Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 305 A Hat Trick in Fifteen Minutes

Wigan Athletic is a team that has long been relegated to the lower leagues. After being promoted to the Premier League, they struggled to avoid relegation for several seasons, but this season it is clearly much more difficult.

After 20 rounds of matches, Wigan Athletic has only managed 15 points, slightly better than Blackburn's 11 points, placing them second to last in the league. With such a poor performance, if they don't perform well in the remaining 18 rounds, they are likely already relegated.

To everyone, Wigan Athletic, despite playing at home, had no chance of winning against Manchester City.

Mancini thought so too, and he fielded a semi-substitute lineup, giving many key players a rest. Shan Yongzhuo was no exception, sitting on the bench.

Many believe that even with this lineup, Manchester City should be able to defeat Wigan Athletic, who have had a terrible season.

However, the format of the competition was quite surprising.

Wigan Athletic's performance can only be described as excellent. Their players worked very hard on the field, and with the support of their home crowd, they played with great effort.

Manchester City dominated the game thanks to their teamwork and skill, but Wigan Athletic scored the first goal, with midfielder McCarthy poking the ball into the net amidst the chaos of a free kick.

"1-0, Wigan Athletic has taken the lead!"

The goal delighted the Wigan Athletic fans in the stands, who cheered excitedly. Beating Manchester City was a rare victory for them.

However, it will be difficult to beat Manchester City with just one goal.

Manchester City's attack was well-executed, constantly looking for opportunities, while their defense didn't give Wigan Athletic many chances. Their attacking spearhead, Balotelli, performed very actively and excellently, becoming the biggest highlight of the match.

In the 32nd minute, Balotelli's powerful shot inside the penalty area almost equalized the score, but the opposing goalkeeper narrowly saved the ball and pushed it out of bounds.

However, after Nasri took the corner kick, Kompany headed the ball in the penalty area and sent it to the outside, where veteran Barry unleashed a powerful shot that broke through Wigan Athletic's goal.

1:1.

Manchester City equalized, and the first half ended in a draw.

This scoreline was hardly satisfactory for Mancini. Back in the locker room, Mancini looked very unhappy. A draw at halftime was a poor performance for him, especially considering that the opponent was only a relegation-threatened team, second to last in the standings.

Balotelli performed well, but that alone is not enough.

Mancini pointed out problems in the front, midfield, and back lines, and also gave special instructions on defense.

In the second half, Manchester City launched a series of attacks, but failed to score despite dominating possession, maintaining a stalemate for nearly 20 minutes. This made the home fans very happy, as they hoped their team could hold onto the draw and, ideally, steal another goal. Beating Manchester City at home would be an incredibly exciting thing.

Mancini felt his patience had reached its limit, and he finally looked at the substitutes' bench and directly called out Shan Yongzhuo's name.

"Shan, go warm up!"

Upon hearing this, Shan Yongzhuo immediately stood up.

In the 69th minute, Manchester City made a substitution, with Shan Yongzhuo coming on as a substitute for Nasri.

Upon seeing Shan Yongzhuo enter the game, Wigan Athletic's commentator immediately became worried: "Now coming on is Manchester City's number 10, Shan Yongzhuo, the newly crowned Ballon d'Or winner. Wigan Athletic needs to be careful; the game has only just officially begun."

"Shan Yongzhuo's appearance means that Manchester City wants to end the game directly with a goal."

When Shan Yongzhuo arrived in Wigan Athletic's half, a defender immediately came over to mark him closely.

However, Wigan Athletic's defense this season has been quite poor, and Shan Yongzhuo only needs to make a little movement to get a lot of opportunities to receive the ball.

In the 73rd minute of the match, just three minutes after Shan Yongzhuo came on, he received a cross from Balotelli on the edge of the penalty area.

He easily shook off Wigan Athletic's defender with a slight adjustment, gaining shooting space without even using any skills. After a brief adjustment, Shan Yongzhuo unleashed a right-footed shot.

The football flew directly towards the left side of the goal.

"Shan Yongzhuo, just 3 minutes after coming on, he has already scored against Wigan Athletic!"

"1-2, Manchester City have taken the lead again!"

"Wigan Athletic must take Shan Yongzhuo seriously. He is a super striker who can score as long as he gets the slightest chance."

Wigan Athletic were frustrated. They felt they had taken Shan Yongzhuo very seriously, but they still couldn't stop the opponent from scoring.

This is very uncomfortable.

And he scored on his very first touch of the ball after just coming on as a substitute. What can we do about that?
"Sigh, I feel like I'm bullying him a bit," Shan Yongzhuo said with a smile to Balotelli next to him.

Balotelli curled his lip, thinking that Shan Yongzhuo was a bit too arrogant, after all, Wigan Athletic was a Premier League team.

But soon he realized that Shan Yongzhuo was not arrogant.

Four minutes later, Manchester City had another chance. Shan Yongzhuo received the ball 35 meters from the goal and unleashed a powerful long-range world-class shot.

"Another goal!"

"Shan Yongzhuo!"

"He scored two goals in just seven minutes on the pitch!"

After this goal, Wigan Athletic finally realized the problem: they just couldn't stop Shan Yongzhuo; their defense was simply too bad.

Shan Yongzhuo seems to be able to score easily whenever he has the chance.

The third goal came quickly as well.

In the 85th minute, Milner lobbed a pass into the penalty area, and Balotelli headed the ball towards goal, but it hit the post and bounced out.

In the chaos, Shan Yongzhuo activated his Ghostly Catching Hand technique, using the time difference to steal the ball, and then unleashed a powerful shot from close range inside the penalty area, once again breaching Wigan Athletic's goal.

"1 to 4!"

"It's Shan Yongzhuo again!"

"He scored a hat trick in just 15 minutes, sending Wigan Athletic into the abyss."

"Before Shan Yongzhuo came on, Wigan Athletic had some chances, but after Shan Yongzhuo came on, they completely surrendered."

"This is the power of the world's number one striker!"

The TV commentator shouted excitedly, and the fans watching on TV were also very excited.

Scoring three goals in 15 minutes is absolutely amazing! Although the opponent is Wigan Athletic, who are second to last in the Premier League, they are still a Premier League team.

However, their defense seemed to be completely ineffective against Shan Yongzhuo, who could score as soon as he found an opportunity.

Wigan Athletic had a glimmer of hope for a draw against Manchester City, but Shan Yongzhuo's arrival on the pitch shattered that hope in just 15 minutes.

(End of this chapter)