Wembley's Terrifying Half-Minute! Neither the Opponents nor His Teammates Saw That Goal Coming!
"What are you standing there for, Mauro? Go and grab him!"
Rooney saw Icardi standing motionless on the ground, yelled, rushed past him, and gave him a hard slap on the back of the head.
However, Rooney did not press Ranocchia, who had the ball, but instead charged to the left towards Gündoğan;
Then he waved for Icardi to move closer to Ranocchia.
One player tackled while the other defended; Rooney's experience made this the right move, preventing any reckless tackles.
Icardi was jolted awake by Rooney's blow to the back of his head, which stung instantly. Forgetting his confusion, he rushed toward Ranocchia in a few strides.
He and Ranocchia were teammates at Inter Milan for two years, and then rivals for a full year after coming to the Premier League;
As far as I can remember, Ranocchia always played center-back. Although he had some technical skills, I never saw him play midfield!
Therefore, Icardi's attitude on the field this time was very determined; he was determined to take the ball away from Ranocchia's feet.
Ranocchia originally intended to pass the ball to Gündoğan, but seeing that Rooney had already blocked the passing position, he simply stomped the ball under his feet and observed the situation;
He was only momentarily distracted when Icardi shot off like an arrow, almost right under his nose!
"You can't escape Ranocchia!"
Icardi saw Ranocchia turn and, judging from his facing position, understood that he was going to pass the ball back to center-back Kompany;
Rooney understood immediately, abandoning his defense against Gündoğan and pressing forward to challenge Kompany was about to receive the ball.
According to their predictions, Kompany would be pressed by two forwards after receiving the ball.
Manchester City's captain has average footwork and a rather conservative and steady defensive mindset, leaving him with no choice but to launch a long ball!
Once the opponent gets possession of the ball into the air, our team has completed a successful pressing maneuver.
"Whoosh--"
However, to Icardi's utter surprise, Ranocchia turned and raised his leg to pass back. Although his footwork seemed slow and he was about to close the gap, Ranocchia suddenly pulled and stepped on the ground at the last moment, wobbling and turning halfway, thus getting past him.
Driven by the momentum of his forward run, Icardi came to an abrupt stop, lost his balance, and tripped over himself!
Ranocchia glanced at Icardi on the ground, then strolled forward with his long legs, dribbling the ball.
Guardiola, sitting on the sidelines, clapped and cheered!
Facing pressure from the striker, he pretended to pass back, but just as the opponent closed in, he used his foot to turn halfway and get past him.
Feint to the east while attacking in the west!
This move is exactly the signature move of Busquets 'Guardiola star pupil during his time at Barca's Dream Team III era!
In order to transform Ranocchia into Busquets, Guardiola showed him a lot of clips of the former Barca midfielder playing during summer training.
He paid particular attention to how Busquets thought and played.
Although Ranocchia is already 28 years old, he is extremely talented, has outstanding football intelligence, and possesses top-notch physical attributes.
The key is his solid technical foundation. He originally played as a midfielder and forward in his youth, so he improved rapidly by imitating Busquets!
Mkhitaryan's positioning was very clever.
He was originally holding Pogba back on the wing, but after Ranocchia past his opponent and advanced, he suddenly accelerated and rushed towards the middle.
Pogba was momentarily distracted and failed to keep up with Mkhitaryan's pace, allowing the opponent to receive Ranocchia's pass in the middle.
After successfully dribbling past his opponent and advancing ten meters with the ball, Ranocchia decisively retreated two steps and stopped pushing forward.
Now it's time for our frontcourt teammates to shine!
Agüero dropped back at the right moment, pulled out from the edge of the penalty area, and played a one-two with Mkhitaryan, getting past De Bruyne who came to cover;
Mkhitaryan then decisively passed the ball to Tang Long on the left wing.
Watching the soccer ball rapidly rolling towards him along the grass, Tang Long's brain began to work at lightning speed.
At this moment, Manchester United's right-back, Valencia, who was marking him, had already moved out and was watching him intently.
Smalling and Bailly firmly held their positions at center-back, and Agüero and Sane failed to create any good space.
Meanwhile, the opposing defensive midfielder Fellaini had also moved into position to provide cover and was closing in on his side.
Mkhitaryan called out to Tang Long, signaling that he could pass the ball back.
However, Tang Long felt that while giving the ball to Mkhitaryan was acceptable, it would waste Ranocchia's initial dribble past the opponent.
This offensive, which was somewhat of a counterattack, is about to transform into a steady positional war.
