Chapter 64: Killer Move! Or Not?

"Impressive!"

Ten Hag let out a heartfelt exclamation; just moments ago, there were very few Utrecht players standing inside the penalty area, and when Jansen lifted his leg to shoot, Ten Hag's heart nearly stopped.

Fortunately, Tang Ye rushed out in time to intercept.

Although Lazy Pig is lazy, he is still a pig; when a wild boar charges at someone, it is absolutely first-rate in ferocity!

"Holy crap, holy crap!"

After rolling half a circle, Tang Ye quickly scrambled up and immediately checked on Klasen, who was lying on the ground beside him.

Clasping his ankle with a twisted expression, Klasen unleashed a barrage of curses at Tang Ye: "You damn idiot..."

"Sorry, sorry! Are you okay? Are you okay?"

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Tang Ye hurried over and helped Klasen up from the ground.

Grasping Tang Ye's outstretched right hand, Klasen exerted effort and stood up: "Cough, cough, it's fine, actually it doesn't hurt that much."

"Brother, I'm truly sorry."

Tang Ye placed his hand on Klasen's shoulder.

When Klasen lifted his leg, Tang Ye had been startled, his attention entirely focused on the ball; he hadn't expected to take out both the ball and Klasen himself with the tackle.

It was indeed Tang Ye's mistake.

Getting tackled on the ankle is extremely painful; Tang Ye knew just how painful it was, which was precisely why he was apologizing to Klasen.

Since Tang Ye touched the ball first and did not show his studs, the referee did not call a foul on him; it was a legitimate defensive play.

Phew...

Tang Ye exhaled a huge sigh of relief.

He had almost thought he was going to receive a yellow card!

The first half of the match continued, and by now, some home fans in the stands had begun chanting "Tom."

One long pass and one tackle—performances on both the offensive and defensive ends.

What defines a perfect midfielder?

This is what a perfect midfielder looks like!

"Hiss, I feel that if Tang Ye hadn't passed the ball, Utrecht would basically have had no chance; look at Ramselaar and Jansen, those two Utrecht defensive midfielders seem a bit strange."

"One only knows how to shoot, the other only knows how to dribble."

"But it doesn't matter; once Tang Ye starts performing, it'll be fine."

"Do you know how Utrecht needs to play right now?"

Wang Chao posed a question to his livestream audience: "Let me tell you, Utrecht's primary task right now is defense, ensuring the opponent doesn't score, and then waiting for Tang Ye to have a moment of brilliance to directly win the match 1-0!"

【Is the streamer starting to daydream? You're directly imagining a goal into existence, aren't you?】

【Sure, Utrecht is already leading 1-0, but only in Wang Chao's dreams.】

【Indeed, Tang Ye needs to find opportunities, but the problem right now is that Ajax's possession rate is too high; for Utrecht to hold firm and prevent the opponent from scoring is actually very difficult.】

【As everyone knows, bet against the favorite and you'll own a villa by the sea; I'm directly betting on Ajax to beat Utrecht 1-0.】

【User above, you've betrayed Tang Ye; be careful he doesn't retaliate with a last-minute killer goal!】

【I won't bet on the exact score; as long as Utrecht draws or wins, I can make a small profit.】

【Trust Brother Meng; devout believers will be rewarded.】

【Rewarded? By the time it's over, Ajax will have scored a hat-trick.】

"1-0 is impossible? Haha!"

The barrage of comments from the Douyu warriors in the livestream successfully made Wang Chao laugh; being a ruthless fellow himself, without another word he hit Alt+Tab to switch screens and, right in front of his fans, used his bank card to pay 3,000 yuan to bet on a 1-0 scoreline.

The odds were 12.7 times.

【6, the streamer is a real man, but real men usually don't make big money.】

The situation was somewhat tense; for most of the remaining first half, Ajax was on the attack, and the visiting team's possession rate was directly pulled up to 73%.

They basically controlled the ball in Utrecht's half for over ten minutes!

However, today Utrecht's goal might as well have been wrapped in a condom; Ajax shot nine times, yet somehow couldn't score a single goal.

The first half ended with both teams failing to score!

"Damn it!"

Tang Ye placed his hands on his hips, inhaling and exhaling rapidly.

Although he had drunk 【Vardy's Red Bull】 before the match, the intensity of this game was indeed high, and after playing 45 minutes, he was already feeling somewhat tired.

"Great pass!"

Haller walked over and high-fived Tang Ye, offering encouragement to this U17 player on the team.

Haller's form hadn't been very good in the first half; he hoped to adjust himself back in the second half.

Haller absolutely had to get his form right at the start of the second half because he knew that Tang Ye would very likely ramp up his efforts in the second half.

