The crucial point is to absolutely prevent Tang Long from turning around as easily as before. Once he turns around, his excellent passing vision and exquisite skills will pose a great threat to Atletico Madrid's defense.
Atletico Madrid, known as the indomitable Atlético, naturally has a mature and effective system when it cos to defense.
On the pitch, every player of Atlético Madrid seems like tireless warriors, covering an extrely wide area with their running, and when they fight for the ball, they do so with a fierce intensity, leaving no room for rcy.
For any 50/50 ball, even at the great risk of injury, they will grit their teeth, with red eyes, and go all out without any hesitation.
Under normal circumstances, even faced with two players marking him, Tang Long still has the ability and skill to turn and pass the ball with ease, opening up the attack for his team;
But ever since Goding and Saul started tightly marking Tang Long, Tang Long has noticeably felt that today's opponents are worlds apart from the "clumsy" teams in the Premier League.
"In the past, those Premier League teams, although not losing to Atlético in terms of physical fitness, their fighting for the ball clearly isn't as smart as Atlético," Tang Long pondered silently while maneuvering against his opponents on the field.
Atlético's smart fighting is reflected in many details.
When Goding and Saul rush out to tightly mark Tang Long, the players at the back will quickly and tacitly withdraw, perfectly filling the gaps left by the two n going out.
At the sa ti, the cooperation between Saul and Goding is also quite exquisite, as they do not impulsively charge forward with the sole aim of intercepting Tang Long's ball.
They have a clear tactical objective, which is not to insist on intercepting the ball, but to force Tang Long to pass it back or laterally if necessary. But under no circumstances should he turn comfortably and pass forward!
Therefore, when Goding is tightly marking, Saul will quickly block Tang Long's possible passing routes, and vice versa.
They are like two adept hunters fastening their eyes on their prey, Tang Long, not giving him a chance to catch a breather.
Once Tang Long, the key point for initiating attacks, is tightly marked by opponents, Manchester City's attacking rhythm noticeably slowed down.
However, Manchester City's players are by no ans easy to deal with.
Ranocchia, Gundogan, Diego, Mkhitaryan, and others, relying on their already sophisticated footwork and the frequent triangular runs they create, still managed to keep the ball firmly under their control.
Though the highly penetrating large-scale through balls Tang Long previously delivered did not reappear, they continue to pass and run, trying to find weaknesses in Atlético's defense.
After enduring the first 20 minutes, Atlético, gradually adapting to Manchester City's tactics, also began to launch threatening offensives on the field.
After all, this is the Wanda tropolis, their ho ground, their fortress!
In a two-legged Champions League knockout stage, Atlético, playing at ho first, knows well that if they don't hamr their opponents hard with the ho advantage, where will they find a chance to seize the initiative when they face Manchester City's ho advantage at the Etihad Stadium?
Torres, the experienced veteran.
Although his speed and agility have declined compared to his peak, as a main center forward of Spain's golden generation, his experience in major tournants is invaluable.
Even if the team is currently behind, even in the top competition like the Champions League semifinals, he doesn't feel nervous at all.
On the field, he frequently attracts Manchester City's defenders' attention through flexible runs, then skillfully creates space for Griezmann, allowing the Atletico star forward to play freely.
For a mont, the entire left flank beca Griezmann's battlefield, where he roams freely, audaciously assaulting Manchester City's defense.
By the 38th minute, after Griezmann moved to the left and feigned a cut inside, his elaborate fake quickly attracted the attention of the right center-back, Stones.
Then, Griezmann smoothly pulled the ball inward with his right foot, exhibiting a perfect rhythm between slow and fast, making unpredictable changes between the pulls and moves.
Stones, confounded by Griezmann's exquisite dribbling, lost his balance, and by the ti he tried to recover, Griezmann had already bolted away!
After cutting inside and breaking into the penalty area, Griezmann unleashed a high-quality curler with his right foot, sending the ball like a guided missile straight towards the top right corner between the crossbar and post!
"It's in!!!"
All Atletico fans in the stadium stood up, cheering and celebrating!
Wanda tropolis Stadium turned into a sea of red and white bed-sheeted joy.
"Atletico finally equalized in the first half!"
"This is Atletico's third shot in the first half, and the most threatening one!" added another comntator.
"It seems Atletico deliberately strengthened their defense against Tang Long."
"The threat level of Tang Long to the team has decreased, and does anyone know what strategy Guardiola will consider?"
In the remaining ti, both teams engaged in a fierce contest on the field, but neither side managed to score.
Ultimately, Manchester City entered halfti with a score of 1:1.
anwhile, in Madrid, 20 kiloters away from Wanda tropolis Stadium, in a luxury mansion.
The Portuguese C Luo was sitting in a spacious living room, intently watching the huge television screen, where the intense matchup between Manchester City and Atletico was unfolding.
Sitting with him was his agent ndes, also from Portugal.
C Luo's mother erged from the kitchen, holding two steaming cups of coffee, and smilingly handed one to ndes.
ndes took the coffee, politely thanked C Luo's mother, then gently blew on the steam and sipped slowly, keeping his composure.
"Cristiano, you need not worry too much. See, when Tang Long is locked down by two Atletico players, he can't play to his strengths," ndes remarked casually while sipping his coffee.
C Luo heard this, felt a slight twinge, and glanced at ndes, replying, "Worry? What am I worried about?"
ndes blew on his coffee again, lowered his head, and said, "I reckon Manchester City might not get past Atletico, given Atlético is a very tough opponent, especially with that madman Sione, enough for Manchester City to endure hardship."
Upon hearing this, the corners of C Luo's mouth slightly raised, revealing a faint smile, indifferent to it, "Whether Manchester City or Atletico wins and advances, I don't care. Who our opponent is in the final, I don't care either. My concern is to lead Real Madrid to win the 11th Champions League!"
ndes already anticipated C Luo's thoughts, asking with a half-smile, "If that's the case, why are you still watching this match?"
C Luo chuckled dryly, explained, "Getting a head start on potential future opponents is not a bad idea."
"No, that's not what you're thinking," ndes bluntly remarked, "You want to see if Tang Long scores again, as after all, he's your biggest threat to winning the Champions League Golden Boot this season!"
Hearing this, C Luo's previously calm face flushed slightly red; he stopped speaking but focused back on the television screen.
The first leg match between Real Madrid and Monchengladbach had already concluded the night before, with C Luo scoring a goal.
On the Champions League scorer's chart, his goal tally had reached 17, equaling his 2013-2014 season record for most goals in a single Champions League season!
Moreover, C Luo also leads the Champions League scorer's chart with a complete 3-goal advantage over second place, Tang Long.
From any angle, C Luo naturally doesn't want Tang Long to score against Atletico.
As for how many assists Tang Long makes, or how sensational they are, C Luo doesn't care at all!
In the end, the world always rembers the top scorer, not the top assist provider!
The competition between the two, from league goals, has continued to the Champions League goals.
Whether it's the European Golden Boot or the Champions League Golden Boot, with his strong competitive spirit, C Luo has long decided in his heart that he will defeat his opponent and claim these honors!
"You can't take what I won't give!"
Watching the replay of Tang Long's outer foot pass assisting Mkhitaryan's goal, C Luo made another silent vow.
His eyes flashed with determination, as if declaring to the world that in this fight for the Golden Boot, he will not allow anyone to take his honor away from him...
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