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Chapter 156: Career Rejuvenation

"Wang--!! Good shot! Good shot! Wang scored! He scored the first goal for Tyne! With only eleven minutes into the game, Tyne was leading by one goal away from home! Wang..."

Seeing Wang Lie shovel the ball into the goal, Danilo Lindsay turned off the live video, and the commentator Connor Cowley's excited shouts stopped abruptly in his headphones.

No need to read any further.

After Wang Lie scored, it will be difficult for Tyne to lose today's game.

After winning the game against Wolverhampton, he was still hoping that the relegation team Leeds would be able to help him hold Tyne back and make Tyne capsize.

Now it seems that he was just wishful thinking.

After becoming the interim head coach of Sofia United, he has always held himself to the standards of a formal head coach.

He also dreamed that if he could lead the team to regain the Champions League qualification, could he be promoted to the official head coach?

But if Tyne keeps winning, then Sofia United will not be able to surpass their opponents in the league. If they want to qualify for the Champions League, they can only rely on the Europa League.

But in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final, the team lost 1:3 away from home. If they want to turn the tables at home, it is not impossible, but it is very difficult...

Lindsay was unsure either.

※※※

Lindsay was right.

After Wang Lie scored the goal, the game lost its suspense.

Leeds will of course have to fight to avoid relegation.

They also fought hard at home.

But their efforts were in vain as they lost the ball eleven minutes into the game, which could be considered a premature loss.

Inspired by Wang Lie's goal, the Tyne team continued to attack Leeds' goal.

In the 32nd minute of the first half, Vitini shot in the penalty area, which was blocked by the Leeds goalkeeper. Then Tyne midfielder Joshua Parker made a follow-up shot and scored.

At the end of the first half, Tyne led Leeds 2:0.

However, during the half-time break, Wang Lie still reminded his teammates not to be happy too early, as a two-goal lead was not safe.

Sure enough, after the start of the second half, Leeds launched a fierce counterattack, and at one point Tyne was almost unable to cross the half court, and there was a possibility of losing the ball at any time.

In the 67th minute, Dean dribbled the ball on the right and passed it to Wang Lie who moved to the right side of the penalty area, then cut across and ran towards the middle.

Wang Lie turned around and passed the ball back. Dean, who received the ball from Wang Lie, shot the ball towards him. The ball drew an arc, bypassed the Leeds goalkeeper, and flew into the Leeds goal from the back post.

Tyne leads 3:0.

The situation on the field changed, and this goal destroyed Leeds' fighting spirit.

At the same time, it also gave McNeil the confidence to make more substitutions and adjustments, allowing the main players to go down and rest.

In the end, neither side scored any more goals.

The game ended with Tyne beating Leeds 3-0.

"The game is over! Tyne beat Leeds 3-0 away! Now they are only two games away from entering the Champions League for the first time in the club's history!"

When the referee blew the final whistle, all the Tyne players on the bench rushed onto the field to celebrate with their teammates.

The commentator's voice has also been upgraded to a higher level.

"This team, which once fought to avoid relegation, was not favored by others, but now they have a chance to make history! And who brought all this about? Wang Lie! Of course it was Wang Lie! Wang Lie's joining has changed the temperament of this team, and he is the biggest contributor!"

Chinese commentator Luo Jin made no secret of his praise for Wang Lie.

And he didn't have to worry about anyone objecting to what he said.

Because he was telling the truth.

This is not forced flattery.

Not only does he think so, but the European media and the Premier League TV broadcasters also think so.

After the game, the TV broadcast's close-up shot was fixed on Wang Lie, recording his every move.

Wang Lie was substituted in the 83rd minute of the game, so after hearing the final whistle, he got up from the bench and walked onto the court with his teammates.

He raised his arms and cheered from time to time, and celebrated with his teammates by high-fiving and hugging them.

Then the words "Best Player of the Game" appeared on the TV screen.

A goal in this game opened the door to victory for the team.

When the team was in danger, he made another assist to help the team expand its lead and stabilize the situation.

This best player of the match is truly well-deserved.

※※※

"Tyler Murphy!!"

Accompanied by a scream from the commentator.

The Bournemouth Athletic fans in the stands put their heads in their hands and sighed.

Their team's header in the last minute of injury time was blocked by Sofia United captain Taylor Murphy on the goal line!
"Murphy completed a crucial defensive move! This may be the clearance that determines qualification for the Champions League this season!"

After clearing the ball, Murphy looked up and confirmed that the football was kicked out of the sideline by him. Then he waved his fist vigorously and roared.

The other teammates came up to hug him and pat his shoulders and back.

"If Sofia United are tied by Bournemouth in this game, they may completely withdraw from the fight for the Champions League qualification!"

In the second leg of the Europa League semi-final in the middle of the week, although Sofia defeated their opponent 2:1 at home, they were still eliminated with an aggregate score of 3:4. The road to qualifying for the Champions League by winning the Europa League has been blocked. Now Sofia can only pin all their hopes on the league.

That's why the commentator said that.

In the 37th round of the league, Sofia United's away challenge to Bournemouth Athletic is the first game of this round.

