Manchester City Could No More Do Without Tang Long Than France Could Do Without Voltaire!
When Pellegrini walked into the locker room with a gloomy face.
Everyone had their heads down.
The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Unlike his predecessor Mancini, Pellegrini is not a manager who likes to use a hairdryer or act irritably.
But the players knew something was wrong as soon as they saw the wrinkles on his face droop down.
"I don't lose my temper; I just point out the problems."
Pellegrini tapped the tactical board lightly with his knuckles. "Our midfield and backline passing is completely disconnected, so I have to make adjustments in the second half."
After saying that, he held up two fingers and removed the magnet representing the goalkeeper's position from the tactical board. "Joe Hart out, Caballero in."
As soon as he said this, everyone in the locker room looked up immediately, and more than twenty pairs of eyes turned to him.
They substituted the goalkeeper at halftime, and it was none other than Joe Hart, a veteran player on the team!
My God, this substitution! Even if the game is over, the media will be in an uproar when they see it at the start of the second half!
Joe Hart opened his mouth wide without uttering a sound, but he was panting heavily.
His eyes were wide open, like a cow's eyes, and bloodshot.
Being substituted at halftime was an utter humiliation Joe Hart had never suffered during his eight-year career at Manchester City, under several managers.
Yes, I didn't play well, but I'm the goalkeeper! I'm the starting goalkeeper who came through Manchester City's youth academy! How could you substitute me at halftime?
Unlike other player positions, the goalkeeper's position has always been very secure;
A substitution of the goalkeeper at halftime, like Pellegrini did, generally only occurs when the goalkeeper is injured and unable to continue the game.
There is only one extreme case left: the head coach thinks the starting goalkeeper's performance is so terrible that he doesn't want to see him again!
"Boss, I... I think I can hold on a little longer."
Joe Hart stood up to defend himself, saying that those few shots were just bad luck, and that he could save 99 out of 100 shots under normal circumstances.
Before Joe Hart could finish speaking, Pellegrini's sharp gaze swept across Joe Hart's face like a whip. Upon seeing this, Joe Hart's face seemed to be slapped hard, turning bright red instantly.
"Caballero, get ready right away!"
"Alright, boss!"
Caballero happily put on his goalkeeper gloves and shin guards, and didn't forget to walk over to Joe Hart and pat him on the back to comfort him.
Dude, this isn't my fault. Who told you to be the background character three times in the first half?
If Pellegrini's substitution merely surprised the players;
His second consecutive substitution sent the locker room into an uproar!
He then removed the magnet from the tactical board that represented Yaya Toure's defensive midfield position.
"Toure down, Tang up!"
A loud "whoosh" sound came from the locker room!
The previously silent crowd quickly began whispering among themselves.
"Are you kidding me? The Toure?"
"Toure played quite well in the first half, why was he substituted?"
"If anyone's going to be replaced, it should be Fernandinho. His performance is far worse than Toure's."
"If Tang can still play, he should have been on the bench for the entire game!"
"Is Pellegrini going back on his promise? I'm not having it!"
Especially the French-speaking Faction players on the team, such as Bony, Mangalis Baleta, Clichy, Nasri, all looked at Tang Long with unfriendly eyes.
Toure's status at Manchester City needs no introduction; he is the team's most decorated player and also the leader of the French-speaking Faction.
Toure's substitution at halftime in such a crucial match against Juventus was a heavy blow to the French-speaking Faction's standing in the locker room, indicating that he had lost the coach's trust to some extent.
Nasri, known for his outspoken and often exaggerated personality, even jumped up and pointed at Fernandinho, yelling at the head coach:
"Why replace Toure? If anyone should be replaced, it should be Fernandinho. Toure's performance is better than everyone else's!"
Seeing that Nasri, that idiot, had actually directed the anger at Fernandinho, assistant coach Rayne rushed over, covered his mouth, and pushed him down. Then he said to Pellegrini:
"Boss, isn't making two substitutions at halftime too many? We only have three substitutions in total. Shouldn't we hold off a bit...?"
Rayne's words were not without merit.
If Manchester City uses up both substitutions by halftime, it means they won't be able to make any effective tactical changes until at least the 80th minute.
Generally speaking, the last substitution must be used carefully, otherwise it will be used up too early, and if a player is injured on the field and unable to continue the game, the team will have to play with 10 against 11.
They were already down by three goals; if they were down to ten men, it would be tantamount to surrendering.
However, Pellegrini, who has always been quite conservative in tactics, gave a response that greatly surprised Rayne, who had followed him for many years and thought he knew his boss very well!
