Pass to Agüero? No, I'll do it myself! The Premier League season's first goal belonged to him!

Inside the England national team manager's office.

Head coach Mancini, along with assistant coach Chivu and other coaching staff members, held a meeting.

The meeting focused on preparations for the Europe World Cup qualifiers, which will begin in early September this year, with Slovakia as the first opponent.

Since arriving in British Isles to coach, Mancini has rarely smoked in the meeting room while in session.

Because every room here needs to be equipped with a sensitive smoke detector, and these detectors are networked, so they can't be removed even if you want to.

Britain places far greater emphasis on fire safety than Italy, so Mancini had to suppress his nicotine cravings, keeping a toothpick in his mouth.

"Gentlemen, the UEFA European Championship has just ended, and the World Cup qualifiers are about to begin. What are your thoughts, especially regarding team formations? Please share them."

Everyone expressed their own opinions.

After a few casual remarks, someone cautiously probed whether the England national team could bring in some fresh blood for their defense.

Chivu's eyes lit up, but Mancini shook his head without hesitation, rejecting the idea.

"Throughout June, the national team played a total of five UEFA European Championship matches, and we used the same defensive line throughout: two center-backs, Gary Kehill and Smalling, left-back Danny Rose, and right-back Kyle Walker."

"This defensive line has been tested and refined through major tournaments, the players are quite familiar with each other, and their teamwork is solid. Why make changes so easily? We should continue with this defensive lineup in the World Cup qualifiers."

Mancini is a traditional Italy coach who prioritizes defense regardless of the tactics employed.

Exactly twelve years ago, in the 2004-2005 season, Inter Milan welcomed their new coach Mancini.

At the time, the young coach Mancini, who was not yet 40 years old, won Moratti's favor with his outstanding coaching experience at Fiorentina and Lazio.

Under his leadership, Inter Milan finished third in the league that season, a respectable result, but the team had a lot of draws, especially an unbelievable seven-game draw streak in the league.

Even today, this bizarre streak of seven consecutive draws remains a topic of conversation among many fans.

In particular, the team achieved an undefeated record of 8 wins and 15 draws in the first 23 rounds, which left many people both amused and exasperated.

At the time, La Gazzetta dello Sport described Mancini as someone who would start defending after scoring just one goal, which is why his team struggled to win against strong teams and also found it difficult to achieve big wins against weaker ones!

A player with an elegant playing style, Mancini became a conservative and old-fashioned coach. This defensive-first approach gave Mancini a solid floor in his coaching record, preventing him from falling too far, but it also severely limited his potential ceiling!

Teaching assistant Chivu couldn't hold back any longer and retorted:

"While our four defenders are reasonably capable, their footwork is still rough. If we want to achieve better results, we need to bring in a defender with strong ball control, especially for the center-back position."

Mancini rolled his eyes at Chivu and took the toothpick out of his mouth.

"Christian, just name names. You mean Stones, right?"

Stones played for the team at the 2016 UEFA European Championship.

Chivu scouted this young Everton centre-back for a long time last season Chivu believes he has great potential to become a world-class centre-back.

So despite Mancini's low opinion of him, Chivu insisted on including Stones in England's squad for the UEFA European Championship.

Unfortunately, Mancini felt that Stones lacked defensive experience, especially in individual defense, so he preferred to choose experienced veterans like Smalling and Gary Cahill.

21-year-old Stones spent the entire UEFA European Championship on the bench, without even making a single appearance as a substitute.

"That's right, it's Stones," Chivu said firmly. "We should replace the aging Cahill with the fresh talent Stones."

Chivu thought to himself, even if Stones really lacked experience as Mancini said and was unlikely to be a regular starter for the national team in the UEFA European Championship finals, then Stones should at least have a chance to show his skills in the World Cup qualifiers against a weak team like Slovakia!

Mancini scoffed, disagreeing with Chivu's assessment.

"Christian, I don't know if you watched the Community Shield match Manchester City and Manchester United, but this kid was completely outplayed by Ibrahimovic. I'm pretty sure that if Smalling had been in that position, Manchester City would have conceded at least one less goal!"

"This matter is no longer up for discussion. Stones is a good player, but he needs a long period of playing time to develop. I am the national team coach, and I have no obligation to develop new players. The responsibility for player development should be left to Manchester City's manager, Guardiola!"

In fact, the two had quite a few disagreements and rifts during the UEFA European Championship because of Stones.

Mancini has always believed that in major tournaments like the UEFA European Championship, it is essential to select experienced and senior players.

Chivu, on the other hand, believes that it is precisely because it is a major tournament that it is necessary to train new players in the team, especially newcomers like Stones who have the potential to become world-class center-backs.

While the national team's performance is important, the England national team also stipulated in their contracts that they should nurture new talent and help the national team rejuvenate.

As the two talked, they started arguing in front of everyone in the conference room.

Chivu suddenly brought up old grievances.

"Roberto, you say that the defense of Walker, Smalling, Cahill, and Danny Rose is solid? I don't think so! Remember the Round of 16 match against Iceland? We conceded two goals in the first 18 minutes of the first half. How can you call that defense solid?"

Chivu's words only made things worse; the moment he brought it up, Mancini exploded!

He slammed his fist on the table and stood up, glaring angrily at them.

"Are you saying that I'm entirely to blame for England's elimination?"

Being eliminated by Iceland in the UEFA European Championship is a sore spot that Mancini is unwilling to touch.

Back then, with his Coppa Italia and UEFA Europa League titles, he transferred from Inter Milan to the England national team, leading this long-established Europe powerhouse in the UEFA European Championship, enjoying immense prestige for a time.

