Premier League Debut: Exposed by His Very First Touch! Tang Long: Pick Up the Pace!

<Gündoğan's hat trick debut! A stunning performance that captivated the audience!>

Plug and play! Pellegrini's talent for personnel management is phenomenal!

Can Gündoğan perfectly replace Dom? The battle for Manchester City's attacking midfielder position intensifies!

<The story of Agüero and Bony is repeated in the lives of Don and Gündoğan!>

Did Tang feel pressured watching Gündoğan's amazing performance from the bench?

Manchester City secured a comfortable 3-0 away win against the Aston Villa, advancing to the EFL Cup final!

Compared to the numerous praises given to Gündoğan by the British media.

The Germany media, however, were in despair!

After Gündoğan was ruthlessly poached by Manchester City, many Germany media outlets believed that the Bundesliga had lost a key player, and they were all paying close attention to Gündoğan's performance in his first game for Manchester City.

Especially the media outlets that favor Borussia Dortmund are secretly hoping that Gündoğan will underperform, so that they can feel better.

Surprisingly, in his first official match against his Manchester City teammates, Gündoğan delivered a hat-trick of assists, helping forwards Iheanacho and Bony score a combined three goals!

This result is simply unacceptable to these Germany media outlets!

Borussia Dortmund fans flooded the club's official website with abusive comments, accusing the club of letting go of its best midfielder in history for money, and of selling out the club's dignity and value for cash!

"The entire management team must be dismissed!"

"Bayern's biggest rival? You're kidding, Dortmund doesn't even deserve to compete for the Bundesliga title!"

"Where is our ambition? Where has Borussia Dortmund's ambition gone!"

Many fans even organized a protest at the club's entrance, displaying banners demanding the resignation of the entire new management team.

This puts immense pressure on Borussia Dortmund.

However, their pressure did not come from letting Gündoğan go midway through the season, but rather from the feeling that selling him to Manchester City for 31 million euros was simply too much of a loss!

Borussia Dortmund's management even contacted Manchester City immediately, hoping to discuss some details of the transfer contract.

For example, if Gündoğan gets 10 or more assists this season, could Borussia Dortmund receive an additional 3 million euros?

Manchester City, however, found it laughable and righteously rejected their request.

The player is here, the contract is signed, and he's already playing. You're still talking to me about the transfer fee? Forget it.

Why didn't you think of this sooner? Hehe!

CEO Begiristain was also all smiles.

Gündoğan has great potential that can be tapped.

His market value will certainly increase further, adding more value to the club's balance sheet.

After finishing his training that day, Tang Long went to Gracie's office to receive a physical therapy massage.

The back injury Guarin sustained at the start of the season has been bothering him and has not fully healed.

Fortunately, Gracie's skillful massage techniques always relieved his pain to the greatest extent possible, ensuring that his performance in the game was not affected.

However, Gracie looked somewhat worried today, her brows furrowed, unlike the happy times she used to have when she was alone with Tang Long.

"What's wrong with you?" Tang Long asked.

"I'm a little worried about you, Tang. That Gündoğan is stealing your thunder."

Gracie, as the team doctor, witnessed firsthand the new signing Gündoğan's debut, in which he scored a hat-trick of assists.

When the game ended, she looked worriedly at Tang Long on the bench and found that he didn't look worried at all.

"Don't underestimate this Germany. Manchester City's signings are always spot-on, and I heard he was handpicked by Guardiola and came here early. He'll definitely be a key player next season!"

No matter what Gracie said, Tang Long remained calm and composed.

He also told Gracie not to worry about it.

"Hey, if you really like worrying, can you do me a favor?" Tang Long suddenly said.

"What kind of help?"

"Isn't your father the mayor? Could you talk to Sky Sport Manchester and ask them to transfer Diletta from their London headquarters to Manchester?"

These past few days, Diletta has been far away in London, but he has been constantly complaining to Tang Long on the phone, saying that the work at headquarters is too complicated, that he works 996 every day, and that he has to deal with tedious interpersonal relationships, leaving him with little time to focus on football itself.

He also said he wanted to work in Manchester.

Diletta meant that the main theme of the Premier League title race this season is still Manchester City and Manchester United, the two Manchester teams.

As for the teams in London, it doesn't seem to matter much.

After hearing Tang Long Diletta's reasons to him, Gracie thought for a moment and figured that if his father really had to intervene, there probably wouldn't be much of a problem.

Sky Sport Manchester is subject to regulation by the Manchester Press and Publications Authority when conducting business locally.

As mayor, asking for a person, not money, will likely be met with a great deal of favor from those below.

However, Gracie thought about it again and then pursed her lips.

"Being busy with work is probably just an excuse, right? This long-legged, beautiful female reporter probably just wants to be by your side."

"No, Diletta is very career-oriented. She wants to come to Manchester, probably from a career planning perspective. You two are good friends, so why don't you help her out?"

"Who says she's her best friend? What nonsense are you spouting? Ugh!"

Although Gracie was reluctant, she eventually gave in after Tang Long's repeated persuasion, but she did make one request.

"In the next Premier League match against West Bromwich Albion, if you and Gündoğan both start, you absolutely must beat them and get the best stats for the game. Your stats must also be better than theirs. If you can't, then the Diletta deal is off!"

Premier League Round 20.

Manchester City will host West Bromwich Albion.

In the last League Cup, Pellegrini fielded a lineup that consisted of half starters and half substitutes, as he was just playing casually.

But in this Premier League match, facing Manchester United's close pursuit, the Chile coach dared not relax in the slightest and fielded his strongest lineup.

