Gracie Relieves Stress with Cupping! Manchester City and Chelsea's Top-Spot Showdown!
Barca had to swallow this bitter defeat at home.
After tying the score, they saw hope of winning.
And the probability is very high!
Under sustained high pressure in the second half, Kolarov was sent off for a moment of inattention, leaving Barca with 11 men against 10. From any perspective, they had the game firmly in their grasp.
Manchester City is like a candle in the wind, which could be extinguished at any moment.
But Tang Long's long-distance run past five people at the last moment turned this candle in the wind into a raging fire, which then engulfed the entire Camp Nou!
Several Manchester City players, such as Sane, Gündoğan, Ranocchia, wanted to exchange jerseys with Lionel Messi, but before they could even speak, Lionel Messi walked straight up to Tang Long and took off his number 10 jersey.
"Don, may I exchange jerseys with you?" Lionel Messi asked politely with a smile.
"Of course, Leo," Tang Long replied.
The two men were talking shirtless.
Lionel Messi was very interested in Tang Long's final move past Alba, saying he rarely sees a player dribble past someone twice on the same side with a drop shoulder.
The two exchanged a few words about their extraordinary experiences.
The photographers wouldn't miss this opportunity; they surrounded the two and kept taking pictures.
"Your stamina is truly amazing," Lionel Messi remarked at the end. "It's been 90 minutes, and you're still charging forward from the backfield!"
Only after Lionel Messi's reminder did Tang Long realize that his calf had suddenly tightened!
Muscle contraction is a sign of extreme fatigue.
He tried to change his position, but as soon as he took a step, his right calf suddenly jerked—he had a cramp!
Tang Long had a tough time in this game. As a starting player, he had to participate in defense and was also the team's only explosive attacking option capable of long-distance runs.
After the final high-speed anaerobic sprint of tens of meters, Tang Long's physical strength was completely exhausted.
However, Tang Long certainly couldn't sit down and ask Lionel Messi to help him stretch his legs.
He thought to himself, "I can't lose face," so he forcefully pressed down his trembling knees and said:
"It's nothing, just practice more regularly. I often do that in the second half of a match."
Upon hearing Tang Long's nonchalant reply, Lionel Messi's eyes revealed a hint of envy, marveling at how wonderful it is to be young.
"I'm leaving now," Tang Long said, wanting to hurry back to the locker room to lie down and stretch his legs. "See you at Etihad for the next match!"
After saying that, he turned and walked away, but after taking only two steps, Lionel Messi called him back from behind.
"Wait a minute, Don," Lionel Messi said. "I'm curious, if I remember correctly, this is your first time at Camp Nou, playing in front of 90,000 people, but you don't seem nervous at all. How did you do that?"
Tang Long waved his hand, thinking that he couldn't let her see his nervousness, so he said without turning his head:
"Wembley in London also has a crowd of 90,000. I've played there twice, so the number of players isn't a problem."
Lionel Messi was somewhat stunned.
For Lionel Messi, who is 29 years old, the number of fans is not a problem; more fans will only inspire him to have a greater desire for victory.
But this young China man in front of me is only 20 years old!
Lionel Messi couldn't help but recall his 20s. Although he didn't say it, he always felt incredibly nervous whenever he appeared at Camp Nou and saw the huge, dark sea of fans.
From this perspective, at least in terms of mentality, Lionel Messi feels that Tang Long is far more mature than he was at the same age.
"They're a tough opponent; hopefully we won't face Manchester City in the knockout stage."
Lionel Messi watched Tang Long's steady figure from behind, and felt a sense of unease creeping over him...
Tang Long clutched Lionel Messi's jersey in his hand, trying to maintain his balance as he walked towards the players' tunnel, his calves throbbing with pain.
However, he noticed that all the Barca players he passed along the way were staring at him intently.
There was nothing he could do but endure the pain and put on a nonchalant smile.
It wasn't a forced show of bravado; Tang Long was simply using this relaxed expression to put pressure on the Barca players, given that the two teams still had one more match to play at the Etihad four times.
After enduring the pain and entering the away team's locker room, Tang Long collapsed onto the floor, hissing and calling out his underling Bonazzoli's name, asking him to come and stretch his legs.
But what reached out was a pair of soft, delicate little hands.
Gracie braced Tang Long's legs against her waist and pressed down hard to relieve his cramping pain.
She said with a half-smile, "I've been following you all this way. You thought you were pretty capable? I thought you were alright, but it turns out you were just pretending."
"Just lie still."
"You don't need to do anything!"
"If you don't behave, you're finished."
Inside a physiotherapy room in Manchester City.
Tang Long lay nervously on the massage chair, turning his head to look at Gracie, who was sitting halfway up on it, holding a cupping jar high, preparing to press it onto his back.
"Are you sure you can handle this? Maybe we should just call it a day," Tang Long tentatively suggested.
"No, I came back from studying at the University of Manchester specifically to learn this cupping therapy technique from your Traditional Chinese Medicine. You have to be the first test subject. You're China, so you must have experience. Watch whether my technique is correct."
Gracie gently patted Tang Long's back a few times, then pressed down the cupping jar.
The small glass bottle, burning with a pale blue flame, went out after it touched Tang Long's back.
Under the vacuum, the covered skin began to bulge exaggeratedly, and Tang Long felt a tingling numbness in his muscles, so he couldn't help but groan "Ah!"
Seeing this, Bonazzoli was so frightened that he waved his hands repeatedly, said he was not doing it anymore, and slipped out the door.
Once upon a time, cupping was considered torture by Europe, and traditional Chinese medicine clinics in Europe Chinatowns didn't even dare to openly offer this service to customers.
The topic of cupping therapy in Traditional Chinese Medicine has started to emerge among professional athletes in Europe, though it's unclear when exactly.
Real Madrid player Benzema was the first to try it, posting a picture of his back covered in cupping marks on his social media, calling it the best recovery method ever, and more players began to try it out of curiosity.
After trying it, I found that it worked very well!
It promotes blood circulation, removes blood stasis, clears the meridians, strengthens the body's vital energy, eliminates dampness, relieves physical fatigue, and restores the players' vitality.
However, the team doctors of Europe professional football teams are all trained in Western medicine; they wouldn't know this.
A few daring players could only go to traditional Chinese medicine clinics.
Gracie noticed this, and coincidentally, her alma mater, the University of Manchester, was recently engaged in a technical exchange with a hospital in China, which involved cupping, an ancient Eastern therapy.
Gracie volunteered to participate, completed a month of training, and has just returned from the program.
Tang Long wasn't afraid of cupping, he was just a little unsure about Gracie's skill level and worried that he might injure himself.
However, seeing how skillful Gracie's technique was, my worries vanished.
Gracie was having cupping therapy when she heard footsteps outside.
Good heavens!
The first team of more than twenty people, in a grand procession, all poured into the small physiotherapy room, vying for a single room due to a crowded section of the train carriage.
Everyone gathered around Tang Long, filled with a mixture of curiosity and fear.
None of the Manchester City players had ever tried cupping, so Bonazzoli called everyone over to watch.
Agüero was startled and leaned closer to watch Gracie press the burning flask onto Tang Long's back, clicking his tongue in amazement.
"This is a Molotov cocktail! I usually use it to blow up enemies lying prone in the grass!"
After the extraction, Tang Long's back was covered in red spots.
Everyone was talking about it.
Agüero added, "Don, next round against Chelsea, if you score, you absolutely mustn't take off your shirt to celebrate, don't scare the kids!"
A burst of laughter erupted in the locker room, and Gracie chuckled along.