We made you the King of Prisoners, and now you've become the King of Football?

Compared to the deafening celebrations of the Tottenham fans, a small corner of the away stands was eerily quiet.

The Monaco fans who had traveled from afar hung their heads, sighing and lamenting, their hearts already utterly disheartened.

It seems their Europa League journey has truly come to an end.

It's not that Tottenham are too strong; it's that they failed to secure the points they should have in the previous group stage matches.

Adding to the series of injuries this season, it's already quite an achievement that they've managed to hold on this long.

Some fans had already gotten up and left the stadium, too afraid to stay, lest they watch their favorite team get thrashed.

Trailing 3-0 at halftime, there was no chance of a miracle.

……

At this moment, in the Huaxia chat room:

"It's hopeless, guys. Tottenham are too strong this season. Forget the Europa League, I think they can even challenge for the Premier League title!"

"Unless there's another dark horse in the Premier League, I think Tottenham are going to win the double this season!"

"Where's the guy who was arguing with me before? Come out and say something!"

"I told you Tottenham would thrash Monaco! Look at Son Heung-min's brace in the first half! And what about Kang Ming? Why isn't he even getting a chance to play?"

"..."

"What? Speechless now? I just can't stand these idolized players in China who are too scared to step up when it comes to crucial moments!"

……

Back on the field, Monaco's players had lost their spirits, remaining silent and even slowing down their runs, while Tottenham's offensive continued unabated.

In the 41st minute, Tottenham launched another counter-attack.

Son Heung-min received the ball and immediately found himself in a one-on-one situation.

He glanced up and saw Kane, who had moved up behind him, and a thought crossed his mind.

Or should I also get an assist hat-trick?

After hesitating for half a second, he didn't take the shot himself, but passed the ball to Kane.

Kane didn't react in time, and failed to receive the ball properly while running. The ball went too far and rolled out of bounds.

"Sun! Pass it on well!"

Kane quickly gave Son Heung-min a thumbs-up to cover his embarrassment.

"What a pity! Kane didn't seize this opportunity, otherwise Tottenham would have been 4-0 in the first half!" Zhan Jun breathed a sigh of relief.

He turned to Zhang Lu and asked, "Coach Zhang, if this ball really goes in, have you ever seen a game where a team is leading 4-0 at halftime and then come back to win?"

Zhang Lu thought for a moment, then chuckled and joked, "Hehe, how could that be? Only certain mysterious leagues would have something like that, right?"

"Beep~ Beep—"

The referee blew the whistle to end the first half.

The Tottenham players walked towards the locker room with their arms around each other's shoulders, laughing and waving their jerseys, their faces full of the relaxed confidence of having already won.

……

The away team's locker room in Monaco was a completely different story.

A group of grown men stood with their heads down, no one spoke, not even a cough.

The whole room was eerily quiet, the atmosphere heavy, like a funeral.

Yaldin leaned against the tactics board, remaining silent for a long time before finally speaking: "Sorry, guys."

No one answered.

"I misjudged Tottenham's tactics and underestimated their strength," Jardim admitted first. "Playing that three-man defense was my mistake."

"Their high-pressing style made it hard for us to breathe, and their rotations on the flanks and the speed of their counter-attacks all exploited our weaknesses."

He poured out all the unpleasant things that happened in the first half of the game, without holding anything back.

Only then did someone let out a soft sigh.

Yardin changed the subject and said in a deep voice, "That's a bit unrealistic, but I still want to win."

"Are you really going to just agree to surrender like this?"

After a few seconds of silence, a voice came from the corner: "I agree."

Everyone looked up and saw that it was Jiang Ming who was speaking.

That young Chinese player who's been in red-hot form lately, but today he was on the bench for half the game.

Jiang Ming showed no sign of frustration; he remained calm and composed.

He paused, then said, "Given our current situation, why waste time in the second half? A strike wouldn't necessarily result in a crushing defeat; after all, surrendering would still count as a 3-0 score."

These words would normally sound like a provocation.

But now, everyone knows that he was telling the truth.

But these words still felt like a needle pricking everyone's hearts.

So we're really that cowardly?

More and more people looked up, and the deathly look in their eyes vanished instantly.

Fabinho suddenly cursed, "Fuck! We're professional players!"

"Remember those fans who traveled from afar? They crossed the English Channel, bought tickets, and came here to watch us play. Who were they here for?"

"Not for a bunch of spineless cowards!"

Moutinho then spoke up: "We concede defeat in the first half! In the second half, we'll fight them to the bitter end!"

Yaldin looked at the group of young men who had regained their enthusiasm and finally breathed a sigh of relief, then quietly nodded to Jiang Ming.

As expected, the Chinese are better at using provocation.

"In that case, let me explain the tactics for the second half," Yardin said in a deep voice.

"In the second half, we'll switch back to our most familiar four-defender formation. I'll bring on Jiang to control the tempo of the game. As for the rest, we'll adapt to Tottenham's style of play."

