Chapter 20

Without Yang Muge, Schalke 04 was held to a 1-1 draw at home by Mainz in the twentieth round of the league.

Borussia Mönchengladbach drew 0-0 with Wolfsburg away.

Bayern Munich also drew 1-1 with Hamburg away.

For a time, all three teams in the leading group drew.

Only Dortmund's upward momentum remained strong, as strong as a man's morning wood.

They defeated Nuremberg 2-0 away.

Dortmund now had forty-seven points, widening the gap with Bayern Munich, who had forty-one points, as did Schalke 04, while Borussia Mönchengladbach had forty points.

Although Zhou Yi had no assists in the game, he did score a goal.

His form was also strong.

He was substituted shortly after scoring.

Klopp didn't let him play the entire game because he was considering the upcoming German Cup match.

Three days later, Dortmund challenged Keel 1900 away.

As the name suggests, this is a team founded in 1900, with a long history, even older than Dortmund—Dortmund was founded in 1909.

But a long history does not necessarily mean good results.

The league this team is currently in is called the Oberliga Nord (Upper League North), or German Northern League.

The German league is divided into seven levels, with all leagues below the 3. Liga (Third League) being amateur leagues, and the Oberliga Nord is below the 3. Liga. In other words, the opponent Dortmund faced in the quarter-finals of the German Cup was an amateur team.

Nevertheless, Klopp did not dare to underestimate this team.

The fact that they were able to reach the top eight of the German Cup showed that they had strength. To appear before Dortmund, Keel 1900 had eliminated opponents stronger than them along the way.

In the first round, they defeated 2. Bundesliga's (Second League) second-place team, Energie Cottbus, 3-0. In the second round, they eliminated 2. Bundesliga's fourteenth-place team, MSV Duisburg, 2-0. In the third round, they eliminated Bundesliga's Mainz, 2-0!

In three German Cup matches, this amateur team scored seven goals and conceded none.

Such a performance could not but attract Klopp's attention.

Cup matches have always been a hotbed for upsets, and underestimating opponents can come at a painful price.

So, facing this cup opponent, Klopp did not send a second team to deal with it. Although he made some rotations, he still retained most of the starters.

Zhou Yi was naturally the core that could not be rotated.

And Zhou Yi proved in the game that he was indeed the guarantee of Dortmund's victory.

Facing the black horse Keel 1900, who had reversed many teams along the way, Dortmund took a two-goal lead in the first half.

Zhou Yi assisted one goal and scored one himself.

In the second half, Dortmund scored two more goals, and finally eliminated this dark horse with a score of 4-0.

Ending Keel 1900's journey in the German Cup.

And this was also Keel 1900's best result in the German Cup since the 2002-2003 season.

If they hadn't met Dortmund, who had learned their lesson after being capsized in the gutter, perhaps their black horse miracle could have gone one step further...

※※※

In the twenty-first round of the league, Bayern Munich defeated Kaiserslautern 2-0 at home. Dortmund defeated Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 at home.

The two teams at the bottom of the leading group had a direct confrontation, with Borussia Mönchengladbach hosting Schalke 04.

As a result, a goal and an assist from Reus helped Borussia Mönchengladbach completely defeat Schalke 04 3-0 at home.

Although Yang Muge worked hard in the game, he still couldn't save the team from defeat. Reus's dribbling breakthroughs on the wing were too sharp, and he couldn't do anything about it. Moreover, as a defensive midfielder, he couldn't always run to the wing to face Reus one-on-one.

The outcome of this game changed the rankings of third and fourth in the league.

Borussia Mönchengladbach, with forty-three points, surpassed Schalke 04, with forty-one points, to become third, while Schalke 04 fell down.

After reaching a transfer agreement with Dortmund in advance, Reus was in hot form, helping Borussia Mönchengladbach catch up. Now they are only one point behind Bayern Munich, who are second in the league.

And it should be noted that the knockout stage of the Champions League is about to begin.

