Chapter 589: This Match Concerns the Team's Dignity for the Next Month

【True·Final Battle】

【Hahaha, why does Manchester United always have the traffic? Fans of other teams are expressing their envy.】

【Suspended until April? That doesn't feel like enough.】

【Not enough? This match concerns Real Madrid's prestige for the entire next month.】

The fans were right; this match indeed concerned the face of both teams for the period ahead.

Advancing in the Champions League and then getting suspended, versus being eliminated from the Champions League and then getting suspended—these two concepts are completely different.

One after another, they stepped onto the bus at the base entrance; Tang Ye and De Jong behaved with unusual silence.

Although they were Manchester United players accustomed to bearing pressure, the current situation was indeed somewhat severe.

Leading by only one goal difference, with neither Rodri nor Martial available, Manchester United faced their supreme challenge.

This match could not be lost; Tang Ye understood this principle all too well.

Because they had already lost once last season!

……

Repost: Manchester United officially announces the squad against Real Madrid; Rodri and Martial absent, Tang Ye leads the lineup.

After both sides announced their squads, the "442" news agency immediately started a live stream on YouTube, connecting with football experts hiding at home due to the pandemic to analyze the match situation.

Real Madrid was missing Hazard, Asensio, and Casemiro, while Manchester United was missing Rodri and Martial; additionally, De Ligt's recent performance had been terrible.

Different experts held different views, but from this particular expert's perspective, Manchester United would hold the advantage in today's match.

Manchester United was missing Rodri, but they still had De Jong, and McTominay was also quite okay.

But Real Madrid played with a single defensive midfielder; losing Casemiro made things very difficult!

"I believe the performances of the goalkeeper and the wingers will be key to today's match; otherwise, I favor Manchester United more."

"I don't believe in so-called curses"; this expert, just like Jensen, was a die-hard supporter of Manchester United.

"We love United, we do! (We love Manchester United, very much!)"

"We love United, we do!"

Bang bang!

Bang bang bang bang!

The situation inside and outside Old Trafford was much the same.

Due to the suspension news that had circulated long ago, the cheapest tickets for today's match had already been scalped up to 720 euros.

Fans were willing to spend this money partly because this match would absolutely be spectacular, and partly because if they didn't watch this match, there would be no games to watch for the next month.

Inside the team locker room.

At this moment, Ten Hag had finished his speech; as captain, Tang Ye signaled his teammates to all stand up and form a circle.

With his left arm around Luke Shaw and his right around De Jong, Tang Ye could clearly hear his own breathing.

"Some say we are under a curse; many are saying it, but we don't care about that. Today we must win, and since there are no matches afterward, we must give our absolute all."

Tang Ye made a final emphasis to his teammates: "We already lost once last season; this season we really, really cannot lose again."

"As for the rest..."

Speaking to this point, Tang Ye didn't know what else to say, so Ashley Young quickly saved the situation: "Let's go all out together!"

"Come on!"

Tang Ye told his teammates to raise their hands.

"Three, two, one!"

"United!!!"

"Charge, charge, charge!"

Bang!

Tang Ye kicked the door open, leading Dembélé and De Jong as they rushed straight out, leaving Wan-Bissaka and Aleix somewhat bewildered.

"Hurry up and follow! Get moving!"

Fan Fan Dejiahe signaled everyone not to stand there dazed: "Stick close to your captain!"

……

"China Central Television! Here is the live broadcast bringing you..."

"The match has begun; now I will introduce the starting lineups for both teams!"

"……"

Real Madrid (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Courtois

Defenders: Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Ferland-Mendy

Midfielders: Valverde, Kroos, Modrić

Forwards: Vinícius, Benzema, Isco

Head Coach: Zidane

The only difference between the starting lineup for this second leg and the first leg was Casemiro; for the second leg, Zidane replaced Casemiro with Valverde.

This was expected, but it remained unknown what formation Zidane intended to play.

Was it Kroos as a single defensive midfielder, or Valverde plus Kroos as a double pivot?

Just as the match started, the camera immediately cut to both head coaches in front of their respective benches; the director used a split-screen composition to frame Ten Hag and Zidane together.

"Hmm, both look very tense."

"Yes, you rarely see obvious pressure on the faces of Manchester United and Real Madrid coaches, but today you see it on both simultaneously."

"Correct, because this match is extremely important for both sides."

The match started at a slow pace, allowing the two commentators to strike up a conversation.

This was Tang Ye's third season since joining Manchester United; after his arrival, the club had successively secured second place in the Premier League, the Premier League title, as well as trophies in the EFL Cup and the FA Cup.

However, Manchester United's best Champions League result to date remained the quarter-finals, as if some curse had been placed upon them.

"Wow, here we go! Tang Ye drifts out to the left flank, looking to combine with Rashford!"