"Rayne, let me tell you, if we don't make these substitutions, this game won't just be a matter of losing by three, it'll be a matter of losing by five or six. After that, the Abu Dhabi United Group will fire me, and you'll be taken down with them!"
Pellegrini was very disappointed with Manchester City's performance throughout the first half.
On the surface, Joe Hart's poor form, becoming the backdrop for the three goals conceded three times, was the direct cause of the three goals.
However, as the head coach, Pellegrini knows the truth perfectly well!
Joe Hart really played terribly, so he was substituted.
However, the deeper reason for Manchester City's loss of control in midfield—no one could hold onto the ball, control the tempo across the entire field—was the team's failure to maintain possession.
Neither Toure, Fernandinho, nor Silva could replace Tang Long's role in midfield!
Pellegrini overestimated Manchester City's strength and underestimated Juventus' strength.
Juventus can still play wonderful football without Pirlo;
But without Tang Long, Manchester City would be like a lamb tied to a chopping board, at the mercy of strong teams like Juventus!
As for why Toure was substituted instead of Fernandinho, it was because Pellegrini believed that Toure's stamina would definitely suffer in the second half under Juventus' high-intensity pressure.
After Tang Long came on, with him as the core and the playmaker, the younger Fernandinho, who has better running ability and defensive coverage, can play the role of a Gattuso -style support and striker, which will be more helpful to Tang Long.
Toure was a decent man.
Unlike Joe Hart, he didn't offer a weak defense of himself in front of everyone.
After all, it's very difficult for players to overturn the decisions made by the head coach.
He could only stand up, force a smile, and pat Tang Long on the shoulder in a seemingly generous and cheerful manner:
"Keep it up, young man! The comeback against Juventus in the second half depends on you!"
Ranocchia glanced coldly at Toure, sensing the malice in his words.
This is a deliberate attempt to place the blame for the comeback against Juventus solely on Tang Long's shoulders.
Even Ranocchia, who had immense faith in Tang Long's abilities, didn't think that Manchester City, trailing by three goals, could stage a comeback at Juventus' home ground!
Is it possible for Juventus, the team with the best defense in Serie A, to concede four goals?
Do you think this is Istanbul?!
Tang Long, who had remained silent amidst the commotion, slowly stood up.
"Brothers, I played against Juventus three times when I was at Inter Milan. I know how to deal with them. Let's go for it!"
Tang Long is actually right. In the current Manchester City squad, only he and Ranocchia have faced Juventus three times.
These two former Inter Milan players are the ones who know this Juventus best.
Seeing Tang Long's calm and confident demeanor, the French-speaking Faction players couldn't help but snort.
Don't get cocky, kid. We'll see what kind of changes you can bring to the game. Do you think we can actually turn the tide against Juventus?
Fortunately, captain Kompany played a leadership role and promptly shifted everyone's attention back to the game.
"We respect the coach's substitutions. As players, we only have one goal: to play to our full potential. As a Premier League team, we absolutely cannot let the Serie A teams look down on us!"
In the Sky Sport studio, Diletta is preparing to commentate on the second half of the match.
"Alright viewers, welcome back to the second round of the 2015-2016 Europe Champions League group stage, Group B, Manchester City away against Juventus. I believe many viewers were surprised by the score after watching the first half."
Juventus made no substitutions in the second half.
"For Manchester City, Joe Hart has been substituted, and Caballero has come on."
Materazzi muttered, "Hart should have been taken off long ago; look at the kind of play he's putting on the field."
Trezeguet laughed, "If I were Hart, I'd want to crawl into a hole and disappear. I wouldn't have the face to go on stage again!"
Diletta's eyes fell on a figure running out of the players' tunnel.
Tall and slender, with black hair, black eyes, and a pair of resolute gazes, Diletta knew it all too well!
She covered her mouth in surprise, stammering, "Oh, my boy..."
"Don, Don! He's here!" Realizing she'd misspoke, Diletta quickly corrected herself.
Trezeguet was taken aback. "Huh? He actually dared to appear? I thought he'd at least be banned for one game."
Materazzi slapped his thigh hard. "Haha, Trezeguet, there's a saying in your country that goes, ' France can't do without Voltaire, and Manchester City can't do without Tang!'"
"Go away, don't make up such nonsense," Trezeguet scoffed.
Diletta's slightly furrowed brow, which had been furrowed since the start of the show, finally relaxed, revealing a sweet smile.
"Go for it, my boy!" she murmured to herself.
As soon as Tang Long ran from the players' tunnel onto the field, the Juventus fans in both stands erupted in cheers!
