"Don't be fooled by him!" Facing Lionel Messi, his mind was clear, but his body wouldn't obey!

"Another lightning strike at the start!"

Pique's attempt to play with fire in front of the penalty area backfired!

"Tang Long intercepted the ball and shot decisively!"

"That interception was decisive, and the shot was even more spectacular!"

Not only was Pique stunned, but Guardiola on the sidelines was also dumbfounded.

He touched his bald head, thinking, "It hasn't even been two minutes, and I've already secured a starting position so quickly, huh?"

After leaving Barcelona, Guardiola coached Bayern, where he faced his former club twice in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals of the 2014-2015 season.

Both of these matches were extremely difficult, and never before have we scored a goal right from the start like today!

Happiness came so suddenly, Guardiola is still a little unaccustomed to it~

Pique, Barca's key center-back, was also developed by Guardiola when he was at Barca.

Guardiola was somewhat puzzled as to why Pique was so easily dispossessed by Tang Long.

Guardiola was dozens of meters away from the scene of the incident, so he naturally couldn't see it clearly.

But Iniesta, who was closer, knew exactly what was going on!

He clearly saw that Tang Long had anticipated Pique's move the instant he was about to twist his hips and turn, and immediately intercepted the ball.

But if it's just a striker intercepting the ball from a defender, it wouldn't surprise Iniesta.

What surprised him was Tang Long's ball control!

"When Pique turned, his body had already shielded the ball in time. How did Don manage to kick the ball out with just a light touch of his toe in such a short time, without even touching Pique's foot?"

Iniesta is not known for his defense or tackling.

But this midfield maestro is a veteran of countless battles and has seen it all.

In that instant, he clearly realized that Tang Long could still easily control the ball's trajectory within such a narrow space, even with his view partially blocked by Pique's body, which demonstrated his exceptional ball control.

Taking advantage of a lull in the Manchester City players' celebrations, Iniesta called his midfield partners Busquets and Rakitic aside and gave them some instructions:

"Tang is a master; we mustn't play with fire in midfield, and we definitely shouldn't try to get past him easily."

After conceding the first goal, Barca clearly played much more cautiously.

Players are no longer holding onto the ball too long, and one-touch passing is becoming increasingly common.

Barca skillfully thwarted Manchester City's pressing on several occasions with their adept one-touch passing and well-coordinated three-way runs.

After a successful start, Manchester City retreated to a more conservative approach.

After Barca regained possession, the game returned to a familiar rhythm for them.

Tang Long didn't get many opportunities to get the ball during this period, but he wasn't idle either.

His position is left winger, Lionel Messi's position is right winger; the two are directly matched up.

With Manchester City's formation dropping deep, Tang Long had more opportunities to drop back into midfield and get very close to Lionel Messi.

His eyes, like detectors, constantly scanned Lionel Messi's various ball-handling movements at close range.

[Entering data...]

However, Lionel Messi didn't seem to exert much effort, choosing to pass the ball more often than making long runs into the penalty area after receiving it, leading one to wonder if Messi lacked the desire to score in this Lionel Messi.

25th minute of the first half.

After receiving a pass from Busquets, center forward Suarez's eyes sharpened instantly as he faced pressure from Stones.

He didn't pass the ball; instead, he used his strong body to firmly lean against his opponent, feeling the pressure Stones was applying, and then gently flicked the ball past Stones' feet.

His movements may seem simple, but they demonstrate precise control of the ball and skillful use of physical contact, showcasing his exceptional ball sense.

Unfortunately, the final shot went just wide of the goal.

One wave subsides, another rises.

This time, it was Neymar who showcased his ball control.

During a counter-attack, he received a through ball from Lionel Messi, Kolarov quickly moved forward to defend.

Neymar watched Kolarov charge towards him, a slight smile playing on his lips as he thought to himself, "Let's see how I get past you."

He first feinted to the left, firing a shot, while keeping his eyes fixed on Kolarov's eyes, observing his reaction.

This is an important characteristic of Neymar's feints. Unlike some strikers who make a move and then recklessly charge forward, he makes the move first, waits for the opponent's reaction, and then adapts accordingly.

Neymar's early experience playing samba football on the streets has given him exceptional agility and confidence.

Seeing that Kolarov had been tricked and lost his balance, Neymar gently flicked the ball to the right with his right foot, trying to break out of Kolarov's encirclement.

Kolarov, standing at 1.87 meters tall, was significantly larger than Neymar, and his legs were naturally much longer. He quickly made a second corrective move, stretching out his leg to intercept.

Unexpectedly, Neymar, who had already started his run, stepped on the ball the instant Kolarov stretched out his foot to intercept. Kolarov's outstretched foot only kicked away a patch of grass and didn't touch anything!

"Oops!"

Once Kolarov was fully seated on the ground, the Brazil started his second samba start, bypassing him.

With a quick burst of speed, followed by a slow one, and then another burst of speed, Kolarov was instantly left far behind!

Tang Long saw everything clearly during this process and couldn't help but admire it.

Because no matter how fast or slow Neymar plays, the ball at his feet seems to be guided by an invisible thread, never escaping his control.

His ball control and flexibility are amazing; every touch of the ball is full of inspiration.

Kolarov watched as Neymar easily dribbled past him, feeling utterly helpless. "This kid is too agile, there's no way to stop him!"

Tang Long was chasing from behind, but Neymar's speed was no less than Tang Long's, and he also had a positional advantage.

The two players moved in one after the other, with Neymar breaking into the left side of the penalty area and continuously moving towards the center!

Neymar had already raised his foot, his eyes fixed on Bravo's position. Just when everyone thought he was about to unleash a thunderous shot, Neymar suddenly slowed down.

With a light step, he used a Lingbo Weibu to pull the ball backward.

However, the ball was pulled a bit too far, and Manchester City's players thought Neymar was trying to get past Tang Long, leading to a sudden stop error.

Just as the ball had rolled twice and Stones was about to intercept it, another nimble figure suddenly appeared – it was Lionel Messi!

The moment Stones stretched out his leg, it was clear he was destined to be beaten by Lionel Messi.

In a 50/50 situation like this, competing with Lionel Messi means certain death for whoever makes the first move!

Lionel Messi lightly touched the ground with his toe, getting past Stones. Seeing Kompany coming to cover, Lionel Messi then dropped his left shoulder!

Kompany studied Lionel Messi for a long time before the match.

He knew that Lionel Messi's signature dribbling moves weren't fancy at all, and he had almost never seen Lionel Messi Step Over.

His dribbling skills rely entirely on changes in rhythm, and the most obvious move in his upper body is the drop in his shoulders.

So when Kompany saw Lionel Messi shift his shoulder to the left, his first thought was: Lionel Messi is deliberately trying to trick him into shifting his weight in that direction!

Don't be fooled by him!

Kompany kept repeating this sentence in his mind.

But what puzzled him was that his body seemed to be under a spell. His brain was telling his body not to lean to the right, but somehow his body wouldn't obey and stubbornly followed Lionel Messi's feints!

Then Lionel Messi twisted the ball with his left foot!

Without any obvious feints, this sudden drop and dunk actually sent Kompany sprawling to the ground!

"Lionel Messi!"

"Lionel Messi dribbles past two defenders and bursts into the penalty area!"

"Bravo, attack!"

"Lionel Messi's chip shot!"

Goal!

Lionel Messi has equalized!

"Both sides are back to square one!"

"Lionel Messi, who hasn't been on camera much, scored a goal the moment he appeared!"

"He's incredibly agile!"