Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 287 Golden Globe Award

After the start of the second half.

Napoli continued to dominate Manchester City on the field, but were unable to break the deadlock.

For a full seven minutes, Napoli relentlessly pressured Manchester City. Manchester City seemed a bit stunned at the start, and not a single attack managed to get past the halfway line.

Napoli had three shots on goal during the match, but neither Cavani nor Hamsik managed to put the ball into the net.

Although Napoli failed to score, their constant defensive play was still very frustrating.

Napoli failed to equalize after the 60-minute mark, and their momentum waned. Manchester City then began to recover some ground and put up some decent attacks.

Shan Yongzhuo occasionally gets the ball, but it doesn't help much. Cannavaro is actually quite difficult to deal with. Once he loses his skills, he can hardly gain any advantage. The other Napoli players also provide support around him. As soon as he gets the ball, he will be surrounded. The further he runs forward, the denser the defense becomes.

He felt very depressed.

However, the game was slowly worn down, and by the 75th minute, the score remained unchanged, with Manchester City still leading Napoli 2-1 away from home.

Shan Yongzhuo was also substituted in the 75th minute, with Zabaleta coming on as a substitute. Manchester City's signal was clear: they wanted to solidify their defense and hold onto the score.

On the field, Napoli made a last-ditch effort, but it was of little use. Even if they managed to equalize, they would still be eliminated from the competition.

Moreover, Manchester City played the most tight defense, with as many as eight players clustered together in their penalty area at times.

This is a bit scary.

Any attack will find it difficult to score against such a defensive strategy. Napoli might still be able to score, but it will take time.

But there simply wasn't enough time.

Now, Napoli has run out of options and can only resort to the simplest long passes and long-range shots to try and break the deadlock.

Manchester City, on the other hand, patiently defended.

One minute.

30 seconds.

10 seconds.

5 seconds.

Time ran out under Manchester City's solid defense, and the referee blew the final whistle.

Napoli failed to break through Manchester City's defense until the very end.

2:1.

"The match is over!"

"Manchester City defeated Napoli 2-1 away from home, securing their fifth Champions League group stage victory. With 12 points, they have qualified for the Champions League knockout stage."

"They are the second team from Group A to advance to the knockout stage."

"Let's congratulate Manchester City."

The match between Manchester City and Napoli ended earlier than other matches on the first day of the fifth round of the Champions League group stage.

However, after the fifth round, the situation in Group A became clear, with Bayern Munich once again securing a resounding victory over Villarreal at home.

Manchester City trails Bayern Munich by 3 points, and the two teams will face off at the Etihad Stadium in the final round.

The two teams are currently close in goal difference, and if Manchester City can beat Bayern Munich by more than two goals, they will regain the top spot in the group.

However, both teams have already secured their spots in the knockout stage. Furthermore, both Bayern Munich and Manchester City are under considerable pressure in the league, leading the media to believe that the final match will likely be a friendly.

As for the other groups, the situation is still quite unpredictable, but some teams have already secured their spots in the next round.

Manchester City's early qualification for the round of 16 is definitely something to celebrate.

After the team returned to Manchester, Mancini gave them two days off.

This is still a very rare occurrence.

After all, the Premier League schedule is very dense, and it's already December, which is the most intensive time of the league season.

The two-day holiday meant the team wouldn't have time to properly prepare for the League Cup quarter-final match against Arsenal, but Mancini still decided to do so to allow the team to rest properly and keep the key players in good condition.

The players naturally agreed wholeheartedly.

At this moment, however, Shan Yongzhuo received some good news.

France Football has already announced the shortlist for this year's Ballon d'Or, with Shan Yongzhuo, who had an incredibly strong season last year, leading the list.

Clearly, no one thought Shan Yongzhuo couldn't win the Ballon d'Or that year; even a fool would know that the Ballon d'Or was his for sure.

This year is not a major tournament year, with no major competitions for the national team, and Shan Yongzhuo's performance can be described as impeccable.

He scored 106 goals in all competitions in one season, winning the Premier League title, the FA Cup, and the Europa League title.

Although they didn't win the Champions League, 106 goals is truly terrifying. It's like the Alps stretching across Europe; such a goal-scoring record puts all European players under immense pressure.

If such a performance is not enough to win the Ballon d'Or, then the credibility of the Ballon d'Or will be severely questioned.

After all, Sneijder won the Ballon d'Or last season simply by winning the Champions League as Inter Milan's key player, while he only achieved a runner-up finish in the World Cup.

Shan Yongzhuo's goal was impeccable. The only shortcoming was not winning the Champions League, but that was unavoidable, as Manchester City did not qualify for the Champions League last season.

This year's Golden Globe Awards ceremony was moved up quite a bit, but no one seemed to think there was anything wrong with it, since Shan Yongzhuo winning the Golden Globe was a foregone conclusion.

Three days later, Shan Yongzhuo attended the Golden Globe Awards ceremony.

The result was no surprise; he won the 2011 Ballon d'Or with a high score of 877, surpassing Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

This score is breathtaking; even Messi and Ronaldo combined can't match it.

Soon, news of the Golden Globe Awards spread around the world.

Europe is doing alright, but China is in an uproar. The internet is full of news about Shan Yongzhuo winning the Ballon d'Or, making it hard for other people and news to breathe.

After all, football is the world's number one sport.

After so many years of poverty and weakness in Chinese football, the emergence of a Ballon d'Or winner is undoubtedly a world-shaking piece of news for Chinese football, with an impact no less than qualifying for the World Cup finals.

Manchester City was also extremely excited.

After all, Shan Yongzhuo is the first player in Manchester City's history to win the Ballon d'Or.

Finally, Manchester City has produced a Ballon d'Or winner, and moreover, he is one of the most beloved players among Manchester City fans, causing the Manchester City supporters to erupt in excitement.

Shan Yongzhuo returned to Manchester with the Ballon d'Or, and gave his teammates a great performance at the training ground, which aroused countless envy, jealousy and resentment.

Especially players like Aguero and Balotelli.

However, they are still somewhat self-aware, knowing that it will be very difficult for them to win the Ballon d'Or.

(End of this chapter)