Chapter 1 A Beautiful Turnaround!

"Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi! A beautiful turnaround breakthrough!!" Marcel Reif raised his arms and shouted excitedly. In his opinion, Zhou Yi's turnaround was a stroke of genius, completely unexpected. It was this unexpected surprise that excited him.

Having broken through Yang Muge's defense, Zhou Yi dribbled the ball forward, facing the boos that filled the Veltins-Arena.

Because Yang Muge, who was supposed to be marking Zhou Yi, had been beaten, Schalke 04 had to urgently redeploy manpower from other areas for support. Draxler rushed from Zhou Yi's side and rear, rapidly approaching him.

At this moment, Zhou Yi, having passed Yang Muge, suddenly slowed down while dribbling, and looked up to observe, as if searching for a passing target.

This was an excellent opportunity for Draxler to steal the ball, so he accelerated from behind.

"Pass the ball early..." Duan Xin couldn't help but shout anxiously.

Draxler was coming from Zhou Yi's blind spot. Zhou Yi definitely couldn't see him. Slowing down to observe at this time was suicidal!

But just when everyone thought Draxler would poke the ball away from behind, Zhou Yi, seemingly unaware, suddenly used the toe of his right foot to gently poke the ball to the side. The ball veered away, and almost simultaneously, Draxler rushed past Zhou Yi and the ball like a high-speed train passing through a crossing...

He didn't touch the ball!

It was as if Zhou Yi had eyes in the back of his head. This poke perfectly avoided Draxler.

Next, he continued to dribble, swerving towards the center!

It looked like he was going to dribble past several players and then go straight for the opponent's goal!

The boos from the stands intensified, while Borussia Dortmund fans in front of their televisions collectively became excited. Zhou Yi had never scored a goal by single-handedly breaking through the defense like this before. Were they about to witness a historic moment?!

Zhou Yi's successive dribbling past Yang Muge and Draxler also made Schalke 04's players very nervous, so their defense changed with Zhou Yi's breakthrough.

These changes were clearly displayed in Zhou Yi's mind. This was exactly the change he wanted. He was like a magnet, attracting as many defensive forces as possible, so naturally there would be openings in other areas.

Schalke 04's defense remained calm. Although they reacted to Zhou Yi's breakthrough, those Schalke 04 players who originally had marking assignments did not leave their positions. So if Zhou Yi wanted to take advantage of the chaos to pass the ball to Lewandowski, Kagawa Shinji, and Götze, it would be difficult for him to find an opportunity.

But Zhou Yi didn't plan to pass the ball to them. His target was someone else.

While Zhou Yi was continuously breaking through, Kehl was also moving forward. Now he had run into position, everything was ready, only lacking... a pass!

At this moment, Zhou Yi, who had been aggressively dribbling towards Schalke 04's penalty area, suddenly used the outside of his left foot to flick the ball away. The ball rolled quickly along the grass towards the open space on the left side!

There, Kehl had just arrived. He lifted his foot and stopped the ball in front of him, then took the opportunity to cut inside!

"Kehl! It's Kehl!" Marcel Reif exclaimed.

Everyone's attention had been focused on Zhou Yi, who was dribbling the ball. His performance in getting past two players was too dazzling, so no one noticed Kehl's forward run until Kehl got the ball in this area. Then they realized that the Borussia Dortmund captain was only one step away from the penalty area!

At this time, it was too late for Schalke 04's players to go over and defend. After Kehl broke into the penalty area, he was like he was in no man’s land. With no one marking him, he shot!

Even though Kehl was a defensive midfielder, it didn't mean he didn't have the ability to shoot and score.

The ball was kicked by Kehl towards the goal. Schalke 04's goalkeeper Unnerstall tried his best to save it, but didn't touch the ball.

This powerful shot was like a cannonball, only stopping when it hit the back of the net...

"Goooooooooooooooooooal!! Kehl! Kehl! Sebastian Kehl!!" Marcel Reif shouted, raising his arms. "This is the Borussia Dortmund captain's first league goal of the season! And this goal is very likely to determine the outcome of this season's league title!"

Kehl was also very excited after scoring. He excitedly ran towards the corner flag area to celebrate the goal. Plagued by injuries this season, he hasn't had many opportunities to play. In addition, there are many candidates for the defensive midfielder position in the team, so his playing time has been greatly reduced. Although he is still the captain of Borussia Dortmund, his role in the locker room is actually greater than on the field.

Although Kehl also knew that this was metabolism, a natural law, no matter how sensible he was, he still hoped that he could contribute to the team on the field, after all, he was a player.

He was ordered to play in this game on short notice. When he came on as a substitute, he thought it would be good enough if he could do a good job of defending in midfield. He didn't expect to have the opportunity to score a goal, and such a crucial one, which really made him pleasantly surprised!

In his excitement, Kehl found Zhou Yi among the teammates who came to celebrate his goal. He hugged Zhou Yi tightly to thank him for his assist and suggestion.

Zhou Yi said with a smile: "I'm only responsible for providing suggestions and passes, but it was you who finally shot the ball into the goal, Captain. This is not my credit, it's yours."

Kehl patted Zhou Yi's head and smiled happily.

※※※

"Hey, an assist after dribbling past two people, when did Zhou Yi become Messi?" Sun Pan exclaimed in the group.

"It's Iniesta," He Ying corrected. In Barcelona, the person who can dribble and make wonderful assists is "Little White" Iniesta, while Messi focuses more on scoring.

