Chapter 137: Shining Blue Moonlight (Part I)

During the "Double 12" shopping event in 2016, there was little online promotional activity in Europe. Instead, the European football scene was buzzing with excitement—the draw for the Round of 16 in the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League was held that day at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

With the group stage concluded, all sixteen teams advancing had been confirmed.

Arsenal, Napoli, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Villarreal, Borussia Dortmund, Leicester City, and Juventus topped their respective groups.

According to the draw rules, teams from the same group could not face each other, nor could teams from the same domestic league be drawn against one another.

The ceremony was hosted by Pinto, head of UEFA’s media division, with the proceedings managed by Marchetti and Dutch football legend Gullit as a guest.

The first team drawn was Manchester City. When Villarreal was drawn as their opponent, Dai Zhiwei, watching the live broadcast at home, suddenly froze with a grim expression.

"What's the point of all that effort to finish top of the group?" he couldn't help but curse. "Damn it, no respect for the underdogs! UEFA can go to hell."

This season, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City was indisputably a nightmare opponent for any team in the knockout stages, even for giants like Real Madrid and Barcelona. Yet fate had pitted Villarreal against them.

The first leg of the Villarreal vs. Manchester City Round of 16 tie was scheduled for February 14, 2017, with the second leg on March 7.

Before facing Manchester City away, Villarreal had two league matches remaining. Unfortunately, their form suggested they would pose little threat to Guardiola's side on their turf.

After seeing off his parents, Dai Zhiwei hurried back to lead his team against Sevilla, who were third in the league standings.

Less than a minute into the match, Sevilla nearly shocked Dai with a chance: Ben Yedder crossed from the left, and Jovetić shot close range but was deflected wide under defensive pressure.

In the 8th minute, Dai responded with a slick move down the right flank, threading a through ball to Bacca, who fired narrowly wide from 10 yards on the left side of the box.

In the second half, Sevilla squandered a penalty after Gaspar fouled Vitolo near the box; Nasri’s penalty was saved by Asenjo.

At the 55th minute, Soriano delivered a through ball, but Bacca’s one-on-one effort from the left side struck the side netting.

In the 82nd minute, Sevilla had a golden chance to snatch victory, but Eborra’s close-range header was heroically saved by Asenjo.

The match ended goalless. Sevilla and Villarreal remained third and fourth in the standings, respectively, with Atlético Madrid closing in on Villarreal by just one point.

A week later, Villarreal returned home to face Málaga.

In the 14th minute, Málaga took the lead: Rosales crossed from the right, and Charles headed home just outside the six-yard box to make it 0-1.

Villarreal equalized in the 62nd minute when Rosales fouled Dai in the box; Rosales stepped up to convert the penalty, leveling the score at 1-1.

Villarreal grew increasingly assertive, poised to take the lead, but in the 71st minute, Soriano lost possession and deliberately fouled Camacho, earning a straight red card and dashing the Yellow Submarine’s attacking momentum.

To conserve energy for the crucial midweek Champions League clash against Manchester City, coach Escrivá substituted Dai for Bacca and accepted the draw.

In another key fixture, Atlético Madrid narrowly defeated Celta 3-2 at home, leapfrogging Villarreal by one point to claim fourth place, pushing Villarreal down to fifth.

Upon arriving in Manchester, a disheartening rumor spread among Villarreal’s fans—Manchester City was keen on signing Dai Zhiwei as Sergio Agüero’s successor.

According to The Guardian, Manchester City had officially added Dai to their shortlist.

The report stated that City had long monitored Dai. Since last season, when the young striker secured a regular starting spot at Villarreal, analyzing his match footage had become routine for City scouts.

Currently, Agüero was the club’s main striker but lacked a direct competitor, and at 29, age was a factor. Finding a promising young forward was a top priority for the Blue Moon army.

From City’s perspective, Dai, born in 1994 and not yet 23, displayed maturity beyond his years on the pitch. His mental resilience was matched by exceptional physical attributes and outstanding shooting skills. With a release clause of only €110 million, Guardiola viewed him as his prime transfer target for the upcoming summer.

However, as Dai topped both the La Liga and Champions League scoring charts, more elite clubs took notice. In the Premier League alone, both Manchester United and Chelsea, lacking a pure center forward, showed interest, and now Manchester City had joined the pursuit.

Starting Lineups:

Manchester City:

Goalkeeper: Caballero

Defenders: Sagna, Fernandinho, Stones, Otamendi

Midfielders: De Bruyne, Silva, Yaya Touré, Sané

Forwards: Agüero, Sterling

Villarreal:

Goalkeeper: Asenjo

Defenders: Gaspar, Musacchio, Ruiz, Costa

Midfielders: Dos Santos, Bruno, Trigueros, Robert Soriano

Forwards: Bakambu, Dai Zhiwei

One key reason Villarreal had performed admirably in both La Liga and the Champions League this season was their remarkably stable lineup, with no key player sidelined for more than a week.

Before kickoff, after a brief warm-up, Dai and his teammates returned to the dressing room.

