Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 475 Receiving a Big Gift Package

Unfortunately, when the match actually arrived, Guardiola could no longer rely on Shan Yongzhuo.

The reason was that I got an upset stomach...

The "Golden Bell and Iron Shirt" technique can only guarantee that Shan Yongzhuo won't get injured after being fouled on the field; it can't prevent his off-field behavior.

Dan Yongzhuo's housekeeper took leave, well, then he went to a restaurant, ate some venison, and unfortunately had diarrhea for half the night.

Guardiola lamented his bad luck and even told Shan Yongzhuo to sue the restaurant, but it was too late for the match, so he could only tell him to rest well.

Then, Shan Yongzhuo missed a game for the first time due to his physical condition, which was really unlucky.

He then watched the match on his home television; Manchester City was playing Chelsea at home.

As a result, Manchester City, short-handed and depleted, indeed ran into trouble.
Despite playing away from home, Chelsea's striker Demba Ba displayed exceptional form, scoring twice.

Although Aguero scored a goal, it seemed to have little effect.

Manchester City lost 1-2 to Chelsea at home, ending their winning streak.

Meanwhile, Manchester United easily defeated Queens Park Rangers 0-2 away from home, widening the gap between the two teams to 3 points.

This victory has greatly boosted the morale of everyone at Chelsea.

Well, even though they beat Manchester City without Shan Yongzhuo, isn't that a good thing?

However, Shan Yongzhuo recovered quickly, and then Aston Villa, their opponent in the 28th round of the league, were in deep trouble.

Although it was an away game, Villa had little ability to stop Shan Yongzhuo.

Another easy hat-trick, Manchester City beat Aston Villa 1-4 away from home, preventing Manchester United, who had been on a winning streak, from widening the gap.

The team was in good spirits after defeating Aston Villa, at least they managed to stay close to Manchester United.

In the second leg of the Champions League knockout stage, Shan Yongzhuo continued his dominance at home, scoring four goals and defeating Shakhtar Donetsk 4-0.

The 13-1 aggregate scoreline sets a new record for the largest two-legged aggregate score in Champions League knockout stage history.

However, the media is no longer particularly surprised by this.

After all, the point difference in the first round was so large that it's not surprising that such a point difference record was set.

After finishing their match against Shakhtar Donetsk, Manchester City has a relatively long break. Their 29th round of the league has been postponed to April, and the 30th round will be on March 16, giving Manchester City ten days of free time.

Guardiola naturally gave the team a few days off.

Shan Yongzhuo stayed at home and didn't go anywhere, just watching the Premier League and Champions League matches.

The knockout stage match between Manchester City and Shakhtar Donetsk was the first to take place, and the Champions League Round of 3 knockout stage did not conclude until March 14.

The media gave the match extensive coverage, and the elimination of teams like AC Milan and Manchester United was a hot topic of discussion.

For English football, however, it turned into a scene of despair.

This season, three Premier League teams have reached the Champions League Round of 16, with only Chelsea surprisingly falling in a relatively weak group.

However, after the round of 16, the English media discovered that Manchester City had once again become the hope of all England.

Manchester United faced Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16. After a narrow 1-0 defeat in the first leg at Westfalenstadion, United failed to mount any revenge at Old Trafford, instead suffering a humiliating 0-3 home defeat. With a combined 4-0 aggregate score, United were eliminated by Klopp's team.

If this result is somewhat frustrating, then Arsenal's result is even more frustrating.

They first lost 1-3 at home to Bayern Munich, giving Bayern three away goals, which basically sealed their elimination.

However, at the Allianz Stadium, Arsenal displayed amazing fighting spirit, defeating Bayern 2-0 shortly after the start of the second half.

With a 2-0 lead away from home and the aggregate score tied at 3-3, Arsenal only need one more goal to eliminate Bayern Munich due to their away goals rule.

However, Arsenal failed to score again in the ample time of the second half, and were ultimately eliminated in a way that seemed like a humiliating defeat but was actually incredibly frustrating.

Okay, although Arsenal received a higher rating than Manchester United, at least they died with some dignity, but it's still hard to accept, they were just one goal short.

What's even more unacceptable is that, by the quarterfinals, Manchester City was the only Premier League team left.

The English media has completely given up hope.

Manchester City are, after all, the champions of last season. No matter how strong they perform, the curse of no defending champions since the Champions League format change remains unbroken.

Even the powerful English media dared not place their hopes on Manchester City. In their view, Premier League teams were merely playing second fiddle in this season's Champions League.

Fortunately, the subsequent quarter-final draw offered some consolation to the English media.

Manchester City drew the dark horse team Malaga.

Malaga's advancement to the quarterfinals was unexpected, but looking at their head coach, it makes sense.

Pellegrini, the Chilean who excels at leading small clubs to comebacks.

However, with Manchester City on their team, their Champions League journey should be over, right?
Anyway, nobody is optimistic about Malaga.

Even Malaga himself thought so...

When the draw results came out, Malaga's head coach Pellegrini looked ashen-faced; he was in a real bind.

Pellegrini has no record of playing against Shan Yongzhuo. After one season at Real Madrid, he was replaced by Mourinho and went to Malaga.

After two seasons, Pellegrini led Malaga to the Champions League quarterfinals, just like he did at Villarreal, which makes one marvel at Pellegrini's skill.

But now Pellegrini has a real headache.

Because they were facing Manchester City, he had to figure out a way to deal with Shan Yongzhuo.

To be honest, Pellegrini doesn't think he has any way to limit Shan Yongzhuo, which is his biggest headache.

However, Malaga didn't have much of a solution. After all, although they managed to top their group ahead of AC Milan, their other two opponents in the group were Zenit St. Petersburg and Anderlecht, who were not particularly strong.

Their opponent in the round of 16 is only Porto, which is not very prestigious. In the eyes of outsiders, although they are dark horses, they are still a big gift in the quarterfinals, second only to Galatasaray.

Galatasaray has been given to Dortmund, so Malaga will definitely face a strong team. After all, the remaining teams are Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Barcelona, ​​and Paris Saint-Germain, none of which Malaga can challenge.

In Pellegrini's view, Manchester City is the most difficult opponent.

They just happened to run into each other.

(End of this chapter)