Lewandowski Sparks Allianz Arena! Robben Returns, Tang Long Takes on Bayern's Defense Again!
After the match, he scratched his face with his fingernails, deliberately injuring himself, and then showed it to the cameras—this was Guardiola -inflicted injury tactic.
And criticizing the players for not following the established tactics, while even praising Vidal —this too was part of Guardiola's performance!
Guardiola believes his tactics were successful in the first leg of this UEFA Champions League semi-final.
A 3-3 result is also a fairly ideal outcome.
Bayern have the advantage of playing the first leg away and the second leg at home, and with three away goals in hand, Guardiola is full of confidence as they return to their Allianz Arena.
But to be honest, the whole competition really made him nervous!
He almost messed things up and ruined himself!
If, apart from Vidal, all the other players hadn't strictly adhered to their pre-match tactics and kept their defensive formation very tight, Tang Long would have certainly found more opportunities, delivered more threatening passes, and created more chances for himself to score.
He didn't have his players mark Tang Long too closely, fearing that Tang Long would draw the attention of the defense and then attack behind Bayern's backline.
However, this leniency also led to Bayern's defense conceding three goals!
The first goal conceded was Tang Long's Low-trajectory Curve Shot, which was unstoppable; even two Neuer wouldn't have been able to defend it.
The subsequent through ball to Agüero made Guardiola watch with bated breath on the sidelines.
Although Tang Long wasn't being closely marked, Agüero was clearly surrounded by defenders and was the only one making runs on the edge of the penalty area. So how did Tang Long manage to deliver the ball so precisely to his feet?
After watching the video replay more than a dozen times, Guardiola still couldn't find the answer.
In the end, he could only attribute this to Tang Long's genius-level vision, sharp footwork, and the unparalleled chemistry with Agüero, which led to such a wonderful result.
Of course, what surprised Guardiola the most was Manchester City's third goal, the rebound shot that Tang Long scored after Sterling's shot was saved.
Looking at the goal as a whole, Tang Long's follow-up shot was actually quite unremarkable; many goals in matches are scored in this way.
But when Guardiola watched the replay for the first time, he immediately noticed an important detail!
The moment Sterling shot, all the Bayern players, as well as the other Manchester City players, stood still.
All eyes were on whether Sterling's shot would result in a goal.
Only Tang Long showed a forward-leaning posture at the moment Sterling kicked the ball, and as soon as the ball left the field, Tang Long had already rushed out of the offside line and into the goal!
Opportunity always favors the prepared mind.
Why was it Tang Long who scored the rebound shot instead of Agüero, Navas, or Toure?
If we're talking about proximity, Agüero is closer;
In terms of speed, Navas is faster than Tang Long.
So it wasn't because Tang Long was closer to the goal or faster, but because of his earlier start and anticipation!
Tang Long's keen sense of smell for goalkeeping also amazed Guardiola.
He often instilled in the players during training that when one of our players takes a shot, the other players cannot just stand there; they must be ready to follow up with a shot at any time.
However, very few players can do this; only Lewandowski occasionally manages to do so within the entire Bayern squad.
Because watching a player shoot is almost an instinct for all players, this is very difficult to change.
Guardiola had considered that Tang Long was very strong, and he had also considered that letting him play freely would have serious consequences, but the way Tang Long played football was still far beyond Guardiola's expectations!
Guardiola commented on his trusted scout Raymond, in this way:
"Why do I say that Tang possesses all the qualities of a top striker? It's not because of his accurate shooting, unpredictable runs, or anticipation of passes. These are all essential qualities for a top striker, but they are not the soul of the job."
"His sense of smell, his sense of smell for goals, is like the Cheetah on the savanna; he can smell blood from a kilometer or two away."
"But look at Tang's early start this time, the sense of smell he showed at the door—this is absolutely talent, raw talent, not something that can be formed through hard work!"
The thought of coaching a young and talented player like Tang Long next season and transforming him into a world-class striker ignited a fire in Guardiola's heart, and he excitedly rubbed his palms together.
"If he plays as a striker, how many goals can he score in a season? 25, 30, or 40+? Hahaha, the more the better! I believe in him!"
In the other semi-final first leg, Barcelona and Real Madrid drew 1-1 at Barcelona's home ground.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were evenly matched, each scoring one goal.
The final outcome will be decided at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The second leg of the semi-final, Bayern Allianz Arena.
Pellegrini fielded almost the exact same lineup as in the first round, with only minor adjustments, including replacing Navas, who started in the previous round, with David Silva.
Bayern Munich maintained their 4-3-3 formation, but a major change was Robben's return from injury and Ribery's starting appearance. The Robben-Ribery duo finally reappeared on the UEFA Champions League stage this season!
"I'm sure everyone is incredibly excited to see Bayern's starting lineup!"
"Ribery on the left, Robben on the right, Lewandowski in the middle!"
"When these three players come together, what a terrifying attacking line they are, in no way inferior to Real Madrid's BBC and Barcelona's MSN."
"In the first leg, Manchester City's two center-backs, Ranocchia and Kompany, were humiliated by Lewandowski's hat-trick."
"Now that Robben is here, the show is even more interesting!"
"However, Robben has just recovered from injury and is playing such an important match. How much of his former strength does the old man still have?"
While lining up in the players' tunnel.
Tang Long glanced towards Bayern and sized Robben up and down.
The bald man had a wrinkled face and a somewhat hunched posture; he didn't look like he was in his 30s at all, but rather like a 50-year-old man.
Especially his hoarse voice when he speaks to people, devoid of any energy or spirit, is nothing like that of a man who can run on the court.
Has the Flying Dutchman really gotten old?
After the exciting UEFA Champions League opening theme played, the match officially began!
A few days before the match, Manchester City assistant coach Rayne, following instructions from manager Pellegrini, called Ranocchia, Kompany, Toure, Delph, Sterling, and others into the video analysis room and explained their mistakes from the previous match frame by frame.
After Rayne's explanation, these players also discovered their own shortcomings and weaknesses.
Veteran Toure listened very attentively, and even brought a notebook filled with notes.
"That's right, you're right! Sigh, that gap was so unacceptable. I understand, don't worry, I definitely won't make that mistake again in the second round!"
However, when Toure began his first positional defense of the match, problems arose once again...
Robben received the ball on the right wing, cut inside, evaded Kolarov, and dribbled towards the center;
With Toure charged forward!
This time, he constantly adjusted his position while moving, maintaining a reasonable distance from Delph, precisely to defend against the gap behind the two defensive midfielders after Robben cut inside.
They learned their lesson from their previous mistake against Ribery and will definitely not repeat it this time.
However, Toure forgot one thing: Guardiola had once coached him at Barcelona.
The opposing coach knows all his strengths, as well as his weaknesses.
Yaya Toure is tall and strong, which gives him an advantage in physical confrontations, but also makes him slow to turn.
When facing agile and mobile dribbling players, who suddenly change direction or stop and start, his large body makes it difficult to quickly turn around and chase back.
This weakness became even more apparent as he grew older.
He had to defend against Robben's passes while also preventing him from shooting. Under immense pressure, Toure found himself struggling to manage both tasks.
Because Gündoğan plays as the other main defensive midfielder in the league, Delph, who started the game, was not in good form and did not provide timely support to Toure, instead just guarding his own area.
Robben dribbled past Toure with Toure speed, Toure reached out to grab Robben's jersey, but only managed to grab air!
Robben shoots!
"His signature inside cut to the far corner!"
"The ball is moving very fast!"
"Caballero actually lunged out!"
Lewandowski scores on the rebound!
Goal!
"Bayern took the lead in less than a minute!"