I changed football.

1 month 17 day.

Ligue 1, Round 21.

This is an away game.

Lorient vs Monaco.

Unsurprisingly, Li Yuan and Mbappe remained on the bench for this match.

Even though the media had already reported it that way, and even though Mbappe's mother had already started the controversy.

However, Jardim showed no intention of changing anything, still placing Li Yuan and Mbappe on the bench before the match.

"Li Yuan, do you think we'll get to play in this match?"

"I don't know."

To be honest, Li Yuan really didn't know what Jardim was thinking, because in his previous life, Jardim and Mbappe had also had a dispute over playing time.

But in my previous life, that happened during the 16-17 season; in this life, it happened in the present, much earlier.

Li Yuan couldn't guess Jardim's thoughts. All he could do was train hard during training sessions and sit on the bench with Mbappe, waiting for his chance.

"But it's alright, we don't have to wait long. Isn't the next match the French Cup? We can start."

"Yes, the coach promised us we'd start in cup competitions—you mean the Europa League?"

"What do you mean?"

"I said the coach said we should start in the cup competition, do you think we'll start in the Europa League too?" Mbappe looked at Li Yuan with a serious expression.

Li Yuan was both amused and exasperated: "Please, the coach said we'd start in the French Cup and League Cup, but he didn't mention the league or Europa League."

"Isn't the Europa League also a cup competition?"

"Isn't the full name of the Europa League the UEFA Europa League?"

"I've always called it a cup."

Li Yuan looked at Mbappe speechlessly: "Fine, if what you said is true, that would be great too."

At this moment, the situation on the field changed.

Lorient has scored.

"Holy crap—they even conceded that goal!"

While talking to Mbappe, Li Yuan kept a close eye on the situation on the field, so he saw the entire process of the ball being conceded.

Mbappé, preoccupied with talking to Li Yuan, completely missed the sequence of events leading to the goal. He immediately asked Li Yuan, "How did that happen?!"

"Oh no—Moutinho made a passing error, the opposing attacking midfielder intercepted the ball, and then—"

At this point, the replay started playing on the big screen at the side of the field.

"See for yourself."

Mbappe looked at the big screen on the sidelines.

On the big screen, Moutinho made a blind through pass forward, which was intercepted by Lorient's attacking midfielder Ndon.

What Ndon did was very simple. He looked up and made a long pass to the forward, Jannot. Jannot stopped the ball, and Toulalan, who was playing as a makeshift center-back in today's game, tried to pull him up. However, Ndon leaned on Toulalan and used the momentum to shield the ball to his left foot, and then suddenly poked it into the air.

The ball went in.

It's simply—

It's a complete mess.

"Ugh, they shouldn't have let Toulalan play center-back; his defensive intensity is simply not enough!"

At this point, Mbappe had also finished watching the replay, and his expression showed that he was very angry.

"Moutinho's passing was also problematic, too casual; he's like that—"

Li Yuan almost said that Moutinho, like his Portuguese successor Bruno Fernandes, liked to make random through balls and then lose possession.

But that's really the case.

"Moutinho played as an attacking midfielder in this match, and it's clear he's not used to the position. He desperately wanted to make a through pass to break through the opponent's defense, but the opponent played with two defensive midfielders, which made it very difficult," Li Yuan analyzed objectively.

Unlike Li Yuan's objectivity, Mbappe's is very subjective.

"That shot—oh dear, so weak! I really think we're very likely to concede another goal!"

The game then unfolded exactly as Mbappe had predicted.

In the 44th minute of the first half, Monaco, playing away, conceded another goal.

This goal was conceded due to a passing error by Monaco, but this time the error was not Moutinho's fault, but Toulalan's.

Lorient's strategy was very simple: just shoot directly from the wing into the penalty area. This tactic proved very effective against Monaco's two short center-backs today.

This time, Toulalan misjudged the header and tried to clear it with a long ball, but ended up kicking it directly to the opposing center forward, who then scored into an empty net.

"Holy crap!"

Mbappe immediately swore.

Li Yuan was also a little helpless; Lorient was currently ranked 15th in the league.

They are only 2 points ahead of the teams in the relegation zone.

Monaco is currently third in the league.

It's infuriating that the third-placed team in the league was so easily down 0-2 to a relegation-threatened team in the first half.

As a die-hard Monaco fan, Mbappe is naturally angry, especially since he's sitting on the bench and unable to play.

"We've already conceded two goals, the second half should be ours, Li."

"We still have a chance to come back from 0-2 down, but if we concede another goal, there's no point in us coming on," Li Yuan calmly analyzed.

As a result, neither of them got to play until the end of the match.

Not to mention Mbappe, Li Yuan was also very angry.

Given this situation, why won't you let me participate?

I don't ask to start in the league, can't I even play?

Li Yuan had no idea what Yaldin was thinking.

Looking back now, Li Yuan feels that he was harmed by his fixed mindset.

He felt that in his previous life, Monaco's ability to reach the Champions League semi-finals and win the Ligue 1 title in the 2016-17 season was largely due to Jardim's efforts.

However, with his presence now, and after experiencing it firsthand, he has realized that Jardim's tactical and technical skills are just so-so. You can't make bricks without straw. Monaco's lineup this season is definitely not as good as the lineup of Monaco in the 16-17 season of his previous life.

However, such an ugly style of play is definitely the head coach's responsibility.

"Right now, I'm just wondering if we can still win the French Cup?"

"Our opponent in the French Cup, Evian, is only a 18th-placed team in Ligue 2, a relegation-threatened team. If we can't beat them, then—"

Li Yuan didn't say anything more.

But this did not change the worry on Mbappe's face.

"Alright, I can sense your concern for the team, but there's nothing we can change. What we need to do now is train hard and perform well when it's time to play. Let's not talk about anything else off the court."

"You make a good point."

Then that same evening, Mbappe's mother gave another interview that was quite dramatic.

"I think Killian might leave Monaco next season if his playing time isn't resolved."

"We came to Monaco because they made a promise to us, but it seems that Killian has met the standards promised to them, but has not fulfilled the requirements of that promise."

"If things don't improve by the end of the season, we will make a decision."

Li Yuan saw this news while he was on his way back to the training base after landing in Monaco by bus.

At that moment, Li Yuan was the only person on the bus.

Just as Li Yuan was about to talk to Mbappe, the phone rang.

It was Raiola who called.

"Oh, it's Mino."

"Lee, I need to tell you, you and Killian have been under media scrutiny lately. There will definitely be reporters asking you about your appearance in the mixed zone after the match, so don't fall for it!"

"Mino, don't worry, I understand this."

"And what about your parents—"

"Sigh—my parents don't really watch football much."

"That's good, that saves us a lot of trouble."