One against three! Candied hawthorn skewers through the crotch in humiliation! Tang Long actually charges from the advertising board area towards the forbidden zone!
The second half of the game continued.
China viewers watching the live stream all harbored a subtle sense of anticipation.
Tang Long delivered a brilliant performance in the first half; what amazing moments will he bring in the second half?
Meanwhile, in the studio of CCTV -5.
Director Li Kai and his staff held their breath.
They kept a close eye on the ratings numbers; every ten-thousandth change tugged at everyone's heartstrings.
"Comrade Tang, show us a few more of your signature moves, let's try to boost the ratings again!" Li Kai said, trembling.
Seeing the viewership ratings surpass 6, Director Li Kai felt his heart pounding. He felt even more nervous than the players on the field!
Of course, the players on the field weren't nervous, especially the Manchester City side.
Perhaps during halftime, Guardiola instructed his players to conserve their energy and avoid injuries, as Manchester City players deliberately slowed down the pace in the second half.
The match was initially uneventful.
The game was simply Manchester City controlling the ball in their own half, passing it back and forth, and killing time.
Meanwhile, the away team, Celtic, seemed to have raised the white flag, ceasing their attack and offering no further pressure on Manchester City players.
They had this mentality. "As long as you don't attack me first, I won't try to take the lead either. Anyway, it's over when it ends 0-2, and we can accept that."
Such a match seems rather boring.
Many viewers started complaining in the live stream:
[It's just more passing around in the backfield, can't we pass it forward?]
[Tang Long hasn't received the ball much in the last ten minutes or so, why didn't he drop back?]
- [If Tang Long doesn't actively seek the ball, the game won't be interesting.]
- [It's not that Tang Long doesn't want the ball, it's that his teammates aren't passing it to his dangerous spots anymore. This is to make it easier for Tang Long to stroll around!]
-[This style of play reminds me of Barca during the Dream Team III era. Some matches were just about passing the ball around without scoring; it was quite boring.]
-[It feels like Tang Long's side-volley from outside the penalty area in the first half completely ignited all his passion!]
[Let's try to score another goal, it's so late at night, I'm so sleepy...]
The event was lackluster, and the ratings for Channel 5 fluctuated somewhat.
Unlike games broadcast during prime time, the audience's mental state is actually quite volatile when watching games in the early hours of the morning.
If there are no exciting scenes, many people will turn off the TV and go to sleep.
"Oh no, the ratings have dropped below 6 again!"
"5.32!"
"5.01!"
"4.8!"
"Director, the ratings are still dropping, what should we do?"
I thought breaking 6.0 was just the beginning, but could this be the climax?
Inside the studio of Wutai, Li Kai looked at He Wei, who was still working hard at the commentary booth, and signaled everyone to stay calm.
Actually, Tang Long wasn't deliberately avoiding dropping back to receive the ball; he was simply waiting for an opportunity.
Guardiola's tactical plan during halftime was to substitute him around the 65th minute.
In the first ten minutes or so of the second half, Manchester City did not rush to attack.
Thanks to the strong ball control in the midfield and backfield, and the fact that the opponents did not actively press forward, Tang Long, who plays as a left forward, spent a lot of time strolling around.
He occasionally joined in the transmission a few times, but after he finished, he didn't move forward; he just paced slowly.
The Celtic players noticed that Tang Long's offensive desire had greatly diminished, so they were less wary of him.
Right- Tierney, who should have been closely marking Tang Long, was no longer even keeping a close eye on him.
But this was exactly what Tang Long wanted.
He was like the Cheetah lurking in the jungle.
He deliberately reduced his movement and running, and even lowered his breathing rate, all to make the herd of "antelopes" that were "drinking water and eating grass" in front of him lose their due vigilance.
A 2-0 lead was not secure; through observation and judgment, he had already prepared to extend the score to 3-0.
When the game reached the 63rd minute,
Tang Long received a pass from Gündoğan on the left wing.
Only right- Tierney moved up to defend for Celtic; neither the defensive midfielder nor the center-back came to help.
Because this scenario has occurred multiple times, Tang Long, after receiving the ball on the left, did not break through, but instead passed the ball back to his own full-back Kolarov, and defensive midfielder Gündoğan or Ranocchia, choosing to continue passing the ball.
The Celtic relaxed their guard because he didn't seem to have a strong desire to score.
But this time was different. Tang Long glanced at the distance between Tierney and the defensive midfielder and center-back, and suddenly accelerated forward!
This sudden start caught Tierney off guard; he tripped and fell to the ground!
The Celtic players gasped in surprise, realizing: the uninvited guest hadn't left; he was back!
"Quickly, help Tierney defend!"
Center -Kolo Toure waved his hand, signaling defensive midfielder Bitton to rush forward.
Kolo Toure is the older brother of former Manchester City player Yaya Toure.
Back when he was still playing for Liverpool last season, he had experienced Tang Long's prowess firsthand on several occasions and suffered many setbacks at his hands.
Due to his advancing age, he was sold by Liverpool to the Scotland league this season.
