Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 220 A Masterpiece of Brand Signature
Soon after both sides finished warming up, they came out of the locker room again.

The match officially began, and the cheers from the fans in the stands immediately rose to a new level.

Manchester City took advantage of the kickoff and launched an attack towards Tottenham's half. After passing the ball to Balotelli, Shan Yongzhuo charged towards the opponent's half.

Tottenham's defender Dawson and defensive midfielder Sandro immediately closed in.

In today's Premier League, it seems to have become a consensus to assign at least two players to defend against Shan Yongzhuo, otherwise it would be too dangerous.

Dawson started his career at Nottingham Forest. Although he is tall and strong, his strength and speed are actually quite average. It is not a good choice to let him defend against Shan Yongzhuo alone.

Tottenham didn't dare to take any risks, so while he was marking Shan Yongzhuo, Brazilian midfielder Sandro also came over, not exactly marking him closely, but still sticking to him.

Manchester City's attack was thwarted on the left flank, and Tottenham stabilized the situation with a series of passes. Balotelli went up to contest the ball, and Gallas kicked it back to goalkeeper Cudicini.

As Cudicini passed the ball to Dawson, he didn't forget to give a serious reminder, "Make sure he doesn't shoot, especially in the penalty area!"

Dawson nodded. "I will try my best."

But in reality, Dawson wasn't very confident about whether he could defend against Shan Yongzhuo. He hadn't played in their last encounter, and this was their first meeting.

However, facing this universally acknowledged world's best striker, Dawson was under immense pressure.

After passing the ball to Lennon, he stuck close to Shan Yongzhuo, silently encouraging himself.

"It's okay. His speed and strength are average, and he's a bit weak in physical confrontations. His shooting is just too good. We'll just stop him from shooting."

Tottenham's squad strength is comparable to Manchester City's.

Especially in terms of midfield strength, Modric didn't gain much of an advantage against the duo of Yaya Toure and De Jong in their last encounter.

In this rematch, Modric was still caught in a physical battle, unable to organize and orchestrate the attack with ease.

Tottenham's attacks mostly originate from the flanks.

With Gareth Bale sidelined due to injury, Lennon took on more of the attacking midfield role. He performed exceptionally well in the early stages of the match, combining brilliantly with Van der Vaart to deliver several impressive attacks into Manchester City's penalty area.

However, Tottenham's main striker, Crouch, is really not very reliable. His physical strength is even slightly inferior to Shan Yongzhuo's. He basically falls down at the slightest touch when facing Kompany.

Tottenham's attack relies heavily on Lennon and Van der Vaart, but the two can only attack from the ground, so their threat to Manchester City is still quite limited.

Conversely, Manchester City's attack was more threatening than Tottenham's.

After nearly a season of integration, Manchester City, in addition to Shan Yongzhuo, also has its most lethal attacking weapon, David Silva.

David Silva's position at Manchester City is somewhat unique.

On the surface, he is a left winger, but he often moves to the center to receive passes, becoming a kind of attacking midfielder similar to a number 9.

His playmaking ability can compensate for the lack of attacking organization among Manchester City's two muscular midfielders to the greatest extent.

In this match, David Silva was very active, forming an attacking axis with Yaya Toure and Balotelli, threatening Tottenham's goal time and time again.

Shan Yongzhuo, on the other hand, seemed more like a spectator on the field, spending most of his time in a static, stationary position.

In the 22nd minute, Manchester City launched a normal attack.

Shan Yongzhuo was closely marked by Dawson, so he simply retreated a distance. Dawson followed from behind, but he couldn't completely block Shan Yongzhuo from receiving the ball. He didn't have any particularly good solutions for this kind of retreat to receive the ball.

However, Dawson wasn't particularly worried. Shan Yongzhuo received the ball a little ahead of midfield; it was impossible for him to shoot from that position, so he had to combine with his teammates. Dawson just needed to stick close to him.

Dawson didn't need to intercept at all; he only needed to force the opponent to pass the ball, and his job was done.

However, instead of passing the ball, Shan Yongzhuo stopped it at his feet. Dawson immediately stepped forward to press him, preventing Shan Yongzhuo from having a chance to turn around.

Shan Yongzhuo also squeezed Dawson hard, not giving him a chance to steal the ball.

Then, he aimed precisely and unleashed a whirlwind ground kick, flicking the ball backward.

The movement was very subtle, and Dawson didn't notice anything at all.

Then, instead of turning around immediately, Shan Yongzhuo quickly circled around Dawson.

The football passed right between Dawson's legs, then arced back to Shan Yongzhuo's feet.

"This……"

By the time Dawson realized what was happening, Shan Yongzhuo had already overtaken him and left him completely behind.

Dawson was completely bewildered, while the surrounding stands erupted in uproar.

"Here it comes! Shan Yongzhuo's signature dribbling move: a curved ball-passing maneuver!"

Commentators familiar with Shan Yongzhuo immediately recognized his signature dribble, and the surrounding fans erupted in cheers.

Dan Yongzhuo sprinted with the ball, and while the effects of his whirlwind kick were still in effect, he circled around Sandro who was coming to cover, and then rushed to the right side of the penalty area at a 45-degree angle.

There was no hesitation.

Take a shot!
He didn't use his powerful leg for this shot; instead, he used the outside of his right foot to curl the ball into a curve.

With the help of his golden right foot, the football traced an incredibly exaggerated arc, finally hurtling towards the top right corner of the goal.

Cudicini is on high alert.

However, the trajectory of the ball was too bizarre. At first, it seemed to be heading towards the players in the penalty area, but after flying halfway, it strangely changed direction and spun rapidly towards the corner of the goal.

By the time Cudicini reacted and made a save, it was too late.

The football flew over Cudicini's hands, grazing the junction of the post and crossbar, and into the goal.

“goooooooal!”

"The ball is in!"

"Shan Yongzhuo, he shook off Dawson and Sandro in succession, and with a shot from the outside of his foot, the ball went over Cudicini and into the corner of the net!"

"1 to 0!"

"Manchester City have taken the lead!"

"The man who scored Manchester City's first goal is still that same man, the all-powerful goal-scoring machine Shan Yongzhuo!"

Amid the commentator's enthusiastic shouts, the Etihad Stadium erupted in cheers, especially the fervent Dan Yongzhuo women's cheerleading team, whose synchronized dance and rows of long legs were particularly eye-catching.

(End of this chapter)