NOVEL NEXT Chapter 284: He didn't score nor assist, yet made his teammates willingly kneel to clean his shoes!
"Good, good, that was really great!"
Agüero in the stands shouted "good" three times in a row!
But of course, he wasn't praising Bony's performance. In fact, from Agüero's perspective, Bony, the starting forward in this match, made a terrible shot.
Although he was quite composed on the second attempt, if it were Agüero himself, he would've scored from the first try.
Agüero's shouts of "good" were naturally in praise of Tang Long's great pass.
Agüero, in the stands, had a bird's-eye view.
He could clearly see the slight gap that opened up on Bony's side when Jiang Guangtai recklessly rushed towards Tang Long.
He once thought that Tang Long, moving at high speed, would only have his eyes on the goal at that moment, and surely take a shot, but unexpectedly, he pulled the ball back at the last moment and indeed found that gap.
The bird's-eye view from the stands allowed a clear overhead view of the whole field.
But the players in the game are on the field, at a parallel position, with their vision blocked by moving opponents and teammates, while constantly enduring various noise interferences.
Yet in that instant, Tang Long's choice was incredibly rational, aligning with Agüero's bird's-eye perspective from the stands!
Sitting in his seat, Agüero's feet were tapping the ground impatiently; he was itching to finish his suspension and join the match as a substitute in the second half.
As a forward, he really wanted to partner up with Tang Long on the field!
Manchester City's coach, Pellegrini, was also relieved at the sidelines.
In this match, he didn't continue with the strategy of putting Tang Long at the front line like the last second half, opting instead for the conventional 4-2-3-1, starting Bony, who had previously performed terribly.
This formation decision was actually made under tremendous pressure!
After all, Bony's poor performance had the media harshly criticizing the Ivorian, as well as Pellegrini and the rest of Manchester City's management, for agreeing to bring Bony into the team.
Yaya Toure didn't want Bony to be abandoned by Manchester City, partly to consolidate the French Language Gang's influence in the locker room, helping himself secure a contract renewal;
And as Manchester City's coach, Pellegrini also had his own motives.
Back when Bony's scouting report was pushed onto the coach's office desk, there were several other player options including Austin from Queens Park Rangers, Berahino from West Brom, Pelle from Southampton, among others, whose performances were equally outstanding, with goal efficiency not inferior to Bony.
Bony coming to Manchester City indeed had Yaya Toure's influence, but in the end, it was Pellegrini himself who played a decisive role in this transfer.
"See, I was right, wasn't I? Putting Tang Long in the attacking midfielder position to fully exploit his overarching vision would definitely activate Bony as well. Bony is like a sleeping lion, and we're waiting for the day he wakes up!" Pellegrini happily said to his assistant coach.
"Boss, your decisions are always correct, I'm always here to support you!" Rein, the long-time assistant coach under Pellegrini, always supported his superior unconditionally.
Playing in the Premier League, Manchester City loves to break through the opponent's goal as quickly as possible.
Preferably in the first half, the sooner the better, especially against teams like today's Everton; scoring in the opening minutes is ideal.
Because with Manchester City's possession and passing game, and their stature in the Premier League, every match, especially home games, must strive for victory. Regardless of which team visits, Blue Moon's sole objective is to secure all three points, otherwise it's a failure!
The visiting teams to Manchester City, whether they are powerhouses like Liverpool and Arsenal, or relegation battlers like Norwich and Stoke City, usually focus on defense and counter-attacks.
But once they are first scored upon by Manchester City, counter-attacks become meaningless.
Because losing by one goal is a loss, and losing by two goals is still a loss.
At this point, they are forced to attack actively, which is exactly what Manchester City likes, because once the opponents press forward, the gaps behind them inevitably grow, and Manchester City's passing and control setup capitalizes on these gaps!
So in the following match, Manchester City played with ease.
In the 29th minute of the first half, Tang Long again demonstrated his magnet-like effect in midfield.
He moved the ball back and forth like Pirlo, pretending to pass left but pulling it back, directing the right-side teammates to adjust their positions.
This is a typical fake-out move, aimed at drawing Everton's midfielders closer, with as many players as possible.
Once they moved closer, Tang Long's next move would fully exploit the space behind them.
If the score was 0:0 at this point, Everton's players might not have rushed in;
But as they were trailing, even knowing Tang Long's move was an obvious trap, Everton's players had to charge in because they must take their chances!
If they could intercept this ball, they could launch a counter-attack right there.
Barry and McCarthy, Everton's two central midfielders, one old, one young, quickly charged towards Tang Long, attempting to box him in together.