Chapter 33: Masterful Positioning, Scoring in Consecutive Matches! (4k)

September 26, afternoon, Amsterdam time.

A coach carrying 18 players and over a dozen club staff members drove toward the Stadion Galgenwaard. Today was the seventh round of the Eredivisie, and Utrecht was set to face Cambuur on their home turf.

"All tickets for the home match have been sold; it’s a full house today," Ten Hag said, standing in the center aisle of the bus with his hands resting on the seats on either side. "With a full house, some of our players might feel a bit of pressure. So, if any of you are feeling particularly nervous, please let me know. Michel and I are here to help."

Captain Ramselaar crossed his arms over his chest. "Come on, Erik, we’ve all experienced sold-out stadiums before. Some of us have even played at Old Trafford; this little bit of pressure won't affect us."

"I know it won't affect you, but some others will be affected," Ten Hag replied. "Not everyone on this team has experienced a full house." As he spoke, he turned his gaze toward Amrabat. As expected, upon hearing about the massive crowd, Amrabat’s expression grew uncomfortable. Ten Hag sighed; it seemed his decision not to start Amrabat today was the right one.

He then looked at Tang Ye, who was sitting next to Amrabat with his eyes closed, leaning back against his seat.

"Hey, Tang!" Ten Hag called out. Tang Ye didn't react.

"Sir, he’s asleep," Amrabat whispered.

"..."

"You should all have Tang Ye’s mindset—well, I mean his mindset, not his attitude. Do you understand what I mean?"

...

"Okay, brothers, welcome back!"

"It’s been a while since the last Utrecht match. Even though it’s only been four days, many of you brothers have been visiting the 'foot massage parlors' too frequently, and your 'happy beans' might be all spent. These four days have been quite agonizing for the brothers!"

"But it doesn't matter; Tang Ye is still on the roster today!"

"Let’s see if 'King Tang' intends to treat the brothers to a foot massage today!"

"Now, let me introduce the starting lineups for both teams!"

Cambuur (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper: Zeinstra
Defenders: Andruskevicius, Peersman, Dammers, Pereira
...

"Ole, Ole, Ole..."

The Stadion Galgenwaard was buzzing. Today’s opponent, Cambuur, was the weakest team Utrecht had encountered in the Eredivisie so far. Because the opponent was relatively weak, Ten Hag decided to get creative.

5-3-2? No, today Ten Hag rolled out a 4-3-3, or more specifically, a 4-1-2-1-2. Two attacking midfielders and two strikers—it was clear they intended to exploit the flanks.

As planned before the match, Utrecht played aggressively. Less than 20 minutes into the first half, Barazite headed in a goal to break the deadlock against Cambuur. By the 30-minute mark, Utrecht was already leading by two goals.

It seemed the situation was completely tilted in Utrecht's favor, but then things started to go wrong. This was Utrecht’s first time playing with a back four this season, and the defensive players were clearly confused. Van der Maarel committed two errors in just five minutes, directly gifting Cambuur a goal.

"Oh!" Ten Hag clutched the back of his head, took a deep breath, and sat down on the bench.

"We’ve adjusted now, let’s switch to a back five," Valkanovic suggested in Ten Hag’s ear. With Utrecht leading by one goal, switching to a more defensive setup was the safest choice, but Ten Hag didn't want to play that way.

"If we suddenly switch to a back five, we’ll lose even more!" The Dutchman knew the guys on his team very well. He hadn't drilled the idea of a mid-game tactical shift into them; if he changed the formation abruptly, the players wouldn't be able to handle it. Seeing Ten Hag refuse the suggestion, Valkanovic had no choice but to stay quiet.

At that moment, Ten Hag felt someone tapping his shoulder. He turned to see it was Tang Ye.

"Lazy pig, what’s wrong? Do you need to go to the bathroom?"

Tang Ye pointed at his teammates attacking on the pitch. "Mr. Erik, let me go up and try."

