Chapter 550: Phase Two Task of the Champions League Three-Consecutive-Win Quest, The Ballon d'Or

Manchester United's remaining schedule for October:

October 27, Norwich vs Manchester United (Premier League Round 10).

October 30, Chelsea vs Manchester United (EFL Cup Round of 16).

"..."

After reviewing the remaining schedule, Tang Ye tossed his phone onto the bed.

The remaining two matches are both away games, and one is against Chelsea, one of the Big Six, so neither is likely to be easy.

But putting that aside for now, Tang Ye focused his attention on the system.

【You have completed Champions League Chain Quest · Phase One】

【You have received Counterattack Points * 2800】

【Champions League Chain Quest enters the next phase】

【Champions League Chain Quest · Phase Two: Three Consecutive Wins in the Champions League Group Stage】

【Current Progress: 0/3】

Compared to the goals and assists quests, achieving three consecutive wins in the group stage placed relatively less pressure on Tang Ye himself, as he didn't need to constantly worry about scoring.

Having become a tycoon once again, Tang Ye's mood gradually relaxed.

【You purchased Hazard's Super Tata Sauce Burger】

AFC Official: The AFC Committee has decided to reduce the punishment for Chinese national team player Tang Ye to a $12,000 fine plus a two-match ban; if the player refuses to pay the fine, the punishment will be changed to a five-match ban.

The AFC is begging for handouts again.

The timing was spot-on; with no national team matches for Tang Ye to participate in for two years after the Asian Cup, the AFC's ban was essentially inconsequential.

You want the AFC to appeal to FIFA and get Tang Ye banned directly in the Premier League?

That's impossible; FIFA isn't full of idiots.

Since most Asian fans already don't side with the AFC, such a move by FIFA would only redirect the anger of European fans toward the AFC.

Simply put, unless the AFC arranged a 20-match ban for Tang Ye, he was effectively invincible.

"442" — Midfield Leap? A Simple Analysis of the Feasibility of Escrivá's Champions League Gambit Against Premier League Teams.

As usual, tactical news rarely attracts much attention from fans, even when it concerns Manchester United's tactics.

However, this article was quite interesting; "442" experts suggested that Premier League teams could learn from Escrivá's midfield leap tactic to sanction Manchester United.

Escrivá's tactic was specifically designed to target Manchester United's €400 million midfield line.

What do you do when your midfield is comprehensively inferior to the opponent's?

Just like in a video game, skip directly over the difficult parts by using cheats; that is the principle behind the midfield leap tactic.

Long balls from the back to the front mean Manchester United's three midfield statistical monsters won't even get a chance to touch the ball.

So what if you're worth €200 million? Even €200 million can't jump into the sky to intercept high balls!

"Manchester Evening News" Editor-in-Chief: With only one month left until the Ballon d'Or selection, I feel Manchester United needs to hurry and build momentum for TY.

"The car accident during the transfer window caused TY to miss two months of Premier League matches, but he still holds a leading position among this year's Ballon d'Or candidates; Manchester United needs to seize the remaining time to give Tang Ye more opportunities to score in the league and the Champions League, and even in cup competitions."

【Suggest moving next year's Champions League knockout stage to November; anyway, Manchester United has already qualified 100%.】

【Feels like it's too late to make up for it now, doesn't it?】

【What's there to fear? Once my GGBond finds his rhythm, isn't a hat-trick of assists easy peasy?】

【China's first Ballon d'Or; I'm ready to witness history, brothers.】

【I favor Messi more. How about this: suggest that journalists who like Cristiano Ronaldo all vote for Tang Ye, so Messi's Ballon d'Or count won't surpass Cristiano Ronaldo's.】

This year's Ballon d'Or race could be said to be packed with elements.

Just as fans in the comments section said, both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo currently have five Ballon d'Or awards each; if Tang Ye officially rises, then Messi's Ballon d'Or count will not surpass Cristiano Ronaldo's, at least not in 2019.

And if Tang Ye competes against Messi, there are conflicts among the capital forces behind them, most notably the conflict between the Premier League group and the La Liga group.

Then there is Adidas.

Currently, among Adidas's football player sponsorship fees, Messi ranks first and Tang Ye ranks second; if Tang Ye defeats Messi to win the award, a series of sub-products Adidas created for Messi would fall into an awkward situation.

Adidas has, of course, also produced products for Tang Ye, such as T-shirts and shorts, but since Tang Ye's rise to fame hasn't lasted as long as Messi's, the quantity of his products is far inferior to Messi's.

Under these circumstances, if Tang Ye wants to defeat Messi, the Chinese consortium behind him must exert its strength.

Wanda and Evergrande—these two enterprises can bring sufficient influence to this Ballon d'Or selection.

This is because a player's international influence is a factor accounting for a large proportion in the Ballon d'Or evaluation!

