2 Seconds! Re-establishing the Fastest UEFA Champions League Goal Record! From This Bicycle Kick Volley!
At first, everyone thought it was just a simple long pass and cross to start the game.
Because of the immense popularity of this match broadcast on CCTV, many non- Manchester City fans were watching it, even though not everyone is familiar with Manchester City's playing style.
However, commentator He Wei, who is familiar with Manchester City's possession-based style of play, noticed something unusual.
"Manchester City clearly plays a possession-based style of football, so why did Ranocchia launch a rough long pass from the backfield right at the start of the game?"
When Tang Long disappeared from the broadcast camera's view and then reappeared on the left side of the penalty area after that long pass, everyone noticed something was different!
[Detecting the goalkeeper's advanced positioning, quickly pass the ball to the far post; Bonazzoli has an 81% chance to head the ball directly at the goal.]
The brainwaves provided by the AI System flashed through Tang Long's mind.
At this moment, Tang Long was facing away from the goal, so he couldn't see the goalkeeper's position or Bernazzoli's stance.
But in that instant, he thought, "Since the goalkeeper is positioned too far forward, instead of letting Bonazzoli head the ball in an uncertain way, why don't I try taking it myself?"
That split-second decision resulted in the most spectacular goal of the UEFA Champions League season, a truly breathtaking moment!
As the ball was about to fall, the nearest defender to Tang Long was still about two meters away from him.
Everyone was certain that Tang Long would stop the ball steadily, just like they had seen countless times on the field, taking control of the rhythm. After that, whether it was passing or dribbling past opponents, it would all be one of his specialties.
Unexpectedly, Tang Long suddenly launched himself up from the ground like a cannonball that had been waiting for a long time!
The defender's pupils instantly contracted to pinpoints, and his body jolted.
He saw a soaring eagle, its sharp claws and teeth outstretched!
Bang!
A deafening roar, like a thunderclap, exploded in the center of the stadium!
Tang Long leaped to the side, his left hand outstretched, maintaining his balance. His right foot met the ball's trajectory with a powerful, sweeping strike, slamming the instep of the ball into the center of the pitch!
At this moment, the Celtic goalkeeper was standing inside the penalty area, nervously deploying the defense and shouting for the defenders to take their positions;
When a loud bang came from the right, the goalkeeper turned his head, his expression instantly freezing as a beam of white light shot towards him!
"Don't let them in! Don't let them in! We must hold the line!"
The goalkeeper was terrified. He instinctively reached out, and felt a sharp friction on his fingertips. The football just grazed his fingertips before flying over his head like a shooting star and into the top left corner of the goal.
It wasn't until the soccer ball slammed into the net, making a loud scraping sound, that Tang Long landed heavily on the ground, his body kicking up a cloud of grass clippings.
The scene was deathly silent!
Sixty thousand Manchester City fans were stunned!
The game had just started, and some fans were entering the stadium, walking in the corridors, not yet seated.
They stood frozen in place, as if under a spell, staring blankly at the unbelievable scene unfolding before them.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment, and the whole world was so quiet that only the heavy breathing of each other could be heard.
Until a full five seconds later.
The sound waves from the explosion echoed through the skies above Manchester!
Is this really a football that an earthling could kick?
Meanwhile, in the studio of Channel 5, thousands of miles away...
Commentator He Wei snapped his pen in half with a "crack" and leaped onto the table.
He made the leap almost subconsciously, as if to pay homage to Tang Long's soaring into the air.
Although He Wei, who is middle-aged and has gained weight, is a bit clumsy, he still managed to stand in a horse stance and get into position.
"Magnificent! Breathtaking! Exaggerated yet real!"
"This is an incredible goal, a goal that defies description!!"
"I estimate it's been less than ten seconds since the start!"
"Tang Long scored a stunning side volley from just outside the penalty area!"
He Wei paused, struggling to organize his thoughts.
"No, it should be called a sideways barb..."
"No, to be more precise, it should be called a sideways, upside-down, mid-air suspension!"
"It includes sideways movements, backflips, and aerial maneuvers!"
"This goal perfectly showcased Tang Long's exceptional hang time!"
