Chapter 363: Chapter 363

Teammates crowded around, eager to celebrate with Tang Long, but Tang Long pushed them aside and expressionlessly charged into the goal, grabbed the ball, and sprinted back at the speed of a hundred-meter dash.

This body language was very clear, just a mere equalizer, what’s there to celebrate?

The Manchester City traveling contingent was also jubilant, for the first time all match, the cheers of Manchester City fans surpassed those of Liverpool fans!

Pellegrini and the assistant coach Rein slapped hands heavily.

"We did it, Rein, we did it!"

Manchester City’s morale skyrocketed. Despite losing Agüero and having no forwards, Tang Long’s sharp goal helped Manchester City equalize the score with difficulty!

Inside the Sky Sports studio.

Gerrard slapped his thigh heavily and exclaimed, "Oh!"

This shout was half due to the disappointment over Liverpool conceding;

The other half was astonishment at Tang Long’s goal!

"That goal, what a goal, decisive positioning! But, how did Lovren, who was marking Tang, let him slip away? It shouldn’t be, Lovren’s been performing well this season, almost without errors, but this defensive lapse is quite basic."

After Gerrard finished speaking, he paused, waiting for his colleagues to respond.

Yet after three seconds, there was still no reply.

Gerrard was taken aback, turned to look at his side, and found that neither Carra nor Neville made any move or sound.

"Don’t be dumb..." Gerrard covered the microphone, lowered his voice, and spoke softly to the two of them.

In truth, Gerrard was merely initiating the discussion on Tang Long’s goal, needing the defensive experts to analyze the lapse, as they were best positioned to understand why Lovren committed such a basic line-of-sight error.

Carra was nudged by Gerrard and finally snapped out of it.

He hesitated a moment, then said slowly, "Indeed Lovren lost track, which is very rare this season. This is my sixth commentary for Liverpool this season, and Lovren made no such basic error in the prior five games."

"Look at his shocked expression at the end; it’s clear this error caught him off guard. I think Lovren must have been distracted at that moment, fatal for a player in his position!"

Carra attributed Lovren’s lapse to inattentiveness.

But Gerrard found this perplexing!

If it were after 80 minutes and a defender was distracted, it would be understandable given the exhaustion near match’s end, leading to inevitable focus lapses.

But this was just around 60 minutes. The player’s stamina had not yet hit its limit, so why the lapse in focus?

Gary Neville, usually quite talkative, remained silent, simply sitting quietly.

"Neville, what’s your take?" Gerrard asked curiously.

His Adam’s apple moved slightly, raising his gaze to Gerrard and Carra, hesitating to speak until the replay began, he said sullenly:

"Lovren wasn’t distracted. As a former defender, I guarantee that Lovren was at 120% alertness; otherwise, he wouldn’t have immediately tried pulling Tang’s jersey."

"Here’s the slow motion; watch when Tang began his sudden move..."

On screen, Navas was on the right wing, using quick feints that left Moreno disoriented, followed by a floating cross and Iheanacho heading forward over Scottie.

Just as Iheanacho’s head touched the ball, the previously stationary Tang Long suddenly accelerated, instantly vanishing past Lovren!

He rushed towards the near point, where Iheanacho’s header perfectly arrived as expected—ball and player were in sync!

Neville’s twenty-year Premier League defender career gave him keen eyes for forward movement, realizing Tang Long secured the position not through speed nor Lovren’s distraction but via pre-emptive spatial anticipation!

Gerrard, being a midfielder, didn’t recognize this;

Carra, though a top defender, lagged slightly behind Neville’s level, also misconstruing it as a Lovren’s error.

But Neville’s explanation, paired with the slow-motion replay, gave them clarity.

"This... with the ball still on Iheanacho’s header, he could already anticipate its landing?"

Milner was extremely angry.

His anger came not only from being pegged back to a draw, making his free-kick goal less prominent;

But more so from Tang Long scoring!

Displaced from Manchester City by you, arriving in Liverpool, I must avenge myself—do you understand? Then let’s try!

Milner started running fiercely, like a mad dog, tirelessly everywhere.

With his energetic movement, Liverpool players too became restless, unwilling for their strides to slow down, seeking to use the surge to break Manchester City’s formation!

But this played right into Manchester City’s hands.

Manchester City’s team comprised midfielders with exceptional technical prowess.

They don’t fear chaotic breakthroughs, rather inactive, well-placed opponents.