Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 295 Real Madrid

The match between Manchester City and Liverpool has ended.

Manchester City's away victory over Liverpool was not too surprising; what was surprising was Shan Yongzhuo's early goal down the flank.

Many media outlets wanted to interview Shan Yongzhuo.

Mancini knew that, given the nature of the English media, they would all want to interview Shan Yongzhuo. However, to his surprise, Shan Yongzhuo had already slipped away, which left Mancini feeling helpless. He could only grit his teeth and face the media's challenges alone.

Five days later, Manchester City will play their final Champions League group stage match against Bayern Munich at the Etihad Stadium.

Having already qualified for the next round, the team didn't care about this match at all.

For Manchester City, finishing first or second in the group doesn't matter at all. Although they are currently in first place in the league, the pressure is still considerable. Therefore, Mancini basically fielded a largely reserve team for this match.

Heynckes also showed great understanding. Bayern faced considerable pressure in the Bundesliga, with strong opponents like Borussia Dortmund in the league. Heynckes didn't take this match too seriously.

After a fierce battle at Al-Ittihad, the two teams' substitutes drew 0-0, with neither side managing to score.

With the match over, Bayern Munich and Manchester City both advanced from Group A, a win-win situation for both sides.

The Champions League group stage has ended.

Of the 32 teams, 16 were eliminated, with 8 of them qualifying for the Europa League, while the rest were completely knocked out.

Being eliminated in the group stage is certainly frustrating, but most eliminated teams are mentally prepared for their exit. The prize money from the Champions League group stage is enough to make them happy, so there's not much disappointment in it.

Among the teams participating in the Europa League, one team is quite special: Manchester United, the runner-up in both the Premier League and the Champions League last season.

Manchester United is the Premier League's top club. For the past decade or so, they have been the dominant force in the Premier League. Despite rivals like Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool, Manchester United has undoubtedly achieved the greatest success in the Premier League.

Manchester United, who finished as runners-up in the Champions League last season, are determined to achieve something in the Champions League this season.

however……

Now they've been eliminated from the group stage.

Ferguson was deeply saddened at the moment of elimination. Although there was still the Europa League to play in, it was a disgrace for Manchester United, as they were the only one of the four Premier League teams to be eliminated in the group stage.

Moreover, their group stage opponents were the weakest.

Basel, Benfica, and Graz Steel were Manchester United's group stage opponents, but Manchester United only managed 2 wins, 3 draws, and 1 loss, earning 9 points and unfortunately being eliminated.

Of the four English teams, Chelsea and Arsenal topped their groups, Manchester City finished second, and only Manchester United faltered.

Given the nature of the English media, they naturally wouldn't let Manchester United off the hook, and they ridiculed the team relentlessly.

Back in Manchester, there were joy and sorrow. Manchester City were naturally happy to have advanced from the group stage, while Manchester United fans were furious, venting their anger on the Glazer family.

Meanwhile, Mancini gave the team a day off, while he himself was flying to Switzerland to attend the draw ceremony.

Having a holiday is definitely a good thing.

The continuous training and matches have left the players feeling exhausted, not only physically but also mentally. For the past period of time, they have been living the same repetitive life every day.

Training is tedious, and the competitions are not easy either.

With the holiday finally here, many people plan to relax at home. Everyone knows what lies ahead.

The next month or two will be the most intense period of the competition, and the pressure we will face then will be incomparable to what we are facing now.

They need to take some time to rest.

Dan Yongzhuo's plan was the same. He had been too tired lately and wanted to take a good rest. Unfortunately, he didn't have a professional masseur at home.

Marina was quite competent as an assistant and bodyguard, but she was utterly incompetent as a massage therapist.

Helpless, Shan Yongzhuo could only devote his energy to online games.

The holiday was only one day, and the whole team returned to training the next day.

The next Premier League match is against Chelsea, which will be a tough battle.

However, everyone's topic of discussion was the Champions League, and Chelsea was completely ignored because they were drawn against Real Madrid.

From an outsider's perspective, both teams drew very unfavorable opponents.

Real Madrid, who had been perennial Round of 16 finishers in the Champions League for many years, made a breakthrough last season by reaching the semi-finals under Mourinho's leadership.

This season, they will undoubtedly have higher aspirations.

Manchester City is widely considered the strongest team among the second-placed teams in the group. Compared to Barcelona's draw against Bayer Leverkusen, this draw result made Mourinho very angry, but also helpless.

He felt that Real Madrid was being targeted by UEFA, while Barcelona was being treated like a favored son and continued to receive preferential treatment.

But since things have come to this point, he has no choice but to accept Manchester City as his opponent.

Facing Manchester City, Mourinho has to find a way to stop Shan Yongzhuo, which is giving him a real headache.

During his time at Inter Milan, Mourinho faced Shan Yongzhuo many times, but never won.

Mancini also felt targeted. Among the eight group winners, Real Madrid's strength is definitely among the top, and being drawn against Real Madrid is definitely not a good thing. He felt that Manchester City was being targeted.

At noon, the club held a press conference to announce the results of the draw for the Round of 16.

Shan Yongzhuo also attended the press conference. When interviewed by reporters, he appeared calm and composed: "Real Madrid is a very strong team. For us, it is not an easy thing to defeat Real Madrid. We need to give 120% and maybe also need some luck."

These are Shan Yongzhuo's true feelings.

As for luck, for Shan Yongzhuo, it means that if he can get 100 shots when facing Real Madrid and activate the sacrifice effect, then he will be almost guaranteed to win.

Without the sacrifice, he doesn't know if he could defeat Real Madrid in the two-legged tie with his current skills.

Although he was a casual football fan in his previous life, he knew how strong this Real Madrid team was. With the current lineup as the basic foundation, Real Madrid later achieved the feat of winning the Champions League consecutively, making them almost invincible in Europe.

Shan Yongzhuo was not so confident that he thought he was the best in the world.

Facing a Real Madrid team like this, he actually wasn't very confident.

After all, Manchester City's squad is indeed far inferior.

(End of this chapter)