Strike While the Iron Is Hot! Liverpool Wanted to Treat Manchester City Like Easy Prey!

Ronaldo once told Tang Long, "Never take media reports seriously!"

When you do well, they can praise you to the skies, lift you up to the clouds;

If you take this seriously and get carried away, when you don't perform well, they will not only pull you down from your pedestal, but they would also love to see you fall into the mud, stomp on you, spit on you, and laugh as they leave!

Manchester City's winning streak in the league came to an end after a home defeat to Southampton in the fifth round, leaving their city rivals Manchester United to take sole possession of the top spot in the standings.

Many media outlets were immediately excited by this result, sensing the key to generating buzz.

Although the UK has a relatively open business environment and a thriving business atmosphere, it has also attracted many foreign investors to the Premier League.

Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur – the current Premier League powerhouses are all firmly controlled by foreign capital.

Even so, compared to Manchester City, which is controlled by Middle Eastern oil conglomerates, Manchester United, which is controlled by United States, still wins more favor in the UK due to its cultural roots.

Many UK believe that United States are like grandchildren of the UK!

It's only natural that a grandson buys a football team on his grandfather's turf and achieves good results!

As for the Abu Dhabi United Group, which made its fortune in oil, although everyone was envious and secretly jealous, they still pretended to curse them as uncultured nouveau riche!

The Daily News is a prime example.

"It was actually quite reasonable for Manchester City's winning streak to be ended by Southampton."

"Many people believe that Manchester City is simply not worthy of being called Premier League powerhouse! Whether it's the team's fan culture, team building, or the number of trophies they've won, they are far from being comparable to their city rivals Manchester United."

"After winning two Premier League titles, Manchester City were immediately defeated by Chelsea last season."

"Manchester United's strong resurgence this season has given these Middle Easterners a real wake-up call!"

"Although Sir Alex Ferguson has retired, the spirit of Manchester United continues under the leadership of the renowned Netherlands manager Van Gaal, and will soon flourish and bear fruit, once again becoming a towering tree covering the entire British Isles!"

After criticizing the entire Manchester City club, the media still weren't satisfied.

In criticism and struggle sessions, it is essential to identify exemplary cases; this principle applies to criticism rallies both in China and abroad.

They have to drag someone out and give them a good beating under the spotlight, even if that person is a scapegoat, they have to blast them with all their might.

Manchester City is a club with over 20 players, as well as management and first-team coaching staff.

Many of these individuals have been deeply rooted in the football world for many years and possess a certain degree of social prestige.

In particular, head coach Pellegrini's clash with Wenger at the Emirates Stadium gave people their first direct experience of the Chile veteran's fiery temper.

The UK media were shrewd enough to decide to target an easy target.

Tang Long, unsurprisingly, became the easy target in the eyes of the British media!

At a young age, not even 20, he became Manchester City's most expensive player in history, leading many to question whether he deserved such a high price tag.

After all, Tang Long comes from a country that is a football wasteland. He was not originally qualified to come to the Premier League! It was only through the special admission of the Genius Clause that he was qualified to enter this league.

Tang Long previously played for Inter Milan. In that era, Serie A? It was synonymous with outdated and backward!

This Southern European league, with its limp and uninspiring pace, can hardly compare to the high-paced, high-intensity competition of the Premier League.

Therefore, as soon as Tang Long joined the Premier League, tens of thousands of eyes were fixed on him.

You performed well, provided assists, scored goals, and won the Man of the Match award—that's what you deserve—after all, you're so expensive!

However, if you perform poorly, even in just one game, as long as you don't attack or score, some people won't tolerate it!

The traditional right-wing media outlet, the Daily Telegraph, which has been keeping a close eye on Tang Long, has started to stir up trouble, deciding to give this "Tang Long target" from China a good squeeze.

In the last round, thanks to Tang Long's brilliant performance, Manchester City secured a last-minute victory against Arsenal away from home. The Daily Telegraph, however, merely left a small, sour comment at the end of the paper, its affected manner utterly repulsive.

After Manchester City lost to Southampton at home this round and fell from the top of the table, the Daily Telegraph immediately changed its tune, publishing a lengthy article on its front page!

He disappeared when the team needed him most!

The accompanying illustration is quite imaginative, showing Tang Long wearing an invisibility cloak from the Harry Potter movies and TV shows.

"With Joe Hart and Agüero suspended, this Manchester City, stripped of its start and finish, has become completely leaderless."

"As the club's most expensive transfer player in history, Tang should have shouldered the responsibility of leading the Blue Moon forward. But unfortunately, he failed to do so! He not only failed to score or assist, but also received a failing grade of 5.5 after the match."

