The Backlash! He Was Manchester's King Arthur Once More!
Tang Long's stunning performance in the fourth round of the Premier League temporarily reversed public opinion.
Many British media outlets are opportunistic fence-sitters, demonstrating the full extent of journalistic principles.
The Der Spiegel, which had been mocking Tang Long just a week ago, has completely changed its style and is now praising him to the skies!
"Arsenal had won three consecutive league games before facing Manchester City, their best start in the last five seasons. There's a consensus that this team, which dominated the Premier League more than a decade ago, cannot be ignored in the battle for the title among Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Liverpool!"
"Every Arsenal fan is eagerly anticipating the day they can stand atop the Britain table again after 11 years!"
"The last time I won the title, I was still in high school, and now my kids are old enough to run errands – these are the poignant words of an Arsenal season ticket holder during a pre-match interview with this newspaper outside the Emirates Stadium."
"We've waited too long for the next league title—this is the heartfelt cry of his teammates."
"But as things stand now, they'll have to wait a few more years. At the very least, if Arsenal wants to win the title, Manchester City won't allow it!"
"Tang Long's stunning powerful shot, and Ranocchia's header on the rebound after a blocked free kick, cast a shadow over the Emirates Stadium once again. It seems that Arsenal hasn't changed much in the past ten years; they are still only the best contenders for the top four."
The Daily Express followed suit, comparing Tang Long to Arthur of Great Britain, who pulled out the sword that no one else could draw.
" With King Uther's death, the Kingdom of Camelot began to descend into turmoil. The bishop, heeding Merlin's advice, summoned all the noble knights to choose a new king using the 'Sword in the Stone the Stone,' a stone embedded in the churchyard. The sword bore the inscription: 'He who pulls out this Sword in the Stone shall be king.'"
"When Manchester City were still trailing 0-1 after 80 minutes, the Blue Moon's supporters were calling for someone to draw the sword. As it turns out, only one person drew the sword and killed Arsenal, and that person was number 9, Tang!"
While consistently supporting Manchester City, the Guardian offers a unique perspective by favoring Tang Long in their analysis of the match.
"Wenger, the renowned France manager, was the first to popularize possession-based football in the British Isles. And after inheriting Mancini's legacy, Pellegrini's Manchester City is also known throughout the Premier League for its possession-based style."
What should have been a beautiful clash of passing and control football turned into a real, hard-fought battle due to a torrential downpour that was ignored by the London Met Office!
The two women, who were having a knitting contest, were dumbfounded. Their needles had already broken; how could they possibly compete?
"Then Tang stepped forward, swung his fist, which was as thick as a sandbag, and with two thuds, ended the fight."
"This perfectly illustrates the famous quote from Roy Keane, the Manchester United legend and commentator for Sky Sport at the time: 'Football is a man's game; whoever has the harder fist wins!'"
However, aside from the excessive praise, even though Tang Long helped Manchester City reverse the Arsenal defeat, there were still dissenting voices amidst the chorus of praise.
With a spirit of meticulous nitpicking, they persevered and finally found a flaw in Tang Long with a magnifying glass. They were overjoyed and treated the readers like fools.
The right-wing newspaper, The Media Telegraph, did not report on the Manchester City match, or rather, it did report on it, but only in a small 200-word article in the bottom left corner of the last page. It gave the impression that they were holding back their complaints, but were afraid that people would laugh at them, so they dared not make a big fuss about it.
"In the last round, with Tang Long absent, Manchester City easily won 4-0 against Newcastle. In this round, with Tang Long back, Manchester City could only narrowly defeat Arsenal by one goal in the final moments. It seems that Tang Long's return is not a good omen for Manchester City. Pellegrini is a superstitious person. I wonder if he will be affected by this?"
Putting aside all these widely reported cases...
After defeating Arsenal, Manchester City secured their fourth consecutive league victory, making them one of only two teams with a perfect record.
Premier League live standings:
1. Manchester United 12 points
2. Manchester City 12 points
3. Chelsea 10 points
4. Arsenal 9 points
5. Liverpool 8 points
6. Leicester City 7 points
Top Scorers:
1. Icardi 5 goals
4. Harry Kane, 4 goals
2. Agüero 3 goals.
3. Vardy 3 goals.
Both Manchester clubs have won all four of their matches, with Manchester United currently in first place due to a superior goal difference.