The entire England peninsula is filled with high expectations for this coach from Italy, the land of tactics, hoping that he can lead the England national team to victory in the UEFA European Championship!

However, England struggled in the group stage of the UEFA European Championship, only qualifying as the second-placed team.

The humiliating 1-2 defeat to Iceland in the Round of 16 sent shockwaves through the entire England football world!

Immediately, public opinion erupted in condemnation.

"A disastrous moment! We didn't even make it to the quarterfinals!"

"England, with a population of 56 million, can't beat Iceland with only 200,000 people!"

"It's truly pathetic. We could drown Iceland with a single spit from each of us, and their population isn't even as large as one of our cities!"

"At least half of the Iceland team aren't professional players, while any one of our players is worth tens of millions of Pound Sterling. How can we be so shameless?"

"If we lose to Iceland this year, then we'll lose to Andorra, and after Andorra, we'll lose to San Marino. After that, we won't be able to beat the Vatican City!"

"Mancini is sacked! The national team is disbanded!"

"What kind of trashy Italy coach is this? He's not even as good as the former Hodgson!"

"Why hire a foreign coach? Is it because they're worshipping foreign things? I think Hodgson is a great coach!"

"Let me be blunt: the best coach for the England national team has always been the last one!"

"I told you long ago, Capello and Mancini are all Southern European swindlers, and their tricks are getting worse and worse!"

The UK Football Association is also facing enormous pressure, but given that Mancini signed a three-year contract with the national team and has only just taken office, they cannot afford the penalty for dismissing him, so they can only continue to observe him.

Mancini himself was also furious, and the team immediately conducted a review after that match;

For more than a month after that, no one in the first-team coaching staff dared to mention Iceland's name in front of Mancini.

The incompatibility of tactical philosophies led Chivu to immediately submit his verbal resignation.

Mancini was still angry, but he readily agreed, saying he could leave right now.

The meeting ended unhappily.

In the first round of the Premier League, Manchester City will host Sunderland.

The Community Shield is just an appetizer; it's a dispensable trophy that Guardiola doesn't care about at all. He has much more to do with the Premier League.

Thiago, a key player in his team, replaced Mkhitaryan in the starting lineup.

In defense, Navas replaced Zabaleta.

Zhang Lu in the studio was also quite curious about Navas's change from winger to full-back.

"We all say that Guardiola is a magical coach, and I think his magic lies in his ability to unlock a player's inner potential."

"Take Navas for example, how old is he this year? Almost 31, right?"

"At 31 years old, I switched from midfield to defense. Perhaps even I, the player, didn't realize how versatile I am. Let's see if Guardiola really has the Midas touch!"

The Premier League season opener was quite unique.

The two opening matches were deliberately scheduled to start simultaneously between Manchester City and Manchester United.

Manchester City will play Sunderland at home, while Manchester United will play Bournemouth away.

The point is to create a contrast between the two teams!

Whoever loses will be trampled underfoot by their mortal enemy from the same city.

As soon as the referee blew his whistle, Tang Long passed the ball to Agüero and began to move forward.

This was a tactic Guardiola had instructed him to firmly hold his position on the left flank of the attacking third and not to easily drop back to the center circle, so as to conserve more energy for attacking.

Thiago did not play in the previous Community Shield, spending the entire 90 minutes on the bench.

However, this Spain midfielder is very good at learning; his eyes are always observing the opponent's style of play.

As the saying goes, "seeing only a part of the whole picture, "Thiago watched 90 minutes of the game and roughly figured out some of the common playing styles of Premier League teams.

In the 20th minute, Sunderland habitually tilted their entire defense towards the side with the ball, attempting to compress Manchester City's attacking space.

Thiago keenly noticed this detail. He received the ball in midfield and saw that Sunderland's right-wing defender was being drawn away by Tang Long, creating an opening behind him.

Without the slightest hesitation, Thiago delivered a precise long diagonal pass, the ball soaring over Sunderland's midfield defense like a precisely guided cruise missile, flying straight towards the left attacking third!

Tang Long had anticipated this. He aimed at the incoming ball and, the instant it bounced after landing, pressed down on it with the ball of his foot. Not only did the ball stop steadily and roll forward, but his own acceleration was not slowed down at all by stopping the ball!

"Pretty!"

Thiago's sudden long diagonal pass broke the rhythm of ground passing and control!

"Tang Long stopped and moved past Donald in a flash, his speed was incredibly fast, and he directly beat the defensive midfielder!"

"Agüero has come out to provide support for Tang Long!"

"Two through one!"

"Tang Long has broken into the penalty area!"

"The angle is too small; we can pass it to Agüero in an inverted triangle shape, which is just empty space..."

"Tang Long has taken a shot!"

Facing goalkeeper Mannone had blocked the near post, Tang Long didn't pass to Agüero, but unexpectedly unleashed a powerful shot into the top corner!

Mannone felt a flash of light towards him, cried out in alarm, and flailed his arms wildly, but touched nothing. Then he heard the sound of a football hitting the net behind him!

Tang Long clenched his left fist, extended a finger with his right hand, and shook it as he rushed to the front of the stands, raising it high towards the tens of thousands of Blue Moon fans in the night sky!

"Tang!"

"Tang!"

"Chinatang!"

The fans roared, and the "Tang Long Three Calls" were reignited at the Etihad Stadium after two months!

Tang Long not only scored Manchester City's first league goal, but it was also the first goal of the Premier League season!

Fireworks suddenly exploded in the night sky, their brilliant flames illuminating the horizon...