English Premier League Strikers Take Up the Pendulum Dribble-Tang Long Leads the Golden Boy Award Odds by a Mile!
Tang Long's outstanding performance in this round gave the media plenty of room to maneuver.
In fact, aside from hardline, traditional right-wing newspapers like the Daily Telegraph that refuse to repent, most media outlets are opportunists!
Whoever performs well is praised to the skies;
Whoever performs poorly, trample them into the mud!
Their main strategy is to jump on any trending topic; they'll go wherever there's buzz.
Thanks to a photographer at the scene, one of Tang Long's photos became the focus of all media after the match!
After the match, he stood in the center and was led by captain Kompany to thank the Manchester City Expeditionary Army at Anfield.
A stream of bright red blood flowed from his nostril!
This process lasted only a second, and was immediately erased by Tang Long's hand, but that single second became an eternal classic!
The Manchester Evening News devoted considerable space to praising Tang Long's tenacious spirit on the field, claiming that the photo was definitely a contender for this year's Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography!
"Today is Tang 19 birthday. He defended Blue Moon's dignity with his blood!"
"As it turns out, the brief defeat against Southampton was just a minor setback, and Manchester City remains the strongest contender for the Premier League title this season!"
The Guardian, on the other hand, portrayed Tang Long as a lone traveler in a blizzard.
He climbed to the top of the mountain alone and planted the flag of victory on the summit!
"To evaluate a player, you can't just look at what he can bring to the team in good times. Often, it's adversity that reveals true heroism!"
"With star striker Agüero absent and substitutes Iheanacho and Bony struggling to keep up, it was Tang who stepped up in this critical moment!"
"His two goals not only turned the game around and helped Manchester City secure all three points at Anfield;"
"He also demonstrated to those who doubted him through his actions—who says I can only pass the ball? When the team needs a goal, I will never falter!"
After the match, Ronaldo shared a video of Tang Long's Pendulum Dribble on social media and claimed that Tang Long was his successor in the field of Pendulum Dribble —pushing the praise for Tang Long to an unprecedented level.
Although Ronaldo's statement was heavily influenced by his special relationship with Ronaldo Tang Long, it still carries a strong commercial connotation.
But to be fair, Tang Long's pendulum shot was indeed beautifully executed, and it had a resemblance to Ronaldo's performance in the 1998 UEFA Cup.
Under the warm Italy sun, Vieri, the retired superstar known as the "Italy Tank" and the "Bulldozer Striker," stood in front of his own house and, facing the Sky Sport cameras, bluntly stated:
"Ronaldo and I were teammates at Inter Milan for many years, and I know his personality very well. He never praises a fellow striker easily. Even when I was scoring goals like crazy for Inter Milan and took the lead in attack when Ronaldo was injured, Ronaldo rarely praised me. He even deliberately picked on me and teased me during training, haha!"
"It seems that Tang's pendulum swing really won him over. This is truly rare. In nearly twenty years of knowing each other, this is the first time I've seen him speak so highly of another striker."
"There are countless strikers in the world, but there is only one Ronaldo. Over the years, your media has been hyping up and speculating about various successors to Ronaldo."
"But none of them have received Ronaldo's approval. However, today, Tang can proudly say that, at least in the area of Pendulum Dribble, he has earned Ronaldo's praise!"
The scene shifts to Britain football, where Tang Long's breathtaking Pendulum Dribble, like a hurricane, sweeps through the world of current Premier League strikers.
In the relatively small Premier League, where players know each other well, Tang Long's skills became the focus of much discussion.
The Premier League circle is actually quite small, and many players know each other and are good friends.
However, after several discussions, they finally came to the conclusion that in the current Premier League, no active player can perform the same Pendulum Dribble as realistically as Tang Long!
Everton's attacking pillar Lukaku, watched Tang Long's pendulum swing repeatedly on his phone screen. His eyes were focused on the decisive second swing, a smile playing on his lips, "The key is that second swing, which completely threw Mignolet off balance. Haha, I've got that technique!"
"The key is the second swing of the pendulum; that momentarily threw Mignolet off balance, haha, I learned something!"
Vardy, Leicester City's key striker, is among the top scorers in the league.
He was in his own spacious yard, watching Tang Long's pendulum swing on his phone while controlling the soccer ball at his feet, imagining Milio standing next to him and using the pendulum to get past him.
"How do you determine the distance? How far away from the goalkeeper should you start calculating?"
Diego Costa, Chelsea's center forward, is known for his stunning good looks.
He humbly asked the team's technical coach how to make a pendulum like Tang Long.
Finally, the coach replied, "You can't do it because your stride frequency is too slow."
Arsenal's tall and imposing Giroud can only look on with envy!
After all, he's a stationary center forward, and dribbling has never been his forte. Tang Long's skill is something he can only admire from afar.
As for British star Harry Kane, he uploaded his imitation video to social media in a lighthearted and humorous way. The first half was Tang Long's pendulum, and the second half was his attempt during training. He then invited netizens to judge his imitation.
Netizens left numerous comments, some encouraging and some teasing. "Kane, your pendulum swing is pretty cool, but training and actual combat are two different things. Why not show off your skills on the field next round against Liverpool?"
However, Tang Long's impressive dribble caught the attention of many Premier League team technical analysts.
Their job is to analyze the technical characteristics of each opposing player and provide pre-match tips to both the defensive and offensive players.
