The Korean-Japanese Alliance Against China! A "Midas" Commentator Hails Son Heung-min, Tang Long's Lightning-Fast Counterattack!

The starting lineup for this match is Tottenham Hotspur (home team) with a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Son Heung-min

Lamela / Alli / Eriksen

Wanyama / Sissoko

Danny Rose/Walton Henry/Alderweireld/Walker

Lloris

Manchester City team), 433.

Tang Long / Agüero / Sterling

Mkhitaryan / Ranocchia / Thiago

Kolarov / Stones / Kompany / Navas

Bravo

South Korea television is also broadcasting this match live.

The match was just as popular in South Korea as it was in China, for no other reason than Tottenham Hotspur's starting striker was their national idol, Son Heung-min.

"Oppa! Fighting, Oppa!"

"Asia's number one striker, we all love you!"

"Son Oppa, show Manchester City what the number one king in Asia is all about!"

"If Tottenham Hotspur beat Manchester City and Son Heung-min scores, I'll run naked for ten kilometers in my neighborhood!"

Although Tang Long is far superior to Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur in terms of both his stats and his status in the team.

However, the stubborn South Korea fans will not admit this fact, and they will always regard Son Heung-min as the number one king in Asia!

One can glean some insight from their commentators' unique perspectives.

"Smida!"

"In this match, both sides have two forwards: Tang Long from China and Son Heung-min from South Korea."

"Tang Long scored more goals, but that was mainly because he had more help!"

"Manchester City's formation is 4-3-3. Up front, Tang Long has two assistants to help him, so he just needs to easily score goals."

"On the other hand, our Son Heung-min plays as a lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation. He is constantly marked by the opponent's tall defenders, so he bears a greater responsibility. Although he doesn't score as many goals as Tang Long, it's really hard to say who contributes more to the team as a whole!"

In this match, South Korea fans will definitely be supporting Tottenham Hotspur.

This match naturally attracted many Japan viewers, and the reason is simple: left-back Nagatomo Yuto a Japan player they greatly admire who plays in Europe.

However, Japan fans are more divided!

The Japan have a different personality than South Korea. They are the kind of people who will submit to you if you are strong enough to defeat them.

Tang Long and Nagatomo Yuto were teammates at Inter Milan for one season. At that time, Tang Long won over Japan fans with his amazing skills!

Many Japan fans even fell in love with Inter Milan because of Tang Long and became Inter Milan fans.

Nagatomo Yuto then transferred to Norwich, but after only one season, he transferred to Tottenham Hotspur.

Therefore, Japan fans don't have much emotional attachment to Tottenham Hotspur.

Now, what comes to mind is the two encounters between Norwich and Manchester City last season, in which Nagatomo Yuto was repeatedly and utterly crushed by Tang Long.

At the time, many Japan fans let out a mournful wail. "Dom is terrifyingly strong!"

Many people lamented, "If Tang had been Japan, that would have been great!"

Therefore, Japan fans greatly admire and respect Tang Long. In this match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, Japan fans don't care about the outcome; they just hope that Tang Long and Nagatomo Yuto perform well.

In particular, we hope to see Tang Long score a few more spectacular goals, giving Japan fans a visual treat and broadening their horizons!

Perhaps because they were playing two consecutive away games in the Premier League, Manchester City started the game conservatively and did not apply high pressing.

This gives Tottenham Hotspur's midfield and defense relatively ample space to organize and pass the ball.

16th minute of the first half.

Ranocchia passed the ball to Tang Long.

Tang Long flicked the ball with his heel, passing it to Thiago without stopping, and then ran forward.

Tang Long wanted to play a one-two with Thiago, but the Brazil felt that Tang Long had run too deep and there was a defender in front of him, so he couldn't chip the ball over with his own footwork.

He decided to grab the ball, lean back against someone, and then make his next move!

But to his surprise, Guarin, leaning against him, bumped into a concrete wall. Before Guarin could even move, Thiago stumbled forward on his own.

Guarin seized the opportunity, extending a long leg directly into Thiago's groin, tripping Thiago and the ball together.

Thiago fell to the ground, protesting a foul, but the referee raised both hands, signaling for the game to continue!

"Guarin, look up!"

Nagatomo Yuto's shouts as he pulled onto the left-hand highway reached Guarin's ears on the wind.

Guarin spun his long leg around the ball, creating an inward-spinning arc. The moment it bounced off the ground was exactly the instant Nagatomo Yuto broke into the left side of the penalty area!

Nagatomo Yuto continues!

Son Heung-min in the middle lane quickly moved to position himself and try to get a point, and Stones, who was guarding him, did not dare to be careless and also rushed forward.

Stones remembered the method taught by Coach Chivu and used the Italy defender's tactic of pulling and tugging, getting close to Son Heung-min and trying to pull his clothes;

Unexpectedly, Son Heung-min's Tottenham Hotspur jersey seemed to be made of some kind of high-tech material, making it slippery and difficult to hold. Stones not only failed to hold him, but instead allowed Son Heung-min to leap high and head the ball towards the goal!

Defensive coverage has always been a weakness for Manchester City goalkeeper Bravo, who is only 1.84 meters tall.

The angle and power of that shot were top-notch; Bravo didn't even have time to make a save, and could only watch as the ball's trajectory landed in the top left corner of the net!

"Splash splash splash!"

