10-Man Manchester City in Peril! Kolarov's Error Leads to Penalty, Can Tang Long Turn the Tide?
The phrase "moving like a rabbit" perfectly encapsulates Lionel Messi's actions on the field.
In the first half, Lionel Messi spent most of the time seemingly strolling around. In terms of sprint distance, he was far less than Suarez, and his dribbling attempts were fewer than Neymar's.
But when the team needed him, Lionel Messi suddenly sprang into action like a ghost, appearing in the most dangerous position near the goal, instantly dribbling past two players to score!
Kompany, who was knocked to the ground by Lionel Messi's dribbling, looked on incredulously.
He slowly stood up, his bald head hanging low, the scene from just moments ago replaying in his mind, utterly perplexed.
"I've reminded myself countless times not to be fooled by his feints, and I know that the drooping of his shoulders is just a feint, but why am I still involuntarily drawn to him? Could it be... that I've been bewitched?"
Kompany's dilemma is also the dilemma of many defenders who have faced Lionel Messi.
Even though they knew Lionel Messi's first step was a feint, when they actually faced Lionel Messi one-on-one, it was like a block of iron encountering a magnet; they were always tricked by Lionel Messi's feints and lost their balance!
Agüero, watching from the sidelines, was secretly alarmed.
The two are very good friends and even shared a room with the Argentina national team.
Lionel Messi's chip shot just now even impressed Agüero, who always prides himself on his chip shot skills.
"That's incredible. He can get back into shape instantly after beating two players. If it were me, I'm not sure I could have chipped the ball over Bravo."
Whether it's dribbling or shooting, Lionel Messi has demonstrated a level of skill that is completely different from the other players on the field.
Even Agüero, Manchester City's all-time leading scorer, showed a lack of confidence in the face of the formidable Lionel Messi.
He felt that he couldn't defeat Barca on his own, so he could only look at his strike partner Tang Long with hopeful eyes.
"Tang, we..."
"Cheer up! We can talk during halftime!"
Tang Long noticed the lack of confidence in Agüero's eyes, patted him on the shoulder, and gestured for him not to overthink it.
The two teams went into halftime with the score tied at 1-1.
Having taken the lead but then conceding an equalizer, Manchester City are at a disadvantage in terms of morale.
Guardiola saw through the player's thoughts.
Therefore, Guardiola spent a full 10 minutes of the 15-minute halftime break boosting the players' morale.
He didn't convey much tactical information to the players, but rather focused on encouraging them to maintain courage and composure.
"Lads, treat this match like a regular Premier League. This isn't Camp Nou or the Etihad; it's just an ordinary stadium. Don't be afraid. Play like you normally would. You are the Premier League champions, and I don't think you're any weaker than Barca. Remember that!"
[85% of the footage of Lionel Messi on site has been collected]
[In the midst of large-scale data analysis]
[Testing now begins]
[Combining Lionel Messi's and Ronaldo's shoulder drops, he completed three dribbles and scored a goal.]
"Combining Lionel Messi's shoulder drop with Ronaldo's shoulder drop?"
Tang Long, sitting in the away team's locker room, fell into deep thought.
Tang Long also witnessed Lionel Messi's brilliant dribble past Kompany with a low shoulder in the first half.
This was the first time in his career that he had been in close contact with Lionel Messi on the field. With his keen eyes, Tang Long felt that Lionel Messi's slumped shoulders were different from Ronaldo's.
Lionel Messi is relatively short, agile, and has a low center of gravity;
His shoulder-dropping dribbling relies more on his small and agile advantage. The range of his shoulder drop may be relatively small, but the frequency is fast, which is suitable for maneuvering in confined spaces and creating opportunities for breakthroughs.
Ronaldo possesses a strong physique and amazing explosive power, along with height and long legs;
His shoulder drop is usually quite large, and with his strong physique and instantaneous acceleration, he breaks through the defense in a very impactful way.
Tang Long murmured to himself, "The two shoulder-dropping methods are different. Lionel Messi's shoulder-dropping is suitable for creating opportunities in a narrow space when surrounded by multiple players, while Ronaldo is more suitable for long-distance runs. However, in terms of breaking through a dense defense, Lionel Messi's dribbling style may still be superior..."
Guardiola clapped his hands in front of Tang Long with a loud "smack".
"Hey! Tang! Stop talking about Lionel Messi. I'm the one who trained Lionel Messi. If I were to say that at 20 years old, Lionel Messi was far inferior to you, I would be absolutely telling the truth, okay? Stand up!"
Guardiola gave Tang Long a hug and patted him hard on the back.
Back to the game.
Barca's morale soared after they equalized in the second half.
Fueled by the cheers of 87,000 fans at Camp Nou, they launched a relentless assault on Manchester City's defense.
Fortunately, Chivu has put a lot of effort into improving the team's defense since joining, and they have temporarily withstood the pressure.
During halftime, encouraged by Guardiola, the Manchester City players regained their spirits, and although Barca focused on possession, they still found it difficult to penetrate Manchester City's penalty area.
But under Barca's relentless attack, after holding on for 20 minutes, the players gradually felt their strength waning and their stamina failing.
"Width! Barca's players are very good at utilizing the width of Camp Nou!"
"This stadium was built specifically for Barca's possession-based tactics!"
"They were arranging the Manchester City players through back-and-forth pulling and tugging."
"Manchester City need to be careful; they need to keep their formation compact while running."
"If you lose focus at this moment and a gap appears in the defense, Iniesta will deliver the fatal blow!"
Manchester City assistant coach Chivu was watching from the sidelines with sweaty palms.
He represented Inter Milan in both legs of the 2009-2010 UEFA Champions League semi-final against Barca.
Watching the Manchester City players running back and forth on the field, covered in sweat, Chivu couldn't help but recall that he had been in a similar situation back then.
Barca's MSN attacking trio, each player individually, is a ticking time bomb, posing a severe challenge to Manchester City's defense.
In previous matches, even other teams that used a three-striker formation usually only had one main attacking threat, or at most two. But no team has ever had three top-class strikers who can all score goals, like Barca!
As if on cue, left- Kolarov was a little distracted, allowing Suarez to bypass him and make a diagonal run forward.
Chivu, who was on the sidelines, clearly saw what happened and shouted repeatedly, "Kolarov, look behind you!"
Before he could finish speaking, Iniesta's pass arrived.
Kolarov, as if waking from a dream, quickly turned around and chased after him!
However, lacking both position and speed, he couldn't catch up at all, and had no choice but to take a risk, attempting a sliding tackle to try and use his height and long legs to push the ball out of bounds from the side;
Unexpectedly, Suarez was faster, and with a gentle flick, Kolarov missed the ball but brought Suarez down to the ground!
The referee blew his whistle, pointed firmly to the penalty spot, and showed Kolarov a red card!
"Ah! This is a Red Dot meal!"
"Who would have thought that the experienced Kolarov would cause such a disaster for Manchester City!"
"If I had known this would happen, I would have let Suarez take the one-on-one opportunity!"
"After 66 minutes, playing with 10 men and conceding a penalty, Manchester City is in a very difficult position..."
Kolarov knew he had made a big mistake and that the ruling was correct. He didn't argue, apologized to captain Kompany, and walked off the field.
As he passed Tang Long, Kolarov couldn't help but glance at him, his eyes filled with guilt. He thought to himself, "If the team loses the game because of my defensive mistake, I'll really feel bad for Tang's beautiful opening goal..."