"His movements in the air were like those of a beautiful dancer, creating a magnificent spectacle!"
"..."
"Look at this replay! When Tang Long leaped into the air, his waist was almost level with the defender's neck!"
"No one would have expected a player to attempt that outside the penalty area. I guarantee it, absolutely not!"
"But Tang Long not only did it, he also scored a goal!"
"It was truly a thrilling and amazing watch!"
This is He Wei's first time commentating on a Manchester City match this season.
He Wei did a lot of work to prepare for this major program that CCTV had bought at great expense.
In the three days leading up to the match, he slept only three hours a day, spending the rest of his time studying Manchester City's tactics.
They know the abilities, technical characteristics, and positioning habits of the Manchester City players who start on the field very well.
But what He Wei never expected was that he had prepared a long article to praise and analyze Manchester City's passing and possession style of play, but this opening blow made He Wei realize that in front of Tang Long, any tactical analysis and preparation were in vain!
Great football moments cannot be described with meager tactical language!
And weren't the Celtic players in the arena feeling the same way?
Before the match, their head coach showed them a lot of Manchester City's games, telling them to be wary of Manchester City's passing and possession style of play, and to try to use solid positioning and active running to cut off Manchester City's passing lanes.
But who could have predicted that opening long pass?
They never expected that this kind of long pass, which seems commonplace in the Scotland league, would unleash such power in Manchester City's hands, ultimately landing on Tang Long, creating a superb goal that could be considered Puskas goal!
"5.8! The viewership rating has broken 5.8!"
The studio of CCTV -5 was once again thrown into a frenzy.
This time, it wasn't just He Wei who jumped onto the table; all the other staff members also jumped onto the tables, tiers, and chairs in front of them!
Tang Long's sideways inverted aerial maneuver directly boosted the ratings by another 0.6 percentage points!
This viewership rating not only made this UEFA Champions League group stage match between Manchester City and Celtic surpass the pivotal match between Ma Long and Zhang Jike at the 2016 Rio Olympics;
It even surpassed the men's singles semifinals of badminton, the epic battle between Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei!
Amidst the excited crowd, Li Kai, director of CCTV -5, stood up and calmed the situation.
"Everyone, please control your emotions! Please stay at your posts and believe me, even higher ratings are yet to come!"
Guardiola, standing on the sidelines, touched his bald head, his eyes filled with confusion.
Logically, Guardiola should be happy that the team scored so quickly at the start of the game, especially at lightning speed.
But at this moment, his heart was filled with a mixture of three parts joy and seven parts confusion!
Who told them to kick like that?
My God, how could Tang Long score from that position like that...?
This wasn't part of my pre-match tactical plan!
Manchester City's long balls and crosses at the start of the game definitely confused Guardiola.
However, given that his team had taken the lead, Guardiola didn't say much, and eventually clapped with a smile on his face.
Seeing the three big question marks practically popping out of the Espanyol's head, assistant coach Chivu stood by, smiling but saying nothing.
Before the match, he had a private discussion with Tang Long and Ranocchia.
"Guardiola wants you to focus on possession-based football, which is correct, but remember, a team that only knows how to pass and control will never go very far. Occasionally introducing some unexpected changes in rhythm can make the tactics more resilient, especially in the early stages of the game."
Ranocchia and Tang Long's quick attack in the opening nine seconds caught the Celtic completely off guard!
Perhaps the opening blow left Celtic somewhat bewildered, as the Scotland team played haphazardly and disoriented in the first half.
In the 32nd minute, Tang Long played a through ball to Agüero on the edge of the penalty area, Agüero once again scored with his signature chip shot, making it 2-0 at halftime.
Guardiola and Chivu headed toward the players' tunnel.
Guardiola was preoccupied with what tactics to give his players in the second half, but as soon as he reached the locker room door, he heard a deafening cheer erupt from inside.
Guardiola was also puzzled. "Sigh, an UEFA Champions League group stage match, leading 2-0 at halftime, is that something for the kids to be happy about?"
But Sterling rushed over excitedly and picked him up in his arms.
"We've set a record! We've scored the fastest goal in UEFA Champions League history!"
