Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 229 Advance to the Finals
Balotelli celebrated excitedly after scoring, while David Silva was also thrilled, having earned another assist.

Silva looked at Milner triumphantly, his expression seeming to say, "Now I have nine assists."

Milner shook his head with a wry smile, but didn't happily join in the celebration.

After all, the team scored a goal.

Milner has never touched the Europa League final in his many years of professional career, and his expectations for winning the trophy in the final are still higher than his expectations for being the assist leader.

Commentator Gary Lineker remarked on the goal, "This was a major defensive blunder by Benfica. They all rushed towards Shan Yongzhuo's side, completely ignoring Balotelli's presence."

"In fact, although being next to Shan Yongzhuo made him seem less noticeable, Super Mario is still an outstanding striker in European football, and the Italian's strength should not be underestimated."

"However, this play shows just how much of a threat Shan Yongzhuo poses to Benfica's defense. More than half of the entire backline was focused on him, but the other Manchester City players are all star players..."

"Shan Yongzhuo is that kind of player. He can win a game on his own and also make a huge difference to his teammates through his presence."

"This goal has helped Manchester City widen the gap to two goals, which is a very safe number, making it much more difficult for Benfica to equalize..."

Lineker spoke with a straight face, and anyone who didn't know better would have thought that the goal was scored by Shan Yongzhuo.

After the game restarted, Benfica indeed dared not go all out on Shan Yongzhuo as before, but at that moment, Shan Yongzhuo unleashed his power.

42 minutes.

After a series of passes between Milner and De Jong, Milner dribbled the ball to the middle and passed it directly to Shan Yongzhuo.

This time, Shan Yongzhuo received the ball with his back to goal and was facing only Philipp. Just as Luisão closed in, Shan Yongzhuo unleashed a whirlwind ground kick, shaking off Felipe and entering the penalty area.

Then he took a shot directly, and the goalkeeper did his best, but there was nothing he could do.

"2 to 0!"

"This time it's Shan Yongzhuo! It's his signature dribble past the defender and shot from the edge of the penalty area!"

"He continues his winning streak of scoring every time he steps onto the field!"

"Manchester City are leading Benfica 2-0, making it 5-2 on aggregate. I can already declare that Manchester City have reached the Europa League final, where they will face Porto for the title!"

Lineker shouted excitedly.

Fans and media alike agreed with his assessment; with a three-goal deficit, Benfica had no chance of turning the tide, and this goal was undoubtedly a major blow to them.

Fortunately, the end of the first half gave them some time to prepare.

After the start of the second half, Mancini made a bold move, directly substituting three key players—De Jong, Silva, and Shan Yongzhuo—into Zabaleta, Barry, and Wright-Phillips.

It's clear that Manchester City has called it a day.

The second half of the game became somewhat dull.

Benfica were noticeably more active, and they had no choice but to do so. Trailing by three goals, they had no option but to fight for their lives.

They launched more attacks and became more proactive.

The fact that the two full-backs are making more frequent forward runs is the best proof of this, especially their starting left-back Coentrao.

Coentrao was Benfica's best player in both legs of the match.

Coentrao debuted at the age of sixteen and rose to fame at a young age. He was named the best left-back at last summer's World Cup in South Africa. Subsequently, he rejected the offer from Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and chose to stay at Benfica.

Coentrao has confirmed that he will join Real Madrid after this season to play in La Liga alongside his national teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.

Coentrao is a versatile player who can play in many positions, including defensive midfield.

He is very fast, good at covering, has a good ability to assist, and is very strong in penetrating the defense. In the second half, Coentrao began to show his characteristics. His forward runs and penetrations on the left flank became a major weapon in Benfica's attack.

However, while Manchester City's defense has always been problematic, they performed quite well in the second half.

If they were to face a top team, given Manchester City's defensive capabilities, it would be difficult to guarantee they wouldn't concede a goal.

However, Benfica's attacking level is clearly still a notch below.

They could only rely on Coentrao's overlapping runs down the flanks to create chances, but neither Oscar Cardozo nor Saviola managed to score.

In the 70th minute of the second half, Benfica manager Gabriel Jesus finally couldn't sit still any longer and substituted the poorly performing Saviola with Nuno Gomes.

This substitution also led to a goal for Benfica.

In the 83rd minute, Nuno Gomez received a cross from Coentrao and headed the ball directly past Joe Hart in the penalty area.

Benfica pulled one back.

But it was clear that it was too late.

With less than 10 minutes left in the game, they were still down by two goals.

Two goals are not so easy to tie.

Despite conceding a goal, Manchester City remained composed, maintaining a tight defense that even left Benfica feeling hopeless.

Time was being consumed second by second.

Finally, the referee blew the final whistle.

2:1.

The final score was 5 to 3.

Manchester City defeated Benfica in both legs, securing their place in the Europa League final.

The Etihad Stadium erupted in cheers the moment the referee blew the final whistle.

Europa League Final!
Even just qualifying for the final is enough for Manchester City fans to cheer.

In Manchester City's football history, they have never stood at such a height before. For most of their time, they have been playing in the Premier League and League One, constantly fighting to avoid relegation.

Even after wealthy investors moved in, the area still lacked any notable achievements.

Now, they have reached the Europa League final and have a chance to achieve a mini-treble this season.

This performance drew cheers from Manchester City fans.

Etihad Stadium.

Everyone was cheering and celebrating; they didn't want to leave.

Manchester City's players, led by captain Vincent Kompany, stood in a row and bowed to the fans around them in gratitude before the fans left the stadium in twos and threes.

Back in the locker room, everyone was excited and even had a little celebration.

Although Manchester City has many star players, there aren't many who have truly reached the level of the Europa League final.

Now that the team has made it to the finals, they have no choice but to be excited.

(End of this chapter)