Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 435 Requires a Stronger Lineup

Feng Xiaoting's matter was temporarily put aside, and Kroos's main purpose in coming to Manchester was to discuss the arrangements for the winter transfer window.

However, given Shan Yongzhuo's limited memory, it was difficult for him to recall anything further. He could only tell Kross that maintaining stability was the priority at present.

After parting ways with Kroos, Manchester City soon faced their final Champions League group stage match, an away game against Borussia Dortmund.

However, this match was just a meaningless one.

Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund have already secured the top two spots in their group, and regardless of the outcome of the final round, their rankings are unlikely to change.

Therefore, Guardiola fielded a completely reserve squad for the trip to Germany, and Shan Yongzhuo didn't even make the final roster.

On the other hand, Borussia Dortmund's attitude was much more proper than Manchester City's, as they fielded many of their key players in a home game.

The result is self-evident.

At Westfalenstadion, a notoriously difficult home ground in Europe, Manchester City suffered a predictable 0-2 defeat.

However, nobody cares about the result anymore.

On the other hand, although Real Madrid won 4-1 against Ajax, they could only helplessly accept their fate of being eliminated.

The Champions League group stage has ended.

Being eliminated in the Champions League group stage might not be a big deal for some teams in smaller leagues, but it's a difficult situation for some top teams to accept.

Two very surprising names appeared on the list of those eliminated in this year's Champions League group stage.

One is Chelsea.

Since the start of this season, Chelsea has been on a winning streak in the league, giving people hope that the Chelsea team would rise again.

However, their Champions League campaign was bumpy, and in the end, they only managed three wins, one draw and two losses in six rounds, with a total of 10 points. This left them in third place in their group, behind Juventus and Shakhtar Donetsk, and they were relegated to the Europa League.

Another powerhouse eliminated was Real Madrid.

Compared to Chelsea, they are in a much worse situation.

Real Madrid were drawn into the group of death, and their performance was less than satisfactory.

Real Madrid's resurgence in recent years is undeniable, and their series of major moves have long made them the focus of attention in Europe.

Reclaiming the La Liga title in the league also demonstrated Real Madrid's determination to revive.

Unfortunately, they have never been able to make a breakthrough in the Champions League. Neither Mourinho nor Mancini could lead Real Madrid to a breakthrough in the Champions League.

This season, they suffered an even more dismal group stage exit.

Is Real Madrid not strong enough?

it's not true.

This season, they have continued to dominate Barcelona in La Liga and have performed very well.

However, because of Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund...

There's not much to say about losing to Manchester City twice in the group stage; they were eliminated by Manchester City in the Champions League last season, stopping at the round of 16.

In the crucial match, Real Madrid suffered a defeat at Westfalenstadion, and upon returning to the Bernabéu, they were held to a draw by Borussia Dortmund, leaving them with no choice but to accept this outcome.

"It really is the group of death!"

Mancini looked up and sighed, but unfortunately, the media and fans only cared about the result.

Judging from the results, he seems to be even worse than Mourinho.

Looking at the scoreboard at the Bernabéu Stadium, despite the resounding 4-1 victory, Mancini still felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

"If there were any orders, things wouldn't be like this now..."

Mancini did suggest to Florentino that they buy Dan Yongzhuo, but in fact, he didn't need to persuade him at all.

As early as last season, Florentino Pérez tried various methods to bring Shan Yongzhuo to the Bernabéu. However, unfortunately, neither Manchester City, Kroos, nor Shan Yongzhuo himself seemed to be able to persuade him.

This left Florentino helpless. It was the first time he had encountered a player who could so resolutely reject Real Madrid, rendering all of Florentino's methods useless, like punching a sponge.

Therefore, Florentino had to consider other options.

Bringing in Mancini was one of his backup plans.

In Florentino’s view, Mancini was Shan Yongzhuo’s true mentor who made Shan Yongzhuo famous in Europe, so Mancini must have a way to limit him when facing Shan Yongzhuo.

Unfortunately, it seems that Mancini is just a coach who relies on Shan Yongzhuo, and is even worse than Mourinho.

This left Florentino feeling helpless.

The consecutive defeats in the Champions League have put him under considerable pressure since he returned to manage Real Madrid.

But surely we can't just fire Mancini like this...

"It seems we still need to build a stronger lineup..."

On the other hand, Manchester City is not having an easy time either.

After finishing the Champions League group stage, the players did not get any rest time; in fact, time became even more pressing.

Two days later, they will play the sixteenth round of the league.

This is a match that must be taken seriously because the opponent is Manchester United.

After the Manchester derby, the players had to rush to Japan to participate in the 2012 Club World Cup.

Not only is the time tight, but the long journey to Japan in Asia also poses a significant challenge to maintaining the players' form.

Meanwhile, ahead of the derby against Manchester United, the draw for the Champions League Round of 16 has also been completed.

During training, the players were all talking about it.

Manchester City's opponent is Shakhtar Donetsk.

English media are quite excited about this matchup, as Shakhtar Donetsk advanced to the round of 16 by defeating Chelsea.

They're all clamoring that Manchester City will avenge Chelsea and so on.

Manchester City's players certainly wouldn't let Shakhtar Donetsk off the hook, but that had nothing to do with avenging Chelsea. In fact, Chelsea's elimination made Manchester City's players quite gloating.

Shan Yongzhuo was not familiar with this opponent, only knowing that it was a strong Ukrainian team.

When Shan Yongzhuo was with Roma, he did play against a Ukrainian team. It was in the Europa League knockout stage when Roma faced Dynamo Kyiv.

It seems that Ukrainian nuclear warhead Shevchenko was still retired at Dynamo Kyiv at the time...

Overall, however, this is a good opponent, at least a bit tougher than facing AC Milan or Valencia.

In contrast to Manchester City, their Premier League rivals Manchester United and Arsenal, who also qualified, were not so lucky.

Manchester United topped their group, but they faced Borussia Dortmund, widely considered the strongest team among the second-placed teams.

This is a tough nut to crack.

Arsenal unfortunately finished second in their group, and then once again faced their destined rivals, Bayern Munich.

Such a draw result naturally displeased the English media.

Conspiracy theories surrounding the Premier League are rampant.

Unfortunately, the outcome cannot be changed.

Some pessimistic media outlets have even predicted that Manchester City may be the only Premier League team left in the quarterfinals.

(End of this chapter)