[Dinosaur-style Shot]! Crush the Japanese's arrogance!

Tang Long played for Inter Milan for less than a year, but there are two people in the entire Inter Milan team who know Tang Long best.

Aside from his mentor Chivu, his teammate at the time was Nagatomo Yuto.

Chivu, needless to say, as the coach who single-handedly promoted Tang Long from the youth team to the first team, Chivu a very good understanding of Tang Long's technical characteristics and physical qualities. He has a lot of first-hand information that others do not know, and he has also specially prepared a special training report for him.

For a long time, Nagatomo Yuto was the only Asia player in Inter Milan's squad.

He has always maintained a humble and low-key attitude, quietly playing football for the team.

When Tang Long arrived at Inter Milan, Nagatomo Yuto initially looked down on him, thinking he was just a nepotism hire brought in by a China sponsor;

However, Tang Long's skills improved rapidly afterward, and he scored one goal after another, earning the admiration of the Japan full-backs!

For a period of time, Tang Long's tactic of drawing defenders into midfield and then making through passes behind the defense to allow Nagatomo Yuto to surge forward saved Nagatomo's career at Inter Milan, allowing him to regain his starting full-back position.

Admiration for strength is a deeply ingrained national characteristic of the Japan, and this is vividly demonstrated in Nagatomo Yuto.

When returning to the national team during international break, Nagatomo Yuto, one of the team's senior players, often berates the younger players arrogantly and even makes them wash his shoes and jerseys.

But once he returned to Inter Milan, whether in training or during matches, he would often bow respectfully to Tang Long at a 90-degree angle, shouting "Alli!"

After the match, Nagatomo Yuto would secretly study Tang Long's technical characteristics, trying to find some secrets to improving his skills in a short period of time.

However, limited by his own talent, he found that no matter how hard he trained, he could never reach 30% of his level.

However, it was precisely because of this detailed and meticulous analysis that Nagatomo Yuto gained a very comprehensive understanding of Tang Long's playing style!

Regardless of whether Tang Long plays as a defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder, or striker, Nagatomo Yuto has gained a very detailed understanding of his positioning, passing habits, and football thinking.

Now that Nagatomo Yuto has left Inter Milan, Tang Long can no longer help him and has lost his value, instead becoming Premier League opponent.

At the pre-match press conference, a reporter asked, "As Tang Long's former teammate at Inter Milan, did your coaching staff consult you about the player's individual technical characteristics, and did you offer any advice to the coaching staff?"

Nagatomo Yuto answered honestly, "Yes, I reported everything I knew about Tang Long to the Norwich coaching staff."

"A key reason why Norwich has been able to stay in the mid-table of the Premier League this season is that we've been able to take points from strong teams, and we have the same ambition coming to the Etihad!"

Nagatomo Yuto was absolutely right!

Norwich's overall player value is not high; the entire team's total value is only Pound Sterling 140 million.

Nagatomo Yuto, valued at €25 million by Transfermarkt, is the highest-valued player on the team.

The reason they are still ranked ninth in the Premier League after 11 rounds of the season is that they have taken points from both weak and strong teams!

They had a narrow 1-0 away win against Tottenham Hotspur and a 1-1 draw at home against Chelsea.

This is thanks to the team's excellent defense. Although they are ranked ninth in the Premier League, their number of goals conceded is only sixth in the Premier League, even more than Arsenal.

This is clearly related to the coaching style of their head coach, Scotland Aleix Vidal Neil.

This 34-year-old Premier League manager previously played for Barry in Serie B for two years during his playing career.

After becoming a coach, he brought the Italy football style of emphasizing defense to the Premier League and stressed the art of chain defense to the players.

Therefore, Norwich played very cautiously after the start of the match.

The players maintained a very tight distance between the three lines, never pushing across the half to press Manchester City's defenders.