From where he was sitting, Tang Ye saw it clearly: Cambuur was primarily attacking down the flanks, which meant that as an attacking midfielder in the center, he didn't have many defensive duties. The pressure on him would be minimal! Of course, the main goal was the 'Counter-Attack Points.' Since the opponent wasn't strong, Tang Ye felt he had a chance to earn them.

"You? Going on?" Ten Hag looked Tang Ye up and down. "But your eyes were closed an hour ago. Can you handle it?"

"Definitely," Tang Ye promised, patting his chest. Ten Hag frowned in thought for a moment before deciding to send him on.

"Here we go, it's the 44th minute of the match, and the Utrecht coaching staff has requested a substitution..."

"Let’s see how this substitution decision by Ten Hag turns out..."

"Tang Ye replaces Ayoub!"

"A perfect substitution, a perfect substitution! The great Dutch manager has brought on their strongest attacking player!"

Three minutes later:

"The first half has ended. It’s a pity—although Tang Ye is on the pitch, he hasn't touched the ball yet."

"Dammit, can't these Utrecht defenders play football? Is passing to Tang Ye such a difficult task?"

The first half ended with Tang Ye’s touch count at zero. The back-four system Ten Hag deployed today was not friendly to Tang Ye at all; the moment the defenders got the ball, they sent it to the flanks. Tang Ye wasn't a player with massive coverage, so he ended up just walking back and forth. By the time stoppage time ended, Tang Ye didn't even know how much air was in the ball used for today’s match.

At halftime, Ten Hag gave a speech in the middle of the dressing room. Tang Ye, sitting in the corner with his arms resting on his thighs, thought it over and felt something was wrong. He poked Van der Maarel’s arm. "Mate, you can pass to me in the second half."

"But if you don't come back to get the ball, how can I pass it to you?"

"Then I’ll come back."

"Can... can you really do that?"

Tang Ye patted Van der Maarel’s shoulder. "Don't worry, I’m very steady."

The second half began! Utrecht, having already made a substitution in the first half, made another, with Amrabat replacing Janssen. Thus, both players promoted from the second team were now on the pitch. The bond between Tang Ye and Amrabat was forged!

"Run forward, I’m watching!" Amrabat controlled the ball and signaled for Tang Ye to move. Tang Ye began to move forward as instructed. However, Amrabat immediately committed a turnover; Ogbaike rushed up, used his shoulder to body him off, and snatched the ball away.

"Get back!" Ramselaar yelled, sprinting back. The moment Ogbaike tried to pass across, Ramselaar reached Balto and kicked the ball back to the defender.

Now, Van der Maarel had the ball! Cambuur’s attacking line wasn't pressing high today—a classic low block. But now the ball was right there, and Ogbaike was bound to charge.

"Give it to me!" Tang Ye boldly called for the ball. Seeing Tang Ye’s bravery, Ten Hag couldn't help but clap in approval.

*Bang!*

Van der Maarel remembered what Tang Ye said at halftime and sent a pass to him. Tang Ye received the ball, ready to turn, when Amrabat shouted, "Behind you!" Tang Ye looked back and saw Ovgur still quite a distance away. When he turned his head back, the ball at his feet had already been stolen by Ogbaike.

"Holy shit!" Tang Ye thought, *this is bad*, and scrambled to run back. Van der Maarel looked like he was facing an enemy army!

Tang Ye couldn't quite catch up to Ogbaike, but his thought process was clear. Ogbaike was the attacker; unless he intended to shoot directly, he would have to slow down upon reaching the edge of the penalty area. Sure enough, Ogbaike slowed down to distribute the ball to the flank. Tang Ye seized the opportunity, slid to tackle the ball away, and Ramselaar rushed back to clear it.

Tang Ye stood up and gave Van der Maarel a thumbs up. "See? I told you, passing to me is very steady."

Van der Maarel: "..."

"What are you guys playing? Where’s the coordination? What kind of teamwork is this!"

Ten Hag had been in a decent mood, but after watching that disastrous exchange between Amrabat and Tang Ye, his heart skipped a beat. They both came up from the second team, so how could they produce such a performance?

