AC Milan players' impatience was not only reflected in the simplicity of their attacking methods, but also in their hasty defending.

In the sixty-sixth minute, AC Milan's center-back Yepes committed a foul on Mark while defending and received a yellow card.

As a center-back, carrying a yellow card is very dangerous.

In attack, AC Milan pressed higher and higher up the pitch. Sometimes, even after losing possession, they were unwilling to retreat, preferring to swarm and press in the opponent's half, hoping to win the ball back and launch a counterattack.

If their swarming had actually put Dortmund under pressure, that would have been one thing. But such swarming requires a high degree of tactical discipline; it's not simply a matter of rushing forward en masse.

Especially against Dortmund, whose passing was quick and accurate, AC Milan's swarming only exposed more gaps in their defense...

In the seventieth minute, Dortmund, patiently waiting, finally got the opportunity they wanted.

While AC Milan players were swarming in the attacking third, Dortmund, under the direction of Zhou Yi, passed the ball around, drawing AC Milan's players forward bit by bit, higher and higher up the pitch.

Then the ball was passed to Zhou Yi's feet.

This time, Zhou Yi didn't pass the ball back or sideways.

Instead, he suddenly launched a long forward pass!

This long pass accurately found Götze, who controlled the ball and sent it into the middle.

Mark, who was originally in the center, should have received the ball, but as it rolled towards him, he suddenly spread his legs, letting the ball pass through!

This was completely unexpected by Yepes, who lunged but missed!

The ball that had been let through fell to the feet of Kagawa Shinji.

The Japanese international then dribbled the ball into the penalty area and, before Nesta could close him down, shot directly!

"Kagawa Shinji!!" Marcel Reif shouted excitedly.

In the midst of his shout, the ball rolled past Nesta's feet and the fingertips of goalkeeper Abbiati, and then... rolled into the goal!

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"Goal!!!" He Ping shouted. "Dortmund scores! Dortmund scores! They take a 1-0 lead over AC Milan away from home, and they have a precious away goal!"

"This is a goal worth a thousand pieces of gold!" Marcel Reif also happily added. "Taking the lead in the seventieth minute not only gives them an away goal, but also a very good chance of winning this game!"

Dortmund's players ran towards Kagawa Shinji, who had scored, to celebrate the goal. Zhou Yi was halfway there when Sven Bender grabbed him, and the two ran towards Kagawa Shinji together.

Although this goal wasn't assisted by Zhou Yi, it was initiated by him. And before that long pass, Dortmund had gone through a series of passes in their own half, all controlled by Zhou Yi.

Facing AC Milan's aggressive pressing, Zhou Yi's calm and precise distribution ensured that Dortmund didn't lose possession in their own half...

So Zhou Yi deserves a lot of credit for this goal.

Perhaps ordinary fans are focused on Kagawa Shinji, who scored the goal. But everyone within Dortmund is well aware that Zhou Yi is the core of this team, he is the most indispensable.

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While Dortmund's players and coaches were excitedly celebrating the goal, AC Milan's players were stunned.

They had attacked fiercely for so long without scoring, and Dortmund had scored on a single counterattack.

This was… unfair, wasn’t it?

The TV broadcast focused on AC Milan's coach Allegri, and AC Milan's vice president Galliani, and... Pirlo, who was watching the game from a box.

These three shots told a small story.

Pirlo has been absent from the game since his injury in January. He is the brain and core of AC Milan. However, this core is now facing the prospect of being abandoned by AC Milan.

The media reported Allegri's dissatisfaction with Pirlo, and also reported the club's support for Allegri, so Pirlo's departure seems inevitable.

Having played for AC Milan for more than ten years, it is a pity that Pirlo will ultimately not be able to retire at AC Milan.

Some media reports suggest that Allegri believes Pirlo is too old and lacks muscle and toughness in midfield, so the club chose to renew Ambrosini's contract. Similarly, Gattuso, another veteran, was also retained, but the club chose to give up on Pirlo.

