[You need to assign a second striker who is fast, skilled in dribbling, and has an awareness of passing control coordination.]
Just as Raymond was diligently writing, suddenly, his eyes lit up!
At the center-back position responsible for ball distribution, Ranocchia pretended to pass the ball to the flanks to Sabaleta, but with a feint, he fooled forward Dahud!
Then, like a bulldozer, he carried the ball from the center-back position, charging forward rapidly with his long legs, taking the ball to midfield in just a few strides!
This had Pellegrini on the sidelines watching in amazement!
"Oh my god, Ranocchia is showing the charm of Toure at his peak five years ago."
However, Ranocchia’s performance wasn’t over yet. After arriving at the midfield, he quickly passed the ball to Tang Long without retreating and continued to push forward! Newest update provıded by novel※fire.net
Tang Long ignored Ranocchia who flew past him and passed the ball to Navas speeding up on the right flank, "Don’t rush to cross, drag them a bit!"
Thus, Navas didn’t cross but instead stepped on the ball and returned it with a ground pass to Tang Long.
This back and forth seemed to have little impact on the situation, but it provided Ranocchia with three precious seconds to advance!
"Andrei, watch the ball!"
The time was right, and that’s when Tang Long stood where he was, raising his calf high, and executed a high-quality 45-degree curling pass towards the penalty area!
No matter the strength, angle, or lead, the ball was delivered very comfortably, heading three meters forward where Ranocchia charged. When the ball descended, Ranocchia arrived just in time.
He didn’t even need to jump, just a solid header at the penalty spot!
With a bang, the football hit the ground and bounced, tricking the goalkeeper’s balance, and went straight into the net!
"Haha, I scored, and it’s a decisive goal!"
Ranocchia, who just returned from injury, raised his arms high in celebration and opened them wide towards Tang Long who ran to him.
"Well done, I knew you could do it!"
Tang Long tightly embraced Ranocchia’s shoulder, shaking with excitement.
These two, one a forward and the other a defender, rarely had the chance to connect through scoring goals on the field, but today at this moment, they made it happen!
Tang Long and Ranocchia were already good friends during their time at Inter Milan, and since both came to Manchester City, they’ve become inseparable buddies!
Now that Ranocchia is back and in excellent form, Tang Long is truly happy for him.
In the end, Manchester City won the final match of the Champions League group stage 2:1 away with ease, killing off this strong Bundesliga team from this season’s European competition!
Raymond’s notebook was already packed with over 20 pages full of his cursive writing that only he could understand.
It consists of his detailed analysis of the entire Manchester City team after watching 90 minutes of the match.
Even if he ripped the notebook apart on the spot, Raymond would still be completely clear about the content of the match; he can recall every detail smoothly, which is his strength and why he is admired by Guardiola.
He immediately sent Guardiola a text message—
"Pep, there are many flaws in Manchester City’s passing control tactics. I’ll report them to you one by one when I return. However, my first impression after watching the match is that Tang and Ranocchia, are definitely your cornerstones for managing Manchester City next season. You must persuade the Manchester City Club this summer not to let either of them go!"