Chapter 310: The Manchester Derby Kicks Off! Tang Long: You have to beat Manchester United mercilessly!_2
The continuous cheers erupted from the stands, gathering and converging into the player's tunnel after colliding with the surroundings.
A tense atmosphere spread out.
Tang Long, coming here for the first time, was in a good mood. As he walked down the steps, a small ball boy in a Manchester United jersey reached out to Tang Long.
Thinking he wanted a handshake, Tang Long smiled and reached out to give him a high five;
But the ball boy retracted his hand at the last moment, pressing his fingers against his nose and making a pig nose face at Tang Long.
"So young and already deceiving people, that's not right," said Ranocchia, wanting to educate the young boy a bit, now that he was a father.
Tang Long waved his hand.
"Andrea, how many people did Manchester United bring?"
"Judging by the momentum outside, at least over seventy thousand."
"After tonight, let's have them all cry!"
The two teams lined up.
Tang Long turned his head and saw Icardi, realizing that Icardi was also staring at him.
Their gazes clashed, a cloud of smoke.
"Captain, long time no see."
Icardi deliberately bypassed Tang Long, greeting Ranocchia in the back row.
Ranocchia nodded coldly, "Long time no see, Mauro."
Former teammates turning into rivals, such things happen all the time on the football field.
So far this season, Tang Long and Ranocchia encountered former teammates like Gualin, Podolski, Shaqiri, and Handanovic; the atmosphere was rather pleasant, with laughter and chatting after the game, maintaining contact privately.
But none of the former Inter players have contacted Icardi.
Because they are still in Icardi's blacklist on his contacts!
The encounter between Icardi and Tang Long bore a special significance.
Back when they were at Inter, the two were once best friends with deep conversations, able to talk candidly in the locker room showers about football and life.
Rookie Tang Long solidified his position in the Inter first team by assisting Icardi, growing into a new midfield star;
With Tang Long's help, Icardi clinched the Serie A Golden Boot, scoring 40 league goals, which perhaps would stand as the single-season scoring record in Serie A for a long time.
Once, the "Sugar-coated Cannonball" duo drove innumerable Chinese fans crazy, calling them natural partners;
Now, meeting again after they've been split, they have different masters, becoming arch-rivals in the same city!
No wonder Zhan Jun exclaimed after presenting the starting lineup:
"The once 'Sugar-coated Cannonball' duo wrote countless legends on the Apennine Peninsula, their seamless chemistry moved numerous Chinese fans to craze and infatuation. And now, fate's wheel quietly turns, former bosom friends become same-city adversaries, meeting on this smoke-filled Manchester Derby battlefield. Time flows on, circumstances change, evoking deep sighs. But this is perhaps the charm of football, full of uncertainties and variables!"
Numerous Chinese fans waited in the broadcast room, paying attention to this European football focus match.
The hype once overshadowed the Spanish national derby.
Starting lineups: Home team Manchester United 4-2-3-1
Icardi
Rooney/De Bruyne/Mata
Schneiderlin/Schweinsteiger
Rojo/Smolin/Jones/Valencia
De Gea
Away team Manchester City: 4-2-3-1
Agüero
Sterling/Tang Long/Navas
Yaya Toure/Fernando
Kolarov/Ranocchia/Kompany/Sagna
Caballero
...
As the main referee's whistle sounded, Rooney, this Manchester United captain, charged towards Manchester City's front like a wild bull.
From the days of Scholes, Giggs, C Luo, to now De Bruyne, Mata, Icardi;
30-year-old Rooney's teammates have changed batch after batch, yet he still serves Manchester United, holding an absolute main position.
The changing element is the teammates around him, but unchanged is that heart yearning for victory.
Manchester United's initial attack was exceptionally fierce after the start.
As a member of the top tier contending for the Premier League title this season, Manchester United must defeat their rival in this city derby to overtake Manchester City and maintain their advantage over Chelsea.
Just 8 minutes after kickoff, Manchester United scored.
Rooney drove the ball forward but was intercepted by Fernando who stretched out his foot. Fernando passed the ball to Yaya Toure, who then advanced with it.
"Rooney lost the ball, no need to guess, everyone knows what he'll do next!"
