Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 153 Rematch with Juventus
On the day of the match, the Etihad Stadium was already packed with spectators.

The pre-match warm-up was uneventful. Manchester City and Juventus stood on opposite sides, each doing their own warm-up, without any communication or conflict.

After warming up, the players returned to their locker rooms and then re-entered the field for the match to begin.

After the referee blew the whistle, Shan Yongzhuo passed the ball to Balotelli and then scurried towards Juventus' defensive zone.

He wasn't running very fast, but he quickly drew a lot of Juventus defenders.

Chiellini immediately closed in, Bonucci was also on high alert, and even midfielder Marchisio was keeping a close eye on the situation. The three of them formed a pincer movement, tightly guarding Shan Yongzhuo.

You can't blame them. Last season, Chiellini and Marchisio were both in Juventus' squad, and although Bonucci was in Bari, he was also in Serie A. They had all suffered at Shan Yongzhuo's hands and knew that they couldn't let their guard down in the slightest when dealing with this guy.

We must keep a close eye on him, otherwise he might suddenly score a goal at any time.

Manchester City's offensive has begun.

Juventus committed a heavy defense to Shan Yongzhuo, which naturally made them less defensive towards the others. Johansson broke through Krasic on the wing and passed the ball to Barry in the middle.

Barry played a through ball to Balotelli, who bypassed the somewhat lax Bonucci, successfully beat the offside trap, and found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

Juventus substitute goalkeeper Manninger was on high alert, but his rush out failed to stop Balotelli, who easily shook him off and faced an open goal.

"Single sword!"

"Juventus focused too much on defending against Shan Yongzhuo and neglected Balotelli!"

"Although Bonucci was defending Balotelli, his attention was focused on Shan Yongzhuo. As a result, Barry didn't pass the ball to Shan Yongzhuo, but to Balotelli instead."

"Now, Manchester City will take the lead right from the start..."

The commentator shouted excitedly, but before he could finish speaking, he witnessed an unbelievable scene.

Balotelli shook off Manninger and, facing an open goal, only needed to gently push the ball in to score.

However, Balotelli's expression surprised everyone. He tried to do a fancy dribble in front of the goal, but his heel hit the ball, and the ball went wide of the goal and out of bounds.

"Hula..."

The entire audience erupted in uproar; everyone was incredulous.

"My God, what is he doing?"

"He left the door wide open but didn't take the shot, damn it, that bastard!"

Was he contemplating life at that moment?

"..."

Manchester City fans were incredulous and even angrily cursed Balotelli.

On the sidelines, Mancini covered his face with his hands, feeling extremely embarrassed that this guy was actually his prized disciple.

"Damn it, I shouldn't have started him!"

Mancini felt immense regret at that moment. He had squandered such a good opportunity, and he didn't even know how to evaluate such a clumsy performance.

Juventus fans and players breathed a sigh of relief, and they were even incredibly grateful to Balotelli.

Many Juventus players recalled Balotelli's time at Inter Milan last season, when he had a similar poor performance of missing a one-on-one opportunity. It seems that he hasn't forgotten this trait since coming to the Premier League.

This is so great!

Meanwhile, the Juventus players became even more determined in their original strategy: "Just keep an eye on Shan Yongzhuo!"

"Balotelli is nothing to worry about; that guy just wastes opportunities!"

As a result, Shan Yongzhuo was marked even more closely in the following matches. Whenever he showed any intention of getting the ball, two Juventus players would immediately come close to him, one with subtle defensive tactics and the other to interfere with passing lanes.

Under such defensive conditions, it became extremely difficult for Shan Yongzhuo to receive the ball.

However, football is a team sport involving eleven players. When one side spends too much energy defending a single player, it inevitably creates more opportunities for the other players.

This is the current situation: Juventus is heavily defending against Shan Yongzhuo, while Manchester City's other players are playing with ease, dominating the game and launching wave after wave of attacks against Juventus.

However, Manchester City's attack was extremely inefficient.

Balotelli seemed to be playing without his brain today. He held onto the ball excessively and wouldn't pass to other players even when the opportunity wasn't good, preferring to take the shot himself.

With such constant squandering of resources, Manchester City's attack, while appearing very hot, poses virtually no real threat.

Manchester City's midfield in this match consisted of Barry and De Jong, while the wingers were Johansen and Yaya Toure. Although this combination had decent attacking power, it was hard to say how much attacking creativity they possessed.

The repeated attacks, however, have failed to pose much of a real and effective threat.

Fifteen minutes into the game, Manchester City's attacks had been all bark and no bite, and under these circumstances, Juventus took the lead.

In the 18th minute, Juventus won a corner kick.

Marchisio took the corner kick, and inside the penalty area, Iaquinta outjumped Kompany and headed the ball powerfully past Joe Hart.

Juventus have taken a 1-0 lead.

The goal came like a bolt from the blue. The commentator said somewhat dejectedly, "Juventus are in the lead! It was Iaquinta who scored. Kompany couldn't gain the upper hand against him. A header from him! Now, Manchester City are trailing 1-0 at home. They need to pull themselves together..."

After scoring, Iaquinta clenched his fists and roared loudly in the embrace of his teammates, venting his frustration.

Since joining Juventus in 2007, Iaquinta's performance has been lukewarm. Although he has been quite stable, he has not met the team's expectations.

During his three seasons at Juventus, Iaquinta only scored 26 league goals, a performance that hardly qualifies as passing.

He is likely to leave Juventus this season, perhaps even before the season ends, and will be loaned out or transferred in the winter.

As a veteran, Iaquinta naturally wanted to prove himself in his final days at Juventus, and this goal was crucial. He used his signature header to help Juventus take the lead against Manchester City in an extremely unfavorable situation.

This is the best reward for a veteran like him.

Manchester City fans at home were naturally extremely frustrated.

The team had been in control of the game, but now they were behind, which was hard for them to accept.

They also turned their attention to the most trustworthy number 10, Shan Yongzhuo.

"No problem, Dan will definitely help us tie the score and then take the lead."

"That's right, we have orders!"

"He'll score soon!"

"..."

Manchester City fans are full of confidence in Shan Yongzhuo, and they firmly believe that he can help them turn the tide!
(End of this chapter)