A Champions League Hat Trick! He Left Meazza, but Returned a King!
The cold rain lashed against the faces of every Manchester City player.
But a flame suddenly ignited in their hearts!
Based on the current score...
If they score just one more goal, the aggregate score will be tied.
However, due to our away goals advantage, we were still able to defeat Inter Milan and advance to the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
Manchester City intensified their attack!
"They have no way out now, only one option: to attack!"
"Goal! Goal! Goal!"
"They need to score more goals!"
"He needs to score goals like Tang Long!"
"Agüero, Sterling, and the other teammates all need to step up!"
"That's the charm of the away goals rule in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages!"
"Encourage attacking play, so the away team isn't restricted, and so the home team feels a sense of crisis!"
They continued to intensify their attack after seeing Manchester City score.
Inter Milan coach Laino has indeed sensed that a crisis is spreading.
He scratched his head and hesitated.
Should they continue attacking and extend their lead, or should they defend to a 1-2 deficit?
Unable to make a decision for a moment, he asked his teaching assistant, who also hesitated and dared not make a decision.
After Laino arrived at Inter Milan's first team, he cleared out Mancini's original coaching staff and transplanted all the original core players from the youth team.
These people certainly cannot be called a mob;
But this was the first time anyone had ever faced such a massive event as the UEFA Champions League knockout stage!
They can manage in Serie A, but against Manchester City, they don't know what to do.
Veteran Candreva remained relatively calm.
He urged his teammates to keep retreating and not let Manchester City's offensive momentum get out of control.
Inter Milan then continued to retreat and defend.
Even in Manchester City's muddy backfield, players like Delph, Kolarov, and Clichy were able to control the ball with ease.
However, once Manchester City pushed their line into Inter Milan's half, they immediately changed the rhythm of the game.
High ball!
The high balls came from two defenders with excellent footwork.
Kolarov's high balls down the flanks are mainly from the 45-degree angle on the side, connecting with the midfield and forward lines.
His specialty is precise footwork. Although the intention to cross is obvious, as long as the pass is accurate, it can create a killing opportunity!
The high balls from the midfield and backfield come from Ranocchia, focusing on using the runs and positioning of the forwards to create unexpected lobs.
The Italy center-back played with Tang Long for a long time and learned a lot from Tang Long.
When it comes to assessing the situation, within the entire Manchester City team, besides Tang Long, the second best is Ranocchia.
He repeatedly created dangerous situations, putting Inter Milan's defense on edge!
Inside the VIP box, Inter Milan legends watched with bated breath, but Ronaldo looked relaxed. He said to his younger teammate Adriano:
"Did you notice? Although Manchester City frequently launches high balls, and they don't win every header, their protection of second balls is clearly superior to Inter Milan's!"
"Yes, I noticed that," Adriano nodded. "I just counted them. Of the last five second balls, Manchester City won four. Inter Milan won the only one, but under pressure from Don, they couldn't control it properly and were immediately dispossessed."
Ronaldo laughed and said, "You're very observant. My intuition tells me that Manchester City will score their second goal within ten minutes!"
Nine minutes later!
The match is in its 68th minute.
Ronaldo's prediction came true.
After Ranocchia received the ball in the backfield, he completely disregarded Bonazzoli, who was only making a token effort to retreat and defend.
He pretended to pass the ball to Kolarov on the left wing, then flicked his ankle, shifted his weight, and dribbled past his former Inter Milan teammate.
"Move!"
With a shout from Tang Long, the three diminutive players, Agüero, Sterling, and Navas, moved like pinballs among Inter Milan's four defenders!
Inter Milan's defenders panicked. They knew Ranocchia was going to make a long pass, but they hadn't reached a consensus on whether to create an offside trap.
Dimarco, who came on as a substitute, did not stand in a straight line with the last center-back, Juan Jesus.
Tang Long, with his keen eyesight, decisively slipped behind Dimarco.
When Dimarco turned around and saw that Tang Long was not only a body length ahead but also had the ball, he was immediately shocked. "When did he get behind me?!"
In a flash, Dimarco's mind went blank.
He stood frozen, motionless, only raising his hand repeatedly to the linesman to indicate that Tang Long was offside.
The other Inter Milan players, still thinking straight, were simultaneously chasing back while raising their hands to indicate offside.
Why did Tang Long get the ball so easily?
Among these were the erratic runs by Agüero and Sterling that disrupted Inter Milan's defensive rhythm;
And of course, they shared a deep understanding with Ranocchia!
Tang Long's strength in playing Shadow Strike lies in his unpredictable and elusive movement.
Especially after becoming familiar with the passer's passing habits and the weight of their footwork, he can know where to rush in just three seconds from the moment he sees his teammate lift their foot!
Dimarco's mistake was the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Facing the football flying high from his side and rear, Tang Long did not rush to stop the ball immediately.
During his high-speed run, he first listened to the footsteps of the Inter Milan players chasing after him.
After discovering that no Inter Milan player could immediately close in within at least two meters, he then looked at Inter Milan's goalkeeper, Sepe!
This 24-year-old goalkeeper joined Inter Milan during the last summer transfer window.
His strengths include height, long legs, excellent jumping ability, and outstanding goal-line technique.
Its weakness is also obvious: it's not good at launching attacks!
So, although Tang Long was waiting for him to come out, the whistling sound of the football falling echoed in Tang Long's ears, but Sepe remained inside the goal without moving.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony!"
I was originally planning to get past him after you came out and score an easy goal, but since you're not coming out, I won't bother with you then.
