novelraw Chapter 889 - 611: The Pain C Luo Can Never Forget! Even With a Limp, He Can Still Score! (Part 2)
Chapter 889 - 611: The Pain C Luo Can Never Forget! Even With a Limp, He Can Still Score! (Part 2)
Bravo accurately anticipated the drop point and made a beautiful save!
This clearance suddenly threw the Real Madrid players off balance.
As the home goalie, Navas was still sprinting towards his own penalty area, but he had only just reached outside of it, still about 80 meters away from the goal. How could he make it in time?
On the other side, Manchester City players had already started chasing the ball, especially the extremely fast Sane, who was leading the charge, almost like he was riding on the wheels of fire, his eyes fixed intensely on the ball as he sped away.
If he gets this ball, it's an open goal shot.
The fast Welshman Bell was following closely behind Sane.
In this game, Bell was playing in front of his fellow countrymen, but unfortunately, despite sending out two assists and winning their praises, Real Madrid was trailing in this match.
Bell gritted his teeth and forcefully caught up with Sane!
This scene left the spectators dumbfounded.
Bell played the full 120 minutes of this match, while Sane was a substitute, meaning on account of physical condition, Sane definitely had the upper hand over Bell.
But Bell, who started as a fullback, showed what it means to perfectly combine speed and endurance, achieving a complete victory in this speed battle!
After expertly blocking his position, Bell immediately pulled the ball back, turned around to dodge Sane, and quickly passed the ball to the midfield metronome Kroos, expecting a second-wave attack.
With this back-and-forth, Real Madrid's goalkeeper Navas had already dashed exhausted back into his penalty zone, and Manchester City was no longer in a position to shoot.
"Mine!"
Quick as a flash, as the Real Madrid players started pressing forward again to prepare for the second wave of attack under Kroos's lead, veteran Kolarov, who had been repeatedly outplayed along the wings this match, suddenly burst forth with an unexplainable surge of primal power, charging at Kroos's foot with a slide tackle.
Logically, coming from such a distance with a brute tackle, someone of Kroos's caliber should have anticipated the opponent's intentions.
With a slight tap, he should easily evade Kolarov.
But perhaps because Kroos's stamina had already hit the red zone after playing the full game, or maybe the urgency to score the equalizing goal made him overlook the incoming Kolarov.
With a thud, the ball at Kroos's feet was sent flying by Kolarov's tackle, while Kroos himself spun on the ground two or three times.
The fluidity of the final was very high, and the referee maintained a lenient foul judgment.
Although Kolarov's tackle had a level of severity, he did make contact with the ball first, so the referee didn't make any call.
[Lock-on Drop Zone]
Tang Long's brain waves quickly predicted the landing spot of this ball, sprinted swiftly, stretched his left foot high, and steady like unloading cotton, controlled the ball on his foot, then burst forward taking long strides!
This sight left Zidane stunned, the overwhelming pressure forced Zidane to take three steps back.
Because Tang Long had dashed forward right under his nose, his speed was so exceptional, his movements so nimble and resolute.
As he flew past Zidane, he even stirred up a breeze, and Zidane felt a coolness in his hair, but what was even cooler was his pounding heart!
Once Tang Long gets going, it's hard to stop him without fouling.
The Real Madrid players had known this for a long time, so whether it was the trailing Carvajal or Casemiro, one grabbed Tang Long's shirt while the other tried to tackle, like two mad beasts, they roared as they lunged at Tang Long.
But Carvajal lost his balance, and not only failed to drag down Tang Long but ended up falling down himself, covering his backside with grass bits;
Casemiro's tackle, due to excessive stamina consumption, was deformed, not only missing Tang Long, but he accidentally injured his thigh muscle, lying on the ground motionless, a groan of despair.
Tang Long carried the ball and drove straight in, this long-range raid made his foot tighten, his leg sending a signal of extreme pain, a sign of an impending cramp.
Taking advantage of the moment before cramping, he decisively took a shot from the left side of the penalty area!
Just as Real Madrid's goalkeeper Navas sensed he was about to face another challenging save, the ball instead struck directly on Ramos's raised right arm.
Ramos, looking flustered, quickly cleared the ball, attempting to cover up his handball, but the trailing referee clearly saw it, pointing with one hand to the penalty spot—Penalty.
All Manchester City players raised their arms in celebration, swarming toward Tang Long!
Since joining Manchester City, Tang Long had taken 10 penalty kicks over two years, with a 100% success rate, hitting the target every time.
By now, the additional two minutes of stoppage time had already elapsed; the referee checked his watch, he might blow the full-time whistle after Tang Long scores this penalty, or perhaps allow Real Madrid another 30 seconds.
- [Haha, Ramos got played, he seemed dazed, didn't seem to expect Tang Long to shoot so quickly, could he?]
- [Tang Long's strike just now was curved, with ankle force, minimal leg swing, high shooting stealth, a classic winger approach.]
- [Absolutely. By reducing leg swing distance, giving up some power and ball speed, achieving a surprising quick shot!]
- [A bit enchanted, like a sorcerer's technique, no sign beforehand, Tang Long was just dribbling, suddenly took a shot, indeed very strange, very mischievous!]
- [This handball can't truly be blamed on Ramos, if you're not fully focused and prepared beforehand, getting played is easy. Ramos's concentration must've drifted by now, his mental state crumbled!]
At this moment, Tang Long, who had completed the shot, already had a cramp in his right leg, he limped to pick up the ball, intent on handing it to a teammate, perhaps Sane, or perhaps veteran Kolarov with his outstanding footwork could take a shot.
However, all Manchester City players refused Tang Long's invitation, Kolarov took the ball and heavily stuffed it back into Tang Long's arms.
"Having a cramp, so what? Even with a crippled leg, you can still score this penalty!"
Many years later, when Kolarov had become a commentator on Sky Sports, watching a regular Serie A game where a penalty was awarded, he suddenly recalled the moment in the summer of 2017 during the Champions League final at Cardiff Millennium Stadium when he spoke those words to Tang Long—that even with a crippled leg, Tang Long could score this penalty!
But he didn't share those words with his audience.
Only he and Tang Long in the world knew those words.
Tang Long chuckled, alright, since none of you are willing, I, the crippled player, shall step up.
At this moment his right calf was starting to swell slightly, with a noticeable sensation of muscle twitching, a reaction to cramping.
But Tang Long did not want to squat down and have his teammates press his foot for stretching.
The match was nearing the end, he wanted to greet the first Champions League title of his career in a dignified and vigorous manner.
If the right foot cramps, the left foot will do just fine.
Try to reduce running to minimize the impact of cramping on the supporting foot.
Tang Long almost stood in place, flicking his leg, giving the ball a jab with the tip of his foot, jabbing the ball straight towards the bottom left corner of the net!
Navas, though he guessed the direction, couldn't quite catch the erratic ball trajectory and the quick speed from the jab shot, only attempting a symbolic save.
5:3!
At that moment, a realization suddenly jolted C Luo, triggering a thought that hadn't occurred to him prior:
Having scored that goal, Tang Long had now performed a hat-trick in the match, and combined with his own brace, meant their Champions League goal tally was at 23 each!