Football: My AI System Provides Max-Level Predictions-Chapter 709 - 500: Winning in 4 Minutes After Coming On! Manchester City’s Tight Schedule Can’t Dim His Brilliance!
Dreams are always fleeting.
Sometimes, when you wake up, you remember every detail clearly, but after a few hours, you forget everything, and no matter how hard you try, you can't recall it.
So Guardiola was eager to share this detail with Chiwo.
"Right after the match, I immediately asked De Bruyne how he managed to make such a beautiful pass, haha, that pass was truly astonishing!"
Chiwo curiously asked, "How did Kevin assist Tang?"
Guardiola looked around. There was a globe on the table. He took it down and threw it on the floor, stepping on it with the sole of his foot.
"Let me show you."
Guardiola tapped his head, trying hard to recall, then went up and kicked the globe away.
"It's that kind of ground strike, but not purely a ground strike, because after the ball landed, it had a bit of spin to it, just enough to bypass Modric's defensive area and pass right between Kroos and Casemiro, catching up with Tang sprinting down the left flank!"
"That technique was truly impressive. If the spin after landing had been a little less, Tang might not have caught up, and there wouldn't have been a one-on-one with Ramos."
After saying this, Guardiola paused and looked at Chiwo, seemingly waiting for him to ask.
Chiwo smiled, knowing he couldn't avoid asking, "The spinning ground ball is Tang's specialty. De Bruyne may not play it as well as Tang does, so what did he say?"
Guardiola suddenly had a serious face and said sinisterly, "De Bruyne told me you often analyze Tang's playing secrets for him on the phone. When he asks you something, you answer it. It was you who told him how to play it."
Chiwo's mind went blank!
He opened his mouth wide and started breathing heavily, hurriedly waving his hand and saying:
"No, I didn't, there's absolutely no such thing. I was going to tell Icarus..."
Realizing he was about to spill the beans, Chiwo quickly shut his mouth.
Beads of sweat as big as beans appeared on his forehead.
In an instant, his mind was racing like a torrent: "Did Guardiola find out I was analyzing Tang's playing style for Icardi, and is he deliberately asking me? No, no, no, that wasn't even a pass from De Bruyne—everything's a mess, what the heck."
Guardiola stared at Chiwo for a few seconds and then burst into laughter~
The laughter was so loud that as he laughed, he choked on his own saliva and started coughing violently.
Chiwo quickly handed him a water cup, and Guardiola gulped down a large mouthful and slumped back on the sofa.
This time, not only was Chiwo sweating all over, but Guardiola was also drenched in sweat.
He laughed, "When I woke up, I found it so funny. If De Bruyne were on our team, couldn't he directly talk to Tang about techniques face-to-face? Why would he need to ask you on the phone? It's unnecessary, so yeah, dreams are dreams, always full of absurdity and strangeness, sigh."
Upon hearing the words 'absurdity' and 'strangeness', Chiwo also let out a long sigh of relief.
It seemed like it was indeed a real dream, Guardiola wasn't trying to trick him.
Feeling relieved, Chiwo immediately changed the topic.
"De Bruyne is indeed a promising talent. If he could come to Manchester City, it would be perfect. I heard he originally wanted to come to Manchester City, but we used the budget for buying him to buy Tang instead."
Guardiola nodded, "That's right, I also like Kevin a lot. He's a good lad. It's a pity this isn't Bayern. Otherwise, I could easily bring him over."
The two shared a knowing smile.
...
Three days later, it was another League Cup match.
This season, Manchester City is aiming for the league and Champions League double.
The Premier League schedule is the most congested among the five major leagues. The FA Cup can still be taken seriously, but the League Cup is really tiresome!
But they couldn't openly give up on it, so Guardiola fielded a starting lineup full of substitutes, treating it as a training opportunity to give the backup players some run time.
Even the second-choice goalkeeper Caballero, who hadn't played in a while, started the match.
The opponent was West Brom, who also weren't keen on playing, as they had to face Manchester City again in the Premier League two days later.
For a relegation-threatened team like West Brom, the league is definitely the priority. If you give them a League Cup win at the cost of relegating to the Championship, the owner would definitely go crazy.
So they also fielded their substitutes.
Both sets of players were indifferent, and the spectators were yawning. Tang Long was chatting casually with Ranocchia on the bench.
But as they started watching, they realized something was off!
Manchester City's starting goalkeeper Caballero continuously made several brilliant saves, keeping the goal intact!
Not only that, but Guardiola's calm face contrasted with Caballero's urgency as he loudly urged his teammates on.
"Run a few more steps, Delph!"
"Otamendi, are you awake? Look at your man!"
Watching from the sidelines, Ranocchia laughed and said to Tang Long:
"They're right not to put in too much effort. If they're too proactive, Caballero wouldn't have a chance to show off!"
This was Caballero's first appearance for Manchester City this season.
The Argentine goalkeeper was not in a good mood for the new season!
He thought, "Last season I was Manchester City's starting goalkeeper. This season I'm a backup. Why? This newcomer Bravo is just as old and just as short as me, he's not necessarily better! I wasn't afraid of competing for the starting spot with Joe Hart, so why should I be afraid of a Chilean?"
Caballero cherished this starting opportunity in the League Cup as a rare chance to perform, playing as if he was on stimulants, blocking everything high and low.
A series of saves earned applause from the audience at the Etihad, shaking off their sleepiness.
Several West Brom players, known for their long-range shots, became more interested when their wonder shots were denied, continuing their assault.
"Let's see just how strong you are!"
On the other hand, the Manchester City players on the field, although mostly substitutes and young reserves, were not willing to just play passively since the opponent was out to win. It was unacceptable for a mere West Brom to lord over Manchester City at their home ground.
The players were inspired by Caballero's fighting spirit and started moving.
But the chemistry among these substitutes was not as good as the main squad, so both sides found themselves locked in a stalemate.
Seconds and minutes of the match ticked away.
The time reached 80 minutes.
Guardiola was getting a little anxious!
He muttered to himself, "Either win or lose, but a draw won't do!"
According to the League Cup rules, a draw would lead to a replay.
With Manchester City fighting on three fronts and already dealing with a packed schedule, they couldn't afford the burden of a pointless replay.
At the 83rd minute, the score was still 0-0.
Guardiola glanced at the bench, where Agüero and Tang Long were both sitting.
"Tang, get ready to go on!"
In the 84th minute, Tang Long replaced the goal-less Bonazzoli, stepping onto the field!
As he took to the field, a wave of enthusiastic cheers echoed through the Etihad Stadium!
"Let's see it, Tang!!!"
For this League Cup match, the 60,000 capacity Etihad Stadium had less than 40,000 in attendance.
The 40,000 fans were finally energized, giving their all in shouting.
They didn't care if it was three or five competitions; as long as they were at the stadium, they wanted a win — they had spent dozens of pounds on the ticket, genuinely supporting their team!
...
"Bang!"
On the left side of the box, Tang Long met Sabaleta's pass from the right, and with the instep of his foot, executed a perfect volley without stopping!
The shot was so powerful that the ball distorted violently, almost bursting the stitch lines!
"Whoosh——"
The ball shot like an arrow, cutting through the air!
If air could feel pain, it would surely scream in agony!
The ball, unstoppable even by West Brom's first-choice goalkeeper, flew past the substitute keeper, who stood frozen, watching helplessly as the ball soared into the net.
Just four minutes after coming on, Tang Long helped Manchester City finally break the deadlock that had lasted the entire match!
Tang Long spread his hands towards his teammates and smiled.
Guardiola laughed, "Alright, we won, so... we won!"
