Football: My AI System Provides Max-Level Predictions

Chapter 567 - 389: After precisely predicting and following up, Tang Long’s cannon destroys Cech’s headquarters!

The two teams’ technical areas are very close, and when the Arsenal players came to Wenger to celebrate, Pellegrini was standing just 5 meters away.

He stared blankly at these ecstatic opponents.

Then he turned his gaze towards Cazorla, who should have been a substitute but started!

This corner kick was highly curved and fast-paced, such exquisite skill that only the experienced Spanish midfielder Cazorla could deliver for Arsenal.

Cazorla saw Pellegrini watching him and threw a flirtatious wink at him~

Hello~

"Referee, it was a foul! They blocked my jumping height!"

Caballero shouted at the referee.

"Referee, it was a foul! I was pushed by Giroud as I was retreating!"

Ranocchia complained to the referee with a typical Italian gesture.

"Isn’t this a foul? It’s blocking, I couldn’t move, Koscielny was like a barricade!"

As a seasoned Premier League player, Toure didn’t hold back, spreading his arms like an eagle ready to devour chicks, enveloping the referee.

Seeing Toure’s body looming over like a dark mountain, the pressured referee took a step back in fright and quickly reached behind him.

With this gesture, the red card fell out from behind him.

Toure, seeing the red card on the ground, also retreated in fear.

The referee picked up the red card, reached to his left side, pulled out a yellow card, and said sternly to Toure:

"Watch your language, calm down, Toure!"

The referee did not call a foul on the Arsenal players because at that moment, his eyes were also dazzled!

The penalty area was densely packed, and the main referee, even crouched, couldn’t see clearly, his view had already been blocked.

Even the sideline referee near Cazorla couldn’t see clearly.

The only thing both of them could see was that no one touched the ball in the penalty area, and amidst the chaos, the ball reached the far post where Ramsey suddenly surged forward, shook off Sabaleta’s defense, and headed the ball in from close range.

Just one minute into the game, Arsenal scored with a header, the score was 1:0!

Live broadcast.

-[Damn, can a corner kick be taken like this?]

-[Caballero was pinned down so hard, with so many people pressing on him, forget about catching the ball, he couldn’t jump high even if he wanted to.]

-[Is the main referee blind? That’s not a foul, Toure and Ranocchia both fell!]

-[Arsenal’s corner kick strategy is interesting, it’s clearly been carefully crafted, so the three-day lockdown practice was this!]

-[What kind of corner kick strategy is this, isn’t this rogue play? You can’t jump, you can’t move, just waiting to pick up the scraps?]

-[666, anyway, the ball went in, Wenger, the older the ginger, the spicier it is!]

-[If I had known, it would have been better to let Tang Long and Bony both retreat to the penalty area.]

-[Who could have expected that, Tang Long and Bony were still preparing to counterattack.]

Tang Long and Bony were positioned, one at the top of the penalty arc and the other at the half-line, ready for a counterattack.

But they didn’t expect Arsenal not to give Manchester City a chance to counter, taking them out with one strike.

Seeing the somewhat frazzled Manchester City teammates, Tang Long pondered, and his mind started replaying Arsenal’s corner kick strategy quickly.

"Cazorla’s bend was great, Caballero was restricted by his physique, surrounded by others, couldn’t jump, accordingly, the defensive teammates in the penalty area had their retreat paths deliberately obstructed, and Ramsey took the chance to break through at the far post, it was definitely well-designed."

Tang Long looked towards Arsenal’s coach Wenger.

At this moment, Wenger, having shed the wild passion with Ramsey’s celebration just now, stood in a brown coat, revealing a high-neck sweater, looking like an elegant professor.

He neither mumbled nor took anything from his coat, instead, he stood with arms folded across his chest, looking calm and composed.

This made Tang Long feel that Arsenal’s secret tactic wasn’t so simple.

Perhaps Wenger still has other secret tricks he hasn’t used yet?

Although falling behind right after the kickoff is not what Manchester City wanted to see.

However, these players have been through many battles, otherwise, how could they be at the top of the Premier League standings?

So they quickly calmed themselves down and re-engaged in the game.

Among them, Tang Long and Gundogan played crucial roles.

Facing an Arsenal team that voluntarily ceded possession, Gundogan played the role of metronome in the backfield, dealing with occasional harassment from Welbeck and Iwobi, through precise passing and triangular coordination, repeatedly frustrated their efforts.

Meanwhile, in the front field, Tang Long frequently orchestrated left and right, continually pulling and stretching Arsenal’s defense line.

Tang Long realized that sitting back and playing defense wasn’t Arsenal’s strong suit, the key was to maximize the use of the pitch’s width to wear them down, then seizing the opportunity to finish them off.

"It was just an accident earlier, everyone don’t rush, play according to the existing tactics!"

