I Just Wanted to Trade Pieces-How Did I Get Sent Off?
Chess master Nie Weiping, who was far away in China, was also watching this match.
Ever since sending Tang Long the folding fan with the "Divine Kick" gift, Coach Nie has been keeping a close eye on the young China player's performance in Europe competitions, following him from Inter Milan all the way to Manchester City.
Nie Weiping is a straightforward person. In an interview, he once said that he has three great hobbies in life: football ranks first and bridge ranks second.
As for its essential function, Go, it can only rank third.
His health isn't very good, and he has to use oxygen frequently in recent years, so he hasn't had the chance to play football at all. Therefore, he has poured all his love for football into watching the games.
"Gentlemen, look! Allegri is a cunning old fox. Although I'm not as good at chess as I am at Go, I can see right through him. He's using the exchange of pieces technique from chess!"
"He went so far as to have Marchisio remove him from the team's system to mark Tang Long, effectively shutting the latter down!"
"This is a one-for-one exchange, but Allegri clearly knows that Marchisio's impact on Juventus is far less than Tang Long's on Manchester City. From this perspective, Allegri was successful."
Go master Nie Weiping watched the late-night UEFA Champions League match at home with several Go friends who also love football.
"Isn't this just like the story of Tian Ji's horse racing strategy? Mr. Nie, you've seen and experienced more football than we have. Tell me, what methods does Manchester City have to break this tactic?"
Nie Weiping smiled slightly and unfolded his folding fan with a "whoosh," revealing the four large characters "Ning Jing Zhi Yuan" (meaning "Tranquility Leads to Far-Reaching Vision") written on it with a brush.
"Beginners in chess always think about exchanging pieces with others, trading their rooks for others' rooks."
"But the tactic of exchanging tiles can only be used tentatively once or twice. Have you ever seen the whole table chasing after someone to exchange tiles?"
"Given Tang Long's intelligence, if Marchisio continues to pursue him in an attempt to exchange pieces, I dare say that in the end he won't get the pieces exchanged, but will instead be captured on the spot by a flying elephant!"
After a grueling first half with Marchisio.
Tang Long gradually figured out the defensive habits of this Italy midfielder.
Marchisio is a very complete player.
With outstanding technique and solid fundamentals, his positioning and judgment of the situation on the field are top-notch in Europe.
He also plays a key midfield role for the Italy National Team, the same position he plays for Juventus.
However, after this encounter with Marchisio, Tang Long discovered that Marchisio had a fatal flaw!
In regular defensive plays, his movements are swift and he can keep up with Tang Long's pace;
However, if Marchisio is outmaneuvered by Tang Long, his desperate attempt to save the situation would seem like a reckless gamble.
For example, in the first half, he imitated Ranocchia and used that backstep Bow-stance interception.
Tang Long had seen Ranocchia use this move quite often in training and matches.
This tall center-back's killer move was decisive, fearless under pressure, and showed complete confidence.
This is probably because Ranocchia, who is 1.95 meters tall, also has particularly long legs. He doesn't need to use his ultimate interception. He just leans his leg back, and as long as he is in the right position, his Bow-step interception can always become a roadblock to the opponent's progress!
But Marchisio is clearly not like that.
He was more than ten centimeters shorter than Ranocchia, and his step-back movement was quite stiff, clearly the first time he had used it in this match.
Tang Long must find a breakthrough with him.
In the 52nd minute of the second half, Manchester City, following Pellegrini's pre-match instructions, pushed back a little.
After several passes, the ball reached Tang Long's feet.
Tang Long pretended to pass the ball back to Yaya Toure, but the moment his instep made contact with the ball, he suddenly pulled back!
He twisted his ankle quickly, switched to the outside of his foot, and flicked the ball backward along the side it was rolling towards, thus slicing past Marchisio!
"Again?"
Seeing that Tang Long was trying to outmaneuver him again, Marchisio resorted to his old trick, once again using the Bow-step interception technique that he had obtained from Ranocchia in the national team.
Upon hearing this, Ranocchia, watching the match on television, slapped his thigh in frustration and couldn't help but complain to Agüero:
"Sigh, I should have never taught him my killer move!"
However, what Ranocchia didn't know was that Tang Long had already anticipated Marchisio's move!
Therefore, when he used the outside of his foot to flick backward in a split second, his handling of the ball was extremely precise and skillful.
Instead of rushing to increase the ball's speed, he suddenly accelerated after clearly seeing Marchisio extend his foot, and with a loud thud, his left foot brought Marchisio's outstretched toes to the ground, causing Marchisio to tumble to the ground!
Tang Long pretended to be in pain, clutching his ankle and rolling on the ground, while repeatedly pounding the ground with his right hand.
"Aaaaaaah!!!"
Seeing the referee resolutely running towards him and blowing his whistle, Marchisio was startled and panicked!
He received a yellow card at the start of the second half.
Agüero and laughed, then said to Ranocchia:
"Looks like Marchisio hasn't fully mastered your trump card. Confess honestly, did you secretly hold back something?"
Nie Weiping, who was also watching the live stream, quickly closed his folding fan and tapped it on the table.
"Marchisio's exchange failed, and after he received a yellow card, I guarantee he won't dare to make another move!"
"Mr. Nie, do you mean that Juventus's exchange tactic has ended?"
"No, Marchisio's substitution tactic has ended. Juventus will have other players come up to continue the substitution strategy."
Marchisio looked at the referee with a wronged expression and complained a few words, his heart filled with resentment.
He remembered that during halftime, Allegri solemnly told him not to get a yellow card too early, and if he had to get one, to wait until after the 70th minute!
