Etihad's Blood-Red Dusk--"This is the level of competition for a Champions League powerhouse!"

7:45.

The sun dipped low in the corner of the Etihad Stadium, its golden light soon to be swallowed by the night.

Inside the Etihad Stadium, in a temperature of 5°C, the players' breath instantly turned into white mist.

Manchester City captain Kompany, with a solemn expression, led his teammates onto the pitch.

Bayern player Lewandowski, wearing a pair of gold boots, paused before stepping onto the pitch. He turned his head slightly and met Tang Long's gaze as they passed by.

They all wanted to sized each other up!

Sparks seemed to hiss in the air—a silent contest between top players.

Referee Cunha stood in the center circle, his sharp gaze sweeping over the players poised to pounce at both ends of the field.

A whistle blew, sharp and urgent!

In an instant, the roar of 60,000 Manchester City fans surged forth, as if to overturn the entire stadium.

"City!"

"City!"

"City!"

The moment the opening whistle blew, Manchester City, like a lion that had been lying in wait, surged towards Bayern's half.

After receiving the Gündoğan quickly combined beautifully with Thiago in the center circle.

Their passing was like silverfish darting nimbly through water, completing three seamless one-two passes, and the ball quickly penetrated Bayern's territory.

Just then, Tang Long, the left winger, was like a pale blue lightning bolt, swiftly advancing along the diagonal line!

What sets him apart from other wingers is his incredibly strong desire to Tang Long into the penalty area. This sudden forward run from the wing towards the center often creates a surprise effect.

The right flank defense hastily erected by Robben and Alaba was torn open by Tang Long, creating a fatal gap.

"Tang!"

Gündoğan seized the opportunity, shouted, and simultaneously sent a through ball. The ball, spinning sharply, grazed Vidal's outstretched toe, aimed at the gap between Robben and Alaba, and rolled towards Tang Long.

The moment Tang Long started, Bayern's entire defensive line seemed to be pulled forward by an invisible rope, collectively pressing forward rapidly—this was to create an offside trap!

Unfortunately, Tang Long was already marked and used an S-shaped running pattern, a technique he learned from Icardi when he was at Inter Milan. He sprinted in a zigzag pattern on the offside line, just in time to catch Gündoğan's through pass.

Boateng instinctively raised his hand to signal offside, but the linesman did not react.

No offside!

"We must attack!"

Faced with a one-on-one opportunity, the experienced Neuer decisively abandoned his post and rushed towards Tang Long, attempting to block the angle.

Tang Long slotted the ball into the far corner!

The hearts of all the fans in the stadium were in their throats, their eyes glued to the trajectory of the ball.

However, Neuer demonstrated the extraordinary reflexes and save ability of a world-class goalkeeper, desperately using his leg to block the ball out of bounds at the last second.

"That was close!" The Germany goalkeeper lay on the grass, panting heavily, looking at the twilight sky over Etihad, thankful he had escaped a close call.

Tang Long stroked his chin, looking at Neuer lying disheveled on the ground, and was secretly surprised.

"No Premier League goalkeeper could have saved such a one-on-one chance, but Neuer actually managed to save it. If I had known, it would have been safer to get past him and shoot into the empty net. I underestimated him."

On the sidelines, Guardiola waved his hands and shouted at the players on the field:

"Remind Sterling to watch out for runs through the gaps in the flanks! The opponent will definitely strengthen their defense on that side!"

The live stream chat became lively.

[Wow, Tang Long already made a show of force just 5 minutes into the game.]

[That was so close! What a pity! I've never seen anything like it. Tang Long actually missed a one-on-one chance?]

-[I can't remember the last time Tang Long missed a one-on-one opportunity.]

-[That was a great one-on-one shot! Neuer was really on fire, no wonder Tang Long is like this.]

- [It's okay, strikers need to shoot more. This is just a warm-up; the real show is yet to come.]

As the Bundesliga powerhouse, Bayern plays in the UEFA Champions League every year, and their players have more experience in the UEFA Champions League than their rivals, Manchester City.

