You're the Lighthouse! Bony Turns on the French-speaking Faction, and Tang Long Outsmarts Nasri!

"Who did this?!"

Inside the meeting room, Pellegrini crumpled up a freshly printed copy of the Sun and slammed it heavily onto the floor.

[Breaking News! On the eve of Premier League match, Don slept with two women in one night. Is this really the professional conduct expected of a player?]

The accompanying photos were taken by Tang Long's teammate Nasri through a car window.

That morning, Pellegrini was holding a tactical discussion meeting in the conference room before training to prepare for the match against Chelsea.

Every morning, the latest editions of major sports newspapers would be placed on his desk, and he would pay close attention to the direction of public opinion regarding Manchester City.

This report in the Sun infuriated Pellegrini!

Manchester City face Chelsea this weekend, a match that will determine whether they can solidify their precarious top spot in the Premier League.

If Manchester United lose this match and then win, they will fall from the top of the league for the first time this season.

This report will undoubtedly demoralize the troops!

The Chile veteran coach has been in the coaching field for over twenty years; he's seen it all.

But this is the first time he has ever encountered such a concentrated barrage of public criticism against the team he coaches in such a short period of time!

Why are these media outlets always picking a fight with me?

The meeting room erupted in chaos!

Many people, though they didn't have time to read the newspaper, discovered the report through various news notifications on their mobile phones.

First-team coaching staff member Sainsbury strongly condemned Tang Long's behavior.

"Boss, who else could have done this? It must have been Tang!"

"At such a young age, to be so undisciplined in his private life is a disgrace to the club! What good is a player's skill if he's like that?"

Another coach York, chimed in:

"If I remember correctly, this is the second time Tang has appeared in the Sun in a month, isn't it?"

"After winning the game in Turin, you gave the whole team a day off. While the other players were training hard, he went to London to see a woman, and was caught red-handed by the Sun. He must have been targeted by that lousy newspaper! But even after learning from that mistake, he still didn't learn his lesson. Now look what happened, he scored twice. It's utterly stupid!"

The strength and conditioning coach nodded in agreement.

"Boss, York is right. Recently, players have been training hard every day. The stadium manager told me that we haven't seen this kind of scene at Manchester City for many years."

"But I specifically asked the administrator about the situation, and he said that in the past month, he had seen all the team members come for extra training, but he hadn't seen Tang at all!"

Hearing the crowd's comments, Pellegrini's expression grew increasingly grim.

He learned about the players' voluntary extra training through his staff, but he couldn't verify whether Tang Long had kept up with the main group's extra training.

However, recently, Tang Long has always been the last to arrive at every official training session, something Pellegrini has witnessed firsthand!

Although Tang Long was never late, always arriving at the last minute, it was still a bit unacceptable for him to stroll over so leisurely after everyone else had already lined up.

At this moment, assistant coach Rayne, who had been silent all along, picked up the crumpled copy of the Sun Pellegrini the ground, unfolded it, smoothed it out, and examined it carefully.

"Boss, I don't think this picture looks like it was taken by a reporter from the Sun. What do you think?"

According to his understanding of the Sun Rayne, the paparazzi used professional cameras when taking photos to capture the scene as accurately as possible.

Sometimes they would even bring a whole set of bulky equipment, rent a room in a building opposite a player's house, and wait silently for 24 hours, just to take a high-quality photo!

However, the photo of Tang Long's house published in the Sun today is quite blurry and even a bit shaky;

It doesn't look like it was taken with a professional camera by a paparazzi; it looks more like it was taken casually with a mobile phone.

"There are three people in the picture, that's for sure: Don, and this blonde woman. If I remember correctly, she's the woman who was photographed with Don by the Sun when he was in London last time; she's a reporter from Sky Sport."

"As for this person," Rayne placed his hand on Gracie's head in the picture, "It's not very clear. Half of her face is obscured by Don, but you can tell it's a woman."

Rayne explained that if they were reporters from the Sun, they would have tried every means to include all three faces in the picture to identify the three individuals and achieve the greatest sensational effect.

However, his boss was in a bad mood and didn't take his words to heart.

"So what? Professional athletes are born to be in the spotlight; countless people are watching them. A piece of garbage media like the Sun, which makes a living selling gossip and sensationalism, must offer hefty rewards for leads from outsiders. It's a business; it's not surprising."

