The Comeback Strike! Tang Long Outclassed Guarin, and Agüero Gratefully Accepted the Gift!

The Manchester City players returned to the locker room dejectedly.

The entire first half.

The player who was most uncomfortable was actually the defensive Toure!

As he gets older, Toure can no longer adapt to the high-ball, high-impact style of play, and prefers a more ground-based passing and control style, since it allows him to run less.

However, due to Bony's frequent mistakes in the forward line, his inability to hold onto the ball, and his failure to create effective control and link up play in the forward line and midfield, Manchester City's entire ground control of the game fell into a stalemate.

"Bony, you can't play like that. You're too hasty. After you get the ball, calm down first. Don't keep thinking about turning around and facing the goal to shoot."

Toure began to patiently instruct Bony.

As a professional player, Toure takes his game very seriously. Regardless of any conflicts he may have with others off the field, once he's on the pitch, he always gives his all to the game.

He had even almost forgotten that Bony was no longer part of their French-speaking Faction!

Since the secret meeting at Kompany's house that night, Bony has publicly broken with the French-speaking Faction and joined Tang Long's Italian-speaking Faction.

So Bony gave Toure a sidelong glare at his former Toure's teachings.

"What's it to you? Just focus on playing your game. Didn't you see that Guarin dispossessed you twice in the first half?"

"What did you say!?"

Toure meant well, hoping Bony would cheer up, but he didn't expect the kid to take his kindness for granted, not only criticizing him but also reopening old wounds!

Indeed, under Guarin's pressure, Toure didn't play very smoothly in the first half. Whenever he hesitated even slightly after receiving the ball, Guarin would close in on him.

After suffering a setback in his confrontation with Tang Long, Guarin had already shifted his focus to Toure.

The two started arguing loudly in the locker room, and many teammates couldn't stop them.

The entire stadium fell silent only after Pellegrini walked in with a grim expression and shouted, "Shut up, all of you!"

Pellegrini also realized that the problem lay with Bony.

So he immediately announced that Agüero on in the second half, replacing Bony.

Bony opened his mouth but didn't say anything, after all, this was a substitution that Pellegrini had instructed him to make before the match.

Toure, on the other hand, watched coldly from the sidelines.

Tang Long, on the other hand, was comparing the two.

Against a strong team like Tottenham, Aguero is undoubtedly better than Bony. However, against weaker teams, Bony's simple diagonal runs into the penalty area might be more effective.

Agüero was greeted with cheers from the 60,000 fans at the Etihad Stadium as he ran out of the players' tunnel.

"Our king has finally appeared!"

Agüero also waved to the fans.

"Tang, just play like we did in the last game. So what if we concede one goal? Let's see how we turn the game around!"

Although Agüero was ambitious, an accidental incident just five minutes into the second half exacerbated his problems.

Guarin swung his leg in front of the penalty area and unleashed a powerful shot that flew straight at Ranocchia.

Ranocchia watched the ball hurtling towards him and tried to block it with his back, but in the process of turning, his arm touched the ball.

Clattenburg acted decisively, blowing his whistle and running towards the scene. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he pointed with one hand to the penalty spot inside the penalty area!

"Wow, only 5 minutes into the second half, the referee has already awarded Tottenham Hotspur a penalty!"

"It's Guarin again. He scored with a long-range shot in the first half, and just now he won a penalty with another long-range shot."

"Ah, this ball..."

"According to the SportMediaset replay, the hand that Ranocchia was... well, it was still close to the arm?"

"Well, given the position and angle, it's a matter of whether to call a foul or not, but if we do, there's not much to say."

"You could say Ranocchia was just unlucky; it couldn't avoid it!"

Guarin swaggered over to Ranocchia.

"Haha, buddy, sorry about that, thanks for the penalty."

Ranocchia wanted to argue with Guarin that his hand was touching his torso and shouldn't have been a penalty, but thinking it was pointless to waste words with the guy, he simply waved and walked away.

A chorus of sharp boos erupted from the Etihad Stadium.

The fans were loudly cursing Clattenburg for being blind!

These controversial calls are not replayed on the stadium's big screen, so the fans in the stadium can't see what happened, since they are sitting dozens of meters away from where the incident occurred!

But that's how fans are; if the referee makes a call against their team, they'll definitely start yelling at the referee.

Many fans also recalled Clattenburg's numerous blind calls during the Manchester City vs. Liverpool match, angrily calling him Liverpool's dog who was deliberately trying to bite Manchester City!

Guarin enjoyed the boos that filled the air, even though they weren't directed at him.

As a boy who grew up in a Colombia favela, surrounded by homeless people, prostitutes, and drugs, he possesses an exceptional resilience and a strong will to defy fate.

When the green highlighter appeared on his face, he didn't even prick it.

Upon hearing the whistle, without making any feints or using distracting glances, he went straight up and unleashed a powerful shot!

