The Fifth Penalty Taker! He Was Destined to Be the One Who Decided the Outcome!

Manchester City are assigning penalty takers.

Guardiola, hands in his pockets, chuckled and told the players to sign up themselves in order.

"Shout out your name! First come, first served!"

Agüero, Manchester City's top scorer and number one penalty taker last season, converted all six of his penalties and rightfully deserved to be the first on the roster.

"I'll be first, and I absolutely guarantee I'll complete the mission!"

In a penalty shootout, the first penalty taker is crucial.

Imagine if they missed the first one, a bad start, it would put tremendous psychological pressure on their teammates who were taking the penalties later!

"I'll go second!" New signing Mkhitaryan volunteered.

"Then I'll be third!" Gündoğan his hand, full of confidence.

Sane also wanted to take the penalty.

He saw that the first three spots had already been taken, and thought that if he didn't apply now, he would be relegated to the last place. He immediately felt nervous. The last spot was just as important as the first, and could often be the one to decide the outcome of the match. Although Sane was proud and arrogant, he was still young and new to the game, and he didn't want to take on that responsibility.

"Me! Me! Me! I'm the fourth one!" Sane jumped up in front of Guardiola.

Guardiola, being the person he is, saw right through Sane's thoughts. He smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and told him to take a deep breath and not be nervous.

"Alright, the first four are taken. Who's going for the fifth one?"

The group looked at each other, remaining silent.

Several defenders avoided eye contact, either looking up at the sky or down at the ground.

Captain Kompany, however, was not afraid; he remained calm and composed, showing no signs of panic.

Unfortunately, his footwork is really mediocre, and he has never taken a penalty kick in his professional career. Stepping forward at this time would not be appropriate for the overall interests of the team.

Tang Long slowly stood up from the ground, twisted his ankle on the ground, and swirled up a pile of grass clippings and dirt.

"I'll go for the fifth one!"

Guardiola gave him an approving look and a thumbs-up.

This is the Tang Long he envisioned: a player who can shoulder responsibility!

Team doctor Gracie saw that Tang Long had indeed followed his advice and was the last to take the penalty kick, and he smiled and applauded him.

Manchester United have already assigned a penalty taker, but the Manchester City players don't know who it is.

"Both players are ready to go and have headed towards the midfield!"

"After a thrilling match between both sides, the Community Shield penalty shootout is about to begin!"

"Penalty shootouts are always thrilling, and fans love watching them!"

"Generally speaking, the team that takes the penalty kick first has a psychological advantage..."

"Both captains have chosen their goals."

"Flip a coin..."

Rooney confidently pumped his fist; it looks like Manchester United will take the first penalty!

Rooney walks to the penalty spot!

Manchester City's new goalkeeper Bravo, stands in front of the goal.

Although he is not tall, he makes many confusing moves on the goal line.

He deliberately twisted and turned, trying to distract Rooney.

Rooney, however, kept his head down watching the game, completely ignoring Brama.

The referee blows his whistle!

Rooney slowly started his run, pushing the ball towards the bottom left corner. Bravo misjudged the direction and watched the ball go into the net.

Manchester United lead 1-0!

In the center circle, Manchester United players stood shoulder to shoulder, cheering for their captain's opening victory. "Well done, Wayne!" "Beautiful!"

The tallest of them all, Ibrahimovic, clapped his hands while chewing gum.

De Gea stepped onto the goal line.

Agüero left his Manchester City teammates, who were standing shoulder to shoulder with him, and strode confidently toward the penalty area.

"Just by looking at Sergio's back, I knew there was no problem with the shot," Kompany said with a smile.

Snap!

Agüero unleashed a powerful shot down the middle, De Gea dived to the left wing!

1 to 1!

Agüero turned his head and roared at his opponents in the far center circle, venting his emotions.

"Agüero looked incredibly excited after scoring the penalty!"

"This is in stark contrast to his previous calm demeanor!"

"It seems that no matter how good a player is, they face enormous psychological pressure in a penalty shootout!"

"But Agüero pulled through, and now the score is 1-1!"

Then.

De Bruyne and Mkhitaryan also converted their penalties.

In the first two rounds, neither De Gea nor Bravo of Manchester United correctly predicted the direction.

2 to 2.

Guardiola and Pellegrini stood on the sidelines, watching the penalty shootout proceedings unfold.

Compared to Guardiola, Pellegrini was more nervous and looked quite anxious.

So much so that when Pogba took the third penalty, Pellegrini actually turned his body around the moment he started to move;

Only after hearing the cheers of Manchester United fans at Wembley Stadium did he excitedly turn around and let out a long sigh of relief.

In contrast, Guardiola remained calm and composed.

