He Didn't Score or Assist, Yet His Teammate Happily Knelt Down to Polish His Boots!

"Great, great, that's wonderful!"

Agüero! three times in a row!

However, he certainly wasn't saying Bony played well. In fact, from Agüero's perspective, Bony, who started the match, did indeed shoot terribly.

Although he remained quite calm on his second attempt, if it were Agüero himself, he would have scored on his first attempt.

Agüero's shout of "Bravo!" was naturally a compliment to Tang Long's excellent pass.

Agüero in the stands has a god-like perspective.

He could clearly see that when Jiang Guangtai rushed towards Tang Long without regard for his own safety, a slight opening did appear on Bony's side.

He had initially thought that Tang Long, who was moving at high speed, would only have the goal in mind and that this kick would definitely be a shot. But to his surprise, Tang Long managed to cut the ball back at the last moment and found the opening.

From the stands, you have a bird's-eye view of the entire stadium.

However, during a match, players stand on the field in a horizontal position, and their view is blocked by opponents and teammates moving back and forth, and they are constantly subjected to various noises.

But in that instant, Tang Long's choice was perfectly reasonable, aligning with Agüero's God-like perspective from the stands!

Agüero, sitting in his chair, stomped his feet back and forth on the ground, making the audience itch with envy. He couldn't wait for his suspension to end so he could come on as a substitute in the second half.

As a striker, I really want to play alongside Tang Long!

Manchester City manager Pellegrini on the sidelines also breathed a sigh of relief.

In this match, he did not continue the strategy of putting Tang Long on the front line in the second half of the previous round, but instead adopted the conventional 4-2-3-1 formation and started Bony, who had performed terribly before.

His strategic deployment was actually under immense pressure!

After all, Bony's poor performance led to a barrage of criticism from the media on the Ivory Coast, which in turn led to criticism of Pellegrini, who agreed to bring in Bony, as well as other members of Manchester City's management.

Yaya Toure's reluctance to let Bony be discarded by Manchester City stems from his desire to consolidate the French-speaking Faction's influence in the dressing room, thereby facilitating his own contract extension.

As Manchester City manager, wasn't Pellegrini also driven by personal motives?

After all, when Bony's scouting report was pushed onto the manager's office desk, he had several other player options beside him, including Queens Park Rangers' Austin, West Bromwich Albion's Berahino, Southampton's Pelle, and so on. These players were equally outstanding, and their goal-scoring efficiency was in no way inferior to Bony's.

While Yaya Toure certainly played a role in Bony's move to Manchester City, it was Pellegrini himself who ultimately made the decisive decision in the transfer.

"See? I wasn't wrong. By placing Tang Long in the attacking midfield position and fully utilizing his all-around advantages, Bony will definitely be used as well. Bony is a sleeping lion, and we are waiting for the day he Su Xing!" Pellegrini said happily to his assistant coach.

"Boss, you're always right. I'll always support you!" As Pellegrini's assistant coach who had followed him for many years, Rayne always supported his superior unconditionally.

When Manchester City plays in the Premier League, their favorite thing is to break through the opponent's goal as quickly as possible.

Ideally, it should be in the first half, the earlier the better, especially like today's match against Everton, where a goal could be scored within the first few minutes.

Given Manchester City's possession-based style of play and their status in the Premier League, they are destined to strive for victory in every match, especially at home. No matter which team they face, the Blue Moon' only goal is to take all three points; otherwise, it is a failure!

Teams visiting Manchester City, whether powerhouses like Liverpool and Arsenal or relegation-threatened teams like Norwich and Stoke City, generally employ a defensive strategy, playing defensively and then launching counter-attacks.

Once Manchester City scores first, counter-attacks become meaningless.

Because losing one thing is the same as losing two things.

At this point, they will be forced to take the initiative to attack, which is exactly what Manchester City likes, because once the opponent attacks, the gaps behind them will inevitably be magnified, and Manchester City's passing and possession system strikes at the gaps behind the opponent!

So in the following matches, Manchester City played with absolute ease.

In the 29th minute of the first half, Tang Long once again played his magnetic role in midfield.