He was the new signing Manchester City acquired for a club-record transfer fee.
Tang Long's performance in the Premier League naturally made him the focus of all technical analysts.
Many technical analysts from top clubs have already watched every single one of Tang Long's matches last season with Inter Milan.
The final conclusion was that this player possessed exceptional vision and anticipation of details, and his passing was superb.
However, one-on-one dribbling is not his forte—at least compared to his passing, it is much weaker, and he rarely uses it in actual matches.
Liverpool's technical analyst stumbled on this, which served as a wake-up call for the coaching staff of other Premier League teams. Tang Long not only passes the ball in midfield and moves to the front line, but he can also dribble past opponents and score goals, possessing all the qualities of a top-class striker.
These professionals were utterly astonished and bewildered.
"How did he develop striker skills in such a short time?"
After careful consideration, everyone felt respect for Pellegrini.
It seems this Chile coach is truly unfathomable; he's incredibly skilled at developing young players. Otherwise, why would Real Madrid have been interested in him before?
The day after the match was Tang Long's 19th birthday.
From age 18 to 19, in just one year, he went from Inter Milan's youth team to Inter Milan's first team, then won the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Europa League, and finally landed at Manchester City for a record transfer fee.
It's hard to imagine that Tang Long achieved all of these milestones—milestones that most players can't reach even in their entire professional careers—in just one year.
It's like a rocket launch!
Many people are predicting that Tang Long will undoubtedly win the Golden Boy Award this year.
The Golden Boy Award is selected by football journalists from across Europe, with the selection process lasting one calendar year. The winner must be a player under the age of 21 and must be playing in Europe league.
The media outlets participating in the judging included authoritative media from various countries such as Bild, L'Equipe, France Football, Marca, Mundo Deportivo, and the Times, making it comparable to the Ballon d'Or for those under 21.
In fact, the odds also reflect public opinion.
Even before the match against Liverpool, a betting company updated the odds for the Golden Boy Award, which will be announced in December.
1. Tang Long (Manchester City) 1:1.1
2. Martial (Manchester United) 1:3.5
3. Correa (Atlético Madrid) 1:7.5
4. Munir (Barca) 1:14
Tang Long has gained a precipitous lead!
Although the results won't be announced until the end of this year, Tang Long is almost certain to win the award. Otherwise, as the media has said, looking at Europe football, how many young players under the age of 21 can compare to Tang Long? If Tang Long doesn't win the award, this award should be canceled!
To celebrate the team's comeback victory against Southampton and their victory over Liverpool, Pellegrini and the entire team took a day off.
The players only returned to training on Tuesday.
In Gracie's slightly crowded but well-organized office, Tang Long lay lazily on the massage chair, like a tired big cat.
The intense clash with Milner in the last match not only left him with a smear of blood on his nose, but also left his muscles aching all over, as if they had undergone countless trials.
What to do if your muscles are sore?
Of course, I'd let Gracie give me a massage!
Those soft, fair hands would knead and pinch Tang Long's body, always making him feel incredibly weak and pliable. So sometimes, even when his muscles weren't sore or aching, Tang Long would still come to Gracie.
Although Gracie's primary job is as a medical data analyst, not a professional physiotherapist, and she has never provided such services to other Manchester City players;
But she could never refuse Tang Long's requests.
Whenever Tang Long entered her territory, no matter how much data she had piled up, she would put everything down without hesitation and focus solely on providing him with physical therapy.
However, Gracie seemed to be in a low mood today, and she hit Tang Long much harder, hurting him several times.
Tang Long could tell she was doing it on purpose, so he remained silent, quietly enduring this unusual "concern."
With a soft thud, another drop of blood dripped from Tang Long's nose and fell to the ground.
"Why is my nose bleeding again? Damn Milner, when we get back to home, I'm going to give him a good beating!" Tang Long said angrily, then turned to Gracie, "Hey, Gracie, wipe the blood off my nose."
But Gracie remained unmoved, as if she hadn't heard a thing.
Tang Long called her name several times before she slowly spoke, her voice carrying a barely perceptible chill. "What, isn't there that beautiful female reporter with long legs? Let her wipe it for you, why do you have to come to me?"
Tang Long was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly realized. "Oh? So you watched my post-match interview?"
"I saw it. I was at Anfield that day, in the second row, right in my line of sight where you were being interviewed," Gracie replied casually.
Tang Long nodded and smiled, "Then next time you want to watch a game, I'm telling you, I'll take care of the tickets, for free."
"Heh, no need," Gracie sneered. "There won't be a next time."
Just as Tang Long's physical therapy in Gracie's office was about to end.
On the training ground, the other Manchester City players had just begun their training.
Having just pulled off a stunning comeback victory against formidable opponents Liverpool and receiving an extra day off, the players were in high spirits, all smiles and laughing together in small groups, attracting a constant stream of footage from the official photographers.
Even under a gloomy sky, their faces couldn't hide their sunshine!
However, only Ivory Coast striker Bony looked sullen.
He went to his national team teammate Yaya Toure.
"Brother Toure, if Tang continues to play this well, I'm afraid I'll become the team's fourth striker. What am I going to do? You're a veteran at Manchester City, you have to help me out!"
Toure scratched his bald head, watching Tang Long run towards the training ground from afar, lost in thought.