The Old Dogs of Juventus Got Blasted in the Head from Outside the Box! I, Tang Long, Was the One Who Did It!
"Inter Milan! You might as well stuff all your championships down your asses!"
This is a banner held atop a parade bus by Buffon during Juventus' city-wide parade in Turin in May of this year, after Juventus won the 2014-15 Serie A title.
How arrogant and presumptuous!
Although Inter Milan also achieved great success that season, defeating Juventus to win the Coppa Italia and also winning the UEFA Europa League final, thus achieving a double in the season;
However, in the eyes of the arrogant Juventus, compared to their Serie A title, Inter Milan's trophies are nothing!
So hurry up and stuff your champions down your asses!
One scene in particular left a deep impression on Tang Long.
Chiellini, the center-back who was outmaneuvered by Tang Long in the Italy derby twice in a row, suddenly picked up a poster given to him by a Juventus fan during the championship parade.
Tang Long's image was spliced onto the head of a Labrador Retriever;
The man walking the dog on a leash was none other than Chiellini!
[Best midfielder in Serie A? Let's win the Serie A title first!]
Chiellini burst into laughter upon seeing it, proudly waving the poster at the camera and cheering Juventus fans.
Tang Long, what good is your performance in the Derby d'Italia?
In the end, Juventus won't be the ones laughing last!
Moving from Inter Milan to Manchester City would be a huge leap in Tang Long's career, and he wouldn't refuse to take that step.
However, before leaving Inter Milan, Tang Long had some regrets. His biggest regret was that he couldn't knock Juventus off their Serie A title!
Fortunately, fate intervened.
This season, Juventus was placed in Group B of the UEFA Champions League, the same group as Manchester City, and the two teams will face each other at least twice in the group stage.
In the first leg, Manchester City came back from 3-0 down to win 4-3 at Juventus' home ground, thoroughly humiliating the Bianconeri!
This time, playing at home, Juventus had a player sent off in the 60th minute. Tang Long will show no mercy in the remaining 30 minutes and will definitely beat those old dogs to a pulp!
Especially those two barking old dogs, Buffon and Chiellini.
Juventus' numerical disadvantage was quickly reflected in the course of the game.
With only ten players, he substituted a full-back for a striker. Allegri, seemingly having a fit of madness, was going all in, taking a desperate gamble. After scoring the first goal, he held on to a 1-0 lead.
But the world is not as simple and naive as Allegri imagined!
This is the Etihad, the home ground of Premier League powerhouse Manchester City. You've got some serious plans, but you should at least ask Tang Long if he agrees.
In the 66th minute, Manchester City's Demichelis made a risky attack after passing the ball out!
He didn't choose to connect with either Yaya Toure or Fernando at the edge of the penalty area;
Instead, he used the instep of his foot to strike the ball towards Tang Long's attacking midfield position!
After a player was sent off, Juventus' midfield defensive intensity visibly decreased.
The ball, a low, ground pass between the center-back and the attacking midfielder, rolled across a perfectly clear path as if no one was there!
"Whoosh--"
Sturaro continues to strictly adhere to Allegri's exchange tactics.
However, his defensive experience was far inferior to Marchisio's; in other words, he was 0.5 seconds slower in raising his leg, and Tang Long took the ball before him with a quick retreat.
That's not all!
With lightning speed, Tang Long not only got the ball, but also turned around to face Sturaro directly.
Tang Long didn't take the little Sturaro seriously at all, his gaze passing right past him and looking directly at the three veterans of Juventus' defense behind him— Barzagli, Chiellini, and Bonucci.
The three players were well-positioned, trapping Manchester City's goalkeeper Bony in the middle.
Meanwhile, Sterling is making a run from the wing towards the center;
Navas also hesitated on the right flank.
The time wasn't right, so Tang Long didn't rush forward. Instead, he passed the ball to Kolarov was making a run forward.
In a football match, defending players always habitually face the direction of the ball, and their eyes are always fixed on the ball as it moves.
So when Tang Long passed the ball to Kolarov on the wing, all the Juventus defenders turned their attention to that side, and their formation slowly shifted.
At that moment, Sterling suddenly made a diagonal run and quickly darted into Juventus' penalty area!
The experienced Kolarov knew that Tang Long's opportunity had arrived, and without hesitation, he immediately passed the ball back to Tang Long.
[A gap is about to appear between Barzagli and Bonucci; lob the ball between them, and there's an 85.6% chance of a shot!]
Tang Long rushed forward to meet the ball without stopping it, and used the outside of his right foot to slice the ball up along the bottom of the ball like a sharp blade!
The football traced a strange arc in the air, flying straight towards the heads of Bonucci and Barzagli.
"That shot was a bit rushed..."
Agüero, watching the game on TV, slapped his thigh.
In his opinion, Bonucci and Barzagli were both well-positioned.
Both of them are tall and strong center-backs, and Tang Long's lobbed pass couldn't possibly get over their heads.
However, Agüero was proven wrong in the very next second!
Sterling's diagonal run was quick, accurate, and ruthless, drawing Bonucci's attention and leading him into the penalty area, where Bonucci created distance between himself and Barzagli.
Tang Long's lobbed pass took advantage of Bonucci's departure and went straight into the penalty area!
Bony's positioning isn't that complicated. Just remember what Tang Long said: run diagonally, and you'll get there!
Bony, who had arrived early, also took a tackling shot with his left foot, flicking the ball up without stopping it!
Although the ball had a lot of power, the angle was very straight, and under normal circumstances, Buffon would have no problem saving it.
But because the shot came so suddenly, the aging Buffon only felt a white flash flying towards him, and in his haste, his hands flailed wildly, failing to even catch the ball.
Tang Long and Bony connected, and Manchester City finally broke the deadlock at home!