I thought that by staying away from the fiercely competitive Premier League, I could retire peacefully in the north;
Unexpectedly, Celtic were drawn into the same group as Manchester City, and Kolo Toure ran into his old nemesis Tang Long again!
With their right-back Tierney outmaneuvered, Kolo Toure watched as defensive Bitton surged forward, still feeling uneasy.
He knew that relying solely on Bitton's individual abilities was no match for Tang Long. If Tang Long wanted to get past him, it would be as easy as getting past a child. So he quickly rushed forward, and the two of them sandwiched Tang Long.
Tierney, who had fallen to the ground, quickly got up and also approached Tang Long.
Tang Long was now surrounded by three people!
Agüero helplessly shrugged inside the penalty area.
He had intended to seize the point, but seeing Tang Long surrounded by the others, he knew that this attack was hopeless.
Another striker, Bonazzoli, also dropped back slightly.
Although he felt in his heart that even if Tang Long was surrounded by three people, he wouldn't lose the ball.
However, he judged that Tang Long would protect the ball and then pass it back to his teammate Kolarov.
Bonazzoli chose to drop back at the right time to avoid being caught offside when Kolarov crossed the ball later.
But only the defensive midfielder Ranocchia, who knows Tang Long best on the field, did not retreat, but instead took the initiative to move forward!
"The opportunity has arrived!"
Ranocchia was thinking this when he dashed towards the edge of the penalty area.
For Celtic, right- Tierney, defensive midfielder Bitton, and center- Kolo Toure surrounded Tang Long, forcing him near the corner flag.
The broadcast camera gave a close-up of the area!
Of the three, Bitton was positioned furthest forward, about two meters away from Tang Long;
Tierney is slightly to the left;
Kolo Toure was last.
The three people form an inverted triangle.
This defensive positioning is fine; it blocks Tang Long's breakthrough routes from all angles.
Kolo Toure, in particular, who had played in the Premier League for half his life, was very experienced and did not rush forward recklessly, but instead stood behind Tierney and Bitton.
His purpose in standing like this was to guard against Tang Long breaking through Tierney and Bitton and rushing directly into the penalty area. He needed to set up a last line of defense behind him as a shield to protect the goalkeeper.
But none of the three defenders dared to go for the tackle!
They all knew that if they took the initiative to act, they would definitely be the ones to take the blame, and that meant becoming the one to shoulder the responsibility.
Therefore, even when surrounded by three men and besieged by a large army, no one dared to take the initiative to attack.
This is an extremely rare phenomenon in professional football!
Seeing that the three players did not take the initiative to attack and that their positions were tightly packed together, Tang Long did not make a strong breakthrough. Instead, he slowly nudged the ball with the inside of his right foot and hopped with his left foot, constantly thinking about his next move.
I have no problem getting past the nearest Bitton.
However, in such a confined space, it's certain that either Tierney or Kolo Toure would simultaneously employ foul tactics against him.
"I'm still in the corner area. Even if I get a free kick, it won't help much. I still have to force my way through!"
Tang Long stared at the lush green grass of the Etihad Stadium, and a golden line faintly appeared before his eyes.
This is a zigzag line that passes sequentially past the feet of the three defending players.
Tang Long's mind is made up!
He stepped his right foot to the right, and his shoulder made a highly deceptive feint, causing Bitton, who was closest to him, to think he was about to cut inside. In a moment of panic, Beaton instinctively stretched out his left foot.
Seeing Bitton's exposed crotch, Tang Long had been waiting for this moment.
Tang Long pushed the ball past Bitton with the inside of his left supporting foot, dribbling past him without a second thought. Ignoring Tierney and Toure, he dashed to the byline and sprinted towards the goal, disappearing from the live broadcast's close-up shot...
The viewers in front of their televisions were stunned!
Where did Tang Long go?
Why did he just kick the ball away and then abandon it? Where did he go?
This is Tang Long's groin-piercing strike technique!
When players use a nutmeg dribble, they generally hope the ball will roll smoothly over the defender's legs without being blocked by his feet.
But Tang Long's groin strike to Bitton was intentionally aimed at the inside of his groin, specifically at his left ankle!
The precisely calculated trajectory of the football, like a billiard ball hitting the inside of Bitton's ankle, bounced in the opposite direction and struck the inside of Tierney's right ankle.
He dribbled past two players with a zigzag pass between their legs!
The ball, continuing its bounce, rolled towards Kolo Toure.
This time, without any deflection, it passed straight through the space between Kolo Toure's legs!
He finally dribbled past the third player, but only managed one touch on the ball!
All of this was accomplished in the blink of an eye.
Because the three Celtic defenders were positioned too close together, and Tang Long's first nutmeg was kicked extremely discreetly, none of them reacted when the ball thudded through their legs.
They were still looking around, wondering where the ball had gone.
While the three people behind him were bewildered and contemplating life, Tang Long had already bypassed the advertising boards outside the baseline. As he rushed back onto the field, the close-up shot switched to an overhead view, showing Tang Long dribbling the ball to the edge of the penalty area!
"Tang Long!"
"He's back in the broadcast camera's view!"
He disappeared, but then he reappeared!
"He seems to know how to burrow underground, haha!"