Chapter 530: Chapter 530

After all, even though he’s not physically weak, he’s essentially a technical midfielder. His strengths lie in awareness, passing, and overall game vision.

As for Gundogan, he positions himself as a metronome, playing the role of bringing the ball out of the mid and backfield, controlling the tempo.

However, when Gundogan’s agent told him that the current Premier League is not what it used to be, and Manchester City’s possession football is even comparable to the legendary Barça of the past.

"No need to worship your idol Harvey, going to Manchester City, you can become their Harvey!"

The agent specifically instructed him to carefully observe the performance of Manchester City’s Chinese player Tang in this match.

"Don’t underestimate Tang just because he’s not yet 20, there’s a lot you can learn from him!"

Initially, Gundogan came to watch this match with a learning mindset.

But when he saw the teams clash from the start, with constant physical confrontations, Gualin was first brought down by Ranocchia, then knocked over by Tang Long—a brutal physical battle that left Gundogan shaken.

"Goodness, is this what they call Manchester City’s technical play? I didn’t see the technique, just a sense that it’s even more brutal than Bundesliga!"

Thinking this way, Gundogan became quite worried about his future at Manchester City.

This team’s playing style doesn’t align with my ideals!

Actually, it wasn’t just Manchester City; Barça was also pursuing this German midfielder, wanting him to replace the 35-year-old Harvey.

But Manchester City offered a higher price, and negotiations were more sincere, swiftly intercepting Gundogan.

Gundogan started to hesitate internally: "I feel like I’m more suited to the style of Barça. I haven’t signed my personal contract yet; is it too late to back out now?"

After receiving a few minutes of treatment, Gualin returned to the pitch. Considering their camaraderie, Tang Long had held back, so Gualin was fine.

However, having suffered this, he was wary of Tang Long and no longer dared to confront him head-on, opting instead to target Yaya Toure and Delph.

Perhaps it was the few opening clashes that immediately stoked the tension;

Or maybe it was because this was the first match of the New Year, and players from both sides were playing with great effort.

The players’ movements were much larger than usual, and the attacks became more direct, with many balls going straight through, with little transition, all wanting to nail down the opponent with one hit!

"Why the rush, keep the ball controlled, stay calm," Pellegrini shouted anxiously.

Pochettino, however, was quite pleased to see this state.

After all, just messing around, if it can disrupt Manchester City’s rhythm, all the better.

After all, he came to this ground only hoping to get a point~

In the stands, the favorite scout for Guardiola, Rein, shook his head.

He wasn’t even taking notes, tossing his notebook onto the seat, crossing one leg over the other, leaning back in his chair.

"What kind of play is this? Can’t they stabilize once it gets a little messy at the start? Ah, so inexperienced, they need more practice!"

At the 35th minute, Manchester City had a perfect opportunity.

After receiving a direct pass from Delph, Tang Long made a swift turn and pull as if a phantom, charging toward the tightly guarded area of Ali and Dale!

The speed of this move was so swift that both Ali and Dale were momentarily stunned.

The two instinctively made the motion to close off.

Only, they didn’t close the door on Tang Long; they ended up slamming into each other’s shoulders!

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In the eyes of the England national team’s twin stars filled with shock and disbelief, a question kept echoing in their minds: Clearly, the distance between them was compressed to the limit, almost nothing, so how did Tang Long, phantom-like, slip through?

Mancini was not surprised by Tang Long’s dribble but also found that since coming to the Premier League, Tang Long was noticeably stronger than in Serie A, easily toying with two England national team players at once.

Mancini felt a bit of relief, thankful that Tang Long wouldn’t be playing in the European Cup, otherwise, the England team would have had one more formidable opponent.

In the stands, Gundogan’s eyes lit up, raising his head slightly, finally showing a hint of approval.

"Not bad, his footwork is something, no less than Reus!"

This play by Tang Long reminded Gundogan of his teammate Reus at Dort.

However, what followed with Tang’s pass left Gundogan at a loss, covering his forehead with his hand in disappointment~

Tang Long passed the ball toward the left-center, into the penalty area;

But Bony, not on the same wavelength, ran to the right!

Completely at cross purposes!

Watching the ball roll out the bottom line, Bony slapped his thigh in frustration, repeatedly apologizing to Tang Long:

"Your idea was right, I didn’t keep up, sorry Tang!"

Tang Long nodded slightly, thinking how previously when partnering with Bony, his positioning was quite determined, but now, his mind seemed to freeze, wasting a solo chance.

Wasting opportunities leads to punishment, especially against strong teams like Tottenham vying for a Champions League spot.

Even at home, Manchester City couldn’t afford to slack off!

Just a minute after this attack ended, with a powerful long ball of over 70 meters from goalkeeper Lori, the ball was sent directly into Manchester City’s penalty area.

Tall striker Kane has unparalleled judgment for landing spots in attacks.

With his tall frame and long legs, he retreated for a header, right before Kompany, heading the ball to the advancing Ali.

Toure quickly moved out to defend Ali, calling on teammate Delph to cover his gap.

What was unexpected was, Ali, having observed early on, didn’t even control the ball but noticed Gualin moving up.

Instead of stopping the ball, he simply flicked his head, sending the ball over the onrushing Toure, landing at Gualin’s feet!

By this time, Delph was already a step slow, still two or three meters away from Gualin.

They say, "when you see Hart, just take a shot," and having played half a season in Premier League, Gualin knew this principle well.

Though Hart wasn’t the starter in this match, Gualin noticed that Caballero, who stood in front of Manchester City’s goal, appeared smaller than Hart.

Why not give it a try?

Gualin didn’t hesitate, going for a volleyed shot.

This shot was so sudden that even Gualin himself was surprised. The ball suddenly dipped in front of the goal, with both power and angle precisely right, making Caballero’s full-stretch attempt futile!

Tottenham 1-0, breaking the deadlock first!

Scout Rein sprang into action, jotting down[Joe Hart]and[Caballero]on his notebook, marking a cross beneath both names!

[Caballero has moderate foot skills, decent passing, but his goal-line technique is rather average, unsuitable as the starting goalkeeper, recruitment needed]

Gualin cheered loudly, then continued pounding his massive chest with both fists, just like a gorilla in the jungle, joyously jumping with Ali, who performed an awkward dance.

Though the dance was unsightly, the joy of scoring was evident on the face of the Colombian.

The rest of the match saw both sides exchanging opportunities, playing a tense game without altering the score.

Manchester City temporarily entered halftime trailing 0:1.

Having witnessed the full first-half performance of the team he was about to join.

Gundogan was overwhelmed with incredulity.

As a 25-year-old player, in the prime of his career.

If there’s a transfer, it should be to a strong team—at least a notch better than Dort, if not more.

But throughout this first half, he couldn’t see how this Manchester City was stronger than Dort!

Looking at the dejected Manchester City fans around him, Gundogan immediately sent a message to his agent.

"Chris, you promised there’d be possession football at Manchester City, and you call this possession? I’m not going to Manchester City, contact Barça for me immediately!"

The author is quite tired today and will go to sleep first. Just this one update of 4000 words, I’ll make up with three updates tomorrow.