Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 146 Facing Chelsea

9 month 25 day.

The Premier League resumes with Manchester City hosting Chelsea at Old Trafford.

This round is a battle for the top spot in the Premier League, a clash between the first and second generation of wealthy tycoons, attracting immense attention.

The Etihad Stadium was packed with people that day, and there were also a large number of media reporters. The media section was full early on, and reporters were everywhere around the perimeter fence.

The starting lineups for both sides have been announced.

On the Chelsea side, injuries to Lampard, Kalou, Benayoun, and Bosingwa have significantly impacted Chelsea's strength, especially Lampard's injury, which has greatly affected Chelsea's attack.

Even so, Chelsea's attacking line remains brimming with talent. Up front, Drogba partners with Anelka, Malouda is on the left wing, Ramires is on the right, and Essien and Mikel anchor the central midfield.

Manchester City's starting lineup was not too surprising, with Shan Yongzhuo and Tevez partnering up front.

Shan Yongzhuo needs no introduction; he's currently the most sought-after marksman.

Tevez's goal-scoring efficiency is actually not low; he has scored 2 goals in 5 games, which is quite good. Therefore, he and Shan Yongzhuo are still the main strikers.

This is what the outside world expects.

Before the season started, the English media were looking forward to the strike partnership between Shan Yongzhuo and Tevez, believing that Tevez would be even stronger with Shan Yongzhuo's assistance.

But now, Tevez has completely become Shan Yongzhuo's support.

Of course, compared to substitutes like Adebayor and Jo, Tevez is still better off, at least he can still guarantee a starting position.

Manchester City's midfield saw veteran Barry absent from the starting lineup, with De Jong and Yaya Toure anchoring the central midfield, while David Silva and Milner formed the duo on the wings.

Milner's debut was not surprising, but Silva's starting position was somewhat unexpected.

The match was about to begin. Inside the VIP box at the Etihad Stadium, a middle-aged man with short hair was sitting there, his eyes fixed on the Manchester City team.

This is Chelsea's owner, Roman Abramovich.

Chelsea's performance this season has been outstanding, with a five-game winning streak in the league. Abramovich is very satisfied with the current Chelsea team and Ancelotti's work, and the team is currently in a honeymoon period.

However, there is one thing that still concerns him greatly, and that is Manchester City's number 10.

"They really should have brought him to Chelsea in the summer..."

Looking at the figure of number 10 and thinking about his performance, Abramovich felt a pang of regret. If he had joined Chelsea, the Champions League would no longer be a dream.

However, that would probably be difficult now.

Manchester City will absolutely not let go, and even if the deal goes through, how much money will they need to prepare?

One hundred million pounds?
Or perhaps two hundred million pounds?

Abramovich doesn't think this is an exaggeration at all. Manchester City is not a small club that lacks money. They are oil tycoons who are even richer than him. If they want to bring him to Chelsea, they will definitely have to pay a huge price.

……

On the field.

The match is about to begin, and the players from both sides jog onto the field.

After a series of ceremonies and guessing games, the match officially began.

Chelsea launched an attack right from the start.

In this match, Chelsea fielded a 4-4-2 formation. While 4-4-2 isn't Ancelotti's particular favorite formation, it's undoubtedly the optimal configuration for Chelsea's current squad.

With Chelsea's strong midfield configuration, the advantage of the 4-4-2 formation lies in its ability to solidify the defense in the midfield and backfield, and limit the performance of the opponent's star players.

Against Manchester United, the star player was Rooney; against Arsenal, it was to contain Robin van Persie.

Now, facing Manchester City, that star player has become Shan Yongzhuo.

Shan Yongzhuo was tightly marked on the field. Compared to Liverpool, Chelsea's defense was tougher and more layered. The two center-backs, Terry and Alex, plus Essien, who dropped back in midfield, combined to trap Shan Yongzhuo in a muscular trap.

However, he didn't care at all. The powerful Vajra Leg effect triggered by the sacrifice could be activated once every 9 minutes, so he just had to wait for the opportunity.

Chelsea's midfield is very strong. Although Lampard is absent, the midfield led by Essien and Mikel is still very strong, but they still have their own problems.

Despite his significant technical improvement, Drogba's impact has diminished considerably due to age and injuries. He now primarily functions as a target man, with Anelka and Lampard making overlapping runs being his true killers.

However, with Lampard injured in this match, Chelsea's attack focused more on Malouda and Anelka.

Malouda is not a player with strong individual skills; he needs to coordinate with his teammates. However, Essien was tied up too much by Shan Yongzhuo, and Anelka is not a very good team player.

The only players who can link up with Malouda are Mikel and Drogba.

In previous matches, Chelsea faced relatively weak opponents, so their problems were not exposed. However, in this match against Manchester City's defense, the absence of Lampard's overlapping runs exposed their attacking issues.

After two waves of attacks ended hastily, Manchester City launched a counterattack!
Manchester City's advance was not fast; they were aiming for a steady approach. Chelsea followed the rhythm and defended accordingly. Terry immediately tracked down Shan Yongzhuo.

The other Chelsea players participated in the defense in an orderly manner.

The ball was quickly passed to Milner, who dribbled down the wing for a while before instinctively looking for Shan Yongzhuo's position.

Essien immediately retreated and ran towards Shan Yongzhuo, just in case something unexpected happened.

Milner couldn't pass the ball out, so he had to pass it back to Yaya Toure in the middle. Toure glanced at the goal and then, surprisingly, took a shot without hesitation.

At this moment, many people were quite surprised.

This was a shot from 30 meters out, but it went wildly wide.

However, this shot was quite lucky, hitting Ashley Cole on the wing and going out of bounds, giving Manchester City a corner kick.

Milner walked toward the corner flag as usual, only to find someone walking faster than him.

That's Shan Yongzhuo.

"James, let me do it. I'm confident I can make it again!"

Dan Yongzhuo smiled and rushed forward first. Milner didn't think much and returned to his position outside the penalty area in the middle, preparing to grab the second ball.

Shan Yongzhuo stood at the corner flag, and the Chelsea players were on high alert, but Malouda suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

He recalled the friendly match between the French team and China, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Shan Yongzhuo take the shot.

"Watch out, he's shooting directly!"

Malouda suddenly remembered what Mexes had told him: Shan Yongzhuo's corner kicks were almost 100% successful and very difficult to defend against.

The moment Shan Yongzhuo kicked the ball, Malouda immediately realized something was wrong and loudly reminded Cech.

However, it seems a bit late.

(End of this chapter)