"I'm just so disappointed, how could Tang... Never mind, I'm getting off-topic. Let's talk about Chelsea. Mourinho has been like a rooster in heat these past few days, crowing outside every day. I'm about to be driven crazy by his noise!"

When the manager compared Mourinho to a rooster crowing in heat, everyone burst into laughter.

That's right, ever since Manchester City lost three key players —Agüero, Ranocchia, and Silva— to injuries, Mourinho's big mouth hasn't stopped!

Subsequently, due to a depleted squad, Manchester City persisted with a rigid ground-based passing game, resulting in consecutive draws against Swansea and Sevilla.

This is what makes Portugal's big mouth go off like a machine gun, babbling on and on!

One argument is that Pellegrini is too old and his tactical thinking can't keep up with the times;

One minute they're saying Chelsea has won the most Premier League titles in the last decade, and you can't ignore Chelsea's strength;

They even claimed that Manchester City's player valuations were inflated, subtly implying Tang Long's historical transfer fees!

In short, Mourinho, who had been consistently overshadowed by Manchester City and Manchester United and only managed to finish third in the Premier League standings, has suddenly become excited!

"No matter what, even if our entire squad is injured, we can't lose to Chelsea. We need at least a draw at Stamford Bridge. Otherwise, I can already imagine Mourinho's smug look after the game!"

"At that point, not only will the Sun be able to find fault with us, but all the British media will gang up on us, and we won't be able to sleep peacefully!"

Pellegrini has been emphasizing just how important the weekend's game against Chelsea is.

Because he understands that winning the Premier League title this season is practically his lifeline to staying in the Manchester City manager's position!

Of the Premier League's Big Six, Manchester City has already played Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester United in the first half of the season, leaving only Chelsea.

Whether Manchester City can beat Chelsea will determine whether they can win the Premier League Christmas title.

Whether or not they can win the Christmas championship will have a huge psychological impact on the whole team's confidence in competing for the title!

From the moment he took charge of Manchester City, Pellegrini knew he was just Guardiola's backup plan!

In May 2013, Manchester City ended their partnership with Mancini, who led the team to a Premier League title, an England FA Cup, a Community Shield, and two Premier League Manager of the Year awards.

Two months later, Pellegrini, who had previously managed Malaga, replaced Mancini as Manchester City's new manager.

Then- Manchester City CEO Begiristain, who had worked with Guardiola for a long time in Barcelona, was eager to bring his vision of the best in the world to Manchester City and inject the essence of La Masia's passing and possession style into the DNA of the Blue Moon.

Months before signing Pellegrini, CEO Begiristain told him, "Sorry, our first choice is Guardiola. Would you be willing to be the second candidate? If Pep doesn't accept, then you will take over."

The fact that the Chilean Engineer was still being a backup option at his age made him lose face.

However, after an unsuccessful coaching career at Real Madrid, Pellegrini, who had joined the smaller club Malaga, was eager to prove himself again at a top club.

Given that Manchester City offered a really good sum, Pellegrini simply agreed to be a backup option.

From this perspective, this is why Pellegrini insisted on a ground-based passing and possession style of play after taking office, and even when the squad was incomplete, he still insisted on the ground-based style.

What's so great about Guardiola?

Am I a backup option? We both speak Spain, share the same roots and ancestors. What you can do, I, Pellegrini, can do too, and I'll do it even better!

Therefore, Pellegrini, with his traditional mindset, had mixed feelings about Tang Long's two consecutive appearances in the Sun.

He had a love-hate relationship with this 19-year-old China player!

As a coach who values talent, Pellegrini greatly admires Tang Long's abilities on the field; whenever Tang Long plays, he brings about a qualitative change to the team.

However, as a conservative coach in his sixties, Pellegrini, unaware of the situation, also disliked Tang Long's undisciplined lifestyle.

In the past, it was precisely because of his off-field personal life that a talented midfielder like Nasri, known as one of the "Four Little Swans of France," was abandoned by him and relegated from the starting lineup to the fringe player list.

But can Tang Long be treated the same way as Nasri?

Pelle had a bit of a headache.

Forget it, let's think about how to play Chelsea on Sunday night first.

"What am I going to do, Tang? I got photographed! If my dad finds out, he'll break my legs! I'll never be able to show my face in public again!"

"If I had known this would happen, I would never have gone to your house!"

Inside the physiotherapy room.

