Wow!
Everyone suddenly woke up!
Although, with the naked eye, the players on the field could never discern how Tang Long dribbled past three people;
But they clearly saw Tang Long had already dribbled into the baseline area of the penalty zone.
Agüero made a sharp turn and rushed back!
Bonazzoli adjusted his balance, raised his hand, and hurried back into the penalty area, trying hard to make Tang Long see him.
But in Tang Long's vision, Ranocchia already charged to the back area near the penalty area and was the best choice to pass the ball to!
Bang Bang!
With two rapid and crisp sounds, Tang Long used the instep to shoot, passing to Ranocchia, who gently pushed the ball into the empty goal at the back post!
Tang Long used the instep to shoot powerfully for the pass because the goalkeeper blocked the near post, and only with extra force could he send the ball through the goalkeeper's underarm to the back post.
Although Ranocchia has a large physique, his timing to move forward was ghostly, unnoticed by anyone, so when he charged to the back post, a gentle touch with his foot accomplished a perfect goal!
"Haha, I knew it, I knew this would happen!"
Ranocchia was extrely excited after scoring.
He had scored many headers, but scoring with his foot was the first ti in nearly three seasons.
Ranocchia understood Tang Long's skills well, and despite Tang Long's ability to dribble past three players and cut inside to shoot from the penalty area baseline, he passed the ball to him, showing a personal camaraderie in this.
As if opening a new world's door, Ranocchia excitedly rushed towards Tang Long, leaping two ters before him with open arms, like a giant bear flying towards Tang Long.
Tang Long thought, "With this 195 cm fra pressing down, I don't know how many therapies and massages from Gracie I need to recover, better dodge." He dodged aside quickly.
With a thud, Ranocchia fell directly to the ground, covered in dirt and dust.
The scene turned chaotic.
Whether opponents or teammates, everyone was chattering away.
Nobody knew how Tang Long accomplished this dribbling.
Even the opponent Celtic players intentionally delayed, purposely slowing the restart from the center circle, despite the referee urging several tis, they wouldn't kick-off.
Thus, the classic scene of watching slow-motion replays appeared again!
The giant screen at Etihad Stadium started the replay; all players, including the 60,000 fans present, craned their necks to watch the screen.
When it was clear how Tang Long used the billiard-like thod to dribble through three players within a tiny space, everyone was deeply shocked!
Agüero shook his head, saying, "What a genius, was it intentional or accidental?"
Bonazzoli was dumbfounded, admiring Tang Long wholeheartedly.
Guardiola made his classic two hands holding his head gesture again.
Whether as a player or a coach, he had worked with the world's best on this planet.
But at this mont, standing on the field at Etihad, after witnessing Tang Long's incredible dribbling, Guardiola wasn't astonished by Tang Long's dribbling skills but was amazed by the football ntality Tang Long showed.
"He seems to be presenting a gaming ntality in football?"
Three minutes later, Tang Long was substituted.
All fans at Etihad Stadium stood up to cheer.
Even the 3,000 Celtic away fans applauded him!
Not every player earns the right for opponents' applause; it's a form of pride, supre honor, symbolizing you not only conquered your team's fans but also impressed the opposing team's supporters!
anwhile, backstage at CCTV Sports Studio.
Director Li Kai and several staff mbers beca anxious upon seeing Tang Long leave the field.
Earlier in the second half, since Manchester City played leisurely, the scene was dull.
Fans staying up late, especially older fans, couldn't bear it and turned off their TVs, causing viewership to dip from above 6.0 to 4.8.
However, after Tang Long's fantastic assist with consecutive nutgs, the viewership not only returned to 6.0 but surged to a new high of 6.38!
But since Tang Long was off, would the viewership drop again?
While everyone was extrely worried, they saw the viewership continue to grow slowly.
It even touched the edge of 6.5 at one point!
"Really strange, Tang Long is off the field, the match is in garbage ti, why are more people watching?"
After reading viewers' comnts backstage, they suddenly understood.
It turns out viewers were reluctant to leave, discussing Tang Long's dribbling!
-[Aweso, three birds with one stone, such efficiency!]
-[This is threading the sugar-coated haws, stringing three haws with one bamboo skewer, too funny!]
-[Tang Long's luck is incredible, the ball ricocheted twice but still nutgged Kolo Toure.]
-[Luck? What do you know, I watched the replay closely and bet both ricochets were carefully planned.]
-[Exactly, Tang Long was definitely intentional, not accidental!]
-[So shocking, the first ti I saw football played like this, I don't know what to say anymore.]
-[Playing on the weekend, I'll try Tang Long's move, not aiming for three nutgs, just two would be aweso, haha!]
After the match, CCTV's staff considered doing the sa trick again, asking He Wei to continue comntary on Tang Long's brilliant performance, perhaps pushing the viewership to 7, not a fantasy!
But Director Li Kai stopped this action.
Intern Sis was puzzled and asked, "Why not, Director, if the viewership hits 7, it would match the Chinese won's volleyball finals against Serbia in the Rio Olympics!"
