Thunderous Header Blows the Horn of Pursuit! The Golden Boot Race Ignites a Final Sprint!
Looking at the top five Europe Top Five Leagues, whether it's the passionate Premier League, the tactically rigorous Italian Serie A, the tenacious Bundesliga, the technically refined La Liga, or the romantic and carefree Ligue 1 1, they all invariably present the same scene in the final round of each season.
In the final round, the players of those teams struggling to avoid relegation gritted their teeth and gave it their all, all in order to maintain their standing in the top league.
The powerhouse teams, fighting for the championship, are completely focused and dare not slack off in the slightest, as every point is crucial to the ownership of the championship trophy;
Meanwhile, the teams fighting for European qualification are also giving their all on the field, striving to stand on the Europe stage next season.
However--
Aside from these teams carrying a heavy mission, all other teams often played open and exciting matches in the final round of the league.
By this time, the players had shed their heavy burdens and were fully expressing their love for football on the field.
Statistics show that the average number of goals per game in the Top Five Leagues is around 2.5.
Surprisingly, the number of goals scored in the first and last rounds of the league was unusually high, especially in the last round, where the average number of goals scored increased to over 3.5!
The reason for this is not hard to understand. The players have played a whole season and are exhausted, both physically and mentally. It's like they've worked a whole year and finally reached the last day, about to start their vacation.
At this moment, they were excited and energized, with less psychological burden. They were more proactive in attacking, and even neglected defense to some extent, only thinking about using a thrilling game to bring the whole season to a perfect end!
Before the match, in the away team's locker room.
The Sunderland players appeared remarkably relaxed.
The TV in the locker room was playing pre-match news, but several players were gathered in a corner playing cards.
The head coach sat in a chair, legs crossed, chatting casually with his assistant coach.
The relegation victory celebration from a week ago still seems to be lingering, with many players still looking tired from a hangover, and some even secretly stuffing hangover pills into their mouths.
"I heard they're going to help that China kid get the Golden Boot?" a defender said while shuffling the cards.
"Whatever, it's none of our business anyway," another player shrugged. "As long as we don't get injured, we'll be on vacation after this game."
In contrast, the atmosphere in the home team's locker room was completely different.
Manchester City CEO Berrada stood before the tactics board, his expression serious. "Guys, this is more than just a game. The European Golden Shoe hasn't been won by Premier League player for many years, let alone anyone in Manchester City's history. Don is now only five goals behind Cristiano Ronaldo, and we must give him our full support!"
Guardiola added from the sidelines, "Remember, attack! Attack! Attack again! We need to create opportunities and get the ball to Tang's feet."
Tang Long sat in front of the locker, silently tying his shoelaces.
Last season, he scored 51 goals in the league, five goals shy of Cristiano Ronaldo's record of 56.
The gap widened suddenly because he failed to score in the previous round, while his rivals completed a hat-trick.
Agüero walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "It's up to you today. Just tell me what you need me to do."
Gündoğan said casually, "I think we can play more directly, without so many short passes. We can just lob the ball to the wing and let Tang freely take on their defenders one-on-one. Sunderland definitely won't be interested in getting entangled with him."
Although the players had already secured the Premier League title for the season and were free of pressure, the whole team shared a common goal before the match: to do everything in their power to help Tang Long.
Even if there's only a 1% chance, we must help Tang Long 'Cristiano Ronaldo goal tally and win the European Golden Shoe this season!
CEO Berrada understands the importance of the European Golden Shoe to the club's brand influence. His first appearance in the locker room this season, specifically to give the players a pep talk before the match, stems from this understanding—
If Manchester City wants to break into the global scene like Real Madrid, Barca, and Manchester United and become a world-class club, they can't rely on Agüero or Kompany; they must rely on Tang Long's influence!
Head coach Guardiola has high hopes for Tang Long, and he certainly hopes that the young Tang Long can win the European Golden Shoe like his former protégé Lionel Messi.
Since the start of this season, with the Portuguese-speaking Faction and French-speaking Faction within Manchester City being eliminated, the entire team has become united and determined.
