When Hernanes passed the ball to the side of the penalty area where Tang Long was located.
The situation on the field was very clear.
Inter Milan, initiating the attack, had two players running towards Rome's penalty area!
Icardi drifted from the wing to the center, actively approaching Roma's central defender Astori.
Medel, the defensive midfielder, surged up from the back, with a diagonal run, drawing the attention of Roma's fullback Dodo and rushing towards the far post.
Other Inter players, including Tang Long himself, were still outside of Rome's penalty area.
Hernanes, who passed the ball to Tang Long, shouted before Tang Long received it:
"Don't rush, pull the ball a bit!"
Hernanes passed the ball to Tang Long with the intention of pulling Rome's defense line.
After all, Rome, with one player down, had completely abandoned the attack.
There were as many as nine defensive players in the area within 10 meters of the penalty area and the vicinity.
In the eyes of the experienced midfielder Hernanes, it's impossible to force an attack; it's essential to maneuver through passing to pull the opponents.
He was worried that Tang Long hadn't grasped his intention, so he specifically shouted at him.
But Tang Long didn't think so!
The football field is ever-changing, with no fixed rules set in stone.
Although the opponent's defense is indeed tight, after Totti received the red card, Rome has become a lost team without its spiritual leader.
Why not catch them off guard?
The AI system's hint also validated Tang Long's thinking!
When the football was about to roll down to Tang Long's feet, as before, time started to approach freezing, showing all scenes in 0.1x slow motion.
"Detected our center forward Icardi is about to rush to the near post, at this time, a ground cross to the near post leads to an 85.23% chance for Icardi to get a touch and shoot."
Tang Long had witnessed Icardi's running positions.
This Argentine forward is very confident in his forward skills, claiming to be Serie A top-tier.
Tang Long judged that the reason Icardi approached the center back Astori near the near post after rushing into the penalty area was to ambush the final strike at the near post!
Without any hesitation.
When time returned to real speed again, Tang Long's cross was executed!
To follow the ground strike hint given by the system.
Tang Long used instep passing!
Unlike the commonly used inside-foot crossing on the wings, the instep ground cross demands extremely high technique from the passer.
On one hand, it requires the height to not lift, must be suppressed, so the contact point must be precise and strictly controlled between the center of the ball and below;
On the other hand, the ball speed must be fast! Therefore, certain power is necessary.
Balancing it all, Tang Long chose to press the body forward significantly, compensating for the technique flaw by controlling the center of gravity!
"Bang!"
Tang Long's right instep struck the middle of the ball like an iron whip!
Due to pressure on the center of gravity, the entire person seemed almost to fall.
At the moment Tang Long touched the ball—
Hernanes, outside the penalty area, helplessly shook his head, "The youngster, too rushed!"
In his view, the cross was meaningless.
There were six players in Rome's penalty area, all positioned perfectly; forcing a kick may be possible, but the success rate of passing is too low and it's better to return the ball to oneself, continue maneuvering the opponent.
At the moment Tang Long touched the ball—
Medel behind the penalty area also slowed his steps, starting to walk.
He saw Tang Long's passing posture was extremely exaggerated, the body pressed forward even looked a bit ridiculous.
Completely lacking any relaxation that could yield a good pass.
At the moment Tang Long touched the ball—
The Rome defenders within the penalty area also felt no tension.
We six guarding against your two, isn't possible we can't stop you? Definitely no way~
But Icardi's eyes glowed with excitement!!!
Tang Long delivered the passing method longing in the Argentine forward's mind!
A ground strike flying to the near post!
This is exactly what I want!
Benefiting from the relatively abundant energy after just coming on, and a pass rating upgraded to 68, Tang Long's pass was adequately positioned, and the football rushed to the near post of the small penalty area like a groundhog drilling.
Yet strangely, Icardi, who suddenly dashed forward for the position grab, despite having separated himself a body's length from Astori, suddenly had soft legs at the last step, kneeling on the ground...
"Ju—"
The referee decisively whistled and pointed to the penalty spot.
Penalty!
Although Tang Long's cross didn't find Icardi.
However, with Icardi's slip, the ball bypassed, struck Astori's foot as he pressed forward and rebounded onto his arm.
As luck would have it, Astori's arm made a clear opening movement.
No doubt about the penalty!
Hernanes and Medel, who both disapproved of Tang Long's decision earlier, suddenly burst out laughing!
"Haha, this youngster, really had luck!"
"He always manages to create assists, no matter how, interesting!"
Icardi got up from the ground, ran towards Tang Long, and happily high-fived with him.
"Great pass, Tang, you saw my run!"
"How did you kneel down?" asked Tang Long curiously.
"Agh, my ankle still hurts from Totti's tackle, I wanted to thrust out the last step but the foot softened, usually I would have reached it, damn!"
With the primary penalty taker Palacio off the field.
As the second penalty taker, Icardi naturally picked up the ball and walked to the penalty spot.
Run-up, strike, a push shot into the lower left corner, all in one go!
3 to 0!
Icardi and Tang Long embraced excitedly.
Inter captain Ranocchia happily made an OK gesture toward the goalkeeper Handa behind him.
Meaning, guys, we can log out now!
Players on the bench were also clapping and laughing!
Several players laughed so hard, they thought Tang Long got lucky like a dog.
"I used to never believe in miracles, but seeing Tang play, I do now!"
"The third consecutive kick, either his shots or passes have never accurately landed, but the luck scale always leaned to his side!"
"This cross is better than the ones during the last match against Genoa, those two shots were nothing, though this pass wasn't entirely accurate!"
"Hey, do you guys think maybe Tang still wanted to shoot but the power was too much?"
"Haha, not really, you can tell it was intended to be a pass."
Yet manager Mancini on the bench remained silent.
With one hand supporting his chin, watching Tang Long embrace Icardi, he fell into contemplation.
During his player career, Mancini was also a Serie A top-tier forward, scoring over 200 goals in his career.
After retiring, he gradually grew into a first-class coach in Serie A, achieving success in Serie A and the Premier League.
His football vision is greatly superior to that of the players on the field!
At the moment Tang Long swung his leg to pass, unlike the players on the field, Mancini focused not on Tang Long but always kept his eyes on Icardi in the penalty area.
Icardi was rushing to the near post!
Tang Long's instep sweep, though slightly exaggerated, successfully reached the position of the small penalty box's near post.
The most crucial aspect was, Tang Long didn't stop for a touch, not even halted.
What does that indicate?
Indicates he had planned for this all along.
"This should not be a coincidence…"
Mancini bit his lip lightly, nodded thoughtfully.