Chapter 70: Assist Hat-trick! (20k update, seeking monthly tickets!)

Joosten turned around and only then realized what the problem was.

Tang Ye's pass just now had curved!

An outside-of-the-foot driven pass; the ball first flew from right to left, then from left to right.

A ball intended for the left touchline curved sharply and went straight toward the baseline.

And now standing at the left baseline was...

Haller!

Him!

Haller controlled the ball with his chest, turned, successfully trapped Tang Ye's pass, and then suddenly accelerated forward.

Facing Groningen's two center-backs, Haller chose to shoot directly!

"GOOOOOO——AAAAAA——LLLLLL!!!!"

"Haller, goal! 2:1, Utrecht pulls away again!"

Wang Chao jumped to his feet immediately.

This match was developing exactly as he had anticipated!

"Hmm..."

Tang Ye let out a sigh of relief.

That earlier blunder had made him feel a bit awkward, but fortunately, he had immediately redeemed himself with an assist.

"The progress is truly rapid."

Ten Hag clapped his hands in approval.

The effect of the extra training was genuinely obvious!

Tang Ye's passing was becoming increasingly precise!

"What about his positioning?"

Fan Fan Dejiahe raised a fatal question: Tang Ye's coverage ability through running.

If this shortcoming was not resolved, Tang Ye was destined to be unable to play at a high level.

"That's a minor issue."

Ten Hag waved his hand: "Speed and stamina can both be trained gradually."

If extra training could succeed once, it could succeed a second time.

It did not matter that Tang Ye was not a genius.

Ten Hag was the genius!

"Erik, so how should we train him?"

Fan Fan Dejiahe pressed further; Ten Hag could not answer immediately, so he first sat back down on the substitutes' bench.

"Hmm, let's start with some extra training to see if we can ignite his talent; with such good positioning awareness, his other talents shouldn't be poor either."

"..."

Fan Fan Dejiahe was somewhat speechless.

Other people's extra training: using advanced training systems to help players improve.

Ten Hag's extra training: seeing how much hidden talent you still have left to unearth!

The first half resumed; after going up 2:1, Utrecht began to gain momentum, and before the half ended, Koom, making a late run from behind, unleashed a long-range shot, but unfortunately failed to score.

The second half began; leading by one goal, Utrecht did not switch to a five-defender formation.

Ten Hag's arrogance irritated the home fans, but they could do nothing about it.

They were currently the side trailing!

"Groningen!"

Bang bang!

"Groningen!"

Bang bang bang!

Fans in the home stands clapped then opened their hands, shouting the home team's name.

They were using this method to express support for their team, and this cheering style indeed produced an effect.

Right at the start of the second half, Groningen once gained dominance in play, making Wang Chao's heart pound with fear.

"To the wing! Move to the wing!"

"Tang, run!"

The sudden drop in possession made Ten Hag slightly nervous; urged by Ten Hag, Tang Ye was forced to move to the wing.

Ramselaar ran up; Tang Ye moved to receive the pass from the Utrecht captain.

Groningen's players were no fools; they knew which player was easy to bully, so when Tang Ye received the ball, Kappelhof and Lin Sen almost simultaneously ran toward Tang Ye.

"Damn?"

Sensing the movement behind him, Tang Ye pretended to pass but actually stayed rooted to the spot.

He trapped the ball with the front of his foot, then called out to a teammate at the far end: "William!"

Jansen, whose name had been called, ran toward Tang Ye; Jansen also immediately drew the attention of Groningen's players.

Just then, Tang Ye suddenly pulled the ball back behind him with his foot, followed immediately by a sudden turn!

Kappelhof had never expected Tang Ye to choose this method of dribbling past him.

Uh...

Watching Tang Ye break through on his own, Jansen, who had hurried over, finally realized something was amiss.

He had been tricked by his own teammate!

"Tang Ye! Start the performance!"

"He's accelerating now, Tang Ye is incredibly violent! Keep up this speed, Tang Ye will be utterly invincible."

"Holy crap! Tang Ye has gone down! Damn it, that number 2 on the opposing side has no honor!"

"But it doesn't matter; before hitting the ground, Tang Ye passed the ball out!"

"Not bad, everything is unfolding exactly as Tang Ye predicted!"

"..."

"Goal! Beautiful! Ramselaar executed a perfect run to break through the defense and score!"

In the camera shot, Ramselaar, having completed the goal, ran toward the sidelines, stopped, and let out a furious roar at the home team's stands.

Then the camera suddenly switched, focusing on Tang Ye on the right wing.

As the initiator of this attack, Utrecht's superstar number 99 was rolling back and forth on the ground.

"Damn it, I'm really screwed..."

