novelraw Chapter 622 - 427: Sky-high Price Can’t Lure Him! Tang Long’s Final Game Dominates with a Bold Response: Won’t Leave Manchester City Without Winning the Champions League!
Chapter 622 - 427: Sky-high Price Can’t Lure Him! Tang Long’s Final Game Dominates with a Bold Response: Won’t Leave Manchester City Without Winning the Champions League!
The next day, Manchester City welcomed their final league match of the season.
Premier League Round 38, a home game against Fulham.
Since the week after this match is the FA Cup final against Arsenal, Pellegrini made extensive rotations.
The main players have fought throughout the entire season and are extremely fatigued, with their physical energy reserves hitting the limit.
Thankfully, team doctor Gracie, with his broad connections through the close relationship with the University of Manchester’s medical lab, is always able to swiftly introduce the most advanced treatment concepts and technological instruments from all across England into the team.
Tang Long and Agüero’s injuries have not recurred again;
Though the players are weary, the number of sick players in the team continues to decrease.
Since the championship was secured early, the result of this match is inconsequential for Manchester City;
But as the last home match of the season, the Etihad Stadium was packed to the rafters once more!
Not only were all sixty thousand seats filled tightly, but tens of thousands of fans gathered outside the stadium, singing "Come on City!"
This home game was for the fans to bid farewell to the players, thanking them for their efforts throughout the season;
But more importantly, it was to witness the Premier League championship trophy appear at the Etihad!
The DJ at the venue, using the loudest volume of his life, called out until his voice broke, determined to excite the atmosphere!
"Dear fans, now, please turn your eyes to the players’ tunnel!"
"Our beloved captain Kompany will bring the 2015-2016 Premier League championship trophy to the center of the pitch!"
Amidst a wave of enthusiastic cheers.
Tall Manchester City captain Kompany, a smile spreading across his face, emerged from the player tunnel, holding the trophy aloft amidst the beams of light!
Behind him were Tang Long and Agüero.
These two, one was voted the team’s best player of the season, the other was undoubtedly the best shooter.
The three of them escorted the trophy to the center of the pitch, receiving applause and cheers from the fans, each giving a brief speech.
The applause of the fans swept through like a tidal wave, hands clapping red and swollen, everyone’s ears filled with the roaring resonance.
"Champions, we are champions!"
"Manchester is always blue!"
"Let the world see who truly is the boss of Manchester!"
"Manchester United, go dream your way to the Premier League!"
Kompany quietly said to Tang Long, "If possible, I would rather win the title at the final home match than at Bournemouth’s away ground."
Tang Long said, "That’s right, the home ground feels like home, all of us are here."
Agüero laughed and said, "If I could, I would want to win the title at Old Trafford, right in front of all the Manchester United players!"
Kompany and Tang Long both burst into laughter, saying Agüero is really wicked, it’s like stabbing straight into the heart~
Fulham Club displayed excellent sportsmanship.
The players lined up at Manchester City’s home ground, welcoming the new Premier League champions!
Amidst the applause forming a tunnel, Manchester City’s starting players entered the field one after another.
...
For this match, even though Pellegrini rotated most of the players.
He still placed Tang Long in the starting lineup.
The consideration was mainly twofold:
Firstly, Tang Long is not yet 20 years old, so physical fitness is not an issue, and the player himself expressed the desire to play in the last home game;
Secondly, Pellegrini does not want to lose the home match!
Although Fulham had secured their place in the league the previous round, and this match has nothing at stake;
Fulham is still a Premier League-level team, and a completely rotated Manchester City would not easily defeat the opponent.
This match has no impact on the league standings, so why does Pellegrini still want to win?
The reason is simple: to leave a good impression on the management!
Present at the match were Manchester City CEO Belgistan, commercial director Belada, and main leaders from the City Football Group.
If Pellegrini wants to continue coaching next season, he must leave a positive impression on the higher-ups.
Fortunately, Caballero had long since recovered, with Tang Long holding the fort in defensive midfield, and with these two controlling the ball from the backfield, the team progressed smoothly and systematically.