"No wonder that in the last 10 minutes of the match, all 50,000+ fans at Etihad were chanting Agüero's name!"

"Agüero! The fans are calling for that prolific goal-scoring hero, the savior who, three years ago in 2012, sealed the victory for Manchester City with a powerful shot against Queens Park Rangers, bringing them their first-ever Premier League title!"

"The fans' eyes are actually sharp. At this moment, no one is calling out Dom's name because when the team is in trouble, his role is far less important than Agüero's!"

"Although Tang can provide many assists, when the team really needs to score to turn the tide, he retreats behind everyone else and becomes a coward!"

"This China player's transfer fee is enough to buy two Agüero, but is his importance on the field comparable to half Agüero?"

At the end of the article, the Daily Telegraph went even further, stating that if Manchester City fails to win the league title this season, then this match against Southampton will be a major turning point, and Tang Long, the team's most valuable player, will bear full responsibility for it.

Meanwhile, Milner, who lost his starting position due to Tang Long's arrival, suffered from mental imbalance and poor performance, and was forced to leave Manchester City, found a new life at Liverpool.

Manager Rodgers is from Northern Ireland and started his coaching career at smaller clubs like Watford, Reading, and Swansea.

His coaching career bears the deep imprint of traditional English football, and he greatly admires attacking midfielders like Milner who are known for their tenacity and tackling.

Milner, who was sold by Manchester City due to a lack of playing time, transformed himself into a key midfielder after arriving at Liverpool!

In his first game for Liverpool, he contributed a goal and an assist, helping Liverpool defeat Fulham 2-0 at Anfield, and was named Man of the Match.

The match between Liverpool and Fulham was played at the same time as the match between Manchester City and Southampton.

In the post-match interview, when Milner learned that Manchester City had actually lost to Southampton at home, the tough England player was initially stunned and found it unbelievable. What? They actually lost at home to a mediocre Southampton? Impossible!

However, when the reporter explained to him that Manchester City's performance had been mediocre without Joe Hart and Agüero, with the strikers failing to score and the goalkeeper making frequent mistakes, and even deliberately emphasizing to Milner that "Don's performance was also mediocre," Milner and the reporter exchanged a knowing smile, and Milner immediately gave an "I understand" look, then answered the reporter's question with a very satisfying sense of revenge.

"Although it might be disrespectful for my former teammates to say these things now, as a player who has left Manchester City, since you asked, I will tell you frankly: Manchester City is actually Agüero's team! No one else, including that record-breaking transfer fee Don, can replace him."

"Because Tang is a player whose strength lies in assists, but what's the point of his passes if the strikers can score?"

"You said it's expensive? Haha, that's a good question. Does expensive necessarily mean good?"

Milner used himself as an example. "Look, when I transferred from Manchester City to Liverpool, the transfer fee was only a little over 10 million Pound Sterling, but you saw my performance at Anfield tonight. What I'm trying to say is that in this era of inflated player prices, some players are indeed overvalued and don't live up to their reputation!"

And so, Tang Long found himself in the vortex once again.

Tang Long originally thought that the Italy media were already harsh and sarcastic enough.

However, to his surprise, upon arriving in the UK, where the media industry is more developed, he was thrust into the eye of the storm twice in a row.

The first time he was thrust into the spotlight was due to a back injury that prevented him from playing, sparking concerns from the media about his health and malicious speculation about the cause of the injury.

The second time it was pushed to the forefront, it seemed even more malicious.

If you don't play and the team wins, I'll criticize you. If you play and the team doesn't win, you'll still be criticized, and even more harshly and fiercely. All sorts of derogatory words will flood Tang Long's head.

This also proves the saying, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown."

The entire Manchester City team, under immense public pressure, was also indignant.

They trained exceptionally hard and diligently this week.

Veteran coach Pellegrini was full of fighting spirit, even frequently using sliding tackles to disrupt possession during rondo drills with his players.

"What's wrong? What's wrong with you all? A bunch of 20-something-year-old guys can't even beat a 60-something-year-old like me?" Pellegrini roared. "If you're still like this at Anfield, you can expect to be mocked by them again!"

Pellegrini was very anxious.

This impatience stemmed partly from his desire for the Premier League title and partly from his inner guilt. If it weren't for his lack of composure when facing Wenger's provocation on the field, the subsequent brawl between the two teams wouldn't have occurred, and Joe Hart and Agüero wouldn't have been suspended for three matches each!

For Arsenal, winning the title isn't important; simply finishing in the top four each season is enough to meet the board's KPIs for Wenger. But Manchester City is different. The Abu Dhabi United Group's hunger for the title is like a wolf's hunger for meat. If he can't lead Manchester City to the Premier League title this season, Pellegrini has a premonition that he might be packing his bags by the end of the season!