"Sure enough, he didn't stand still and complain but sprinted all the way back to defend!"
"Toure lost possession, oh dear, he was careless, didn't even realize Rooney was chasing from the rear side!"
"The 30-year-old Manchester United captain is still physically fit, he's like a perpetual motion machine, you can see his coverage all over the field."
"I still have to say that phrase, having Lu Xiaopang at home, brings happiness and peace!"
Toure lost the ball upfront, and a gap appeared in Manchester City's defense.
Valencia decisively cut from his wing-back position, received a pass from Rooney, and back-heeled it—the running De Bruyne swiftly took over, swung his legs, faced the goal from 30 meters, and blasted a shot!
Despite stabilizing his performance in recent matches and replacing Joe Hart as the starting goalkeeper, Caballero, with a height just over 1.8 meters, had his limitation exposed in this world-class long shot by De Bruyne.
"Goal! De Bruyne scores from a long shot!"
"By this small ball's distance, it's at least 30 meters, by sight estimation."
"This was the first shot from either side in the game, breaking the deadlock!"
"Haha, Old Sir Ferguson in the stands jumped up waving his arms excitedly!"
De Bruyne excitedly rushed towards the stands of die-hard fans and slid to his knees.
He wanted to prove to everyone that he wasn't Manchester City's so-called backup plan, he was the best attacking midfielder in the entire Premier League!
Icardi was extremely excited too, even though he didn't participate in this attack, the team broke through Manchester City's goal early in the game, leading 1-0, he felt extremely proud.
On the way to De Bruyne, he deliberately circled around to Tang Long and bumped him with his shoulder~
This detail was singled out in subsequent replays, with the broadcaster keen to stir up excitement replaying the scene.
Chinese fans watching the live broadcast erupted instantly!
-[Damn Icardi, he's so despicable!]
-[Celebrate all you want, why deliberately bump into others?]
-[I just can't understand Icardi, does he have such a grudge against Tang Long, is it necessary!]
-[Necessary! In this kid's mind, whoever obstructs him from taking first place is his enemy.]
-[Last time in Manchester United's match against Tottenham, Guarin gave him a punch, this bastard still hasn't learned his lesson, Tang Long should beat him up!]
-[Don't let Tang Long do it, let Ranocchia go, he's big and could finish him off!]
-[I say, Manchester City should come back, thrash Manchester United, and shut out this Icardi, that's the greatest humiliation for him!]
Losing a goal isn't scary, what's scary is being intimidated by Manchester United's momentum. This season, quite a few Premier League teams visiting this stadium got frightened by Manchester United fans' terrifying jeers after conceding early in the first half.
But for Manchester City's players, this issue simply doesn't exist.
Playing a derby and scared of jeering?
The louder your jeers, the stronger my response, won't believe I can splash you right in the face?
Just 5 minutes later, Tang Long provided a counterstrike.
On the attacking midfielder's position, he used his signature teasing dribbling.
But this time, Tang Long played even more boldly.
The ball seemed to be dribbling and rolling under a pre-set model program on his foot, until it attracted the encirclement of Mata, Schweinsteiger, and De Bruyne. Only at the last moment did he align with that golden line and delivered a precise as a scalpel direct pass, penetrating Jones and Smolin's defense.
Agüero rushed diagonally and without even looking at the goalkeeper, struck fiercely with the front of his foot!
The ball crashed into the net from De Gea's hands, making a huge "swish" sound!
"Great pass!"
"Beautiful strike!"
The two hit their palms with force, Tang Long's palm bruised from Agüero's slap!
Tang Long had already had the opportunity to give a through ball to Agüero after attracting Mata and Schweinsteiger;
But he deliberately waited for a third person, De Bruyne, to rush up before passing the ball!
Because he wanted to show Manchester United his confidence and composure, overwhelming them with self-assurance!
Agüero rarely uses a solid foot strike for one-on-one opportunities, he could easily just poke it in;
But he chose to make a powerful strike, breaking through the goal guarded by De Gea with force!
Because he wanted to show Manchester United his dominance and decisiveness, overwhelming them with intensity!
Just like Tang Long said, to fight Manchester United, fight them to the death!