Football: My AI System Provides Max-Level Predictions-Chapter 794 - 570: Champions League Shenanigans! Tang Long’s Marseille Spin teases Goding, assists Mkhitaryan for an easy goal!_2

Manchester City's players appear very composed in ball control; they dissolve Atletico Madrid's pressing time and again through precise passing and coordinated teamwork.

Gundogan, Diego, and Ranocchia firmly occupy three key positions in midfield, and their passing to each other flows like threading a needle;

Not to mention, Mkhitaryan and Navas on the flanks frequently tuck inside, forming tight connections with the midfield players, making Manchester City's control advantage in midfield increasingly apparent!

The commentator's voice timely rings out:

"In this match, Manchester City is showcasing very strong ball control at Atletico Madrid's home stadium!"

"The ball is always firmly under their control, and they are not in a hurry to attack, but instead mobilizing their opponent through continuous ball transmission."

"Gundogan, Diego, and Ranocchia firmly occupy three key positions in midfield, Mkhitaryan and Navas on the flanks frequently tuck inside, so it's obvious that Manchester City outnumbers Atletico Madrid in midfield!"

"This is interesting, not only does Manchester City have more players in midfield, but each player's ball control technique is also superior, it seems Atletico Madrid won't easily regain ball possession."

Right after these words, Atletico Madrid gets a sideline throw-in opportunity.

As fullback Philip throws the ball toward Saul, Ranocchia and Diego rapidly close in from left and right, creating a pincer attack on Saul;

Before Saul has time to react, Ranocchia swiftly intercepts the ball.

"The strength of Manchester City is not only reflected in offensive passing and control, but also in high-pressure defense!"

"Just now the instant encirclement of Saul reminded us of Barça during their peak Dream Team days!"

"It seems Guardiola has indeed carefully thought through his five-midfielder formation change for this game!"

"Manchester City's midfield players' personal abilities and foot techniques are inherently stronger than the opponents, combined with numerical advantage, midfield has already become Manchester City's realm!"

At this moment, the broadcast camera captures the figure of Tang Long.

After intercepting the ball, Ranocchia passes it to Gundogan on the left; while the camera is focusing on the central circle area, Tang Long suddenly appears on the screen, this situation seems somewhat unusual.

"What? Five midfielders still not enough? Guardiola actually lets Tang Long retreat to the attacking midfield position?"

"It appears that Manchester City is determined to seize control of the midfield in this match, was Simeone aware of this move before the match?"

In fact, it's not a rare occurrence for Tang Long to retreat from the frontline.

During Pellegrini's management of Manchester City, Tang Long played adeptly in both the attacking and defensive midfield positions; he was originally from midfield, and switching to forward was only for this season.

Guardiola arranges for Tang Long to appropriately retreat from the attack line, separating from Agüero, not to weaken the forward's capabilities, but to bolster the midfield, firmly grasping ball control to suppress Atletico Madrid at their home ground.

In the pre-match tactical meeting, Guardiola detailed this tactical arrangement to Tang Long, who listened attentively and nodded understandingly, knowing full well his critical role in this tactical system.

Atletico Madrid's players continue to follow their set defensive positioning, responsible for man-marking Tang Long throughout the match is Atletico Madrid's veteran captain Goding.

Having transferred from Villarreal to Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2010, Goding has served in the team for nearly 7 years, consistently holding the main starting position as central defender.

Now at 31, he is in his gold period as a central defender, maintaining good physical condition with techniques and experience at their peak.

After passing the ball to Tang Long, Ranocchia quickly pulls to the edge of the penalty area.

Goding, closely marking Tang Long, understands that he has strayed from his central defender position, quietly thinking to himself: 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Since I'm sticking with Tang Long, I absolutely mustn't let him turn!" His gaze reveals a hint of ferocity, his body leans slightly forward, ready to make a move at any time.

Thus, he secretly uses his knee to hit Tang Long's thigh from behind, attempting to bring Tang Long down in midfield with this covert trick.

Before the foul, Goding is calculating: "It's not very wise to foul in this position, but this is our home ground, let's give him a bit of hardship, make him wary in future plays."

