Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 301 Half-Time Champion
Manchester City were almost completely dominated by Chelsea in the second half, and ultimately conceded a draw despite having a great lead.

This result was hard for the whole team to accept, especially Mancini, who was furious about the team's almost disastrous performance in the second half.

Mancini is angry, and the consequences will be severe.

There was no holiday, and training was strictly enforced, putting the whole team through Mancini's wrath.

Mancini has also decided that he must persuade Mubarak to strengthen the squad, either in the winter or the summer.

"If we want to win the Champions League, we absolutely need to strengthen our defense!"

Shan Yongzhuo, however, remained quite calm.

He scored two goals in this match, which is the most important thing. A draw is nothing, but it's unrealistic for Manchester City to win all season.

A week later, Manchester City hosted Arsenal at home, their last tough opponent before Christmas.

In this match, Manchester City, united as one, did not falter and won 2-0 at home against Arsenal, with Shan Yongzhuo scoring both goals.

This victory stopped the bleeding for Manchester City in time. What made Mancini even happier was that Manchester City miraculously did not concede a goal in this game, which is a very gratifying thing.

A delighted Mancini gave the team a big boost: "If we can win this game, we'll get an extra day off."

The home game against Stoke City is the last match before Christmas.

This is indeed very effective.

There is no such thing as a winter break in the Premier League. After Christmas, January and February are the two months with the most intensive schedule, so there will definitely be very few holidays.

Being able to have an extra day off is a good thing.

Because it's winter and the weather has gotten very cold, Mancini is considering Shan Yongzhuo's physical condition, who has been playing every game recently, and also the busy schedule after Christmas. Ensuring Shan Yongzhuo's form is very important.

So he decisively put Shan Yongzhuo on the bench, and started Aguero and Balotelli.

Silva was also placed on the bench, while Nasri and Milner started. The two led the attack down the two flanks without much trouble, and Stoke City simply couldn't handle it.

Coupled with the allure of the holiday, the entire Manchester City team played with great enthusiasm.

The final score was 3-0, with Aguero scoring twice and Balotelli also scoring a goal, securing a victory with minimal effort.

Manchester City secured their final victory before Christmas.

It was just an ordinary league victory. Although Manchester United beat Fulham 5-0 and their points total was equal to Manchester City's, they still finished second due to a lower goal difference.

Manchester City's victory secured them the mid-season championship.

The Guardian congratulated Manchester City with delight: "Manchester City deserved to be the mid-season champions, having once thrashed Manchester United 10-0, setting a new record for the largest margin of victory in Premier League history."

"They have Shan Yongzhuo, the world's number one star. In 17 rounds of the league, he has scored 30 goals, which is no less efficient than last season."

"They also have a gorgeous attacking line, with Aguero scoring 11 goals and Balotelli scoring 5."

"Their three forwards have scored a combined 46 goals, which is a terrifying statistic!"

"They also have Silva, the Premier League's best assist provider, who has contributed 9 assists, the most in the Premier League."

"Manchester City has scored 52 goals in the first half of the season, averaging 3 goals per game, making them the most powerful attacking team in Europe."

Of course, what The Guardian didn't mention is that Manchester City's average of 1.3 goals conceded per game is also somewhat unsightly.

Besides The Guardian, other media outlets have also showered Manchester City with praise; their performance has simply been outstanding. Other teams also deserve commendation.

For example, Manchester United.

They have the same points as Manchester City, but the 0-10 home defeat to Manchester City has made them feel ashamed and they are still being ridiculed.

In Manchester, Manchester United fans don't even dare to clash with Manchester City fans, because they can't win an argument.

"Is Manchester United that great?"

"We beat you 10-0!"

"Still at Old Trafford!"

"..."

When Manchester City fans presented this theory, Manchester United fans found themselves completely speechless in their rebuttal.

Of course, besides Manchester United, there are also other teams that have performed very well.

For example, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United.

Tottenham Hotspur remain firmly in third place in the league, and they are doing so very well.

Their young squad has shown impressive fighting spirit, especially the rapid rise of Welshman Gareth Bale, along with players like Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric, giving Tottenham a firepower second only to Manchester City and Manchester United.

Newcastle United, on the other hand, has been a dark horse this season. Although they dropped from the top four at the start of the league to fifth place, this result has still made people look at them with new respect.

The unscrupulous businessman Michael Ashley has finally gained a small wave of support from fans.

Player performance was also a key focus of the mid-season review.

The British Football News selected its best XI for the first half of the season, with Shan Yongzhuo and Silva included, but Aguero was left out.

The reason for his omission was that Arsenal's Robin van Persie had performed better than him, scoring 16 goals by the halfway point of the season, surpassing Sergio Aguero.

Aguero looked at the newspaper, feeling a little sad.

However, the reality is that he is indeed no match for Van Persie.

Robin van Persie has had a phenomenal season, and the media generally believe that he is largely responsible for Arsenal's current sixth-place finish in the league and their qualification as group winners in the Champions League knockout stage.

He almost single-handedly carried the entire Arsenal team, a performance second only to Shan Yongzhuo, making his selection for the best XI well-deserved.

Compared to Van Persie, Aguero's performance was somewhat inferior.

English media believe that Aguero's performance is quite normal, considering that his partner is Shan Yongzhuo, who alone can attract more than half of the opponent's defensive force.

If Aguero doesn't even perform like this under these circumstances, then he doesn't deserve the title of Golden Boy.

Amidst the uproar over the summaries, two pieces of news suddenly emerged, instantly dominating the entire European football scene.

"Paris Saint-Germain has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with champion coach Ancelotti, with an annual salary of 700 million euros."

"The Qatari consortium, the largest shareholder of Paris Saint-Germain, has passed a resolution to spend 200 million euros to negotiate with Manchester City to acquire Shan Yongzhuo..."

(End of this chapter)