novelraw Chapter 617 - 424: Even if you win the Champions League, you still won’t get the Golden Ball Award!
Chapter 617 - 424: Even if you win the Champions League, you still won’t get the Golden Ball Award!
This goal really angered Pellegrini!
Before the match, he had considered that Toure’s turning might become an issue, so he arranged for Toure to stand in the middle as much as possible, giving Delph a wider range of movement to try to pull to the flanks.
But Robben was cunning, as Toure didn’t come close to him, he dribbled straight towards Toure. Where could Toure hide?
This iconic Robben cut inside set Allianz Arena ablaze with excitement!
Manchester City soon gave a strong counterattack.
In the 28th minute, it was Tang Long again, once again taking the ball in the attacking midfielder position.
The Bayern players, with only Diego, who wasn’t fast, making a symbolic press, while everyone else was in position, blocking all passing routes.
Tang Long with a through ball!
This time, Agüero’s positioning was anticipated, and a much stronger Boateng stretched out a leg to position himself, pushing Agüero aside and intercepting the ball.
Guardiola’s heart jumped when Tang Long made the through pass;
It wasn’t until he saw Boateng use his physical advantage to intercept the ball that he sighed in relief!
Tang Long can’t be stopped, so let’s stop his teammates.
In the following attacks, Bayern players allowed Tang Long and Agüero to connect;
They had studied Agüero’s running habits before the match. As long as they locked him down, no matter how well Tang Long passed, the attack would be stopped.
Yet even so, the Bayern penalty area was full of dangers!
There was a very dangerous moment when Boateng dove in a bit hard, and Tang Long’s pass came fast, Agüero swiftly slided it, passing through, but unfortunately, his low shot to the far corner was palmed over the crossbar by Neuer!
Tang Long remained unchanged in response to all changes.
Since they let him pass freely, he did so!
Finally, in the 35th minute, facing Sterling’s reverse triangular pass, Tang Long feigned a cut inside to shoot, then suddenly flicked his toe at the last moment, with Agüero watching the descending arc, struck a volley before Boateng could block, scoring!
Score was 1-1 by halftime.
During the halftime break.
"It’s too dangerous like this, Pep, we still have to mark Tang, we can’t let him pass so easily!" The assistant coach was somewhat anxious.
The Bayern players in the locker room also showed a hint of confusion on their faces.
Not marking the opponent’s core player, such a tactic was simply incredible, beyond the players’ professional thinking.
Guardiola was sweating on his forehead and had wavered, wondering if this tactic was too risky?
But once the arrow is shot, there’s no turning back, as he had made clear to the players to stick to the tactic, there was no logic in giving up halfway!
"No, continue as planned from before the match, play boldly!" Guardiola’s voice was firm.
Guardiola believed that precisely because they didn’t mark Tang Long closely, they could maintain the integrity of the three lines.
If Tang Long pulled more than two players, the defense would become disorganized, and they wouldn’t be just one goal down by halftime, but possibly two or three!
...
Caballero, the Argentine goalkeeper, had been in pain ever since he poked his finger on Lewandowski’s forehead during a high ball ten minutes after the start.
It wasn’t until he returned to the locker room that he realized his right index finger couldn’t bend.
He removed his goalkeeper gloves, only then noticing signs of fracture in his index finger, frustratingly throwing his goalkeeper gloves to the ground!
Joe Hart was substituted in.
This was only Hart’s second appearance in a Champions League match this season.
This unexpected event made Manchester City players very nervous.
The center-back Ranocchia was especially sweating bullets.
When Hart walked from the players’ tunnel towards the penalty area, a cheer erupted at Allianz Arena!
"Hart, Hart actually came out!"
"Robben is definitely going to score, I guarantee it!"
Sure enough, everyone was right!
Just five minutes after the start, Robben cut inside from the wing.
His cut inside was like a locomotive, with three carriages, Toure, Delph, and Sagna, trailing, cutting from the wing to the center. If he took a few more steps, Kompany and Ranocchia might also have been dragged out.
No more dribbling, a left-foot inside curl to the far corner!
Hart’s feet were firmly planted on the ground, body stiff, only his neck turned to see the ball sailing into the net!
Commentary section.
-[That was amazing, Old Robben’s signature cut inside and shot!]
-[Congratulations to Hart for once again becoming the backdrop for a world-class goal!]
-[I’m just puzzled, Hart is taller than Caballero, and his arms are longer, why could Caballero block that ball while Hart couldn’t?]
-[It’s time to leave Manchester City, Hart!]
After falling behind 1-2.
Manchester City had no room for retreat.
So far, with only 1 away goal, Bayern had three, so tying the score in this game meant nothing, they must win!
All players pushed forward in attack!
The Manchester City players were clearly anxious.
The fullbacks Kolarov and Sagna, who were originally covering only one side, now both pushed up, with an onslaught like a tide.
