Inside the office of Manchester City’s head coach.
"Even though we didn’t draw Dortmund, the weakest team, avoiding Real Madrid is already quite a good result." Assistant coach Chiwo said with a look of relief.
Guardiola nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the Juventus emblem on the screen, next to so tactical analyses Chiwo worked on overnight.
"Juventus, well, it’s a decent draw."
Last season, Manchester City and Juventus were in the sa Champions League group, and Manchester City defeating Juventus twice was still fresh in everyone’s mind.
These experiences gave Manchester City an intimate understanding of Juventus’ playing style and tactics and also provided a considerable psychological advantage.
anwhile, on Manchester City’s training ground, the players were engaged in their regular training.
New winter transfer Onana, drenched in sweat, had just finished an intense reaction training session for goalkeepers when he saw Tang Long stretching on the side.
His eyes lit up as if he’d discovered a treasure, quickly ran over, grabbed Tang Long’s arm, and said with full expectation, "Tang, how about we practice so penalties together?"
Onana, the young goalkeeper who just stepped onto the stage of the top five leagues, although he hadn’t yet appeared in Manchester City’s Champions League gas, the stories of the football world had already planted countless dreams in his heart.
He often envisioned the classic scenes of Tang Long teasing Buffon three tis at the penalty spot.
Every young goalkeeper has his own idols; the steadiness of Casillas, the calmness of Cech, they are all models to learn from.
But Onana held a special admiration for Buffon, every brilliant save, every composed command of the defense by Buffon fascinated Onana.
The Caroonian player hoped to beco a defensive commander like Buffon.
Yet when he saw on TV Tang Long’s clever feints three tis making Buffon lose his balance and score effortlessly on penalties, the shock was indescribable, and his admiration for Buffon quietly shifted to Tang Long!
Tang Long stopped his movent, smiled, and waved his hand, "Why practice this? It’ll waste ti."
Tang Long knew well that his skills in penalties couldn’t be improved by last-minute efforts.
It was a combination of long-term big data analysis, careful study of goalkeepers’ habitual movents, attack directions, instant judgnt of opponents’ psychology, and his own unique talent to attain that level.
Does practicing a dozen or twenty kicks on this training ground help?
It does, but not much.
Onana, however, was persistent, still pestering Tang Long, hands together in a pleading gesture, "Just for a while, Tang, please."
At this mont, Bravo walked over, wiping the sweat from his forehead, and with a smile, pushed Onana aside with one hand.
"Big guy, if there’s practice, it’s with and Tang Long, what are you practicing? You can’t even play in the Champions League."
Bravo’s words were like a cold shower, instantly waking Onana.
Only then did he rember, in the first half of the season, he had already played in the Champions League representing Ajax, and due to the competition’s rules and team personnel arrangents, he wasn’t even registered for Manchester City’s Champion’s League matches.
Onana’s face flushed red to his ears, scratched his head awkwardly, chuckled twice, and turned to run back to his training area.
Bravo looked at Onana’s back, shook his head with a smile, and then folded his arms over his chest and walked to Tang Long’s side.
The sunlight shone on the training ground, casting shadows of the two.
"Tang, this ti facing Buffon, you should be more confident, right?" Bravo asked.
Since Tang Long joined Manchester City two years ago, his growth had been like a rocket soaring.
When he first ca, although he had excellent passing and ball control ability in the midfield position and scored many goals, his threatening presence wasn’t as significant as Agüero’s.
Until Guardiola, with his keen insight, pushed him to the front line.
This change completely unleashed Tang Long’s attacking talent!
On the front line, he was like an incredibly sharp dagger, wreaking havoc on the opponent’s defense.
This season, he not only secured the Premier League Golden Boot early but also beca C Luo’s only competitor for the European Golden Boot!
With each critical goal, his confidence soared, and his deanor transford remarkably.
Now, on the field, he could not only storm the goal from the front line but also retreat to the midfield, control the tempo of the match, becoming a figure that made opponents tremble.
Tang Long raised his head, a few white clouds drifted in the azure sky, and a gentle breeze brushed against his face.
He took a deep breath, savoring the unique redbrick atmosphere of Manchester, then exhaled slowly, eyes filled with determination.
"Let’s take down Juventus, I’m most experienced with them, I used to love taking them on when I was at Inter Milan."
"Back in Italy, every ti our Inter and Juventus clashed, it was explosive."
"Since coming to the Premier League, we’ve had fewer chances to face them, this ti catching them in the Champions League, I must go all out against them! Crush them completely!"
Tang Long recalled the fierce images of facing Juventus during his ti at Inter Milan, every physical clash, every fight for ball possession, was intense with gunpowder.
Bravo listened to Tang Long’s words, nodding, deeply impressed by Tang Long’s fighting spirit, he gave a thumbs up.
"Well done, Tang, we all believe in you."
Bravo couldn’t help but think of the deep historical rivalry between Inter Milan and Juventus on the Apennine Peninsula.
As a Chilean goalkeeper who had played in the top five leagues for many years, although he never set foot on Serie A fields, the na of the "Derby d’Italia" between Inter Milan and Juventus was legendary.
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