Like Pirlo, he dribbled the ball back and forth, tapping it for a moment, pretending to pass it to the left, but then he cut the ball back and instructed his teammate on the right to make a run.

This is a classic feint, designed to lure Everton's midfielders closer, and to attract as many of them as possible.

Once they get close, Tang Long's next move will be to take full advantage of the gaps behind them.

If the score were 0-0 at this point, Everton's players might not have pressed forward.

But at this point they were behind, and even knowing that Tang Long's move was a clear trap, Everton's players had to go for it because they had to take the gamble!

Once we intercept the ball, we can launch a counter-attack immediately.

Barry and McCarthy, Everton's two defensive midfielders, one old and one young, rushed towards Tang Long, attempting a double-pronged attack to pin him to the ground.

Just as Barry's foot was halfway out, Tang Long's boot, which was on top of the soccer ball, suddenly pulled back, causing Barry to miss his target.

He then shifted his weight to the right and squeezed through the gap between the two.

At this moment, Navas on the right wing has started to make a run, Bony is also moving forward, creating an opportunity for a quick attack.

However, Tang Long was clearly not satisfied. Or rather, he felt that passing the ball out like that wasn't impossible, but considering Bony's positioning skills were really quite average, it would be a bit difficult to score a goal from there.

Tang Long then started to dawdle again.

"Give it to me quickly!" Navas shouted anxiously!

"What are you waiting for? Let's all double-team him!" Another Everton midfielder Barkley, rushed over in a hurry!

Thus, Barkley, Barry, and McCarthy, three formidable Everton midfielders, descended from the mountain like three tigers, attacking Tang Long from three directions.

Three midfielders surrounding one opposing midfielder is definitely a high-stakes gamble!

If the bet is right, intercepting the ball on the spot is fine;

If they can't block it, and Tang Long gets through, the gap behind him will be like a racetrack.

Seeing the enemy's aggressive advance, Tang Long decided not to linger in the fight. He delivered a deft lob pass to Navas on the right wing, then cleverly slipped past the crowd.

Poor Barkley, who came to help, couldn't stop in time and collided head-on with his teammate Barry, both falling to the ground with a thud.

In the live broadcast room

- [Hilarious! Is Barkley kissing Barry?]

Three players surrounded Tang Long in midfield, but they couldn't steal the ball!

-[Everton played a completely reckless pressing game, and it's normal if they couldn't win the ball back. The correct way to defend is to maintain good position and cut off passing lanes.]

-[But Tang Long was just taking advantage of their anxiety about being behind, setting a trap for them to fall into!]

-[That's right, Tang Long dug a trap, and his opponent knew it was a trap, but he still insisted on jumping in, refusing to believe it. This is interesting!]

That's why that opening goal was so important; the score change reflected both sides' mental states in their on-field actions.

[Look! Navas didn't go to the byline, he cut inside! Is the sun rising in the west?]

Navas, the fast winger on the right wing, did not go down the wing. After receiving the ball, he controlled it, cut inside, and headed straight towards the center.

Breaking through and then making a run down the wing is Navas' signature move in the Premier League; his speed and dribbling skills also enable him to do so.

But in reality, Navas's move to the byline is often a last resort!

Because the opponents are densely packed in the mid lane, going to the side lanes for a one-on-one fight gives you a better chance of winning.

This time, however, Tang Long drew three Everton midfielders in the middle and then passed the ball out, leaving Everton's defensive midfield area completely empty.

On the football field, the middle is always more threatening than the wings, for no other reason than that the middle is closer to the goal!

The experienced Navas also used his first inside cut to the basket this season, rushing towards the center and breaking into the vacuum created by the opponent's defensive formation.

The series of performances that followed made people fully realize what top-level passing and possession in the Premier League truly means!

Navas and Silva, both Spain, are relatively short, standing at just over 1.70 meters. However, their skillful footwork and decisive positional passes left the tall, muscular Premier League players completely bewildered and disoriented.

The two of them were like two little fleas, jumping back and forth between the gaps in the opposing defenders.