In stabilizing the team, Tang Long was adept, skillfully using passes to boost his teammates’ morale and attacking intent.

At the 17th minute of the first half.

In the backfield, Kolarov, Toure, and Gundogan formed a triangular formation, exchanging seven or eight passes back and forth, fully drawing in Welbeck and Iwobi’s pressure, when suddenly Gundogan accelerated!

He abandoned his insistence on short-pass penetration, instead, lifting his right foot, using the inside foot to heavily chop at the ball from beneath!

The unexpected shot not only fooled Arsenal’s defenders, even Pellegrini on the sidelines was momentarily stunned—hmm, where’s he planning to send the ball?

Of course, aim for Sterling on the left flank!

As soon as Gundogan made the leg motion, Tang Long anticipated the pass to the left flank based on his leg movement.

Tang Long has a very good habit, once he makes a prediction, regardless of whether his teammate makes the pass, Tang Long will resolutely follow his planned running route without stopping!

If you run, run till the end!

"Snap!"

This led Sterling on the left flank facing the high-flying ball, initially wanting to control it steadily and then having a one-on-one with Bellerin;

But unexpectedly, Tang Long suddenly appeared inside the penalty area, just about 10 meters away from him. Sterling immediately recalled Tang Long’s advice during training: passes should always be unexpected—

He deftly attacked the errant pass with his left foot, without stopping the ball, passing it back to Tang Long inside the penalty area.

Due to Gundogan’s fast and unexpected pass speed, Sterling’s return pass was not very well done, a bit high;

Making Bellerin think Sterling was making a mistake under his high-pressure defense~

Just as he was proudly feeling good about his defensive position, he was quickly shouted at by central defender Koscielny:

"Stop standing around, retract quickly!"

Bellerin turned his head, beheld with surprise!

When did Tang Long appear in this position?

Wasn’t he just at midfield?

Tang Long’s top-level anticipation allows him to predict the next move of the situation 2-3 seconds ahead of other players.

His midfield range is so large, not because of outstanding stamina or speed but often due to his early start.

Under the command of the central defender, full-back Bellerin quickly retreated to defend Tang Long, while another defensive midfielder Ramsey came to cover, creating a two-on-one situation against Tang Long.

Many Premier League coaches, before facing Manchester City, specifically remind players that if more than two players are closing down on Tang Long, be careful about the openings behind you!

But 20-year-old young Spanish full-back Bellerin clearly forgot this point.

He pressed forward, and Sterling stepped back to avoid an offside position, then glanced at Tang Long—

In an instant when their eyes met, Tang Long flicked the ball back to Sterling with his right foot!

At that moment, Tang Long and Sterling were in sync, pressing against the offside line, and Sterling took off again!

"Bony, near post!"

Under Tang Long’s direction, Bony instinctively rushed towards the near post.

Winger breaks through, center forward moves to the near post.

This is a very popular tactical play in modern football, striving to receive the ball in the shortest time and complete the shot.

Previously at Inter Milan, Icardi loved this move, with first-touch shots at the near post accounting for 35% of his total goals.

Bony isn’t slow, but as he stormed towards the near post with momentum, Koscielny’s hand was constantly attached to his back.

The Ivorian understood that the opponent’s central defender wanted to feel his movements at all times.

Seeing the near post’s angle being closed by Koscielny;

Bony suddenly stood firmly, fiercely pressing Koscielny against his back, then slapped his inner thigh.

"Whether you can read it, it’s up to you, Sterling!" Bony didn’t have the time to shout, only secretly hoped.

This subtle body language made Sterling shiver instantly;

At that moment, countless possibilities flashed through the mind of the petite English forward.

He saw Bony and Koscielny’s four legs pressed together, overlapping, forming a big gap.

Sterling understood, originally intending for a high cross pass but lowered his left foot at the last moment for a low sweep, shoes scraping the grass and fiercely striking the upper part of the football!

This horizontal pass was powerful and aimed at Bony’s gap as if with shooting strength.

Whoosh—

Pierced through two gaps!

Arsenal’s other central defender Gabriel was startled, seeing the ball coming through and quickly moved to block;

But before he stretched out his foot, he saw a pale blue figure emerge like lightning halfway!

Boom!

Tang Long appeared in the center, facing the ball with a full-foot shot!

Even with tank-hat-wearing Cech, acting like a tank operator guarding the goal, he couldn’t judge the fierce trajectory and could only watch his penalty area being blasted away!

Boom!

A direct hit on the command center!

Goal!

Tang Long’s central blast leveled the score!

to 1!

Wenger furiously cursed from the sidelines: "Ramsey! You lost your position in midfield! Didn’t follow Tang, useless!"

Ramsey also looked utterly helpless.

Professor, just a few minutes ago, when I scored, I jumped into your arms, and you kissed my forehead, how now I’m useless?