He must capitalize on Tang Ye's passes!

In the visiting team's locker room, head coach Frank de Boer had not yet returned, and the Ajax players inside were already arguing.

Younes stood in front of Klasen, shouting loudly: "Davy, that number 99 tackled you down; you should have cursed at him, why didn't you curse at him!"

Younes was playing uncomfortably, and the fact that Klasen got tackled without doing anything about it had completely drained Ajax's momentum.

"Forget it, forget it, it's not necessary."

Klasen waved his hand indifferently: "Anyway, it didn't hurt that much, it doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter? No!"

At this point, it wasn't just Younes; the other Ajax players in the locker room were also dissatisfied: "Davy, if you get tackled, you have to curse back; you could even go up and push him, otherwise that number 99 will tackle you again in the second half!"

"Stop talking, stop talking!"

Klaassen, annoyed by his teammates, snapped, "I know the logic; you don't need to keep emphasizing it. I can't help it either."

Klaassen pointed at the locker room door: "Damn it, do you know that guy came over and apologized to me? How the hell am I supposed to curse him now?"

"What? He apologized to you?"

Younis raised an eyebrow: "Why did he apologize to you?"

"How the hell should I know!"

Klaassen sat back down on the bench.

At the moment he was tackled, he had actually been furious, but Tang Ye's single sentence had immediately stifled the anger rising in his throat.

"Wait, seriously? Someone actually apologizes after a tackle?"

Younis looked as if he'd seen a ghost: "I've been tackled hundreds of times; why has no one ever apologized to me?"

"Davie, I guarantee you've fallen for that Number 99's trick! You've been played!"

"No, definitely not!"

Klaassen retorted: "He's actually a decent guy; he even helped me up. Hmm... he speaks nicely too. People from Asia are generally very polite."

"..."

Younis was somewhat speechless; he could feel that Klaassen had surely been deceived by that Number 99!

The players rinsed their mouths with water just as head coach De Boer pushed the door open and entered.

"Okay, everyone sit down first; let me talk about the first half."

About ten seconds passed after De Boer finished speaking before every single player in the locker room had finally taken a seat.

In truth, De Boer felt somewhat helpless; last season, Ajax's four consecutive league titles had come to an end, and De Boer's standing in the locker room had plummeted accordingly.

But locker room dynamics were a matter for later; what De Boer needed to do now was tell the players how to play the second half.

What must they do to win the match?

"Just as we said yesterday, our opponents will use wing attacks to target us, but I didn't expect them to actually play with three forwards."

"Pay attention: it's mainly Haller and Di Di Bala. The one in the middle, Josten—the player promoted from the reserve team—serves primarily as a decoy, so when that guy enters the penalty area, you don't need to be so tense."

Whoosh—!

De Boer pulled over the mobile tactics board and quickly arranged the magnetic buttons representing both teams' players with a series of clicks.

Then, under the gaze of the locker room players, De Boer picked up the red button in the very center.

"That Number 99. Remember? Before the match, I said that guy seemed a bit strange, but I didn't expect him to be this strange."

"Be careful; remember to pay special attention to his positioning, especially when defending."

Defender Veltman raised his hand: "So how exactly does that Number 99 play?"

"Good question!"

De Boer pointed at Veltman, then gave his answer.

"I don't know either."

"Bijansdesteenbalprecies (Ultimately)"

"Wateenbalmoetdoen (Playing football is exactly what we should do)"

"Wehebbengoedespelers (We have excellent players)"

"..."

The second half was about to begin; as both teams stood in the tunnel, the fans in the stands began singing Utrecht's anthem.

Tang Ye stood motionless, seemingly lost in thought.

"How is it?"

Ramselaar looked at Tang Ye.

"How is what?"

"I mean the anthem."

"Oh, it's not very melodic, but... it's incredibly stirring."

Tang Ye gave his reply.

During the match, his attention had been entirely on opponents and teammates; he genuinely hadn't noticed that Utrecht's anthem was so stirring.

Come to think of it, this was the loudest team anthem Tang Ye had heard since transferring to Utrecht.

As both teams slowly walked onto the pitch, Ramselaar beside him asked Tang Ye a very strange question: "Do you know what the anthem signifies?"

"What does it signify?"

"It signifies victory!"

Ramselaar clenched both fists: "The fans expect us to achieve victory!"

Tang Ye couldn't fully grasp the meaning behind Ramselaar's words; he simply nodded, then pulled a piece of chewing gum from his pocket.

Regardless of the fans' opinions, Tang Ye definitely wanted to win this match!

Beep—!!!

The match resumed; as the kicking-off side, Ajax immediately launched an attack against Utrecht.