This pervasive anxiety throughout the team also significantly affected Tang Long's mood.

That day, after returning home from training, Tang Long couldn't help but complain to his agent Ronaldo, cursing those unscrupulous UK media outlets.

However, Ronaldo, who had just flown back to Manchester from Milan, appeared nonchalant and comforted him, saying, "You'll get used to it. When I played for Real Madrid, I faced much more pressure than you."

"Let's not talk about that anymore, let's talk about something happier. Do you remember Bonazzoli?" Ronaldo changed the subject and started talking to Tang Long about his junior brother from the same sect.

Tang Long recalled that Bonazzoli had been slapped in the locker room by the team's senior player Candreva, and had gone to the toilet to cry and even called him, so he curiously asked Ronaldo about it.

Ronaldo flew to Milan to handle some personal matters and also met with Bonazzoli.

He told Tang Long, "You know what? Candreva's attitude towards Bonazzoli has softened considerably now; he's very polite to him. Last round, Inter Milan played Bologna away, Bonazzoli scored twice, both goals assisted by Candreva. Their relationship is incredibly good now, hahaha!"

According to Ronaldo, Candreva's change of attitude stemmed from his brother-in-law Berni.

After Berni finished his tour in Milan, he invited Candreva out for a meeting that very evening.

Candreva had assumed that his brother-in-law, who was in a good mood after organizing a band tour in Milan, was going to treat him to dinner.

But to everyone's surprise, as soon as they met, Berni, with a gloomy face, slapped Candreva twice in front of passersby outside the restaurant!

Candreva covered the handprint on his face in surprise, looking aggrieved, and asked, "Brother-in-law, why did you hit me?"

Berni tugged at the gold chain around his neck, then took off a pair of sunglasses, grinned, and put them on Candreva's face. He cupped Candreva's unshaven cheeks in his hands and said, "You little rascal, if you dare bully Bonazzoli again, believe me, I'll immediately contact the Napoli Mafia, and they'll cut your Achilles tendons tonight! You'll be retired the next day, and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of your life."

Although Berni was a third-rate player who never played a single game in Serie A throughout his career.

However, this person has extensive connections on the Apennine Peninsula, with many close friends in both the underworld and legitimate circles.

He certainly wouldn't actually ask the Mafia to cripple his cousin's husband, Candreva, but after being inexplicably slapped twice, Candreva was indeed intimidated by this claim.

Berni warned Candreva that when he played for Inter Milan, Bonazzoli was his best friend and younger brother, who often carried his bag and cleaned his shoes for him.

Now that he's no longer with Inter Milan, he's lost his place in the team. If Candreva dares to bully Bonazzoli, he'll be in big trouble.

Berni is Candreva's brother-in-law and has connections in both the legal and illegal worlds.

This time, he personally returned to Milan to talk to me about this matter, and Candreva was terrified when he heard it.

Although Berni didn't elaborate on his relationship with Bonazzoli, Candreva thought to himself that Bonazzoli must have someone behind him, someone with far more power than Berni. Otherwise, his brother-in-law, who was usually very kind to him, wouldn't have lost his temper like that.

He quickly shrank his neck and said, "Okay, okay, okay, I'll never bully Bonazzoli again, please don't worry, brother-in-law!"

Berni relayed this information to Bonazzoli, and after Ronaldo met with Bonazzoli relayed it to Ronaldo.

After hearing Ronaldo recount the incident again, Tang Long laughed until his stomach hurt, saying, "See? My Uncle Bei is still the best! He solved the problem with just two slaps. Amazing, Uncle Bei!"

After discussing this matter, Ronaldo then took the initiative to talk to Tang Long about the current situation of Manchester City.

After listening to Tang Long's analysis of Manchester City's lack of attacking prowess, Ronaldo pondered for a moment, then slapped his thigh and said, "If I were Pellegrini, I would put you on the front line as a striker! You're young, have huge potential, and you're not incapable of it. Why not try a new position?"

Tang Long nodded slightly, thinking to himself: He himself had played a few games as a striker for Inter Milan. At that time, due to various reasons, Mancini was forced to put him on the front line. Although he didn't play many games, the effect was not bad, and he scored a few goals. He just didn't know if the aging Pellegrini could make this change.

It's Sunday again!

Manchester City's entire squad travels to Liverpool for their sixth Premier League match.

Facing Manchester City, who suffered a shock defeat at home to Southampton in the previous round due to the absence of both Joe Hart and Agüero, Liverpool's largest local media outlet, the Liverpool Echo, made some outrageous remarks before the match:

Liverpool are on the rise in the league, and they desperately need an easy opponent this round! Strike while the iron is hot, and a soulless Manchester City is the perfect target!