Escrivá appeared tense, making final preparations. “Gentlemen, you know better than anyone what this match means. We did well before, topping our group! I want to say this: as long as we maintain our Champions League form, City and Guardiola aren’t unbeatable! We’ve beaten Real Madrid, held Barcelona to a draw. Is City stronger than them? Now, let’s go conquer the Etihad Stadium!”

With that, Escrivá opened the door, embracing each player as they stepped out.

Led by the referee, the Villarreal and Manchester City players emerged onto the pitch.

Though there was no deep-seated rivalry, the players tacitly ignored each other, expressionless as they walked onto the field.

When the cameras focused on Dai, the Etihad erupted in a sudden, exuberant cheer.

“Uh? They really want to sign me?” Dai, warming up on the pitch, was caught off guard. “Well, I’m definitely not joining City. You can forget about that.”

Bruno won the coin toss, granting Villarreal the kickoff. Dai tapped the ball to Robert Soriano at the center circle, marking the official start of the highly anticipated Round of 16 match.

Villarreal began with patience, showing no intention of launching an immediate assault. Following Escrivá’s tactical plan, they carefully circulated possession in midfield, stabilizing the game.

Truth be told, pure technical teams are rare in the physically demanding Premier League. Among the most elegant and fluid attacking sides, Manchester City was the easiest for La Liga players to adapt to. Under Guardiola, their offense flowed like quicksilver, making them one of the most entertaining teams in England.

Dai, along with wingers Dos Santos and Robert Soriano, exchanged passes patiently, gradually probing forward.

Their approach yielded results; the team’s attacking performance improved, and they began finding more space.

For the first fifteen minutes, both teams battled fiercely in midfield, each having moments of advantage. But importantly, no truly threatening breakthrough, pass, or shot had yet materialized.

Both sides deployed heavy defensive resources near their own halves, fully aware of the stakes. Players exercised caution, unwilling to recklessly commit forward.

Each team trusted their intricate passing and off-the-ball movement to eventually find a decisive opening, confident that patience would wear down their opponent.

Yet, City’s confidence arose from superior overall strength, while Villarreal’s stemmed largely from faith in Dai.

At the 17th minute, Dai received a pass from Robert Soriano, took a few steps forward approaching the edge of the penalty area. At that moment, Yaya Touré charged in.

In previous encounters, the seasoned Yaya Touré had pressured Dai into errors with his crafty defense, resulting in an even contest.

Despite Touré’s reputation, Dai showed no fear—losing possession a few times didn’t faze him.

Perhaps emboldened by repeatedly forcing Dai’s mistakes or slightly fatigued, Touré was less sharp this time and was easily outmaneuvered by Dai’s deft feint.

“Whoa?” Dai was surprised himself; he hadn’t expected the formidable Touré to be so simply bypassed.

“Whatever, just run!” Dai shrugged off his marker and sprinted with the ball.

City’s defense quickly regrouped, closing the gaps, but Dai didn’t cling to the ball. Instead, he laid it off to Dos Santos on the left.

Dos Santos, unaccustomed to the left flank after swapping sides with Robert Soriano, felt somewhat awkward but the switch did stretch City’s backline.

Upon receiving the ball, Dos Santos unleashed his specialty: a sharp, rapid advance down the wing.

In the blink of an eye, he covered over ten meters and cut inside decisively—aware that City had stacked numbers near their goal line.

City’s vulnerability to aerial balls was a notable weakness. Aside from Stones at 188 cm, Otamendi was 183 cm and Fernandinho only 177 cm, making Bakambu in front a potent aerial threat.

Dos Santos’ sudden cut inside momentarily unsettled City’s defense. Yet, experienced and battle-hardened, they soon reacted, tightly marking Dai and Bakambu while pressing Dos Santos.

With Sagna closing down, Dos Santos had limited options and squeezed a pass into the box to Dai, then charged forward to create confusion.

Under pressure from Fernandinho behind him, Dai deftly flicked the ball up from Dos Santos’ pass and, with a quick turn, unleashed a powerful shot.

The strike came suddenly, catching Fernandinho off guard before he could raise a leg to block.

Dai’s shot was fierce and low, hurtling toward goal, though the difficult turn reduced its accuracy somewhat.

City goalkeeper Caballero reacted quickly, aware that the shot’s power made it tough to catch. To avoid a fumble, he punched the ball away forcefully.

Chaos erupted in City’s penalty area. Bakambu was first to the rebound but found no shooting space amid dense defenders.

Suddenly, Bakambu spotted a familiar figure. “His chance isn’t great either, but I have to try!”

Having never disappointed before, Bakambu executed a sudden backheel pass, sending the ball skimming past Stones toward the goal.

At that moment, a black-haired Villarreal player appeared in the ball’s path.

With City fans gasping in terror, Dai stretched out his leg and executed a toe-poke tackle, connecting crisply with the ball.

Caballero instinctively closed his legs, but the ball slipped beneath him and rolled into the net.

The Etihad Stadium fell into stunned silence, while the few Villarreal supporters erupted in joyous celebration, waving scarves and screaming hoarsely: “Gooooooooooooooooooooal!”

With Dai’s unexpected, incisive finish, Villarreal took the lead against Manchester City and secured a precious away goal for the Yellow Submarine.