novelraw Chapter 550 - 375: He Retreats, He Pursues, He Can’t Escape!
Chapter 550 - 375: He Retreats, He Pursues, He Can’t Escape!
- [Whoa, that went in?]
- [I’m dying of laughter, Tang Long is leading Joe Allen and Emre Can around like monkeys!]
- [This is Tang Long’s signature ground strike, paired with Agüero’s signature offside trap-breaking, they’re a perfect match!]
- [Forget about some sugar-coated combination, the Long Luo Combination is number one in the world!]
- [Zhan Jun’s voice is so hoarse from shouting, hahaha!]
- [I understand him, the more excited he shouts, the more tragic he feels inside!]
- [Feeling for Jun, working people just have to go with the flow~]
Off the field.
Klopp stared in disbelief.
The winter breeze at Etihad Stadium messed up Klopp’s hair.
But at this moment, he had no mind to fix his hair.
He simply couldn’t believe one fact.
Clearly, after taking office and careful training, Joe Allen and Emre Can’s midfield defense had been incredibly fierce, often intercepting with "letting the ball pass but not the player".
But this time, one chased after Tang Long from the front, the other from behind, running along about ten or twenty meters, yet they couldn’t disrupt Tang Long’s advancement?
What in the world is this.
It’s not scientific!
In training, they weren’t like this at all.
As for Tang Long’s ground strike pass to Agüero.
It made Klopp’s heart leap, almost jumping out of his chest and falling to the ground!
Countless times—
Klopp had seen Tang Long’s through balls countless times!
In Liverpool’s video analysis room, on phone highlights, and even casually on TV replays while eating in a restaurant.
He knew Tang Long’s passes were strong, so strong that even if a typical defender predicted the path in advance, intercepting was nearly impossible!
But.
This time at Etihad Stadium, for the first time since he took office last October, seeing Tang Long’s pass live on the scene, that kind of visual impact from experience profoundly shook him!
"Why does it feel like this kid passes as easily as playing FIFA?"
Klopp rubbed the stubble on his chin, his eyes unfocused.
In stark contrast to this.
Five meters away, Pellegrini, although his hair was white and tousled by the winter wind, had eyes that shone with unconcealable delight!
"Well done, keep playing like this!"
Pellegrini lifted a corner of his black windbreaker and stepped on a case on the ground, looking spirited.
He was very satisfied with the pre-match tactical arrangement.
Especially Toure, who very well fulfilled the role of a standing pillar, distracting the opponent’s defense line, creating space for Agüero to break the offside trap.
In the stands, Bayern’s scout Raymond pondered for a moment, then opened a page on his scout notebook and wrote a line:
[A tall center forward player can always bring help to the team]
Amid the cheers of sixty thousand fans, Agüero rushed towards Tang Long to high-five in celebration!
"Haha, I knew it, I just had to run!"
After hugging Agüero, Tang Long quickly ran towards Yaya Toure.
"Toure, this goal is thanks to you!"
Toure was walking back, surprised to hear Tang Long say this.
But when Tang Long explained that it was his tall body that blocked another defender Lovren’s view, creating space for Agüero.
Toure gave a knowing smile.
"In my forward position, it’s only natural to do so, it’s instinct."
Indeed.
Toure, standing at 1.9 meters tall, with his big build, when he leans in, Lovren’s vision goes dark, seeing nothing.
The Ivorian stood like a mountain in front of Liverpool’s penalty area, this is the deterrence of a pillar player!
However, Yaya Toure didn’t celebrate excessively.
Because his brother, Kolo Toure, sat dejectedly on the ground.
It was his offside trap mistake that gave Agüero the chance to score.
Thinking it might be their last match against each other in the Premier League, Toure didn’t want to upset his big brother and went over to help him up and offer some comfort.
Big Toure looked frustrated, saying to little Toure:
"Agüero is just too strong, I clearly saw through his offside trap, why couldn’t I stop him?"
Little Toure shook his head with a laugh, softly telling his brother:
"You still don’t get it in the second round, big brother, the key isn’t Agüero, it’s Tang. It’s not your fault for the goal, you did your best, keep fighting!"
...
Center circle.
Liverpool’s players were waiting to kick off.
Gundogan, standing next to Tang Long, couldn’t help but look him up and down.
This was his first time examining Tang Long’s physique so closely.
About the same height as himself, build not as strong as his, face much younger.
Both playing at the same defensive midfield position, why could he achieve what Gundogan couldn’t!
As for organizing the ball in the backfield, Gundogan wasn’t inferior to Tang Long;
Even for outpassing with the non-dominant foot, he was more accurate than Tang Long.
But when it came to advancing the ball from the back and then delivering a deadly pass, Gundogan felt he was far behind Tang Long!
Take that recent ground strike for instance.
