Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 224 Free Kick Scoring Rate
Benfica's Estádio do Lucerne.

The historic stadium, which can hold more than 6 people, was in a frenzy as Benfica fans gave their team the loudest cheers.

Because Benfica's performance was just too good.

At this moment, the match had reached the 30th minute, and a thunderous cheer erupted from the stands. Just now, Benfica had taken advantage of a counter-attack opportunity, with Brazilian striker Oscar Cardozo receiving a pass from Coentrao, breaking through Kompany's defense, and calmly scoring a one-on-one goal against Joe Hart.

1:0.

Benfica, playing at home, took the lead by breaching Manchester City's goal.

Benfica fans were cheering for the goal.

They were incredibly excited because they had been completely dominated for the first 30 minutes, with Manchester City launching a relentless attack in Benfica's half, leaving them on the edge of their seats.

Surprisingly, Benfica were the first to score.

This is the Europa League semi-final, and with Benfica having taken the lead, fans are already hoping their team will defeat Manchester City and advance to the Europa League final.

Manchester City, on the other hand, are somewhat downcast.

Mancini stood on the sidelines with a somewhat helpless expression. Although the opponent had only scored one goal, considering the situation in the first 30 minutes, he knew how difficult this match would be.

No one expected Benfica to play a defensive counter-attacking style at home.

They deployed a 5-3-2 formation, adopting a defensive posture.

As a Portuguese powerhouse, Mancini was somewhat surprised that they would choose a defensive counter-attacking strategy when playing at home.

Manchester City's biggest weapon, Shan Yongzhuo, also seems to be in trouble. Among the opponent's three center-backs, Luisão and Felipe are tightly marking him, while defensive midfielder Javi Garcia is also keeping a close eye on him, constantly roaming around Shan Yongzhuo.

This was a three-man defensive formation, and under such circumstances, Shan Yongzhuo was completely in trouble. 30 minutes had passed, and the best opportunity was a direct free kick from Shan Yongzhuo, but it was just off target and hit the post.

Facing Benfica, who were determined to defend and launch counter-attacks, Manchester City pressed forward relentlessly. However, they have now conceded the first goal to Benfica, which is a very disadvantageous situation.

"1-0. Benfica played very well today. They solidified their defense and launched high-quality counter-attacks. The score is the best proof of that."

"Benfica's defense against Shan Yongzhuo, number 10, was also excellent in this match. After 30 minutes, Shan Yongzhuo only had one shot, which was a free kick, and he barely touched the ball..."

The Portuguese commentator spoke eloquently, as if he could already see Benfica advancing to the final and Porto staging a Portuguese derby in the Europa League final.

In reality, the score was only 1-0.

Shan Yongzhuo stood in the center circle, passed the ball to Balotelli, and immediately rushed forward to continue looking for opportunities and waiting for a chance to score.

That's what he's always done.

Contrary to expectations, Shan Yongzhuo was not disappointed by his poor performance. Going 30 minutes without scoring was perfectly normal, and he remained remarkably calm.

Before the match, Shan Yongzhuo was mentally prepared for this game because he knew he would face tight defense. However, he did not expect Benfica to be so ruthless, sending two people to closely follow him, with another person lurking not far from him.

With three people guarding him closely, it was naturally very difficult to break through the door.

Conversely, when three opposing players are focused on marking one player, teammates will naturally have many more opportunities.

Unfortunately, his teammates were simply too unhelpful in this match, with Balotelli and David Silva wasting several scoring opportunities.

Milner, on the other side, performed well, but he was positioned far from the goal, and his technical characteristics were different from David Silva's. Milner's strength was only in breaking through on the wing and crossing, and he could not break through to the middle and link up the attack like Silva.

This put Manchester City's attack in serious trouble. Although it looked impressive, they didn't create many truly threatening attacks. The core issue was that once Shan Yongzhuo was completely trapped in a defensive formation, the rest of the team lacked finishing ability.

However, Shan Yongzhuo was very calm at this time. In the first 30 minutes, he had figured out Benfica's defense to some extent. The opponent's strategy was purely to overwhelm them with numbers. Not only were there 3 people marking him, but the penalty area was also densely packed with people. The only one who was really left in the frontcourt was Saviola.

This defensive approach is indeed quite effective.

Even if you unleash a Whirlwind Ground Kick or Ghost Shadow Grappling Hand, it's difficult to guarantee a successful strike against such a dense defense.

Furthermore, opportunities don't come by waiting; they need to be created.

Mancini's pre-match strategy was to break through on both flanks, plus Yaya Toure's forward runs.

But now, Mancini has changed his strategy. He called David Silva to his side, gave him some instructions, and Manchester City completely changed their tactics.

In the subsequent matches, Manchester City began to make more breakthroughs in front of the penalty area, and even Milner no longer stayed on the wing to cross the ball, but would occasionally come to the middle to make breakthroughs.

Silva, Balotelli, Milner, and Shan Yongzhuo, these four players with dribbling skills, began their repeated breakthroughs on the edge of the penalty area.

Such a breakthrough is not necessarily aimed at scoring a goal; as long as the breakthrough is successful, there is a high chance of winning a set piece.

Creating set pieces—that's the strategy Mancini changed.

Breaking down a tight defense has always been a major headache for Manchester City.

Manchester City lacks a tall center forward like Drogba to act as a focal point in the penalty area, making traditional crosses from the wings and high balls largely ineffective.

Manchester City's two strikers, Shan Yongzhuo and Balotelli, although they both look quite tall, are not the type who like physical confrontations and rely on their bodies to overpower their opponents.

Therefore, Mancini had no choice but to resort to the old method.

The best way to break down a tight defense is through long balls from the wings and set pieces.

Manchester City lacks a strong target man, so they can only use the second method: set pieces.

Because they have a top free-kick specialist like Shan Yongzhuo on their team, as long as they create set pieces continuously, they have a good chance of scoring.

Benfica clearly didn't realize this.

Perhaps they knew how powerful Shan Yongzhuo's free kicks were, but with the goal in front of them in such a precarious situation, they couldn't think of anything else.

And then, Manchester City succeeded.

In the 39th minute, more than 6 meters from the edge of the penalty area, David Silva broke through the defense of the opposing midfielder Aimar, and was then tripped by Javi Garcia as he took a shot.

It wasn't a deliberate foul, but Manchester City were awarded a free kick in an excellent position.

Shan Yongzhuo took the free kick. Although he had missed two free kicks before and had used up his powerful leg kick, he succeeded this time.

With the help of his golden right foot, he unleashed a powerful shot that flew straight into the top left corner of the goal.

"The ball is in!"

"Shan Yongzhuo! Shan Yongzhuo!"

Amid the cheers of Manchester City fans, the Benfica fans at home could no longer muster any excitement.

(End of this chapter)