"If they dare to press us again, let's not hesitate to retreat and use Jiang's long passes over the top to attack behind them!"

"El Shaarawy, Bernardo, you two be ready anytime."

"Ginger passes the ball out, you guys just keep charging forward, cut inside to shoot, cross from the byline, it's up to you!"

He then pointed at Traore and continued, "Lacina, just stay in their penalty area. With your aerial advantage, they won't dare not defend against you."

"If they stop pressuring us and instead park buses, then we're counting on you to crush those British bastards!"

"good!"

"Come on!!"

The Monaco players, filled with anger, stepped onto the pitch once again.

……

"Tottenham made the first substitutions, replacing Kane, Vertonghen, and Danny Rose with Nguil, Wimmer, and Ben Davies," Zhan Jun explained to the camera.

"It seems they are saving their energy for the next league match against Newcastle, and are resting several key players in advance."

After panning across Tottenham's bench, the camera then panned to Monaco's lineup.

Zhan Jun was instantly stunned: "Oh? Monaco made a substitution at halftime too? They replaced Pasalic with Jiang Ming?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, chat rooms in China were instantly flooded with messages:

"They were down 3-0, practically buried in the ground, and they actually brought on Jiang Ming at this crucial moment?!"

"Holy crap? What is Yaldin trying to do? Is he making him take the blame?"

"I think it's just a publicity stunt. After all this time of planning an Asian showdown, it can't just be Son Heung-min playing while Jiang Ming isn't, can it?"

"This is ruining lives! Who could withstand that? The official domestic broadcasts showed them coming on when they were down by three goals – how much pressure must they be under?"

"Anyway, I wouldn't dare to go..."

……

"Beep—"

Both teams' players stood still, and referee Ivan blew the whistle for the second half.

After the kickoff, Monaco's defense immediately retreated, clearly prioritizing a solid defensive posture.

Tottenham had just made three substitutions with plenty of energy, and they started the game with the same tactics as in the first half, pressing high up the pitch.

Pochettino watched from the sidelines, smiling as he said to his assistant coach, "It seems Monaco has given up."

The assistant coach laughed: "That's right, after all, the last time we came back from a 3-0 deficit in the first half in a European competition was Liverpool in Istanbul."

"That Liverpool squad was far superior to Monaco's, with Gerrard, Alonso, and at least some other star players."

Who are the current Monaco players? Bernardo? Fabinho?

"Is it still that Jiang Ming?"

After they finished speaking, they looked at each other and smiled.

Just after they finished laughing, the two turned to look at the scene.

Jiang Ming was facing Enjiye's pressing, but his face showed no panic. He just stood there.

Before Njiye could close in and press, Jiang Ming swung his right leg and sent the ball forward with a powerful kick.

After passing the ball, he slowly took two steps forward.

"That long pass..." Zhan Jun's voice suddenly rose.

In the broadcast footage, the ball grazed the head of the Tottenham midfielder, flew over the entire midfield line, and landed precisely at El Shaarawy's feet on the left wing.

"That was perfect! That long, over-the-top pass completely pierced Tottenham's high defensive line!"

El Shaarawy didn't rush forward after receiving the ball.

Who is Kyle Walker, who is his opponent?

He's a famously fast player in the Premier League; he simply can't compete with him in a speed contest.

So he took small, quick steps and pedaled the bicycle twice at Walker.

Once, twice.

Walker's attention was drawn to the ball at El Shaarawy's feet, and he subconsciously shifted his weight to the wing, waiting for El Shaarawy to break through from the byline.

After all, given his speed, if El Shaarawy dares to go down the wing, he can definitely catch up.

But this was El Shaarawy's trap!

Just as Walker was about to accelerate and close the gap, El Shaarawy suddenly leaned forward, feinting to shift Walker's center of gravity.

He feigned a run down the wing, but actually cut inside the penalty area!

Walker reacted too late. El Shaarawy dribbled laterally to the edge of the penalty area and, before the defenders could get in time, curled a shot!

The ball was curled into a perfect inward arc by the instep of his foot, bypassing the defenders in the penalty area and heading straight for the far corner of the goal!

Lloris lunged forward, his 188cm height and wingspan reaching their maximum, but his fingertips were still just a little short, failing to touch the ball.

"Bang—"

The ball slammed into the inside of the post, bounced, and rolled straight into the corner of the goal!

The entire White Hart Lane stadium suddenly fell silent, as if they hadn't yet come to their senses.

How come our goal was breached so quickly, right at the start of the second half?

The eerie silence was broken only when the DJ at the stadium yelled "Goal! Go ...

In the CCV5 live stream, Zhan Jun exclaimed excitedly, "My God! The second half has only just begun! Monaco has already ripped through Tottenham's entire defense with just one long pass from Jiang Ming?!"

"El Shaarawy dribbled past Kyle Walker, cut inside, and curled a beautiful shot! Lloris was too far away to catch him!"

"3-1!! 46th minute! Just one minute into the second half! Monaco has pulled one back!"