Although Caballero judged the direction correctly, how could he possibly stop such a powerful and heavy shot, like a cannonball fired from a barrel?

0 to 2!

In the 51st minute, Manchester City, playing at home, were already two goals down.

Icardi, watching the game on TV, put his arm around Wanda and cheered!

Pellegrini shook his head and sighed repeatedly, then angrily kicked the water bottle at his feet!

Nasri, on the Tottenham Hotspur bench, returned to his old stomping grounds and, seeing his former club trailing by two goals, seemed quite pleased with himself.

Pochettino, on the other hand, was overjoyed and discussed the next tactics with his assistant coach.

It seems that taking a two-goal lead was not within his expectations before the match.

Meanwhile, Gündoğan, sitting in the stands, looked utterly disappointed.

During halftime, I told my agent I was going to Barca instead of Manchester City, but my agent gave me a good scolding on the phone, telling me to at least watch the whole game before making a decision.

But does Gündoğan now feel there's any point in watching this match?

Manchester City fans, however, were not having it.

Watching a home defeat in the first Premier League match of the new year is unacceptable!

Another round of boos erupted.

Agüero's hand rested on Tang Long's shoulder.

The two looked up at the restless crowd at the Etihad Stadium.

Right now, only these two people on the team are completely calm.

"No problem," Agüero said. "We just need one breakthrough. Once we score the first goal and break through that barrier, we'll keep scoring."

"The breakthrough point is right here with Guarin," Tang Long said, watching Guarin's bouncy figure. "I know how to deal with him."

In fact, before the match, Pochettino's tactical arrangement for Guarin was to match up against Tang Long.

After all, in Pochettino's mind, Guarin, who is strong and fast, is the best choice to mark Tang Long, who is agile and good at dribbling.

Moreover, the two were teammates at Inter Milan, so Guarin should be quite familiar with Tang Long's technical moves.

But it was precisely because he was familiar with Tang Long that Guarin was unwilling to fight him one-on-one.

Although Guarin was familiar with Tang Long, he also knew that Tang Long was aware of his fatal weakness...

Tang Long dribbles the ball towards Guarin!

The person originally guarding Tang Long was Alli, but in this pass, after receiving the pass from Toure, Tang Long bypassed Alli and did not continue to dribble to the right wing. Instead, he cut back and charged straight towards Guarin.

"Forehead!"

Guarin once boasted of being fearless, couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive when he saw Tang Long charging towards him with the ball.

I wasn't even in an attacking position, so why was he deliberately charging at me?

Alli continued to relentlessly pursue Tang Long from behind, and having an extra ally gave Guarin a little more confidence.

Unexpectedly, Tang Long executed a 180-degree Iniesta- style spin, instantly leaving Alli out of the game again.

Alli, who chased back twice in a row, was faked out and fell to the ground, unable to get up for a while.

"Keep an eye on him, don't let that kid get past anyone again!"

Hearing goalkeeper Lloris's shout, Guarin had no choice but to step forward, lower his center of gravity, and grit his teeth to face Tang Long one-on-one.

Guarin was very familiar with Tang Long's dribbling skills, and Tang Long was just as familiar with Guarin.

Colombia are tall and have long legs, and are physically strong, making them a formidable defensive force in the defensive midfield position. However, they are not without weaknesses.

Guarin has a low success rate in one-on-one tackles. His tackles are not decisive or precise enough, and he often fails to accurately predict the direction of the opponent's pass or breakthrough in the first moment, thus missing the best opportunity to tackle!

Previously at Inter Milan, Mancini had given Guarin specific guidance on positioning and tackling techniques in defense.

Unfortunately, while Guarin's positional awareness has improved, his tackling still appears somewhat amateurish.

This is perhaps determined by the player's talent; at Guarin's age, it's already too late to change.

Two pendulum swings connect, with the soles of the feet creating a floral pattern Step Over!

With a screeching sound as the cleats pierced the turf, Tang Long pressed down on his left arm and lowered his left shoulder; then he pressed down on his right arm and lowered his right shoulder!

It swung twice in a single second!

Then, with a gentle flick of the right studs above the ball—

As the football rolled to the left, his foot slid quickly across the surface of the ball, and then he lifted his left foot, using Maradona- style dribble to step to the right!

The football simply rolled three or four times from right to left, but Tang Long's left and right feet danced several times above the ball!

This dazzling series of movements had only one purpose: to entice Guarin to extend his leg!

Once Guarin extends his leg, his weakness in intercepting the ball will be exposed, and Tang Long can then easily get past him.

To the other Tottenham Hotspur players, Tang Long's body movements appeared to be merely a series of afterimages dancing above the ball, making it impossible to discern the specific actions.

Guarin, who was facing Tang Long directly, could see everything clearly and dared not be negligent in the slightest.