They even created a bigger commotion than the away Manchester City fans, because the equipment they had prepared long ago could finally be put to use, something they hadn't expected to need.
"Hey, Tang! Look here, look here!"
"China people, look this way!"
"Could you introduce us to Diletta?"
"Your legs won't give way when you play soccer today, will they?"
Thousands of Juventus fans waved posters of Diletta and whistled in Tang Long's direction.
They were trying to distract Tang Long from the game in this way!
However, Tang Long didn't have time to pay attention to them; he was busy communicating with his other defensive midfield partner Fernandinho.
"I'll be covering a lot of ground. Pellegrini told me that I need to come up when the defense is organizing attacks from the front. So, buddy, please run around a lot and cover for my gaps!"
"No problem, bro, I've got your back!"
It was Toure who was substituted, not Fernandinho, so he wasn't annoyed at all. On the contrary, he was incredibly excited to be partnering with Tang Long for the first time.
He knew that once Tang Long was on the field, the team's organization would be smoother, their form would improve, and he himself would play more comfortably—something Toure couldn't do.
The Brazil defensive midfielder is very ambitious. He hopes the team can perform well so that he can solidify his position as the starting defensive midfielder, and it's not impossible that he could even replace Toure!
Juventus kicked off the second half first.
Without the composed style of Pirlo, Juventus' midfield lacked the patience for passing the ball around as before.
Pogba and Marchisio exchanged passes twice, with Marchisio then chipping the ball over the goalkeeper.
Pogba, with his strong desire to move forward, charged ahead with the ball!
Perhaps the three-goal lead in the first half, coupled with a stunning long-range strike, made the France star a little too excited;
This attempt was a bit too long, and Fernandinho easily intercepted it, then passed the ball to Tang Long.
"This is Tang's first touch of the ball in this match, let's take a look..."
Before Diletta could finish speaking, Pogba preemptively stretched out a foot and retrieved the ball from Tang Long's feet in this evenly matched contest.
This scene caused the Juventus fans at the stadium to erupt in cheers!
"Where is Tang?"
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
"Where is Tang?"
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
"Where is Tang?"
Knock knock...
Just as the third drumbeat was still cheering for Pogba, who continued to advance after the interception, Tang Long quickly chased back, stretched out his leg from the side and hooked the ball first, then brought Pogba to the ground.
After being dispossessed, he didn't wait there but quickly stole the ball back from Pogba!
Just as Pogba was still rolling around, the referee raised his hands to indicate that the game should continue!
"Bang!"
Without any hesitation, Tang Long unleashed a Low-trajectory Curve Shot at the ball's trajectory, which he had already calculated!
The football shuttles across the field like a high-speed train!
Traverse mountains, bridges, tunnels, and clouds!
Marchisio, trailing behind, stretched out his leg to intercept, but the ball grazed past his toes!
Left- Evra and center- Chiellini simultaneously pressed into the space and slid in, but the ball still managed to escape from the mere meter between them!
Buffon is on the attack!
Agüero is chasing the ball!
Glug glug~
Agüero spotted Buffon's right armpit, gently flicked the ball with his left foot, and the ball grazed past the onrushing Buffon before slowly rolling into the goal!
"Thump thump thump thump, thump thump, thump thump--"
Only then did the shirtless Juventus player in the stands, who was directing the drumbeats, stop his entire drumming routine.
He was drumming with his back to the field, so he couldn't see what was happening on the field at all.
In fact, from Pogba's interception of Tang Long, to Tang Long's return steal, and then his swift Low-trajectory Curve Shot assist to Agüero, all of this happened within a mere five seconds.
The guy playing the drums didn't even have time to react!
"Haha, I think my drumming is pretty good, right? All that practice these past few days hasn't been for nothing!"
The shirtless man, sweating profusely and panting, put down his drumsticks, looked up, and gazed at the crowd with anticipation.
But to his surprise, the Juventus fans who had been shouting and cheering earlier had all stopped and were staring at him with wide eyes.
"Beep beep beep beep--"
"Beep beep beep beep--"
A piercing, explosive sound pierced the pitch, coming from the northeast corner of the Manchester City fan section!
The shirtless guy playing the drum was stunned!
What kind of musical instrument is this?
The penetrating power is too strong! My ears were deafened even from 100 meters away!
This is a bugle that a professor from the music department of the University of Manchester specially brought from UK to Turin!
The moment Tang Long assisted Agüero's goal, he jumped onto the chair, puffed out his cheeks, and blew a loud blast of air!
A bugle call to arms resounded throughout the Juventus Stadium!
The live stream chat instantly went wild!
