Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 154 Tie the Score
The game starts again.

After taking the lead, Juventus began to defend even more aggressively, while Manchester City launched a fierce attack on Juventus' half. However, their attacks lacked threat against Juventus' defense.

For a time, the two sides went back and forth.

From this period of time, Manchester City still has many advantages. They control more time and the connection between the back, midfield and front is also more tight. They just lack some specificity in their attack.

Juventus, on the other hand, seemed more experienced. They deliberately slowed down the pace of the game, turning it into a back-and-forth battle.

This pace is Juventus' favorite way of playing.

Manchester City's attack still appears somewhat constipated, with the forward line being the biggest problem.

Balotelli was very active, but his playing style was not particularly aggressive. His strength was his sharp finishing, but he was not good at this kind of physical, positional play with a tight defense.

Shan Yongzhuo, on the other hand, was being closely monitored.

Juventus' midfield and defense were on high alert against Shan Yongzhuo, which meant that Shan Yongzhuo didn't get many good opportunities. His corner kick shot didn't result in a goal, and he completely wasted a chance to unleash his powerful leg kick.

"Don't let him touch the ball!"

This is the slogan shouted by Giorgio Chiellini, the core of Juventus' defense.

It sounds very domineering, but Chiellini knows that although most of the time, when Shan Yongzhuo gets the ball, he is either dispossessed or his ball is stopped too far, once Shan Yongzhuo touches the ball, he might suddenly bring a deadly opportunity.

This is a rattlesnake lurking in the grass; it will bite you unexpectedly once you let your guard down.

Juventus did not actually assign a specific person to mark Shan Yongzhuo. Their main focus was on defending around the penalty area. When Shan Yongzhuo ran in this area, someone would definitely come to mark him.

Sometimes it's Chiellini, sometimes Bonucci, sometimes Marchisio or Sissoko.

This defensive approach wasn't necessarily wrong; in fact, for the first thirty minutes, it seemed to be effective, as Shan Yongzhuo didn't have any opportunities to perform.

The Juventus players now feel that Chiellini's slogan is correct, and at present, it is very correct.

Juventus' defense was giving Shan Yongzhuo a headache. Although he was used to being closely marked, the individual defensive abilities of these Juventus players were outstanding, especially Chiellini. Although it wasn't the first time he had faced this big guy, Chiellini seemed to be evolving in his marking skills every time.

Of course, even the tightest defense will have moments of weakness, and no defense can prevent a player from receiving the ball.

Shan Yongzhuo quickly discovered the problem: Sissoko.

Sissoko came through the youth academy of Auxerre in France and achieved his greatest success at Liverpool. In his early years, he was known for his tireless running and powerful tackles.

However, after joining Juventus, Sissoko was plagued by frequent injuries and was no longer the player he once was.

So, in the following match, Shan Yongzhuo deliberately looked for Sissoko's weakness. Finally, this time Sissoko's reaction was a step too slow, and Shan Yongzhuo easily got the ball.

After receiving the ball, Shan Yongzhuo immediately activated the effect of his whirlwind ground kick, gaining five seconds of stickiness, and bypassed Sissoko in one breath, directly rushing to the edge of the penalty area.

Chiellini and Bonucci immediately followed, intending to launch a pincer attack on the target.

Without any hesitation, Shan Yongzhuo unleashed a powerful shot. "Bang!"

Driven by tremendous force, the football quickly passed Bonucci and Chiellini, arcing wildly towards the top right corner of the goal.

Manninger stood in front of the goal and made a quick save after seeing the ball flying towards him, but it was too late.

The football flew into the goal, skimming the crossbar!
The ball went in!
The entire stadium erupted in cheers; that goal was absolutely spectacular.

Just now, Shan Yongzhuo displayed very impressive ball control skills. He made a wide turn to get past Sissoko, rushed into the penalty area, and fired a shot. Although such a move looks simple, it requires very good dribbling ability.

"In the 35th minute, it's that same man again! He's breached Juventus' goal!" Sky Sports commentator exclaimed. "That was a beautiful goal! Sissoko couldn't contain Shan Yongzhuo; Shan's performance was simply outstanding!"

"A shot from the edge of the penalty area, with such a beautiful arc, that even Buffon would probably have had a hard time making a save, let alone Manninger."

"That's Shan Yongzhuo for you. When the team is in a passive situation, we really can only rely on him!"

This goal gave all the Manchester City fans a huge boost. Manchester City has been performing very strongly since the start of the season, especially after their thrashing of Chelsea in the last match, which made all Manchester City fans feel that the team is invincible.

Despite fans saying on the surface that Juventus is a tough opponent, they actually look down on this declining old lady.

However, Iaquinta's opening goal silenced the entire Etihad Stadium, as no one expected that Juventus would take the lead.

Manchester City fans were holding their breath, and in the 35th minute, it was the same Manchester City number 10 who had conquered the Etihad Stadium in just a few games who helped the team equalize.

That was a brilliant goal, and quite difficult to score.

Juventus players also suffered a significant blow.

As the Zebra Prince Del Piero looked at the number 10, he couldn't help but recall his own peak career, only to realize that he was no match for him at all.

This wasn't the first time he had played against Shan Yongzhuo's team, but scoring a goal was extremely difficult for him, while for Shan Yongzhuo it was as easy as eating and drinking.

It's terrifying that they can easily score a goal with just a few simple touches of the ball.

In Juventus' backfield, several key players, led by Chiellini, looked dejected. They couldn't help but look at Sissoko with reproach, as it was he who had been beaten and caused the goal.

Sissoko was also somewhat unwilling, but he knew that he really couldn't keep up just now, so what could he do?

However, considering that he only had one year left on his contract and would likely leave Juventus after this season, he didn't take his teammates' criticism to heart. Instead, he comforted himself from another angle.

"The opponent is the world's number one striker, Chiellini and Bonucci. You are the future core of the team, on whom they have high hopes. But haven't you been thrashed by him before?"

"I'm an old player, how could I possibly defend against him!"

Thinking about it this way, Sissoko immediately felt much better.

(End of this chapter)