Chapter 247: Chapter 247

Starting as the leader, it wasn’t long before the score was leveled, leaving Seville’s coach Emery in a very depressed mood.

In Inter’s lineup, the two tall full-backs, Dambrosio and Santon, were not on the field. The overall average height of the players from both teams wasn’t that different.

This gave Emery confidence in his team’s header contest success rate at the beginning.

Unexpectedly, Tang Long, who is only 1.82 meters tall, not considered tall nor known for headers, managed to score with a header in the penalty area.

Emery stood on the field, looking from afar with a parallel view, the header wasn’t very clear.

He just felt there was chaos among personnel in his side’s penalty area, everyone moving to the center, while Bonazzoli’s header swung to the back point.

Emery has been coaching for years and has won a championship.

Based on his mature coaching instinct, he believed that this set-piece was undoubtedly meticulously planned by Inter Milan.

Bonazzoli feigned a back flick to the center at the near post, while the two tall center-backs, Ranocchia and Juan, were just decoys; the ball indeed swung to Tang Long at the back point...

"This simple trick fooled all our defensive players, it’s really infuriating!"

Emery’s face turned pale, but he couldn’t help but admire the Serie A team’s ingenious tactical collaboration.

Although he had never coached a team from Italy, Italian football is famous worldwide for its tactics.

Many Italian coaches in Europe, like Ancelotti, Eriksson, Lippi, Mancini, and others, have achieved remarkable results in major European leagues.

Thinking of this, Emery felt somewhat insecure.

He tilted his head to the left, looking at Inter Milan’s head coach Mancini standing in the coaching area.

Mancini was chewing gum, with both hands in his pockets, wearing a relaxed demeanor.

The originally half-white hair was freshly dyed black before the match, making him look high-spirited, seemingly ten years younger.

And Chiwo, standing beside him, although retired, possessed an exceptionally upright physique.

The biceps on his arms bulged out the white shirt.

This build seemed even sturdier than the active professional players on Seville’s field!

Emery’s heart tightened suddenly, losing confidence in victory.

His previously arrogant aura was also diminished by half.

"Seems like I must think of a strategy during halftime; this match is a hundred times more difficult than I imagined..."

After this, there were mutual attacks and defenses.

But neither could change the score further.

The 1:1 score persisted until halftime.

Both players walked towards the player tunnel, drenched in sweat.

Di Marco walked to Bonazzoli’s side, hugging his neck.

"Hey, buddy, that back-flick header you did was great, a fortunate mistake landing right at the back point, really lucky!" Di Marco said, smiling.

Upon hearing Di Marco say he was lucky, Bonazzoli’s face sank.

Don’t be fooled; the two of them are obedient in front of Tang Long, but privately they’re competing with each other.

Both born in 1997, similarly promoted from the youth team to the first team.

Both are holding back a force within the team, wishing to surpass the other.

"Luck? It’s not luck, come on, I deliberately flicked it to the back point, what do you know."

Bonazzoli pushed away Di Marco’s arm that was hooked on his shoulder.

"Deliberate, haha! Who are you fooling? Everyone heard you shout ’center’ before jumping; we were all ready to receive your ball in the center."

Di Marco laughed indifferently.

Bonazzoli blushed and loudly said:

"I did that to mislead the opponent, get it? I deliberately shouted ’center,’ then flicked the ball to the back point, leaving Tang’s position open."

"That’s called surprising the opponent, misleading them; Tang often tells us this in training, haven’t you forgotten? Go back and review your lesson, kid!"

Di Marco was somewhat puzzled, half-believing.

At this moment, Tang Long walked by, Bonazzoli, seeing Di Marco’s disbelief, took the chance and called out to Tang Long.

"Tang, tell Di Marco, was my back-flick header to the back point deliberate or accidental?"

Tang Long stopped his steps, turning to see their expressions.

He saw Bonazzoli winking at him, immediately understanding the intention behind the question.

Compared to Di Marco, Tang Long had a closer relationship with Bonazzoli, as they both were players under Ronaldo.

Tang Long understood that for a forward, self-confidence is very important.

Currently, Bonazzoli has a technical gap with Icardi, but there’s also a confidence gap.

"Of course it’s deliberate, I specifically reminded him of this before the match!"

"Feint a center flick, swing the head to the back point, aiming for surprise."

Tang Long patted Di Marco’s shoulder and quickly walked towards the locker room, without looking back.

"Wow, it can be played , impressive!"

Hearing even Tang Long said so, Di Marco stopped doubting Bonazzoli.

"Share with me too, whatever moves you know, tell me all!"

Instead, he jogged to chase after Tang Long, asking him questions left and right.

In the stands, around Guardiola’s position, many seats were empty.

During halftime, many fans either went to the toilet or bought hot dogs or stretched their limbs, leaving their seats.

But Guardiola sat straight, unmoving.