Tang Long's status within Manchester City has been steadily rising, and his influence has surpassed that of vice-captain Agüero, and even shows a tendency to overshadow captain Kompany.
Manchester City players enjoy playing with Tang Long and have great respect for him.
On the field, they worked closely together, passing the ball to Tang Long to create attacking opportunities for him;
Off the court, they stood closely united around Tang Long, like inseparable brothers.
They also hope that this teammate on the field and good brother off the field can win the European Golden Shoe, the highest honor for a striker!
"Let's give it our all," captain Kompany rallied the team. "If Don can beat Cristiano Ronaldo and win the European Golden Shoe, it won't just be Don's honor, it'll be an honor for all of us!"
From the start of the match, both sides launched a decisive offensive.
Manchester City's players pounced on Sunderland's defense like hungry wolves.
Tang Long constantly sought opportunities to break through on the left flank, his footwork agile and varied.
Sunderland's players played with more freedom and engaged in an attacking battle with Manchester City!
However, Manchester City, with their superior strength, far surpassed the Black Cats had just secured their place in the league, in seizing opportunities and assessing the situation.
Just five minutes into the first half, Tang Long cut inside from the left wing. His movements were light and agile. He first flicked the ball and then dribbled past a defender with a simple change of direction.
Immediately afterwards, he executed Marseille Turn, the ball moving like an obedient sprite at his feet, slipping between the legs of another Sunderland defender.
Tang Long charged into the penalty area, creating a brief vacuum in Sunderland's defense, leaving Tang Long unmarked!
Just when everyone thought Tang Long was about to shoot, he made an unexpected decision, passing the ball sideways to Agüero in the middle.
"Ah, why isn't he shooting?!" Diletta, sitting in the stands, exclaimed, covering her mouth.
Diletta knew that Tang Long definitely remembered the bet they made.
Yesterday he shot at himself six times, which meant Tang Long needed to score six goals, meaning he needed to overtake Cristiano Ronaldo to win the European Golden Shoe —but why didn't he shoot when he had such a good opportunity?
Agüero in the middle lane was also taken aback.
Tang Long hadn't even moved before passing the ball, so when the ball came to his feet, Agüero suddenly realized what was happening and hastily pushed the ball into the air.
Fortunately, the shot had enough power, and although the angle wasn't particularly difficult, it still found the back of the net, making the score 1-0.
"There's no need to give me this position, you can play for it yourself." Agüero smiled helplessly at Tang Long and gave him a high five in celebration.
"No rush, there's still plenty of time. That spot has a relatively small angle, let's warm up first. You can shoot if you want," Tang Long said calmly.
His face remained completely expressionless, as if everything was under his control.
Tang Long, on the other hand, seemed completely unconcerned, appearing calm and confident of victory. However, Diletta in the stands was getting anxious.
Her hands were clasped tightly together, her eyes fixed on Tang Long on the field, silently praying that he could score a goal as soon as possible.
She even began to regret getting so passionate with Tang Long last night, worrying that it might affect his performance.
"He didn't shoot when he should have. Did I make his legs weak? Sigh, if I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have..." Diletta blushed and covered her face with her hands in embarrassment.
However, before Diletta could even remove his hand, Manchester City immediately launched a second wave of attack.
Just as Sunderland took the cross from the halfway line, facing Manchester City's sudden high press, Sunderland had no choice but to pass the ball back to the goalkeeper, managing a long kick that went high and far.
Ranocchia stood in the center of the field like a high-voltage power tower. With a slight contraction of his waist and a flick of his head, the ball flew precisely to the right wing.
Sunderland's defensive line didn't have time to push forward, so right full-back Navas wasn't offside.
Just when everyone thought Navas was going to control the ball before passing it, the diminutive Spain full-back surprised everyone by suddenly tapping the high volley into the middle with the instep of his foot.
"Ah! Great shot!" A shout from the Manchester City fans in the stands instantly snapped Diletta out of his reverie.
She looked up and saw Tang Long rushing from the left flank towards the center at lightning speed!
Tang Long then leaped high into the air, his body stretching out like a soaring eagle.