The match between Tyne and Leicester at home is the last game of this round of the league.

If Sofia United are tied by Bournemouth Athletic away from home, it will be a great boost to the morale of Tyne who will play last.

On the other hand, if Sofia United can beat Bournemouth Athletic and get three points, they can continue to put pressure on Tyne.

What if they can’t hold on under the pressure?

That's why Murphy's clearance was so important.

This was also the last effective touch of the game.

The Bournemouth players were still running to ask the ball boy for the ball, but the referee had already blew the whistle to end the game.

Sofia United beat their opponent 1:0 away!

They kicked the ball to Tyne, and now it depends on how Tyne responds.

※※※

A day later, in the last Premier League game of this round, which was also Tyne's last home game of the season, Leeds Park was packed.

Tyne fans came to the scene to cheer for their team and also to say goodbye to this season.

This season is of great significance to them.

From fighting for relegation in the first half of the season to striving for Champions League qualification in the second half, Tyne fans seemed to have been on a roller coaster of ups and downs.

If in the past, if we told Tyne fans that they would not qualify for the Champions League this season, but only for the Europa League, then I guess all Tyne fans would happily accept this result. After all, being able to participate in the Europa League is a result that far exceeds their expectations.

But now, no Tyne fan wants the team to play in the Europa League, because it has come to this point, and if they lose the Champions League qualification in the end, it will definitely be unbearable.

So the Tyne fans played particularly hard in the stands in this game.

They hope that the final result will not disappoint the team's efforts over the past half season and that Wang Lie will not be humiliated.

Tyne players also hope to bid farewell to this season's home ground with a victory.

So even though their opponents, Leicester City, were still fighting to avoid relegation, they had no power to fight back against Tyne who were giving their all.

In the 26th minute of the first half, Vitini scored the first goal for the team, igniting the passion of Leeds Park Stadium.

Then center back Mats Katic headed in the goal from a corner kick.

Tyne leads 2:0.

At this time, the Tyne fans at the scene could not help but shout:

"We're going to the Champions League! We're going to the Champions League! We're going to the Champions League!!"

It felt like both an early celebration and an expectation for the Tyne team.

In the second half, the two sides changed sides and just six minutes into the game, Vitini broke into the penalty area and was knocked to the ground.

Tyne was awarded a penalty.

Wang Lie took the penalty and scored. This was the first time this season that Wang Lie scored in five consecutive league games, and it was also his 26th goal in the Premier League this season.

He currently ranks third in the league's scorer list.

Although it is almost impossible to win the Premier League Golden Boot this season - Ramon van Dijk, who ranks first, has currently scored thirty-one goals.

With one round left in the league, it would be difficult for Wang Lie to score six goals in a single game like he did against Sofia United - after all, the hatred between him and Kensington was not big enough for him to score six goals in a single game...

He can compete for the "Silver Boot" - although the Silver Boot is just a name and there is no such award in reality - the second-ranked scorer in the Scouse main striker Victor Delmora currently has 27 goals.

In fact, even if Wang Lie didn't win the Golden Boot, this result would be already amazing.

After all, before moving to Tyne, he only had one league goal this season and was not even on the scorer list...

To be able to catch up to third place now is already a remarkable comeback.

You should know that he only scored 19 league goals for SofaSoccer United last season, the lowest in his Premier League career.

At that time, many people thought that Wang Lie, who was known for scoring goals, couldn't even score a goal, which showed that he was really no good...

This is also the theoretical basis of "goals hurt the team" - as the team's top scorer, you scored nineteen goals, but you can't help the team get to the Champions League, then what's the point of your nineteen goals?
This created favorable public opinion conditions for Helden to relegate him to the sidelines in the new season.

In the first half of this season, Wang Lie only scored one goal for Sofia United.

The team he scored against happened to be Tyne, the team he currently plays for.

One goal in half a season, this is also Wang Lie's worst record since his return from a serious knee injury.

Before, neither Beaune in France nor Athletic Barcelona in Spain had such terrible statistics.

After he returned from injury in the 2019-2020 season, he played a total of rounds of Ligue and scored seven goals, but he did not score a goal in half a season.

In the 2022-2023 season, his first season after transferring to Atlético Barcelona, ​​he did not perform well this season because he did not keep up with the team's pre-season training and needed to adapt to the new team, new environment and new interpersonal relationships. He played times in the league and scored nine goals.

But there is still no embarrassing record of one goal in half a season.

Whether judging from his on-field performance or historical data, the 37-year-old Wang Lie has reached rock bottom.

This can be said to be the worst performance in Wang Lie's career - in his 1-year professional career, there was only one season in which he scored "" goal.

But that was his first season, the 2016-2017 season. When he was not yet years old, he had already played for the Born first team in the French Ligue .

He played a total of six French Ligue 2 games that season and scored one goal.

Now he is about to fall back to the data of the first season of his career, which may mean that this is the last season of his career, completing the loop.

During that period, there were many voices on the Internet and in professional media that were pessimistic about Wang Lie.

No one expected that the slap in the face would come so quickly.

