The Winning Streak Continues! The Opponents Turn on Each Other! A Sudden Blow Behind the Cheers?
"Beautiful! Sterling scores with a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area!"
"The wait is over! Manchester City broke the deadlock in the 55th minute of the second half, as expected!"
"However, compared to Sterling's shot, his duel with Nagatomo Yuto was even more eye-catching."
"The frequency of that cut inside from the left was incredibly fast!"
"In the ensuing confrontation, Sterling used a very bizarre... butt-sticking-out move? Anyway, with just one butt sticking out, he Nagatomo Yuto flying!"
"Nagatomo Yuto collided with his teammate and is still on the ground. Norwich's players are complaining to the referee that it was a foul, haha!"
"In short, Sterling's confrontation was incredibly entertaining."
"He was celebrating with Tang Long, and the other teammates gathered around."
"Agüero doesn't look too happy. Is he upset that Sterling didn't pass the ball to him and chose to shoot himself instead?"
At this moment, Nagatomo Yuto stood up shakily with the help of his teammates.
He grimaced as he pulled up his shirt and discovered a visible blue bruise on his waist where Sterling had hit him.
"Baka! Does this black monkey have a rock growing on its butt? It hurts so much, ouch..."
Nagatomo Yuto's disheveled appearance left Japan viewers watching the match in the live stream completely baffled.
They simply couldn't understand it, given that the two men were very similar in height and build;
Why did Nagatomo Yuto fly away like a paper doll after being hit by Sterling?
In previous Manchester City matches, we've never seen Sterling have such a physical advantage in one-on-one situations!
Japan netizens also noticed that Sterling's shooting posture was very strange, and also... cartoonish.
Other players shoot by using their thighs to drive their lower legs and leveraging their waist and abdomen for power;
As for Sterling, judging from the SportMediaset replay, he was sticking his butt out and using his gluteus maximus to drive his calf muscles!
In addition, Sterling's arms are very short, and with them waving up and down constantly, he really looks like a running dinosaur!
"Haha, Tang, your guidance really worked! I feel invincible now!"
"Make good use of your buttocks. Don't listen to Toure. What he can do, you can do too, and you can do it even better!"
That day in the locker room, Tang Long, through the AI Wisdom Engine's personal analysis of Sterling, gave him suggestions on how to use his hips to enhance his strengths.
At first, when Sterling saw Tang Long teaching and demonstrating to him step by step on the training field, he was completely bewildered.
Ah, I've been playing football for over ten years, since I was six years old, and I've never heard of playing like that before!
The way he raised his hands in a surrender gesture, swaying them up and down, and thrusting his hips back during confrontations—all these signs made Sterling feel like a cartoon character from an animated film, not at all like a handsome football player.
However, Sterling still trusted Tang Long very much. They were about the same age, and he knew that Tang Long wouldn't bully or tease him like Milner did.
Sure enough, in the second half of the match against Norwich, Sterling used this Dinosaur-style dribble on the wing, and the effect was very ideal, far exceeding his expectations.
How could Sterling not be overjoyed?
Not to mention, England national team manager Mancini was watching the match from the stands at the Etihad Stadium, and Sterling knew about it beforehand.
"I must score more goals! I must be a starter in next year's UEFA European Championship!"
Sterling slammed his fist into his left chest, facing the dense crowd of Manchester City fans in the stands.
This punch was not only for the fans, but also for Mancini.
"What happened to you, Nagatomo Yuto? How did Sterling, with his small frame, manage to bump into you and get you like this?"
Norwich's tall center-back, Bennett, began questioning Nagatomo Yuto.
This Bennett is an England center-back, standing at 1.88 meters tall, a very imposing figure, and he doesn't seem to care about Sterling's small stature at all.
In his opinion, even though Nagatomo Yuto was not tall, he was about the same size as Sterling, so he shouldn't have been in such a sorry state in physical confrontation.
Being hit like that only means either you weren't playing seriously, or your form was just terrible.
Nagatomo Yuto began to feel uneasy; he also found it strange.
Based on his understanding of Sterling, the guy wouldn't have that much strength in a fight.
Nagatomo Yuto remembers that at that moment, he wasn't facing Sterling, who was 172 cm tall, but rather Kompany!
The terrifying force of that impact was on a completely different level.
Nagatomo Yuto is no longer the minor figure he was at Inter Milan.
As the most valuable player in the entire Norwich team, he refers to himself as the boss within the team!
I come from Serie A club, and 99% of you players will never even be associated with one!
He naturally couldn't admit to Bennett that he hadn't hit Sterling.
