Chapter 628: Signal Iduna Park: The Unbridgeable Gap Between Tang Ye and Cristiano Ronaldo

Match Preview: In the early hours of October 29, during the second round of Champions League Group D, Dortmund hosts Juventus; Tang Ye and Cristiano Ronaldo clash once again.

Whenever Tang Ye plays against either Messi or Ronaldo, the match preview invariably tops the Baidu and Weibo trending lists, and this time is no exception.

Both players came from Manchester United, but they have now both left the club and are set to meet in Germany at Signal Iduna Park.

On the bus ride to the stadium, Tang Ye sat alone gazing out the window when Haaland looked at him curiously: "Hmm... Tom, I get the feeling you're somewhat avoiding this match?"

"Not really, I can't quite put it into words; perhaps Juventus is putting too much pressure on me."

Tang Ye shook his head gently.

Haaland fell silent.

Tang Ye's silence was certainly not because Juventus was too strong; the Dortmund number 10 was the kind of guy who could tear apart peak Bayern Munich from last season with his bare hands.

So why was Tang Ye silent?

It could only be because of Cristiano Ronaldo.

But Haaland did not know the story between Tang Ye and the Portuguese star.

Actually, at first, Tang Ye and Cristiano Ronaldo had quite a good relationship, truly close enough to be called good friends, but that bond gradually grew stiff, to the point where Tang Ye now felt as though he had severed ties with a dear friend.

What Tang Ye was avoiding was not the match, but a good friend with whom he seemed to have broken off relations.

"You and Cristiano don't seem to talk much?"

Tang Ye shrugged, chewing gum: "I suppose so; anyway, we're here to play a match, whether we talk or not doesn't matter, as long as we win the game."

Trying to reclaim a friendship that has nearly reached the point of severance seems impossible.

"Tom!"

"Viva Tom Tom!"

Dortmund fans gathered around the Juventus team bus, using Tang Ye's name to taunt Cristiano Ronaldo to his face.

"Ronaldo, why were you only third in the 2018 Ballon d'Or!"

"Wowhoo!"

"Xuuu—!!!!"

"Borussia Dortmund!"

"TY belongs to Borussia Dortmund!"

After Cristiano Ronaldo stepped off the bus, two Dortmund fans suddenly rushed up to him and shouted in English: "Old man!"

This was clearly disrespectful to the Portuguese player, but it also reflected from another angle how much the Dortmund fans valued today's match.

They wanted to snatch a spot in the knockout stage!

"Are you okay?"

Chiellini placed a hand on Cristiano Ronaldo's shoulder; the latter shook his head helplessly, having grown accustomed to such scenes, and among this crowd wearing Dortmund jerseys nearby, there might well be a few Messi fans hidden within.

"Let the match do the talking."

Cristiano Ronaldo conveyed his thoughts to Chiellini.

"China Central Television! Here we are broadcasting live for you the 2020-21 season..."

"Both teams' players are already in the tunnel, ready to proceed!"

In the player tunnel, Tang Ye stood together with Haaland and Bellingham, catching sight of Cristiano Ronaldo nearby.

There was no exchange whatsoever between Tang Ye and Cristiano Ronaldo; upon noticing the photographer's lens turning toward them, the two merely embraced symbolically.

Haaland observed all of this.

He could sense that Tang Ye probably did not like this state of affairs, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"The match has begun!"

"Now let me introduce the starting lineups for both sides today..."

Juventus (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Szczęsny

Defenders: Danilo, Chiellini, Bonucci, Cuadrado

Midfielders: Rabiot, Arthur, Ramsey

Forwards: Chiesa, Morata, Cristiano Ronaldo

Head Coach: Pirlo

Juventus deployed a very standard 4-3-3 formation, while Dortmund stuck with their usual 4-1-2-3; although the 4-1-2-3 looks complicated, it is essentially just a minor variation of the 4-3-3.

"Even against Juventus, Dortmund has still chosen to let Pogba play as the sole defensive midfielder."

"It seems Escrivá trusts Pogba even more this season!"

"Let's see how Dortmund plans to handle things today; will they use the same approach they used against Schalke to play against Juventus?"