He even laughed and shouted at Gündoğan, "Gündoğan, if you miss, I'll kick your butt!" Then he made a kicking motion at Gündoğan from a distance.

As Gündoğan walked toward the penalty area, he turned back and gave Guardiola an OK sign.

Guardiola knows Gündoğan very well;

He had watched Gündoğan's films and done more tactical analyses of him than Tang Long had!

Because Gündoğan spent three seasons at Dortmund, serving as Guardiola's opponent for three of Dortmund years, and was also the absolute core of Bayern's midfield, a major title contender for Borussia Dortmund, Guardiola knew him all too well.

He deliberately shouted this in front of everyone, and even several Manchester United players standing in the center circle turned around to look at him;

Guardiola's intention was to put pressure on Manchester United players who hadn't yet taken their penalties!

Look, we're having so much fun and relaxing playing a penalty shootout!

Sure enough, Gündoğan took a run-up and unleashed a Panenka penalty, outplaying De Gea!

A huge round of applause erupted at Wembley Stadium, with Manchester City fans and neutral supporters alike cheering for Gündoğan!

After taking the penalty kick, Agüero, who had returned to the center circle and was standing shoulder to shoulder with his teammates, laughed and said, "Goodness, Gündoğan me. I play in the middle, and now he plays in the middle too!"

Tang Long laughed and said, "Then he's much bolder than you. You're firing shots down the middle, he's just chipping it in!"

Gündoğan walked back with his own steps, winking at Tang Long.

Tang Long understood that Gündoğan was actually paying tribute to him.

"Tang, you twice tricked Buffon with Panenka penalties. If there's a penalty tonight, I'm going to copy you and use the same method to mess with De Gea!"

"Sure, haha, but I learned it from Pirlo too. This move can break down an opponent's psychological defenses."

This is a casual chat between the two half an hour before the match.

"..."

Wow! Gündoğan's Panenka penalty, he's so composed!

"I was also a commentator for the UEFA European Championship -final match between Italy and England four years ago!"

"It went to a penalty shootout, and Pirlo calmly chipped the ball in with a Panenka penalty, outmaneuvering England's goalkeeper Joe Hart!"

"At a crucial moment in the tournament, Pirlo's composure and leadership made the England player who took the penalty extremely nervous, causing him to miss!"

"Italy also overcame the hurdle of England, eventually reaching the final."

"The first three rounds were 3-3, and no one had missed a penalty yet. I wonder if Gündoğan's 'Pan' will affect the players taking penalties for Manchester United later?"

"In the fourth round, the player who took the penalty for Manchester United was..."

"Bony!"

Bony also volunteered.

He wanted to prove himself to his former master.

He has already scored one goal in this match.

Now he needs to continue his efforts in the penalty shootout.

However, Bony looked visibly nervous.

On the huge broadcast screen at Wembley Stadium, Bony's facial expression was clearly visible even though his back was to the players in the center circle.

Perhaps influenced by Gündoğan's Panenka penalty, Bony was sweating profusely, wiping his forehead twice with his jersey on his arm;

After the referee blew his whistle, Bony stood still and did not move for a long time.

Four seconds later, a chorus of boos erupted from the crowd!

Bony hasn't moved yet.

Ibrahimovic yelled impatiently, "Run! Are you getting a leg cramp?!"

Bony finally got going, and ended up hitting a half-high ball to the left!

Bravo, who had misjudged the direction three times before, finally got it right this time. He leaped up, not only catching the ball but also holding it firmly in his arms, before jumping up and yelling at Bony!

"Ah..." Bony felt dizzy and lightheaded, so he lifted his jersey and covered his head, feeling extremely frustrated.

He kicked it and smashed it!

In the center circle, Manchester United fell silent for a moment, while the Manchester United players raised their arms in celebration!

"Just look at his eyes, I knew he wouldn't score, haha!"

"He wasn't decisive enough; he hesitated. Well done, Bravo!"

Bony missed, boosting Sane's confidence for the fourth round of penalties.

He pushed into the bottom right corner, and it went in!

4 to 3!

After four rounds, Manchester City is currently in the lead.

At this time.

The Manchester United fans in the stands started to panic.

Inside the Red Devils boxes at Wembley Stadium, several Manchester United legends, including Ferdinand, Giggs, Scholes, remained silent.

Everyone put down their wine glasses and walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing at the stadium.

For Manchester United to win the penalty shootout, they not only need to score the final penalty, but they also need to hope that Manchester City misses theirs.

"Dear viewers!"

"The penalty shootout has entered its final round!"

"The thrilling showdown is about to begin!"

Who will be selected by each side to take the fifth penalty?

