"..."
After Erik ten Hag announced the starting lineup, Manchester United's training ground was unusually quiet.
Ousmane Dembélé looked at Rodri, then de Jong, and finally at Tang Ye.
Tang Ye merely met Dembélé's eyes briefly before looking away.
Manchester United's midfielders did not seem surprised by today's starting lineup?
However, Dembélé had no idea what had happened, so he and de Jong remained silent.
Cristiano Ronaldo was probably the most shocked.
As the "main character" of the starting lineup, he had not known a thing.
He was clearly at the center of the incident, yet he had somehow become an outsider?
"...What's going on?"
After Erik ten Hag left, Dembélé and de Jong went straight after Tang Ye, expressing their astonishment over the matter.
"What's wrong?"
Tang Ye was still chewing gum, as though he did not know much about the whole thing.
"This..."
Dembélé drew a deep breath. "Erik actually gave Ronaldo a start? I honestly didn't expect that."
Judging from Tang Ye's reaction, Dembélé was certain the captain had nothing to do with it.
Then it had to be Erik ten Hag's doing.
"Could it be that Erik has changed his opinion of Ronaldo?"
De Jong voiced his thought, but Dembélé quickly rejected it. "No, it's probably just a temporary adjustment."
Dembélé looked deep in thought, like some enlightened monk who understood the ways of the world and stood above them.
"Erik probably wants to shift the blame. He wants people to think he has nothing to do with this, so he's giving Ronaldo a start."
"Come on!"
"Osman, you're making Erik sound way too disgusting!"
Tang Ye clearly did not agree with Dembélé's view.
"No, no, no. Believe me, that's definitely it. Tom, you should know Erik better than anyone. He can't even take in what