But now, looking at the goal that Zhou Yi led Dortmund to score, one cannot help but think of Pirlo watching the game in the stands.

Pirlo may be old, but his style of play is less affected by age. If AC Milan had such a brain, how could they have failed to score after seventy minutes of relentless attack?

If they could have scored earlier, how could Dortmund have succeeded with this counterattack at this time?

Look at the midfield that AC Milan fielded in this game.

Gattuso, Flamini, Robinho, and Seedorf, is there a single true attacking organizer among them?

Pirlo's value is not in his muscles, but in his brain.

This is also true of Zhou Yi.

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After the game restarted, AC Milan launched a fierce attack on Dortmund's goal.

They hoped to break down Dortmund's goal.

But lacking Pirlo, their attacking ideas were somewhat chaotic. Some wanted to cross from the flanks, others wanted to attack strongly through the middle. And without an attacking organizer, they could only pass the ball to Ibrahimović, letting the Swedish god use his individual ability to score.

Unfortunately, the Swedish god's performance in this game was also not satisfactory.

In fact, there has always been a saying about Ibrahimović, that his performance in the Champions League is far inferior to his performance in the league. Or to put it more precisely, Ibrahimović's performance in the Champions League knockout stage is not as good as his performance in the Champions League group stage.

This is actually somewhat impression-based, but it must be said that this statement is still very accurate.

Ibrahimović's performance in the Champions League knockout stage is indeed poor, and he is considered a "softie," only able to bully weaker opponents in the Champions League group stage. When he reaches the Champions League knockout stage, where the intensity is greater and the opponents pay more attention to defense, he is no longer magical.

As for why Ibrahimović has such a performance, there are many explanations, ranging from personal character to Ibrahimović's technical and tactical abilities, as well as the playing style of the team he is in.

We won't go into detail here, but this phenomenon does exist.

AC Milan, playing at home, needed someone to stand up, to equalize the score for the team, or even to achieve ultimate victory.

Everyone focused their attention on Ibrahimović, but the Swede, who had been cutting down opponents like vegetables in the league, disappointed his supporters.

Until the end of the game, Ibrahimović was unable to break through Dortmund's goal. When the referee blew the whistle to end the game, the score was fixed at 0:1.

The home team AC Milan lost to Dortmund by a single goal!

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"The game is over! 1:0! Dortmund wins! They got an away goal, but they won a victory! It's just too perfect!" Marcel Reif was very happy.

He is not a Dortmund supporter, but in the Champions League, he is a supporter of all Bundesliga teams. He hopes that Bundesliga teams can achieve good results. This way, the Bundesliga will have one more spot in the Champions League, instead of only the top two in the league being able to directly enter the main competition, and the third-place team having to participate in the qualifiers.

If Bundesliga teams perform well in the Champions League, then in the future the Bundesliga will have four Champions League spots, with the top three in the league directly entering the main competition, and the fourth-place team going to the qualifiers, just like the Premier League.

Dortmund's players on the field were also very excited.

Facing a Champions League powerhouse, after more than ten years of not participating in the Champions League knockout stage, they finally defeated AC Milan away from home. This result is enough to make them excited. After returning to their home stadium for the second leg, as long as they can draw, they can advance to the quarterfinals.

Now it can even be said that half of Dortmund's body has already squeezed into the Champions League quarterfinals...

However, Klopp was still very calm. In a post-match interview, he said that Dortmund only had a one-goal lead on aggregate, which was not a safe score. He repeatedly stressed that AC Milan has a wealth of experience, and Dortmund must not be careless in the second leg at home.

Allegri also said at the post-match press conference that he would not give up after losing by one goal. There is still a second leg to the game, and even if the second leg is an away game, he and the team will go all out. Now is not the time to say give up.

A one-goal lead is really a very subtle score.

It won't make the leader lose their vigilance, nor will it make the loser lose hope.

So the second leg of the game still has suspense, which is probably the best result for the TV broadcasters...