At first, Manchester City's players thought this was just Norwich's usual practice of lowering their profile;

It's not just Norwich; many Premier League teams, including some top teams, will start the game defensively when they come to Manchester City's home ground, wary of Manchester City's opening three-pronged attack.

After all, Manchester City's passing and possession skills are top-notch in the Premier League, and their attacking firepower is also formidable, with players like Agüero, Bony, and Tang Long ranking among the top scorers.

However, after 30 minutes of play, the players realized that Norwich still showed no signs of pressing forward.

That's very strange!

Because in football, the emphasis is on the ebb and flow of power.

If the two sides are evenly matched, they will often take turns attacking and defending for a period of time.

I defend for a while, you attack for a while, and possession will change back and forth.

If the two sides are vastly different in strength, then the number of such conversions will be very small.

However, this is the first time Manchester City has seen a player like Norwich who doesn't convert at all this season.

They played the traditional 3-5-2 formation in Serie A, but neither of the two wing-backs, Nagatomo Yuto on the right or Martin on the left, had any intention of pushing forward. They stayed back, turning the three-man defense into a five-man defense.

Meanwhile, midfielder Howson seemed uninterested in linking up with striker Jerome, and actively dropped back, giving Norwich four defensive midfielders!

With five defenders and four midfielders, Manchester City effectively covered the 30-meter area in their own half, making it difficult for them to penetrate the penalty area through ground passing.

Even when Tang Long is in the attacking midfield position, as soon as he gets the ball, there are countless legs in front of him. Even if he passes the ball into an open space, before his teammates can receive it, a defender will immediately appear in that position to intercept the ball.

Even more deadly is their black striker, Jerome!

This 1.85-meter-tall striker is more of a disruptive force in the attacking third than a striker.

When the ball was in Manchester City's own half and controlled by players like Caballero, Ranocchia, and Yaya Toure, Jerome didn't press the ball;

Once the ball crossed the center circle, Jerome started running back and forth sideways like a mad dog.

His running style is also very distinctive; he often runs back and forth along predetermined passing routes.

This meant that although he couldn't win the ball from Yaya Toure and Fernando, Manchester City's defensive midfielders couldn't linger too long after receiving the ball and needed to pass it out immediately, which gave the players advancing from the backfield less time to think.

With nearly 40 minutes played, Manchester City's possession rate reached an astonishing 78%, the highest possession rate in the Premier League season so far!

However, because they persisted with short passing and penetration, trying to get the ball into the penalty area, they only managed 5 shots.

Norwich's first shot of the match came in the 42nd minute.

Just as the dozing Etihad fans woke up, some of them had already gotten up to go to the toilet.

Norwich suddenly launched an offensive!

Facing the pressing Jerome, Toure didn't pass the ball this time. Instead, he swung his arm to push Jerome away, then cut inside with his foot, tightened his back, and created space to dribble forward. This was a sudden change of pace, an attempt to speed up!

However, Toure is already 32 years old. After the 40th minute of the first half, the veteran reached a point where his physical condition was exhausted. He hesitated for a moment and was dispossessed from behind by Jerome was constantly chasing back!

The instant Jerome made the tackle, the two wing-backs, Nagatomo Yuto and Martin, almost simultaneously surged forward at high speed.

"Jerome!"

After Jerome dribbled the ball forward 10 meters, he heard Nagatomo Yuto shouting from the right wing.

Jerome was smart; he didn't rush to pass the ball to Nagatomo Yuto.

Instead, he turned around, drawing another defensive midfielder Fernando, to press him, and then suddenly launched a long pass with the inside of his foot.

At that moment, Nagatomo Yuto had just crossed the offside line set up by Ranocchia!

Ranocchia knew that Nagatomo Yuto physically strong and fast;

But this time, Nagatomo Yuto's accumulated offensive desire from the entire first half suddenly erupted, exceeding his old teammate Ranocchia's expectations!

"Nagatomo Yuto is incredibly fast!"

