I'll Go It Alone, I Won't Pass, I'll Blast It! This Kick, My Fate Is Mine to Control, Not Heaven's!
Lionel Messi invited two of his striker friends to his home to watch the match together, not only to cheer on Celtic, but also for another reason.
That is, I hope my teammates can learn more about Tang Long, a player Barca must face in their quest for the UEFA Champions League.
As Tang Long's performance in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League has become increasingly impressive, with various incredible goals emerging one after another;
Many media commentators have also called Tang Long the third best player in football today, after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo!
It was also said that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, one 29 years old and the other 31 years old, are already in the latter half of their careers. Once their form declines, they will soon be surpassed by the young and rapidly developing Tang Long.
Suarez and Neymar were both very unhappy when they saw this message!
Not to mention that there are at least 10 active players in the world who are the third best, Tang Long is nowhere near that level;
Suarez and Neymar haven't even said a word yet!
Tang Long, you've scored a lot of goals, but besides one UEFA Europa League and one Premier League title, how many other titles have you won? Do you have UEFA Champions League?
Then there are Suarez and Neymar. Although they both believe they are better than each other, they both have great respect for Lionel Messi, the absolute king of Barca.
"Leo, you're only 29, still young. These media outlets are already hyping it up, saying Tang is going to surpass you. That's utter nonsense! I almost laughed my head off. I wonder if Tang Long is ashamed after hearing this report, hahaha!"
Lionel Messi is both a humble and a proud person.
For the past seven or eight years, the football world has been witnessing an absolute rivalry between the two superstars;
Apart from Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi has never believed that there is a second active player who can compare to him.
He once said, "The rivalry between me and Cristiano Ronaldo will last a long time, and it will be a wonderful memory for the fans."
But as the saying goes, only a genius can truly understand another genius!
Lionel Messi, who reached his peak shortly after his debut, possesses unparalleled talent that is difficult for other players to match; this is a gift from heaven to Argentina football.
Lionel Messi discovered that he and Tang Long shared striking similarities in many ways.
Both achieved fame at a young age, debuting early in top clubs and winning championships in their first season. They also share many similarities in their dribbling skills and composure when shooting.
Take the first leg of the group stage match between Barca and Manchester City as an example. Tang Long's dribbling past five players in the backfield, along with the small, shuffling shoulder movements he used repeatedly, is exactly the dribbling skill that Lionel Messi is famous for!
Furthermore, Lionel Messi discovered that Tang Long's dribbling style was similar to his own: he would make a move first, and then adjust his strategy based on the opponent's reaction.
Instead of like some players who make a move and then charge in regardless of whether the opponent is faked out.
In his few encounters with Tang Long, Lionel Messi also discovered that Tang Long's overall vision on the field and his anticipation of the ball's trajectory were at the same level as his own, and even stronger at times!
But Lionel Messi is already 29 years old. He has won countless championships with Barcelona and has also won numerous individual honors.
Tang Long, on the other hand, is only 20 years old. Even Lionel Messi himself knows very well that Lionel Messi in 2007 is absolutely no match for Tang Long in 2016.
Does this mean that, in terms of talent alone, I am inferior to Tang Long?
Somewhat arrogant, Lionel Messi was unwilling to admit this fact.
He simply shouted a reminder to Suarez and Neymar: "Stop fooling around, the game has started, come watch the game!"
The match unfolded exactly as Guardiola had predicted beforehand, becoming a one-sided affair.
However, this "side" does not refer to the score on the field, but rather to the possession rate of both sides.
In the first 20 minutes, Manchester City's possession rate reached an astonishing 85%!
Before Celtic could even touch the ball twice, possession immediately returned to Manchester City.
Guardiola, watching from the sidelines, clearly understood that Celtic weren't completely out of control of the ball. While their squad value and player quality were indeed inferior to Manchester City's, they weren't necessarily in such a sorry state at home.
Guardiola's mind went blank for a moment. "Just as I expected, this is going to be difficult."
The Celtic manager is Rodgers, who is from Northern Ireland.
Before taking the reins at Celtic, he the Reds Liverpool for three seasons.
Although Rodgers failed to lead Liverpool to any honors during their slump at the time, he was also sacked midway through the season.
However, after experiencing the training of top teams, Rodgers has become much more mature, has a broader perspective, and is also very composed.
After suffering a humiliating 0-3 defeat to Manchester City in the first round of this season's UEFA Champions League, Rodgers learned from his mistakes and immediately adjusted his tactics upon returning home.
In this match, he deployed a very conservative 5-4-1 formation, indicating his intention to defend against Manchester City to the bitter end.
He also instructed the players not to dribble the ball around even after receiving it, and not to pass it laterally too much.
Because of Manchester City's strong high-pressing tactics, the players are prone to making mistakes, which can easily lead to them being attacked.
Therefore, during the opening period, the Celtic did not touch the ball, and their only attack was a long ball from the backfield directly to the forwards.
Whether we can find it or not is secondary; the goal is to prevent the ball from being deliberately intercepted or stolen during the offensive process!
Celtic are dominant in the Scotland Premiership, especially against their old rivals Glasgow Rangers. After Rangers went bankrupt and were relegated, Celtic were unstoppable throughout the Scottish Premiership, sweeping all before them.
The fans accepted losing to Manchester City away from home, but why did they act like cowards at home?
Celtic Park was packed with 59,000 fans, almost overflowing. Seeing the team's timid performance, the fans booed loudly.
"What are you doing? Attack!"
"Rodgers, take out your manhood and let's see!"
"Is this a half-court offense and defense drill? Get out there, guys!"