The chants of Manchester City fans at Wembley Stadium echoed in Tang Long's ears;
The weather in London in August was quite hot and dry. Tang Long felt hot all over after running only a few steps!
Next, he swiftly cut inside, like a sharp knife, slicing through the space where Fellaini was coming to cover, and circled around to his front!
This move was extremely clever, completely negating Fellaini's role as a defensive midfielder.
Because if Tang Long continues to have the ball on the wing, Fellaini and Valencia will have plenty of space to double-team him.
Valencia is extremely fast and has always been a speedy winger for Manchester United.
Why do Manchester United fans always call him "Wald-the-Shot"?
Because Valencia's speed in breaking through is indeed fast, many times he only needs a simple run down the wing to be able to create a cross!
With the fast Valencia paired with the tall and wide-ranging Fellaini, it wouldn't be so easy for Tang Long to get past them, no matter how skillfully he moved his feet.
Fellaini was startled to see Tang Long almost brush past his chest, their jerseys even rubbing against each other.
He quickly raised both hands to signal to the referee that he hadn't been touched, fearing that Tang Long would be pushed from behind, giving him a free kick in front of the penalty area.
"Recycle it immediately!"
Center -Smalling sternly beckoned to Valencia on the wing to drop back.
Tang Long's inside cut was incredibly fast; the ball remained glued to his feet the entire time.
Smalling felt that he alone could not possibly withstand Tang Long's offensive.
What's more, Agüero was standing right next to him!
Therefore, they could only seek help from Valencia and continue with a two-man defense.
Just as Tang Long was about to rush to the edge of the penalty area, Valencia also rushed over at top speed.
For a moment, Tang Long, Valencia, Smalling, Agüero, and Fellaini, who was chasing behind, filled the small Manchester United penalty arc with five players.
Guardiola was intrigued, yet slightly nervous, his gaze fixed intently on Tang Long.
He knew that the performance in training was only a reference, and the real combat moment to test Tang Long had finally arrived!
When a winger crosses from the byline, he is usually facing only one defender.
This kind of simple wing-based breakthrough is actually a relatively effortless method for wingers; they only need to pass the ball into the penalty area to complete their task.
But Guardiola has even higher expectations for Tang Long!
Playing him as a left winger isn't just about getting him to the byline; more importantly, it's about getting Tang Long to cut inside, create shooting opportunities, and score on his own!
At this moment, Tang Long was surrounded by Valencia and Smalling, who stood like an impenetrable wall, their legs taut and their eyes burning, completely blocking his path.
Behind them, Fellaini came rushing after them like a gust of wind, carrying a murderous aura.
Although Agüero was there to help hold him back, the cramped space made escape virtually impossible for Tang Long.
The three Manchester United players completely surrounded an area of only two meters in radius.
"He's out of luck, crush him!"
Valencia shouted, and three Manchester United players quickly moved closer, trying to surround Tang Long.
This "closing the door to beat the dog" tactic is a killer move that Manchester United's defense has been honing for a long time. It is specifically designed to deal with players who like to dribble into the middle. By simultaneously attacking from the left, center, and right, no matter how skilled you are, you can only watch the ball go unpunished!
Last season, Chelsea's dribbling legend Eden Hazard was rendered helpless by this tactic and lost his way on the pitch.
Thump!
With a muffled thud, Valencia, Smalling, and Fellaini's heads collided!
They came up empty-handed!
The three felt dizzy and hadn't figured out where Tang Long, who was hunting, had gone, when they heard goalkeeper De Gea yell "Hey!" and charge out of the goal!
Tang Long had long since mastered Agüero's chip shot technique to perfection.
He swiftly slid his toe towards the bottom edge of the ball, but out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at De Gea—
Just as De Gea fell to the ground, the ball suddenly slowed down its touch, and with a gentle flick, it went just over De Gea's arm and rolled obediently into the goal.
"Oh, they're in already?"
Guardiola caught a glimpse and noticed that the huge clock at Wembley Stadium was only showing 30 seconds!
Less than half a minute into the game, Tang Long cut inside from the wing like a ghost, went one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and chipped the ball into the net, instantly changing the score to 1-0!
The crowd at Wembley Stadium was completely stunned!
Due to London's notoriously congested traffic, many fans hadn't even had a chance to take their seats yet, as the game was only just starting.
The Manchester City fans who were walking onto the pitch immediately understood when they heard the thunderous cheers erupting from inside the stadium – a goal!
Immediately anxious, they took off running, surging out of the entrance tunnel like a tidal wave, and dashed towards the stands...