Caballero returned to the starting goalkeeper position, while Ranocchia and Kompany also anchored the defense.

As Agüero missed the last match, he will start in this game as well.

Gündoğan and Tang Long also started the match.

However, in terms of position selection, Pellegrini kept Gündoğan in the attacking midfield position and placed Tang Long in the defensive midfield position.

Pellegrini had his own reasons for doing this!

West Bromwich Albion, as a mid-table Premier League team, is far superior to bottom-placed Aston Villa.

Looking back at the first leg of the two teams' encounter at the beginning of the season, in the second round of the league, Manchester City only managed a narrow 2-1 victory over their opponents.

West Bromwich Albion played very aggressively, and their players showed a strong desire to win, causing Manchester City considerable trouble in the first leg.

In particular, their two midfielders, Fletcher, Morrison, and McClean, are all very experienced Premier League veterans.

The two forwards, Lambert and Berahino, one tall and one fast, are perfectly suited to the two-forward tactic!

Furthermore, West Bromwich Albion still has a chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League this season, so the whole team is determined to make a push in the second half of the league season.

Therefore, Pellegrini dared not be careless in this match, and his first priority was to stabilize the passing and control of the backfield.

He placed Tang Long, who has a stronger overall perspective and more advanced anticipation, in the defensive midfield position, also for this reason.

Gündoğan performed well, but only against a lackluster Aston Villa in the League Cup.

Upon arriving in the Premier League, Pellegrini still wanted to play it safe and observe the situation first.

However, when Gündoğan heard the coach's lineup, he was overjoyed!

"Great! I've successfully ousted Tang Long to become the starting attacking midfielder!"

Gündoğan was well aware that the Premier League matches were definitely more important than the League Cup.

But he misunderstood!

In this more important match, replacing Tang Long as the starting attacking midfielder and pushing him to the defensive midfield position— Gündoğan sees Pellegrini's move as an affirmation of his abilities!

He even felt, and even in Pellegrini's heart, that he was more important than Tang Long.

So, the day before the match, after hearing Pellegrini's tactical instructions at the training ground;

As soon as training ended, he excitedly called and messaged his family and friends, inviting them to Manchester to watch his first Premier League match in his professional career!

"Come watch my Premier League debut, guys!"

"Haha, starting attacking midfielder!"

"Tang? I pushed him to his lower back!"

"How many assists are you planning to provide? No, my goal is to score!"

They quickly gathered twenty or thirty people, and on the day of the match, they even chartered a minibus, which drove in a grand procession to the Etihad Stadium to cheer on Gündoğan.

7:30 PM.

The Premier League between Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion in Matchday 20 kicked off on time.

As soon as Gündoğan entered the stadium, before the stadium DJ even announced his starting name, Gündoğan family and friends started screaming "Ahhh!" and unfurled a banner they had prepared specifically for Gündoğan.

[Our favorite master midfielder – Gündoğan!]

The broadcast cameras also keenly captured this moment and broadcast it to audiences around the world.

Fans at the Etihad Stadium applauded the scene displayed on the stadium's large screen.

Gündoğan!

"Let's add another hat trick of assists!"

"Give Agüero a few more passes!"

"Gündoğan, destroy West Bromwich Albion in the first half!"

His family and friends came to the stadium to cheer him on, and the 60,000 fans at the Etihad Stadium cheered non-stop—all of this filled Gündoğan with immense pride and joy.

Furthermore, the starting striker for this match is not Iheanacho or Bony, but last season's Premier League top scorer, the renowned Argentina striker Agüero, which makes Gündoğan even more confident about his performance in this match!

In the last match, he provided a total of three assists for Iheanacho and Bony;

But both strikers also wasted some chances. And who is Agüero? He has always been known for his precise positioning and exquisite shooting.

With Agüero on the team, I'm sure I'll be able to find even more amazing stats than in the last League Cup!

Both teams' players have taken their positions.

Gündoğan glanced quickly at Tang Long behind him.

He noticed that Tang Long was twisting his waist and occasionally moving his neck, as if he was doing warm-up exercises.

"Heh, it's about to start, and you're still warming up? That's hilarious!" Gündoğan chuckled to himself.

The referee blew his whistle, and the match began!

Agüero flicked the ball to Sterling, Sterling, without stopping the ball, passed it back to Gündoğan.

The players from both sides began to move!

Gündoğan kept in mind Pellegrini's pre-match instructions, which instructed him to play in the attacking midfield position and make the most of the width of the field.

So he immediately looked to Kolarov on the left and passed the ball directly to the left-back.

But before he could even put his foot out, he suddenly felt a gust of wind and was knocked to the ground by West Bromwich Albion's center forward Lambert, with a thud!

The Germany midfielder was completely caught off guard and was momentarily stunned.

"How did Lambert, who was originally in the center circle, suddenly rush up to me?"

He looks to be in his thirties, with a weathered face, and doesn't seem like he's very good at running!

The referee put his whistle in his mouth and hesitated for a moment.

Perhaps out of consideration for the technically gifted midfielder Gündoğan, he blew his whistle three seconds later, signaling a foul by a West Bromwich Albion player.

Lambert, looking utterly astonished, rushed toward the referee and began babbling incessantly, seemingly very dissatisfied with the ruling.

Gündoğan was knocked to the ground and felt an unusual pain in his back. When he tried to get up, his legs felt weak and he couldn't stand up.

In the previous League Cup, although he played the full game, he had never experienced such intense pressure.

But this is only the beginning!

Tang Long ran over and helped Gündoğan up.

"Be careful, this is the Premier League, not the League Cup. The intensity is completely different. You need to speed up your passing. There's no time for you to think too much!"