What's the fastest goal? Before Guardiola could even react, he saw captain Kompany smiling and saying to him:
"That's right, boss, I saw the notification. Tang Long's goal was scored at exactly 9.3 seconds!"
9.3 seconds!!!
Guardiola's mouth formed a big "O" shape once again.
He Wei received the information transmitted from the production team through his earpiece.
Despite the rush of blood to his head, his face flushed red, he still tried his best to suppress his emotions and calm his tone.
"Dear viewers, together we have once again witnessed a historic moment in front of our televisions!"
"China player Tang Long has scored the fastest goal in UEFA Champions League history!"
"His opening bicycle volley was not only spectacular, but it also came on exceptionally early!"
"9.3 seconds! Let's remember this number!"
"In the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 match between Bayern and Real Madrid on March 8, 2007, just after the kickoff, Carlos made a mistake controlling the ball in his own half, allowing Salihamidzic to break through and cross the ball, which Makaay followed up with a shot in the middle and scored."
"UEFA subsequently confirmed on its official website that Makaay's goal took 10.2 seconds, setting a new record for the fastest goal in UEFA Champions League history."
"But that's all in the past! On this night, we witnessed the birth of a new record!"
He Wei became more and more emotional as he spoke, spitting as he spoke, completely immersed in the world of football.
"I don't know how many viewers are watching this Manchester City UEFA Champions League match on TV right now, just like me."
"But I can imagine that right now, what I hear in my ears is not only the cheers of 60,000 Manchester City fans in the stadium, but also the cheers of 1.4 billion China people!"
"Tang Long, let us remember this young man who just turned 20. With a beautiful side-spin bicycle kick, he broke the UEFA Champions League fastest goal record, which had been held by Europe for nearly ten years!"
"Any applause or praise seems so pale and powerless in the face of such a performance."
"We just need to take a deep breath, calm ourselves down, and quietly wait for the second half to begin."
After He Wei finished speaking, the screen switched to an advertisement.
He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes to rest, but Tang Long's goals in the opening nine seconds kept replaying in his mind.
At this point, the ratings began to decline from their peak of 5.92 to 5.12.
In the studio, Li Kai, the director of CCTV -5, slapped his thigh and gave the order:
"Immediately stop the commercials, switch back to He Wei's studio, and keep repeating Tang Long's opening goal so that He Wei can continue commentating!"
The staff members looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Boss, this isn't right. These advertisements were all booked in advance, and doing this would be considered a breach of contract."
Li Kai waved his hand and laughed, "It's okay, I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong. We'll extend those compressed ads five times over during the end of the match, but during halftime, we need to keep pushing Tang Long's goal!"
Then the scene immediately switched to He Wei's side.
At that moment, He Wei was putting his legs up on the table, drinking water and eating a banana to replenish his energy, when the scene suddenly cut back.
His mind went blank for a moment. He hurriedly stuffed the banana into his mouth, puffed out his cheeks, straightened his suit, sat up straight, and looked completely bewildered.
Why did you switch back again without even saying hello?
After receiving instructions from the studio, he immediately perked up and began his commentary. The television screen continuously played Tang Long's goal, which was just over nine seconds into the game, once, twice, three times, four times, dozens of times in a row!
Poet He analyzed the broadcasts from different angles and through different visuals.
He was already quite knowledgeable, so this kind of improvisation was a piece of cake for him.
Tang Long's spectacular bicycle kick goal at the start of the game, coupled with He Wei's magnificent and poetic language, was like a vivid stage play, captivating viewers in front of their televisions and making them reluctant to change the channel.
Those viewers who had switched channels back also switched back.
Everyone, all the China fans and viewers who were watching this game, were glued to their TVs at 3 a. m., completely absorbed in Tang Long's performance.
"5.35, 5.67, 5.89, 6.03, it's broken 6!"
"We actually broke 6!"
"It's simply a miracle!"
The studio erupted.
Who would have thought that the highest viewership for a football match would actually occur during halftime!
CCTV -5 not only set the most bizarre record in the history of broadcasting football matches, but it is also the most bizarre record in the world for any live football match broadcast!
Tang Long scored a goal and inadvertently broke two records!
In front of the television, a man's lips twitched slightly as he watched Tang Long's graceful figure, lost in thought...