"It's fine, it's fine, I'm working on it," Tang Ye said, raising his hand toward Ten Hag on the sidelines. "I've found my rhythm; watch our coordination now."

In the 68th minute, Cambuur finally found an attacking chance. Balto broke through on the flank but was eventually blocked by Ramselaar. The two started a one-on-one duel. Tang Ye normally wouldn't go to the flank, but his touch count had been so low that he proactively moved to the right wing. He pretended to track back, but in reality, he curved his run to sneak behind Balto.

"Someone’s behind you!" a Cambuur player warned, but it was too late. Tang Ye poked his foot between Balto’s legs and chipped the ball to Ramselaar.

"Haha!" Tang Ye, having succeeded, acted cocky and took off running. Ramselaar saw the opening. He used a feint to shake off Balto, then sent a through ball forward—right to Tang Ye’s position.

"Tang Ye is running! King Tang is off! Control the ball!"

"Right flank, Tang Ye keeps running toward the byline!"

Tang Ye was now very close to the right sideline, almost grazing it as he moved forward. This was an excellent position because he could see all his teammates in the front court.

The problem was that Tang Ye was already panting. "Damn, I'm so tired."

"Damn it, keep running! Don't drag your teammates down!" Ten Hag shouted at him. The next second, Tang Ye began his move. He didn't cross the ball; instead, he played a curved pass from right to left.

[Kevin De Bruyne Curved Through-Ball, Lv3: Simulation]
Proficiency: 2/200

*No wonder this kick felt so comfortable.* So, it was a skill activation!

"Wow!" The fans near the away stand stood up. From a bird's-eye view, the path of the ball looked like a backward 'C'. The ball soared over Cambuur's fullback and center-back, finally landing in the middle, right where Barazite was making his run.

The ball was in the air, and the position was decent. The only drawback was that it was a bit far. Barazite saw the timing and rushed up to head it. A header! But it went straight over the crossbar.

"You idiot! Nacer!" Ten Hag roared in anger at Barazite on the pitch. "I told you, don't drag your teammates down!"

"Tang intentionally slowed down just now, and you couldn't react to that? If you had run out earlier, you wouldn't have missed that distance! Idiot, use your brain!"

"Damn it!" Ten Hag turned away, waving his hand in frustration, and complained to Valkanovic on the bench: "He couldn't even read such an obvious tactical pause. Nacer’s attacking awareness is terrible!"

...

As the seconds ticked away, the fans in the live stream felt the pressure. It was currently 2-1. But a 2-1 win wouldn't earn as much as a 3-1 win. Don't underestimate that one-goal difference; it decided how many extra hours you could afford tonight! A 298-level experience was comfortable, but a 598-level one was worth savoring!

The game reached the 75th minute. The data team behind the scenes released the possession stats. Everyone was surprised to find that despite being in the lead, Utrecht only had 47% possession. Why?

The camera focused on Tang Ye. The data team displayed his stats on the screen: 34 minutes on the pitch, 9.2 seconds of possession time. So, there was a mole on the team!

But it didn't matter; the fans in the stream knew their "King Tang" was best at redemption.

"Utrecht, corner kick!"

"Haller and Barazite, these two are key! But they are both being marked."

"Huh? Holy shit! Tang Ye! Tang Ye, jump! Header!"

"Tang Ye didn't get the header... I forgot Tang Ye has no heading ability."

"It's okay, still a chance! Follow-up shot!"

"..."

"Goal! Goal! Goal!"

The fans in the stream and the spectators at the stadium all had one question in their minds: *Master, aren't you an attacking midfielder? Why are you appearing there?*

The broadcast showed the replay: after Ramselaar raised his hand on the flank, Tang Ye circled behind Van der Maarel and snuck into the penalty area. The Cambuur defenders all had their assigned marks; no one had noticed Tang Ye slipping in!

A substitute appearance in the Eredivisie, scoring in consecutive matches!

"Top-tier running... positioning!"

"Top-tier positioning! King Tang is still exerting his influence!"