Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 228 The Battle for the Assist King

Soon, the second leg of the Europa League semi-final will begin.

The last time they played each other was away from home, but this time it's home.

On the day of the match, the entire Manchester City team was looking forward to the game. They were all very active during the morning warm-up training, especially David Silva.

So far, the Europa League has reached the semi-finals. In the other semi-final that just ended, Porto narrowly defeated Villarreal 1-0, successfully eliminating the Yellow Submarine and advancing to the final.

By this point, the eliminated teams no longer have the chance to pad their stats, and the media has already begun to summarize various data.

David Silva made the list.

As a midfielder, topping the assist charts is a very commendable achievement, especially with eight assists to his name, just two shy of double digits. This has made Silva quite excited.

"I am the Europa League assist king."

"I'm in first place now with 8 assists. The people who were close behind me have been eliminated, so I should be the assist leader."

"I'm the top scorer, and I'm the top assist provider. We're one of the strongest attacking duos in European football, haha..." Silva was very happy and proud.

At this moment, Milner calmly reminded him, "I only have one less assist than you."

Silva's face immediately darkened.

It was only then that he realized his biggest competitor for the assist title was someone from within the team, which was really frustrating. He and Milner were both wingers, and their chances of getting an assist were equal.

Given Shan Yongzhuo's goal-scoring efficiency, it's really hard to say who will win the assist title in the upcoming big matches.

Silva grinned at Shan Yongzhuo, "Shan, I'll definitely pass you the ball more in today's game, you have to give me some assists!"

Milner also looked at Shan Yongzhuo with anticipation.

The main reason why Silva and Milner have so many assists is that Shan Yongzhuo has scored too many goals. He has already scored 22 goals in the Europa League this season. With so many goals, his teammates naturally have a lot of assists as well.

Facing two teammates vying for the assist title, Shan Yongzhuo reassured them, "You don't need to compete. One of you can be the Europa League assist leader and the other can be the league assist leader. Everyone gets a share, and no one will be left out."

Milner and Silva both fell silent, as they were both vying for the league's assist title. Silva currently leads the list with 11 assists, while Milner is fourth with 9, a difference of 2 assists.

However, the way the two looked at each other was clearly full of competition.

After all, being a double top scorer is much more attractive than being a single top scorer.

Etihad Stadium.

The second leg of the match between Manchester City and Benfica began with two players constantly passing the ball to Shan Yongzhuo.

Both sides played a relatively conservative style.

With a three-goal advantage and a one-goal lead, Manchester City opted for a solid defensive counter-attacking strategy. Benfica, on the other hand, dared not unleash their attacking prowess, as they were far too wary of Shan Yongzhuo.

If Shan Yongzhuo scores another goal, they will be too passive, and it could even be said that the semi-final will be over prematurely.

When both teams focus on defense, the game becomes very dull, but it is still very interesting, such as Shan Yongzhuo's frequent mistakes.

The English commentator pointed out the problem, saying, "During this period, Shan Yongzhuo has been performing poorly; he has been repeatedly dispossessed and his passes have been consistently misplaced..."

"Manchester City's chances were almost all wasted by Shan Yongzhuo."

The Portuguese commentator was ecstatic: "Shan Yongzhuo is out of form, which is the best news for Benfica. As Manchester City's key player, his form directly determines Manchester City's competitive state. He was clearly out of form in this game, and Benfica has a good chance of winning."

When Benfica players saw that Shan Yongzhuo was indeed out of form, they became much more confident.

For example, center-backs Luisão and Felipe are very confident; they know what to do. Mark Shan Yongzhuo.

In this match, Benfica continued to use a three-center-back formation, with Luisão and Felipe guarding Shan Yongzhuo together.

Then they discovered that the opponent seemed to be focusing their attack on Shan Yongzhuo, Silva, and Milner, two very important attacking initiators for Manchester City. After getting the ball, they would immediately look for Shan Yongzhuo without any regard for the consequences.

Balotelli, standing next to Silva and Milner, was completely ignored.

Although they were a little confused about the opponent's tactics, Philippe and Louisson were happy. After figuring out the opponent's style of play, all they had to do was lock down Shan Yongzhuo.

Simultaneously.

Dan Yongzhuo's heart was filled with resentment.

Milner and Silva were being far too attentive; they seemed to distrust Balotelli and only trust Shan Yongzhuo.

This is not incomprehensible, after all, Shan Yongzhuo's scoring efficiency is far superior to Balotelli's.

Surprisingly, Balotelli, standing next to Shan Yongzhuo, didn't seem to have any objections at all. Instead, he watched Shan Yongzhuo receive the ball with a grin.

However, Shan Yongzhuo is not a player who can constantly carry the ball and attack the opponent's defense. His repeated passes only exposed his weakness in ball control, so in the end, the situation turned into Shan Yongzhuo's repeated mistakes, which directly ruined one attack after another.

Finally, Shan Yongzhuo couldn't hold back any longer and started yelling at the two of them, "Can't you guys just play normally? Play normally, don't worry about me!"

He specifically reminded the two people, and Silva and Milner both nodded after thinking for a moment.

So, five minutes later.

After making a breakthrough with an inside cut, Silva turned his head to look at Shan Yongzhuo first.

"Watch out, he's going to pass it to number 10!"

"Keep an eye on him!"

Benfica immediately reacted as if facing a formidable enemy, and quickly moved closer to Shan Yongzhuo.

But the next moment...

Silva passed the ball, a beautiful through ball that pierced through the crowd and found Balotelli, who had successfully beaten the offside trap.

"Hula..."

The cheers from the fans in the stands represent the tense atmosphere in the stadium at that moment.

Balotelli broke through on a one-on-one, caught up with the ball near the penalty spot, and faced the onrushing goalkeeper. Without any hesitation or pause, or even stopping the ball, he shot directly.

Although Balotelli is unreliable most of the time, this goal still showcased his impressive shooting skills. The ball curled to the far corner, passed the goalkeeper, and went straight into the net.

1 is better than 0!

Manchester City took the lead at home.

With a 4-2 aggregate score, Manchester City continued to widen the gap in the overall score.

The cheers from the stands around the stadium represented the fans' excitement, and also indicated that it was only a matter of time before Manchester City eliminated Benfica and advanced to the final.

Manchester City fans are full of confidence.

(End of this chapter)