Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 597 The house leaks and it rains all night
Granada facing Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey is definitely not good news.

After all, although Real Madrid has been suppressed by the top three teams in the league this season, their strength is still obvious. In the Champions League group stage, they also suppressed Juventus with an impressive record of 5 wins and 1 draw, and advanced as the group winner.

Moreover, Real Madrid's opponent in the first round of the Champions League knockout stage is only Schalke 04 from the Bundesliga.

Although Schalke 04 is a strong team in the Bundesliga, their strength is not enough to compete in the Champions League. They have drawn a big group of teams, so Real Madrid is under relatively less pressure.

However, Granada was shrouded in a shadow.

First, Blind Jr.'s injury during training caused Pellegrini a great deal of trouble.

Granada's flanks have always been a weak point, and they have historically relied heavily on Blind's overlapping runs and assists on the wings.

But now that Blind is injured and will be out for at least a month, Pellegrini is in a very difficult position.

Then, in the twentieth round of the league, they played against Osasuna at home.

Despite scoring two goals and putting on a very impressive performance, Osasuna's aggressive defense limited Shan Yongzhuo to just two goals in the end.

Osasuna also managed to equalize in the final moments through a counter-attack, ending Granada's winning streak.

Of course, a draw isn't enough to give Pellegrini a headache.

What frustrated him most was that Harry Kane got injured again during the match.

Harry Kane was not in Pellegrini's starting lineup when he first arrived in Granada, but thanks to his performance, he is now Granada's main striker and Shan Yongzhuo's number one partner.

His ability to provide support and act as a pivot is unmatched by Flores, allowing him to maximize the pressure on Shan Yongzhuo and draw the defensive attention of the team.

Now, with Blind Jr. and Harry Kane in charge, Pellegrini's hair has turned even whiter.

The injuries to Blind and Harry Kane were quickly reported by the media, and those who follow Granada couldn't help but sigh with regret.

Fans who don't know much about football naturally don't think it's a big deal, especially the many female fans and die-hard fans of Shan Yongzhuo. They think that Granada only needs Shan Yongzhuo, and it doesn't matter who the others are. If they get injured, they can just replace them. The most important thing is that Shan Yongzhuo is not injured.

But those who understand football naturally know how important Harry Kane and Daley Blind are to Granada.

The only good news is that neither Barcelona nor Atletico Madrid managed to win this round of matches.

Barcelona were surprisingly held to a draw by Levante away from home, while Atletico Madrid were forced to a draw at home after Sevilla scored a late equalizer.

The only good news for Granada is that the points gap hasn't been narrowed.

Unfortunately, Granada suffered another devastating blow just before their first leg of the Copa del Rey against Real Madrid.

Nainggolan has also been added to the injury list due to a groin strain.

This blow is a major setback for Granada.

Even the usually confident Shan Yongzhuo felt immense pressure at this moment.

With his partner now Flores, he will inevitably have to take on more defensive pressure, making it more difficult to score goals.

Under Blind's leadership, Granada's already weak flanks suffered a major blow.

Now, Nainggolan's injury has completely deprived Granada's midfield of its engine and pivot.

Shan Yongzhuo could imagine how difficult this match would be.

Fortunately, this is just a Copa del Rey match, so losing isn't that hard to accept. The core task this season is still the league title.

Winning the league title is Granada and Shan Yongzhuo's top priority. Of course, a good mindset is also very important.

In Shan Yongzhuo's view, the league title is indeed very important, but if it cannot be won for various reasons, it is also important to maintain a top-four finish in the league and qualify for the Champions League next season.

After all, Granada is a small club, and even if Kroos and Shan Yongzhuo are rich, they can't compare to the financial strength of the big clubs.

For Granada, the Champions League prize money next season is still very important if they want to improve the depth of their squad.

The Camenes Stadium was packed to capacity that day.

However, the weather isn't very good, much like Granada's current situation.

Pellegrini ultimately fielded his favorite 4-4-2 formation.

In the backfield, Siqueira, Van Dijk, Shawcross, and Nyom lined up in a row.

The midfield consists of J. Romero, Gunnarsson, Ziyech, and Oquela.

In the forward line, Shan Yongzhuo partners with Flores.

This is currently the best lineup Granada can field.

But looking at Real Madrid's lineup, this lineup was completely inadequate, even making Shan Yongzhu feel a little hopeless.

The gap, especially in midfield, is just too large.

Real Madrid's lineup is a standard 4-2-3-1, which is also a formation that Ancelotti really likes.

Despite the pressure of the schedule, Ancelotti still chose to field his strongest lineup for this away game against Granada.

The back four consist of Arbeloa, Pepe, Ramos, and Marcelo, a very stable defensive quartet this season.

The two defensive midfielders are Modric and Illarramendi.

Alonso has been plagued by injuries this season, while Khedira also suffered a serious injury. Although he has recovered and returned to the starting lineup, he has gradually faded out of the starting lineup. This has allowed Illarramendi, who came to Real Madrid in the summer, to gradually occupy a starting position in Real Madrid's midfield.

However, Illarramendi's performance was not entirely satisfactory, failing to live up to Florentino's expectations of him becoming Alonso's successor.

In this match, Ancelotti still gave Illarramendi a chance. At least Illarramendi was able to provide some help in defending Shan Yongzhuo by making active runs and anticipating his moves in defense.

The three midfielders are Cristiano Ronaldo and Bale, each occupying a wing, while the central midfielder is young Morata.

With the arrival of Jesé this season, Morata's position at Real Madrid has become quite awkward. However, he has still performed quite well, scoring 5 goals in all competitions so far. Given his extremely limited playing time, this performance is still commendable.

The leading single arrow is still Benzema.

This lineup can be considered the best Real Madrid can field at the moment; it's truly star-studded.

Even the bench was filled with big-name stars.

Coentrao, Khedira, Carvajal, Nacho, Isco...

Shan Yongzhuo was drooling over Real Madrid's roster, but he was also utterly helpless.

If you randomly put two or three of these substitutes into Granada's lineup, such as Coentrao and Khedira, Shan Yongzhuo is confident that he could lead Granada to defeat Real Madrid.

But under the current circumstances, it's really too difficult.

(End of this chapter)