"Jinri Toutiao" — From October 26 to December 5, highlight reels of Tang Ye's Asian Cup and Premier League goals will be broadcast on rotation in all Wanda Plazas nationwide; if Tang Ye is finally confirmed as the winner, Wanda will launch new promotional videos.

Repost: Fans photographed Evergrande's real estate building in New York, USA, draped with a celebration poster of Tang Ye.

Those who watch football know this is building momentum for Tang Ye's Ballon d'Or, while those who play stocks know Evergrande intends to further expand its American market.

Whether Tang Ye can win the Ballon d'Or is one question; whether Evergrande can use Tang Ye's Ballon d'Or to open up the American and Canadian markets is another question.

But regardless, Evergrande's stock is currently still very worth buying.

Regardless of whether it rises, the possibility of a sharp drop should be small!

"Dongfang Information" — On October 25, Evergrande Taobao stock hit the limit up, while Shandong Luneng Group, after falling 2.4% the previous day, rose by 4.1%.

"Titan Sports" Front Page Headline — With the final 40 days until the 2019 Ballon d'Or, can China's first Ballon d'Or winner emerge in December?

Many things happened in China, many of which Tang Ye himself learned about by scrolling through the news.

But some overly complex matters were beyond his understanding, such as stocks.

According to what fans said in the comments section,

ever since France Football released the Ballon d'Or nominee list, Evergrande Taobao's stock has been like a roller coaster, hitting the upper limit one day and the lower limit the next.

As the first football club stock in Asian history, Evergrande Taobao's total assets amount to only 1.2 billion, making it far too susceptible to the hype surrounding the Ballon d'Or.

The moment someone mentioned Tang Ye winning the Ballon d'Or, Evergrande Taobao's stock surged by 5%; the second someone mentioned Messi winning it, the stock that had just risen immediately fell back down.

This was precisely what puzzled Tang Ye, for no matter how long he thought, he could not understand the relationship between himself and Evergrande Taobao.

Was it because of the Evergrande Football School?

Setting that aside for now, just as Tang Ye was zoning out, Bo'er called him.

"This, oh oh..."

Beep!

"What's wrong?"

Dembélé, who was eating on the other end, suddenly asked, while Tang Ye placed his hand on the table, looking somewhat innocent: "I don't know; my agent told me not to use Ronaldo's celebration move anymore."

"Haha, what happened?"

"I don't know either; actually, I think the 'siu' is quite fun, it's just a bit hard on the knees; it's too high, and the knees might hurt when landing on the grass."

The 'siu' might cause knee pain, but this was clearly not the reason Bo'er forbade Tang Ye from doing the 'siu'.

In previous seasons, Tang Ye's 'siu' was a sign of respect for the club's seniors, but now he could no longer perform this move.

Ever since the 2018 Ballon d'Or results were announced, Tang Ye and senior C. Ronaldo had become outright competitors.

Because Tang Ye did not perform the 'siu' frequently, having only done it a few times so far, Bo'er had never mentioned it before.

But this time, Bo'er had to give a reminder.

There is still a little over one month left until the Ballon d'Or rankings are finalized; don't go campaigning for someone else!

"Gooo——aaaa——lllll!!!"

"Beautiful, Dembélé!"

"This is Dembélé's third goal in the Premier League this season, and the assist once again came from Tang Ye!"

"2:0!"

Dembélé pointed his right finger toward the stands to celebrate.

After this goal, Manchester United extended their lead, and at the same time, the fans saw Dembélé's rapidly rising form.

"Hmm, although his finishing still has issues, I feel that if he continues playing like this, Manchester United's number one striker will no longer be Rashford..."

"Yes, Dembélé's dribbling ability, even placed in the Premier League, is among the very best"; in the last three matches, Dembélé's dribbling efficiency had already surpassed that of last season's Chelsea king, Eden Hazard!

Bang!

Dembélé collided with Wan-Bissaka, while Tang Ye pumped his fist toward the stands.

The 38th minute of the first half!

"Go left!"

Tang Ye instructed Rashford to make a run, while he himself prepared to provide support.

The ball is coming!

Pretending to adjust his body position, just as the ball arrived, Tang Ye suddenly tucked his left foot behind his right.

Slap!

A rainbow flick was executed.

"Wow!"

The ball soared into the air, targeting Alex on the left wing!

"Duck!"

?

Alex was startled and quickly crouched down as Tang Ye had instructed.

The ball flew over Alex's head and reached Rashford.

He lifted his foot to shoot.

Slap!

Goal!

Easy!

3:0!

【Assist brace achieved; you have gained an extra 20 Counterattack Points】

Norwich's defense was not particularly strong to begin with, and now facing an extreme attacking team like Manchester United, they could be described as utterly helpless.

"United! United..."

Time quickly moved to halftime, and Ten Hag made some adjustments for the situation ahead.

A three-goal lead was substantial, but considering the upcoming Ballon d'Or selection, the Manchester United manager chose to keep Tang Ye on the field.

"You've recovered quite quickly; just continue playing for now."