He was trying to analyze Tang Long's movements and guess his next move.

The instant Tang Long finished pulling the bicycle, Guarin impulsively tried to kick the ball away with his toe.

But just as he reached halfway out, he suddenly realized something and thought, "No, he's trying to trick me into making a move. If I do, I'll definitely get beaten. I have to suppress my urge to steal the ball!"

Although Guarin stumbled slightly as he pulled his foot back, he quickly regained his balance by dramatically waving his arms twice. He didn't fall and immediately retreated to maintain a reasonable defensive distance from Tang Long.

The other Tottenham Hotspur players had already gathered around.

This failed to lure Guarin into extending his leg, and Tang Long, no longer wanting to fight, passed the ball back to Kolarov who had come to receive it;

Kolarov passed the ball to Toure again, and the game continued in positional play.

This encounter ended in a draw.

But if Guarin hadn't pulled back at the last minute, he probably would have been knocked to the ground, watching Tang Long surge ahead of him with the ball towards the penalty area.

Guarin took a deep breath, realizing how close he had come to disaster!

"Tang, again!"

Ranocchia shouted and once again used a very risky pass from the center-back position, making a direct pass through the middle.

After Toure passed the ball back to Ranocchia, he pointed to Sagna on the right wing, signaling him to adjust the pace and try attacking the right side.

However, through observing Tang Long and Guarin's one-on-one match just now, Ranocchia had keenly sensed Guarin's fatigue; he was on the verge of being overpowered!

So, in order to keep Tang Long under pressure, Ranocchia disobeyed Toure's instructions and quickly returned the ball to Tang Long again.

Tang Long understood immediately and rushed towards Guarin as soon as he got the ball.

Let's launch a surprise attack!

Guarin's heart tightened, and it started pounding again. "You're back again in less than 30 seconds?"

The atmosphere at the Etihad Stadium erupted as the two players faced off again!

"Get past him! Get past him!"

"Tang, get past the Guarin!"

"Swing the pendulum a few more times, make him dizzy!"

Tang Long had witnessed the details of Guarin's relentless suppression of his kicking motion during their recent one-on-one duel.

He knew that Guarin didn't want to kick, but rather feared that his extremely fast pace would allow him to easily pass him by.

Tang Long judged that he needed to give Guarin more confidence to make tackles in order to lure him into taking the shot.

Whoosh--

Tang Long had been maintaining a passing distance of about 1.5 meters from Guarin.

But this time, his move involved no change of direction or feint, not even a diagonal dribble; he simply dribbled straight towards Guarin!

For a moment, Guarin was also somewhat stunned.

I've seen players dribble past opponents with speed, and I've seen players use feints to deceive them. But this guy dribbling the ball straight into a defender—does he think he's Vieri?

A typical defender would probably have made a sliding tackle to stop the ball.

But Guarin remained very cautious; he even took a slight step back.

As the saying goes, when the enemy advances, we retreat. Let's not rush to retaliate, but wait and see what tricks Tang Long has up his sleeve next!

However, when Guarin saw the ball getting closer and closer, and it was only one ball's distance from his feet, he was overjoyed.

Haha, at this point, even if you have a fast stride frequency, you won't have the space to use feints or change direction!

Tang, you've really messed up this time. I've finally caught you!

Guarin quickly pushed off with his left foot, and using the momentum, lifted his right foot forward, shifting his center of gravity from low to forward;

With tremendous force, he slammed his right foot into the football.

Based on this defensive stance, he will likely poke the ball away first, and then use his body to knock Tang Long down.

However, to his surprise, his kick missed completely!

"Oh no!"

Guarin felt a jolt of electricity run down his scalp, realizing he had fallen for Tang Long's trap.

Just as Guarin was about to poke the ball, his legs finally turned from being on the side to facing Tang Long directly, creating a gap of about 30 centimeters.

At the last moment, Tang Long lightly touched the ball with his toe, and the ball almost grazed Guarin's left supporting leg before passing through his groin!

The ball passed the player, and both the ball and the player disappeared before Guarin's eyes!

Guarin could even feel the slight friction of the soccer ball against his left supporting leg's sock as it pierced his groin, and he could also feel the cool breeze that Tang Long stirred up as he rushed past him!

Guarin turned around again, Tang Long had already rushed to the top of the penalty area!

A blue phantom, through a serpentine run, shook off Tottenham Hotspur 'Vertonghen.

As he appeared at the penalty spot, Tang Long's lobbed pass followed his gaze and slowly descended.

Agüero!

With a raised arm and a swinging leg, his right leg lashed out like a whip, striking the bottom of the soccer ball!

Goalkeeper Lloris instinctively waved his arms, but before he could even see the ball, he heard the crisp sound of the ball hitting the net behind his head!

In the 65th minute, Manchester City finally pulled one back, making it 1-2!