Chapter 663: Compassion

"We are united!"

"We are the champions!"

As the defending champions of this season's Champions League, the passion of the Manchester United fans is in a league of its own.

At the same time, there is another point.

"This season is Manchester United's best opportunity to prove themselves, to show they can reach the Champions League semi-finals even without their core player."

"Or rather, to prove they don't possess just one core!"

The buffs have fully stacked, yet on the stands, both Ten Hag and Escrivá have sweat beading on their foreheads.

Do you think a head coach sitting in the stands doesn't need to play on the field?

Wrong!

Dead wrong!

In truly high-level football matches, even a head coach in the stands must exert effort; they need to dedicate their soul to this competition!

"Wan-Bissaka..."

Boom!

Wan-Bissaka crashed heavily to the ground, but he had been fooled; Bellingham dragged the ball and knocked it forward, using a feint to shake off Wan-Bissaka.

However, Wan-Bissaka got up from the ground with incredible speed, looking as if he intended to take another swipe at Bellingham.

Pass quickly!

Bellingham passed the ball out to Guerrero at the baseline.

"Over here!"

At the far end, Tang Ye raised his hand, and Guerrero lofted a long pass out to him.

The ball soared over the arc of the penalty area, reaching Tang Ye making a run on the right flank.

Positioning himself firmly and tightening his core, Tang Ye used his chest to lay the ball off to Pogba behind him.

"Shoot directly!"

Adjusting his step, Pogba looked somewhat tangled in his movements, yet he still managed to unleash his shot with all his might.

Boom!

A long-range shot of extreme velocity was struck, but De Gea, diving out, parried it away.

"Damn!"

Pogba flung his hands out violently.

It was so close to being a goal!

"It's okay, it's okay!"

Tang Ye offered comfort, signaling his teammates not to rush.

For Dortmund right now, the most important thing isn't scoring, but establishing offensive suppression.

As long as they create enough attacks, goals will naturally follow!

The 37th minute!

Haaland received a through pass from Tang Ye in the front field, preparing to use his speed to burst into an opportunity.

At that moment, De Ligt charged out from who-knows-where and collided with Haaland.

Under normal circumstances, De Ligt shouldn't have been able to overpower Haaland, but Haaland happened to be off-balance this time, ending up crashing straight to the ground.

Manchester United launched a counter-attack.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Rodri shouted a warning as De Ligt passed the ball up to him.

Rodri prepared to receive the ball while Pogba tracked back to defend.

"Don't tackle!"

Tang Ye shouted, but it was already too late; Pogba executed a sliding tackle, only to realize that Rodri's intention was never to advance with the ball.

He had passed the ball to De Jong in advance!

Dragging the ball and turning!

Tang Ye closed in, forming a one-on-one situation with De Jong.

Retreating little by little.

Tang Ye was under immense pressure now, because to be honest, he wasn't very good at one-on-one defending.

De Jong changed direction!

There's a chance!

Boom!

Tang Ye dove to the ground and slid the ball out.

"Nice!"

Escrivá shouted from the substitute bench.

But just as the ball Tang Ye had slid out was about to go out of bounds, Wan-Bissaka charged up from behind, reaching the ball before it completely crossed the line, and immediately exploded into a sprint with a powerful touch.

"Damn!"

Escrivá clasped his hands over his head.

By now he had realized something was wrong, while Matić on the substitute bench was also signaling the players to retreat.

Manchester United excels at counter-attacks; of course, they wouldn't miss an opportunity to score with just a single explosive burst.

Wan-Bissaka passed the ball forward to Dembélé, who immediately began cutting inside.

"Dembélé, he's going to curl it into the far corner!"

"Eh, a feint, but he's still going to the byline!"

Dembélé shook off his marker with a feint and charged straight for the baseline, putting immense pressure on Akanji.

Because Akanji had no idea which foot Dembélé would use to cross!

Slap!

A cross from the byline by Dembélé!

Nutmegging Akanji in the process!

The center of the penalty area!

Bürki contorted his body into a "K" shape, diving toward Haller, just as Haller prepared to shoot.

Bang!

Bürki collided with Haller, sending the Manchester United striker crashing to the ground.

"Hey!"

Bruno Fernandes spread his hands at the referee, whose reaction was indeed quick enough, rushing over immediately to show Bürki a yellow card.

Yellow card: Bürki.

A yellow card for a goalkeeper hardly matters.

What truly matters is that Manchester United consequently earned a penalty!

"..."

"Woww!!!"

After a brief moment of stunned silence came sudden cheers, followed by fake whistles from the fans and celebratory applause.

"Beep beep beep!!!"

"United!"

Bang bang!

"United!"

Bang bang!

The forwards sprinted back quickly; Reus and Tang Ye returned to the penalty box one after another, each kissing Bürki on the forehead: "It's okay, it's okay, it's fine."

Though their mouths said it was fine, in reality, both of them were panicking terribly.

With Manchester United leading by one at home, Tang Ye could hardly imagine how they were going to play the rest of the match.

"The penalty duty has once again been given to Bruno Fernandes."

The camera focused on Bruno Fernandes preparing to take the spot-kick, while the commentators and fans held their breath.

Below the screen displayed Bruno Fernandes' penalty success rate for this season.

Four goals out of five attempts, an 80% success rate.

This penalty success rate is considered very impressive among teams in the top five European leagues.

"Hiss..."

"Beep!!!"

Short, shuffling steps!

Bruno Fernandes took his final large stride forward.

Slap!

The shot was pushed out.

Bruno Fernandes aimed opposite to the direction of Bürki's dive, and unsurprisingly, the ball went in.

"Goooo——aaaaa——llllll!!!!!"

"Penalty goal from Bruno Fernandes (from B-Fei's penalty)!!!"

Having scored, Bruno Fernandes slid on his knees and rushed out.

It must be said that Bruno Fernandes' first season at Manchester United was truly spectacular, both in the Premier League and the Champions League!

"Vamos!!!"

Rodri roared, and the Manchester United players gathered together by the corner flag, venting their excitement over this goal.

The Premier League directors know best how to create dramatic effect; after showing views of Bruno Fernandes and Rodri, the camera immediately focused on Ten Hag in the stands.

While celebrating, Ten Hag casually glanced in the direction of Escrivá, with Manchester United fans behind him shouting his name.

As for Escrivá.

Escrivá was having a much harder time.

The Spaniard could make no move; all he could do was turn his body forty-five degrees to the side, avoiding eye contact with Ten Hag without making his avoidance appear too obvious.

【We're done for, bros; how do we play when trailing away from home?】

【Manchester United is still fierce; the foundation left from last season is endless.】

【When you think Manchester United isn't strong this season, I suggest looking at last season; their squad this season isn't much different from last.】

【I still feel it's not enough; damn, didn't that Manchester United team from last season tear through Dortmund like killing a chicken?】

【Say no more, my heart is broken, bros.】

Because of Tang Ye, the largest group among Chinese fans consists of Manchester United supporters, especially those who started watching football after 2016; their composition is basically Manchester United plus the China national team's "Red Derby."

However, with Manchester United in the lead, there weren't many people in the comment section cheering.

Because Tang Ye isn't fucking at Manchester United!

With my General GG Bond absent, why did you have to go and take the lead?