Li Kai said, "You forgot, during halfti, the ads that got bumped, I said to put them after the ga ends. Hurry up, don't dawdle!"
He was talking about the decision to move the originally scheduled ads to after the ga to boost television ratings.
The intern suddenly realized, "Oh! Got it!"
But Li Kai had his own little plan in mind.
If the ratings surpass the won's volleyball finals between China and Serbia during the Rio Olympics, it would naturally be a good thing and count as his achievent;
But having just arrived, setting the benchmark so high, how would he handle future work?
If this ga breaks 7, Chief Wang Wen will have him break 8 next ti!
Isn't that making trouble for himself?
In just this ga, Tang Long broke the ratings for niche sports like Go, rock climbing, bowling, and curling.
Of course, there were opportunistic thods, but the achievent is counted as his own.
That's already quite respectable! Any further, and it might attract unwanted attention and resentnt.
Good things co to those who wait; slow and steady wins the race.
It's not about eating a lot, but eating for a long ti that counts as winning.
Li Kai, having risen from the station's logistics, understood this principle better than anyone else.
...
The ga ended with Manchester City defeating Celtic 3:0 at ho.
Tang Long returned to the field from the bench to high-five his teammates.
Several Celtic players ca over, wanting to exchange jerseys with Tang Long.
Though they lost the ga, the Celtic players weren't too upset, as losing to Manchester City away was expected.
Moreover, many players felt that they lost more to Tang Long alone rather than Manchester City, a result no one resented.
But Tang Long politely declined a few players and exchanged jerseys with Kolo Toure alone.
After all, this player once played for Manchester City and was a Premier League star. Just last season, he was facing Tang Long as an opponent at Liverpool, and now they t again on the Champions League stage—it's fate, after all.
"How's your brother doing now?"
Hearing Tang Long inquire about his brother Yaya Toure, Kolo Toure grinned.
"The other day he told he's really enjoying life in Greece, spending his ti sunbathing by the Aegean Sea. His skin has tanned a lot."
Tang Long couldn't help but shiver inside.
It's hard for him to imagine how Yaya Toure, already as dark as charcoal, could tan even more.
The two chatted amicably for a few more monts and hugged farewell.
Kolo Toure, shirtless and holding the Manchester City No. 9 jersey, looked at Tang Long's departing figure, filled with emotions.
Once again, he was defeated by this young Chinese player!
At around Tang Long's age, Kolo Toure began his professional career in the top five European leagues at Arsenal.
Ti flies; it's been almost 15 years.
Kolo Toure, sowhat unwilling, thought that if it were 15 years ago, when he was in his early 20s, even if he got nutgged, he would've imdiately realized it and chased back, rather than standing still like an idiot, looking around to see where the ball went.
"Toure!"
"Toure!"
Kolo Toure's thoughts were interrupted by the fans' shouts on one side of the stands.
The Blue Moon ho fans were applauding this forr City player.
Returning to the old grounds and earning the applause of the ho fans eased Kolo Toure's mind. He smiled and raised his hands above his head, applauding back to the fans.
That night, Celtic took the nearest flight back to Scotland.
After landing, Kolo Toure called his brother Yaya Toure.
Their brotherly bond has always been strong, having grown up wearing the sa pair of pants.
Their childhood was tough, their mother unable to buy them a few new clothes. The older Toure would wear a piece of clothing first, and when it didn't fit anymore, it was passed down to the younger Toure.
Thankfully, both boys turned out well, each becoming top professional players when they grew up.
After each ga, they'd call each other to discuss the experiences and insights, checking for weaknesses.
But this season, both brothers left the top five leagues, away from the first-tier stage, and their football exchanges gradually dwindled.
So when Yaya, far away in Greece, received a call from his brother, he was quite surprised.
"What's up, big bro, nutgged and feeling down?"
"Hey, did you watch my ga?"
"Oh man, I don't have the ti to watch your gas, but I saw the highlights. Tang's nutg move is unstoppable. He's got that skill, plus a little bit of luck. It can't be defended against, don't let it bother you."
"...That's not what I'm talking about."
"Let be honest with you, I've never felt old before. But this ti, playing as a Celtic player returning to the Etihad, I truly felt old."
"In what way?"
"You see, back when I was at Manchester City, how many of the teammates with whom Mancini led us to our first Premier League title are left? Perhaps only Agüero and Hart on the bench are still around! They're all gone, we've all beco the old guys."
"Haha, those are all things of the past. Brother, if you've grown old, haven't I gotten old too? No one stays 20 forever, but there will always be people who are 20, like Tang, isn't he? Four or five years from now, when ssi and C Luo age, the future of football will belong to him."
On the other end of the line, Kolo Toure paused, silent for a long ti. Yaya Toure thought the call had disconnected, but then heard his brother say:
"You're too conservative, little brother. We've been playing soccer for over a decade, there's nothing we haven't seen. We've played against 20-year-old ssi and C Luo, I have a feeling, in two years at the latest, one year at the earliest, he'll be the world number one."
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