Ranocchia raised his hand to the linesman to indicate offside, but the linesman did not raise his flag, Ranocchia had to continue chasing the ball!

"Unbelievable! Just seconds ago, Nagatomo Yuto was in his own penalty area, and now he's a winger!"

"Ranocchia is getting closer, and their arms are entangled!"

"Huh??? Nagatomo Yuto actually won this match!"

"He slipped through Ranocchia's legs like an eel!"

"Haha, Ranocchia is clearly dumbfounded. He can really dribble past people like that?"

"Is anyone in the middle lane using a trap?"

"Howson! We've seen Howson!"

"Howson is sprinting all the way; he's faster than Kompany!"

"Nagatomo Yuto's cross!"

"Howson scores with a low shot!"

"My goodness, Manchester City, who couldn't break through after a long attack, conceded a goal to Norwich just before halftime!"

After scoring, Howson was extremely excited. He rushed to the corner flag area, jumped high, and kicked the corner flag, sending Manchester City flying!

Amidst the boos from the Manchester City stands behind him, he spread his arms high, allowing the diminutive Nagatomo Yuto to jump directly into his lap.

"Yes! Wedidit!"

Norwich coach Neil, his neck veins bulging, threw a heavy punch at the night sky above Etihad, as if he wanted to knock the stars down with one blow.

Halftime.

Pellegrini spent a lot of time telling the players not to worry about the goal conceded, to relax, and to continue playing the same style of football.

He also insisted that Norwich could not maintain such defensive focus throughout the entire match, and that some players would inevitably relax after the 65th minute of the second half. The players should take advantage of this relaxation and make quick breakthroughs.

However, although Tang Long didn't say anything, he didn't think so in his heart!

Even though Norwich players' focus and stamina would decline after 65 minutes, the same was true for Manchester City.

Playing at home against a team like Norwich, and being behind, we absolutely cannot let the time to equalize drag on until the very end; the sooner the better.

Ideally, Manchester City should equalize at the start of the second half; otherwise, as the game progresses, Manchester City's morale will decline, while their opponents will be in high spirits. This is a psychological contrast stemming from the difference in strength between the two sides.

Manchester City focused their attacks through the middle in the first half, but due to the dense concentration of players in that area, the three center-backs and four midfielders couldn't break through.

If the team continues to attack down the middle as Pellegrini suggested in the second half, the results may not be very good.

If the score isn't equalized until the 70th or 80th minute, will there be enough time to score the go-ahead goal?

Based on his intuition, Tang Long believed that the key to breaking this tight defensive formation lay on the flanks!

Therefore, at the start of the second half, Tang Long intentionally passed the ball to both flanks.

After receiving a through pass from Tang Long, right-back Sagna immediately went down the wing, attempting to use his speed to force his way past Nagatomo Yuto!

To his surprise, the Japan full-back, who was only a little over 1.7 meters tall and didn't look particularly strong, had a fierce edge when defending.

With a powerful push of both feet, he moved with incredible speed, sliding in and bringing Sagna down with the ball!

Such a defensive performance wouldn't be called in the Premier League.

Nagatomo Yuto stood up, high-fived his teammates, and looked full of confidence.

"Good shot, Nagatomo Yuto!"

Norwich's head coach Neil, was also applauding excitedly from the sidelines.

Since arriving in Norwich this summer, Nagatomo, who has the highest Transfermarkt value in the team, has fully played the role expected of a key player;

He also brought his experience playing for a powerhouse club like Inter Milan to Norwich City, a small Premier League team.

The Japan full-back is always the player Norwich coach Neil trusts the most!

This successful defensive play on the flank sent Japan fans watching the game in the live broadcast room into a frenzy.

Well done, Nagatomo! You truly deserve to be our Japan superstar!

-[Tang's shot was really cunning! He couldn't get past the middle lane, so he tried to attack the side lanes, but he didn't expect he couldn't get past our great Nagatomo-kun!]