After a season of honing, Pellegrini has basically figured out how to utilize Tang Long.
When the team needs to stabilize the backfield, Tang Long is pulled back to defensive midfield;
When the team needs to attack, Tang Long is placed in attacking midfield;
And when the team is trailing and desperately needs a goal, pushing Tang Long up to the forward line is just the key to breaking the deadlock!
Watching Tang Long in the backfield, at one moment dispatching to pull apart the opponent’s defense;
Then suddenly accelerating through the middle to create openings with dribbling changes in pace— Pellegrini couldn’t help but feel a sense of regret.
"Alas, if I had 11 Tang Longs, not just Bayern, even if Real Madrid and Barça teamed up, we could easily defeat them and claim the Champions League title!"
This is, of course, an exaggerated hypothesis.
Years ago, when Spanish midfielder Cazorla joined Arsenal, he impressed Wenger from the first training session.
Wenger once told the media that if he had 11 Cazorlas, Arsenal would definitely win the Premier League title!
Coaches are always greedy, hoping a player can excel tirelessly at every position;
But from a player’s perspective, football is ultimately a sport comprising 11 different players, one’s strength is still limited, and perhaps this is the charm of football compared to solo sports like table tennis, tennis, and diving.
The match proceeded without much drama.
In the first half, Tang Long assisted Bony to score, and in the second half, Fulham’s midfielder Chris unleashed a powerful shot to pierce Caballero’s goal.
Ten minutes before the end, Agüero, coming off the bench, once again connected with Tang Long to score from a tight angle.
to 1!
Manchester City rewarded the sixty thousand fans with a narrow victory at home, thus concluding the journey of the 2015-2016 season with 38 Premier League matches.
In the stands, Manchester City’s management and the main leaders of City Football Group were very satisfied with this result.
The team that secured the title early did not relax, and even with a semi-reserved lineup, they still offered the fans a wonderful match.
"Pellegrini truly shows capability in leading the team," CEO Belgistan said to Belada, "Two Premier League titles in three years, the results speak for themselves, he is indeed the greatest coach in club history."
Belada pondered for a moment, saying, "But the team has reached a bottleneck, we need someone who can break through."
After the match, the entire team, led by captain Kompany, collectively went to the edge of the field to thank the fans.
The fans were unwilling to leave, and the applause continued endlessly.
Suddenly, a blonde female fan in the front row of the stadium jumped onto her seat and waved her arms at Tang Long, shouting:
"Tang! Stay here!"
Her shout urged other fans to join in shouting.
"Tang! Stay here!"
"Always stay at Manchester City, this is your eternal home field!"
"Win us the Champions League next season!"
For the past month.
The rumors about Tang Long wanting to leave Manchester City are not baseless.
Paris officially offered 230 million through official channels, setting off alarms among the fans.
The present Manchester City, though rich, pales in comparison to Europe’s top giants like Real Madrid, Barça, and Bayern, both in terms of historical significance and overall team strength.
Fans are very worried that this under-20 talented midfielder may leave the team in pursuit of a better platform.
The fans’ calls also made Tang Long’s teammates nervous;
They all watched Tang Long, wanting to see how he would respond.
On the scene, seven or eight cameramen were holding cameras aimed at Tang Long.
His every word that follows will be recorded in real-time and broadcast worldwide.
Amidst overwhelming cries of "stay here" and "win the Champions League," Tang Long walked towards the first row of the stadium.
The distance between the Premier League stadium stand and the field is very close, just four or five meters between the first row and the sideline.
Tang Long, in front of everyone, placed his right hand over his left chest, gently pulled up the corner of the shirt embroidered with the Manchester City crest, kissed it lightly, then took off the shirt and handed it over to the blonde female fan screaming as she watched him.
An unprecedented cheer erupted at the scene!
The female fan was moved to tears, first covering her face with the shirt, obsessionally inhaling the scent filled with Tang Long’s sweat, immersed in the aroma of testosterone;
Then quickly embraced Tang Long’s arm, refusing to let go, her ample bosom pressed against Tang Long’s muscled shoulder, shaking with her sobs.
"Stay here!!!"