Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 335 Manchester City's Tragic Draw Luck

After the Champions League Round of 16 concluded, the media gave it extensive coverage. Overall, there were relatively few upsets in the Round of 16, with the most talked-about matches being Arsenal's elimination of AC Milan and Manchester City's elimination of Real Madrid.

Real Madrid has once again fallen short in the Champions League Round of 16, which is a very welcome development.

Last season, Real Madrid reached the Champions League semi-finals, leading some to believe that they might be on the verge of a resurgence. However, this season, they have once again been eliminated before the quarter-finals.

This is quite interesting.

Real Madrid should have been a strong team this season, but they still lost to Manchester City, or rather, to Shan Yongzhuo.

AC Milan's elimination by Arsenal once again demonstrated Arsenal's tenacity this season and Robin van Persie's phenomenal performance.

The biggest topic of discussion is still Shan Yongzhuo, because he has scored far too many goals.

In the two matches against Real Madrid, he scored 9 goals, bringing his total Champions League goals this season to 22, breaking the record for most goals in a single Champions League season and continuing to break it.

It's hard to believe that this is the result of a player participating in the Champions League for the first time.

The Guardian commented: "Shan Yongzhuo's performance this season has set a record in the Champions League, and it can be asserted that this record will be difficult to break unless Shan Yongzhuo himself breaks it."

Many other media outlets echoed similar sentiments, with the British media being the most enthusiastic in their coverage, as the Premier League once again dominated the Champions League.

Apart from Manchester United's poor performance, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Arsenal have all made it to the quarterfinals, and English media are already predicting that three of the four semifinal spots will be occupied by Premier League teams.

The Manchester Sports Daily reported that "among the other teams in the quarterfinals, only Barcelona and Bayern Munich pose a threat to the Premier League teams."

They even arranged a quarter-final draw, ideally with Barcelona facing Bayern Munich, and the other three teams playing against three Premier League teams.

Of course, it sounds wonderful in theory, but reality is often harsh.

The draw for the Champions League quarterfinals took place the following day, and the results were quickly announced. The three English teams did not get to face the other three teams they had hoped for.

Manchester City will face the biggest favorites, Barcelona, ​​while Chelsea will play an all-English Premier League clash with Arsenal. Bayern Munich will draw APOEL Nicosia, and Inter Milan will face Benfica.

This is like a huge gift for Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, practically guaranteeing them a spot in the semi-finals.

This result disappointed the English media.

As a result, all sorts of conspiracy theories emerged, especially the situation that Manchester City encountered, which made the English people even more excited.

They faced Real Madrid in the round of 16, and now they're facing Barcelona in the quarterfinals.

No one else has such incredible luck with their fortune.

Manchester City was also unhappy with the draw. Without a doubt, Barcelona was the toughest opponent among the seven teams, and no one wanted to face them. As a result, Manchester City hit the jackpot.

Just like facing Real Madrid in the round of 16, this result is regrettable.

Mancini's remarks in a media interview were full of conspiracy theories; in his view, Manchester City was being targeted.

Meanwhile, while Manchester City was full of complaints, Barcelona was also very angry.

According to Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola, Manchester City was the opponent he least wanted to face, but luck is a strange thing, and Barcelona ended up facing Manchester City.

The Champions League quarter-final draw was a hot topic, but the quarter-finals won't start until April, which is still a month away. After the initial hype died down, British media and fans turned their attention back to China.

According to the media, March and April are the most crucial months in the title race. Currently, the Premier League title battle is mainly a two-horse race between Manchester City and Manchester United.

Manchester City sit atop the league table with 75 points after 28 rounds.

Manchester United, on the other hand, have 70 points from 28 games, trailing Manchester City by 5 points and ranking second.

Tottenham, in third place, and Arsenal, in fourth, have only managed 53 and 52 points respectively, essentially dropping out of the title race.

The Premier League title will be decided between Manchester City and Manchester United.

Manchester City's first match is the FA Cup quarter-final, where they will host Stoke City.

After the big match against Real Madrid, Mancini fielded a reserve lineup for this game, with key players such as Shan Yongzhuo and Aguero on the bench.

However, Stoke City didn't pose much of a problem for Manchester City, who easily defeated Stoke City 2-0 at home and advanced to the FA Cup semi-finals.

Three days later, in the 29th round of the league, Manchester City will host Chelsea.

Shan Yongzhuo got the chance to start.

Chelsea's decline this season, under Villas-Boas' leadership, has been astonishing.

After 28 rounds, they only have 47 points, 5 points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, and can only rank fifth in the league.

This result is a huge failure for Chelsea.

All their head coach has done is try to get Torres' attacking instincts going, but almost a season later, he still sees no hope of success.

Torres has seemingly evolved from a striker into a defender, albeit an opposing defender, frequently missing scoring opportunities in front of the goal, with many of his mistakes seeming unbelievable.

If it weren't for Mata's arrival and his ability to bolster the team's attack, this aging Chelsea team would likely have fared even worse.

In this match at the Etihad Stadium, Chelsea seemed to have consciously given up on the game, fielding a completely reserve lineup and showing no intention of competing with Manchester City.

Many observers believe that Chelsea's focus has shifted away from the league.

They seem to have strategically abandoned the league and focused all their efforts on the Champions League.

Shan Yongzhuo thought so too, because he vaguely remembered that in the original timeline, Chelsea, with their extremely tough defense, first upset Barcelona, ​​and then defeated Bayern Munich, unexpectedly winning the Champions League title this season.

This is also Chelsea's only Champions League title in history.

It was this Champions League title that allowed Chelsea to undergo a true transformation in its character, completely shedding its nouveau riche status and earning it the reputation among many fans as a team worthy of being called a powerhouse.

Manchester City, despite winning numerous league titles later on, never won the Champions League and was always labeled as a nouveau riche, much like Paris Saint-Germain later on.

However, with his involvement now, Chelsea's only Champions League title is likely to be lost.

Shan Yongzhuo is determined to win this Champions League title.

So he showed no mercy in this match. In both halves, Shan Yongzhuo scored 4 goals with his head and feet, leading the team to a 4-1 victory over Chelsea and securing the win in the 29th round of the league.

(End of this chapter)