With Nagatomo Yuto on the team, Norwich's defense is impenetrable!

-[The teams in the Premier League are actually quite evenly matched, unlike the more polarized Serie A. In my opinion, Norwich beating Manchester City is just around the corner!]

-[I just couldn't stand how some people hyped up Tang Long before. He was on the same team as Nagatomo at Inter Milan, so I couldn't say much then, but now I can say it: no matter how accurate his passes are, they can't get past Nagatomo's ironclad defense!]

- [Our Nagatomo Yuto should be playing for a big club like Real Madrid; it's a waste of his talent to be at Norwich!]

It's always good to try; if it doesn't work the first time, try again.

This time, Tang Long bypassed the onrushing left-back Clichy and passed the ball directly to Sterling, who was at the forefront of the attack.

Sterling dribbled the ball, taking small, quick steps, slowly approaching Nagatomo Yuto.

His dribbling style was quite unpredictable.

In the past, when Sterling was dribbling, he would unconsciously raise both arms to maintain his balance and avoid being dragged down by his hip weight.

However, Sterling's arms are now spread out in an exaggerated manner, almost like he's surrendering as he dribbles the ball towards Nagatomo Yuto!

Nagatomo Yuto saw Sterling's bizarre appearance and the delicate, effeminate gesture he was making with his fingers, he couldn't help but find it hilarious.

Hey, are you playing football or performing in a play?

With your brain-dead ego, how could you possibly play for Manchester City?

Nagatomo Yuto gained confidence and decided to turn the tables, taking the initiative in defense. He suddenly stepped forward with his right leg and shouted "Hey!" trying to scare Sterling!

Unexpectedly, his shout didn't scare Sterling, but it startled him instead.

Although Sterling had his arms raised and his butt sticking out, looking like he had a cerebellum problem, the speed at which he suddenly stepped his right foot inward was frightening!

He watched all of Sterling's videos faster than Nagatomo Yuto during his pre-match planning!

The Japan full-backs were all shocked – how did this kid suddenly become so fast?

However, he quickly realized what was happening, adjusted his center of gravity, and followed in a low posture.

Both of them are short players, around 1.7 meters tall.

Sterling is fast, but because he cuts inside, he covers a longer distance;

Nagatomo Yuto quite fast, so Sterling didn't completely shake him off this time.

"Don't force it, there's no chance to pass it back to me!"

Because his previous interception led to the opponent's goal, defensive Toure is a bit scared!

He quickly moved closer to Sterling, fearing that Nagatomo Yuto intercept the ball and launch a counter-attack.

If it gets to 0-2, this game will be really tough.

However, what happened next left Toure speechless!

Faced with the interference from Nagatomo Yuto's arms, Sterling not only did not reach out to entangle with him, but instead pressed his arms tightly against his torso, and then suddenly turned around and thrust his buttocks hard against Nagatomo Yuto!

With that sudden movement, Sterling's buttocks seemed to be springy, sending Nagatomo Yuto flying more than two meters away with a thud, causing him to stumble and tumble to the ground!

As luck would have it, when Nagatomo Yuto bounced off, he landed right on another defensive midfielder. Sterling's bounce knocked down two Norwich defenders, creating a vacuum at the edge of the penalty area!

"Watch me!" Agüero stepped to the side, assuming a shooting stance.

"Attack directly, don't hesitate!" Tang Long shouted!

Sterling suddenly began to swing his arms dramatically up and down, his little hands flapping like dinosaur claws.

His body, which had been standing upright, sank down into a horse stance, and his enormous buttocks suddenly jutted out backward again!

Other players use their thighs to drive their calves when shooting, but Sterling uses his buttocks to drive his entire lower body!

[Dinosaur-style Shot]!

BOOM!!!

Little Tyrant Sterling kicked a fireball that pierced the bottom left corner of the goal!