"'You've never even won a league title. What are you acting so smug about in front of me for?!'"

Gündoğan is a first-team player who has played in the Bundesliga for many years, and he is an indispensable mainstay in both his club and national team.

On the very day he transferred to Manchester City.

In a post-match interview, Borussia Dortmund's star striker Aubameyang complained to Kicker, saying that it was unbelievable that the club let his good friend go midway through the season, and that this was very detrimental to Bayern's fight for the Bundesliga title with Dortmund Munich!

"Gündoğan was actually let go? I really can't understand it. Without the Bundesliga's best passer, how are we going to compete with Bayern!"

Aubameyang even privately told a close friend that Gündoğan left, he didn't want to play for Dortmund anymore.

Dortmund's head coach Tuchel, was furious!

He had a huge argument with Dortmund's CEO in the office, and until the very last moment, he refused to let go of his favorite player.

" With Gündoğan gone, our midfield is crippled! A Dortmund with a limp – is this the result you wanted?"

Many Germany football legends lamented the transfer.

Retired Kahn said that Germany football has lost a midfielder!

"We've lost another key player! Why, why does everyone want to play in the Premier League? Is the Premier League really that good? I don't think so. If you ask me, even if Gündoğan has to transfer, he should stay in the Bundesliga. Bayern is the best place for him."

Finally, he didn't forget to subtly hint at Aubameyang to the reporters.

"I don't know if Aubameyang can hear my voice, but if he wants to transfer, my advice to him is: go to Bayern and stay in this league!"

Therefore, when Gündoğan heard Tang Long's evaluation of his brilliant pass, he was furious.

If they weren't in the locker room, and if he weren't a new recruit, he would definitely have had a huge argument with Tang Long and yelled at him to vent his anger!

I'm the kind of guy who won the league title in a competition with Bayern.

You're so young, how many years have you been playing professional football?

Don't let your fame and the championship you won with Inter Milan fool you; you still couldn't beat Juventus.

Someone who can't even explain things clearly in the domestic league, what right does he have to act all high and mighty in front of me?

What are you so smug about?

And they even said the pass was too purposeful?

Pah!

Is it good to have a clear objective? My objective is to connect with the striker and help them score!

Since I achieved my goal, my pass was a good pass, and my role was unique. Do you want to deny that?

Looking at Tang Long's calm and indifferent face, Gündoğan cursed inwardly, wishing he could punch him right away.

So much so that when Pellegrini came in to arrange the tactics for the second half...

Gündoğan didn't listen to a word he said.

The only thing we heard was, "Guys, the League Cup is another trophy we can fight for. We need to score our second goal as soon as possible and kill the game!"

Good!

Then keep providing assists and kill the game.

If the striker can't score, I'll do it myself!

Gündoğan's beard stood on end during the league matches, making his face look menacing.

In the second half, Manchester City made some minor adjustments.

Pellegrini substituted Iheanacho, who had repeatedly missed good chances.

They replaced him with the more capable Bony.

The goal is to score a second goal as soon as possible.

After all, even though Aston Villa's veteran players don't seem to have much attacking desire, they still have a few young rookies on the field.

These young players are all eager to prove themselves. If they suddenly get a few scoring opportunities and gain momentum, it's hard to say what will happen next.

If you're going to beat someone up, you should punch them to death, then rest them during garbage time. That's the Chile coach's attitude towards this League Cup semi-final.

"Bony, you're definitely much better than that Iheanacho, bro, keep it up, you can definitely kill the game!"

Gündoğan punched Bony twice in the chest, gave him a sharp look, and strode into the players' tunnel without waiting for a reply.

"Aston Villa, here I come!" Gündoğan roared.

Bony was completely bewildered as he watched the Germany's menacing figure disappear into the distance.

Forehead?

This guy is way too... active.

No wonder he's a Bundesliga champion; his manner of speaking is truly different. When he first joined the team, he spoke to me like he was scolding a junior.

Pellegrini's substitution had an immediate effect!

Bony's introduction had a completely different effect than Iheanacho's.

Although the Ivory Coast striker's footwork is rough, he is still a top-tier Premier League striker who made his name at Swansea. His ability to read space and position is far superior to that of Premier League rookie Iheanacho.

He was particularly active in the attacking third.

Bony cherishes every minute of playing time, giving his all even in a relatively unimportant League Cup!

He knew he didn't have Agüero's status, nor his skill or intuition.

To gain a foothold at Manchester City, the only way is through a diligent and conscientious attitude.

Soon, Bony got his chance.

In the 55th minute, Manchester City executed a series of intricate maneuvers in their own half, sending the ball back and forth several times from left to right and then from right to left.

