Chapter 105 Counterattack

As the game restarted, Borussia Dortmund, buoyed by their recent goal, launched a fierce offensive toward Real Madrid's goal. They hoped to score another goal quickly while Real Madrid was still reeling from conceding. While a draw away from home was acceptable, few would refuse a better outcome if a win was within reach.

But Real Madrid was no pushover.

Faced with Borussia Dortmund's attack, they didn't engage in a midfield battle. Instead, they retreated into their own half.

Playing a counterattacking game!

Zhou Yi quickly recognized Real Madrid's plan, but the team's morale was too high, and he couldn't single-handedly bring everyone to their senses.

Besides, he wanted to take a gamble, hoping to score another goal while they had the momentum, making Dortmund even safer. Even if Real Madrid equalized or even defeated them in the end, Dortmund would have much more confidence returning to their home stadium with two away goals in hand.

Unfortunately, three minutes of relentless bombardment failed to produce another goal for Borussia Dortmund. Instead, as the intense offensive neared its end, Real Madrid capitalized on a classic fast break and scored!

"Di Maria!!!" The Spanish commentator was ecstatic, and a deafening cheer erupted from the stands of the Bernabéu.

"Just three minutes after conceding, Real Madrid takes the lead again! A classic fast break, a seamless and breathtaking display!"

Marcel Reif and He Ping were less enthusiastic, both sighing in unison at the sight of the goal.

"While Dortmund was besieging Real Madrid's goal, they apparently forgot that this Real Madrid team is very adept at counterattacks..."

"Dortmund should quickly tighten their defense now. 1:2 isn't the end of the world; it's a score that Dortmund should find completely acceptable. Maintaining this score until the end of the game, Dortmund still has a very good chance of advancing to the semifinals when they return to their home stadium!" He Ping was already thinking about Dortmund's next match.

※※※

After the game restarted, Borussia Dortmund did indeed tighten their defense.

But how could Real Madrid let them off so easily?

Zhou Yi's goal seemed to have angered this giant.

In the sixty-seventh and seventy-ninth minutes, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal scored twice, leading Real Madrid to a 4:1 victory over Borussia Dortmund on their home turf.

This score practically eliminated any suspense for the next leg of the quarterfinal.

So at the end of the game, He Ping didn't know how to comfort the Chinese fans who had stayed up all night to watch.

After a long while, when the TV broadcast focused on Zhou Yi, he finally said, "...Zhou Yi has done everything he could. He scored an away goal for Borussia Dortmund. If Dortmund still has a glimmer of hope to advance to the semifinals, then that glimmer of hope was brought by Zhou Yi... But unfortunately, football is a team sport. It's not something that one person can dominate. In terms of overall strength, Real Madrid is indeed stronger than Borussia Dortmund, there is no doubt..."

The Zhou Yi in the close-up was stopped by a Real Madrid player.

It was Özil.

They had crossed paths in the Bundesliga.

"It's a pity about the loss, Zhou Yi," Özil said to Zhou Yi, clutching his jersey. "Actually, you played very well."

"Thank you, Mesut." Zhou Yi also took off his jersey and exchanged it with Özil.

After receiving Zhou Yi's jersey, Özil added, "I know I'm being a bit nosy, but Zhou Yi, your performance at Borussia Dortmund has been perfect. If you want to achieve even greater things, you should leave Borussia Dortmund and go to those real giants... Of course, don't come to Real Madrid, or what will I do?"

Zhou Yi was amused by Özil's words, and he said with a smile, "Thank you for your kindness, Mesut. But I don't want to leave Borussia Dortmund just yet."

"Why? You know that team, Borussia Dortmund. To put it bluntly, they're a team lacking ambition. Due to economic reasons, they always have to rely on selling core players to balance their finances. That's why this team is always suppressed by Bayern Munich domestically..." Perhaps because they had played against each other in the Bundesliga, Özil was willing to say so much to Zhou Yi.

"But this season, we're the ones suppressing Bayern Munich, Mesut," Zhou Yi said.

Özil was speechless.

"Thank you again, Mesut. Not everyone is so sincere with others. Thank you for your advice, but I'm really not considering leaving right now, because I haven't won a championship with Borussia Dortmund yet." With that, Zhou Yi put on Özil's Real Madrid number twenty-three jersey, said goodbye to Özil, and turned to leave.

Özil watched Zhou Yi's back in his jersey, and for a moment, he vaguely felt that Zhou Yi was already a Real Madrid player. Because Zhou Yi's jersey number at Borussia Dortmund was also twenty-three...

Khedira came up to him: "What did you say to him?"

"I told him not to stay in Dortmund all the time."

"You want to find a competitor for yourself?"

"That's why I told him not to come to Real Madrid."

"Did he agree?"

"He said he's not considering leaving Borussia Dortmund right now because he hasn't won a championship with Borussia Dortmund yet."

"Too rigid..." Khedira frowned. "Neither you nor I won any championships with our previous teams. If the opportunity arises, can you really miss it for that reason?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, Borussia Dortmund will win the league title this season, Sami."

"Oh, right. Then... there will be a good show in the transfer market!" Khedira laughed.

With Zhou Yi's outstanding performance in the Champions League this season, he would certainly not lack suitors.

When those big clubs wave their checkbooks and launch a financial offensive towards Borussia Dortmund, could Zhou Yi and Borussia Dortmund still resist?

"But I don't want him to go to Barcelona, even though his style of play is quite compatible with Barcelona," Özil said.

"I don't want him to go either." On this issue, Khedira and Özil agreed.