Kappelhoff truly had no honor; Tang Ye had just been preparing to play a 【De Bruyne Curved Through Ball】, but that guy simply took Tang Ye down.

Interrupting someone while they are using a skill—if that isn't lacking honor, what is?

"Medic, medic!"

Ten Hag shouted for the team doctor from the substitutes' bench, but the next second, Tang Ye rolled twice on the ground, got up, and ran to the corner flag to celebrate with his teammates.

【As expected, it has to be Tang Tang Qiuwang; everything about the A-League and the Brazilian Serie A is a lie, there are no fixed matches in the Eredivisie!】

【Wait, is that number 2 so arrogant? Taking Tang Ye down directly?】

【It's fine, Tang Tang Qiuwang gave his all; he passed the ball out before falling.】

"Hiss, what a pity!"

Wang Chao pouted: "If that goal had been an assist by Tang Ye, he would already have a hat-trick of assists; it was just a tiny bit short!"

"The streamer is just here to make money; whether Tang Ye scores or not has nothing to do with you... What the hell? The moderator just muted ks524 directly. Damn it, who doesn't know I, Wang Chao, have been a fan of Tang Ye for twenty years?"

"Go ask around; who on this entire website was the first to livestream Tang Ye's matches?"

"Go ask at the police station... Hey, brother, brother, don't be like this, brother, none of us have it easy, it's almost Chinese New Year, there's no need for this, isn't it better to maintain harmony and generate wealth?"

The match continued; arriving at the 70th minute, Utrecht now held a two-goal advantage.

Tang Ye took a moment to glance at his system.

【French High-Tier Chest Upgrade Progress: 2/5】

He already had two assists; securing two assists in a single match might have been enough for anyone else to stop pushing.

But Tang Ye absolutely would not.

Because he was different from others; he bore the mission of upgrading the chest!

Groningen, just like Tang Ye, had not given up either.

Trailing by two goals, Groningen began their counterattack against Utrecht.

Now it was Tibbling carrying the ball and breaking through.

This fellow Tibbling was extremely arrogant; not only did he dribble on the wing where there were few players, but he actually dared to carry the ball actively into the center?

Today, Tang Ye must teach this guy a lesson.

Running up from the center, Tibbling, with his broad field of vision, immediately noticed Tang Ye.

But to Tibbling, Tang Ye posed no threat; Tibbling slowly reduced his speed, luring Tang Ye into pressing him.

Once Tang Ye ran over, Tibbling suddenly passed the ball to Kappelhoff, who was running up on his right side.

A classic case of entrapment.

Except today, what Tibbling was fishing for was not a fish, but a pig!

What the hell?

Tang Ye felt somewhat annoyed, as he suddenly realized he had been trapped!

"Chase back! Hurry up and chase!"

Hearing Ten Hag's familiar voice, Tang Ye instantly felt filled with strength; locating the direction where Kappelhoff was, he ran straight over.

Tang Ye's speed was not fast, but Kappelhoff currently had possession of the ball.

A player running with the ball is not only disturbed by the rolling ball but also targeted by the opponent's defending players.

But Tang Ye was different; as the one tracking back, he only needed to run directly toward Kappelhoff's location.

With this give-and-take, Tang Ye successfully caught up to Kappelhoff.

"Someone behind you!"

A teammate warned; Kappelhoff turned his head and saw Tang Ye.

At this moment, Tang Ye was looking at him with a full smile on his face!

Haha!

Sensing an opportunity, Tang Ye went straight for a slide tackle!

???

Kappelhoff was startled; he tried to chip the ball and jump, but only succeeded halfway.

His body had indeed jumped up, but the ball remained on the ground!

Tang Ye thought for a moment, reining in his force at the last moment to pin the ball to the grass with his ankle, waiting for his body to stabilize before using his foot to control the ball.

The ball was hooked to Tang Ye's side; Kappelhoff tried to snatch it, causing Tang Ye to panic slightly, so he quickly used his body to shield the ball.

"Give it to me, give it to me!"

Ramselaar called for the ball from Tang Ye; sitting on the ground, Tang Ye rotated half a circle on the spot to build momentum, then poked the ball through to Ramselaar with the tip of his toe.

Normally, a ball wouldn't travel far without a proper leg swing, but Tang Ye's spin imparted enough power to it.

"No?"

Ten Hag stretched his neck out extremely long.

Is this how you play football!

"A spinning pass goes to Ramselaar; Tang Ye climbs up from the ground, preparing to move forward in support..."

"Oh, no rush, first apologize to Kaperhof."

"Tang Ye remains very polite."

"Hmm, something's wrong!"

Wang Chao frowned; he had noticed something amiss.

Tang Ye's speed wasn't fast; his pace in supporting his teammates' attack certainly couldn't match Kaperhof's speed.

