Gracie told Tang Long his eyebrow bone was broken, asking if he wanted to co off and rest.
"Go take a rest, kid!" Chiellini, who was eavesdropping nearby, shouted jokingly.
As the slickest center-back in all of Italy, Chiellini was adept at testing the referee’s limits and employing various sneaky moves, confident he could handle Tang Long steadily.
Ranocchia shoved him aside, "Get lost!"
The two glared at each other, having been at odds since their Serie A days, now crossing paths again in the Champions League, with nothing cordial to exchange.
"No problem, last season I clashed with Juventus while playing for Inter and ended up hitting the post to even the score, which was much worse, yet I could endure. Just stitch it up for !"
Gracie hurriedly took out the dical stapler from her bag, but when she aid at Tang Long’s eyebrow bone, she hesitated for a long ti.
As a child, she hunted and butchered wild boars with her father;
During college, she dissected corpses;
However, now faced with the simple task of stapling Tang Long’s eyebrow wound, Gracie found her hand trembling uncontrollably, sweat forming on her forehead, unable to push down.
"Don’t waste ti!"
Tang Long reached over and snapped the stapler down himself!
A sharp pain shot to his forehead!
The bleeding stopped, and Gracie quickly bandaged his forehead.
Tang Long was already calculating in his mind how to handle the conceited Chiellini.
This delay took several minutes.
In the 77th minute, Juventus made two substitutions.
Pogba and Sturora, both on yellow cards, were replaced by Nan Miller and Pereira, continuing to bolster midfield physical interference.
"Juventus is launching a midfield attrition battle!"
"As long as a player doesn’t get a yellow card, their aggressive actions won’t stop!"
"Looks like the experienced Allegri wants to turn this match into a war of attrition!"
"Things are a bit tense on the field right now!"
"The connection between Tang Long and Agüero seems to have vanished again."
"Manchester City needs to stay on alert; rember, Juventus is still leading, and they need at least one more goal to ensure they secure a point!"
Seeing the situation stabilize, Allegri breathed a sigh of relief and quietly glanced at Pellegrini.
He knew that even though Pellegrini wouldn’t make the last substitution before the 80th minute due to his players’ stamina issues from the midfield changes;
As long as they held out until after the 80th minute, Allegri was confident they could defeat Manchester City at ho, earn all three points, and leapfrog the opponents to top the group standings!
At this point, the experience of Tang Long and Ranocchia ca into play again.
As the only Manchester City players who had faced Juventus last season, they were incredibly familiar with the team.
Juventus is a conceited team.
During their four consecutive Serie A wins, the lineup remained stable, and players developed a high degree of confidence.
This causes them to approach any opponent with an arrogant mindset!
Despite Juventus’s tight defensive stance, they won’t be satisfied with just this score;
For them, seizing the chance to counterattack and score another goal to seal the ga is the rightful thing to do at their ho ground as the Serie A champions, so they won’t lose face!
Moreover, with the replacent goalkeeper Caballero, known for his outstanding foot skills.
So, taking advantage of a Juventus corner, the three conspired to set up a teasing passing play in the defensive area to lure Juventus players forward.
Caballero enthusiastically agreed, saying it was alright; this was his forte, his footwork was his strong point, let them co!
With Juventus’s current strength, if all 11 players retreat to the backfield, breaking their goal is indeed challenging.
Hence, Tang Long slowed his forward push.
He kept his distance from Ranocchia, while forming a triangular position with Caballero, and called over his left-sided buddy Kolarov.
The group started passing the ball around.
Bam bam bam—
Bam bam bam—
A bizarre scene unfolded.
Approaching the 80th minute of the match, Manchester City remained one goal behind yet weren’t rushing to attack, instead they passed the ball back and forth in the defensive half.
This left Materazzi in the comntary booth quite anxious!
Co on, we’re not the leading side; we’re trailing;
If you want to score, pass the ball forward, what are you doing back there?
But, as they passed, the effect took hold—
Newly substituted Nan Miller watched as the ball was passed around in Manchester City’s defensive half without advancing, itching to go forward and steal it.
Marchisio called for him to stay calm, but Pogba, eager to re-enter the ga, jumped from the bench by the sidelines.
"Nan Miller! Listen to ; go for it when the ti is right; press them with the forwards!" Pogba was clearly discontent with being substituted, looking like he hadn’t had enough action.
Nan Miller, hearing Pogba’s shout, got fired up and ignored Marchisio, charging forward.
Morata and Mandzukic, known for their running and pressing, were thrilled as they saw Nan Miller advancing and decided not to hang around the midfield but rushed forward together;
On the other side, Cuadrado, in his mindset of either don’t press or press together, joined the charge.
Juventus surged forward with four players!
But this rush led them into the trap Tang Long had set for them, akin to inviting the troops into the jar.
Nan Miller pressed Tang Long, Morata targeted Ranocchia, Mandzukic approached Caballero, and Cuadrado aid for Kolarov, originally each assigned their pressing target.
However, unexpectedly, Tang Long and Ranocchia suddenly switched places while running, with Tang Long moving to the center-back position and Ranocchia advancing to defensive midfield!
This swap instantly puzzled Juventus, particularly the young Nan Miller.
He thought, I’m originally a midfielder, now with Tang Long all the way to the opponent’s penalty area, have I charged too far ahead? Who’s covering the gap behind ?
While hesitating, Ranocchia, who had slotted into the defensive midfield position, received the ball from Caballero, exposing a gap.
Nan Miller turned back yelling, realizing he had left his defensive position exposed, and abandoned Tang Long to chase Ranocchia.
But when he caught up, Ranocchia deftly pulled the ball past him, passing it again to the advancing Tang Long!
With just these passes and two ticks, Manchester City’s defensive lineup began to press forward.
In this offensive move, Kolarov, the left-back who had perford modestly on the left wing, played a crucial role!
After Tang Long handed the ball to him, Kolarov discreetly pointed towards the wing with his hand, then tucked inside, driving towards the center.
Kolarov is a heavy shooter, known for scoring world-class goals from 36 ters out for Manchester City;
His move inward made Juventus’s defenders anxious!
Kolarov feigned a shot, drawing two Juventus defenders, then pulled back and passed to the wing-running Tang Long.
The Serbian full-back was tall with long legs but not very fast, his dribbling was average;
Fortunately, the two teammates had already communicated; otherwise, a mont slower and he could have been intercepted.
"Wow, Kolarov has passed to the wing!"
"Tang Long has the ball on the left wing!"
"Evra has stepped out!"
"Tang Long, Tang Long! What choice will he make?"
"Cut inside, crosses!"
"Ah... He pulls back!"
"Evaded Evra’s foot!"
"Slips along the baseline into the box!"
"Sweeps across the middle!"
"Who’s there?"
"It’s in!"
"The ball is in!"
"My goodness, Manchester City has equalized!"
"Tang Long has continually delivered three assists since taking the field!"
"Whose goal was it? Didn’t see clearly..."
"Haha, it’s Sterling!"
"Sterling runs to Tang Long, and everyone is rushing to Tang Long!"
"Tonight, Turin isn’t Turin; it’s Istanbul!"
Reviews
All reviews (0)