Allegri knew very well that his tactic of exchanging players was best suited to Marchisio, who had the highest football intelligence; any other player would not have achieved the desired effect.
At this point, Allegri had no other options.
He had Marchisio drop back and moved another uncarded midfielder, Sturaro, to replace Marchisio, continuing to closely mark Tang Long.
But can Marchisio actually run?
Tang Long will not let him get away with this!
This time, it was Tang Long's turn to take the initiative to pursue Marchisio.
In the 62nd minute of the second half, the broadcast camera focused on Tang Long as he dribbled the ball forward!
Sturaro's close marking wasn't tight enough; he was far less disruptive to Tang Long than Marchisio. His defense was like paper; Tang Long easily bypassed him with a nimble La Croqueta, like a nimble butterfly.
Tang Long turned around, his eyes sharp as a hawk's, staring directly at Marchisio not far away.
Marchisio was filled with anxiety and dared not rush forward to intercept, knowing full well that if he committed another foul, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Everyone, come and protect me! Someone, help me!"
Marchisio called out to Pogba in alarm.
But what about Pogba?
He's strolling back from midfield at a leisurely pace, like an old man taking a leisurely walk in a park.
"Hold on a little longer, I'm coming!" Pogba said, but still didn't speed up.
Pogba is known as a box-to-box midfielder, but in his heart, his attacking talent is what he's truly proud of!
He didn't want to waste his energy on such a "trivial" matter as defense.
He dreamed of becoming a football king who scored goals indiscriminately, had unparalleled long-range shooting, and possessed an overwhelming header.
"Pass him, pass him!"
"Tang, get past him!"
Agüero and Ranocchia, watching on television, both stood up to cheer for Tang Long.
It was as if their shouts could actually travel along the internet cable and reach the loudspeakers at the Etihad Stadium!
Tang Long unleashed his signature Ronaldo Pendulum!
Marchisio took a large step to the left with his left foot, his left shoulder simultaneously shifting rapidly to the left, his center of gravity instinctively shifting to the left as well;
But just as he was halfway there, Tang Long's right foot took a small step to the right like lightning, instantly shifting his center of gravity in the opposite direction from Marchisio!
In the first two steps, Marchisio managed to keep his balance and avoid falling thanks to his decent defensive skills;
But in the third step, Tang Long moved to the left again, and this step was incredibly deceptive!
Not only his legs, knees, hands, and shoulders were moving, but even Tang Long's neck was like a nimble snake, violently swinging to the left.
Marchisio finally couldn't hold back any longer and stretched out his leg!
Left!
Right!
Left!
In his final step, Tang Long moved to the right!
A loud "bang"!
Tang Long dribbled the ball sharply towards the right flank, his shin already planned, and collided heavily with Marchisio's shin!
The two shin guards made a clear, piercing sound when they came into contact, like two meteors colliding violently!
Tang Long rolled several times on the ground, clutching his shinbone tightly with one hand, his face contorted in pain as if he were enduring immense suffering.
With his other hand, he slammed his fist on the ground—a move he'd learned from Agüero.
Seeing Tang Long's pained expression, the referee decisively blew his whistle. Under the tense gaze of the Juventus players, he unhesitatingly pulled out a second yellow card for Marchisio, followed by a red card—two yellows became one red, and Marchisio was sent off!
The Italy midfielder, looking utterly incredulous, covered his mouth with both hands, squatted on the ground, and stared wide-eyed at the referee, making a last-ditch effort to defend himself.
"Referee, I didn't mean to stop him, he deliberately bumped into my shin!"
Such a defense seems so naive and ridiculous.
"I saw it clearly, you didn't touch the ball, you tripped Tang Long!"
A round of enthusiastic applause erupted at the Etihad Stadium.
Let's give a round of applause to the referee!
This is the highest decibel level since the start of the show!
"Well done, Atkinson!"
"You're finally seeing things properly tonight!"
"Well done! That bastard Marchisio should have been sent off long ago!"
"He's still trying to copy our Ranocchia's retreat strategy, without even considering whether he's capable of doing it."
"I've heard that Ranocchia couldn't even stop Don with his step-back in training, let alone Marchisio!"
"Haha, now it's our turn to thrash Juventus!"
When Marchisio left the field, Tang Long went over to comfort him and said a few words of comfort.
"Your Bow-step interception is very strong, but you still need to practice more. I'll have Ranocchia teach you again later."
Allegri on the sidelines looked completely blank.
He never expected that the team would be facing a 10-on-11 situation.
The score is currently 0-0, and there are still 30 minutes left in the game. How should we proceed?
Allegri was so lost in thought that when Marchisio walked off the field covering his face, he even forgot he should comfort his beloved player.
This made Marchisio even more frustrated: I followed your tactics strictly, and now I've been sent off, and you didn't even say a word to me?
"Ugh, I'm so angry! It's that kid Tang again! He's already gone from Inter Milan to Manchester City, why is he still always going against Juventus!"
Allegri has lost count of how many times his team has been thwarted by Tang Long.
The thought is that if Juventus fails to defeat Manchester City in this match, they will completely lose hope of winning the group.
After a moment's thought, he made a bold move, the craziest thing he had ever done in his coaching career!
Juventus substituted full-back Lichtsteiner with striker Sturaro, changing Juventus formation to 3-3-3!
Live or die!
Allegri was absolutely unwilling to go home with a draw.
Seeing Juventus, playing with one less player, bring on a striker in an attempt to bolster their attack, Tang Long smiled knowingly, thinking, "Allegri has gone mad!"
It's time for me to shine.
You are the fish on the chopping block, and I am the butcher. The rest depends on how we slaughter Juventus in these last 30 minutes!