Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 158 League Alternation First
Although Shan Yongzhuo failed to score the decisive goal, it didn't have much of an impact.

In the following minutes, Juventus launched a full-scale attack, but still failed to equalize. Thanks to two goals from Shan Yongzhuo, Manchester City ultimately defeated Juventus 2-1 at home, achieving their second consecutive victory in the Europa League.

After the game.

The English media launched a massive coverage.

Manchester City's home victory over Juventus, while somewhat unexpected, was also within reason. Since the start of the new season, Manchester City has performed very strongly, winning all their matches except for a draw against Blackburn, including victories against opponents like Chelsea and Liverpool.

Juventus' performance this season has been terrible, so their defeat is hardly surprising.

After finishing their match against Juventus, Manchester City didn't get much rest before immediately facing Newcastle United in the league.

Mancini made some random substitutions for this match, and Shan Yongzhuo wasn't even included in the squad.

Newcastle United's performance this season has been quite mediocre. In Mancini's view, even with some key players rested, they should be able to beat such an opponent.

However, in this very match, Manchester City unexpectedly stumbled, being held to a draw at home by Newcastle United.

A draw wouldn't normally be anything special, but in another key match, Chelsea defeated Arsenal 2-1 at home, overtaking Manchester City by one point in the standings once again.

Mancini was furious. The team had been leading for the entire game, but their goal was breached at the last minute. Lescott, who started the game, made a basic mistake.

But there's nothing you can do about being annoyed; the game is what it is, and you can only accept it.

After the match against Newcastle United, the international break began. As a major contributor of national team players, Manchester City naturally had to rely on their players being called up by their respective national teams.

Shan Yongzhuo was naturally among them, but the Chinese team didn't have any major matches to play in October, only a friendly match against Argentina.

However, according to Gao Hongbo's plan, Shan Yongzhuo was not called up for this match.

After all, this was just a friendly match, and Gao Hongbo didn't want Shan Yongzhuo's constant travel to affect his performance. On the other hand, he also preferred to hone the lineup without Shan Yongzhuo.

In any case, we can't rely on Shan Yongzhuo alone.

Shan Yongzhuo didn't mind at all; not having to fly back to China meant he could finally get some rest.

During the off-season, he stayed home completely, refusing invitations from Balotelli and others time and time again, and instead became obsessed with playing video games.

He plays World of Warcraft, a game he loved in his previous life. Reborn, he created a gnome rogue character and chose to save Azeroth.

In October 2010, World of Warcraft was still in the Wrath of the Lich King version, which was also Shan Yongzhuo's favorite version.

However, having not played for many years, he was quite rusty. After being endlessly camped on his corpse in Stranglethorn Vale, he lost the joy of continuing to play.

"These people are just so unfriendly..."

Shan Yongzhuo expressed his helplessness, but there was nothing he could do; he simply couldn't keep up with the controls.

The off-season ended quickly, and the Premier League soon returned to action.

Manchester City will play away against Blackpool.

In this match, Shan Yongzhuo vented all his anger from being thrashed in World of Warcraft on Blackpool. Tevez also recovered from his injury and returned to the field. Manchester City, with their full-strength squad, did not give Blackpool any chance.

Manchester City easily defeated their opponents 1-3 away from home.

Shan Yongzhuo scored another hat-trick, bringing his league goal tally to 17. This goal tally completely shocked English and even European football.

Keep in mind that the Premier League has only played 8 rounds of matches, and Shan Yongzhuo has already scored a staggering 17 goals, averaging more than 2 goals per game.

This is absolutely terrifying.

Although his average goals per game has decreased compared to last season in Serie A, it's only been 8 rounds, so who knows how many goals he'll score next?

Manchester City defeated Blackpool this round, while Chelsea suffered an unexpected upset, drawing away to Wigan Athletic, which allowed Manchester City to overtake Chelsea by one point again.

The back-and-forth comebacks by both teams have made this season's Premier League seem like a two-man show between Chelsea and Manchester City.

Arsenal are in third place, but they only have 14 points, five points behind Chelsea and six points behind Manchester City.

Although the gap isn't huge, considering that the league has only been played for eight rounds and they're already so far behind, the English media are already proclaiming that this season's league title will definitely be decided between Chelsea and Manchester City.

Manchester United are in fourth place. They have the same number of points as Arsenal, but their goal difference is worse, so they can only be ranked fourth.

As for Liverpool, one of the traditional top four, their performance this season has been truly disappointing.

After eight rounds of league play, Liverpool have only managed to accumulate six points, placing them 17th in the league.

Even more alarming is that the three teams behind them, West Ham United, Sunderland, and Wolves, all have 6 points, meaning that Liverpool is actually in last place.

This points tally is terrifying. It's shocking that a powerhouse like Liverpool is so deep in the relegation zone.

Mascherano's departure in the summer was a huge blow to Liverpool, and their defensive performance this season has been very poor.

What's even more worrying is that Liverpool's star striker, Torres, has been plagued by injuries, making it difficult to guarantee his form. Moreover, Torres is deeply involved in transfer rumors and has been flirting with Chelsea.

It seems that Torres' departure is only a matter of time.

Hodgson, the manager who led Fulham to the Europa League semi-finals last season, seems to have no solution to this situation, and Liverpool fans' dissatisfaction with him has reached its peak.

It seems only a matter of time before Hodgson is dismissed.

However, none of this matters to Manchester City. At this time, Manchester City appears to be a formidable force, and their rise this season is a foregone conclusion. Even if they cannot win the championship, they can at least secure a top-four finish.

Shortly after their match against Blackpool, Manchester City will host Polish side Poznanhet in the third round of the Europa League group stage.

Mancini only brought a reserve team to this match, after all, Arsenal's league game was just one day away, and the team's main focus was on the match against Arsenal.

The opponent was not strong in this match, and the team did not take it too seriously. Key players such as Shan Yongzhuo, Yaya Toure, and Kompany were not included in the squad.

As expected, Tevez was in superb form, scoring two goals to help his team secure a 2-0 victory over their opponents.

This was a very important victory, as Juventus, in the same group, drew with Red Bull Salzburg away from home.

After three rounds of matches, Manchester City has won all three and accumulated 9 points, ranking first in the group. Red Bull Salzburg is in second place with one win, one draw and one loss, only managing 4 points.

This situation is very favorable for Manchester City. If they win another game in the next round, they will secure qualification, or even top the group.

This pleased Mancini greatly.

(End of this chapter)