Ajax's final possession rate in the first half had been 73%; at the start of the second half, Ajax continued to control the ball.

The 62nd minute!

"Go!"

Riedewald shouted, playing a through ball forward to Milik, who turned and laid the ball off to Younis.

Younis dribbled down the wing at tremendous speed; Ramselaar felt considerable pressure, so before rushing up, he called Tang Ye over in advance, aiming to set up a safety-cover defense.

The feared scenario unfolded: Younis, executing a one-two pass with Serero, successfully dribbled past Ramselaar.

Younis faced Tang Ye head-on!

"Damn!"

Watching Younis charge straight at him, Tang Ye felt a flicker of fear in his heart.

Because Younis's massive beard was truly terrifying!

"Going in!"

Tang Ye accelerated, sliding in with a tackle.

!!!

Startled, Younis hastily hooked the ball with his toe and leaped into the air.

What the hell?

Tang Ye's eyes lit up; he knew that if Younis got past, their own goal would be in danger, so he had no choice but to lift his right leg, which had been planted on the ground.

"Ah!"

Younis was tripped by Tang Ye, lost control of his balance, and fell to the ground; the referee blew the whistle immediately.

"Ah!!"

Younis rolled back and forth on the ground, and seeing Tang Ye approach, he cursed, "You f***ing idiot... fool..."

"Sorry, bro, you okay?"

Tang Ye extended his right hand to Younis: "I really couldn't defend without fouling; are you alright?"

Younis's face flushed red; grabbing Tang Ye's hand, he stood up: "It's nothing, I was just joking earlier, no big deal."

"That's good, that's good."

Tang Ye nodded and ran back toward his own half.

Because of this foul, he received a yellow card, but Tang Ye could only accept it.

It was a counter-attack, and Utrecht's defenders in their own half hadn't fully returned to position yet; Tang Ye had no choice but to commit this foul.

"Damn, Lazy Pig, not bad!"

Ten Hag threw a right uppercut into the air.

The feed... oh no, the food in the first-team canteen hadn't been wasted on Tang Ye!

Two sliding tackles in defensive actions within a single match.

Lazy Pig?

Brother Pig!

"Holy crap, that was close; Tang Ye's performance today is indeed solid. To be honest, if not for Tang Ye's two crucial interceptions, Utrecht would likely have already conceded a goal."

"There are still 25 minutes left; keep it up, Utrecht still has a decent chance."

"A draw? Laughable. Do you even watch football? Both sides are playing so fiercely in this match; a draw is impossible."

"..."

"What a pity, damn it, it's already the 81st minute, and Utrecht still hasn't scored?"

"I'm begging you, I'm begging you, can't you score one! Damn, this match really cannot end in a draw."

Wang Chao was already starting to regret it; during the first half, in an attempt to show off, he had bet 3,000 yuan on a 1:0 scoreline.

The pressure was immense!

"Tang Ye, aren't you going to step up yet? The next time we play Ajax will be next year!"

"Tang Ye!"

On the pitch, Tang Ye playing the game was completely unaware of the immense mission now resting on his shoulders.

However, Tang Ye truly had no other option; the pressure Ajax applied in the attacking third was simply too great. Ten Hag substituted Amrabat for Jansen in an attempt to alleviate the defensive pressure, but it had absolutely no effect.

The match reached the 84th minute; Utrecht had finally managed to create an attacking opportunity, only for Ajax to repay them in kind, as Bazoer executed a tactical foul that immediately slammed the brakes on Utrecht's attack.

A set piece!

It was assigned to Ramselaar and Tang Ye.

Ramselaar, the primary set-piece taker, held the ball and observed the situation inside the penalty area.

The more he observed, the more familiar it felt.

Hiss—

Wasn't this the exact spot where Tang Ye had delivered that precise cross during the match against Nijmegen two games ago?

"Tang."

Ramselaar called Tang Ye over to the set-piece spot to observe, then asked a question worthy of deep contemplation: "Do you want to take this one?"

Ramselaar expected Tang Ye to refuse, since taking this shot required bearing immense psychological pressure.

Unexpectedly, Tang Ye simply took the ball directly.

Alright then!

Ramselaar slapped his own head.

He had almost forgotten that this guy, Tang Ye, was immune to pressure!

"Set piece, Tang Ye!"

"Send it in, Haller!"

"Head it in the box!"

"Haller! Goal!"

"History repeats itself, a perfect combination!"

"History has repeated itself! 1:0!"

Wang Chao screamed hysterically, but then the commentator corrected himself, and Wang Chao noticed something was off again.

"Wait!"

"That wasn't Alex's header!"

"What's going on? Wasn't that the game-winning goal?"

……

(End of Chapter)