Behind the Manchester clubs, last year's defending champions Chelsea are close behind.
These three teams are the only three teams that remain unbeaten after four rounds of the Premier League.
Looking at the top five rankings, it's clear that this season's Premier League competition remains a battle between traditional powerhouses, with mid-to-lower-tier teams falling behind from the very beginning.
However, Leicester City, ranked 6th, is a pleasant surprise!
Last season, they were only 6 points above the relegation zone and narrowly avoided relegation with 41 points.
They achieved 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in the first 4 rounds of the season, defeating mid-table teams Everton and Southampton, narrowly losing to Liverpool by 1 goal at home, and even drawing with the powerful Chelsea away.
Given their very difficult schedule in the first few rounds, analysts believe that once they get through these rounds, it remains to be seen how well Leicester City can perform against slightly weaker teams!
Manchester City has both good and bad news!
The last-minute victory against Arsenal is certainly cause for celebration.
However, the boxing match between the two teams at the Emirates Stadium cast a shadow over Manchester City's comeback attempt!
Even though there were more than 20 people gathered together, with fists and feet flying everywhere, you wouldn't know who you hit or who hit you.
However, with hundreds of high-definition cameras recording the entire incident, no one who fought or made any aggressive moves could escape.
On Tuesday, the Premier League League issued a penalty.
For Manchester City, Joe Hart, Delph, Agüero have been suspended for three matches, fined Pound Sterling 20,000 each, and must complete 50 hours of community service.
Delph's suspension will not have a significant impact on Manchester City. He is fourth in the pecking order for the defensive midfield position, behind Yaya Toure, Fernando, and Fernandinho. Manchester City bought him to use as a rotation player.
However, the suspensions of Joe Hart and Agüero will have a much bigger impact!
With a starting goalkeeper and a star striker, these two, one in defense and one in attack, form Manchester City's strongest shield and sharpest spear.
Despite Hart often being the backdrop for spectacular goals, his goalkeeping skills are among the best in the Premier League; otherwise, he wouldn't have been Manchester City's starting goalkeeper since 2007.
Agüero, of course, needs no introduction. He was the Premier League Golden Boot winner with 26 goals last season. More importantly, his replacements, Bony and Iheanacho, have had mediocre performances this season. In their limited substitute appearances, they haven't delivered any outstanding performances, and neither Pellegrini nor the fans seem to have much faith in them.
However, for these two players, whether they can perform well during Agüero's suspension is also crucial to their future careers at Manchester City.
Opportunity always favors the prepared mind!
Arsenal are in an even worse situation.
Both teams have three players suspended for three matches, but each player is a key player.
Koscielny, Bellerin, and Monreal – three of the key defenders were brought down.
Now it's Wenger's turn to have a headache. How is the defense going to hold up for the next three rounds? They don't want to get riddled with holes!
The suspension also caused another minor hiccup to Manchester City's charity event.
Commercial Director Berrada believes that although Arsenal initiated the conflict, the players who were suspended for fighting still tarnish the club's reputation.
The new recruit Delph, who was originally selected to participate in the charity event, was not really suitable to appear in such a public welfare setting, so as to avoid ridicule from the media.
Therefore, Kolarov was chosen to replace Delph and participate in the event.
As for why Kolarov was chosen instead of someone else, it's probably because when Pellegrini was surrounded by Arsenal players, it was the tall Kolarov was the first to rush into the encirclement and hug the veteran coach, giving him a great sense of security.
This greatly enhanced Kolarov's standing in the head coach's eyes, and Pellegrini, in gratitude, recommended him to Berrada.
Tang Long, Ranocchia, Kolarov represented Manchester City at a charity event held at Manchester City Council on Wednesday.
Due to a last-minute change in the event schedule, the dinner was changed to a luncheon. After finishing training at 10:30, the three players quickly changed into suits and took the club's car to the banquet hall.
