Chapter 507: Chapter 507
Tang Long was actually quite speechless about this seat selection matter.
Especially when he saw everyone eagerly watching him sit down before they all proceeded to take their seats; he felt a bit bored.
Why does it feel just like China, so funny~
"Has our club always been ? Do we have to wait for the team committee to sit down before the other players can?"
"No, it’s not like that. Joe Hart has been at Manchester City since 2007, back when City hadn’t been bought by Middle Easterners. One day, I also wondered and asked Hart who set this rule. Hart told me everyone used to sit wherever they wanted, first come first serve. Later, the Middle Easterners made this rule. So, these rules are foreign; maybe it’s also how they do it at UAE football clubs."
Tang Long nodded slightly, okay, that makes sense.
When the plane landed at Borussia Monchengladbach International Airport at 4 PM in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, in Munich City, inside Bayern’s club coach office.
In front of the computer, Guardiola rubbed his somewhat dazed eyes and said to a scout:
"Raymond, you’ve recently been running around South America too much; it’s exhausting. Why don’t you cancel tonight’s flight and go to Monchengladbach’s home game tomorrow to watch their Champions League match against Manchester City."
"Focus on finding their weaknesses in their passing tactics." Updates are released by novel·fiɾe·net
"Right, no need to look at the strengths; in my eyes, their strengths are not really strengths. Just watch for their passing game’s weaknesses."
"Hmm, I don’t know if Tang will play. If he does, particularly analyze his running routes and passing ideas. Form a scouting report for me after the match ends."
"Right, be quick, and ensure the content is detailed. I need to see it by the afternoon of the next day."
Manchester City, who had already secured first place in their group, did not use their full lineup against Borussia Monchengladbach.
Pellegrini fielded the substitutes.
Joe Hart regained his starting opportunity.
Mangala, Sabaleta, Delph, Iheanacho, and other fringe players also started.
It’s worth mentioning that Ranocchia’s recovery was quite good; he made it to the bench, with hopes to return to the field!
Borussia Monchengladbach was very aggressive in their offense. The Bundesliga team’s home game atmosphere needs no further words, far better than other European leagues.
Currently, they are ranked last. If they don’t want to be eliminated and go home after this game, they must take on Manchester City. Only by defeating the opponent can their rank rise to third in the group, directly advancing to the UEFA Europa League knockout stage.
In the first half, both sides tussled, and the score remained 0:0.
During halftime, Pellegrini gave Tang Long and Ranocchia a heads-up on the second half arrangements.
"Tang, you’ll come on around the 70-minute mark, play for about 20 minutes to warm up; Ranocchia, I’ll give you 5 minutes to get back into the groove in such an insignificant game."
Ranocchia had been away from the field for nearly a month and was eager to return.
Of course, returning during such an insignificant game against Monchengladbach is actually a good opportunity for Ranocchia personally, helping reduce his psychological pressure.
Since Tang Long was absent and Joe Hart wasn’t skilled in footwork, Manchester City tried to control possession in this game, but many times couldn’t fully maneuver Borussia Monchengladbach with passing.
Additionally, one starting midfielder, even a player freshly promoted from the youth team at 18 years old, although extremely active in running, seemed overly immature and inexperienced in playing style and football intelligence, unable to keep up with the first-team senior players.
In the 61st minute, Borussia Monchengladbach finally broke Manchester City’s defended goal!
Zaka took the ball, drove forward, then used his physical advantage to get past Delph, trotting two more steps before kicking with a big swing.
During the swing, Zaka didn’t even glance at Joe Hart’s position, just aimed well and blindly kicked!
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a world-class strike!
The football flew without any spin or curve, initially flying left, and about 10 meters from the goal it suddenly dropped right into the top right corner of the net.
Joe Hart, even with three heads and six arms, couldn’t react in time, the ball was untouched, despite his clumsy leap.
Borussia Monchengladbach’s fans thrilled, "Haha, as expected, facing Hart with a blind kick, now able to play UEFA Europa League."
Some Manchester City die-hard fans watching this Champions League match late at night in China also expressed their speechlessness towards Joe Hart.
-[Oh Hart, what’s going on? Can you do it or not?]
-[Honestly, it’s not Hart’s fault for this goal. Even if Caballero were here, he couldn’t stop it. Zaka suddenly pulled off a world-class strike.]
-[During the previous international match, I watched a Swiss game. Zaka kept shooting wide; it was ridiculous. Eight long shots, none on target. How did he manage a dipping shot on the first try tonight?]
-[That’s good luck coming, unstoppable, talking about Zaka!]
-[Haha, conversely, bad luck coming, unavoidable, talking about Hart!]
-[Calm down, I think just watching this world-class strike makes the game worthwhile.]
-[Not enough, I still want to see Tang Long play, and Ranocchia; I heard he might return this game, wonder if it’s true.]
Sure enough, Pellegrini substituted Tang Long in the 72nd minute, replacing Delph, letting Tang Long play at central midfield to organize the passing game.