Dortmund and Bayern Munich will definitely be distracted by the Champions League games, and their attention may not be so focused on the domestic league.

At that time, it will be Borussia Mönchengladbach's chance.

Seeing Reus's performance so outstanding, Borussia Mönchengladbach fans increasingly did not want Reus to leave. But there was no way, what's done is done, Reus would eventually return to the team he had supported since he was a child. Borussia Mönchengladbach was just a stop on his career journey...

The only thing they can look forward to now is perhaps Borussia Mönchengladbach, under the leadership of Reus, can finally reverse the situation against giants like Bayern Munich and Dortmund, and snatch the league championship from them, saying goodbye to Reus with a remarkable season.

This is not just wishful thinking by Borussia Mönchengladbach fans, they really feel that this is possible.

After all, the Champions League is next.

And among German teams, perhaps only Bayern Munich can maintain their form while fighting on two fronts.

Dortmund won the league championship last season, but their Champions League journey stopped in the quarter-finals. If they had continued to move forward in the Champions League at that time, it would be hard to say whether they would still be able to win the league championship in the end.

Also, look at Bayer Leverkusen, who also participated in the Champions League this season and reached the top sixteen. They are currently ranked sixth, a full ten points behind Schalke 04, who are fourth in the league. Maybe Bayer Leverkusen won't even have the qualification to participate in the Champions League next season.

※※※

The Champions League matches are indeed approaching.

Next week, two Bundesliga teams, Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen, will appear in the Champions League Round of 16.

So, in the twenty-first round of the league, Zhou Yi did not play the entire game, he was substituted in the seventy-second minute.

At that time, Dortmund was leading the opponent 1-0, which was a very risky substitution. Because after Zhou Yi left the field, Dortmund's midfield control would decrease, and a one-goal lead was too uncertain. Maybe the three points Dortmund had in hand would fly away.

However, Klopp still substituted Zhou Yi, because the upcoming Champions League was equally important, and he wanted Zhou Yi to get the most rest.

Fortunately, Dortmund withstood the opponent's offensive, and finally won the game with a score of 1-0, and finally was not caught up by Bayern Munich.

This time in the Champions League Round of 16, Dortmund drew their old opponent again, AC Milan, whom they met in the Round of 16 last season.

At that time, there was a burst of laughter at the scene when the draw results came out.

They felt that this was too coincidental. Dortmund and AC Milan had met again. Did UEFA want to create a brand new pair of rivals?

After the draw results came out, *La Gazzetta dello Sport* couldn't wait to shout out the slogan "Revenge".

AC Milan did have the confidence.

Last season, after being eliminated from the Champions League by Dortmund, AC Milan won the league championship with a large advantage, ending Inter Milan's previous five consecutive league titles. They eventually won the championship with as many as six points ahead of Inter Milan, who were second.

Their performance this season is also good.

After twenty-three rounds of Serie A, they have fourteen wins, five draws and four losses, accumulating forty-seven points. They lead Juventus, who have the same points, with an advantage of five net goals, ranking first in the league.

After buying out Zlatan Ibrahimović from Barcelona, AC Milan, which had been in decline for several seasons, seemed to be ushering in a rise.

After achieving excellent results and being in excellent form, and then meeting Dortmund, the enemy who eliminated them from the Champions League last season, they were naturally extremely jealous, and this revenge had to be taken.

AC Milan is in good form this season, and Klopp did not dare to take it lightly. For this reason, he would rather give up a league game to give Zhou Yi time to rest.

Fortunately, Dortmund finally won the league game.

They can now deal with AC Milan wholeheartedly.

Although AC Milan shouted out the slogan of revenge, Klopp still hoped to add another "new hatred" to the "old hatred" between the two teams.

If AC Milan resents them for being eliminated from the Champions League by Dortmund once, then let them resent them once more.

Anyway, their resentment won't make Klopp lose an ounce of flesh...