"Hey, don't you think Zhou Yi has been dribbling more on the field recently?" Guo Nu's words made the other two fall into deep thought.

Thinking carefully, Zhou Yi has indeed changed. In the past, after getting the ball in midfield, the thing he did most was passing, followed by controlling the ball and stopping it. But dribbling? It was really rare. Everyone knew that he was not good at dribbling. After all, they had been teammates with him for so long in the reality show, training and playing together. Weren't they clear about Zhou Yi's technical characteristics?

But since coming to Europe, Zhou Yi's changes have really been different every year, and they can see his progress every season.

At first, he could only make short passes, then he learned long passes. At first, he could barely last seventy minutes of a game, but now he can play the full ninety minutes in most games. He might be a little exhausted at the end of an intense ninety-minute game, but it's much better than at the beginning.

And now, he can actually dribble freely on the field!

So what surprises will he bring next?

"Is he going to fly to the sky?" Sun Pan said.

※※※

Kehl's goal gave Borussia Dortmund the lead in the sixty-third minute. The goal came from Yang Muge being shaken off by Zhou Yi, but no one blamed Yang Muge for his poor defense. It could only be said that Zhou Yi was more skilled.

After cheering for Borussia Dortmund and Zhou Yi, Duan Xin began to worry that Yang Muge would be affected by the goal. In this game, Duan Xin finally achieved true objectivity and impartiality because Borussia Dortmund had Zhou Yi and Schalke 04 had Yang Muge. It was not good to favor either side.

But his worry about Yang Muge was actually unnecessary.

After the game restarted, Yang Muge followed Zhou Yi as always, acting as his "shadow," and would not be shaken or doubtful because Zhou Yi had just assisted Kehl's goal.

So after the score changed, Zhou Yi's own situation did not change positively. Yang Muge's marking of him was very good most of the time.

But because they were already leading by one goal, Zhou Yi was not in a hurry to pass the ball forward. He would pass forward if he had the opportunity, and pass back or sideways if he didn't, frequently passing the ball in the backcourt.

Schalke 04 seemed very anxious. This was their home game. In the first half of the season, they lost to Borussia Dortmund in the away Ruhr derby, which was forgivable. But if they lost to Borussia Dortmund at home, many people would not accept it. Moreover, before the game, many people were confident that they would never let Borussia Dortmund celebrate the championship at their home. If they lost the game in the end, wouldn't they lose face?

Schalke 04 made frequent adjustments, replacing Moritz with the offensively talented midfielder Holtby, and then replacing Jones with striker Pukki. Then, in the eightieth minute, Stevens used his last substitution, replacing defender Uchida Atsuto with striker Marica.

Including the three forwards who started the game, Schalke 04 now had as many as five forwards on the field!

But no matter how he changed, he did not replace Yang Muge. It stands to reason that he was more or less related to the two goals conceded in this game. But Yang Muge's position was very stable, which shows Stevens' trust and support for him.

With ten minutes left in the game, Schalke 04 had six offensive players in the frontcourt, but only Yang Muge as a defensive player. Stevens was also going all out. Yang Muge's task on the field was still to contain Zhou Yi. While Schalke 04 was launching an all-out attack on Borussia Dortmund's goal, Yang Muge was responsible for preventing Borussia Dortmund from launching a quick counterattack. If Schalke 04 could tie the score in this game, even if Yang Muge didn't score or assist, he would still be credited.

But unfortunately, Schalke 04's all-out attack was more like a last-ditch effort...

Zhou Yi led Borussia Dortmund in playing possession football, using passing to replace defense. They re-launched the magic weapon that eliminated Barcelona.

In this case, it was almost impossible for Schalke 04 to score.

Marcel Reif was also more optimistic that Borussia Dortmund would win the second Ruhr derby of the season, although the game was not over yet.

Every Borussia Dortmund supporter was happy to win the Ruhr derby again, but Klopp couldn't be truly happy because he had his own worries in his heart.

In fact, he hoped to lead Schalke 04 by two goals so that he could substitute Zhou Yi with more than ten minutes left in the game, let him leave the field early, and get enough rest, because three days later, they would have to go to the away game to challenge Chelsea.

But Yang Muge's defense against Zhou Yi was too tight. After Borussia Dortmund scored the second goal, they couldn't take advantage of the situation to score another goal. They had been dragging it until now, still only leading by one goal, which was too dangerous. If Zhou Yi was substituted, it would not only weaken the team's ability to move forward, but also seriously affect the team's defense. Because Borussia Dortmund's current set of defensive tactics is centered on Zhou Yi. If he leaves the field, the smooth and coherent passing will not be possible.

So he had to bite the bullet and keep Zhou Yi on the field.

But when he thought of Zhou Yi's physical condition after continuous fighting during this period, Klopp felt a faint worry in his heart...

He only hoped that this game would end soon and that the stoppage time would be shorter.

Unfortunately, this is the Ruhr derby, which is related to honor. There will always be many fouls in the game that cause the game time to stop. These stoppages will be counted in the stoppage time.

So in the eighty-ninth minute, the fourth official raised the stoppage time sign on the sidelines, which clearly showed the Arabic numeral five - five minutes of stoppage time!

Klopp rolled his eyes.

Fortunately, there were no more problems in these five minutes of stoppage time. When the referee blew the whistle to end the game, Klopp breathed a sigh of relief and celebrated the victory with assistant coach Buvac.