Tang Long Took On Ranocchia One-on-One, and Captain Kompany Realized a Lot!
This time, both teams were slightly more alert.
It's the finals now, with 10,000 people watching live, and there's a mystery prize.
Before, we just played around, but this time we need to be more serious and at least not go easy on each other.
Tang Long and Sterling executed a one-two pass, getting past Iheanacho.
At this moment, Otamendi's position on the wing drew Delph's attention.
Tang Long and Ranocchia have a perfect match!
"Go past him and shoot!" Otamendi yelled at the top of his lungs.
The Ranocchia, already in position, lowered itself and stepped back sideways.
He knew that Tang Long had some speed, but not as fast as Sterling. In addition, the field was small. As long as he retreated and kept his balance, he was confident that Tang Long would not get past him. As for Tang Long's shot after advancing, that would depend on Hart's luck.
In the stands, Kompany said to Mangala, "Wow! Look at the Italy defenders' defensive posture, it's so cool! Let's learn from them during the game!"
Mangala joked, "Is it because of the pose? He's just naturally handsome, okay? Don't even think about it, neither of us can imitate that."
Just as Ranocchia had figured out his plan, Tang Long made a feint, suddenly shifting his body to the right!
The feint is a bicycle kick, where you step over the ball with both feet, using the body movement to deceive your opponent's center of gravity and get past them.
Ranocchia had a lot of experience training with Tang Long during Inter Milan's last season, and he is very familiar with Tang Long's dribbling style.
In response, he made full use of his long legs, taking a leap forward in an attempt to block Tang Long's position before he could gain speed and end the attack!
Ranocchia is 195 cm tall and two sizes larger Tang Long. Once he blocks Tang Long's position, Tang Long will have no room to maneuver.
But Tang Long's move was just a feint!
Although his body lunged forward, his right foot did not touch the ball.
Ranocchia made the first move, shifting his weight and revealing a weakness!
At this point, Tang Long began to touch the ball with his foot, pulling it in the opposite direction, shifting his vision to the left flank, and passing it to Sterling.
Ranocchia was startled. He thought he had predicted Tang Long's next move, but he didn't expect that Tang Long's move was actually in the second layer. He was the one who had predicted his next move!
Ranocchia, tall and long-legged, was unwilling to admit defeat in front of 10,000 fans.
Even after losing her balance and center of gravity, she still managed to pull off a spectacular move using her long legs—
In-situ retreat block!
Ranocchia suddenly stretched his left leg back forcefully.
He was kneeling on the ground, his body forming a bow shape.
This tactic is Ranocchia's secret weapon in defense, and it has been used many times in Serie A matches in the past.
Even when off balance and about to be beaten, using the advantage of leg length still gives them a high chance of intercepting the ball.
Unfortunately, Tang Long's movements were too fluid, and his pass was also good. Although Ranocchia's leg made a slight contact and grazed the ball, it still couldn't stop the ball from reaching Sterling's feet.
Ranocchia shook his head helplessly, cursing inwardly, "That kid tricked me again, sigh."
Milner, standing in the stands, stamped his foot in frustration!
"What's going on? This Ranocchia, we can't just let him off easy because Tang is his former teammate!"
However, Manchester City captain Kompany remained silent.
He is a defender, and his height is similar to Ranocchia's.
He knew that Ranocchia hadn't held back in those moves; in the initial confrontations with Tang Long, he had used at least 80% of his power from a real match.
Especially this tall Italy center-back, even after losing his balance, still knelt down and stepped back, using his left leg to make Bow-stance interception!
His perfect timing and reaction to the cross-legged defense demonstrated the strength of this defender, who was last season's best in Serie A.
This move would only be possible if the defender didn't have an extreme desire to intercept the ball.
As soon as Kompany understood perfectly: Ranocchia was making a desperate defensive effort!
However, he really couldn't stop Tang Long —at least not in this 1v1.
Milner, as a forward, couldn't understand these defensive details and psychological changes of the defenders.
