In less than half an hour, the team is two goals behind!
Rodgers was so angry that his hands were shaking.
Before reaching the Meazza for an away match, he had anticipated this would be an incredibly difficult game.
After all, Inter’s home win rate in Serie A is second only to Juventus.
However, the process of this game really left Rodgers feeling frustrated!
Inter seized their opportunities very well, four shots, two on target, and all went in.
What about Liverpool?
Liverpool did not lack opportunities, and even had more absolute chances than Inter.
But the problem was with Balotelli!
Rodgers was infuriated watching Balotelli, with his indifferent look, even cheerfully greeting Santon.
To talk about nothing else, just the goal Liverpool conceded just now.
It should have been our one-on-one chance!
"Damn, Mario, why don’t you knock it past the goalkeeper early and push it into an empty net, damn it!"
Rodgers’ complaints were definitely not unfounded.
If Balotelli had handled it as calmly as Tang Long, going past the goalkeeper and pushing into an empty net, there wouldn’t have been any incident with Tang Long later, nor would Inter have scored a second goal, and Liverpool could have equalized.
But Balotelli is just that kind of player, taking the unconventional path!
He took two shots, one from the halfway line, and one a volley from outside the box during a one-on-one.
To say how high the quality of these two shots is, well, they were indeed quite good!
Both in terms of power and accuracy, they were within a reasonable range.
Especially the second shot, it almost replicated his impressive display against Germany in the semi-finals of the 2012 European Cup.
But as beautiful as the kicks were, without a goal, what use is it?
On the football field, practicality comes first, and this principle hasn’t been grasped by the 24-year-old Balotelli, who seems as clueless as a 17-year-old youth team player.
Zhang Lu’s comment on Balotelli was really insightful!
"If I remember correctly, Balotelli debuted in 2007 when he was at Inter, promoted by Mancini from the first team."
"I remember the first match I commentated with Balotelli. He scored twice against Juventus in Coppa Italia, both spectacular goals, showing techniques at the front far beyond his peers."
"But from 2007 to now, eight years have passed. Balotelli has honed his skills at Inter, Manchester City, AC Milan, and Liverpool. By all logic, he should be a mature player."
"But it’s not the case!"
"What we still can only see in him is the shadow of a 17-year-old youth training prodigy. His ability definitely can’t be called poor, but looking from 17 to 24 years old, it seems he hasn’t made any progress."
"I’ve been involved in football for 40 years and have never seen such a peculiar phenomenon. Balotelli truly confounds me."
He Wei adeptly interjected:
"It might be related to his overly arrogant personality. In this regard, Tang Long is much better than Balotelli. A modest, hardworking player, in almost every match, we can see the tangible progress of Tang Long!"
"Exactly, Tang Long shouldn’t follow in Balotelli’s footsteps!"
In fact, Balotelli was precisely set up by Tang Long.
Both before the game and during it, Tang Long intentionally praised Balotelli lavishly, aiming to make this immature black kid extremely inflated!
There are clearly simple one-on-one chances, but he stubbornly doesn’t take them. That’s just too dull.
There has to be something stunning to show Inter fans how foolish they were to let me go back then!
"This guy is starting to act up, let’s play properly and score one more before halftime!"
Tang Long’s encouragement also spurred on the team’s fighting spirit.
There’s still time, why not score one more?
We must seize the moment when the opponent’s morale is down and thoroughly defeat them, ending the match in the first half.
In the 39th minute, still a familiar setup, still a familiar taste.
Tang Long pushes forward with the ball!
Around him are five teammates moving with him, ready to assist.
There are plenty of options for passing!
Liverpool’s opponent Gerrard resorted to the same trick, while pressuring Tang Long’s advance path, raising both hands in a backward gesture, clearly using conspicuous body language to show that if Tang Long does a through pass, they would create an offside.
But this time, Tang Long did not slow down his pace just because Gerrard came forward.
After nearly 40 minutes of play, Tang Long has grasped Gerrard’s defensive habits.
Within these 40 minutes, Tang Long constantly observed Gerrard’s movements and defensive strategies, and fed these samples into his AI system in real-time.
Through analysis, the AI system provided an important analysis of Gerrard: [Detected that Gerrard’s movements have slight slowing in the left foot, suspected injury not fully healed]
This is crucial information!
Gerrard’s left ankle hadn’t fully recovered.
A few days ago during training, he slightly twisted it.
Before coming to Milan for the away game, Liverpool’s team doctor examined his injury, believing that despite the sprain, Gerrard was fit to play.
Rodgers adopted this view since firstly it was just a slight twist, and secondly, Gerrard’s importance to this Liverpool team was comparable to Tang Long’s importance to Inter!
Thus, before the game, Gerrard had his ankle wrapped in thick bandages, providing external support.
This was a secret maneuver.
The white bandage was hidden under his soccer socks, and apart from Liverpool players, no one knew their captain had bandaged his ankle.
This must remain confidential, otherwise, Gerrard could become Inter’s target!
In fact, Gerrard is a smart player, cleverly hiding his injury very well.
Trying to avoid using his left foot for extended periods by passing and controlling with his right foot.
With the bandage as a disguise, Inter players couldn’t tell his left foot was injured!
However, in front of Tang Long’s AI analysis system, this entire disguise inevitably revealed its true face after 40 minutes.
Inter players couldn’t visually see Gerrard’s injury.
But Tang Long’s AI system, through modeling and real-time analysis comparing Gerrard’s movements with those of a healthy player, finally uncovered key information about the sprain on Gerrard’s left foot!
To hit a snake, you must aim for its vital spot!
Wherever you are injured, I will attack fiercely there.
With the steadfast belief of directing the cannon fire precisely towards the enemy’s weakest point, Tang Long had no intention of passing, rapidly advancing the ball to just two meters from Gerrard.
At that moment, he made a move that left his teammates stunned.
Without any torso swing, feet unfazed by any misleading feints, Tang Long casually pushed the ball towards Gerrard’s left side!
Behind, teammate Medel frowned.
Is it possible to go past someone with such a simple move?
The captain of both Liverpool and the England national team, a legendary star, you’re really underestimating him!
Medel even sensed that Tang Long might lose the ball, quickly taking a step back to secure the central circle position, ready at any time to respond to Liverpool’s counterattack.
Gerrard sneered, he didn’t expect Tang Long to use such an unconvincing move to get past him.
Seems, this lad, although touted as a rising midfield star in Serie A, has now revealed his lack of experience!
Gerrard prepared himself, instinctively wanting to use his left foot to intercept the sudden ball path.
Standing tall at 186 centimeters, Captain Gerrard possessed a pair of enviable long legs, undoubtedly one of his great weapons in intercepting opponents moving through midfield.
However, just as Gerrard had begun to take a step, he suddenly realized—his left foot was injured!
Suddenly, there was a slight panic in his mind!
In a flash, he swiftly adjusted his center of gravity, promptly moved to the side, switching to intercept the ball with his right foot!
Though his movement appeared awkward and slowed his pace slightly.
But he ultimately managed to stabilize himself, without losing his valuable position.
Their shoulders collided fiercely in intense confrontation, neither yielding an inch, bouncing apart like two planets around the central point of the football!
Just as Gerrard silently rejoiced that he had successfully concealed his left foot injury, Tang Long launched a new assault!
He swiftly and skillfully regained the ball, and suddenly accelerated like an unstoppable tidal wave, charging straight towards Gerrard’s left foot!
This time, Tang Long’s speed had more than doubled from before!