Chapter 555: Midfield Jumps Disrupt the Premier League Landscape; Ten Hag's Prosperity

"..."

Dortmund's tactics succeeded, allowing them to enter halftime with a 1-2 scoreline.

"Come here, come here."

Pogba had just come off the pitch when Escrivá took him aside, the Spanish manager placing a hand on Pogba's shoulder.

"What I mean is for you to actively participate in defense, not to abandon offense. Understand? Paul."

"A defensive midfielder's duty isn't just defending; even when you defend, you must also join the attack. Only during offense can your abilities truly shine."

Dortmund's French defensive midfielder had been somewhat passive in today's match, which meant Mr. Ferran needed to give him a proper talking-to.

"Focus during the game and do everything you're supposed to do."

As the two walked into the player tunnel together, Pogba wanted to explain why he hadn't pushed forward to join the attack, but Escrivá didn't let him: "We still have hope today, and you are our greatest hope, so I need you to run. Once you've finished defending, you must reach the front field at maximum speed!"

Reaching the locker room door, Pogba turned his head away, biting his lower lip with his upper teeth: "I know, but... Coach, your demands on the midfield seem a bit too high."

"..."

Escrivá fell silent.

Turning his head, he found the team's attacking midfielder, Brandt, also looking at him; Brandt seemed to agree with Pogba's viewpoint as well.

"..."

"It's fine, let's go in first, let's go in first."

"Truly detestable..."

Tang Ye sat on the ground, his back leaning against the bench behind him.

The Manchester United players were extremely dissatisfied with the goal conceded just before halftime, and the Master was one of them.

Although the outcome of this match wasn't that crucial for Manchester United, the players still very much wanted to win.

This wasn't about group stage points, but about momentum.

So-called momentum was exactly what Ten Hag had constantly emphasized to the Manchester United players. In the Dutchman's view, momentum was a critically decisive factor in determining a match's outcome, second in importance only to the team's raw strength.

"We play sports, competitive sports, not sit in a library reading books, so we cannot just stand there thinking; we must shout it out. That is competitive sports." These were Mr. Erik's exact words. Tang Ye rarely remembered any single sentence so clearly, but this one was an exception.

Quickly drink water to adjust your condition; Manchester United made a tactical adjustment.

Being only one goal behind, Dortmund would definitely counterattack in the second half, and Ten Hag's intention was to persist with this approach for now.

They would persist until the 70th minute; regardless of the score at that time, Ten Hag would substitute Tang Ye and De Jong off the field to prepare for the Premier League match the day after tomorrow.

As for how to play the second half, the key lay in handling Dortmund's midfield jumps.

"Alright, welcome back, dear viewers. This is the second half of the Champions League group stage match between Dortmund and Manchester United..."

"..."

"Eh, beautiful! Tang Ye!"

On the wing, a very stylish Cruyff turn; Tang Ye was executing his move.

Although he didn't completely get past his opponent, Tang Ye's movement earned him the passing space he needed.

Slap!

A long pass whipped out, aiming directly at Rashford making a forward run on the left wing.

The camera followed...

Rashford extended his left foot to control the ball while running, didn't think twice, and drove straight toward the baseline with the ball.

"Ahhh!!!"

The Dortmund fans had already stood up; during Rashford's sprint, who knew how many times they had cursed him from the stands.

Approaching the baseline!

Rashford versus Hakimi!

Rashford dribbled forward using the outside of his foot, while Hakimi retreated step by step.

Rashford tapped the ball with his right foot, attempting a nutmeg on Hakimi, but failed.

Hakimi didn't have time to free his foot to clear; the ball hit his leg, rebounded, and returned to Rashford.

The two remained locked in a stalemate for some time, and during that interval, players from both sides were rushing over.

Slap!

Passed back to Ashley Young.

"Here!"

Tang Ye shouted; hearing the call, Ashley Young lofted a long pass over Reus's head, seeking Tang Ye directly.

This was a long-range switch from the Manchester United full-back; Tang Ye successfully gained control of the ball.

A defender stood before him, but Tang Ye's confidence was now maxed out, so without hesitation he dribbled toward the center.

He adjusted, continuously changing his body rhythm.

There was no rapid acceleration, yet Tang Ye, relying solely on rhythm, sent Pogba spinning in circles.

Stopping the ball with his left foot, he added a Messi-style shoulder drop feint.

"Wow!!"