The theme of this charity event is to raise funds for retired players who have fallen into poverty due to various unfortunate reasons.
Football holds a very important place in UK and is an important part of Britain culture. The Premier League is also an important link in the export of UK culture. At the same time, it has created many jobs and has a great influence. In recent years, the issue of bankruptcies among retired players has become increasingly serious and has become a focus of social attention.
Therefore, this charity event was attended by many celebrities and was of a high standard.
The banquet had not officially started yet, and attendees entered in twos and threes.
The men were dashing and the women were elegant and beautiful; the hall was filled with handsome men and beautiful women.
Nevertheless, the arrival of the three Manchester City players still attracted a lot of attention.
Ranocchia was tall and slender, noticeably taller than the others, and his long hair, tied up with a rope, exuded a unique charm characteristic of Apennine men.
Kolarov is stocky and robust, with slightly graying temples, giving him the air of a mature man.
Although Tang Long was the youngest, this wasn't his first time attending such an event. During his time at Inter Milan, he represented the club at various events. Therefore, dressed in a dark blue suit, his demeanor and speech were quite proper, and his fluent English surprised others.
Many attendees were drawn to Tang Long's handsome Eastern face, and several women in their thirties surrounded him and started chatting with him.
"Tang, which city in China are you from?"
"I've heard that people in your country prefer basketball to football, is that right?"
"What? You're not even 19 yet? My God, to be playing for Manchester City at such a young age, you're amazing!"
"You used to play for Inter Milan. Milan is a great place; I really like it and often go shopping Milan."
Do you have a girlfriend? My sister's youngest daughter doesn't have a boyfriend either. Would you like me to introduce you to her?
The banquet is still some time away from starting.
After dealing with the UK women, Tang Long began to stroll around.
After walking for a while, I saw Diletta walking gracefully from the entrance of the hall.
Diletta, Sky Sport's starlet, became the center of attention as soon as she appeared at the banquet, with many men's eyes fixed on her.
She wore a tight-fitting, sexy black dress that seemed tailor-made for her, every inch of which perfectly accentuated her tall and well-proportioned 172cm figure.
The dress featured a deep V-neck design on the upper part, cleverly showcasing her alluring collarbone and full bust line, while maintaining an elegant look.
The waist is cleverly cinched, outlining her slender waist and making her overall figure curves more fluid.
The length of the skirt was just right, highlighting her rounded hips while revealing her slender calves. Paired with a pair of red high heels, it complemented her mature and elegant temperament perfectly.
"Hello, big star, long time no see." Diletta walked straight up to Tang Long.
She was already tall, and with those seven or eight-centimeter heels, she almost reached Tang Long's forehead.
Tang Long glanced at her deep V-neck cleavage.
Diletta said, "What are you looking for? The necklace? Didn't I give it to you?"
Tang Long said, "You don't look like a reporter dressed like that. Are you here for an interview?"
Diletta nodded and flashed the electronic invitation on her phone. "I'm a representative from Sky Sport, invited to participate. The interviews can be conducted simultaneously without any disruption."
The two exchanged a few words, Diletta whispered something to Tang Long with a smile before leaving, turning back to wink at him twice as she went.
Tang Long turned around and found Kolarov and Ranocchia standing not far behind him, watching him.
"Wow, Tang, you and Diletta seem to know each other well. You two seem to get along really well." Kolarov kept watching Diletta's departing figure, his eyes practically piercing through her.
"You know him?" Tang Long countered.
"Sky Sport's top Italy commentator, nicknamed 'The Light of Italy,' of course I know her. She interviewed me five years ago during the post-match press conference when I was playing for Lazio," Kolarov said.
"At the time, Inter Milan's sporting director Ausilio wouldn't let Manchester City and Chelsea drive up the price of each other," Ranocchia said. "He was reluctant to let Dom go, and then Delight released an exclusive interview with Dom to put pressure on both sides. I remember that happened for a while, right?"
The banquet was about to begin, and the guests took their seats.
As soon as Tang Long sat down, someone patted him on the shoulder.
Turning her head, she saw Gracie sitting beside her, smiling at her.
"Huh? Gracie, what brings you here?" Tang Long asked in surprise.