Aguero's Return After Injury: Only He Could Keep Up with Tang Long's Thinking!
After witnessing Tang Long defuse the entire "mountain of knives" ball with a brilliant lobbed pass—
Ranocchia, who had been on tenterhooks, breathed a sigh of relief!
That was close! If it were any other teammate, facing a ball coming at such high speed, let alone whether they could stop it, even if they did, the opponent's two midfielders would likely sandwich them, and nine times out of ten they would lose.
Only Tang could make such elegant movements.
However, after celebrating with Tang Long with a high-five.
Ranocchia watched Tang Long's agile figure from behind, feeling a little confused.
"If the ball was moving this fast from the start, his subsequent connecting motion would be understandable, given his superior ball control compared to Bournemouth's players. However, the ball suddenly accelerated mid-air..."
No one in the entire Manchester City team knows and trusts Tang Long better than Ranocchia.
Compared to Tang Long, who impressed the coaching staff and teammates in his very first training session upon arriving at Manchester City;
Ranocchia, who played alongside Tang Long from Inter Milan last season, witnessed firsthand Tang Long's growth from the youth team to Inter Milan's first team, and his path to becoming a top-class midfielder.
Ranocchia, playing as a center-back, often had the ability to observe the movements of every player in the midfield and attacking third from all angles.
Therefore, over the past year, the Italy center-back has been fully aware of almost every step Tang Long taken in his progress, and often even if he discovers it in training, he knows there are already signs of it.
However, Ranocchia had never seen someone use his foot and backhand to flick the ball past two players before!
"His progress is truly astounding! He changes every month, no, every week!"
Thinking about this, Ranocchia felt both happy and worried.
What's great is that being teammates with a player like Tang Long is the greatest luck of my career. He can pass, make runs, defend, assist, and score goals. He is undoubtedly the attacking engine in the midfield and forward line!
With Tang Long at the helm, the team can easily crush weaker opponents and dominate strong teams in the Premier League title race!
The worrying thing is that Tang Long's rapid progress has made Ranocchia begin to secretly reflect on himself.
"After all these years, have I even trained properly and played seriously? Why can't my skills improve as rapidly as his? Sigh, I'm already 27 years old. If I don't take this step forward, my professional career will just stay like this..."
It's unusually cold at the Etihad Stadium today.
The north wind is howling.
The heavy snow that had stopped before the match has started falling again.
The fans in the stands were shivering from the cold. Despite wearing thick cotton coats, hats, scarves, and gloves, the chill still penetrated through the layers of clothing and relentlessly invaded their bodies.
The breath exhaled by the players instantly turned into thick white mist that lingered in the air for a long time.
For Bournemouth's players, such heavy snow was truly a disaster.
Although they made good use of the field conditions and adopted a long-ball attacking style, bypassing the midfield, the full-backs and center-backs would directly connect with the forwards;
However, the slippery surface and unpredictable ball speed make it difficult for both the passer and the receiver to control their footwork!
Several times, the ball, which could have been easily controlled, was lost because the snow reduced the friction between the ball and the grass after it landed, causing the striker to either fail to control the ball properly or, even if he did manage to control it, have it easily dispossessed by nearby Manchester City defenders.
This heavy snowfall, for Manchester City players, is also an obstacle.
Throughout the midfield and defense, apart from Ranocchia managing to barely stabilize the situation, other passes, including those from veteran Toure and the technically gifted Kolarov, were frequently misplaced.
Aside from an early link-up play between the backfield and Tang Long, the game remained extremely close, with neither side able to mount an effective attack.
"We should get the ball moving!" Ranocchia said helplessly to Kompany.
"I also think that playing on the ground like this is too disadvantageous!"
Kompany shook the snow off his scarf, about to launch a long ball towards striker Bony, when he heard manager Pellegrini shout from the sidelines, "Don't rush! Pass it short to Sagna, keep the ball at your feet!"
Kompany was helpless. The coach was watching right under his nose, and as the captain, he couldn't just openly go against him, could he?
They can only use short passes.
Unexpectedly, Sagna slipped while receiving the ball and lost his balance;
Seeing the ball about to roll out of bounds, the responsible France full-back quickly threw himself out and slid in to hook the ball back, which was just touching the sideline.
But this sense of responsibility cost him his life!