The Etihad Stadium was packed with cheers and shouts!
Pellegrini turned and embraced Rayne excitedly.
Agüero, watching on TV, was stunned!
The ball was clearly about to be cleared by Juventus' center-back, so how did Bonucci suddenly run away and create an opening?
"They passed the ball in so easily, Juventus must be throwing the match!"
Because Juventus has a dark history of being relegated due to the Calciopoli scandal, Agüero blurted it out.
However, Ranocchia, standing to the side, smiled and waved his hand in disapproval.
"Juventus only fixes matches in Serie A; in Europe, they're very honest."
Ranocchia analyzed the situation from a defender's perspective with Agüero.
He analyzed that Bonucci was taken away entirely because of Sterling's distraction. Tang Long's pass was excellent, as he had anticipated Sterling's impact on Bonucci.
Ranocchia's explanation left Agüero completely bewildered.
He was utterly confused.
"The moment Tang Long passed the ball, Sterling hadn't even reached Bonucci yet! Did he anticipate the situation three seconds in advance? That's incredible!"
On the substitutes' bench at the Etihad Stadium.
Nasri also cheered loudly and applauded enthusiastically!
He wasn't happy about Bony's goal, but rather because the sooner Manchester City started, the greater his chances of getting on the field.
Tang Long promised to feed me assists in the last game. As long as I'm on the field, I'm guaranteed to score and open my first goal account of the season!
Nasri's face beamed with an undisguised smile, and he kept glancing at the delighted Pellagrini, hoping he would substitute him onto the field soon.
Playing with one less player after 70 minutes, and still trailing 0-1 --
Having already chosen to gamble everything, Allegri, this gambler, has no turning back!
Losing one goal is the same as losing two. If we get a bit lucky, we might even be able to tie the score!
Last season's title win, which surpassed Inter Milan and AC Milan, gave Allegri an inflated sense of confidence.
But when he comes to the UEFA Champions League, no one can tolerate him.
Just five minutes later, Manchester City opened their scoring account again!
Bony, who scored the goal, became increasingly confident and held his own against Bonucci.
Kolarov delivered a low cross, and although Bony had run past him, he managed to stop the ball with his left foot, relying on his strong physique and holding off Bonucci.
Bony isn't good at feints; he prefers to go straight for the kill.
His right hand and Bonucci's left hand became entangled, and he quickly cut the ball off with his left foot, followed by a sliding shot!
Bonucci stretched out his long legs and blocked the ball.
"Well done, Bonucci!"
Chiellini applauded Bonucci's brilliant close marking.
But Bonucci opened his mouth wide and looked at Chiellini with a look of horror, gesturing for him to look at the edge of the penalty area!
Perhaps due to his age, Chiellini's reactions were somewhat sluggish, and his focus on the second ball was far less than before. After Bonucci's reminder, he quickly turned his head to look—
Good heavens, Tang Long has already drawn his bow and started swinging his leg!
"Mine!"
Realizing the situation was dire, Chiellini rushed out and slid in to block Tang Long's shot, hoping to use his massive body to block the shot!
Tang Long's Low-trajectory Curve Shot -hugging strike, landed squarely on Chiellini's face by sheer chance.
He was so stuffy that the soccer ball almost looked embedded in his face!
Two streams of blood gushed out of Chiellini's hooked nose with a "whoosh," like exploding fire hydrants!
"I'd rather die than let you score a goal in front of me!"
Chiellini, seeing stars after being hit, managed to utter a heartfelt cry amidst his blurred vision!
Buffon had correctly judged the direction of Tang Long's shot and shifted his weight to the left side of the ball;
But Chiellini's header block backfired!
The football bounced off Chiellini's head, zigzagging along the ground. Originally heading to the left, it bounced back to the center by a twist of fate.
The ball wasn't moving fast, as if it were deliberately teasing everyone's nerves;
Before landing in the goal line, it even playfully bounced and hopped lightly on the ground!
But Buffon had already lost his balance, and he didn't have time to get up!
They could only watch helplessly as the football, like a ping-pong ball hit by a child, bounced and rolled into the goal.
In front of Juventus' penalty area!
Tang Long looked at Chiellini, who lay at his feet, his face covered in blood;
Facing Buffon, who was in a sorry state inside the goal;
He also slowly opened his arms to the tens of thousands of Manchester City fans behind Buffon, who were wearing blue jerseys and cheering.
Get fired up, everyone!
"Tang!!!"
"Chinatang!!!"
Cheers poured down from the stands like a tidal wave, engulfing the Juventus penalty area.
In just over 10 minutes, Manchester City scored two goals, extending their lead to 2-0!
Only then did Chiellini stagger to his feet.
The moment Tang Long blew him a headshot, Chiellini lost hearing in both ears.
He hadn't heard the shouts from the Manchester City fans behind him and thought the game was still going on.
However, when Chiellini turned around and saw Buffon lying on the ground in a sorry state, and the opposing striker Bony had already rushed over and kicked the ball heavily into the net, he finally realized that he had lost the ball again.
"Damn it, I took that kick for nothing!"
Chiellini's fighting spirit waned, and the two nosebleeds that had just stopped suddenly burst out again with a groan.
I felt dizzy and disoriented, swayed 360 degrees on the spot, and then collapsed to the ground.
"Oh? We see that Chiellini seems to have fainted?"
He fell to the ground, blood gushing from both noses!
"Oh dear, this scene is too bloody, not suitable for children!"
"Why is Chiellini so unlucky?"
"I remember when the two teams first met in the group stage, Sterling bit his shoulder."
"This time, Tang Long just kicked me in the face again!"
"When Tang Long was still playing for Inter Milan, he often toyed with this Italy veteran defender when playing against Juventus."
"It seems Tang Long is Chiellini's nemesis!"