However, the players soon realized that the opponent seemed to have hit the key point, Tang Long’s passes and through balls had no issues, but neither Agüero nor Sterling got another excellent shooting opportunity;
In the first half, after Boateng’s mistakes, no one knows what Guardiola said to him during the break, but he didn’t make a single mistake afterward.
In the second half, after the 70th minute.
Manchester City’s coach Pellegrini finally realized.
He suddenly woke up!
Bayern’s players not sticking to Tang Long was definitely not a failure to execute Guardiola’s tactical intentions.
If one or two players did not do so, it could be understood, but when the whole team does so, this must be an intentional deployment!
The Chilean was not to be trifled with, and immediately thought of countermeasures.
Pellegrini pondered for a moment, then waved his hand, pushing Tang Long up to the front line.
This move was quite vicious!
You might let go of Tang Long in the midfield, but can you let go of Tang Long on the forward line?
Simultaneously substituting Agüero out, bringing in Bony who is stronger at impact and confrontation.
"It seems like Manchester City has changed its formation?"
"Tang Long, Bony, and Sterling are all on the front line!"
"The three in midfield are Toure, Delph, and Silva!"
"It’s changed from 4231 to 433!"
"It looks like Manchester City, trailing by a goal away, has been forced to a desperate situation!"
"They must score at least two goals to win the two-legged tie."
In the 81st minute, Manchester City advanced on the right;
With Tang Long moving to the front line, the main holding point in the midfield became the agile Sterling.
He went all the way down the right flank, bumping along, delivering a cross!
At the near post, Bony flicked the ball with his head!
Before Bony touched the ball, Alaba had positioned himself in his area, at the same spot as Tang Long, with his hand secretly pulling Tang Long;
But at the moment Bony touched the ball, Tang Long suddenly accelerated, rushing towards the penalty spot in the center!
Alaba simply couldn’t keep up with Tang Long’s anticipation, nor did he know where the ball would land. Tang Long’s sudden rush, with Alaba’s hand still holding his jersey, led Tang Long to dive resolutely onto the ground, watching Tang Long’s diving header smash into the net!
Guardiola touched his bald head and sighed.
Still couldn’t stop him!
to 2!
Tang Long hurriedly urged others to get the ball, saving time.
Tang Long’s sudden advance in position caught Bayern’s players off guard.
They knew Tang Long could play multiple positions, but changing from midfield to striker was not in the team’s pre-game plans!
Guardiola’s heart suddenly tightened, as this was indeed unexpected, because in his heart, Pellegrini has always been a very conservative coach. However, Guardiola did have a countermeasure.
"Abandon man-marking for zonal defense!" Guardiola quickly responded.
Guardiola’s idea is that, it’s not just about conceding goals, but about preventing the formation from being disrupted.
Then, Bayern substituted two players.
Substituting the exhausted Boateng, bringing in young Kimmich;
Substituting Costa, bringing in Götze.
The formation changed from 433 to 352!
The three defenders were Martinez, Alaba, and Kimmich;
Lahm moved up to midfield, Götze slightly withdrew.
This substitution proved to be a direct hit!
Whether it’s Kimmich or Lahm, both are masters of footwork and rhythm control, paired with Diego, Alonso, and Götze, genius midfield controllers, Bayern’s passing and control ability became even stronger.
They took advantage of Manchester City’s eagerness to score quickly, continually passing the ball back and forth in their defense, luring them to press forward;
Many times, just when it looked like the ball was about to be lost, at the last moment, they always found some invisible team member to receive the ball, easily nullifying the siege.
And because Pellegrini arranged Tang Long to press forward, Manchester City’s midfield delivery showed a significant decline, unable to match Bayern.
Ultimately, the two sides ended 2 to 2, with an aggregate score of 5 to 5 over two legs!
Bayern advanced to the Champions League finals by virtue of their away goal advantage, eliminating Manchester City.
The Blue Moon’s Champions League journey for this season ended in the semifinals.
Upon hearing the final whistle, Caballero, who was substituted due to a finger injury, cursed loudly on the bench:
"Today Robben got lucky! If I were still on the field, I absolutely wouldn’t let him score a curling far corner goal, I was guarding him!"
Manchester City players on the field collapsed in exhaustion, gasping heavily.
The score was tied, but being eliminated just because of net goals was truly hard to accept.
Only Tang Long stood, hands on hips, looking at the bustling Allianz Arena, with the avid songs of Bayern fans echoing.
Guardiola walked over, shook Tang Long’s hand, and the two exchanged pleasantries.
"You don’t look too happy, kid, do you really want to win the Champions League?"
"Of course, I want to win everything the club can win, and then get the Golden Ball."
"No, even if Manchester City wins the league and Champions League this season, the Golden Ball won’t be yours, it’ll be Agüero’s," Guardiola smiled, "because you haven’t scored enough goals, you’re not a forward."