In the final moments, Tang Long followed the system's prompt, spread his legs, and the ball swiftly rolled through beneath him.
The ball sent by Hernanes wasn't slow; it hugged the ground and had a certain curve.
Seemed like he wanted to show off this footwork to Tang Long.
So the ball rolling suddenly from under Tang Long's legs was extremely unexpected!
The two Rome players who were closely marking Tang Long originally aimed to prevent him from turning and facing the goal directly.
They never thought Tang Long would choose to let the ball through!
The football slid like quicksand past the feet of the two Rome players and rolled into the penalty area.
"Uh, where's the ball?"
The two defenders were stunned.
They suddenly turned their heads, their hearts filled with shock!
Along the path the ball rolled into the penalty area, a blue and black jersey dashed from the side—
It was Icardi!
Tang Long's stunning through pass caused everyone to pause for a moment.
But Icardi suddenly started, bypassed the closely marking Astori, and ran toward the ball!
Tang Long's astonishing pass instantly broke down the opponent's defense!
"Let it through!"
"Position lost!"
"Watch Icardi!"
Rome defender Manolas woke as if from a dream, quickly calling for teammates to stay with Icardi.
By the time everyone moved again, Icardi had already taken the ball first.
In an extremely narrow leg-swinging space, he rotated his body like a compass by 90 degrees, turned sideways on the spot, and struck the ball hard with his instep!
Instep blast!
Bam!!!
The angle was direct, the force was powerful, and the shot was sudden!
The ball rushed into the net like a shell over the head of the Rome goalkeeper!
The old keeper De Sanctis stood rooted on the spot like a wooden person.
In the penalty area, players from Rome and Inter crowded together, dozens of long legs flashing in front of him.
De Sanctis's view was blocked, making it impossible to see the ball's path clearly.
But the crisp sound of the ball hitting the net told him vividly that he had conceded again!
His goal had been breached by Inter for the fourth time.
He widened his eyes, dumbfounded...
When the referee blew the full-time whistle, Icardi jumped high, punching fiercely towards the bright moon in the sky!
"Haha, two goals!"
The substitute bench.
Mancini was a bit bewildered!
At fifty, his eyesight was poor.
Both nearsightedness and farsightedness were overlapping.
How did that ball get through?
How did it suddenly end up at Icardi's feet?
Clearly, Rome's defense was very tight, and Tang Long had no chance to turn around.
"Herrera," Mancini immediately turned to ask his assistant, "did you see clearly how that ball got through?"
"Boss, I didn't see clearly either, Hernanes passed to Tang Long, Tang Long passed to Icardi, hmm, I think that's how it happened."
"Did you see how Tang Long passed?"
Herrera shook his head.
The Inter substitutes' bench was sixty or seventy meters away from the Rome penalty area, and Herrera also didn't see clearly.
It's not his fault, after all, Tang Long decided to let the ball through at the last moment.
The space he made with his legs was very small, just wide enough to let a ball roll through.
It's not just those on the sidelines; even the Rome players five or six meters away from Tang Long also didn't react!
"Did you see clearly?"
Mancini asked the players on the bench again.
Dambrosio, Korshin, Mbaye, and others all shook their heads uniformly, staying silent, their eyes filled with confusion.
Instead, it was Bonazzoli sitting at the end who confidently said:
"Haha, I saw clearly, it was Tang Long's light heel kick, using a small force to achieve a great effect, it instantly broke through Rome's defense, haha, awesome!"
The match had ended.
The players on the field were shaking hands, and there was no replay on the giant screen at the Olympic Stadium.
Mancini felt skeptical about Bonazzoli's words.
At this moment, opposing coach Rudy Garcia came over to shake hands with Mancini.
"Hey, Mancini, you really showed no mercy, had to score four at my home ground to feel satisfied, huh?"
"Sorry, my friend, who can blame Totti for his temper, 10 against 11, you need to keep him in check."
"Haha, sometime let's have a cup of coffee and chat, I'll learn from you."
"You're too kind, I just returned to Serie A, time flies so fast, I feel Serie A now is completely different from six or seven years ago."
Mancini and Rudy Garcia chatted as they walked towards the players' tunnel...
Icardi, shirtless, applauded the Inter fans who had traveled to support them on the scene.
Tang Long walked up beside him, clapping to the fans together.
"How did you end up running to that position, it's like you appeared out of nowhere." Tang Long marveled.
He was indeed shocked by Icardi's positioning!
When the AI system in his mind prompted him to let the ball through, Tang Long was completely facing away from Rome's goal.
Behind him, two Rome players were clinging onto him.
Tang Long couldn't see any teammate's movement in the opponent's penalty area.
But Icardi actually received that through ball!
"This is a striker's intuition, Tang, when everyone else is standing still, I can always start ahead of time."
"Did you know I was going to let the ball through?"
"Let the ball through, you let that ball through, your foot didn't touch the ball?"
Icardi was a bit surprised.
In that split second, his view was also blocked, and he couldn't see clearly how Tang Long passed the ball over.
"Haha, I don't care how the ball came over," Icardi intimately wrapped his arm around Tang Long's shoulder and gave a kiss on his forehead, "just at that moment, I had a strong premonition that the ball would be drawn to my feet and I would finish the shot, scoring my second goal!"
Tang Long nodded.
"Yes, Mauro, you're like a magnet, the ball will be drawn to you."
After the Inter players finished thanking the fans.
Rome's full-back Maicon approached Tang Long.
"Tang, can I exchange jerseys with you?"
Tang Long swiftly took off his No. 99 jersey and exchanged it with Maicon.
"To exchange jerseys with a former Inter legend is my honor, Mr. Maicon!"
Maicon, this 33-year-old full-back, returned to Serie A last year after leaving Manchester City, joining the Rome team.
From 2006-2012, the Brazilian full-back had an unforgettable six-year stretch at Inter.
As the main right back, he led Inter to the European summit in 2010, earning the Serie A's only treble title.
In the Brazilian national team, Maicon was thus able to overshadow Alves, the main right back during the Dream Three period, occupying the absolute main right-back position in the Samba Corps.
He could single-handedly carry the offensive on the right flank!
But the good times didn't last!
In 2012, Inter's financial situation took a steep decline, and owner Moratti could no longer support the team significantly.
Maicon, like many of Inter's treble-winning teammates, was sold off.
After leaving Inter, the once world-leading right-back steadily declined and bid farewell to his peak.
"Haha, that's all in the past, now I'm happy at Rome, my body couldn't handle the Premier League pace, in Serie A, this is my football hometown."
"Mr. Maicon, why do you want to exchange jerseys with me? I mean to say, you're the first person to exchange jerseys with me."
Maicon smiled.
His smile had the unique charm of the Samba people.
He held up Tang Long's jersey, facing the large pillar spotlight in one corner of the Olympic Stadium, gazing at the number 99 on the back while squinting his eyes.
The spotlight shone through Tang Long's Inter jersey, casting a faint blue shadow on Maicon's dark face.
"Tang, your pass was very sudden, reminding me of my former teammate who wore the number 10 jersey, his name was Sneijder."