Barcelona was already difficult enough to deal with as it was. In the first half of the season, they had won 5:0 against Real Madrid at home. If Zhou Yi was added, would there be any room for other competitors to survive?

※※※

Wearing Real Madrid's number twenty-three jersey, Zhou Yi was stopped by reporters in the mixed zone.

"Was Borussia Dortmund's defeat in this game related to your previous injury?" Chinese reporters asked.

"No, not at all." Zhou Yi shook his head.

"But the time between your injury and your recovery was too short. Surely it must have had some impact on your performance?"

"No impact at all." Zhou Yi continued to shake his head.

"This..." Everyone saw Zhou Yi's certainty and didn't know what to say.

"Our loss to Real Madrid has nothing to do with my previous injury. There's only one reason, and that's that we're not strong enough," Zhou Yi said.

With that, he turned and left the mixed zone.

※※※

The 1:4 defeat left Borussia Dortmund's players feeling depressed and frustrated. On the way back to Dortmund, everyone was silent.

Zhou Yi was also sleeping on the plane with an eye mask, not speaking.

But he was different from his disappointed teammates. He was searching for ways to win in the virtual space.

The score of 1:4 meant that Borussia Dortmund could eliminate their opponents by winning 3:0 at home, relying on away goals.

Zhou Yi didn't think it was impossible.

Back then, when Deportivo La Coruña faced the powerful defending champion AC Milan, they lost 1:4 in the first leg. Everyone thought AC Milan was 100% certain to advance.

But who would have thought that in the second leg, Deportivo La Coruña would actually win 3:0 at home, a complete victory over AC Milan!

They completed an incredible miracle.

Zhou Yi felt that if Deportivo La Coruña could do it, Borussia Dortmund could do it too.

※※※

On this night, the two teams in the Ruhr area experienced a world of difference. Borussia Dortmund lost 1:4 to Real Madrid away from home, while Schalke 04 defeated Inter Milan 5:2 after trailing twice.

This game basically sealed the fate of the defending champion.

Even if Inter Milan defeated Schalke 04 3:0 away from home in the second leg, tying the aggregate score, they would still be eliminated due to fewer away goals.

Back in Dortmund, Klopp denied the claim to reporters that he would give up on the Champions League: "We will fight to the last moment."

Therefore, he rotated his squad in the away game against Hamburg, putting more energy into the Champions League. He planned to fight to the death against Real Madrid at home.

As a result, Borussia Dortmund drew 1:1 with Hamburg away from home, while Bayer Leverkusen defeated St. Pauli 2:1 at home. The gap between the first and second place in the league narrowed from five points to three points, a one-game difference.

Borussia Dortmund was not very concerned about the draw in this game. At this time, they were only thinking about reversing the situation against Real Madrid at home. Their eyes were only on the Champions League game.

With their backs against the wall, Borussia Dortmund welcomed Real Madrid at home.

Before the game, the German media hyped up Real Madrid's record against German teams on the road, implying that Borussia Dortmund's chances of winning at home seemed to be very high.

After the game started, Borussia Dortmund also attacked desperately, hoping to score as soon as possible.

Faced with the aggressive Borussia Dortmund, Mourinho had his team play a counterattacking game. This was Real Madrid's favorite tactic.

Although Borussia Dortmund scored a goal in the thirty-eighth minute, with Zhou Yi assisting Mark, giving Borussia Dortmund fans a glimpse of hope.

But as the first half was about to end, Real Madrid equalized the score with a counterattack. This goal almost plunged Borussia Dortmund into the abyss. Not only did it negate Borussia Dortmund's original away goal advantage, but it also changed the score difference between the two sides back to three goals.

With forty-five minutes left in the game, it became very difficult for Borussia Dortmund to score three consecutive goals.

They had to know that their opponent was Mourinho's Real Madrid, and this coach was the best at parking the bus in front of his own goal...

Sure enough, after the two sides switched sides in the second half, Real Madrid tightened their defense and parked the bus in front of the goal, while Borussia Dortmund's relentless attacks failed to break through Real Madrid's bus formation.

Finally, when the referee blew the whistle to end the game, Borussia Dortmund was eliminated by Real Madrid with an aggregate score of 2:5, ending their first Champions League journey after seven years.

Zhou Yi was substituted off in the eighty-sixth minute of the game. At that time, there was very little time left in the game, and with three goals still needed, Klopp believed that Borussia Dortmund could no longer turn the tide. It was meaningless to keep Zhou Yi on the field, so he decided to consider the league. At this time, being realistic, with their elimination from the Champions League already a foregone conclusion, the league title should of course be firmly grasped...

So he replaced Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi's substitution also meant that Borussia Dortmund had given up on this game.

"It's time to say goodbye to Zhou Yi." He Ping said when Zhou Yi was substituted. He was responsible for commentating on the Champions League and La Liga. This season, he no longer had the opportunity to commentate on Zhou Yi's games, so he said this. "But it won't be long before we meet again in the Champions League next season!"

After Zhou Yi came off the field, he raised his hand and applauded the Borussia Dortmund fans in the stands to thank them.

And those Borussia Dortmund fans also stood up from their respective positions and applauded Zhou Yi to see him off, thanking Zhou Yi for everything he had contributed to the team. Although being eliminated was very sad, if it weren't for Zhou Yi, Borussia Dortmund probably wouldn't even have had the chance to be eliminated...

With his substitution, Zhou Yi's record in his first Champions League journey in his career was set at two goals and six assists, a very amazing and successful debut.

In this way, Borussia Dortmund's Champions League journey this season came to an end, and now they could free up their hands to concentrate on dealing with their opponents in the domestic league.

For Bayer Leverkusen, this was definitely not good news...