Just as the match started, the director cut to shots of both head coaches.

Escrivá was visibly nervous!

"Move up! Move up!"

Tang Ye signaled for Pogba to advance.

There were defenders ahead, but Pogba, standing 1.9 meters tall, possessed excellent ball-carrying ability.

Slap!

A pass was delivered, curving slightly before arriving precisely at Tang Ye's feet.

Here it comes!

Facing Rabiot, who was marking him, Tang Ye first trapped the ball under his foot.

Wait for the teammates ahead to run to the reception point!

Both Reus and Haaland are in quite good positions.

Tang Ye lifted his leg, preparing to make the pass.

Just at that moment, a sudden push came from beside him.

"Fuck!"

After cursing once, Tang Ye, whose resistance had failed, fell to the ground.

"Don't mess with me!"

Rabiot helped Tang Ye up from the ground.

I'm very sorry, Tom, but Rabiot knew he had to do this because he needed to protect his team's goal.

It was a set-piece opportunity for Dortmund; unsurprisingly, the ball was left for Tang Ye to take.

This was Dortmund's set-piece tactic: Pogba, who possessed heading ability, would rush into the penalty area to contest the first ball, while Tang Ye, lacking heading prowess, assumed the dual role of set-piece taker and defensive midfielder.

"Hoo..."

Slap!

The set-piece was taken, sent directly to the far post!

Hummels!

The Dortmund defender jumped up, preparing to win the first point, but unfortunately, the leaping Hummels failed to make contact with the ball.

He jumped too early!

"Damn!"

Hummels spat out a mouthful of saliva and shoved a Juventus player inside the penalty area again, as he was extremely dissatisfied with his own heading performance just now.

Without giving Hummels time to recover, Juventus's attack had already launched.

After receiving the pass, Chiellini wisely chose not to play a long ball; instead, he feigned a pass to deceive Haaland before dribbling forward himself.

Only then, when there was an open space, did he release the ball!

Slap!

A through-pass was delivered, precisely finding the open space.

Morata ran up and took control of the ball!

With only defenders ahead, Morata was in no hurry, dribbling the ball and wandering around the vicinity.

Clearly, he was waiting for C. Ronaldo.

C. Ronaldo ran up from the right side, cutting directly toward the center.

The two executed a crossing run; now Morata, holding the ball, moved toward the right-wing baseline.

"Hey!"

Slap!

A cutback was delivered, but the Dortmund defender stretched out his leg to intercept.

He didn't make contact!

"C. Ronaldo!"

Bang!

C. Ronaldo tapped the ball with his heel, successfully passing it to Chiesa, who was making a run up the left flank.

Aiming for the dead angle at the bottom right, Chiesa made his preparations.

Slap!

A low curling shot was sent out; goalkeeper Hitz dove.

Too late!

"Goal!"

"Chiesa!"

"Oh my god, haha, it's actually Chiesa who scored first!"

In Dortmund versus Juventus, it was quite normal for the away side, Juventus, to score first.

But what was surprising was that the first goal scorer was a young player only 22 years old within the team.

Were Serie A teams finally starting to unleash a youth storm as well!

Tang Ye and Haaland looked at each other, both almost simultaneously shaking their heads.

They had been caught on the counterattack.

This was truly speechless.

"Wow!!"

Chiesa was extremely excited, letting out a roar toward the Dortmund fans in the stands as his teammates embraced him.

Chiesa's first goal for Juventus was a Champions League goal, and moreover, it was the opening goal against Dortmund!

"Beautiful, Federico!"

"Ah!!!"

This was the second roar Chiesa let out to celebrate his goal.

The match continued!

It was now the 26th minute of the first half!

Since Juventus was the side that had scored first, Dortmund naturally accelerated their attacking tempo.

If you wanted to understand Dortmund's rhythm, you only needed to watch what actions Tang Ye was performing on the field.

Weaving back and forth, Tang Ye dribbled the ball with a very rhythmic sense, rising and falling, looking as if he had no intention of attacking.

As Arthur and Ramsey charged toward him, Tang Ye suddenly changed direction and accelerated fiercely.