The football was falling, and its vertical projection was directly above Tang Long's head. At this moment, Tang Long did not look up at the ball, because he did not need to see the trajectory of the football with his naked eye. In his mind, he had already predicted the landing point of the ball.
A miraculous scene unfolded!
Without making any eye contact with the ball, Tang Long, right in front of the Inter Milan goalkeeper, raised his arm and swung his leg, pulled his body to the side, and kicked at the air a meter in front of him!
Pia!
The moment the ball landed twenty centimeters above the ground, it was lashed hard by Tang Long's iron whip-like right leg!
The entire movement was fluid and seamless, executed perfectly at every step.
Sepe's calf suddenly tensed as he struggled to discern the ball's trajectory through the misty drizzle;
The sound of the soccer ball hitting the ground and the sharp flashes of light simultaneously assaulted his senses, leaving him completely unsure of where to dive.
The ball flew into the net, right at Sepe's hands!
The thick white nylon rope net, under the shockwave of Tang Long's powerful volley, seemed to be suddenly pulled up by an invisible giant hand, soaring high into the air!
The fine raindrops hanging from each net rope were shaken into the air!
The entire 7.32-meter-wide and 2.44-meter-high net behind Sepe seemed to shudder violently, and rain poured down.
Thump, thump, thump thump, thump thump thump thump...
The football, which had hit the net, finally landed slowly, bouncing and rolling to Sepe's feet.
He raised his head slightly, his gaze firm and deep, looking towards the Meazza North Stand behind the goal, directly opposite him.
That area was a sea of blue and black, where Inter Milan's die-hard fans were densely packed together, forming a spectacular, dark mass.
However, at this moment, the stands, which were usually filled with passionate shouts and enthusiastic cheers, were eerily silent.
Everyone seemed stunned by Tang Long's astonishing shot, their faces frozen in the rain, filled with shock and disbelief.
But when Tang Long turned around, he saw a completely different, lively scene!
All his teammates were rushing towards him!
Agüero slid in with a tackle, catching Tang Long and slamming him to the ground, then grabbed his head and roared with a ferocious expression.
I love you to death!!!
For the next 30 seconds, Tang Long never got up again.
Because players kept jumping into the crowd.
Inter Milan coach Laino is devastated!
2 to 2.
The score is 3 to 3.
Manchester City have a two-goal advantage away from home; if the score remains the same, Inter Milan will be eliminated!
Laino pulled hard on his already sparse hair, and with a forceful pull, he actually ripped out a large clump.
But Laino didn't feel the pain in his scalp; his heart ached far more than his head.
Being eliminated by Manchester City is not shameful.
However, I had meticulously planned two tricks before the match: watering the field and reducing the playing area. They worked wonders in the first half, giving me a 2-0 lead and victory seemed within reach. But then, how did Tang Long manage to score two goals in quick succession?
Feeling like a cooked duck about to fly away, Laino was furious and jumped up and down, shouting:
"Push forward! All of you push forward! If you don't score a goal, you're all fired at the end of the season!"
The shout was so hysterical.
This arrangement was designed to ensure that even in the VIP stands, a group of Inter Milan legends could hear clearly.
Materazzi and Cambiasso looked at each other in bewilderment.
They just couldn't understand it.
The guys were praising Laino in the first half, saying he was cunning and a strategist;
Why did all these strategies fail in the second half?
On the other hand, Manchester City seems to have undergone a complete transformation, as if they were a completely different team.
Ronaldo was beaming with joy!
He taunted Adriano, "Laino said he'd kick everyone out at the end of the season if he didn't score? Who does he think he is? He's the one who should be kicked out!"
Adriano chuckled and said, "Interesting. Ranocchia assisted Dom to score, and the two former Inter Milan players connected to eliminate Inter Milan. It seems that Laino is an incompetent head coach. He didn't prepare well before the match. He doesn't understand the opponent, especially Dom's strength."
Ronaldo said, "Laino is a nobody! Back in the youth team, if it weren't for Chivu, Don would have been released by Laino."
The conversation between the two men stirred up resentment among other Inter Milan legends.
Especially Ronaldo!
Several of them were overweight; it's one thing if they were superstars during their playing days;
After retiring, he went into business and became very successful, amassing a fortune of several hundred million.
You've taken all the benefits, and now Inter Milan has lost, and you're happy about it?!
Materazzi retorted to Ronaldo, "Hey, fat guy, the game isn't over yet! The aggregate score is 3-3. If we score one more, Manchester City will be out. Don't get too excited!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than another gasp erupted from the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza!
Everyone in the VIP box immediately turned their attention to the sports field.
The exclamation came from the northeast corner, from just over a thousand Manchester City Expeditionary Army.
They roared and screamed as they watched Tang Long dribble past two players and pass the ball to Sterling on the wing!
This was a counter-attack initiated by defensive midfielder Delph after Inter Milan pressed forward as the entire team pressed forward!
Manchester City's attack is 3 against 2!
After attracting Santon's attention, Sterling decisively sent a low cross into the penalty area.
Agüero's tactical effectiveness was evident; he successfully drew Juan Jesus away from the depth of the defense, and with a quick move down the middle, neither of them touched the ball.
The football rolled towards the far post where Tang Long made a diagonal run!
There's no one watching here!
After judging that goalkeeper Sepe was positioned too far inside, Tang Long decisively shot at the near post!
With a clang, the football struck Sepe's toes as he struggled to split, bounced off the inside post, struck Sepe's head, and then bounced into the net!
3 to 2!
Manchester City scored three goals in the second half to take the lead!
The final score is now 4-3!
Tang Long scored a hat-trick in the UEFA Champions League!