Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 59 Nesta's Confusion
The first half ended in a draw.

Spalletti, however, looked worried; he too had discovered the problem.

At the beginning of the season, Roma's 4-2-3-1 formation allowed them to fully utilize their attacking power.

However, in this formation, Totti's advanced position largely contributes to Roma's lack of midfield strength. This formation can leverage its attacking advantage when facing weaker teams, or even against Juventus, whose midfield is of average strength.

However, against a strong midfielder like AC Milan, their weaknesses will be magnified.

Spalletti decided to make some adjustments.

"Francisco, you rest in the second half. Simeone, you come on."

"Mirko, move to the middle in the second half and partner with Dan."

Spalletti's adjustments were simple: he replaced Totti, moved Vucinic to the front line, and brought on Perrotta, adjusting the formation to a traditional 4-4-2.

Vucinic was moved to the forward line to partner with Shan Yongzhuo, which can ensure the strength of the attacking third after Totti is substituted.

With De Rossi and Pizarro moving forward, and Perrotta coming on, Taddei dropping back, the connection between the midfield and the attack can be strengthened to the maximum extent.

After the start of the second half, Spalletti's adjustments paid off. Although the midfield was still slightly behind, they were able to play back and forth, and AC Milan's attack was clearly affected.

Meanwhile, Shan Yongzhuo remains entangled in a battle with Nesta.

However, after the first half, Shan Yongzhuo also found a way to deal with Nesta.

In the 60th minute, Roma launched an attack.

This time, Shan Yongzhuo chose to drop back to receive the ball. He received the ball more than 30 meters from the goal on the sideline, and Nesta followed up.

Dan Yongzhuo immediately unleashed his whirlwind ground kick, lightly touching the ball with his right foot before turning and heading in the opposite direction of the ball to bypass Nesta.

Nesta was taken aback. He didn't quite understand what the other man was doing. It was as if Shan Yongzhuo had abandoned football and was only concerned with running himself.

Is he an idiot?

Nesta was puzzled, but it was a good opportunity for him to easily win the ball and launch an attack.

However, Nesta was shocked the next moment.

After Shan Yongzhuo started his run, the football actually drew an arc along the grass, then went around him in the opposite direction and returned to Shan Yongzhuo's feet.

"This...this works? My God, what am I seeing?"

This dribbling move completely overturned Nesta's understanding of football.

Nesta saw himself as a log in a river, while Shan Yongzhuo and the football were like a stream that had been split in two by him, each going around him before merging back behind him.

"How is that possible? He only touched the ball, how could he kick it with such an arc?"

Nesta was shocked, but he immediately turned around and tried to catch up. Unfortunately, he couldn't keep up. Shan Yongzhuo had already pulled several meters ahead of him and rushed to the corner of the penalty area.

Dan Yongzhuo dribbled the ball to the corner of the penalty area, and the effect of his whirlwind ground kick disappeared.

However, the position was not ideal. Gattuso followed from the middle, and Silva blocked his path in the penalty area. The two rushed in from two directions, trying to double-team Shan Yongzhuo or force him to the wing. At the same time, the two of them blocked Shan Yongzhuo's shooting angle.

Nesta also closed in from behind, and Shan Yongzhuo appeared to be surrounded.

"Shoot directly at goal?"

Dan Yongzhuo hesitated. The position wasn't particularly good, and the angle was blocked. Without the Mighty Vajra Leg, he wasn't 100% confident.

"Forget it, let's find a better spot."

The team is currently tied, so scoring a goal is crucial. Shan Yongzhuo immediately activated his Ghostly Catching Technique, then dribbled the ball towards the center, chipping it between Gattuso and Silva while simultaneously slipping past them.

Then, he took a direct shot.

It was a half-high ball, but it arced out and headed straight for the left side of the goal.

Goalkeeper Storari felt a sense of helplessness; he couldn't reach the ball, which hit the post and bounced to the other side before going into the goal.

"Shan Yongzhuo's shot, a powerful shot from near the penalty area line, the ball is in!"

"The score is now 1-2, Roma has taken the lead again!"

"This goal was brilliant, but what was even more brilliant was Shan Yongzhuo's dribbling before that. He received the ball with his back to goal on the wing and used a brilliant, curved dribble to get past Nesta. Even Nesta couldn't do anything against such a dribble."

"He dribbled all the way to the penalty area, then chipped the ball over Silva and Gattuso, and before the ball even hit the ground, he unleashed a powerful shot—it was spectacular!"

"This is Shan Yongzhuo, the hottest rising star in Serie A. His performance is outstanding."

"Everyone is talking about his perfect footwork, but judging from this play, his footwork is equally outstanding!"

The TV commentators were shouting in shock, and Roma were celebrating wildly as they scored.

Shan Yongzhuo was very happy; this goal was indeed quite remarkable.

AC Milan's defense did indeed cause them considerable trouble, requiring them to employ two techniques before they were able to find a good shooting space.

Without the necessary skills, it's impossible to perform well.

It was precisely because it was not easy that Shan Yongzhuo was so excited. He ran excitedly to the away team's stands and blew kisses to the fans.

In the distance, AC Milan fans were extremely frustrated, as their entire defensive line had failed to stop Shan Yongzhuo.

However, no one blamed Nesta. Nesta was a veteran player who had made great contributions to the team, and everyone saw that dribble, which was simply too brilliant. Even the hot-tempered Gattuso did not think he could do anything about it except commit a foul.

However, Shan Yongzhuo dribbled too fast just now, instantly dribbling past his opponent and rushing into the penalty area, without even a chance to foul.

When the game restarted, Nesta became even more serious about defense, and his opinion of Shan Yongzhuo rose to a very high level.

"No wonder he can score so many goals, he's even better than Ronaldo!"

Nesta sighed, saying that in terms of overall ability, this young man was hard to call outstanding in terms of positioning, experience, physical strength, speed, and even footwork for most of the time. He was practically no threat most of the time.

Even without mentioning himself, any top defender in Serie A could easily shut him down.

However, this guy's occasional flashes of inspiration revealed unparalleled strength.

The long-range shot in the first half was a sudden, unexpected strike, and the goal just now was just as sudden.

Nesta is confident in his abilities; even as he gets older, he still believes he is one of the best center-backs in the world.

But Nesta also felt powerless when facing this young man.

Unlike Ronaldo, Shan Yongzhuo doesn't constantly launch fierce attacks on the defense, but if he's not careful, he can deliver a fatal blow to the opponent.

Such an opponent is precisely the most difficult to deal with; Nesta even felt that he was more difficult to deal with than Ronaldo.

Because strikers like Ronaldo can be predicted to unleash their next burst of power. Such opponents are difficult to deal with, but you can, to some extent, grasp the timing of their burst of power.

However, Shan Yongzhuo...

"This guy is even more difficult to deal with than Philippe. You can't relax for even a second against him. You never know when he'll score."

(End of this chapter)