Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 446 My Heart Aches for Van Persie

Winning the Club World Cup was a perfect ending for Manchester City in 2012.

Shan Yongzhuo, who scored two hat-tricks, unsurprisingly won the Golden Boot and Best Player awards, but he wasn't particularly excited.

The sextuple win allowed Manchester City to equal the achievement of Barcelona in 2009, although this sextuple included the Community Shield, a title that was not considered a real prize.

However, this is still a remarkable achievement.

Manchester City, having won the championship in Yokohama, did not celebrate with much fanfare; they rested for one night and immediately returned to Manchester.

Manchester City's match against Newcastle United in the 17th round of the league was postponed to mid-January due to the Club World Cup, but the 18th round of the league is just 6 days away, so Manchester City doesn't have much time to adjust.

Back in Manchester, Shan Yongzhuo could finally get some rest.

FIFA has also announced the final three nominees for the Ballon d'Or: Shan Yongzhuo, Messi, and Ronaldo.

However, according to all media outlets, neither Messi nor Ronaldo poses much of a threat to Shan Yongzhuo.

Upon returning to Manchester, the team immediately began training, primarily focusing on recovery exercises to help the players regain their form.

Time quickly came to December 20, 2012. Tomorrow was the so-called end of the world. Shan Yongzhuo stayed at home and reminisced about the movie "2012".

At dawn, the day predicted by the Mayans to be the end of the world, the world would be plunged into three days of darkness, with earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and other devastating events following one after another.

Dan Yongzhuo couldn't help but chuckle, thinking how fortunate it was that the prophecy hadn't come true. If the world really did end and he was still a eunuch and a virgin, that would be truly tragic.

Then, on December 22nd, the apocalypse successfully passed.

Manchester City also played their last match before Christmas against Reading.

Newly promoted Reading have had a terrible season. With the first half of the season almost over, they have only managed a paltry 9 points. Everyone thinks that their Premier League journey will end at the end of this season, and they will undoubtedly return to the Championship.

Facing such an opponent, Guardiola will naturally not take it lightly, sending his full starting lineup to the away game. Manchester City's goal is naturally to take all three points.

Guardiola also motivated the team by offering them an extra day off if they win the game.

This certainly gave the team members a lot of encouragement.

Because after this match comes Christmas, and after Christmas, Manchester City will have a new round of league matches on December 26th, so there is basically no time to rest.

An extra day off is just too tempting.

Dan Yongzhuo was also full of motivation because he was going to Zabaletta's house this Christmas to spend it with Zabaletta and her family.

Most importantly, Zabaleta's beautiful sister Valentina will be going on a blind date with her.

Okay, although blind dates are something like this...

But who can blame Zabaleta for having such a beautiful younger sister?
Good looks are everything, there's nothing more to say.

Therefore, Manchester City, united as one, taught Reading a good lesson away from home.

8 is better than 0!

Despite Reading's tremendous efforts to defend their home ground, including forcing Aguero to leave the field injured, they couldn't stop the in-form Manchester City and Shan Yongzhuo. Shan Yongzhuo scored five goals in the first and second halves, displaying explosive form, while Dzeko, Aguero, and Nasri also contributed goals, leading Manchester City to a resounding victory and a perfect end to their final match before Christmas.

On the other hand, Manchester United suffered a setback, drawing 1-1 with Swansea away from home.

This allowed Manchester City to narrow the gap between the two teams to 2 points, and Manchester City also has a game in hand, which is a significant advantage.

After the round ended, the media immediately produced various reports, and the focus of these reports was mainly on the Manchester clubs.

This season's Premier League has completely turned into a two-man show between the two Manchester clubs.

Manchester United displayed an amazing form at the start of the season, maintaining their top position in the league for almost the entire period. Although they were overtaken by Manchester City midway through the season, they caught up almost immediately.

Manchester City, on the other hand, had a somewhat slow start to the season but improved significantly. At the beginning of the season, their performance was not satisfactory, but as the league progressed, they demonstrated their true strength.

Chelsea, another team that started the season strong, has now shown signs of decline. They have 32 points so far, and due to goal difference, they are in fourth place behind Everton.

The most disappointing team is Liverpool. So far in the league, they have only managed to get 24 points, ranking 11th in the league. They have completely lost the style of the traditional top four teams in the Premier League and are more like a mid-table team.

As for the players, Shan Yongzhuo is still undoubtedly the best performer.

The Guardian reported on this: "The Premier League has played 18 rounds, Manchester City has played 17 rounds, and their star striker Shan Yongzhuo has scored 42 goals so far!"

"Overall, Shan Yongzhuo's performance is slightly inferior to that of the same period last season, but considering his less playing time, his performance is actually better than last season, and his goal-scoring efficiency is higher than last season."

Robin van Persie from Manchester United is second on the all-time top scorers list.

This season, Robin van Persie joined Manchester United in pursuit of a title, which made him a traitor in the eyes of Arsenal fans.

However, Van Persie withstood the pressure and performed exceptionally well. In 18 league matches, he scored 14 goals, firmly ranking second in the top scorer list, keeping Suarez firmly behind him.

Unfortunately, he ran into Shan Yongzhuo.

Many media outlets initially reported on Van Persie, with some lamenting that he was born at the wrong time.

A report in The Times resonated widely in English football: "Van Persie rose to fame at a young age, but he always seems to have bad luck."

"In the past, the Premier League had players like Van Nistelrooy and Henry, which made it difficult for the young Van Persie to stand out. Despite being known as a Dutch talent, the still very inexperienced Van Persie found it hard to covet the top scorer list."

"By now, Van Persie has finally matured, shed his injury-prone reputation, and grown into a world-class striker. Unfortunately, he has encountered Shan Yongzhuo, which makes it impossible for him to even dream of winning the Premier League Golden Boot."

"Perhaps, to use a Chinese saying: 'Born at the wrong time,' encountering Shan Yongzhuo at the peak of his career is the best explanation for Van Persie's current situation."

"Shan Yongzhuo may leave the Premier League, but by then, Van Persie may already be a veteran..."

This report has received widespread recognition.

It was only then that England fans noticed Van Persie's presence.

"I feel sorry for Van Persie! And I also feel sorry for all the strikers in the same league as Shan Yongzhuo!"

This saying quickly became popular in England and even swept across the entire world of football.

(End of this chapter)