White Hart Lane stadium erupted!

The South Korea commentator was ecstatic!

"What is the number one king in Asia!"

"Tang Long! Did you see that?!"

"He powerfully headed in a goal, outjumping England's Stones!"

"At this moment, Son Heung-min not only took the lead in his duel with Tang Long, but he also contributed to the England national team's defense!"

"Looks like the England national team is just so-so!"

"Oh, by the way, I should mention that Tang Long's name contains the character for 'dragon,' and in China culture, the dragon is a very powerful creature. But even the most powerful dragon has to bow down in front of our Son Heung-min!"

Son Heung-min grinned at the camera, making his signature square gesture, and shouted in Korean—a language only he could understand—"That big England idiot tried to grab my clothes, dream on!"

His provocative expression greatly displeased China viewers watching on television.

But the worst part happened later.

Nagatomo Yuto had provided the assist, ran over, and Guarin joined in. The three of them formed a triangle and bowed to each other three times.

- [Ugh! Seeing this Japan celebration gesture makes me sick!]

-[This guy, back when he was at Inter Milan, always liked to bow. Once he got fouled and won a free kick, and he even bowed to his opponent! What the hell?!]

Goodness, has Xiaozi led his teammates astray since coming to Tottenham Hotspur?

-[A Japan player assists South Korea player to score; I get it, this is a joint effort between Japan and South Korea against China!]

Manchester City might be a bit tired; their pressing wasn't tight enough. The lads need to work on that!

[Tang Long, get him!]

- [Let's just wipe out the Koreans and their poor lives!]

During the opponent's celebration, Tang Long and Ranocchia communicated with their teammates in the back line, indicating that they should push the defensive line forward and not retreat too far.

In Guardiola's view, the players' performance was a dangerous sign, indicating that Manchester City, having achieved six consecutive Premier League wins, had begun to become complacent and arrogant.

Guardiola will not allow this to happen. He kept a low profile before the match to deal with the media and public opinion, but the Manchester City players on the field cannot keep a low profile. The points still have to be earned by each of you 11 players, one kick at a time.

"Press forward! Anyone who can't keep up, get them off the midfield!"

At Guardiola's command, the players on the field pushed the defensive line forward 15 meters and began high pressing.

Tottenham Hotspur, who scored early in the game, were clearly not afraid of the aggressive Manchester City. They proactively stretched their formation, attempting to use the width of the pitch through passing to break down Manchester City's pressing.

In Tottenham Hotspur's 4-2-3-1 formation, when passing the ball in the backfield, Nagatomo Yuto and Walker do not track back to defend. Instead, the two holding midfielders go back to join the two center-backs in receiving the ball from the goalkeeper.

With the two defensive midfielders dropping back to occupy the central area, the two center-backs moved significantly wide to create lateral distance and prevent Manchester City's two strikers from contesting for three goals. This was because Tottenham Hotspur had an additional goalkeeper Lloris their backline.

Manchester City clearly have three forwards: Tang Long, Agüero, and Sterling. Why did they only have two forwards at the start of the game?

That's because Guardiola's instructions to right striker Sterling at the start of the game were not to stretch the pitch too far and to focus on moving towards the center.

Therefore, when pressing, Sterling dropped back to the attacking midfield position, while Tang Long and Agüero were pushed up to the forward line.

But with an extra player controlling the Tottenham Hotspur, if Tottenham sees an opening in their own half, will they actually be able to pass it to them?

Defensive midfielder Sissoko took a step back and gestured to Lloris to pass him the ball inside the penalty area. In training, he might be able to deliver a long pass of about 30 meters, but he didn't dare to do so during the match, especially against Manchester City's pressing.

Faced with Tang Long's pressing, Lloris simply launched a long ball forward, which flew towards Nagatomo Yuto on the field, who was already charging forward.

"Ah, why did Lloris pass the ball like that?"

"I think he might have seen Sissoko, but his passing ability wasn't up to par."

"Manchester City players are also marking them in other positions as well."

"So he had no choice but to kick the ball long, losing possession."

"From this perspective, Bravo's goalkeeping skills may not be as good as Lloris', but his footwork is much more refined!"

Right- Zabaleta leaped high, almost towering over Nagatomo Yuto, and headed the ball back into the attacking third.

Go back!

Lloris's pass was heavy, and Zabaleta's header withstood the test.

The ball was headed high and round, flying straight towards the center, precisely where Sterling had dropped back into midfield.

"There's a thief behind you!"

Hearing Tang Long's shout, Sterling was back to the goal, didn't care whether it was Sissoko or someone else behind him. As soon as he felt the wind behind him, he leaped up and used the back of his head to flick the ball backward. Just as he finished flicking, he was hit hard by Sissoko from behind and fell to the ground, rolling twice.

Guardiola on the sidelines frantically signaled to the fourth official that a yellow card should be given, but the referee decided to let play continue because Manchester City still had possession of the ball!

Sterling flicks the ball on with a header!

Is anyone on this route?

"Have!"

"Tang Long rushed out!"

"Only he predicted the landing point of Sterling's flick!"

"Lloris, attack!"

"How do we handle this single-edged sword?"

Wow!

Tang Long dribbled past Lloris with a stepover and slotted the ball into the empty net!

"The score is 1-1!"

"Tang Long opened the scoring for Manchester City again!!!"