Before the season was over, Wang Lie had already scored 26 goals!
If this were placed in his La Liga career, this would be the second-highest number of goals in a season - the highest number was in the 2024-2025 season, when Wang Lie made appearances in the league for Athletic Barcelona and scored goals. He also won the La Liga Golden Boot that season.

Judging from the data, Wang Lie's career has not only stopped the downward trend, but also shows signs of becoming popular again.

This is also the source of confidence for Will Foster, general manager of the Tyne Club, to give Wang Lie a four-year contract in one go.

※※※

Wang Lie's goal gave Tyne a 3-0 lead over Leicester City at home.

The Tyne fans in the stands cheered and sang wildly.

It is such a pleasure to bid farewell to this season's home court with a resounding victory.

In the 77th minute, Wang Lie was replaced by McNeill.

Considering that the season is coming to an end and Wang Lie is starting in every game, McNeil wants him to have more rest.

After all, he is a 38-year-old veteran.

But in fact, Wang Lie’s physical age is not as old as everyone thinks.

But he couldn't announce to the public that he was cheating. In fact, he was only 33 years old and had enough physical strength to handle it.

In order to conform to his image as a "veteran", Wang Lie did not insist on playing the entire game at this time, which was a meaningless thing.

He plans to not play the entire game in some unimportant matches, and even accept the arrangement of coming on as a substitute. But in important and crucial games, he must play the entire game and fight until the last minute.

After all, in the eyes of the world, he is now a "veteran" who is 38 years old and needs proper rest. It is impossible for him to be as energetic as when he was young.

If he doesn't want to be trapped in endless "self-defense" and "self-proof", he has to make some concessions and show some "weakness".

Not everyone in this world doesn't care why his condition has improved and his physical functions have improved significantly.

So ever since McNeil substituted him off the court early due to concerns about his physical condition, Wang Lie never expressed dissatisfaction with McNeil once, and he always submissively substituted him off the court.

In just half a year, his image in the eyes of the world no longer seems to be the "troublesome person" who was refused to be substituted in the FA Cup.

Some people have also tried to analyze and believe that Wang Lie has reconciled with himself and the world.

But in fact, Wang Lie never reconciled. He remained consistent for thirty-eight years.

But he is definitely more skilled...

※※※

In the past, when Wang Lie left the court, it meant that Tyne’s offensive was over and the rest of the game became “garbage time”.

This is also the reason why McNeil rarely replaced Wang Lie early before.

Wang Lie is like the flag of the Tyne team.

Replacing him would be like taking down the flag.

Now that the flags are gone, the team's morale will naturally be affected.

But this time, when Wang Lie was substituted, Tyne's attack on the field did not end.

Amid the enthusiastic cheers from the home fans, Tyne players continued to attack, wanting to score more goals.

It seemed as if a three-goal victory was no longer enough for them.

In the 81st minute, center forward Peter Oliver, who came on as a substitute for Wang Lie, scored his third goal of the season and his first goal after returning from injury.

The assist came from substitute full-back Vado Gogolo.

After a cross from the wing, the center forward Olivier made full use of his center advantage and scored with a header in front of the goal.

The score was locked at 4:0.

When the referee blew the whistle to end the game, the Leeds Park Stadium was filled with deafening cheers from Tyne fans.

The few remaining Leicester City fans stared blankly at the field.

In fact, theoretically speaking, Leicester City has not been relegated yet - after losing this game, they currently have 31 points, ranking 18th, third from the bottom.

Portel FC, which is outside the relegation zone, has 33 points and ranks 17th.

In the last round of the league, Leicester City can successfully avoid relegation as long as they beat East London United at home and Porter FC loses to Bournemouth Athletic at home.

But their fate is no longer in their own hands.

Unlike the cheering Tyne fans, whether they can participate in the Champions League next season, as long as Tyne beats Kensington away in the last round, they don’t have to worry about how Sofia United plays.

The Tain people themselves took fate by the throat.

Even though they lost the game and had to rely on others to avoid relegation, the players of Leicester City still came to the away fans' stands to thank the fans.

Most of them were silent and had serious expressions.

The Leicester City fans also applauded them with a straight face.

On the other side of the field, Tyne players were also collectively thanking the home fans.

They bid farewell to this season's home game with a resounding victory, and the fans gave them warm applause and cheers.

As the team captain, Wang Lie led his teammates to interact with the loyal Tyne fans in the north stand by playing the "Viking War Cry".

As the rhythm of his high-fives changed, the Tyne fans in the stands let out a deafening roar.

The intervals between high-fives became shorter and shorter, and the roars became more frequent.

Finally, there was a burst of applause.

Photographers and cameramen carrying cameras surrounded them, and every Tyne player had a bright smile on his face.

If such a smile had appeared on the faces of Tyne players before, it would most likely have been related to their successful relegation.

But this time, they are not fighting for relegation.

On the other side, there is a group of people who are sad about trying to avoid relegation...

At the two ends of the same court, joys and sorrows are not shared.

The players and fans at Leicester Fortress probably just thought the Tyne fans were being noisy.

(End of this chapter)