Although they were nearly conceded a goal after Tang Long's early warning, Bayern's players remained calm and composed, showing no signs of panic.

Bayern's counterattack was as swift and fierce as lightning.

Vidal made a shrewd interception of Thiago and Ranocchia's passes in midfield, and then delivered a long pass that accurately found Lewandowski making a forward run.

The Poland striker charged toward the ball like a cannonball, Kompany chased after him with all his might. The two men's arms were tangled together, and their clothes were torn out of shape.

Neither of them spoke during the confrontation; their breaths mingled, and they could both hear each other's heavy breathing.

This kind of pulling is very common in the UEFA Champions League; both sides make moves, but the referee won't call a foul.

In the heat of the physical battle, Kompany was unexpectedly thrown to the ground by Lewandowski!

"Nice shot!"

Lewandowski shouted something to himself, and before Stones could come to cover, he unleashed a powerful shot!

The football, like a cannonball, flew straight towards the far corner. If it hadn't hit the very corner of the crossbar and post and bounced out of bounds, starting goalkeeper Bravo would have been watching helplessly as the ball was sent flying.

Guardiola frowned and said to Chivu, "Lewandowski is still so strong, I feel he's even stronger than when I coached Bayern last year!"

Chivu for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "No rush. Kompany is experienced; he knows how to adjust himself against Lewandowski."

In the 18th minute of the match, Bayern's defense showed another crack.

This stems from Manchester City's relentless passing from side to side in midfield, as they emphasize utilizing the width of the pitch.

Since Guardiola arrived at Manchester City, he has deliberately widened the sidelines of the Etihad Stadium by one meter, from 67 meters to 68 meters, in order to make it easier to stretch the opponent's defense with passes.

The Camp Nou stadium is also very wide, and Guardiola likes to execute tactics on wide pitches, which gives him more freedom and ease.

Don't underestimate that extra meter. It was precisely because midfielders Alonso and Vidal were running back and forth following Manchester City's passes that they were a step too slow in covering for each other, creating a gap that allowed Gündoğan's pass to penetrate.

Sterling received the pass on the right wing!

In this match, Manchester City maintained their 4-3-3 formation, with Tang Long, Agüero, and Sterling as the three starting forwards.

Tang Long, along with the other two, are both short, fast-paced forwards who excel at ground-based tactics.

"Haha, Sterling's showing off his delicate hand gestures again!"

"That's his signature dribbling move."

"He was twisting his body back and forth, and his buttocks were so prominent that they almost covered the camera in this close-up!"

"Spik the ball, spike the ball, spike the ball again!"

"Sterling made three consecutive incisive cuts in from the sideline, stunning Boateng!"

Sterling successfully broke through Boateng's defense, but due to a heavy dribble to completely shake off Boateng's center of gravity, he dribbled the ball to the byline and lost the opportunity to cut inside.

Chivu watched from the sidelines, thinking, "This is the difference between Sterling and Tang Long in terms of dribbling skills; they still need more practice."

Sterling hesitated for a second, then could only pass the ball back in a triangular pass to the edge of the penalty area!

This was a good choice, because Gündoğan was already waiting there. He took a deep breath and unleashed a powerful shot!

The football, accompanied by a whistling sound, flew straight towards the top left corner of the goal.

The entire audience held their breath, their eyes glued to the football.

At this critical moment, Neuer leaped high into the air like a spring, his body stretching out to its limit in the air, his fingertips barely touching the football.

The football's trajectory was altered, and it grazed the crossbar before going out of bounds.

A huge sigh erupted from the crowd; the fans couldn't believe it—the ball hadn't gone in!?

Gündoğan, furious, slapped his thigh and said to Tang Long beside him, "What kind of goalkeeper is this? Has he taken his meds?"

Commentator Zhan Jun shouted excitedly:

"This is a match between UEFA Champions League powerhouses!"

"The shot was brilliant, and the save was absolutely unbeatable!"

"Gündoğan has proven himself to be one of the best midfielders in the Premier League."

"And Neuer proved he is still the world's best goalkeeper!"

"Such a difficult save is simply unbelievable!"