In the second half, Crystal Palace was still quite laid-back.
They were passing the ball back and forth at their feet and not pushing forward aggressively, as if they were the ones leading.
As for Manchester City, they were also cooperating with their opponents without employing high pressing.
In short, both sides were just dragging along, you kick, I kick, even hoping the match would end early so they could clock out.
The only one still somewhat enthusiastic was Manchester City’s starting striker Iheanacho, who had already scored two goals and was eager to complete a hat-trick and take home the match ball.
Time ticked away, reaching the 81st minute.
Pellegrini used his last substitution slot.
He took off Nasri and brought on Tang Long.
His original intention was for Tang Long to warm up a bit, run around for 10 minutes, and prepare for the Premier League match three days later.
However, Tang Long’s entrance sparked the most enthusiastic cheers from the fans since the beginning of the match!
The cheers were even louder than when Iheanacho scored twice in the first half!
Some fans even started a wave in the stands to liven up the atmosphere.
The game was indeed a bit dull, and many fans hadn’t expected Tang Long to play.
With tickets much cheaper than those for the Premier League, seeing Tang Long in the English League Cup seemed worth it!
Seeing the fans cheering wholeheartedly for him, Tang Long felt excited.
Originally thinking of casually strolling around the field waiting for the match to end, he reconsidered - with fans cheering so fervently, not putting on a show seemed unfair to them.
Why not give speed a try?
After receiving guidance from soccer fast horses like Kaka, Henry, Martins, and Caniggia, Tang Long’s acceleration and top speed both improved to above 86, activating the AI cloud system’s Soccer Fast Horse badge.
This badge provided Tang Long with the special effect that when competing in speed with players with a speed value below 80, he could bypass numerical comparisons and directly outrun them, helping him conserve energy expenditure on the field.
In the previous round against Manchester United, Tang Long was mostly positioned centrally, where none of the players he faced had speeds below 80.
Now facing a weaker Crystal Palace, there were quite a few soft spots he could exploit!
Tang Long deliberately moved to the wing and asked right-back Sabaleta for the ball.
Sabaleta saw Tang Long, who should be in the center, drifting to the wing and thought it was a pull-away move, so he handed the ball over.
Defending Tang Long on this side was Australian midfielder Jedinak.
This player was already 31 years old this year, and Tang Long had observed him for a long time from the bench.
He found this player physically strong, with precise passing, but his turning was a major weakness, and his speed was quite slow, estimated to be around 75 at most.
"I’ll keep an eye on Tang Long, you two block his passing lanes!"
Jedinak instructed full-back Kelly and the other midfielder Laidley.
This veteran had played in the Premier League for many years, and in his mind, when Tang Long was pressured to the wing, the only way to maintain possession was to pass towards the center or directly to the far-side striker, Iheanacho.
In the narrow space on the wing, he was confident he could block Tang Long’s route forward with the ball!
But how could he know, Tang Long had picked him as the soft spot to squeeze.
Tang Long pushed the ball forward with the top of his foot along the wing and instantly flashed past Jedinak!
Even after Tang Long had passed him, Jedinak hadn’t had time to turn around!
The Australian veteran was a bit stunned and looked at the sideline - his foot was clearly less than 50 centimeters from the sideline, how did Tang Long manage to dash past him?
Even if I’m slow, I’m not that bad, am I? Without thinking further, he started huffing and puffing to chase back.
As Tang Long advanced towards the center with the ball, he spotted Iheanacho making a diagonal run.
At this moment, center-back Dane came out, and Tang Long knew that as long as he got past this center-back, Iheanacho could easily tap the ball in.
Tang Long had also observed Dane, whose speed was neither fast nor slow, estimated to be around 80 or so.
Coincidentally, Dane’s speed was 79, just at the critical cutoff point of 80~
Tang Long hopped left on one foot, slid right with the other, feigned a cut inside, then flicked the ball right with the outside of his foot, completely fooling Dane.
Dane only felt like lightning struck by his ear, sending a tingling sensation through his muscles~
Like Jedinak earlier, this center-back didn’t even have time to turn around before Tang Long ran far ahead. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novel✶fire.net
"When did I become this slow, couldn’t be!"
Tang Long passed forward, and Iheanacho, ahead of another center-back Delaney, stretched out his toe and poked the ball into the net.
"Hat-trick, I’ve scored a hat-trick!"
Youngster Iheanacho pushed away the teammates who came to celebrate and first rushed to Tang Long, lifting him high into the air.
How could Iheanacho not be excited?
This England black young talent who had just started playing in the first team this year had performed the first hat-trick of his career!
This also set a record for the fastest hat-trick completion among Manchester City youth graduates, even though it was just an English League Cup match.
"Haha, great goal, that quick dribble, awesome!"
Agüero on the bench laughed and clapped his hands.
As for Silva and Yaya Toure, sitting beside him, both had dumbfounded expressions.