The football changed direction like a bouncing ball, constantly shifting between the two center-backs' ankles. For a moment, neither Jiang Guangtai Stones knew who to defend.

Because as soon as he got close to Silva, he passed the ball to Navas; and as soon as he got close to Navas, the ball returned to Silva's feet.

Neither of them is defending? They just keep advancing, getting closer and closer to the goal, almost into the penalty area!

With a final strike, Silva twisted his foot, and Bony was once again facing an unmarked one-on-one opportunity.

"I bet this guy needs two more kicks to get in, Hart!"

The Manchester City fans in the stands all stood up.

Amidst the rustling sounds of pants and seats, Agüero chuckled and said to Joe Hart beside him.

On one occasion, Bony clearly disappointed Agüero.

Having already opened his scoring account and broken through that veil of uncertainty, Bony's shot was clean and decisive, steadily pushing the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal.

As the football slammed into the net with a satisfying "whoosh," Bony leaped high into the air and delivered a double punch in mid-air!

"Bony! Starting center forward Bony scores twice!"

"This shot was perfect, very calm!"

"It's unbelievable! Bony, who hadn't scored a single goal in the first five rounds, scored twice in the first half of this round!"

"Congratulations Bony! As a striker, regaining his confidence and touch in scoring goals is extremely important for him."

"Navas and Silva's positional interchange disrupted Everton's defensive rhythm, and the pass to Bony was spot on!"

Snap!

On the field, Pellegrini excitedly high-fived his assistant coach.

He saw it clearly: although Bony scored the goal and Silva provided the assist, the key to this attack being successful was Tang Long's luring dribble past his opponent in midfield.

If he hadn't drawn the attention of three defenders, there wouldn't have been the opening for Navas to cut inside, nor would there have been Silva's link-up play and Bony's final shot!

So it's no wonder that when Bony rushed to Silva to celebrate, Silva waved to Tang Long, calling him over.

The Spain midfield maestro knew that Tang Long deserved at least 70% of the credit for that goal.

Bony was also well aware of Tang Long's decisive role in this attack.

His first goal came from an assist by Tang Long, and although the second goal was also assisted by Silva, without Tang Long's earlier moves, he would never have had such a comfortable one-on-one opportunity.

So, Bony suddenly knelt down in front of Tang Long, gesturing for him to put his feet on his knees, and then began to wipe his shoes back and forth!

[Holy crap, what am I seeing?!]

-[Bony is actually shining Tang Long's shoes!]

"Are you kidding me? He scored the goal, why is he shining someone else's shoes? I just don't understand Africans!"

-[If you don't understand, it means you don't understand football. Bony is thanking Tang Long; without him attracting three opponents, none of this would have happened.]

-[I remember this is the second time Tang Long has had his shoes polished by a teammate. It happened once before at Inter Milan, but I forget who it was!]

Seeing this, Ranocchia in the backcourt smiled faintly.

This junior member of the French-speaking Faction has made a breakthrough; he has the potential to be recruited into the government.

Yaya Toure, the leader of the French-speaking Faction, was somewhat speechless.

He stood at a distance, hands on his hips, looking at Bony with disdain. He felt that Bonnie's act of shining Tang Long's shoes was incredibly obsequious, practically groveling!

"A few days before the match, you hated this kid to death and even complained to me that you might get kicked out by Manchester City. How come you're looking at Tang Long like he's your own father now? If all the people from Ivory Coast were as spineless as you, we'd be a laughingstock internationally. When Agüero returns from his suspension, you'll probably be sitting on the bench again."

However, Toure then thought again that Bony probably didn't resent Tang Long; he resented not being able to score.

If he can keep scoring, especially if Tang Long helps him score, as the saying goes, "whoever feeds him is his mother, "Bony won't care about anything else.

"Sigh, it's all about profit!"

In any case, this French-speaking Ivory Coast has finally opened his goal-scoring account, and even scored two goals, which is ultimately a good thing for him. Even I myself am hoping that Bony will stand up, strengthen the French-speaking Faction, thereby consolidating his position in the team and successfully securing a contract extension.

Thinking of this, Toure sighed softly, and a complex smile appeared on his charcoal-black face.