Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 478 Tactical Attempts
Haitinga is still persistently running alongside Shan Yongzhuo.

However, Heitinga soon discovered that his opponent wasn't just running around during the attack.

When Everton had possession of the ball and launched an attack on Manchester City, Shan Yongzhuo was constantly running, sometimes even dropping back, using his constant running to press Everton's players.

Heitinga was instructed to stick close to Shan Yongzhuo, even when Everton was attacking, and not give him any opening.

"We can't afford to be careless at all; he's the kind of player who can score a goal from the slightest opportunity..."

These are Moyes's exact words, and he told him that Shan Yongzhuo's playing style was to stand and wait for the ball most of the time, and that he was not a player with outstanding physical fitness.

But after only 15 minutes of play, Heitinga was already panting heavily and couldn't help but curse Moyes in his mind: "Didn't you say he didn't run much?"

"What the hell is this?"

Haitinga, panting heavily, ran for a while with his hands on his knees. He was 30 years old, not like Shan Yongzhuo, who was only 23.

But seeing the figures running ahead, he gritted his teeth and followed.

Off the field, many people were also discussing Shan Yongzhuo's performance.

Even without the ball, Shan Yongzhuo is the focus of the game. Moreover, in this game, Shan Yongzhuo changed his usual playing style and looked like a player who actively participated in the team's tactics. He even dropped back to press Everton players.

This unusual behavior has sparked heated discussions.

The commentator said with a smile, "Shan Yongzhuo seems to be in great form today. He's running much more actively than usual!"

"He kept running, as if he never got tired."

“We can keep an eye on Haitinga. He is responsible for close marking of Shan Yongzhuo, but he seems to be struggling to keep up.”

The camera focused on Heitinga, who was several meters behind, but gritted his teeth and tried to catch up.

Meanwhile, Moyes on the sidelines was also quite distressed.

"Why would he do that?"

But on second thought, this is actually a good thing.

After all, Shan Yongzhuo's stamina is not unlimited. Depleting his stamina and exchanging points with Heitinga would be great news for Everton.

However, Shan Yongzhuo on the field did not think so.

Although the continuous running was indeed a bit tiring, his physical strength was still quite abundant.

The reason for doing this is that Everton's defense is indeed very difficult to deal with. Defense has been ingrained in the team's DNA. In terms of defensive ability alone, Everton is definitely top-tier in the Premier League and even ranks among the best in European football. Having Dzeko up front is better than having to fight hand-to-hand with yourself.

On the other hand, it was also because he wanted to experience what it was like to be a midfielder and participate in the team's tactical system.

After all, he will be joining Granada, a minnow team, next season, and the World Cup is next year. If he can drop back and play as a midfielder in Granada and China, even though he will be a bit far from the goal, it may make up for the team's lack of midfield strength and bring more opportunities.

This is an attempt, an attempt that the absolute core of a weak team has to make changes.

This was the result of a deep conversation between Shan Yongzhuo and Guardiola.

After much deliberation, Shan Yongzhuo finally decided that this was indeed beneficial to him. After all, as a midfielder, although he seemed a bit distant from the fans, his footwork was still there, and he might not necessarily score fewer goals.

However, this first attempt didn't seem to go very well.

Shan Yongzhuo was also trying to integrate into the tactics, but the final effect seemed to be that Shan Yongzhuo kept running, but didn't get the ball much.

However, this kind of running also has its advantages.

At least, Heitinga's role was greatly diminished when Everton defended against Shan Yongzhuo.

Twenty minutes into the game, Shan Yongzhuo had already taken two shots, but he was unlucky; one was saved by the goalkeeper and the other went over the crossbar.

This was something Shan Yongzhuo was somewhat satisfied with; at least, the chances didn't seem to have decreased much. And finally, the goal came.

In the 22nd minute of the match, Manchester City launched an attack.

Shan Yongzhuo made a large shift from the right side, sprinted to the left side, and received a pass from Silva.

At this moment, Heitinga had already been left seven or eight meters behind.

Gibson tried to go over to cover, but Shan Yongzhuo had already dribbled forward and charged ahead. Judging from his speed and explosiveness, he was basically unaffected.

Of course, that's the effect of his light-footed water-skimming skills, which makes him appear so fast.

Using his speed, Shan Yongzhuo outpaced Gibson and reached a distance of about five meters from the penalty area and about twenty-five meters from the goal, before unleashing another shot.

"boom!"

The football drew a beautiful arc in the air and headed straight for the top right corner of the goal.

This was Shan Yongzhuo's third shot of the game.

In the previous two attempts, Everton goalkeeper Moha performed well, making one save.

However, this time, Muha failed to maintain his steady performance, and his powerful shot, enhanced by his powerful leg kick, left him somewhat helpless.

The football fell into the goal.

“goooooooooal!”

"The ball is in!"

Cheers from Manchester City fans echoed from the surrounding stands.

The commentator remarked helplessly, "This is Shan Yongzhuo's signature shot."

"That was a very clean and efficient play. Everton's defense couldn't keep up and they were left behind starting with Heitinga."

"From receiving the ball to breaking past Gibson, and then shooting, Shan Yongzhuo completed the entire process in one smooth motion."

"0-1, Manchester City have taken the lead, and Everton are now trailing at home."

"This is very disadvantageous for Everton..."

The commentator was absolutely right.

Everton's best style of play is to find ways to score through counter-attacks and then use their defense to wear down their opponents.

Once the opponent scores first in a match, Everton often finds it very difficult to play.

Everton's attacking methods are indeed somewhat lackluster, and their goal-scoring efficiency in matches is not very good.

Manchester City already had the upper hand on the field, and Everton's attacks were mostly counter-attacking, making it difficult for them to launch effective positional attacks.

Their strategy was simply to defend, waiting for Manchester City to go without scoring for a long time and become increasingly impatient before relying on counter-attacks to steal a win.

But now, Shan Yongzhuo's goal has disrupted Everton's rhythm.

If Manchester City scores this goal, and as long as they don't make any major mistakes, the game will completely fall into their control.

On the sidelines, Moyes shook his head helplessly and smiled bitterly.

"As expected, Manchester United are dreaming if they think they can rely on us to stop Manchester City!"

(End of this chapter)