"Beautiful, Tang Ye! Pogba has fallen!"

"Pogba can't foul now because he already has a yellow card!"

"Tang Ye... bypassing Pogba! Moving toward the goal!"

The stadium was so noisy that even fans watching the TV broadcast could hear the on-site sounds quite clearly.

After getting past Pogba and running another ten-plus meters, Tang Ye made his choice.

Slap!

The outside of his right foot flicks the ball up, curling it toward the upper left corner of the goal!

Rashford makes a forward run into the penalty area!

"Get up! Get up!"

Tang Ye's original intention was to pass to Rashford for a header, which is why he lofted the ball so high.

As a result, the Dortmund players focused all their attention on Rashford, and then...

Rashford was indeed marked out of the play, but Tang Ye's long pass dropped straight into the net.

"Goal!!!"

"Goal! Tang Ye!"

"That's a chip shot with the outside of the foot!"

"Oh my god, what a perfect angle!"

The two CCTV commentators were practically exploding with praise for Tang Ye.

The ball speed was so slow, yet it still ended up in the goal.

One can only say that a master is still a master; he can always find scoring routes that others cannot!

"Haha!"

An assist turned into a goal by sheer luck; Tang Ye was undoubtedly the most excited one right now.

"Roar!!!"

【You have obtained 20 Counterattack Points】

This was Tang Ye's second Champions League goal of the season.

Let me tell you a ghost story.

Ggbond is now averaging a goal per game.

"Tom! Tom!"

"The King of United!"

"The King of United!"

Bang bang bang!!!

The camera slowly zoomed in as Tang Ye high-fived the Manchester United fans in the lowest tier of the stands.

The captain's armband was quite small, but worn on Tang Ye's arm, it felt remarkably conspicuous, as if emphasizing Tang Ye's identity to the fans.

Tom is not just any Tom.

This is Captain Tom! Captain Tom!

Check Dongqiu Di live match report: In the 67th minute, Amrabat came off the bench to substitute Tang Ye.

"Booooo!!!!"

The Westfalenstadion stands were filled with boos from the Dortmund fans.

The Dortmund fans held no personal grudge against Tang Ye, but they were furious now because his goal had nearly killed Dortmund's chances of winning today.

Master GG is very sorry, but since Dortmund stood on the opposite side of the Master, they could only be punished by him...

"Beep, beep beep!!!"

The match had ended; in truth, Dortmund had played quite tenaciously today, with Sancho scoring a goal in the final moments to level the score at 2:3, but they ultimately failed to net a third goal.

The cheers of the Manchester United fans could not be heard in the stands, as their voices had been drowned out by those of the home supporters.

"..."

Escrivá stared at the pitch, his expression somewhat dazed.

Dortmund's current squad was among the very best in the entire Fan Fan Dejia league, yet with this top-tier lineup, Dortmund had managed to secure only 4 points in the Champions League group stage.

Escrivá now felt somewhat at a loss, unsure of what to do, because he no longer knew whether the path he had taken thus far was truly correct.

"Mr. Ferran"

"Mr. Ferran!"

Tang Ye called out twice in succession, pulling Escrivá's gaze away from the direction of the Dortmund goal.

"Mm."

Escrivá shook hands with Tang Ye, and the two shared an embrace.

"Keep it up, Mr. Ferran, there are still two matches left."

Tang Ye patted Escrivá on the back; Rodri also approached, offering Escrivá the same embrace.

It looked like former players greeting their old coach, but the hugs from Tang Ye and Rodri actually made Escrivá feel even worse.

To put it in Tang Ye's words:

Damn it, if he had brought both Tom and Rodri from Villarreal to Dortmund, Dortmund's current midfield combination would have been Tom, Rodri, and Pogba.

But!

Dortmund now had only Pogba.

He reached into his pocket to pull out his phone, but Escrivá stopped himself.

He could already imagine the scene of Dortmund fans attacking him online.

But Ferran was unwilling to look; he chose to escape.

Check Dongqiu Di match report: Tang Ye scores with an outside-foot chip. Manchester United defeats Dortmund 3:2 away, topping the group with 12 points from 4 wins in 4 matches. (75,711 comments)

Manchester United's four consecutive victories earned them many points, but since Lille had defeated Shakhtar and now also held 7 points, the Red Devils had not yet secured first place in the group despite their four-game winning streak.

But it didn't matter; anyone with eyes could see that for the current Manchester United, securing first place in the group was hardly an issue.