Ten Hag looked at Tang Ye.

"Ah... I've recovered quickly... oh, it's fine, no problem."

Influenced by his own fixed mindset, the truth was that Tang Ye was actually quite diligent right now.

If there's playing to be done, then just play; what necessity is there to go down and rest?

"Let's go."

Rashford and Tang Ye bumped fists.

Whether Tang Ye would be substituted, he didn't know; all he knew was that he himself would be coming off to rest in the second half.

In a few days, they still had to play against Chelsea!

The second half of the match began.

Fans thought Norwich would launch a counterattack after falling behind by three goals, but instead, the home team played even more timidly once the second half started.

This was because the Norwich coaching staff had already discussed everything during halftime; they had never even considered the possibility of catching up to Manchester United from a three-goal deficit.

"Yes, I think this choice is quite smart; under conditions of a significant strength gap, one should minimize the goal difference as much as possible."

"Actually, we can look at..."

Near the center circle, De Jong delivered a through pass to Haller.

The pass was extremely accurate; after receiving the ball, Haller ran straight toward the opponent's goal.

Unfortunately, the Manchester United striker's speed was insufficient to create a one-on-one opportunity.

Pass back to Ziyech on the left!

Ziyech controlled the ball as Luke Shaw sprinted up from behind him.

Get ready!

First shaking off the defender, Ziyech then delivered a through pass.

It landed right at Luke Shaw's feet!

Snap!

A very decisive high inverted triangle cross, with Luke Shaw aiming directly at Tang Ye.

Tang Ye controlled the ball with his chest and flicked it to De Jong!

De Jong then pushed the ball back in front of Tang Ye!

Oof!

Boom!

Tang Ye unleashed a long-range shot, but it was blocked by a defender using his body.

After gaining possession, Haller passed the ball back again.

At this moment, Tang Ye played it back into the penalty area.

The target was... De Jong!

De Jong, who had just been beside Tang Ye, had now maneuvered his way into the penalty box!

Snap!

Goal! It's De Jong!

4:0!

"Beep beep beep beep!!!"

The stands were filled with boos from the home team's fans.

In today's match, Norwich could be said to have been completely blown apart.

"Wow!"

Tang Ye ran out to celebrate together with his teammates.

Dongqiu Di Match Report: Manchester United swept Norwich 4:0 away to maintain first place in the league; Tang Ye, in his third match since returning, received a 10.0 rating, marking the birth of the first assist hat-trick in the Premier League this season.

Currently, Tang Ye's statistics stand at 1 goal and 5 assists; for Tang Ye, these numbers over two matches are considered quite normal.

Nevertheless, some meticulous fans opened up the current Premier League assist leaderboard to take a look.

"Having only played two league matches since his return, TY is already number one on the Premier League assist table; it's hard to imagine that such a player actually exists," commented Jensen from Sky Sports.

Although Tang Ye's current position at the top of the assist table is shared jointly with Mané and Vardy.

But you must know one thing: Tang Ye has played only 2 Premier League matches this season...

Betway: After defeating Norwich, TY's odds for becoming the 2019-20 Premier League assist king officially rose to first place.

So far, a total of 10 rounds of Premier League matches have been played; among them, Manchester United has achieved 9 wins and 1 draw, accumulating 28 points, which can be said to be just as fierce as last season.

Click-clack! Click-clack!

Facing the reporters, Ten Hag uttered that famous quote that shocked the entire press conference room.

"I think we have already locked in the Premier League title for this season."

"Wow!"

Reporters in the press room cheered loudly, while Ten Hag had not yet finished speaking: "Last season we won the Premier League title, and this season we will win the Premier League title as well, because there is a connection between the two."

"But you previously said that no team can dominate the Premier League forever!"

A reporter reminded him, seemingly intending to deliberately challenge Ten Hag.

"Yes, of course, I know I said those words, and I am convinced that statement is correct."

Ten Hag gripped the microphone cable.

"But Manchester United is not bound by this rule."

"Wow!!!!"

Click-clack! Click-clack!

Click-clack-click-clack-click-clack!

Xinhua News Agency, early morning October 28, by reporters Wang Hongyuan and Liu Ming: The contract between Mengniu and Argentine star Messi extends until 2021; therefore, the Mengniu Group stated it would not remove the Messi advertisements placed in subway stations and shopping malls due to the Ballon d'Or selection.

The ratio of advertisements featuring Messi to those featuring Tang Ye is maintained at 1:1; experience has shown that this maximizes milk sales for the Mengniu Group. If the advertisements were removed, Mengniu would face inevitable losses in sales revenue, unless Tang Ye is confirmed to win the 2019 European Ballon d'Or.

Xinhua News Agency, noon October 28: Senior executives of Mengniu were summoned for a talk by the State General Administration of Sport, with representatives from the Chinese Football Association and the Sports Bureau's Sports Power Nation Planning Committee in attendance.

……

(End of Chapter)