But just as Goding's knee is about to hit Tang Long's thigh, suddenly Tang Long's figure is no longer in front of him.

Tang Long, who was holding the ball with his back turned, suddenly vanishes from his sight like the wind.

"Marseille Spin!"

Experienced Goding, seeing Tang Long's fleeting body movements, immediately realizes that Tang Long used this trick to evade his sneaky attack, and effortlessly turns to face the goal!

By now, Goding is in a corner.

As a central defender, he chased to midfield for tight marking against Tang Long but allowed Tang Long to complete a turnaround, what to do now?

Gritting his teeth, he steps forward and tries to pull Tang Long's jersey to bring him down.

Goding thinks that it's less than 10 minutes into the game, and it's at their home ground, so the referee probably won't show a yellow card.

But Goding's idea is improvised based on Tang Long's reactions.

From the moment Goding closes in, Tang Long already planned a series of upcoming actions.

With quick thinking and seamless fluid movements, how could Goding keep up with Tang Long's rhythm?

After evading Goding's sneak attack, Tang Long blindly flicks the ball with the outside of his foot, propelling it into a swift arc, soaring high in the air.

Previously, several Manchester City's midfielders maintained ball control, continually luring Atletico Madrid's defense forward; with Tang Long retreating, attracting at least three Atletico players' attention.

Thus, when Tang Long quickly passes the ball, there's unexpectedly no defense in the wide area afar!

Atletico Madrid's central defender Savic sees the ball passed, hurriedly holding Agüero's shirt tight, thinking as long as Agüero is tightly marked, no one will be able to intercept the ball.

But Agüero stands motionless, letting Savic pull him, hands on hips with a slight smile, watching Savic like a fool.

Actually, Agüero knows well that the ball was not passed to him, already understanding Tang Long's intention, quietly standing by watching Atletico players in panic.

"Mkhitaryan!"

"It's open!"

Clearly, the ball was not meant for Agüero.

On the left, Mkhitaryan starts like lightning, sprinting toward the ball's direction.

Only then do Atletico players realize everything before was an illusion, even Agüero was just a decoy, the real strike was Mkhitaryan's sudden forward insertion on the left!

In his youth, Mkhitaryan mainly played as a shadow striker, with strong attacking capabilities and astonishing speed.

This move was specifically rehearsed under Guardiola's guidance just the day before with Tang Long.

Though it's performed for the first time in the Champions League, their coordination seems incredibly synchronized, as if they've rehearsed countless times.

In a blink of an eye, Mkhitaryan already breaks into the penalty area from behind Juanfran.

Upon receiving the ball, he is already at the corner of the penalty area.

Mkhitaryan with eyes fixed on Oblak, who looks terrified, shouts loudly, swings his arms, lifts his leg as if about to shoot, only to pull back suddenly at the last moment—another feint!

Oblak, shaken, is left teetering backward, nearly seated on the ground.

Mkhitaryan takes the opportunity to lightly poke the ball with his toe, the ball rolls steadily past Oblak's left hand, into the goal!

From Tang Long bypassing Goding, to the outside of foot pass, and then Mkhitaryan sprinting into the penalty area for a reception and shot, the whole process flows naturally and completes within just three to four seconds.

"Enjoyable!"

Mkhitaryan shouts again, fists clenched, giving his chest a hard thump, tightly embraces Tang Long, who comes to congratulate him.

Back when Mkhitaryan played for Dortmund in the Bundesliga, he heard often about Tang Long's superior midfield passing ability displayed in the Premier League, frequently providing deeply penetrating passes.

Since joining Manchester City, Mkhitaryan always looked forward to witnessing Tang Long's passing skill set firsthand.

Unfortunately, this season Tang Long shifted to forward, his main task turned to scoring goals, and when passing, it seldom involved such long-range, deeply penetrating direct passes like today.

Thus, Mkhitaryan felt somewhat regretful.

But this time, Tang Long really showed him firsthand the foot skills and vision a world-class midfielder should possess!