"He jumped so high!" With a gasp from Diletta, Tang Long leaped so high that his knees reached the Sunderland player's chest, and he slammed his forehead into the top of the ball.
[The ball's trajectory was detected to be one meter to the left of the penalty spot. Please start the game early!]
Tang Long's header was both accurate and steady because the moment Navas touched the ball, everyone thought he was going to stop it, but Tang Long's AI System constantly monitored Navas's body language and quickly transmitted the information that he was going to cross the ball using brainwaves. Furthermore, it had already indicated the landing point when the ball was 10 centimeters away from his foot.
That's why Tang Long was able to make a high-speed run down the left flank ahead of time, and use his momentum to leap high into the air, becoming the most dazzling player in the penalty area!
At that moment, the whole world consisted only of him and that soccer ball!
"Bang!"
Tang Long smashed a header from the penalty spot!
Tang Long anticipated the move and launched himself forward. The momentum from his jump was immense, and he cleverly used the power of his waist, abdomen, and cervical spine. The ball hit the ground with great force and bounced off the ground. Even if Sunderland's goalkeeper Pickford had three heads and six arms, he was caught off guard and watched helplessly as the ball crashed into his left side.
Looking at the ground, a crater has appeared in the grass where the impact occurred!
"Goal! Goal! Tang Long scores!"
The moment the ball went into the net, Diletta seemed to have springs in his feet, and he involuntarily jumped up.
Her face beamed with excitement and joy as she embraced a Manchester City fan she didn't know.
It wasn't just Diletta was so excited; all the Manchester City fans around him were hugging and high-fiving each other. Many of them didn't actually know each other, but sitting on this field, in the stands of the Etihad, their hearts were tightly connected.
Everyone shared the belief that they not only had to win the final match of the league, but they had to win it beautifully, score a lot of goals, and most importantly, Tang Long had to score at least six goals!
Guardiola, standing nearby, subconsciously shook his hand and said to Chivu:
"How come Tang's headers are getting more and more impressive? Have you been giving him extra practice on this in training? That header just now, that kind of powerful header, in my memory only Cristiano Ronaldo can do."
Chivu smiled and shook his head once, paused, and then shook his head a second time.
"No, I didn't give him any extra training in heading."
"Also, I don't think Cristiano Ronaldo was able to score such a header. The key to this goal was his anticipation of the ball's trajectory. I don't think anyone else in world football besides Tang Long has such amazing predictive ability."
Guardiola couldn't help but chuckle.
"If you say that, I'm sure someone watching on TV will be unhappy."
Indeed, the situation is exactly as Guardiola described.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who has already ended his La Liga campaign early, is currently watching Manchester City's match on television.
When Navas received Ranocchia's header without stopping it and tapped it towards the center with the instep of his foot, Cristiano Ronaldo exclaimed "Ah!" and his eyes lit up. His reaction was no different from that of the Manchester City fans in the stadium, thinking, "You can pass like that? That's a really bold pass."
Then Tang Long suddenly appeared at the landing point and headed in a powerful header that seemed to lift mountains and overwhelm the world. Cristiano Ronaldo's pupils suddenly contracted, and a thousand words were stuck in his throat. Even if he had a thousand shouts, he could not utter them for a moment.
In that instant, the 32-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo looked around and saw his 22-year-old self reflected in his eyes.
Back then, he had perfect knees and ankles, and he could run as fast and jump as high as Tang Long Longchong.
After a long while, once Sunderland had restarted the game, Cristiano Ronaldo finally came to his senses, but his heart was still in his throat.
"That header was absolutely incredible. Even if I were to head it 20 times now, I'd have a hard time managing one."
Cristiano Ronaldo felt a surge of anxiety, a worry creeping into his heart. "After this goal, Tang Long's goal tally has reached 52, four goals behind me. Is he really going to catch up?"
His heart was filled with worry, and Tang Long's brilliant performances on the court kept flashing through his mind. He was uneasy and anxious.
He then consoled himself, "Impossible, absolutely impossible! He's never scored more than five goals in a single match before, and it's impossible for that to happen in the final match of the league season. He still has the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League final to play, so he'll definitely hold back. Guardiola might even substitute him in the second half."