Chapter 605: Bayern's Front-Court Pressing? Ten Hag's Telepathic Insight!

Check Dongqiu Di's pinned post: The Champions League semi-final between Bayern and Manchester United is underway, with the current score tied at 1-1.

"United! Man United!"

With wing attacks yielding little results, Bayern shifted to high pressing.

Müller, Lewandowski, and Gnabry—the front-three pressing trio formed by these three players—was indeed giving Manchester United a massive headache.

Then there was Kingsley Coman; although not part of the pressing unit, his occasional sudden sprints placed enormous pressure on United's defenders.

Coman was too fast!

Bailly passed to Rojo, who was immediately pressed by Müller and Lewandowski.

Three forwards pressing together—that's basically how every top team executes high pressing.

It was a simple pressing tactic, but once executed, it became incredibly troublesome.

Simply put, this kind of front-court pressing was hard to break down, especially for a team like Manchester United that wasn't skilled at playing out from the back.

"Here!"

Luke Shaw received Rojo's pass, only to find Gnabry blocking his path ahead; with no other option, he had to pass the ball back.

Rojo still had possession; Rojo passed back to De Gea!

Seeing his teammates up front raising their hands, De Gea made the pass, successfully finding Rodri.

Soon, opposing defenders closed in on Rodri, who immediately combined with De Jong; adding Dembélé into the mix, Manchester United finally managed to narrowly resolve this pressing situation.

"Hiss... If Bayern is going to play like this, Manchester United could pull Tang Ye's position back slightly."

That statement was technically correct, but judging by the situation on the pitch, Manchester United seemed to have no intention whatsoever of bringing Tang Ye back.

Ten Hag, you...

Oh, almost forgot—Ten Hag was powerless today anyway; his head was probably still steaming.

"..."

"Tang Ye, take a shot yourself!"

"Beautiful!"

"Hey, that was a high-quality shot! It's just that Neuer's form today has been truly exceptional."

"Beep, beep-beep!"

"Alright, the first half is over; the score is temporarily fixed at 1-1. Neither side managed to gain any advantage over the other!"

"..."

All 22 players on the pitch kept their heads down, because both teams had played an exhausting match.

Bayern, competing in Fan Fan Dejia, where had they ever encountered such a fierce opponent as Manchester United?

Manchester United was in a similar situation, simply because Bayern's performance had been exceptionally outstanding.

"It's fine."

Rodri placed his hand on Tang Ye's shoulder, regretful about his teammate's earlier long-range shot: "Don't rush; maybe we'll score in the second half."

"Mm, let's go."

Halftime report: Champions League semi-final, lower bracket—Bayern 1-1 Manchester United (temporary draw); Müller scores with a cold shot, Tang Ye delivers a solo performance inside the box.

Bang!

The locker room door was kicked open; the expressions on the Manchester United players' faces grew increasingly serious one after another.

"No, we can't play like this; playing like this will definitely cause trouble."

Ashley Young shouted; although he hadn't played, the former captain sitting on the bench had observed the on-field situation with extreme clarity.

"Mm, exactly; we're playing too chaotically."

Tang Ye quickly expressed agreement with Ashley Young: "I feel like we're treating the opponent as a weak team, as if we're trying to play against Bayern the same way we played against Leipzig. We've been fixated on winning by a large margin, which definitely won't work; we can't beat Bayern by a large margin."

Tang Ye voiced his assessment of the first half: "We need to be more cautious; every step requires thought. Playing like we did in the first half leaves us evenly matched with the opponent, giving us only a 50% chance of winning."

A 50% win rate might sound decent enough.

But looking at it from another angle, Manchester United faced a full 50% possibility of losing—how the hell could anyone accept that?

"We came to Lisbon to win the championship, not to be eliminated by Bayern."

Tang Ye waved his hand and took a few sips of water while his teammates pondered.

McLaren was arranging tactics on the board and invited Tang Ye to join him.

