No Champions League? A Treble Is Still a Treble! Tang Long Scores a Last-Minute Winner to End the Season!
"Wow, Agüero is so strong! I've really underestimated him over the past six months!"
Gündoğan watched Agüero celebrate his goal with such swagger, a feeling of admiration welled up within him.
Previously, he thought the strongest individual strikers in the Premier League were Cristiano Ronaldo and Henry, but now he believes the ultimate champion is Agüero!
So ten minutes later, in the same location;
Seeing Agüero lurking in the attacking third, Gündoğan imitated Tang Long's passing technique, sending Agüero an identical high, floated ball.
Compared to Tang Long's previous pass, Gündoğan's pass was made without him moving his body.
The quality is higher, mainly reflected in the accuracy, and it flew straight at Agüero's head.
"One more, Sergio, smash Arsenal's flimsy defense!"
Just as Gündoğan was hoping for another divine goal;
Koscielny, positioned behind Agüero, delivered a devastating overhead tackle, not only clearing the ball a considerable distance but also causing Agüero to stumble and fall to the ground, clutching the back of his head in a state of shock.
Forehead...
Gündoğan was stunned.
"Hey! Don't spread rumors like that, he won't be able to receive them," Tang Long shouted at him.
"Ah, I... I was just copying you, why is Agüero not working again?" Gündoğan scratched his head, looking very confused.
Little did Gündoğan know that Tang Long had detected Agüero's rage level was off the charts, which was why he rushed to pass the ball to Agüero within ten seconds to allow him to unleash his strongest attack at the start of the game.
However, this rage meter only lasts for ten seconds, and cannot be maintained for the entire match.
This is a momentary peak in a player's performance; once that peak is over, they will return to normal.
As expected, after Agüero returned to his normal form, he began to reduce direct physical confrontations with opponents and started to pass the ball around the ball with his feet, trying to pass it out with one touch when his back to the goal.
The two sides traded blows, reaching a stalemate, and the situation became deadlocked.
Wenger finally breathed a sigh of relief!
Fortunately, it seems that Agüero's phenomenal performance was just a fluke, which makes sense.
"Don't be afraid, push forward boldly, attack when you should, and bring out our strengths!" Wenger instructed the team to push forward.
This season, any Premier League team facing Manchester City has struggled if they push forward to attack.
However, Arsenal, trailing by one goal at Wembley Stadium, had no way out and were pushed to the brink of elimination.
Having been defeated by Manchester City three times this season, a triple loss would be a quadra kill if they lose this match too!
If Arsenal are defeated four times by Manchester City, it will be a shameful record in their history – they have never been beaten four times in a row by the same team in a single season.
When Wenger said to bring out our strengths, he was mainly referring to the left flank.
On this side, the two Spain- speaking players, Sanchez and Monreal, are both technically gifted.
Sanchez, in particular, can attract at least two opposing defenders as soon as he gets the ball. He can not only link up with the center forward Giroud, but also create space for left-back Monreal to make runs into the box.
Look, here it comes!
In the 26th minute of the first half, Ramsey, facing pressure from Tang Long, did not linger and instead passed the ball to the left side of the center.
The ball rolled rapidly past Gündoğan, and when he turned around, Sanchez had somehow gotten behind him and successfully taken possession of the ball!
At his peak, Sanchez was not only fast and accurate in shooting, but his agile movement also allowed him to find openings in densely populated areas.
"Wait for me!"
On the left flank Monreal shouted something in Spain and sped up along the sideline!
Despite Monreal's calls, Sanchez didn't turn his head, seemingly ignoring them, and dribbled inside towards the center.
Giroud, like an iron tower, held tightly to Ranocchia behind him, his back turned and arms outstretched, indicating that the Chile could sit on the stake.
Kompany, fearing that Ranocchia wouldn't be able to defend against Giroud, unconsciously moved two steps closer to his partner.
Unexpectedly, Giroud and Sanchez's apparent attempt to coordinate was actually just a feint.
The real attacking threat lies with Monreal, who is making a run from the back!
On this side, right- Monreal is positioned opposite left-back Sagna.
Monreal celebrates his former Sena del Rey teammate's weakness – his tendency to create offside traps, but also his tendency to make mistakes.
Sure enough, Sanchez's pass was perfectly timed, weaving behind the defense. Sagna was a step too slow in his offside trap, and Monreal seized the opportunity to surge forward!
"Back post!"
Because he was worried that Ranocchia n't be able to stop Giroud one-on-one, Kompany, the other center-back in the two-man defense, subconsciously moved a step closer to Giroud's position;
Unexpectedly, Sanchez and Giroud's attack through the middle was just a feint; the ball was suddenly passed to the wing, catching Manchester City's defense completely off guard.