- [Bang! This is the bugle call for the People's Liberation Army's attack!]
-[The counterattack begins now!]
- [First touch results in loss of possession, second touch leads to a counter-press, third touch Low-trajectory Curve Shot an assist!]
-[It's Tang Long again, and Agüero again!]
- [Only 46 minutes left, we still have time!]
-[All troops, charge! Take the enemy bridgehead!]
After scoring, Agüero grabbed the ball from the net and rushed back, slapping Tang Long hard across the butt as he passed him, without saying a word.
Even now, Pogba is still arguing with the referee, claiming that Tang Long committed a foul, but this doesn't change the fact that the score has been changed to 1-3.
"Take it easy, everyone take it easy, don't rush!"
Allegri on the sidelines ripped off his tie, clearly very unhappy with his team conceding a goal early in the game.
It was thought that after Pirlo left, 22-year-old Pogba could inherit the mantle of this midfield maestro;
But unexpectedly, this young black man was a bit too impatient and rushed forward too aggressively.
Tang Long's wide field of vision, sharp footwork, and accurate anticipation of the strikers' runs during counter-attacks forced Allegri to change his aggressive, high-pressing style of play from the first half.
He instructed his players to slow down and control the ball.
This slowdown gave Manchester City the opportunity to create space.
If it comes down to physicality and attacking play, Manchester City can't withstand Juventus;
But when it comes to playing footwork and passing, the two teams are not on the same level.
After Juventus adopted a more defensive formation, Manchester City finally pushed forward.
Now it's Manchester City's turn to press high up the pitch against Juventus, who are playing possession football!
Brazil defensive midfielder Fernandinho, who remained on the field, did not disappoint Pellegrini's expectations.
Having just turned 30, he has reached his peak in both experience and physical condition.
Just five minutes later, when the ball came to Pogba's feet again, Pogba, who had been thwarted by Tang Long, decided to avoid direct confrontation and began charging towards Fernandinho.
Pogba reassured himself that it was just a coincidence. Tang Gang had just come on, so his stamina was definitely better than his, but Fernandinho, who had been on the field the whole time, might not be so lucky.
Pogba unleashed three Step Over on Fernandinho.
Heave-ho~
Heave-ho~
Heave-ho~
Snap!
"Stomp on your head, my foot!" Fernandinho made a precise kick, poking the ball away with his toe and knocking Pogba to the ground in the process.
What was meant to be a clearance turned into a pass, and the ball flew precisely to Sterling's feet on the left wing.
As Sterling took two steps back to the sideline, preparing to chest down the ball, Lichtsteiner rushed over.
From a defensive standpoint, the Switzerland full-back was trying to intercept Sterling the moment he controlled the ball.
Sterling may not be a great shooter, but when it comes to dribbling, he's the most gifted England player of all!
Seeing Lichtsteiner charging forward, he had a sudden inspiration. Instead of using his chest to stop the ball as it fell, he gently bounced it over Lichtsteiner's head with his right shoulder, then dribbled around him along the sideline and continued charging forward!
"Give me!"
Silva quickly moved closer to him and reached out for the ball.
In the past, when Sterling dribbled to this position, he would actively seek to connect with the players in the attacking midfield position.
He heard Silva's shouts, but he saw Tang Long sprinting up from the defensive midfield position!
This time, Sterling chose to pass the ball to Tang Long.
Tang Long sprinted towards the ball and shouted at Silva from afar, "Get out of my way!"
Immediately, he drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and made a leg-swinging motion.
At this moment, Tang Long was about 30 meters away from the goal. Although this distance was far, it was still within the shooting range of the midfielders.
Upon Tang Long's shout, Silva quickly dodged.
Juventus players, however, dared not hide!
Sturaro attempted a sliding tackle to intercept, while Bonucci and Chiellini were also ready to block Tang Long's long-range shot.
Meanwhile, the phantom striker Agüero was closely watching the changes in Juventus' offside line...
As expected, Tang Long used a feint!
His raised leg gently landed just as it touched the ball, creating a beautiful arc.
"Forehead?"
Both center-backs Bonucci and Chiellini, were taken aback.
Agüero, however, had already slipped past the two players like the wind, right past the offside line, and the ball landed right in front of him!
What a comfortable spot!
Agüero sideways to judge the landing point, spread his arms to control his balance, touched the ground with his toes four times, quickly adjusted his steps, and unleashed a powerful shot without stopping the ball!
Even if Buffon had three heads and six arms, he couldn't stop that powerful shot that went straight into the top left corner!
2 to 3!
Manchester City scored two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half!