"Phew..."

"Actually, it's similar to when we played against Real Madrid, but Bayern is stronger than Real Madrid. The fundamental approach hasn't changed; we just need to make some adjustments."

As he spoke, Tang Ye suddenly fell silent, images from his past gaming experiences floating into his mind.

Although he'd been playing fewer games recently and hadn't faced this current Bayern lineup with the current Manchester United squad, Tang Ye had played extensively in the past; any experience from previous encounters with Bayern could be drawn upon.

Coman makes a forward run to receive the ball, then crosses horizontally to the center.

If Müller receives the pass, then Lewandowski should currently be inside the box; the solution would be...

If Müller doesn't receive the ball, then Bayern's objective this time is likely a shift in attack direction, so then...

His mind raced rapidly because Tang Ye knew halftime was limited; he had to devise a sufficiently good strategy within a very short timeframe.

Ding-dong!

McLaren's phone rang; it was a message from Ten Hag.

Ten Hag, watching the match live, offered his suggestions, but at the end of the text message, Ten Hag added a supplementary remark.

Erik's mind wasn't entirely clear right now; he was somewhat dazed. If the Manchester United squad could discuss and devise something better, they didn't have to adopt Ten Hag's suggestions.

"Come on, everyone, gather round!"

Thump-thump!

Tang Ye tapped the tactical board, displaying the results of his thinking with magnetic flags and drawings.

This was the most critical moment of the season for Manchester United; everyone had to get serious.

If they lost, it would be another year of waiting.

Tang Ye's age could afford to wait another year, yet he did not belong to the patient type.

Wait my foot!

Absolutely no waiting!

……

"Welcome back, dear viewers! This is the second half of the semi-final between Bayern and Manchester United..."

Manchester United's first substitution appeared: Ashley Young replaced Luke Shaw, who had performed poorly in the first half.

The camera cut to McLaren sitting on the substitutes' bench.

The fans now had a question.

Was this substitution the coach's decision?

Or was it Tang Ye's decision?

Never mind, it didn't matter; as long as they won, it made no difference who decided what to do.

Manchester United fans now only wanted the Champions League!

"Lewy, shoot directly!"

"Hey, to be honest, that shot was a bit too rushed."

Bayern had controlled the ball for so long, only for Lewy to kick it wildly away; Flick now felt like crying.

"Nice!"

Tang Ye shouted to his teammates.

Manchester United's counterattack!

Thiago and Davies joined forces, attempting to block Wan-Bissaka who was carrying the ball, but De Jong and Dembélé easily neutralized them.

Manchester United's coordination was excellent!

Slap!

Dembélé accelerated, cutting inside and pushing his speed ability to the limit.

Dembélé's extremely fast footwork put immense pressure on the Bayern defenders, for they knew they could not stop Dembélé alone.

Adjust a bit!

Slap slap!

Linking up with Rashford, Dembélé ran straight toward the goal.

Dembélé took on Jerome Jerome Boateng one-on-one!

Dembélé dribbled forward little by little with the outside of his foot, while Alé and Rashford were both searching for better supporting positions.

Dembélé!

Arriving near the penalty area, Dembélé prepared to shoot, but in the next second, he was tripped by Jerome Jerome Boateng.

"Hey!"

"Beep beep beep!!!"

After Dembélé fell to the ground, the Manchester United players quickly rushed forward.

"Is this a penalty?"

"This seems like a penalty, because I think Dembélé had already entered the penalty area."

"Hiss, if it is a penalty, then things just got interesting."

The 1-1 deadlock suddenly encountered a twist, and the Manchester United players on the field appeared extremely agitated.

Just as Dembélé's upper body had risen from the grass into a sitting position, Rodri pressed him back down in the next second.

"It's a penalty."

Rashford whispered into the referee's ear.

"Definitely a penalty, absolutely a penalty."

"He didn't enter the penalty area; he fell outside!"