Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 286 Rematch with Napoli
That day, after a brief training session in the morning, the entire Manchester City team flew to Naples in the afternoon.

Naples is a city in southern Italy and one of the notorious strongholds of the Italian Mafia. Although Shan Yongzhuo had only been to the city once, his impression of it was not good.

Napoli fans are among the most fearsome in Italy. For example, some poorly performing Napoli players have even been robbed on the streets, and on many occasions they have been threatened.

This match is a do-or-die game for Napoli, with Manchester City playing away. You can imagine the kind of welcome Manchester City will receive.

However, when they arrived in Naples, the expected violent fan riots did not occur. They were simply greeted with a fairly normal welcome. The Napoli fans only gathered outside the Manchester City hotel at night to make noise, set off fireworks, and so on.

This behavior is quite peaceful, as it's a situation that most Champions League teams face when playing away, so there's nothing to complain about.

Manchester City only truly encountered trouble after the match began.

Napoli seemed to be their nemesis, completely dominating them on a tactical and technical level.

At the Stadio San Paolo, Naples' home stadium.

From the very first minute of the match, Manchester City were completely dominated by Napoli, seemingly unable to mount any resistance.

For Napoli, who are on the brink of elimination, this match is a must-win. Only by defeating Manchester City can they keep their hopes of advancing alive.

The Napoli players played with great enthusiasm and initiative, as if this were their last game.

This kind of match situation made Manchester City, whose playing style has always been somewhat relaxed, very uncomfortable from the start.

In the 19th minute, Manchester City's long-term defense finally crumbled, and they conceded the first goal.

Napoli passed the ball through a series of ground passes to Cavani inside the penalty area. After receiving the ball, Cavani tried to get past Kompany's defense, but his attempt to turn and dribble was foiled by Kompany, who then poked the ball out of bounds.

Hamsik, who was lurking on the perimeter, got ahead of De Jong and unleashed a powerful long-range shot.

The so-called "seeing Hart and kicking" refers to the fact that Joe Hart's reaction to the ball was too slow, and he failed to make the save. The ball went directly into the goal and hit the side netting.

Napoli took the lead at home.

Hamsik's goal ignited the atmosphere at the San Paolo Stadium, sending the entire stadium into a frenzy as Napoli fans erupted in thunderous cheers.

Unfortunately, Manchester City equalized just two minutes later.

During a counter-attack, Aguero was brought down by Dossena, and the referee awarded a free kick from 30 meters out.

Shan Yongzhuo took the free kick and scored immediately, leveling the score.

This goal was a direct blow to the São Paulo stadium.

Napoli fans were frustrated, but there was nothing they could do.

In fact, everyone in Napoli, from the club to the fans, knows that it is almost impossible to prevent Shan Yongzhuo from scoring.

They knew, of course, that Naples couldn't do that.

However, goals that lead to an equalizer so soon are the most frustrating, and their joy didn't last long.

After the match restarted, Napoli once again pressed Manchester City with a do-or-die attitude, launching wave after wave of attacks that overwhelmed Manchester City, making it difficult for them to breathe.

For the first 20-30 minutes, Manchester City's goal looked like a small, broken boat in a turbulent sea, about to capsize at any moment.

Fortunately, Manchester City's defenders seemed to give it their all in this match, and under the leadership and encouragement of captain Kompany, they withstood Napoli's attacking onslaught time and time again.

Then, in the 43rd minute, the situation on the field changed dramatically. Napoli's attack ended with Lavezzi's shot hitting the post, and De Jong got to the ball and launched a long ball forward.

This is a rare counter-attack opportunity for Manchester City.

De Jong's footwork is notoriously unreliable for Manchester City, but this time, perhaps by divine intervention, his pass found Shan Yongzhuo, who was still in midfield, with the precision of a cruise missile.

After receiving the ball, Shan Yongzhuo sprinted forward with it. Facing Fabio Cannavaro, he seized the opportunity with great agility and used a whirlwind ground kick to shake off Cannavaro.

Dan Yongzhuo's speed has been increased to 75 points. Although this speed is not top-notch, or even first-class, it is enough.

After all, Fabio Cannavaro Jr. is not as fast as him. Moreover, he is under the effect of the whirlwind kick, so he doesn't need to care about the ball and can sprint at full speed. The ball stays within one meter in front of him due to the sticky effect.

With a clear path ahead, he dribbled the ball and sprinted all the way, soon reaching just a few meters outside the penalty area.

Goalkeeper De Sanctis looked helpless as the team pressed forward, and Manchester City's attack caught Napoli completely off guard.

Once Fabio Cannavaro is beaten, he becomes the last line of defense for the goal.

With no other option, De Sanctis had to launch an attack.

He lunged at Shan Yongzhuo, but Shan Yongzhuo didn't give him a chance.

Faced with such a one-on-one opportunity, Shan Yongzhuo rarely bothered to entangle with De Sanctis. He pressed down on the edge of the penalty area and directly swung his right foot to shoot.

De Sanctis made a save, but given Shan Yongzhuo's skill level, it was impossible for him to make the save.

The football flew over his head and headed straight for the goal.

It was a lob shot, and De Sanctis could only turn around in despair to watch the ball fall into the goal.

1 is better than 2!

Playing away from home, Manchester City, who were at a complete disadvantage, came back to take the lead.

This scene silenced the entire São Paulo stadium, followed by a deafening uproar.

This goal was a complete blitzkrieg; only 8 seconds passed between De Jong's pass and Shan Yongzhuo's goal, almost like a flash of lightning.

Napoli, who had almost scored a goal just moments before, had their goal breached the next.

The team is still behind.

This result was hard for the Napoli goalkeeper to accept.

But for Manchester City, the goal sent them into a frenzy. Everyone rushed over and surrounded Shan Yongzhuo in the very center. They excitedly celebrated with the Manchester City fans below the away fans' stand.

On the sidelines, Mancini was also running excitedly with his hands raised high.

He really didn't expect that such a counterattack would allow Manchester City to take the lead.

This goal was extremely advantageous for Manchester City, as it came at the very end of the first half. Entering the second half with this score would be highly beneficial for them.

As long as they don't make any major mistakes, Manchester City has a very good chance of advancing from the group stage early.

For Mancini, who had been away from the Champions League for a long time, this was a source of great joy.

(End of this chapter)