"Hiss..."

Taking a deep breath, Tang Ye stared at his phone screen, and soon his worried expression caught Rodri's attention.

"What's wrong?"

Rodri leaned his head over, discovering Tang Ye was looking at the standings: "Haha, Tom, haven't you always been so confident? Don't look at this; we'll definitely finish first."

"Even if you don't play, we'll easily beat the Miners."

"No, no."

Tang Ye shook his head and looked at Rodri: "Dortmund only has 4 points now; doesn't that mean they have no chance of advancing?"

"Hmm..."

Rodri finally realized that Tang Ye wasn't looking at Manchester United's points, but Dortmund's.

Just now, Tang Ye had used his super-brain to calculate slightly: if Dortmund wanted to advance, they absolutely had to take down Lille in the upcoming matches.

Mr. Ferran is in danger!

"Actually..."

Rodri pressed his hands onto his thighs and voiced his opinion: "I feel Dortmund isn't as weak as you imagine; they're currently third in the Fan Fan Dejia."

"I think we and Dortmund will advance together, though that's the ideal scenario."

The latter sentence wasn't spoken by Rodri, but by Fan Fan Dejiahe; the Manchester United assistant coach had somehow overheard the conversation between Tang Ye and Rodri.

"Phew..."

Tang Ye lifted his head to gaze at the ceiling; in the past, he would have weathered this calamity alongside Mr. Ferran.

But now that was impossible, because he and Mr. Ferran had parted ways, with almost no chance of working together again.

Shaking his head, Tang Ye decided not to dwell on the matter anymore.

The Master was now a Manchester United player, so his Master's power should be directed toward Manchester United.

In the Premier League standings, Liwupu was lurking right behind Manchester United, eyeing them predatorily.

Tang Ye had to deliver a hammer blow to Liwupu's head to help the team secure first place!

UEFA Official: Tang Ye's outside-of-the-foot chip against Dortmund was voted the best goal of Group Stage Matchday 4.

Diario Sport — Among all teams participating in the Champions League this season, only Paris, Bayern, and Manchester United maintain a perfect record.

Manchester United legend Ferdinand: Ten Hag needs to implement tactical reforms ASAP; if other Premier League teams learn Dortmund's midfield leap before Manchester United adapts, it will be too late.

Dortmund's midfield leap was indeed a crucial element, prompting the Manchester United coaching staff to hold detailed discussions on it.

"If they really intend to play this way, we must buy a center-back during the winter window, spending at least another 50 million euros."

Ten Hag stated decisively, seemingly already intending to demand money from the Glazer family.

"But my thought is... Michel, if we want to counter this attacking method that leaps across the midfield, we'll need to conduct an extremely large number of targeted training sessions."

"We are already very busy."

Ten Hag leaned back in his office chair, rocking back and forth.

Indeed, the situation was exactly as he described.

This season, Manchester United bore the extremely burdensome task of competing for titles in both the league and the Champions League; merely studying upcoming opponents was already an extremely burdensome task, and if you were to temporarily change tactics at this time, the energy required would be far more than trivial.

Are there any teams in the top five leagues that temporarily change tactics mid-season?

Yes, brothers, there are.

Villarreal in the 2016-17 season.

When Villarreal encountered problems, Escribá boldly modified the team's tactical system and ultimately achieved success, with the Yellow Submarine finishing second in La Liga that season.

Very impressive, indeed; that season's performance earned Escribá an invitation from Borussia Dortmund.

So here comes the question: Ten Hag studied Villarreal's league trajectory from the 2016-17 season and discovered something worth pondering. That was, during the period of tactical adjustment, the Yellow Submarine's win rate plummeted.

For Villarreal at that time, being in second or third place meant absorbing a few losses was not unacceptable.

But Manchester United's current situation differed from that of the Yellow Submarine back then.

With Liwupu chasing closely from behind, any match loss was unacceptable for Manchester United.

"Then should we just ignore it altogether?"

Fan Fan Dejiahe said softly: "Anyway, our win rate is so high; for other teams to adjust their training content just to snatch three points from us isn't worth it, right..."

"Mm."

Ten Hag nodded lightly; the two Manchester United tactical coaches reached an agreement at this moment.

Escribá's midfield leap?

Fine, Manchester United would simply ignore it, focusing their efforts on studying upcoming opponents instead.

Fortune favors the bold.

Let's gamble!

(End of Chapter)