novelraw Chapter 581 - 396: This is not Mauro, this is Mao Biao! Facing the open goal, Icardi scores on cue!_2
Chapter 581 - 396: This is not Mauro, this is Mao Biao! Facing the open goal, Icardi scores on cue!_2
However, at the moment De Bruyne shot, Icardi had already opened up a space on the left side of the penalty area!
With this ball, as long as De Bruyne gently pushes it to the left side, Icardi can shoot directly.
Near post, or far post, both are angles he’s good at for scoring.
"Kevin, are you blind?" Icardi shouted, throwing his hands up towards De Bruyne, "Give it to me and it’s 1-0!"
De Bruyne looked at Icardi expressionlessly, turned around without speaking to him, and walked away.
Seeing Icardi still cursing behind him, Manchester United’s captain Rooney quickly ran to De Bruyne’s side to encourage him.
"Taking the shot yourself was fine, just a little bad luck! Next time there’s such an opportunity, take the shot, don’t hesitate."
Rooney has great faith in De Bruyne’s scoring ability.
Because De Bruyne is a midfielder who excels at scoring goals!
Although he delivered 16 assists in the league, providing Icardi, Rooney, Lingard, and others with beautiful passes;
He has also scored 11 goals in the league, making him the team’s second-top scorer after Icardi, with one more goal than Rooney.
Taking advantage of the break while goalkeeper Caballero kicked off.
Tang Long also hurriedly called Gundogan over to instruct him with tactics.
"De Bruyne is very fast, don’t just rush at him, stay in position, your primary task is not to intercept, but to delay his advance."
Previously, when he played in the Bundesliga with Dortmund and faced Wolfsburg, Gundogan had witnessed De Bruyne’s dribbling prowess.
Unexpectedly, after De Bruyne came to the Premier League, his skills improved tremendously, completely beyond Gundogan’s expectations.
He nodded nervously, keeping Tang Long’s reminder in mind.
After Manchester United’s initial attacks, Manchester City gradually stabilized, rarely giving their opponents quick counterattack opportunities in set pieces, and Gundogan, while defending against De Bruyne, also remembered Tang Long’s advice, blocking but not rashly intercepting.
As the match progressed, another 20 minutes passed, Manchester City held firm control of ball possession, with control rates reaching as high as seventy-three percent!
Just as Manchester United organized formations, defending resolutely to resist Manchester City’s passing game, they did not expect the goal they conceded came from a defensive counterattack by Manchester City!
Similarly, a corner, and again Schneiderlin’s central pass was intercepted.
After Toure claimed possession, the first thing he did was also find Tang Long!
With many fast small players as explosive points on Manchester City’s front line, Tang Long did not need to spend energy on a long-distance dash like De Bruyne; he pushed the ball heavily with his instep to Navas, who had already sped up on the right wing.
Navas is a typical Spanish winger, petite but with very fast dribbling frequency, especially fond of dribbling on the wing.
He dribbled three quick pushes along the sideline, storming all the way!
Tang Long understood Navas’ playing habits; he likes advancing along the wings rather than cutting inside;
But this time, during the counterattack, the threat was obviously greater if the ball was played to the center.
So seeing Navas about to push near the corner flag, Tang Long had already maneuvered into the inner right side of the box, calling out, Navas looked up, and instead of crossing, sent a low pass to Tang Long.
In the right side of the penalty area, Tang Long performed two quick ball rolls, Schneiderlin’s reaching foot kicked nothing but air!
During the cut-in, the whoosh of wind sounded in his ears, as Manchester City fans cheered from the stands which reached his ears!
At this moment, Tang Long made a smart decision.
At the last moment, his left foot, raised high for a shot, suddenly lowered gently; he pushed, and the football sliced through Manchester United’s defense like a scalpel, sent to the left side of the penalty area.
Agüero, who had been lurking on the offside line, suddenly took two steps, bypassing Smolin from the inside; before the ball arrived, he had already readied his leg to strike, and with a push shot, the football steadily rolled into the goal’s near corner!
Even if De Gea had three heads and six arms, he couldn’t reach it!
"Agüero——"
"Tang——"
The roar at the Etihad Stadium erupted in a storm-like shout, under this storm, Agüero and Tang Long tightly embraced.
-[Once Tang Long and Agüero connect successfully, this ball is eight to nine times out of ten going in!]
-[Great ball! Same position, De Bruyne took the shot, but Tang Long made the pass!]
-[Not to say De Bruyne’s shot wasn’t good, but Tang Long created the goal!]
-[Truth be told, Tang Long’s long-range shot isn’t as threatening as De Bruyne’s, but looking at the assist chart, you’d know where he is better than De Bruyne!]
-[I bet Icardi is fuming right now, haha!]
Icardi surely is fuming...
In the 27th minute of the first half, Manchester City took the lead 1-0, but the trailing team Manchester United did not lose heart.
During this break, players were clapping and shouting at each other, using all sorts of body language to boost morale.
But Icardi was glaring at De Bruyne, gritting his teeth fiercely~
It’s not that Manchester City scored one goal and everything changed, it’s only over 20 minutes in, and there’s still over 60 minutes of the match left.
The outcome is far from being decided.
The key is, almost from the same position, De Bruyne chose to shoot, while Tang Long chose to pass!
Especially as De Bruyne’s shot, although impressive, didn’t go in, whereas Tang Long’s pass led to Agüero’s goal.