Kompany thought to himself that he hadn't faced Tang Long in training yet, but just those few moves, especially that feint, were enough to demonstrate his impressive ball control skills!
Then he thought to himself, if he were there, he might not be able to do better than Ranocchia.
Kompany had reached a preliminary conclusion: Tang Long's dribbling ability, compared to his Manchester City midfield teammates, was still uncertain whether it could be compared to the world-class level of David Silva and Yaya Toure, but it was still much higher than Milner and Fernandinho, and probably no weaker than Nasri, who was known as one of the Four Little Swans of France.
Sterling's shooting angle was a bit too tight after he received the ball.
But since it was the last ball, he didn't think too much and aimed for Hart's groin with another kick.
During his time at Liverpool, Sterling, as a skilled winger, was often able to make sharp breakthroughs.
His signature move of raising his pinky finger and swaying his hips as he dribbles past opponents is often talked about by fans.
However, Sterling's shot on Joe Hart perfectly matched the fans' impression that he was terrible at shooting.
The shot, coming from point-blank range, was somehow not controlled. Although it was aimed at the groin, the ball was traveling at high speed and hit Hart's vital area with a thud!
Joe Hart felt a violent contraction in his testicles, and a piercing, indescribable pain surged violently into his brain.
While he was still in a daze, Otamendi got there first and scored on the rebound.
"Haha, we won, brothers!"
Tang Long, Otamendi, and Sterling embraced each other.
After the match, before the winning team even had a chance to ask Berrada what the reward was, the entire team was sent back to the reception center at the stadium.
This is a fan meet-and-greet.
Fans from all walks of life, members of Manchester City's die-hard fan organization, the Blue Moon Legion, China students from the University of Manchester, and a group of lively and adorable primary school students all gathered around, chatting warmly with the Manchester City players, asking for autographs and photos.
New signing Tang Long naturally became the focus of this fan meet-and-greet.
He kept busy, switching between English and Mandarin to chat with UK fans and China students studying abroad.
Milner, standing to the side, was pulling his national team teammate Joe Hart away, whispering amongst themselves as they watched Tang Long.
However, Joe Hart seemed not to hear anything and continued to grin and sneer.
He wanted to rub the egg, but there were too many people around, so he was too embarrassed to do it. He could only make hissing sounds and glare fiercely at Sterling.
At that moment, Manchester Mayor Andrews strode towards Tang Long, calling his name with a broad smile.
Tang Long turned his head and was surprised to find someone he recognized standing next to Andrews.
Gracie, the Manchester City team doctor who conducted his pre-employment medical.
Gracie's face was rosy and radiant. She held Andrews' arm with both hands, their bodies very close together, her face almost touching Andrews' shoulder, appearing very intimate. Andrews also looked at Gracie with affection from time to time.
"Uh, aren't you the team doctor? What are you doing here?" Tang Long asked.
"Then why can't I be here? Your welcoming ceremony for new members, doesn't it welcome me?" Gracie asked with a smile.
Andrews said, "Gracie comes as a representative of outstanding graduates from the University of Manchester, which has a long-term partnership agreement with Manchester City. As you said, she is now Manchester City's team doctor, which also demonstrates the university's talent pipeline to the club."
Gracie is about 1.64 meters tall, which is not particularly tall for a woman in the UK.
Adding to the fact that she was wearing flat shoes again today, along with a light blue solid-color dress, she looked quite petite and charming as she leaned against the robust and tall mayor.
Tang Long was taken aback when he saw that the relationship between the two was unusual.
Thinking that the mayor of Manchester must be at least 50 years old, and at that age he would probably be married long ago, while Gracie is only in her 20s, old enough to be his daughter.
Moreover, isn't Mayor Andrews worried about tabloid gossip about such an intimate display of affection in public? It seems the UK are quite open-minded about this.
After a while of commotion, the impatient Argentina Otamendi finally couldn't hold back any longer and shouted at the top of his lungs into the crowd:
"Director, what exactly is our reward? Tell me quickly, I'm dying to know!"