"We bought tickets to watch the UEFA Champions League, not to get beaten up!"
"We Scotland have never been afraid of England!"
Amidst a deafening chorus of boos from the fans, the Celtic players on the court appeared somewhat apprehensive.
They looked at manager Rodgers with expectant eyes, hoping he would let them push forward a bit. After all, they had no chance against the away loss, but back at home, these Scotland Celtic players still wanted to fight Manchester City, even if they couldn't win!
But Rodgers just happened to be able to keep his composure.
The fans' curses were practically exploding on his head, but Rodgers calmly pressed his hands down, directing his players' defense.
"Dembele, who told you to run so far forward? Get back to your half, retreat!"
"Rogic, close the distance with Bitton!"
"Brown! Lustig! Are you two crazy? I told you not to get drawn out by Don, get back to your positions!"
"Push the formation back a little further, flatten it out a bit more, compress it a bit more!"
Rodgers' shouts were so loud that they were clearly recorded by the sound system on the sidelines and transmitted to the live broadcast.
Neymar, who has a basic understanding of English, was quite unhappy about what he heard.
"What a cowardly coach! He's playing on his own turf, just sticking his neck out and letting the opponent beat him up. He has no backbone!"
Suarez chimed in, "Good grief, even we Barca don't play like this against the bottom-ranked relegation teams in La Liga. Does Rodgers really think he can hold on for a 0-0 draw? I doubt it."
Lionel Messi nodded, indicating his approval of Rodgers' tactics.
"At least for now, the Celtic, who are the underdogs, haven't shown any weaknesses in their defense, and they haven't been dispossessed in their own half. That's quite an achievement for them; they've done a very good job."
Rodgers clearly intended to defend desperately, packing a large number of players into the middle.
They don't care how Manchester City passes the ball from their own half and down the flanks;
But once the ball needs to be moved to the center or the flanks of the penalty area, the passing lanes are blocked!
Manchester City's style of play is based on possession and passing, primarily using ground passing.
After Guardiola arrived at Manchester City, he also carried out a systematic transformation of the team, leading the players to develop a mindset of ground passing and possession.
This style of play also helped them become invincible in the Premier League.
However, today, Manchester City faced their toughest opponent of the season against Celtic.
They discovered that no matter how they moved the ball left and right, and no matter how the forwards and midfielders switched positions, the Celtic just stuck to their zone defense and refused to leave their defensive positions!
They turned a deaf ear to any attempts to lure them out.
Tang Long repeatedly sought opportunities to pass and break through on the left flank.
However, after he got past the first Celtic player, the second one immediately pounced on him. After getting past the second one, a third one appeared, and after getting past the third one, several more Celtic players appeared in front of him.
This was a very unusual scene, because the Celtic's formation was very tight, and the distance between them for mutual support was also very short. Tang Long's shots after breaking through were all blocked and deflected by the defenders.
Even Tang Long struggled to break through the encirclement, let alone Sterling, another starting player.
Celtic were forced to field six defenders, resulting in a densely packed penalty area filled with legs. Their tall striker, Bonazzoli, struggled against the towering Scotland defenders and was repeatedly sandwiched, suffering greatly.
"Well done, that's how you play!" Rodgers applauded from the sidelines.
In the blink of an eye, 40 minutes had passed.
Manchester City maintained over 80% possession but still failed to break through the opponent's goal.
Seeing this, Lionel Messi, who was watching the game in the living room, smiled knowingly and analyzed it to his friends Suarez and Neymar:
"After playing football for so many years, I've come to realize more and more that the gap between professional players isn't as big as we imagine. Take Celtic, for example. Although they're not as good as Manchester City in every aspect, if the whole team plays defensively and sticks together, it's not so easy to break through them. Look at Tang, he hasn't really had any impact. I think..."
Just as Lionel Messi finished speaking, a loud bang suddenly came from the television!
The loud bang came out of nowhere, as if it would almost shatter an LCD TV screen, and all eyes were on Tang Long!
Tang Long dropped back to midfield and unleashed a powerful shot from 35 meters out!
That powerful shot was still blocked by the defender's stomach.
The Celtic player who was hit immediately clutched his stomach and crouched on the ground.
Lionel Messi, Suarez, and Neymar were all secretly alarmed, exchanging speechless glances.
They all thought to themselves, "How painful would it be if that ball landed on me?"
Suarez said, "If the ball can't get inside, then we can only take a long shot and guess whether it goes in or not. There's nothing we can do about it."
In the blink of an eye, before the others could even feel the pain, Tang Long rushed forward and unleashed another fierce attack as the ball bounced back!
Before Tang Long took his shot this time, Thiago on the side shouted to him, "Don't try to do it alone, there are too many people, we can't get through," indicating that he should pass the ball to Navas on the wing and then cross it in;
But Tang Long paid no heed. He charged forward at incredible speed, completing the forward dash, leg swing, supporting leg landing, right foot striking the ball, and then his body flying out in a fraction of a second!
The movements were executed in one fluid motion!
Especially the step taken with the supporting foot, the range of motion was extremely large, bringing with it a sharp gust of wind, like Tiger Descends the Mountain!
The shot was incredibly fast, passing right through the gap in the middle, through the wall of four Celtic players in the center, like passing through a raging storm on a beach, breaking through layers of water walls, and then heading towards the goal without any further hindrance!
The ball was perfectly positioned, and goalkeeper Gordon saw it coming and made a save.
However, when he made his save with both hands, his originally straight palms made contact with the ball, but were suddenly struck backward by the powerful force—his palms instantly bent backward at a 90-degree angle!
With a snap, he leaned back and slapped the ball into the net!