Kompany's weakness is that once the ball goes out of his control, it's hard for him to adjust his posture, leaving left-back Kolarov to be the only option at the far post.
But 31-year-old Kolarov was facing 25-year-old black striker Welbeck!
The latter leaped high, maintaining excellent airtime, and overpowered Kolarov to head the ball into the net!
"Yeah!!!!!"
Welbeck's equalizer sent the sea of red Arsenal roaring on the west side of Wembley Stadium!
Premier League champions are not invincible; they concede goals too!
The score was 1-1 at halftime.
Pellegrini was very unhappy with the goal conceded and substituted Sagna with the more experienced Zabaleta, instructing the defense to be cautious when using the offside trap tactic.
In fact, aside from this mistake, Manchester City was definitely the more consistent performer.
They lead their opponents in both possession and shots on target.
Moreover, after suffering a setback with Arsenal's corner kick tactics in their last encounter, Pellegrini promptly learned from his experience and once again used the tactic of using smaller players to defend against larger players, combined with Tang Long's mobile movement at the penalty spot, to break up many of the opponent's set pieces.
As the game progressed, after 70 minutes...
Arsenal's players' lack of stamina has been exposed!
Yes, Arsenal, who were eliminated early from the UEFA Champions League, were actually less fit than Manchester City, who made it to the semi-finals.
Sanchez, in particular, seems to be obsessed with the feeling of cutting inside to the center and maneuvering around Manchester City players, almost like he's addicted to it, always wanting to spin and dribble past them.
Midfielder Toure showed no mercy, joining forces with Tang Long to swarm Sanchez, knocking him to the ground several times.
Gradually, Sanchez's energy was exhausted, and Monreal on the left wing, under the experienced defense of Zabaleta, could no longer make any threatening passes.
The match has entered the 80th minute.
Pellegrini made a decisive move, replacing Sterling with black center forward Bony, switching to a two-striker formation to continue putting pressure on Arsenal.
"Press them down, they can't run anymore!"
Pellegrini deliberately moved close to Wenger's coaching area and shouted at the field.
"Manchester City brought on Bony, whose running and tackling abilities are very strong, which will put continuous pressure on the attacking third!"
"We see that Tang Long's position also has prerequisites!"
"Every time Tang Long gets the ball, Bony and Agüero!"
"One striker is easy to defend, but with two strikers making runs into the penalty area, Arsenal's defense faces a serious challenge!"
85 minutes have passed.
Tang Long, who had remained on the field the whole time, also felt tired.
This season, Tang Long is one of the Manchester City players with the highest attendance rate, second only to Kompany, and has played almost every game.
However, Tang Long is a midfielder, and he runs far more than Kompany!
Pellegrini was well aware that Tang Long, after a season of honing his skills, had reached his physical limits.
But he dared not replace Tang Long!
Pellegrini clearly recognized that Tang Long was the key player in his team.
Manchester City with Tang Long and Manchester City without Tang Long are completely different teams.
During a dribble towards the sideline, Tang Long slipped and lost his footing, allowing Lahm to steal the ball.
Tens of thousands of Arsenal fans at Wembley Stadium booed in mocking laughter.
"Come on, they can't run anymore!" Wenger shouted gleefully, glancing at Pellegrini.
Tang Long fell down in front of Pellegrini, who helped Tang Long up and punched him hard in the back.
"Tang, hang in there! The outcome of the match will be decided in the final few minutes!"
This blow instantly restored Tang Long's stamina. He picked up a bottle from the sidelines, quickly gulped down some water, and rushed back onto the court.
One minute later.
Same position, same location, and Ramsey is still defending.
Tang Long sprinted along the sideline, first rushing past Wenger, creating a gust of wind that made Wenger take two steps back;
Right under Pellegrini's nose, he knocked Ramsey, who had been harassing him, out of bounds with a shoulder bump!
They drove straight in, bursting towards the opponent's penalty area!
Facing Bellerin, first pass the ball across the middle, then cut it outwards, and thud twice past him!
Coates and Gabriel attacked, banging on the door. Tang Long also grappled with them, turning sideways, drawing his bow and arrow, and using the inside of his foot to cut through the half-meter gap between their shoulders, creating an arc!
Coates and Gabriel both felt a chill on their necks, as if a gust of wind had swept past.
Turning around again, I saw Cech landing in a spectacular leap, pounding the ground with his fists in frustration!
In the 88th minute, Tang Long scored a stunning comeback victory against Arsenal, making it 2-1!
The match is over!
Manchester City defeated Arsenal 2-1 to win the 2015-2016 FA Cup!
"We won!!!"
As soon as the whistle blew, everyone rushed onto the field like madmen and tackled Tang Long to the ground...