Chapter 593: Missing Person Notice on the Great British Imperial Star (Bonus Chapter, Seeking Monthly Votes!)

Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Lloris

Defenders: Aurier, Davinson Sánchez, Dier, Ben Davies

Midfielders: Moussa Sissoko, Lamela, Winks

Forwards: Son Heung-min, Kane, Bergwijn

Head Coach: Mourinho

Tottenham Hotspur did not field a completely full starting lineup, as several players on the team had tested positive.

Manchester United, similarly, was not at full strength either.

The highly anticipated Rodri did not start and instead sat on the substitutes' bench.

"After the pandemic, FIFA implemented a series of modifications to the football rules, including VAR judgments for handballs inside the penalty area and substitution protocols for head injuries."

"We will analyze those specific situations when they arise in the matches; for now, let's look at today's game!"

Check Dongqiu Di pinned post: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester United, Premier League Round 30 underway, current score 0:0.

Before this match began, both sides had gone a full three months without playing any official games, which made things very interesting.

Yesterday, Arsenal, one of the Big Six, already underperformed; now, will fellow Big Six members Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United encounter similar problems?

"Go, go, go!"

Boom!

A precise through-pass pushed out, accurately finding Dembélé cutting inside to receive.

Tang Ye passed to Dembélé, a very standard attacking combination for Manchester United.

Dembélé takes possession!

He prepared to cut further inside but encountered Sissoko's defense midway, forcing him to pass back.

To De Jong coming up from behind!

De Jong passes again to Wan-Bissaka!

First, control the ball.

In this situation, launching a long pass to find Rashford would be the best choice, but players familiar with Wan-Bissaka know this Manchester United defender would absolutely never do that.

Snap!

Passed to De Ligt beside him; De Ligt adjusted one step, then blasted the ball out with a big kick.

The target is Rashford!

Trapping the ball!

A terribly poor trap; Rashford didn't even make contact with the ball.

But Rashford was clever, quickly using his chest to push the ball forward, successfully stabilizing it.

Just at that moment, Martial had already moved over to support.

Snap!

The pass went out; Martial stepped on the ball and came to an abrupt halt.

Rashford makes a forward run down the wing!

It looked as though Martial intended to find Rashford, but in reality, his target was Tang Ye, who had just moved up nearby.

First to Tang Ye, then Tang Ye passes forward to Dembélé.

Dembélé lifted his left foot, letting the ball roll in front of him.

At this moment, Dembélé was already playing as a shadow striker.

Adjusting...

Cutting inside!

Snap!

A shot delivered with his left foot; the ball bounced once inside the six-yard box, rebounded out, and then flew into the net.

Goal!

"Goal!"

"Dembélé!"

"In the 18th minute of the match, a goal for Manchester United!"

Dembélé ran to the sidelines to celebrate.

He originally intended to act arrogantly, but upon realizing there were no fans in the stands, he turned instead to seek out the camera, roaring at the camera lens.

"Bravo! (Beautiful!)"

Tang Ye hugged Dembélé.

"Oh, Lloris committed a super, super, super massive error!"

"Yes, that ball shouldn't have been unsaveable, because the shot speed wasn't actually fast."

"The speed wasn't fast, but the angle was razor-sharp! This was a complete and total display of Dembélé's individual ability!"

Manchester United's first league goal after the resumption!

From Ousmane Dembélé!

"Beep!"

Having gone too long without scoring, the celebration took quite some time, only stopping when the referee's whistle urged them on.

In just the brief minute or so prior, Mourinho had scolded every single Tottenham Hotspur player from head to toe.

Play resumed; after the series of adjustments just made, Tottenham Hotspur now appeared significantly more stable.

Sissoko's position was very deep, resulting in a god's-eye view where Tottenham Hotspur essentially played with five defenders, resembling a long bus parked right in front of the goal.

Tottenham Hotspur seems a bit timid!

Time reached the 32nd minute of the first half; Manchester United still led by one goal, and Ten Hag had already made his substitution choice.

"Here it comes! Manchester United's first substitution!"

"Rodri replaces McTominay! Haha, the complete version of the Red Devils' three-man midfield that the fans have been waiting for!"

"Yes, this is what I told Commentator Zhan at the start of the match. After the resumption, FIFA rules changed somewhat; the number of substitutions has increased from three to five, allowing coaches to replace players on the field more frequently!"

Increasing the substitution quota is, in essence, FIFA's protection of players post-pandemic.

What if they run too hard and develop myocarditis? The best solution is to increase the number of substitutions, allowing players whose running distance has spiraled out of control to catch their breath.

Rodri had just entered the field when he handed a note to De Jong, then quickly integrated himself into the match.

Slap!

Son Heung-min crosses from a 45-degree angle!

Looking for Kane in the center!

Kane easily controls the ball.

At this moment, the Tottenham striker was still a long distance from the goal, so he had to be careful.

However, Kane soon encountered a dilemma.

De Jong and Wan-Bissaka pressed up together!

The pressure from Manchester United was intense; Kane could only look for a pass backward.

But the only two passing lanes backward had already been locked down by Tang Ye and Rodri.

Bang!

De Jong collided with Kane, and Wan-Bissaka ultimately completed the tackle.

"Beautiful!"

"This defensive play by Manchester United was absolutely flawless!"

"Let's look at the attack..."

The counter-attack launched; Wan-Bissaka carried the ball all the way to the center.

He was one of the few players in the Manchester United squad who hadn't been infected, so his running speed naturally needed no elaboration.

Advancing over thirty meters alone, Wan-Bissaka finally delivered his pass.

Rashford received the ball!

Slap slap!

Executing a one-two with Tang Ye, Rashford reached the vicinity of the byline.

Slap!

The cross went out, targeting Martial in the penalty area, but Martial's shot was easily caught by Lloris.

It was truly lackluster; from a god's-eye view, Martial's shot was no different from simply passing the ball directly to Lloris.

"..."

"Kane!"

"Eh, he can't get the ball at all!"

"Yes, I feel Ten Hag must have prepared specifically for this match."

In the stereotypical impression of fans, Ten Hag's Manchester United is very reckless, yet this match indeed diverged greatly from that fan stereotype.

After Rodri came on, Kane's performance dropped directly by a tier; he didn't even have a chance to touch the ball.

Just before the end of the first half, Kane was preparing to run back to receive a pass when De Ligt suddenly charged up and kicked the ball away.

Fuck!

Not even a single chance to receive the ball—that was the situation Kane now faced.

Halftime report: In the first match after resumption, Manchester United led Tottenham Hotspur 1:0 at halftime; Dembélé scored the first goal since the resumption.

"Huff huff, huff"

"Huff huff"

The away team's locker room was filled with the sound of players panting.

"Damn, damn, so tired."

Splash!

Tang Ye used bottled water to wash his hair.

Others might not know the impact of infection on the body, but Tang Ye, with his panel, knew all too well.

On the first day of infection, his stamina dropped by two points, and it couldn't be trained back even after ten-plus days; it was truly unpleasant.

But Tang Ye, after all, had Red Bull to boost his stamina, whereas other players found it much harder to cope.

"Those full-backs of theirs seem to be standing still in punishment; they aren't even running. I'm really done with them."

Tang Ye communicated with Dembélé.

These two Manchester United players had already been exchanging words for a while on their way back to the locker room.

Simply put, Tom and Osman had already planned how to play the second half!