Dr. Gracie pressed his soft little hands against Tang Long's sharply defined back muscles as he complained to him in a tearful voice.

Tang Long said dismissively, "What's there to be afraid of? The picture is blurry and obviously taken by some passerby with their phone. It only shows my and Diletta's faces; I've completely blocked you, so no one can tell who you are!"

"Can you please keep your voice down?!"

Gracie stared nervously at the locked door, afraid that someone might be overhearing her.

"Of course you don't care, you've already given up on everything, humph! But if my dad finds out, and with some politicians stirring things up, it will affect his career."

"We absolutely have to find this scoundrel who took these photos. Can you beat him up for me?!"

"Fine! I'll beat him up and avenge you."

After finishing training and returning home that day, Tang Long was just about to look at the books that Diletta had brought from London when his phone rang.

It's Bony.

"Tang, I've been struggling with this for a long time, but the longer I keep it to myself, the more uncomfortable I feel."

"The picture of you in the Sun wasn't taken by a reporter, it was taken by Nasri!"

It turns out that Bony was in Nasri's car that day, dozing off in the back seat.

Both were players from the French-speaking Faction, and Bony's position in the team was similar to Nasri's —both were rotation players—so the two had a fairly good relationship. Nasri picked up Bony in his car and took him to dinner, and they inadvertently passed by the street where Tang Long lived.

After secretly taking the photos, Nasri realized there was someone in the back seat and glanced warily at the rearview mirror.

Unexpectedly, Bony was a light sleeper and was woken up by the clicking sound of a phone taking pictures. In his groggy state, he saw Nasri holding up his phone and taking pictures outside.

Bony looked out the window curiously and saw Tang Long and his two companions.

Bony, whose upbringing was fraught with hardship, immediately realized Nasri's intentions.

His eyes darted around twice quickly, Bony didn't say a word. He quickly closed his eyes again and pretended to be asleep, thus avoiding Nasri's gaze in the rearview mirror.

After hearing all this, Tang Long understood.

That son of a bitch Nasri, you deliberately framed me, you better remember that.

He asked Bony with great interest, "Nasri is your good friend, right? You're both from the French-speaking Faction, aren't you afraid of being accused of betraying your friend?"

"No, no, no, Tang, he and I are not friends. You and I are friends. You are a great beacon in my career, dear Tang. I will not allow anyone to use such despicable means to frame you and affect the unity of our Manchester City team. We are a team, and a team should help each other, not frame each other!"

Bony grew up in a slum on Ivory Coast and didn't even finish primary school, so his education level is low.

After arriving in the Premier League, although he learned English, he often made grammatical mistakes when speaking.

However, his statement when questioned by Tang Long was fluent, grammatically correct, and even used metaphors.

Tang Long immediately understood that the man had probably prepared his speech in advance, rehearsing it several times in front of the mirror before making the call.

Tang Long thought to himself, "What do you mean by 'affecting unity' and 'a collective'? All talk and no action! If you truly couldn't stand it, why didn't you tell me immediately? You must have thought it through carefully before making this decision. In the current Manchester City team, Nasri can't help you on the pitch, but I can help you score four goals in a game. That's why you risked being expelled from the French-speaking Faction to tell me this—it's all about self-interest."

After thanking Bony for the reminder, Tang Long hung up the phone.

Tang Long believed that what Bony said was true, and that his previous purpose in helping him was to place an inside agent within the French-speaking Faction.

Looking at it now, Bony isn't bad; he's put in a good job.

But words are not enough to prove anything.

We must find concrete evidence.

Tang Long lingered around the doorway a few times, carefully observing the situation around the house.

After wandering around for a while, he found that the only place in the area that could capture the situation across from his house was a camera on a utility pole at an intersection 50 meters away.

Tang Long thought that as long as the camera captured Nasri's car passing by at that time, he could obtain the most compelling evidence.

He walked up to the camera and found a nameplate affixed to it.

[Authorized by XXX]

The following is the name of a local police station.

This is clearly a traffic camera belonging to the police department.

Tang Long put his hands behind his back, circled the camera for a while, and began to think.

Vehicles frequently speed by on the road.

Yes.

He took out his phone and dialed Gracie's number.

"Gracie, do you know anyone at the XXX police station? Could you put in a good word for me and get me some CCTV footage?"

(There will be another chapter around 1 PM)