Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 223 The Most Beautiful Scenery in European Football
Benfica.

Benfica is a team with a great reputation throughout Europe and one of the traditional top three teams in the Portuguese league. Historically speaking, Benfica can even be considered a powerhouse team, incomparable to nouveau riche teams like Manchester City.

With 31 Portuguese top-flight league titles, 27 Portuguese Cup titles, 2 Champions League titles, and 5 Champions League runner-up finishes, this is a truly impressive record.

Of course, all of this is history.

Benfica are now completely outmatched by Porto in the league, and have been eliminated from the Champions League group stage, relegating them to the Europa League.

Mancini dared not underestimate this opponent, and Benfica also dared not underestimate Manchester City.

Both teams are hoping to defeat their opponent and advance to the final.

As the match time approached, the atmosphere within Manchester City became somewhat tense. Although this Manchester City team is full of star players, in reality, not many players have actually experienced big games.

Now that they've reached the Europa League semi-finals, it's already a big event for many Manchester City players. If they can make it to the final and win the championship, it will be a historic moment for the club.

After all, Manchester City's trophy list doesn't have much to boast about; in European competitions, they only have the Cup Winners' Cup title from the 70s.

Other honors include a First Division title in the 1930s and a Premier League title in the 1960s, as well as four FA Cup titles, two League Cup titles, and three Community Shield titles.

Such a result would have been quite acceptable for Manchester City in the past.

But for this wealthy team that aspires to become a powerhouse, this is quite meager. Winning as many championships as possible is the shared expectation of the club's management, fans, and Manchester City players.

The Europa League title is a highly anticipated championship, and for Manchester City right now, it's a very prestigious one.

In fact, Manchester City is currently under considerable pressure from their schedule.

Although Manchester United defeated Blackburn in this round of league matches, they also easily and smoothly defeated their younger brother Everton, continuing to put pressure on Manchester City.

Under these circumstances, no league match can be taken lightly, and the Europa League matches must be played with full effort, not to mention the FA Cup final in May.

For Manchester City, whose squad depth is somewhat lacking, the pressure is still considerable.

During team training, every player was very serious. Even Balotelli didn't hold a grudge against Mancini and diligently followed the coaching staff's instructions.

Benfica is a typical Portuguese league team that emphasizes technical teamwork and attacking play. Their main attacking duo is also a typical combination of a physically imposing striker and a more agile one, with the tall center forward Oscar Cardozo paired with the sharpshooter Saviola.

On this day, Mancini conducted a tactical training session against Benfica.

Dan Yongzhuo was completely confused. The only thing he knew was that he would definitely be targeted and defended by the opponent, which was a problem he would face in almost every game.

Therefore, tactical training courses were not of much concern to him.

Then, the entire Manchester City team flew to Benfica, Portugal, to prepare for the first leg of their match against Benfica.

Every player was in high spirits. After all, it was the Europa League semi-final, and the attention it received was considerable. For players, honor and performance are everything.

Meanwhile, as the big match approaches, media coverage in England and Portugal has begun, showing great interest in the game.

In European competitions this season, English teams have performed reasonably well, with Manchester United reaching the Champions League semi-finals and Manchester City reaching the Europa League semi-finals.

If things go as planned, it's possible that both Manchester clubs could lift the trophy together, sweeping away the gloom of last season and recreating the glory of winning both the Serie A, Champions League, and Europa League titles last season.

The proud English naturally hoped to see this.

Portugal's performance in European competitions this season has been quite respectable. Both Benfica and Porto have reached the Europa League semi-finals, and with a bit of luck, the Europa League final could potentially become an all-Portuguese affair. Such a scenario hasn't been seen for years, and for the Portuguese, this is undoubtedly a huge boost.

Under these circumstances, both sides' media outlets began building momentum well in advance.

This match is the second leg of the semi-finals. In the first leg, Porto defeated La Liga powerhouse Villarreal at home, giving the Portuguese league a good start.

As a result, Portuguese media began analyzing Benfica's chances of defeating Manchester City from various angles.

Their stated goal is to avenge their brother team, Braga.

Many Portuguese media outlets offered Benfica advice, but in the end, they all focused on one key point: how to block Shan Yongzhuo.

Anyone with even a slight understanding of Manchester City knows that to defeat them, the first step is to shut down Shan Yongzhuo.

But how?
this is a problem.

In all the matches Shan Yongzhuo has played for Manchester City so far, he has only lost to Liverpool away in the 32nd round of the Premier League. He has never lost a match in any other game.

However, Shan Yongzhuo still scored two goals in that match. Liverpool did not truly shut down Shan Yongzhuo, but instead relied on his outstanding performance and scoring more goals to achieve victory.

As a result, the Portuguese media conducted various analyses, but ultimately failed to reach any particularly positive conclusions.

The ever-helpful English media were naturally not to be outdone, cheering for Manchester City and showering Shan Yongzhuo with blessings. In this contest, they were rightfully and unsurprisingly on the side of both Manchester City and Shan Yongzhuo.

Various news reports were published.

The English media, which has never been known for its lack of scruples, even went so far as to report extensively on the news and photos of Shan Yongzhuo's women's cheerleading team traveling to Benfica in an attempt to boost Shan Yongzhuo's morale.

If you only look at the media reports from England and Portugal, you might get the impression that the Benfica vs. Manchester City match is an epic battle, one of the most classic clashes in a century.

However, in reality, this was just a Europa League semi-final match, and the two teams facing off were Manchester City, a newly rich Premier League club, and Benfica, a second-tier European powerhouse.

However, media reports from the outside world are unlikely to affect either team.

On the day of the match, the stadium was packed with people.

Benfica fans made up the vast majority of the crowd, and their presence was so great that they seemed poised to make the Estádio da Luz the most intimidating home ground in Europe.

Manchester City were not to be outdone. Although they held a small share, they had their own trump card: the Shan Yongzhuo Women's Cheerleading Team.

This cheerleading squad has now become a beautiful sight in European football. Every man who talks about this cheerleading squad feels envious and jealous of Shan Yongzhuo, yet there is nothing he can do about it.

After all, Shan Yongzhuo's performance was impeccable, and his looks were impeccable even in the eyes of men.

Many women who talk about this cheerleading team express envy, jealousy, and resentment. They are not targeting Shan Yongzhuo, but rather resentful that they did not have the opportunity to join them.

At this moment, this cheerleading squad showed the Benfica players what true fans are.

At first glance, there were nearly four or five hundred sexy women, all wearing Shan Yongzhuo's Manchester City number 10 jersey and sexy hot pants, showing off their long legs in the stands, chanting Shan Yongzhuo's name in unison.

This sight thrilled the Benfica players, who, while feeling envious and jealous of Shan Yongzhuo, also complained about the lack of support from their own fans.

(End of this chapter)