"It was purely an accident, what are you yelling about? The grass at Etihad isn't very good, I slipped, let's see what happens next, you brat!"
Nagatomo Yuto and Sterling are going head-to-head!
No matter where Sterling ran, the Japan defender stuck to him like glue.
Tang Long was overjoyed to see that Nagatomo Yuto had fallen for the trick, and he intentionally or unintentionally kept sending the ball towards the two of them.
Sterling was naturally overjoyed.
Although he had developed new skills after Tang Long's guidance, and his physical strength had been greatly enhanced by the advantage of his hips;
But who doesn't like picking on the easy target?
Nagatomo Yuto is the weakest player on the entire Norwich team, and Sterling is happy to keep playing with him.
In the 65th minute of the second half, there was another confrontation. This time, Sterling took it by surprise. He didn't stick his butt out at first. After drawing Nagatomo Yuto completely close to him, he suddenly arched backward!
This arch landed squarely on the stomach of the Japan.
Nagatomo Yuto felt his belly button being hit hard with a knee.
My stomach churned instantly, my intestines felt knotted, and a rush of hot, acidic fluid surged up my throat.
After dawdling for two seconds, Sterling had already turned and slipped past.
Sterling! It's Sterling again!
"Nagatomo Yuto lost to him again in the match!"
"Are these two at odds? This is really interesting."
"The way Sterling arched his back was like a donkey kicking its hind legs in traditional martial arts memory, except Sterling's buttocks were more lethal than his legs!"
Sterling passed the ball to Tang Long; let's see what he chooses.
The moment Tang Long received the ball, Norwich's defensive Tettey, had already surrounded him;
The other defensive midfielder, Mulumbu, was blocking his passing lanes towards the center;
At the same time, right wing-back Jarvis and left wing-back Brady quickly closed in!
These four people, like four hands, converged on the central area where Tang Long was located from four directions, trying to firmly grasp Manchester City's number 9 core!
Norwich's players recovered very quickly, so quickly that by the time Sterling passed the ball, Tang Long already out of sight, as he was surrounded.
However, what Norwich players considered their sharp defense was, in Tang Long's AI brain, nothing more than 0.1 times slow motion.
The human brain can never out-calculate a machine, especially since Norwich's players aren't exactly geniuses.
They naively believed that as long as they blocked Tang Long's pass, they would cut off the connection between him and the risk.
But what they didn't expect was that, despite all the routes being cut off, the god-like runner on the front line Agüero, managed to recreate a golden passing lane in Tang Long's eyes through his own movement!
For the first time in history, when all the lines disappeared, the forwards' sharp runs created a new connection for Tang Long!
The ball was passed out, and following an unbelievable, narrow path, it even brushed against the thumb of the last center- Bassong, before bouncing and hopping to Agüero's feet, who had successfully beaten the offside trap.
Agüero could have easily scored with a simple shot, but at that moment, he suddenly remembered Tang Long's acrobatic penalty kick against Juventus' goalkeeper Buffon.
In a split second, he thought:
"Tang deliberately used a difficult shot to fool Buffon, in order to completely destroy the Juventus players' mental defenses. Right now, the Norwich players' defense is still relatively solid. I can't just take this easy shot. Why don't I learn from Tang and fool their defense too, so that their mental defenses will be completely broken down?"
Agüero suddenly accelerated, shifting his right foot to the right and then swinging his leg!
Just as Rudy had lost his balance and was in a diving position, Agüero shifted his weight diagonally and slammed the ball down!
This dribble went straight past Rudy, and the ball rolled towards the goal!
The opposing center-back Bennett, was already chasing back at high speed. How could Agüero possibly lose a speed contest with him?
Then, with a sliding tackle, right under Bassong's nose, he slid the ball into the empty net.
2:1!
Take the lead!
Goalkeeper Rudy had been preparing for a while, but at the last moment, he was caught out by Agüero.
Bennett sprinted back to chase the ball, and just as he was about to reach it, Agüero kicked it into the goal first!
After playing for almost 70 minutes, a strong sense of exhaustion and disappointment washed over the two players.
Looking at Rudy sitting on the ground sighing, and Bassong bent over with his hands on his knees, panting heavily, Agüero knew he had done the right thing.
He exchanged a smile with Tang Long, as if to say, "Look, they've broken through!"
After conceding two goals, the Norwich players began to mentally collapse.
Some experienced veterans are still making a final effort, but the younger players are all dejected and have lost all confidence in getting points at the Etihad Stadium.