While playing at Dortmund, Gundogan faced off many times against De Bruyne from Wolfsburg.
Once upon a time, the Belgian’s dazzling ground strike made Gundogan full of envy;
After the match, he even exchanged jerseys with him and tried to imitate it many times during training.
Finally, once in a Bundesliga match, Gundogan skillfully replicated this move and delivered a ground strike of the same quality to his then-teammate Aubameyang!
"I did it! What De Bruyne can do, I can do too!"
Gundogan was ecstatic.
He used to think that De Bruyne’s ground strike was quite simply number one in the world of football!
But.
When he came to Manchester City.
When he ran on the field at the Etihad.
When Tang Long, as a teammate, saw him deliver this ground strike. Gundogan’s entire understanding of the ground strike technique was completely overturned!
Forget De Bruyne!
In today’s world of football, the master of ground strike passing is none other than Tang Long!
And me?
I’m already 25!
Yet I’m not as good as Tang Long, who’s just been playing for a little over a year.
After all these years, I need to reflect on whether I’ve been training seriously, whether I’ve been diligently studying!
"Tang, can you teach me that ground strike move in tomorrow’s training, your technique is just incredible!"
Taking advantage of the break before the play resumed, Gundogan quickly tried to get on Tang Long’s good side.
Tang Long gave a faint smile and nodded.
Clearly, Gundogan still hadn’t grasped the essence.
His own ground strike didn’t rely on technique.
It was the anticipation of Aguero’s timing of movement that was the key to breaking through!
Back to the match.
Now Liverpool found themselves in a dilemma.
Originally, Klopp’s pre-match plan was to go all-out attack for 15 minutes, and if they could sneak a goal, they would immediately fall back;
If not, they would still fall back for a defensive counterattack.
However, unforeseen circumstances arose.
Klopp’s team barely held out for 15 minutes.
People’s desires are insatiable like snakes swallowing elephants, and fate ultimately catches up!
In the 16th minute, Klopp recklessly insisted on having the players press forward to force, and as a result, they were immediately dealt a critical blow by Manchester City.
Now, what should the whole team do?
Although Klopp was a bit flustered, he quickly calmed down and didn’t let the team push forward drastically just because they were trailing—he knew that would only lead to a worse defeat!
So, he still instructed the players to pull back according to the established tactics and play defensively with counterattacks to find a glimmer of hope.
Milner, however, was hopping mad!
In his heart, he kept cursing Klopp:
"Either attack to the end or defend to the end, attack for a bit, then fall back, and now you’re trailing by a goal—how do you expect us to play? Absolutely maddening!"
In this match, Milner’s desire for victory surpassed that of all the Liverpool players.
Football is truly a small circle.
Especially for someone like Milner, who played at Manchester City for 5 years and now returned to the Etihad facing his old club.
He left quite disgracefully.
He didn’t leave in a blaze of glory.
Unlike some people who leave before the team even holds a farewell ceremony for them, basking in the cheers of the fans and the praises of the media.
Milner was forced out; he was pushed out of position by Tang Long!
After arriving at Liverpool, Milner experienced a second spring.
He wanted to play in next year’s European Cup and also wanted to prove himself.
That mentality of having been dumped and needing to show the ex that he’s doing better now made Milner somewhat unable to restrain himself.
If a blessing, not a curse, if a curse, it can’t be avoided.
Anyway, in this match, I’m going head-to-head with Tang Long, so I don’t care, let’s fight!
Thus, Milner frequently stuck closely to Tang Long, pestering him without relent, using all sorts of physical and verbal distractions.
"You’re really strong, Tang, why don’t you go to Real Madrid then?"
"So what if you won the Premier League? I’ve won quite a few with Manchester City, and you’re definitely not winning the Champions League this season!"
"Still dribbling? Pass it back to me!"
"Heh heh heh, you’ve assisted Aguero so many times, why is your weekly wage still less than his?"
Nearby, Gundogan couldn’t bear to watch anymore.
Repeatedly, he deliberately ran to Milner’s area, trying to draw his attention away from Tang Long to share the burden for his teammate.
However, Milner seemed to treat Gundogan as if he was invisible.
Even when Gundogan had the ball, Milner didn’t step up to challenge him. Instead, he continued to shadow Tang Long, just waiting for Gundogan to pass him the ball.
In the 35th minute of the first half, the score remained 1:0.
Taking advantage of a dead-ball situation, Gundogan walked over to Tang Long.
"Hey, that Milner keeps trash-talking you, doesn’t that annoy you?"
"Yes, I’m sick of him."
"Alright, let’s find an opportunity to mess with him, tease him a bit!"
Gundogan whispered something in Tang Long’s ear, covering his mouth.
Tang Long listened and nodded with a smile.
Then the two looked at Milner with meaningful glances.
(There is one more Chapter, which will be written a little later, probably finished by 1 o’clock)