Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 264 The Second Half Begins

Etihad Stadium.

The game continued, and both teams were fully engaged, gradually increasing the intensity of the match.

Napoli dominated the game, controlling possession and the tempo of the match.

Manchester City's performance has improved significantly since the beginning. They are full of fighting spirit and confidence, as the scoreboard shows "2-0", with the home team ahead of Napoli by two goals.

The game had only been going on for 26 minutes.

Leading by two goals gives you a huge advantage in the game.

This gave the Manchester City players a huge boost of confidence, and they threw themselves into the game, showing great positivity even when under pressure.

Napoli launched continuous attacks, their teamwork was quite smooth, and they didn't seem too hasty, but the long period without scoring did subtly affect the Napoli players.

However, after conceding two goals, Mazzarri finally had no choice but to abandon his defensive strategy and instead had Zuniga drop back to closely mark Shan Yongzhuo.

Suniga did a good job. Although he was not tall, he was very strong, and Shan Yongzhuo had no advantage over him in a fight.

After he closely marked Shan Yongzhuo, Shan Yongzhuo did encounter some trouble. It became much more difficult for him to receive the ball, and Manchester City could only try to break the deadlock more through Aguero.

Simultaneously.

Napoli's attack finally broke through the deadlock.

In the 41st minute, Napoli scored.

Their continuous attacks paid off. Inler crossed from the wing and found Cavani directly. The Uruguayan forcefully shook off Kompany and fired a powerful shot into the goal guarded by Joe Hart.

2:1.

Napoli pulled one back.

A small number of Napoli fans in the surrounding stands cheered, releasing their pent-up emotions.

These Napoli fans who traveled with the team were indeed very excited.

From the start of the match, Napoli had the upper hand, but Manchester City kept scoring. Shan Yongzhuo's performance made them feel somewhat hopeless, and they even thought that winning would be difficult and that they would be happy if they could just equalize.

Now that Napoli has pulled one back, they have a glimmer of hope and have regained confidence in the game.

Cavani's goal came in the 41st minute.

This was also the last goal of the first half, and the game went to halftime.

Manchester City and Napoli returned to their respective locker rooms.

Manchester City are in good spirits, after all, they are in the lead, and even though the opponent's attack is fierce, they still maintain their lead, which is the best result.

At the same time, Mancini was also somewhat conflicted.

He was leading Napoli at halftime, which was within his expectations, but the process was somewhat unexpected. He didn't expect his team to be suppressed by Napoli.

This is precisely where his dilemma lies.

This was Manchester City's first group stage match in the Champions League, and a winning start was very important for a Champions League newcomer like them.

In this situation, should the team continue with the same tactics in the second half, or strengthen their defense and consolidate their victory?
The latter is very pragmatic and does not align well with Mancini's philosophy.

However, that makes it easier to win.

Mancini's tactical approach differs from that of traditional Serie A coaches; he favors an attacking style.

However, his ability to coach the offense was actually quite limited, but even so, he ultimately maintained his established tactics.

He glanced at Shan Yongzhuo and decided to trust his star shooter.

However, he also saw the problem: Napoli was dominating their 4-2-2-2 formation, and he had to make adjustments. Mancini's adjustment was to move David Silva to the central midfield position to control the tempo of the game, while De Jong and Yaya Toure moved slightly forward, forming two layers of protection for Silva.

At the same time, Aguero moved back to the left wing.

The formation changed from 4222 to 451, with Shan Yongzhuo at the very front.

This is a strategy to compete with Napoli in midfield, relying solely on Shan Yongzhuo for goals.

……

After the start of the second half.

Not only Manchester City made changes to their formation, but Napoli did too.

Mazzarri had no choice; Shan Yongzhuo posed too great a threat to the team.

He replaced Gardano, who had a poor performance in the first half, with defender Aronica.

Napoli switched to a standard 4-4-2 formation.

However, once they got back into the game, they found that the situation had completely changed.

After Manchester City changed their formation, their midfield was not at a disadvantage and even gained a slight advantage.

Silva's ability to control the tempo of the game is far superior to that of De Jong and Yaya Toure. When he controlled the tempo in the middle, Manchester City's rhythm improved significantly. Although they did not completely suppress Napoli, the two teams became evenly matched.

Napoli also slowed down the pace, getting caught up in the midfield battle with their opponents, and the two teams were temporarily mired in a midfield struggle.

Meanwhile, Shan Yongzhuo remained in the frontcourt.

The person keeping a close eye on him changed from Zuniga to Aronica, while Cannavaro Jr. was also watching him intently from the side.

Aronica's defense was effective; even when Shan Yongzhuo dropped back to receive the ball, Aronica closely followed him, making it difficult for Shan Yongzhuo to receive the ball.

Eight minutes into the second half, Shan Yongzhuo was dispossessed twice by Zuniga.

Many people are starting to worry.

When the camera frequently focused on Shan Yongzhuo, BBC commentator Reinkel remarked, "It seems Aronica has caused Shan Yongzhuo quite a bit of trouble."

"If Shan Yongzhuo wants to make a difference, he must get past Aronica's defense."

Shan Yongzhuo, however, was not worried at all.

Aronica does have some strength, but after two tests, Shan Yongzhuo realized that Aronica is quite strong in combat and is taller than Zuniga, who is 170cm tall. However, Aronica's speed is significantly slower.

To deal with such an opponent, you just need to seize the opportunity to use the Whirlwind Ground Kick.

In the 55th minute of the match, Manchester City intercepted the ball in their own half.

Yaya Toure passed the ball to Silva, who then kicked it to Aguero, who was running forward.

Aguero dribbled forward, shaking off Inler, only to find himself entangled with him, and finally had no choice but to pass the ball.

He passed the ball to the center forward, to Shan Yongzhuo.

Shan Yongzhuo was now almost in midfield, but he blocked the position in advance, leaving Aronica to follow behind.

The football rolled towards Shan Yongzhuo.

Dan Yongzhuo glanced at Aronica behind him, knowing that stopping the ball would waste time and make it difficult to break through the opponent.

He used the skill, Whirlwind Ground Kick.

When the ball reached the front, Shan Yongzhuo simply tapped it with his right foot, and then suddenly turned and bypassed Aronica.

(End of this chapter)