"I think that's a sound approach, but Real Madrid seems to have prepared for it!"

The moment Tang Ye moved to the left flank, he was immediately marked by Valverde and Vinícius.

Vinícius applied pressure from behind, placing one hand on Tang Ye's shoulder and occasionally shoving hard to disrupt him.

Tang Ye maintained a steady rhythm, waiting for a teammate to offer support.

Soon, a problem arose: the starting left defensive midfielder today was not Rodri!

With no one coming to support, Tang Ye had no choice but to pass the ball forward, where it ultimately struck Carvajal.

Possession lost!

Real Madrid could launch a counter-attack!

Carvajal took the ball and sprinted forward, assuming the role of ball carrier.

Tang Ye and Rashford rushed over together to press, forcing Carvajal to release the ball in a panic.

Slap!

A long pass flew toward the center.

De Jong!

Boom!

A header knocked the ball out to De Ligt ahead, who then found Wan-Bissaka!

"Here!"

Dembélé took the ball from Wan-Bissaka and ran toward the baseline under Modrić's tight marking.

"Wow!!!"

"Faster, faster!"

"Dembélé!"

The Manchester United fans shouted loudly, and Dembélé did not disappoint the fans' expectations.

He used his speed to blow past Modrić!

Dembélé neared the baseline!

Mendy stood just ahead; Dembélé used the outside of his foot to dribble toward him, while Wan-Bissaka had already sprinted up from behind.

Slap!

A back-pass to Wan-Bissaka!

Wan-Bissaka then played it to Haller!

After a series of quick passes, Haller laid the ball off to Rashford!

"Rashford!!"

Slap!

He curled a shot directly, but Courtois punched it away.

"Hmm, that shot! The quality was very high!"

"But it still fell just short; after all, Courtois is no ordinary goalkeeper, so saving a shot of that caliber was certainly within his ability."

"In the 11th minute of the match, Manchester United earned their first corner kick!"

Luke Shaw took it once again, exchanging constant eye contact with De Ligt and Haller inside the penalty area.

Modrić and Tang Ye stood side by side; the Real Madrid midfielder turned his head to glance at Tang Ye, and Tang Ye turned his head to glance back at Modrić.

"What are you trying to do?"

Tang Ye narrowed his eyes and asked directly.

But Modrić said nothing.

Slap!

The corner kick was taken!

First point of contact!

De Ligt was in an excellent position, yet he failed to win the ball, instead heading it back to Ramos behind him.

Boom!

Ramos headed it outward!

To Valverde!

Damn!

Sensing danger, the Manchester United players hurriedly dropped back to defend. "Pass! Pass, pass!"

Zidane roared.

Slap!

Valverde launched a long pass, which was collected by Mendy, who had surged up the left flank.

Real Madrid initiated their rapid advance down the wing!

The situation was extremely dangerous; most troubling of all, Isco was already closing in.

Boom!

A through-ball was delivered; Isco beat Wan-Bissaka to the ball and continued running toward the penalty area.

After a few simple passes and sprints, Real Madrid had unconsciously advanced nearly 60 meters.

Move toward the penalty area!

This play could barely be called a one-on-one breakaway; apart from Wan-Bissaka, no one could effectively defend against Isco.

Stepping onto the edge of the penalty area, Isco feinted left with his foot!

It was an obvious fake; after being shaken off, Wan-Bissaka immediately adjusted his position.

As always said, trying to dribble past Wan-Bissaka in a one-on-one situation is harder than climbing to heaven.

But Wan-Bissaka's football intelligence is truly not high; while adjusting to create distance prevented the opponent from dribbling past him, it gave the opponent space to pass.

Slap!

Isco passed horizontally, finding Vinicius making a run on the right.

Boom!

With the goal practically empty, Vinicius fired a shot.

"Goal!"

"Eh! Tsk, Manchester United's start is a bit terrible!"

It wasn't a particularly good counter-attack from a corner, but Real Madrid scored anyway.

From Wan-Bissaka to Bailly, and then to the goalkeeper De Gea, all three defenders made mistakes!

"1:0, Real Madrid takes the lead in the away leg!"

After scoring, Vinicius ran toward the sidelines.

"Vamos!!!"

Roaring together with his teammates, Vinicius then extended the index finger of his right hand.

This meant "1," which was also the score of the second leg!

"We've equalized! We've equalized!"

Vinicius shouted loudly, directly trading insults with the Manchester United fans in the stands.

"Who do you think you are!"

"Trash! Trash!"

"Idiot!"

"..."

The fans' tempers were all volatile; as the cursing continued, some even began launching racial attacks.

"We've tied it!"

Vinicius spread his hands and gave the fans in front of him a thumbs-down.

Unsurprisingly, he was cursed at again, which made Vinicius extremely angry.

