out, they would have shot immediately!"

It was clear that the Liwupu defenders were now somewhat disorganized.

Undefeated so far this season, only to suddenly concede two consecutive goals; even Liwupu couldn't withstand that.

"Fuck..."

Klopp adjusted his cap; at this moment, he could barely stay standing.

At this moment, all Liwupu can do is hope for halftime to arrive quickly, giving the team a chance to adjust; otherwise, at this rate, United's third goal will probably come soon.

"We have to attack down the left."

Taking advantage of the celebration gathering everyone together, Tang Ye gave his analysis of the first few dozen minutes of the match: "Target Alexander, that's number 66."

Glancing at Alexander at the far end communicating with his teammates, Tang Ye made hand gestures: "Marcus, you don't need to stand so far forward; you can get past him, there's no need to charge."

Based on the situation on the field, Tang Ye slightly adjusted the positioning of United's attacking players.

It mainly concerned the two breakthrough points, Rashford and Dembélé.

Pulling Rashford's position back and pushing Dembélé forward would make attacking much more comfortable.

The match continues!

After falling two goals behind, Liwupu played much more conservatively, clearly intending to drag out the time until halftime.

United had the same idea on their side, with Tang Ye slowing down the tempo.

No one was in a hurry.

"I think Liwupu could replace defense with attack, using the same approach as United."

"Because as we can see, whenever Tang Ye or Rodri pass the ball, Liwupu's defenders have to run everywhere; you certainly can't outrun the ball." "This style of play by the away team consumes too much stamina..."

"Hey, beautiful, Alexander!"

Alexander delivered a cross.

Boom!

Firmino headed the ball back to Salah.

Salah drove down the baseline!

As United's defensive line contracted, Salah suddenly played a cutback.

Fabinho!

Boom!

The shot was taken, but De Gea blocked it with a seated save.

This was Firmino's chance!

Snap!

A follow-up shot from the Liwupu striker.

Goal!

2:1!

"Wooo!!!"

"Beep beep beep beep!"

Check Dongqiu Di halftime report: In the Red Devils derby, United leads Liwupu 2:1 at home; Tang Ye returns to secure his first assist of the season, while Dembélé scores his first goal for United.

"That third goal was such a waste, damn it."

Wiping the sweat from his face with his jersey, Tang Ye walked toward the locker room alongside Rodri.

"You should have come back to mark Fabinho," Rodri said.

"Mainly, I didn't expect him to drop back to receive the ball."

"Forget it."

Tang Ye's mindset was relatively good.

Of course, he wanted to perform as well as possible in his first match back.

But in a clash of titans like the Red Devils derby plus a top-of-the-table showdown, achieving perfection was simply too difficult.

Dembélé caught up from behind, and Tang Ye placed his hand on the Frenchman's shoulder: "Congratulations, Ousmane; this first goal is just the beginning."

"Hmm, you even know that?"

Dembélé paused for a moment, because Tang Ye didn't seem like the type of guy who would research such things.

"Because Rodri just told him."

Luke Shaw provided the answer.

"Haha, well, Tom, congratulations on your first assist of the new season."

"Hey, that's not necessary."

Tang Ye spread his hands: "No, Ousmane, do you think I'm weak? I assist casually; I'm going to assist again in the second half."

Dembélé punched Tang Ye's chest with his fist: "I know, I also score goals casually."

After speaking, Dembélé burst into laughter and walked ahead, leaving Tang Ye and Rodri behind watching his back.

"Stop showing off, Ousmane!"

Tang Ye felt somewhat helpless.

"Can't be showing off..."

Not knowing whether he or Dembélé had won their earlier exchange, Tang Ye had no intention of continuing to dwell on it.

Dembélé had successfully regained a little confidence, and King GG knew he deserved part of the credit.

Of course, King GG would not go around boasting about his achievements.

Tang Ye shifted his gaze to the armband on his left arm.

This is what a respectable captain Mr. should do!

"Their full-backs will push up, and their full-backs possess strong attacking abilities; both Robertson and Alexander are like that."

Ten Hag pushed the magnetic flags representing Liwupu's two full-backs forward: "So if their full-backs come up, we need to push them back."

"If they push forward to attack, it means their defensive line has moved up, so we can hit them with counterattacks down the wings."

