Chapter 463: Chapter 463

Tang Long faced a melee of over two defensive players every time he received the ball in the backfield;

Fortunately, he was highly focused, and amidst shuffles and maneuvers, he did not make any mistakes or lose the ball.

However, just when one wave was settled, another rose!

As Pellegrini was solving problems, new issues arose.

Since the starting forward was Bony, and the left-winger was still Iheanacho, this led to Tang Long struggling with limited pulling power from the forward line after advancing to the front.

Both Iheanacho and Bony are black and very capable runners, excelling in chaotic plays!

But when it comes to purposeful and methodical positioning in precise pass-control games, that’s not their forte.

Toure is the only one with experience.

But oddly enough, Toure’s stamina is starting to be problematic...

Toure, at 32, feels that ever since turning 30, his stamina diminishes year by year.

In the first half, he was exhausted by Otamendi, consuming over 65% of his stamina, and by the 60th minute in the second half, Toure could barely run.

The decline in physical fitness led to distorted technical movements, and despite being tall and strong, he couldn’t withstand the onslaught from Swansea’s young lads, frequently falling and losing possession.

Consequently, Tang Long had no choice but to rely on his personal skill and anticipation of the field situation after taking the ball in the defensive midfield to drive forward as close as possible to Swansea’s penalty area, trying to connect with Bony.

But this also consumed a significant amount of Tang Long’s stamina!

Connections weren’t always successful.

Bony was hesitating during a run after receiving Tang Long’s through ball, wanting to dribble and shoot;

in the rush, Swansea’s center-backs intercepted and promptly cleared the ball to the frontfield!

If Tang Long stood in the defensive midfield position, he could immediately predict the ball’s path, either preemptively blocking or directly breaking;

If Toure was in the defensive midfield position, he could also disrupt from his position.

But Toure had moved to an attacking midfield role, and Tang Long had just driven all the way from the backfield, passing three players to bring the ball to the frontfield, and no matter how fast Tang Long ran, it wasn’t as fast as Swansea’s pass.

Fortunately, Swansea too had big threats but little performance, a group of rough players making successive faulty passes, the ball was kicked directly to the stands five meters in front of the penalty area~

Otamendi, having slid in with a fierce tackle, slowly got up from the ground, his jersey covered in mud and sweat that soaked him thoroughly, as if he’d just showered.

"Control the ball, control the ball! Did you forget all the training lessons in this match?"

Pellegrini was stomping his feet anxiously on the sidelines.

I’ve painstakingly built a passing control tactic for over two years, changed three players, and suddenly can’t they play?

In the stands of Swansea’s Brighton Stadium, which only accommodates 20,000 fans.

A Chelsea scout with a low brim was watching the situation on the field, showing a pleased face while scribbling notes...

In the next round, which is the 15th round of the Premier League, Chelsea will host Manchester City.

The Blue Army coach Mourinho specifically sent a trusted scout to the Brighton Stadium in Wales to watch the match between Manchester City and Swansea live.

Mourinho wanted to see what tactics Manchester City would adopt after losing three key players. Original content can be found at novel⟡fire.net

Now looking at it, Mourinho, receiving this scout report, must be very pleased!

Swansea managed to grind out a 0:0 draw against the formidable Manchester City at home!

The moment the referee blew the whistle ending the match, all Swansea players raised their arms victoriously!

The atmosphere was no less than winning a Premier League match, even happier than winning!

On Manchester City’s side, the players were unwillingly disappointed.

In their plan, facing a mid-to-low Premier League team like Swansea, whether home or away, was 100% aimed at securing three points, considering there’s no reason not to win against a team like Swansea if they aim for the championship.

Tang Long was named the Man of the Match!

Though the score was 0:0, and neither side scored, making the match seem devoid of highlights.

The only highlight, however, remained with Tang Long!

In this match, Tang Long started and played for the full 90 minutes, running a total of 12.1 kilometers, leading all players;

Within this, he sprinted 3.1 kilometers, also topping the charts.

In passing, Tang Long made a total of 102 passes with a success rate of 94%!

In defense, he achieved 2 tackles and 4 interceptions, ranking first in defensive stats within the Manchester City team.

Perhaps due to these impressive statistics, even though neither side scored, the Premier League still awarded Tang Long the Man of the Match.

Yet, despite winning the Man of the Match again, Tang Long was not happy in front of the camera.

Since joining Manchester City, he had claimed numerous Man of the Match awards.

Yet every time, the team would win, and he’d either score goals or provide assists.

This match, with no merit to show, awarding him the Man of the Match, was more of an embarrassment than praise!

"I am not satisfied with the team’s performance today, nor with my own performance; we could have done better," Tang Long told reporters.

Apart from Manchester City, teams ranked 2nd to 4th in the Premier League all won!

Manchester United easily claimed a 2:0 home victory over Southampton, with Icardi scoring twice!

This win not only helped Manchester United reduce the points gap with Manchester City to 2 points, but also saw Icardi surpass the injured Agüero to lead the top scorers’ chart with 13 goals!

Chelsea meanwhile dominated with a 4:1 victory over Tottenham in London’s White Hart Lane, reaching 31 points and only trailing Manchester City by 4 points.

Arsenal took a late charge, coming from behind to win 3:1 against Leicester City after conceding first!

Compared to Icardi, who continued to talk big in the post-match press conference, the media was more focused on Mourinho’s remarks post-match.

Ever since returning to Chelsea from Real Madrid, Mourinho had mellowed compared to his younger years, appearing less defiant;

But his comments still displayed his internal pride and recognition of his "I’m the special one" identity.

"I’m puzzled! At the season’s start, you media were all hyping that this season’s Premier League champions would be between Manchester City and Manchester United."

"Did you forget about my Chelsea, forget about me, Mourinho?"

"Open your eyes and see! Who were the Premier League champions last season, 2014–15?"

"It wasn’t Manchester United, not Manchester City, nor Arsenal, but us, Chelsea!"

Mourinho’s eyes gleamed with a wise smile, as he opened a bottle of water, took a big gulp, and leaned back tactically in his chair.

Although their match with Manchester City occurred simultaneously, he received a call from the scout at Brighton Stadium right after the match ended.

During the call, Mourinho’s capable scout detailed the circumstances of Manchester City’s draw at Swansea’s away game.

Mourinho was very pleased with this outcome!

Being the defending champions, Chelsea was eager to compete for the Premier League title again.

Mourinho was even happier with the process!

He even thought that despite his graying hair, he wasn’t too stubborn in coaching; there were more stubborn coaches in the Premier League, Pellegrini being one of them.

"You ask about Manchester City’s match? I know they drew."

"How do I rate their draw? What do I think of Tang?"

"Well, you media always like to set traps for me. I don’t like commenting on other teams, nor do I like evaluating players from other teams."

"But given that we’re facing Manchester City at home next round, I’ll say a few things, or you’ll complain I didn’t provide news material."

"Haha, Manchester City is indeed strong, Tang is also strong, but none of them are my opponents!"

"You ask why I say this? Young man, which unit are you from? Looking at your age, you’ve just started as a reporter, right! Ten years ago when you were in high school, I was coaching Chelsea at the time and I said, ’Because I’m the special one!’"

(Premier League champion? Don’t forget us, Chelsea!)