"Whoever it is, these two are definitely the best players in their respective teams in terms of mental fortitude and footwork!"

"Ibrahimovic!"

"Ibrahimovic heads to the penalty spot!"

Ibrahimovic placed the ball in his hand and dribbled it on the ground like a basketball;

Then, surprisingly, he walked up to goalkeeper Bravo and provoked him.

"Hey, Chile little guy, were you promoted from Manchester City's U15 youth team?"

Then he put his hand on his nose and gestured to Bravo.

This is clearly a dig at Bravo's short stature!

This Chile goalkeeper is 184 cm tall, and together with the team's second-choice goalkeeper, Caballero, who is 183 cm tall, they occupy the second and first spots in the entire Premier League in terms of goalkeeper height.

Bravo was a little stunned when he saw Ibrahimovic, who was 195cm tall.

I've seen goalkeepers provoke penalty takers before, but this is the first time I've seen a player actively walk up to the goal and provoke the goalkeeper.

Bang!

Ibrahimovic fired a low shot into the bottom left corner, the angle of which wasn't particularly tricky;

Bravo guessed the right direction again, but the ball was fast and low. His fingertips grazed it, and the ball bounced off the inside of the goalpost and into the net!

"Shorty, you can't be a goalkeeper with short arms. Didn't your coach tell you that when you were a kid? Hahahaha!"

Ibrahimovic stood at the penalty spot, taunting Bravo relentlessly.

He did this with a purpose: to prolong the penalty shootout as much as possible, disrupt the rhythm, and put pressure on the next Manchester City player to take the penalty.

Only after the referee showed Ibrahimovic a yellow card did he smile and shake hands with the referee before walking towards the center circle.

Tang Long broke away from the team and headed towards the penalty area, just missing Ibrahimovic in the center circle!

Ibrahimovic suddenly lunged at Tang Long's shoulder, intending to hit him;

Tang Long, seeing Ibrahimovic's movements, had already predicted that he would collide with him, just like Icardi did at the beginning of the game;

He gathered his strength in his dantian, secured the fence, and suddenly charged towards Ibrahimovic.

Ibrahimovic was naturally much heavier than Tang Long, giving him a significant advantage in a normal confrontation. However, he hadn't anticipated that Tang Long, who was half a head taller than him, would move so swiftly and launch a counterattack. Caught off guard, Ibrahimovic was actually knocked off balance by Tang Long's impact and nearly fell over.

The Manchester City players behind him burst into laughter.

"Fuck you!" Tang Long turned and glared at Ibrahimovic, cursing.

"Zlatan, come back here, don't cause trouble." Rooney hurriedly pulled the cursing Ibrahimovic back.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Tang Long stood before the penalty spot!

A storm of boos erupted from the crowd!

Tens of thousands of Manchester United fans booed him, waving scarves behind the goal to distract him!

An even more discordant scene unfolded!

"Huh? We see green light waves appearing on Tang Long's face!"

"Someone in the stands is flashing a laser pointer at him!"

"That's incredibly rude!"

"Hopefully, Tang Long won't be affected by off-field factors."

"Go, Tang Long! Go for it!"

JU--

The referee blew his whistle!

The buzzing noise in Tang Long's ears disappeared instantly.

The blinding laser beams in the stands vanished.

Even all the fans in the stadium disappeared.

In Tang Long's field of vision, there was only the football in front of him, De Gea behind the ball, and the goal behind De Gea!

Within just three steps of his running start, his heart rate plummeted from 81 to 62!

Everything slowed down in that instant, even his kicking motion was as slow as Tai Chi...

However, from De Gea's perspective, Tang Long's three-step run-up was extremely sharp. He rushed to the ball in the blink of an eye, swung his leg to hit the ball, and it flew towards him!

As De Gea made his dive halfway down, a surge of joy welled up inside him. "I'm on the right track!"

But 0.056 seconds later, the football soared high, over De Gea's arm, and headed towards the top left corner of the goal!

"It's in!!!"

"Tang Long's explosive shot in the top left corner!"

"Full of power, and from this angle, it's simply unbeatable!"

"Manchester City won! They've taken the Community Shield! Congratulations to Manchester City!"

Tang Long became the one who decided the outcome of the match!

Manchester City players burst into laughter and rushed from the center circle toward Tang Long.

Tang Long was about to turn around and celebrate with his teammates, a small, fair, and soft hand grabbed his neck and pulled him to the ground.

"Haha, you blasted De Gea, you were so cool!"

His teammates roared and rushed over, piling on top of Tang Long until they formed a small, pale blue hill...

(I've written a long chapter of 4,000 words. I'll take a break now. There's one more chapter to finish around 1 a. m.)