Ground-hugging cross accidentally creates a penalty? Mancini sees the clue this time!

As Hernanes distributed the ball toward the inside channel of the penalty area where Tang Long was positioned.

The situation on the pitch was crystal clear.

The attacking side, Inter Milan, had two players making runs into the Roma penalty area!

Icardi drifted from the flank into the center, actively closing in on the opposing Roma center-back, Astori.

Defensive midfielder Medel surged forward from the back, making a diagonal run that drew the attention of Roma full-back Dodo as he sprinted toward the back post.

The other Inter Milan players, including Tang Long himself, were still outside the Roma penalty area.

Hernanes, having passed the ball to Tang Long, didn't wait for him to receive it before moving closer and shouting:

"Don't rush, hold the ball and stretch them out!"

Hernanes had passed to Tang Long with the intention of pulling the Roma defensive line apart.

After all, Roma, down by one man, had completely abandoned their attack.

Within their penalty area and the ten-meter zone in front of it, there were a full nine defensive players.

In the eyes of the experienced midfielder Hernanes, forcing a breakthrough was impossible; it was necessary to use passing to pull the opponent back and forth.

He worried that Tang Long hadn't grasped his intent, so he specifically called out to him.

However, Tang Long did not think so!

The football pitch changes in an instant; there are no set-in-stone rules.

While the opponent's defensive line was indeed tight, after Totti was sent off with a red card, Roma had become a lost team without their spiritual leader.

Why not catch them off guard?

The AI System's prompt also validated Tang Long's thoughts!

Just as the ball was about to roll to Tang Long's feet, time began to freeze, just as before, with the entire scene unfolding in 0.1x slow motion.

Detected that our center-forward Icardi is about to sprint to the near post. If a low cross is delivered to the near post now, Icardi has an 85.23% chance of executing a one-touch shot.

Tang Long had witnessed Icardi's movement before.

This Argentine striker was extremely confident in his own finishing skills, boasting that he was top-tier in Serie A.

Tang Long judged that the reason Icardi had actively moved toward the near-post center-back Astori after entering the box was to ambush that final near-post opportunity!

Without any hesitation.

When time accelerated back to real-time speed, Tang Long's cross was already underway!

To follow the system's prompt for a low-driven pass.

Tang Long used the instep of his foot to strike the ball!

Unlike the inside-foot cross commonly used on the flanks, a low-driven cross with the instep requires extremely high technical precision.

On one hand, it requires the ball to stay low, meaning the point of contact must be precise, strictly controlled at the center or slightly below the center of the ball;

On the other hand, it requires high ball speed! Therefore, it must be struck with significant power.

After weighing these factors, Tang Long chose to lean his body far forward, using his center of gravity to compensate for any technical flaws!

"Bang!"

Tang Long's right instep struck the center of the ball like an iron whip!

Because his center of gravity was pressed so low, his entire body looked as if he were about to fall.

At the moment Tang Long made contact--

Hernanes, outside the penalty area, shook his head helplessly, "Youngster, too impatient!"

In his view, this cross was meaningless.

There were six people in the Roma penalty area, all in position; forcing a shot wasn't impossible, but the success rate of the pass was too low. It would have been better to return the ball to him and continue stretching the opponent.

At the moment Tang Long made contact--

Medel, behind the penalty area, also slowed his pace and began to stroll.

He saw that Tang Long's posture for the pass was overly exaggerated, his body leaning forward so much it looked almost comical.

There was absolutely no sense of relaxation that would suggest a good pass could be delivered.

At the moment Tang Long made contact--

The Roma defenders inside the box didn't feel the slightest bit of tension.

We have six people defending the two of you, and we can't stop it? Absolutely impossible~

But a light ignited in Icardi's eyes!!!

Tang Long had delivered the pass exactly the way the Argentine striker had envisioned!

A low-driven strike flying toward the near post!

This is exactly what I wanted!

Benefiting from the relatively fresh stamina of having just come on, as well as his passing attribute upgraded to 68, Tang Long's pass was quite accurate; the ball darted toward the near post of the six-yard box like a burrowing rodent.

For some reason, Icardi, who had suddenly surged forward to snatch the ball, had clearly created a one-body-length gap from Astori, yet his legs suddenly gave way on the final step, causing him to collapse to the ground...

"Ju—"

The referee blew his whistle decisively and pointed to the penalty spot.

A penalty!

Although Tang Long's cross hadn't found Icardi.

But that feint from the latter caused the ball to slip past him and strike the foot of the closely trailing Astori, rebounding off his arm.

As luck would have it, Astori's arm had made a clear outward motion.

There was no issue with the penalty call!

Hernanes and Medel, who had just been dismissive of Tang Long's decision to pass, were suddenly delighted!

"Haha, this kid, his luck is really something!"

"He always manages to create assists, no matter the method. It's quite interesting!"

Icardi scrambled up from the ground, ran toward Tang Long, and happily high-fived him.

"Great pass, Tang, you saw my run!"

"Why did you kneel just now?" Tang Long asked, feeling curious.

"Damn it, Totti tackled my ankle and it still hurts. I wanted to push off on that last step, but my leg went soft and I knelt. Normally I would have reached it, damn!"

Since the primary penalty taker, Palacio, had been substituted off.

As the second-choice penalty taker, Icardi took the ball and walked to the penalty spot without hesitation.

Run-up, strike, a low shot into the bottom left corner—all done in one fluid motion!

3-0!

Icardi and Tang Long hugged each other excitedly.

Inter Milan captain Ranocchia happily gave an 'OK' gesture to the goalkeeper Handanovic behind him.

It meant the boys could punch the clock and head home!

The substitutes on the bench were also clapping and laughing!

Several of them were amused, feeling that this kid Tang Long had just gotten incredibly lucky.

"I never believed in metaphysics before, but after watching Tang play, I believe!"

"That's the third time in a row, right? His shots and passes never land where they're supposed to, but the scales of luck always tip in his favor!"

"This one was much better than the match against Genoa. Those two shots were garbage; at least this pass looked intentional, even if the power was a bit much!"

"Hey, do you think Tang was actually trying to shoot, but just put too much power into it?"

"Haha, surely not. It was still clearly meant to be a pass."

However, Mancini on the bench remained silent.

He rested his chin on one hand, watching Tang Long embrace Icardi, and fell into deep thought.

During his playing days, Mancini was also a top-tier Serie A forward, scoring over 200 goals in his career.

After retiring, he grew step by step into a first-class Serie A manager, achieving success in both Serie A and the Premier League.

His footballing vision was far superior to the players on the pitch!

At the moment Tang Long swung his leg to pass, unlike the players on the field, Mancini's attention wasn't on Tang Long, but fixed on Icardi inside the penalty area.

Icardi was charging toward the near post!

Tang Long's instep sweep, while slightly exaggerated in motion, had indeed successfully reached the near post area of the six-yard box.

Most importantly, Tang Long had taken the shot with one touch, without even stopping the ball.

What did that mean?

It meant he had already planned to do exactly that.

"This shouldn't be a coincidence..."

Mancini bit his lip slightly and nodded thoughtfully.