Only two players remained with the strongest fighting spirit: Nagatomo Yuto and center-back Bennett.
Bennett actually looks down on Nagatomo Yuto!
As an England player, he holds traditional right-wing conservative views;
He was quite resentful that Nagatomo Yuto, a short and unremarkable Japan, was receiving a top-tier salary within the team.
Especially when he saw that even Sterling, the shortest player in the Manchester City team, could physically overpower Nagatomo Yuto, Bennett's xenophobic mentality was once again on full display.
Japan, let me show you what it means to physically overpower someone!
In the 82nd minute, Sterling, who had been hesitating on the wing, finally gained more space.
The midfield was completely undefended; he dribbled the ball and cut inside to the center, getting close to Bennett.
Having learned from Nagatomo Yuto's previous two experiences, Bennett had basically figured out the pattern of the Sterling matchup.
He knew that as long as he avoided Sterling's hump-like rear end, the kid had no chance of winning the collision.
So when Sterling turned his back to prepare to arch backward again, Bennett stepped back, immediately stood next to him, and bumped into Sterling with his shoulder.
Sterling's first thrust landed awkwardly on his backside, and he nearly fell over.
Fortunately, my horse stance was relatively stable, and I managed to maintain my balance by taking a step back!
Before I could even stand up straight, I felt a gust of wind on my left shoulder.
In that instant, Sterling suddenly remembered a ball-pulling and turning motion that Tang Long often did on the training field—a motion that Tang Long and Iniesta had practiced tens of thousands of times in the AI Cloud Training Ground, and he had mastered its essence.
Although Sterling hadn't had any formal training, he'd seen about 60-70% of the material. Plus, his dribbling skills were top-notch in the Premier League. So Bennett bumped him with his shoulder, Sterling shifted back, his body as soft as cotton, absorbing the force of the opponent's impact!
The upper body was moving, and the lower body wasn't stopping either;
With a quick pull and a spin, he spun 180 degrees on the spot, causing Bennett to miss completely.
Bennett doesn't have Sterling's flexibility; how could he possibly stay upright after that dive?
He fell flat on his face!
"It's open! Give it to me!"
While Sterling and Bennett were locked in their struggle, Agüero remained quietly lurking beside Bassong.
As soon as Sterling made a pass, Agüero instantly accelerated and shook off the defender.
At this moment, Sterling is to Rudy's left Agüero is to his right, making it two against one;
With just a pass, Agüero can easily tap the ball into the empty net.
But Sterling, having dribbled past Bennett, was completely focused on the goal amidst the thunderous applause from the Etihad; where was Agüero then?
He was secretly pleased, thinking, "Among all this applause, there must be some from England manager Mancini. Let him witness my goal!"
Bang!
Sterling kicked the plane.
"Forehead..."
He couldn't believe his eyes.
I clearly intended to push a low, curved shot to the right, but how did it end up hitting the stands?
Tang Long, standing behind Sterling, shook his head in disbelief.
He knew this kid's shooting skills all too well; the chances of him scoring a goal without thinking during a chaotic scramble were quite high.
However, in a simple one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper, it's perfectly normal to miss the target.
Sterling missed a good chance and then failed to score, so he could only raise his hand to Agüero in apology.
Agüero his eyes at Sterling, muttered something, and walked away.
In other words, as Agüero has gotten older, his mentality has gradually become more stable. If it were when he first came to Manchester City a year or two ago, he would have started cursing on the spot if the ball wasn't passed to him.
Agüero and Sterling appeared to be getting along fine on the surface, but Norwich City was starting to have internal conflicts!
"You're laughing at me? Losing your position and letting him use his speed and spin to get past you, my God, Bennett, don't tell me you're a professional defender!"
"Heh, at least I was outpaced by speed, not knocked flying by his butt. Mind your own business, Japan!"
Manchester City, trailing in the first half, scored two goals in the second half to secure a narrow 2-1 victory at home.
Although Sterling and Agüero each scored a goal, Tang Long, who provided two assists, was still named the best player of the match.
Tang Long, who has lost count of how many times he has won the Premier League Man of the Match award, held the crystal trophy in his hand and shook it.
He hopes that at the end of the season, he can lift the trophy that truly represents team honor!
However, Manchester City's joy after winning the game was short-lived;
On the second day of training, a bolt from the blue struck...
(One update today, because I have a medical check-up at the hospital early tomorrow morning and can't stay up late. Thank you again! This month, the author updated 270,000 words, setting a record for the most monthly updates in my writing career. There are only two months left in the year, time flies!)