Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 131: Premier League Debut
The new Premier League season has officially begun.

As a wealthy team that spent 200 million euros to upgrade its squad this summer, Manchester City's first match is highly anticipated.

In the first round, Manchester City will face Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, which is definitely a high-profile match.

Tottenham finished fourth last season, and their squad hasn't changed much this season. They brought in Brazilian midfielder Sandro for 1000 million euros and French veteran Gallas on his own, but that's about it.

Manchester City, on the other hand, underwent a major overhaul, with their entire squad almost unrecognizable.

Manchester City, having surpassed Arsenal and Liverpool by 2 million euros, is considered by the media to be the third favorite to win the title.

However, according to the media, the integration of new signings is crucial for Manchester City to achieve good results, especially after this summer's record signing, Shan Yongzhuo, left Serie A for the Premier League.

In the previous two warm-up matches, Shan Yongzhuo scored 3 goals, but his problems remained prominent. All 3 goals relied on his individual ability, with no coordination with his teammates. Moreover, Shan Yongzhuo's running on the field was noticeably unmotivated, averaging only 3500 meters per game, which was even less than the 4200 meters he covered in Rome last season.

However, the English media did not rush to dismiss Shan Yongzhuo's chances.

In fact, Shan Yongzhuo's playing style has long been talked about by European media. Most media outlets call Shan Yongzhuo the most "lazy" genius in football. He is almost always invisible on the field, and it is only at the end that you will find out. Apart from a sudden goal, he often has no presence throughout the entire game.

Some media outlets have described him as an alternative version of Inzaghi, but many others disagree, arguing that Shan Yongzhuo's presence on the field is weaker than Inzaghi's, yet his efficiency is higher.

The English media decided to give Shan Yongzhuo a good look at his performance in this match before making any judgments.

Shan Yongzhuo stepped into White Hart Lane wearing Manchester City's dark navy blue jersey. The huge stadium was packed, and the atmosphere among the fans was incredibly lively, completely different from the "lazy" fans in Serie A.

However, Shan Yongzhuo was a man who had seen big occasions, so he wasn't nervous at all. He just glanced at Balotelli on the bench, who returned a bright smile and gave him a thumbs up in encouragement.

"Damn it, do we really have to do this?"

Dan Yongzhuo was a little troubled. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt under his jersey, which Balotelli had specially given to him this morning.

That was the famous "why aways me" shirt.

Faced with Balotelli's enthusiasm, Shan Yongzhuo found it difficult to refuse and could only wear it underneath.

But should the goal be shown after it's scored?

Shan Yongzhuo was thinking.

Meanwhile, CTV's broadcast and online live stream also showed the scene.

Since Shan Yongzhuo arrived in the Premier League, CTV immediately spent a lot of money to buy the broadcasting rights, which was naturally due to Shan Yongzhuo's huge influence in China.

The match was scheduled to start at 7:45 p.m. Beijing time on Saturday, and unsurprisingly, the viewership on CTV5 and the online broadcast reached an astonishing level very early on.

This demonstrates Shan Yongzhuo's influence and popularity in the country.

After the match began, the two teams immediately engaged in fierce competition without any probing.

Before the match, the media generally favored Manchester City, as they had significantly strengthened their squad through summer signings, greatly enhancing their strength.

However, football matches are often not so simple to judge by just looking at the lineup.

The match began with intense competition from both sides in the first minute, but Tottenham clearly had the upper hand, with their attacks and teamwork flowing much more smoothly. Manchester City's coordination was clearly flawed, and Tottenham created more opportunities for attack.

Especially their two flanks, Gareth Bale on the left and Aaron Lennon on the right, their attacks on the wings have been quite difficult for Manchester City to defend against.

Fortunately, Tottenham's attacking line is not very strong. The Crouch and Defoe combination looks like a tall and fast pair, but Crouch is tall but not fast, and Defoe is fast but not fast. Their ability to compete in physical battles is really weak.

Faced with Kompany and Chloe Touré, two tough guys, Defoe and Crouch were like good students being attacked by delinquents, completely powerless.

However, Manchester City's attack was even worse.

The midfield pairing of De Jong and Yaya Toure is largely incapable of receiving the ball. Wright-Phillips on the right wing is unable to push forward and can only contain Bale by combining with Richards. On the left wing, veteran Barry is the only player who can offer any offensive options.

Manchester City did not fall behind in the midfield battle, but Toure and De Jong are both workhorse midfielders, making it a bit of a stretch to expect them to organize the attack.

Standing at the front, Shan Yongzhuo and Tevez were like two tourists, receiving no support whatsoever.

Tevez was slightly better; he ran and tackled aggressively, creating some opportunities. However, he also wasted quite a few chances, having two shots in the first twenty minutes of the game, neither of which were on target.

Shan Yongzhuo fared even worse. Under the close marking of Tottenham defender Ledley King, he only managed a paltry three touches in the first twenty minutes, all of which were directly dispossessed.

The Sky Sports commentator said disappointedly, "Manchester City's performance was disappointing, especially Shan Yongzhuo, whose performance was even worse than Crouch and Defoe..."

However, despite having the upper hand, Tottenham struggled to score. Crouch was almost always knocked down by the slightest touch, and Defoe, while possessing decent speed and technique, was too weak in physical duels and was effectively contained by Kompany.

Thirty-five minutes have passed, and the score remains 0-0.

Mancini stood on the sidelines, feeling frustrated, but he didn't have a good solution.

Manchester City's problems are obvious. Most players performed relatively well, but their overall teamwork was poor, and their attack lacked an organizer, resulting in a chaotic attack that relied heavily on Tevez's individual ability.

This was caused by a major reshuffle.

For example, Yaya Touré, who plays as a center-back at Barcelona, ​​seemed somewhat lost when placed in midfield for this match, or rather, he lacked the ability to orchestrate the team's attack.

As for De Jong, he did an excellent job of limiting Modric's performance.

There are also significant problems on the flanks: Wright-Phillips can't get up there, and Barry lacks the ability.

As for the forward line, the problem is even bigger.

Tevez was quite proactive, but he was completely isolated and had to fight alone, getting surrounded by his opponents.

Shan Yongzhuo...

His performance was the same as during the warm-up games; he was completely absent, didn't coordinate with his teammates, and didn't make any significant contributions on his own. He was more like a mascot.

Mancini wanted to make adjustments, but it was too early, so he could only pin his hopes on luck. "Hopefully, everyone will feel some pressure and play better overall."

(End of this chapter)