novelraw Chapter 540 - 368: "You haven’t even won the League Champion, what are you showing off in front of me for!
Chapter 540 - 368: "You haven’t even won the League Champion, what are you showing off in front of me for!
This Gundogan is also a veteran player battling in the Bundesliga for many years, and is undoubtedly a key player both in his club and national team.
Right on the day he transferred to Manchester City.
Dortmund’s super striker Aubameyang complained to "Kicker" during a post-match interview, saying it was simply unbelievable for the club to let go of his good brother mid-season, which is very unfavorable for Dortmund and Bayern’s battle for the Bundesliga title!
"Gundogan was let go? I really can’t understand; without the best passer in the Bundesliga, how are we going to compete with Bayern!"
Aubameyang even privately told his friends that with Gundogan gone, he also doesn’t want to play in Dortmund~
Meanwhile, Dortmund’s head coach Tuchel was furious!
He had a big argument with Dortmund’s CEO in the office, refusing to let go of this beloved player until the very last moment.
"Gundogan’s gone, and our midfield’s crippled! A lame Dortmund, is this the result you want to see?"
And numerous German football veterans lamented this transfer greatly.
Retired Kahn said Germany lost a great midfielder!
"We’ve lost another stalwart! Why does everyone want to play in the Premier League, is it really that good? I don’t think so. If you ask me, Gundogan should have stayed in the Bundesliga if he was to transfer, Bayern is his best destination."
Finally, he didn’t forget to slyly hint to the journalists about Aubameyang.
"I don’t know if Aubameyang can hear my plea, but if he wants to transfer, my advice to him is, go to Bayern, stay in this league!"
So, when Gundogan heard Tang Long commenting on his brilliant passing like that, he was instantly infuriated.
If it weren’t in the dressing room, if he weren’t a newcomer, he would certainly have had a big argument with Tang Long, and fired back at him a few times to vent his anger!
I have won a league title in the competition against Bayern.
How many years of professional football have you played as a youngster?
Don’t be fooled by your fame, you won the championship with Inter but still haven’t dealt with Juventus.
What’s your qualification to act all arrogant in front of me when you can’t even handle a domestic league?
What’s with your demeanor?
And saying my passing is too purposeful?
Bah!
Isn’t having a strong purpose good? My purpose is to connect with the forwards and help them score!
Since I achieved my purpose, my pass is a good pass, my role is unique, do you deny this logic?
Gundogan looked at Tang Long’s calm and unruffled face, muttered curses in his heart, eager to punch him right away.
So later when Pellegrini came in to arrange the second half tactics.
Gundogan didn’t listen to a word he said.
The only thing he heard was, "Guys, the League Cup is also a trophy worth fighting for, let’s score the second goal quickly, let’s kill the game!"
Alright!
Let’s keep delivering assists, kill the game.
If the forwards can’t score, I’ll do it myself!
Even Gundogan’s stubble exploded, his whole face full of murderous intent.
...
In the second half, Manchester City made some adjustments.
Pellegrini subbed out the repeatedly missing Iheanacho.
And replaced him with the stronger Bony.
The purpose is to score the second goal as soon as possible.
After all, despite the old Aston Villa players lacking attacking desire, there are still a few young rookies left on the field.
These young players are eager to prove themselves, and you never know when they might mount an attack out of the blue.
When you want to beat someone, you beat them decisively, and then rest during garbage time, this is the Chilean coach’s attitude toward this League Cup semi-final.
"Bony, you’re surely stronger than that Iheanacho, buddy, go for it, you can definitely kill the game!"
Gundogan gave Bony two heavy punches on the chest, tossed a sharp look, and strode toward the players’ tunnel without waiting for a reply.
"Aston Villa, here I come!" Gundogan shouted.
Looking at the murderous figure from Germany, Bony was dumbfounded.
Eh?
This guy is too... vigorous.
No wonder he won the Bundesliga title, the imposing tone when speaking is truly different, just joined the team and talked to me as if I were a younger brother.
Pellegrini’s substitution was immediately effective!
After coming on, Bony provided a completely different impact than Iheanacho.
The Côte d’Ivoire striker has rough footwork, but at least he made his name as a Premier League frontline striker at Swansea, and his spatial and positional awareness far surpassed Premier League freshman Iheanacho.
Especially with his lively movement in the front line.
Bony cherishes every minute of playing time, even in a relatively low-stakes League Cup match, he fights with all he’s got!
He knows he doesn’t have Agüero’s status, nor his technique and intuition.
