Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 272 Preemptive Strike
Manchester United will host Manchester City in what is the highlight of this round of the Premier League.

In the current Premier League standings, Manchester United leads Manchester City by one point at the top. If they can beat Manchester City in this match, Manchester United will widen the gap between them.

The same applies to Manchester City; if they can beat Manchester United, they will take the top spot in the league.

Arriving at Old Trafford, Mancini adopted an attacking strategy for this match, aiming to go toe-to-toe with Manchester United, destroy them with his offense, and teach Ferguson a lesson.

"I, Roberto Mancini, am not someone to be trifled with!"

However, at the same time, he had some worries.

After all, the team's defense is really quite poor.

But there's no other way; the game strategy has already been decided, and if it's changed at the last minute, the players won't be able to adapt.

Mancini could only pray that the team would perform well.

The only good news is that Shan Yongzhuo remains confident, which gives Mancini tremendous confidence: "As long as Shan performs well, no team on Earth can beat us!"

It was almost time for them to go on stage.

Amidst the anticipation of the surrounding stands, the two teams jogged onto the pitch, and cheers and shouts of encouragement erupted from Old Trafford.

Manchester United's squad is now entering a period of transition between generations.

Up front, Rooney took the lead, with rookie Welbeck as the main striker.

In midfield, with Scholes retired, Fletcher and Anderson anchored the central midfield.

Nani and Ashley Young on the flanks have gradually matured and taken on important responsibilities on Manchester United's wings.

In defense, Vidic has been injured since the beginning of the season, leaving Ferdinand and Evans to shoulder the burden of the back line.

Danny Welbeck, a young black man, has become a darling of Old Trafford. Since the start of the new season, Welbeck has scored 3 goals, a very impressive performance.

In England, once a young player with even a little talent emerges, he will inevitably be touted as a top genius.

The same goes for Welbeck; his good performances, coupled with media hype, have made him very popular at Old Trafford.

However, despite playing away from home, Manchester City's popularity was in no way inferior to Manchester United's.

All of this is thanks to Shan Yongzhuo's women's cheerleading team, who chanted Shan Yongzhuo's name wildly, their enthusiasm no less than that of the home fans.

Manchester United fans also started discussing Shan Yongzhuo.

"Can Rio and Jonathan stop Shan Yongzhuo today?"

"It's difficult. Leo is too old, and Jonathan is too young."

"If Nemania were here, perhaps he could have done it."

"That's difficult too. It's not like Nemania hasn't been thrashed by Shan Yongzhuo before."

"Facing Shan Yongzhuo, we can only pray that he's not in good form!"

"..."

Manchester United fans are discussing the matter extensively, and overall they are quite worried.

Because Shan Yongzhuo left them with too many nightmares. Since Shan Yongzhuo came to Manchester City, Manchester United has never won against Manchester City, and has even suffered several crushing defeats at the hands of Manchester City.

However, once the game started, the fans' worries subsided somewhat.

They noticed that after Shan Yongzhuo ran to the frontcourt, he stood there motionless, seemingly not making much effort.

Evans clung tightly to Shan Yongzhuo, not daring to relax for a moment, but at the same time, he was also filled with doubt.

However, Shan Yongzhuo didn't care about any of that. After using Sacrifice, he could use Mighty Vajra Kick many times. He just needed to wait for the opportunity in the frontcourt.

Manchester United launched an attack on Manchester City from the kickoff. The two teams are evenly matched, but Manchester United's technique and teamwork are relatively more refined, while Manchester City are physically stronger and more aggressive in their pressing.

In this match, Mancini fielded an attacking lineup.

Shan Yongzhuo and Aguero partnered up front, with Silva and Balotelli on the wings, and Yaya Toure and veteran Barry in central midfield.

This is a traditional English 4-4-2 formation; Mancini is determined to play an English attacking style against Manchester United.

Therefore, after the match started, the game was very open and exciting, with both teams playing back and forth. Although there was nothing particularly impressive in terms of tactics, the game was still very entertaining.

The English 4-4-2 formation relies heavily on high-pressing attacks down the flanks. After the match started, both teams focused their efforts on the flanks.

However, Manchester United still had a slight advantage.

Nani and Ashley Young, two fast wingers, are better suited to this style of play than Silva and Balotelli.

However, it was Manchester City who scored first.

In the 7th minute, Manchester City launched an attack.

Silva received the ball and advanced down the wing, then combined with Aguero in a move that combined play on the wing and in the center, advancing to the edge of Manchester United's penalty area.

Aguero then turned and fired a shot that was saved by De Gea. Ferdinand cleared the ball in the penalty area, but the ball did not go far.

Shan Yongzhuo received the ball outside the penalty area, getting it before Evans could.

Evans didn't immediately press aggressively; he simply ran over to try and block the path of any breakthrough. In his view, this position was 35 meters from the goal, making it difficult to shoot directly.

However, the next moment, Shan Yongzhuo did not dribble past Evans as he had expected. He did not stop the ball and instead took a powerful shot directly at the goal.

The football traced a very strange trajectory in the air, even drifting left and right unpredictably, making it difficult for De Gea to judge its path for a moment.

By the time De Gea reacted, he made a save immediately.

But it was too late; the ball slipped past his hand and nestled into the net.

"The ball is in!"

BBC commentator Gary Lineker excitedly shouted, "Shan Yongzhuo, that super striker, only 7 minutes into the game, a stunning world-class goal, directly piercing the goal guarded by De Gea!"

"Manchester City have taken the lead at Old Trafford!"

"Evans was a step too slow on that play; he probably didn't expect Shan Yongzhuo to shoot directly from there!"

"This is a huge mistake. You have to understand, Shan Yongzhuo is a very dangerous shooter. You can't judge him by common sense!"

"..."

Old Trafford erupted in uproar as the fans' fears came true: Manchester City took the lead after just seven minutes, a result that was hardly cause for celebration.

Meanwhile, Manchester City fans went wild, with the Shan Yongzhuo Women's Cheerleading Team dancing excitedly, their long, alluring legs flashing.

On the field, Manchester City players celebrated with Shan Yongzhuo.

On the sidelines, Ferguson frowned and kept shaking his head.

He felt he was truly at his wit's end; he had no way to restrain this Chinese man.

"We should have snatched him from Rome, we shouldn't have let Manchester City win him!"

At this moment, Ferguson was filled with regret, but there was nothing he could do. This formidable Chinese man had now become a player for their arch-rival, Manchester City.

Now that Manchester United are behind, what should they do next?
For the first time in so many years, Ferguson felt somewhat at a loss.

(End of this chapter)