Chapter 611: Seeking the Dao at Guangming Stadium, Ten Hag Decides Eternity Alone

"Last chance!"

In the locker room, the Barcelona players remained silent, while head coach Setién was under immense pressure.

The gap in raw strength was simply too large, leaving the head coach unsure of what to do.

"We need to stay calm."

Messi said, bare-chested.

The Argentine held a jersey in his hand but hadn't put it on yet: "When I need support, you have to give it to me, okay? If we keep defending at the back, we won't be able to score."

"They're applying too much pressure up front; we can push our full-backs forward!"

Messi told his teammates.

Though his voice wasn't loud, the situation in the locker room showed just how much weight Messi's words carried; no one dared to make a sound for a long while, and even Setién fell silent.

Coincidentally, the coaches of both teams in this Champions League final held little authority; midfield tactics and substitutions were even decided by the team leaders.

Could it be that the answer for this meta is a coach-less formation?

"The full-backs must push up, otherwise we can't score; we must score now. Just get the ball to me up front."

Messi and Suárez were resolute in their stance, while Coutinho sat silently in his spot nearby, knowing his first-half performance had indeed been terribly poor.

Soon, Messi, Piqué, and Suárez had worked out the substitution plan, and Coutinho, the starter, was unsurprisingly taken off.

"Let's go, let's go!"

"Three, two, one!"

"Barcelona!"

In the player tunnel, Tang Ye had originally intended to shake hands with Suárez, but seeing the latter's stern expression, he ultimately gave up the idea.

Indeed, whether they made up or not didn't matter anymore; what mattered was the match about to begin.

That's how finals are; regardless of anything, a winner must be decided.

Players from both sides took their positions, awaiting the referee's whistle.

Tang Ye adjusted the captain's armband on his arm and said to De Jong behind him, "Ready?"

"Huh? Ready for what?"

"Ready to win the Champions League title."

"Haha."

De Jong flashed his signature smile; just then, the referee blew the whistle, and De Jong followed Tang Ye out.

"Wang Wang!"

Wang Wang, the French Bulldog, welcomed the Manchester United players emerging from the locker room.

"The Manchester United coach didn't enter the locker room during the halftime adjustment!"

He Wei joked: "During halftime, the Manchester United coach was kept tied to the bench, so Manchester United had no coach in the locker room."

"Right, I think this is an opportunity for Barcelona, because Barcelona actually has a coach."

The camera cut to Setién.

Though no one knew what the Barcelona head coach was thinking at that moment, his forehead was clearly covered in sweat.

Being two goals down at halftime in a Champions League final would put anyone with a normal mind under immense pressure.

Setién's situation was even worse; he was a coach with no real authority yet still had to take the blame if they lost.

"I've got it, I've got it!"

Rashford stopped the ball with his foot; Tang Ye surged up from behind to receive Rashford's through pass.

The coordination was excellent; Tang Ye had now become the left winger.

Tang Ye took on Semedo one-on-one!

Dribbling with the outside of his foot, inching closer, Tang Ye divided his attention half to Semedo before him and half to the penalty area.

Performing a step-over, Tang Ye attempted to beat his man.

Although Semedo was poor, it was still difficult for Tang Ye to breeze past him easily.

With no other choice, Tang Ye quickly formulated a plan: he signaled Rashford to move behind him while he himself ran toward the byline.

Semedo followed!

"Huff, huff."

Lacking the roar of live spectators, Tang Ye could hear his own panting more clearly, as well as Semedo's.

Reaching the corner flag!

Glancing back toward the penalty area, Tang Ye swung his left leg out.

!

Semedo raised his right leg high, preparing to intercept Tang Ye's cross from the byline.

But then came the flashy move; Tang Ye's swinging left foot was never intended for a cross.

He knocked the ball onto his right foot!

A Cruyff turn!

Successfully creating space away from Semedo.

Crack!

This time, it was truly a cross.

"Beautiful, Tang Ye!"

"In the box!"

"Allé!"

"Allé couldn't get to it!"

Alé and Piqué both jumped up, but neither of them reached the ball first.

It was Dembélé who completed the stop!

Stop plus feint adjustment, Dembélé handled it very smoothly.

Crack!

A left-footed shot into the net.

Goal!

"Dembélé's goal!"

"4:1!"

The score gap widened again; the Manchester United players on the field quickly ran toward Dembélé.

"Dembélé, haha!"

"But this goal probably won't be cele..."

They thought Dembélé wouldn't celebrate, but that was just what they thought.

Facing the empty stands, Dembélé went straight into a knee slide.

"Vamos!!!"

Damn!

Tang Ye was completely stunned, because he remembered reminding Ousmane before the match started.

But there was no time to worry about that now!

"Ousmane!!!"

He jumped onto Dembélé, and Dembélé carried Tang Ye on his back to the area below the stands.

A photographer approached with a camera; Tang Ye held up four fingers toward the lens.

4:1!

"It is now the 62nd minute of the second half, and the score is 4:1, with Manchester United leading by a full three goals!"

【What's there left for Barcelona to play? Just call it already.】

【Tang Tang Qiuwang! Another Cruyff turn!】

【Dembélé is truly an idiot; did Barcelona raise you for nothing?】

【Come on, could Dembélé have made it at your Barcelona? No, right?】

【The first Champions League title for the Chinese, won by leading the team!】

"Glory Glory Man United!"

"Glory Glory Man United!"

"Champion!"

"UEFA Champion!"

The fans were chanting loudly; Tang Ye and his teammates hugged together, reminding each other of the details for the rest of the match.

"Keep going, keep going, hold steady and we win!"

Rodri shouted.

If one observed carefully, they would notice that the Manchester United defensive midfielder's hands were already trembling slightly.

At the 65th minute, Tang Ye made a simple gesture; Eric the French Bulldog in front of the bench barked "Wang Wang" twice, and then Manchester United made their first substitution of the match.

Ashley Young replaced Luke Shaw, and Martial replaced Alé.

Why did Tang Ye make such a substitution?

This was certainly not decided based on gaming experience, but rather from Tang Ye adopting Ten Hag's perspective.

He was certain that if Ten Hag were the one standing in front of the bench at this moment, he would have made the same substitution.

Check Dongqiu Di live match report: 71st minute, Messi's free kick went straight and high, the score remains 4:1, Manchester United leading.

"United!"

"Man United!"

"We are fucking Manchester United!"

After Messi's free kick missed, the Manchester United fans jumped up to celebrate right in their faces; someone in the presidential box even held up Cristiano Ronaldo's number 7 jersey with both hands.

"Messi!"

"Xuuu!!!"

"Messi!"

"Xuuu!!!"

Only 20 minutes of match time remained.

If you asked Manchester United fans how they could possibly lose this match.

The Manchester United fans couldn't answer.

They simply had no idea how to lose!

"Hiss... I feel like in this match, well, actually, Commentator He, there's a popular saying online, I don't know if you've heard of it."

"Oh, what saying?"

"It says that the match between Manchester United and Bayern was the real final; after that match ended, the champion was already decided."

"Oh oh, haha, I've seen that one too."