Wanting to establish himself at Manchester City, he can only rely on a diligent attitude.
Soon, Bony got a chance.
In the 55th minute, Manchester City made a remarkable play from the backfield, with the ball flowing from left to right and then right to left, looping back and forth several times.
Gundogan comprehended the setup, and when he saw the ball return to the central midfielder Fernando’s feet, he suddenly moved back and took the ball.
"Bony!"
Gundogan shouted and passed the ball to the gap Bony was running towards.
He was very confident in his passing skills. Although Aston Villa’s two central defenders noticed it, their reaction was a step slow. They extended their legs, brushed it, but didn’t completely change the ball’s trajectory. Bony continued to sprint, broke through solo, and rewarded with a goal!
"Gundogan assists again!"
"This Manchester City new signing, debuting this season, is performing perfectly on the attacking front!"
"Aston Villa’s defense is like paper in front of him!"
"This is definitely Manchester City’s best transfer this winter window; Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool won’t get much sleep seeing Gundogan’s perfect performance!"
"It can even be said that Gundogan’s performance in the attacking midfielder position is in no way inferior to Tang Long!"
"Tang Long has met a strong competitor in his career!"
Watching Bony happily rushing towards him, Gundogan was also full of pride.
He opened his arms to the sky, feeling deeply intoxicated.
"They all say the Premier League is strong, with fiercer competition than the Bundesliga. To me, it’s nothing special!"
Even at Dortmund, Gundogan rarely connected directly with the forwards twice in a single game.
With two assists already, Gundogan again turned his gaze to Tang Long to see his reaction.
But to Gundogan’s annoyance, Tang Long showed no expression, his gaze blank and distracted.
He didn’t show the surprise Gundogan imagined after witnessing the divine pass.
However, Gundogan was slightly relieved that Pellegrini was quite satisfied with his performance!
He noticed the Chilean whispering with the assistant coach, their gaze directed at him.
"Haha, no matter how much Tang pretends to be calm, Pellegrini’s seen my performance. Ultimately, I’ve shown my skills to everyone!"
What Gundogan didn’t know was.
Pellegrig was softly discussing with assistant coach Rein the irrationality of this pass.
"Playing like this is too direct; the intention is too obvious. His sudden pass as an attacking midfielder still lacks finesse."
"Exactly, boss, it’s just that Villa’s team is too weak. If it were any mid-table Premier League team, this direct pass wouldn’t get through."
"Hmm, he still needs to learn a lot from Tang."
"But his skills, positioning and stamina are excellent. He’s a good personnel addition."
Bony wouldn’t miss any opportunity to run; he’s extremely eager to win in his competition with Agüero.
Though it’s very challenging, with no retreat, Bony can only fight fiercely!
In the 75th minute, Bony successfully connected with Gundogan again.
This time, Gundogan demonstrated his superb foot skills and his familiarity with the forward’s running route.
He dribbled from the flank towards the center, using his hand to ward off interfering opponents while pointing towards Bony and shouting:
"Switch positions, run!"
Slam!
Following Gundogan’s instructions, Bony crossed positions with Gundogan. As they passed each other, Gundogan pushed with his left foot, sending the ball into the penalty area!
In an extremely narrow angle situation, Bony chose the most reasonable method, blasting a shot into the near upper corner!
The goalkeeper thought he’d go for the far corner, misjudged, and could only watch as the ball flew over his head into the net.
Bony scored twice!
Gundogan achieved a hat-trick of assists!
This goal completely ended the match.
Even Villa’s energetic youngsters lost their fighting spirit.
And in the home stands, many fans were leaving dejectedly earlier.
Gundogan roared twice and again looked towards the bench.
This time, he finally saw Tang Long standing up, applauding in his direction, with a surprised expression on his face.
"Hehe, you’ve finally witnessed my skill, Tang. Can’t keep pretending!"
Gundogan was proud that his pass finally amazed Tang Long.
But he didn’t know, Tang Long was actually applauding Bony.
"Andrei, I think Bony’s shooting technique has improved. This kind of tight-angle from the flank, even Agüero might not score."
Tang Long said softly to Ranocchia beside him.
Ranocchia nodded, nudged Tang Long, and gestured towards the far end of the bench at Agüero.
Seeing Agüero’s gloomy face, muttering something, the two stifled their laughter.
"It seems he feels the pressure brought on by Bony."
"No choice, considering Manchester City plays with a single forward. I actually think if they played with two forwards, their technical traits would complement each other!"
"Exactly, it’s really a pity..."