Ten Hag emphasized several points regarding the tactical adjustments to the players.

Liwupu's full-backs love making overlapping runs; this has been a hallmark of many top-tier teams in recent years.

In previous seasons, Manchester United suffered greatly against this overlapping full-back tactic, but this season is different.

With Rashford and Dembélé as wingers possessing blistering pace, Manchester United can launch counterattacks down either flank.

As for how to execute these counterattacks?

That is far too simple.

Manchester United would never encounter such a problem.

"That Robertson keeps cutting inside."

Just as Ten Hag mentioned Robertson, Tang Ye interjected: "You need to force that Robertson back; otherwise, when we push forward on the counter, I won't be able to receive the ball."

"There's no avoiding that, Tom; if Robertson doesn't come inside, someone else will."

Ten Hag shook his head: "They are specifically targeting you."

"Alright then."

Tang Ye calmed his mindset and his brain began racing rapidly.

He needed to devise a maneuver.

A maneuver that would utterly embarrass Robertson!

"OK, let's go, let's go!"

Ten Hag signaled for the players to get pumped up: "If we win this match, we'll be in first place; there is absolutely no reason to lose, so everyone snap to attention!"

"We've already won easily."

Tang Ye murmured, sounding like he wanted to pop the champagne at halftime, but he was quickly restrained by Rodri: "Be cautious, Tom, be cautious!"

"Cautious!"

Tang Ye shouted, then immediately pulled Dembélé into a hug: "I'll carry you in the second half, Ousmane."

"I'll throw a smoke screen for you."

"Huh?"

Tang Ye hesitated for a moment before finally realizing what was meant.

"Hahaha!"

"Welcome back, dear viewers; this is the second half of the 9th round Premier League clash between the two Reds..."

"In the first half, Manchester United..."

As soon as the match resumed, the director cut to Tang Ye, with his first-half statistics displayed on the left side of the screen.

Technology is advancing; by the 2019-20 season, there were hardly any stats that could evade machine analysis.

"Tang Ye's performance in this match has been decent, but comparing it to last season's data, one can see he hasn't quite found his form yet."

"Indeed, which is why I mentioned at halftime that Manchester United needs to play more steadily in the second half, because you need to focus your energy on dealing with Liwupu's counterattacks."

It is true that Tang Ye's form isn't as good as last season's.

But if you analyze it carefully.

Actually, Salah isn't in particularly great form today either; one could say Manchester United and Liwupu are in similar situations.

"We will never die... (We will never vanish.)"

The Manchester United fans began singing a song specifically targeted at Liwupu, while at that moment Tang Ye and Robertson were locked in a struggle again.

The two weren't fighting; they were just constantly jostling each other with their bodies.

Probably only they themselves knew what they were actually doing.

The 56th minute!

A corner kick opportunity for Liwupu!

Alexander-Arnold gets ready...

Crack!

The corner is taken, and De Ligt heads away the first ball.

Fabinho!

Fabinho wants to shoot from distance again, but this time Tang Ye catches him.

Boom!

Fabinho's shot strikes Tang Ye's body.

Tang Ye prepares to clear the ball, but Wijnaldum charges in.

He takes control of the ball.

Boom!

A through-pass is played, pushing the ball into the penalty area.

Salah is tripped by Wan-Bissaka!

But before hitting the ground, Salah plays the ball out.

The one receiving the ball is Origi.

Advantage Liwupu!

Crack!

Origi takes the shot.

"Goal!"

"A goal for Liwupu!"

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with this goal."

"And not only is there nothing wrong with it, if Origi hadn't scored, it should have been a penalty for Liwupu!"

As a Liwupu fan, Zhan Jun's tone revealed his current excitement.

2:2.

Liwupu equalizes!

"Hiss..."

Taking a deep breath, Tang Ye then spat a mouthful of saliva onto the grass.

Damn it.

If I'd known I couldn't hold onto the ball, I wouldn't have blocked Fabinho's shot!

"Shit!"

Rodri's voice came from beside him.

With their first-half advantage erased by the opponent at this moment, no Manchester United player would be happy right now.

You might think this is just the difference between three points and one.

But it's actually not that simple.

Winning this match would make Manchester United first in the Premier League.

But a draw won't do!

(End of Chapter)