Kompany was about to applaud Sagna's fighting spirit when he heard Ranocchia shout from behind him:
"Watch out! Someone's coming!"
Bournemouth is a terrible team in every way except for their speed and attacking power.
Striker Grabban, who had been waiting for Manchester City's defenders to make a mistake, wasn't about to miss this opportunity to steal the ball.
Sagna had just gotten up halfway when Grabban rushed over and stole the ball, then forcefully made his way down the wing past Kompany!
The heavy snow made the situation unpredictable. Kompany was a bit unsteady on his feet and didn't keep up with the first step. Grabban threw his body out and delivered a cutback cross!
Despite Ranocchia's desperate attempt to block the angle, midfielder Surman, making a late run, unleashed a powerful low shot that pierced Caballero's goal!
Watching their opponents, Bournemouth, celebrate passionately as if they had won the game, the Manchester City players fell silent.
Damn it!
Kompany stood up and shouted in frustration.
Ranocchia then turned his attention to defensive Toure, criticizing him, "You're out of position, there's no one at the edge of the penalty area!"
Toure stood with his hands on his hips, avoiding Ranocchia's sharp gaze.
At 32, he could only sigh helplessly.
Tang Long walked over and said to Delph, "You need to help Toure run some extra errands!"
Delph shrugged, looking aggrieved. "I was responsible for the left flank, and the edge of the arc was clearly Toure's defensive zone!"
Tang Long glared at him. "You're in your twenties, Toure is in his thirties. What do you think?"
Delph didn't say anything, just pursed his lips and walked away.
Toure was standing nearby, overheard their conversation and glanced at Tang Long silently, seemingly thanking him for helping him out of the predicament.
Then, recalling how he had reprimanded his teammates when they made serious mistakes in the past, Toure felt a pang of guilt.
"Sigh, Tang is not even 20 years old yet, but he has already shown leadership within the team. He is truly a force to be reckoned with..."
Halftime.
The stands at the Etihad Stadium.
Raymond, Guardiola's trusted scout, was still present at the match.
During the 15-minute break in the game, he kept writing in his notebook.
[Extremely rigid passing and ball control, completely disregarding the field conditions]
[The skill gap between the players is obvious]
[The others couldn't keep up with Don and Ranocchia's pace.]
[It is recommended to make targeted signings during the summer transfer window, starting with an overhaul of the defense.]
"Sergio Agüero!!!"
"Our number 10 is back!!!"
Shortly after the start of the second half, Agüero's substitution ignited the passion of the 60,000 fans in the stadium!
The entire Etihad Stadium was like a powder keg that had been detonated in an instant.
The cheers surged like a tsunami, sweeping in with overwhelming force. Sixty thousand fans rose to their feet simultaneously, the sound waves coalescing into a powerful force that seemed to shake the stadium roof.
They waved their scarves and flags, stomped their feet frantically, every movement filled with anticipation and love for this legendary striker!
Watching him run into the field with his agile figure was like a fireball rushing onto the field. The temperature in the stadium rose at the same time as the decibels of the shouts. In the winter stands, fans even had beads of sweat on their faces.
Go Sergio!
On the sidelines, team doctor Gracie cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted loudly at Agüero's back. His voice sounded particularly clear and powerful amidst the noise!
Agüero's appearance on the field was a cause for celebration not only for the coaching staff but also for his teammates.
Gracie was also full of anticipation!
After more than a month of continuous treatment in the cryotherapy chamber, how well has Agüero's muscle injury recovered? Will he be in the same condition as Ranocchia, or even better than before the injury?
No matter how detailed the off-field assessment is, it's all just theoretical discussion.
If you want to see real skill, you have to go to the stadium to find out!
The Argentina striker, who had been away from the field for more than a month, spent the entire first half warming up by jumping and chattering on the sidelines, clearly eager to get on the pitch.
But once he stepped onto the court, he instantly calmed down.
Several teammates took advantage of the brief dead ball time to quickly high-five Agüero, welcoming his return from injury.
"Try to coordinate with one foot. Since the field is bad and accidents are possible, let the accidents happen!"
Seeing Agüero run up to him and calmly say something to him, Tang Long nodded. He understood that this top Premier League striker had entered full match fitness.
The man who could finally keep up with my thinking on the front line is back!
(Agüero: Don't panic, I'm back!)