This looked like an apology.

In reality, Tang Ye was delaying Kaperhof!

"Ramselaar! Dribble inward yourself!"

"The backfield is wide open; this is a chance for Utrecht!"

Tang Ye's apology tactic worked to some extent, but the Groningen players were no pushovers either; several of them blocked Ramselaar, who was making a forward run.

Tang Ye had already reached his position, yet Ramselaar still hadn't passed the ball out.

But it didn't matter; the Utrecht players had also gotten into position. Haller received the ball, combined with Josten, and then went down the left flank.

The cross comes out!

Jos...

Huh?

Tang Ye has the ball!

For some reason, Haller's cross ended up at Tang Ye's feet.

At this moment, Tang Ye was facing the goalkeeper directly!

Prepare to swing the leg!

But Tang Ye remained extremely rational.

What he wanted now was an assist, not a goal!

Thus, Tang Ye, facing the goalkeeper directly, made an unexpected move.

He passed the ball to Di Di Bala, who was open on the right side!

"Bang!"

Di Di Bala fired a volley!

【French High-Level Chest Upgrade Progress: 3/5】

Nice!

That familiar sound rang out, and Tang Ye jumped up on the spot.

"Tom!"

Having completed his brace, Di Di Bala was extremely excited; he rushed over and hugged Tang Ye, who was still in mid-air.

"Tang, that was amazing!"

That goal was completely gifted to him by Tang Ye!

Clap clap clap!

Fan Fan Dejiahe on the substitutes' bench kept clapping incessantly.

With only a goalkeeper ahead of him, Tang Ye could have completely chosen to shoot himself, but instead he chose to pass the ball to Di Di Bala on his right, who was in a better position.

His vision was top-tier, no doubt, but his match mentality was top-tier among the top-tier.

Let alone a 16-year-old; even a 36-year-old player might not necessarily possess this level of selfless dedication, right?

Di Di Bala carried Tang Ye on his back to the corner flag, while Tang Ye raised his right hand high to celebrate.

A 36-year-old player lacks the awareness to make a selfless pass.

But a 37-year-old player does!

【At 37 years old, you have completed the first assist hat-trick of your career in an Eredivisie official match, thereby becoming the oldest player to achieve an assist hat-trick in the Eredivisie; young little Di Di Bala thanks you for your selfless contribution】

【Bonus Reward: Counterattack Points * 10】

The camera cut to the goalkeeper, Pat.

Pat stood on the goal line with a look of utter helplessness.

Why would a player be this selfless?

Pat couldn't figure it out.

Perhaps this is the gap between an ordinary player and a star player!

"Beep beep beep!!!"

"Beep beep beep!!!"

The Groningen fans in the stands vented their dissatisfaction with fake whistle sounds.

A 1:3 scoreline was still acceptable, but 1:4 meant losing by a large margin.

This was something the Groningen fans could not accept!

The home team felt terrible, but they simply had no solution.

It was the same when they played against Utrecht in the first half of the league season.

Clearly, the possession rates weren't much different; in fact, Groningen's possession rate was even slightly higher.

But no matter what, they just couldn't score against their opponent!

Utrecht always seemed to concede goals for no reason!

"Beep, beep-beep——!!!"

The final whistle blew, ending the match with a score of 1:4.

"Utrecht!"

"Utrecht!"

"Ten Hag!"

"Ten Hag!"

The away fans chanted the name of their head coach.

There weren't many away fans, but they were passionate enough; upon hearing his name, Ten Hag actively approached the area below the away stand to enjoy the fans' praise.

This was what he, Erik Ten Hag, deserved!

……

"Yes, we nearly controlled the match. Possession rate? That doesn't mean much."

Ten Hag answered the reporter's question with a smile: "Actually, I believe everyone could see that the opponent's (referring to Groningen) goal was purely down to luck."

【194】 "The final score of this match should have been 0:4, or even 0:5, 0:6; you know, we missed quite a few scoring opportunities, otherwise the opponent wouldn't have had it so easy."

"The final score of this match should be 0:4, or even 0:5, 0:6; you know, we failed to convert so many goal-scoring opportunities—otherwise, the opponent wouldn't have had it so easy."

Ordinary coaches only teach players how to score more goals during the match.

But Ten Hag is different; he is not an ordinary coach.

He is the Eredivisie Coach of the Month for October and December.

Besides teaching players how to score goals during matches, Ten Hag personally scores goals after the match ends, personally leading the team toward even more glorious victories!

Front-page headline of the "Utrecht Evening Post"—Ten Hag's Outrageous Post-Match Remarks: Utrecht Crushes Groningen 6:0!

……

(End of Chapter)