Gündoğan understood perfectly. Seeing the ball return to the feet of Fernando, the defensive midfielder in the middle, he suddenly dropped back and received the ball.

"Bony!"

Gündoğan shouted and shot the ball towards the open space where Bony was making a diagonal run.

He was very confident in his footwork. Although Aston's two future center-backs were aware of the situation, they were a beat too slow to react. They stretched out their feet and grazed the ball, but it didn't completely change the ball's trajectory. Bony continued his sprint and scored a one-on-one goal, accepting the gift!

"Gündoğan another assist!"

"This new Manchester City signing had a perfect performance on the attacking end in his season debut!"

"Aston Villa's defense is like paper against him!"

"This is absolutely Manchester City's best transfer of the winter transfer window. I believe Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool must be losing sleep over Gündoğan's perfect performance!"

"It could even be said that Gündoğan's performance in the attacking midfield position is in no way inferior to Tang Long's!"

"Tang Long has met a formidable competitor in his professional career!"

Seeing Bony happily rushing towards him, Gündoğan was extremely smug.

He stretched out his arms to the sky, and couldn't help but feel a surge of intoxication.

"Everyone says the Premier League is very strong, and the competition is much fiercer than the Bundesliga, but in my opinion, it's not that great!"

Even at Dortmund, Gündoğan rarely linked up with the striker so directly twice in a single match.

Having given away two at once, Gündoğan turned his gaze back to Tang Long, wanting to see his reaction.

To Gündoğan's annoyance, Tang Long remained expressionless, his eyes blank, looking completely distracted.

There was none of the astonishment Gündoğan had imagined upon seeing that divine through ball.

However, what reassured Gündoğan somewhat was that Pellegrini seemed quite satisfied with his performance!

He saw it; the Chile was whispering to his teaching assistant, and their eyes were on him.

"Haha, so what if Tang pretended to be calm? Pellegrini's men all saw my performance. I did manage to show off a bit in front of everyone, hehe~"

However, Gündoğan was unaware of this.

Pelle was quietly discussing with assistant coach Rayne the irrationality of the pass.

"His play is too direct, his purpose is too obvious, and his sudden passes from the attacking midfield position are still lacking."

"That's right, boss. It's just that Aston Villa's team is too weak. If it were any other mid-table Premier League team, they probably wouldn't even be able to get the ball past them with one touch if they tried to pass it like that."

"Yes, he still needs to learn from Tang Duo."

"However, his footwork is still quite good, and his positional awareness and physical fitness are also excellent, making him a good addition to the team."

Bony will not let any opportunity to run slip by; he is extremely eager to score and hopes to win the competition with Agüero.

Despite the immense difficulty, Bony, with no other option but to fight back, had no choice but to give it his all!

In the 75th minute, Bony connected with Gündoğan again.

This time, Gündoğan showcased his superb footwork and familiarity with the forwards' running routes.

He dribbled the ball from the flank towards the center, using his hand to block out interfering opponents while pointing in the direction and shouting at Bony:

"Cross-position switching, run!"

Snap!

Bony followed Gündoğan's instructions and made overlapping runs with Gündoğan. The moment they passed each other, Gündoğan pushed the ball with his left foot, and it circled into the penalty area!

With the angle extremely tight, Bony chose the most logical approach: a powerful shot into the top corner!

The goalkeeper misjudged the situation, thinking the ball was going to shoot into the far corner, and could only watch as it flew over his head and into the goal.

Bony scores twice!

Gündoğan, hat-trick of assists!

That goal sealed the victory.

Even Villa's few energetic young players lost their fighting spirit.

Meanwhile, many fans in the home stadium left early, disappointed.

Gündoğan roared twice and looked towards the bench again.

This time, he finally saw Tang Long stand up, clap his hands in his direction, and show a surprised expression on his face.

"Heh heh, you've finally witnessed my power, Tang. Stop pretending!"

Gündoğan was proud that his pass had finally surprised Tang Long.

What he didn't know was that Tang Long was actually applauding Bony.

"Andre, I think Bony's shooting technique has improved again. Agüero might not be able to score from such a tight angle on the wing," Tang Long whispered to Ranocchia beside him.

Ranocchia nodded and nudged Tang Long, gesturing for him to look at Agüero on the far side of the bench.

Seeing Agüero's gloomy face and the muttering to himself, the two men couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

"It seems he's feeling the pressure from Bony too."

"There's nothing we can do about it; Manchester City plays with a single striker. I actually think that if they played with two strikers, their individual technical characteristics would actually complement each other quite well!"

"Yes, that's a real shame..."