The Real Madrid winger turned around and started running across the grass.

Boom!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

At Old Trafford, Vinicius performed an extra celebration move.

It was a knee slide.

And if you counted, it was three stripes!

The moment the move was made, McTominay, Luke Shaw, and at least five other Manchester United players in total rushed toward Vinicius.

"What the f*** do you mean!? Huh, what are you trying to do?"

McTominay and Vinicius began shoving each other as the stands filled with boos.

"No, uh, this kid Vinicius, he's been too impulsive!"

"You're doing a three-stripe knee slide at Manchester United's home ground..."

The camera cut to Tang Ye on the pitch; at this moment, Tang Ye was standing still with his hands on his hips.

Vinicius's celebration move was clearly directed at Tang Ye.

"What the f*** are you pretending about!"

McTominay shoved Vinicius to the ground, and the latter sat on the grass, spreading his hands toward the referee.

Unsurprisingly, McTominay received a yellow card, but this confrontation did not end there.

"Hey, let it go."

Modrić pushed Dembélé away, but Alex came forward instead.

"What do you want to do?"

Soon, players from both sides gathered together; even both goalkeepers came out.

Ramos and De Ligt pushed and shoved each other, while Kroos and Modrić looked somewhat awkward.

To be honest, even Real Madrid's teammates hadn't expected Vinicius to pull a stunt like this.

Doing a three-stripe slide at Old Trafford is the same as doing a 'Siu' at the Bernabéu or pointing both fingers to the sky at Camp Nou.

"Calm down, calm down."

Modrić pulled Vinicius away.

"Beep!!!"

The referee blew the whistle again, showing yellow cards to Ramos for pushing and to Dembélé for swearing.

"Watch yourself!"

Bailly shouted at Vinicius: "Don't get too cocky!"

"Hey, enough, enough!"

Tang Ye pulled Bailly back.

Check Dongqiu Di live match report: Vinícius pushes the ball into the empty net and scores! In the second leg, Real Madrid leads 1:0!

Check Dongqiu Di live match report: After scoring, Vinícius performs a three-stripe knee slide, triggering a fierce clash between both sides.

【Damn it, so arrogant?】

【Talented kid; I recall Real Madrid's winger isn't that old, seems very young.】

【One yellow card exchanged for two yellow cards; I feel Real Madrid profited from this wave. I don't quite agree with Vinícius not receiving a yellow.】

【Vinícius: I am a genius striker; I mock the Ballon d'Or.】

One conflict produced three yellow cards; Vinícius's knee-slide celebration will likely be remembered by fans for many years, a pure classic scene.

"Idiot!"

"Get lost!"

"xuuuu!!!"

"Stupid Brazilian!"

Apart from anger, Manchester United fans felt surprise.

【192】 A striker just over twenty years old openly taunted TY to his face.

A vanguard in his early twenties unleashes his ultimate ability right in TY's face.

What exactly are you thinking?

"However... being young is understandable, because this player Vinícius possesses top-tier talent and ability; having some arrogance is normal."

Vinícius's goal helped Real Madrid take a one-goal lead, bringing the aggregate score to 2:2.

It looks like a draw, but since Manchester United leads by one away goal, Real Madrid is actually at a disadvantage.

"Up front, quickly!"

Slap!

【De Bruyne Standard Long Pass Lv6: Not Ashamed to Ask Inferiors】

A long pass executed with full proficiency was launched, accurately finding Dembélé up front.

"Wow!!!"

Dembélé was being tightly marked by Mendy; delivering the ball accurately from such distance could only mean the combination between teammates possessed immense chemistry.

Slap!

A backheel knock, Dembélé turned nimbly, and immediately ran toward the baseline alongside Mendy.

Unable to shake off the defender, Dembélé helplessly could only cross the ball.

To Haller!

A direct volley!

Bang!

A long-range shot from outside the arc; Haller applied ample force, but the ball was blocked by Varane.

The ball flew out!

Rashford and Carvajal fought for the ball, with Carvajal ultimately winning possession.

"Damn!"

Ten Hag held his head in both hands, while Fan Fan Dejiahe stared blankly at the situation on the field.

Although Manchester United still maintained an advantage in the scoreline, their situation on the field was not good.

The condition of Real Madrid's two center-backs plus their goalkeeper could simply be described as defying heaven.

Up to this point in the match, Manchester United had more shots than Real Madrid, yet only Real Madrid had scored.

"Indeed, just as stated in the pre-match interview, Zidane must have conducted targeted training for the defenders and goalkeeper in the squad. If we look closely, we can discover that Varane and Ramos are very familiar with the shooting habits of several Manchester United strikers, which has also led to Manchester United failing to create good scoring opportunities."

"..."

(End of chapter)