Chapter 700: Chapter 699: Gave You the Opportunity, But You’re Useless
Ultimately, the referee issued five yellow cards in succession to bring the situation under control.
Among them was Deng Kai.
Witnessing this while receiving treatment in the locker room, Philipp Lahm felt deeply touched.
He knew everyone was doing it for him.
Otherwise, as a key player, Deng Kai would never have been booked for such an incident.
Every card he received had significant tactical importance; it couldn’t just be to vent emotions.
In the end, the score of the match was fixed at six to two.
Manchester City thrashed Barcelona at Camp Nou.
After the match, Barcelona’s fans threw objects at the departing Manchester City players in a furious attack.
Feng Te’s forehead was hit by a mineral water bottle, and he suffered a noble injury.
Manchester City’s coach was also attacked by fans when leaving Camp Nou.
Fans were throwing stones at the coach windows.
As soon as Manchester City’s players had boarded the plane, the club officially filed a lawsuit against UEFA, demanding a heavy penalty for Barcelona!
The news spread like wildfire.
...
"Deng Kai Strikes Four Goals Once More! All Advancements Against Barcelona During His Career!"
"Past Vengeance, Settled Now! Manchester City’s Emperor Deng Kai Claims Camp Nou, Declaring His Dominance Over Barcelona!"
"The Complete Analysis of Deng Kai’s Grudge with Barcelona! From the First Team to Doubt Deng Kai as a Football Conman, to Being Repeatedly Eliminated by Him in European Competitions, Barcelona Has Paid the Price!"
"German Speedster Breaks Barcelona! Philipp Lahm, Former Bayern Munich Academy Player, Aids with a Hat-trick of Assists in Europe, Stunning All!"
"Devilish Wing Philipp! Bayern Fans Chant ’Come Back,’ Hoping for Lahm’s Return to the Team!"
"Youngster Kompany Becomes Barcelona’s Nemesis! The Biggest Reason for Scoring in Both Legs Is His Height!"
"Ronaldinho Scores Twice from Penalty Spot But Cannot Save the Team! Controversies Abound in the Referee’s Decisions This Match!"
"Zidane: Barcelona’s Ability to Seize Opportunities is Inferior to Manchester City, It’s Normal for Them to Lose!"
"Puyol’s Tackle on Lahm! Manchester City Injury List Grows! Grim Future Ahead!"
"If Manchester City Has Replacements for Other Positions, Then They’re in Trouble at Left Back! They Only Have the Unreliable Ashley Young!"
Ashley Young: ???
Of course, Barcelona also filed a complaint with UEFA.
They requested additional suspension for Deng Kai.
The request, once made, caused an uproar across Europe.
So... since they couldn’t play in the upcoming European League matches, they hoped Manchester City wouldn’t be able to play either, right?
That’s acceptable.
That’s very Barcelona.
If Barcelona’s appeal succeeded and Deng Kai received an additional suspension, Manchester City would surely be finished.
No need to think about it.
Manchester City already had a constant stream of injured players.
But their performance hadn’t collapsed, so who do you think gets the credit?
Feng Te and Maxa? Hardly!
It was the strength of core player Deng Kai!
Say what you will, following Barcelona’s "hint," some people indeed had malicious thoughts and whispered to UEFA, hoping they would heavily penalize Deng Kai.
But... is UEFA stupid?
To heavily penalize Deng Kai?
How much would that be going against money?
Sure, to some extent, UEFA wanted Manchester City to stumble.
But they wanted it to happen while Deng Kai was on the team.
That way, they could make a killing.
Without Deng Kai, who the hell would buy Manchester City at such a time?
Additionally, starting from the second half of this season, Manchester City’s matches have become one of the important fixtures in European football.
The viewership ratings were through the roof.
There was an endless stream of related news.
Moreover, Manchester City still maintained an undefeated record in European competitions.
They were in the final moments of a championship race in the league, undefeated like Arsenal.
Such massive traffic.
UEFA was in a position where they neither dared to let go nor offend.
For the next round of the series, UEFA could take fifty percent of the tickets. Would they not be foolish not to?
Moreover, as the new Golden Ball winner, Deng Kai had become one of the world’s renowned figures in football.
At the very least, he was the Premier League’s leading figure.
Many detested him.
But he also had many admirers.
In the end, UEFA made its decision regarding the on-field conflict.
They deemed that the conduct of Manchester City’s players was normal. Those deserving of punishment received it on the pitch, and there was nothing to add.
However, Manchester City’s excessive celebrations and their provocation of Camp Nou’s fans resulted in a hefty penalty of thirty thousand euros for the team!
Similarly, due to the bad influence of the pitch conflict and the fans’ attack on the players, Barcelona faced a thirty thousand euro fine!
But the difference was, Barcelona also had to pay the price of an empty stadium for one UEFA match next season because of their fans’ behavior.
Additionally, Puyol’s foul was deemed to be malicious, earning him a three-match suspension.
Barcelona was distraught.
This damn thing was unfair!
It obviously favored Manchester City!
Deng Kai, at least, should have received a one-match ban!
But those with clear vision actually understood.
The winner takes all, it’s that simple.
On the pitch, Barcelona clearly received a boost.
But they failed to take down Manchester City.
They couldn’t even handle this trifle.
Useless!
You had the opportunity but you couldn’t make it count!
The fate of an incompetent underling is well illustrated in many TV dramas.
Therefore, off the pitch, to maintain balance, UEFA had to show some favor toward Manchester City.
Otherwise, Manchester City wouldn’t be foolish. If they really decided to walk away or flip the table... don’t forget, Mansour was always ready to bring Europe’s best legal team to fight UEFA!
The Middle Eastern wealth is just too damn extravagant.
Who knows if they might suddenly go mad?
The Mansour of today was no longer the same as before.
When he bought Manchester City two years ago, he was just a little prince trying to prove himself.
But over these two years, he not only proved himself through Manchester City, but he and his brother’s status at home was also affirmed.
If before he was merely an untamed prince,
now... he had become a highly regarded royal.
And in the future, he might well become a king of equal stature!
...
Back to England.
Manchester City’s nightmare continued.
On April 17th, the fourteenth round of the Premier League.
The Manchester derby kicked off!
It was bad enough that the schedule was tight.
The key opponent was also strong.
It was immediately Manchester United after Barcelona.
That would be a tough match for anyone to win.
However, in this match, Manchester City astonishingly defeated Manchester United three to one, pulling off a double over the elite teams!
Ronaldo scored the only goal for Manchester United.
After Saha’s arrival, Ronaldo thought he would be liberated.
But... how to put it... Saha really played quite well on the right flank, and Ronaldo’s goal tally noticeably increased. However, after Saha became a regular, Manchester United’s ability to win matches clearly weakened.
Data-wise, Saha’s transfer wasn’t a loss.
But if he keeps performing like this, say also in the next season, then Manchester United would probably need to figure something out for the right flank again.
However, the focal point of the match wasn’t on Saha.
It was on David Silva, who started the match for Manchester City.
