Chapter 1 Chelsea Scores!

While Reus was still lamenting his missed opportunity, Chelsea seized the moment to launch a counterattack.

The football, punched out by Sun Pan, fell to Lampard's feet. Zhou Yi realized Chelsea was likely to initiate a swift counterattack, as Dortmund had just been on the offensive, and transitions were the most vulnerable moments.

So he rushed to intercept Lampard, aiming to stall him even if he couldn't win the ball, giving his teammates time to fall back.

However, Lampard anticipated this and didn't allow Zhou Yi to impede him, immediately passing the ball to Hazard ahead.

The football rolled past Zhou Yi's feet, moving too quickly for him to even attempt a tackle.

He could only watch helplessly as Hazard received the ball and surged forward through the middle.

Next, he bypassed Sven Bender and Hummels, tearing through Dortmund's defense, then distributed the ball to Schürrle on the right wing. Schürrle sent in a looping cross, delivering the ball into the penalty area, where Fernando Torres burst through the middle, executing a right-footed volley!

*Bang!*

The football, like a bullet, pierced through Weidenfeller and soared into the net behind him…

"Torres—!! Fernando Torres!!! Chelsea takes the lead against Dortmund!!" the British commentator exclaimed excitedly. "Mourinho's Chelsea has executed a classic Mourinho-style counterattack!!"

It was indeed a very, very classic Mourinho counterattack—from Sun Pan punching the ball out to Torres's volley goal, the entire process took only a dozen seconds, incredibly fast.

When Mourinho coached Real Madrid, this offensive strategy was brilliantly executed by the energetic and agile players in Real Madrid's midfield and forward lines. Now, having just returned to Chelsea, everyone was witnessing his signature rapid attack once again.

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"Damn, Chelsea scored!"

"Torres! My Torres! Truly a winner in life! He's also scored in the European Super Cup! Now he can be considered to have scored in the finals of all major cup competitions, right?"

"Grand Slam scorer Torres!"

"Unbelievable, Torres, who's been in poor form, actually scored…"

On the Chinese internet, Torres's goal also sparked heated discussions among fans.

Besides the fans who inherently supported Chelsea or Dortmund, most Chinese fans, like He Ping, were both happy and conflicted, unsure of whom to root for or support.

Now, seeing Chelsea score, in addition to teasing Torres's "winner in life" meme, most people expressed this complex and joyful emotion.

Some praised Sun Pan's save as crucial, while others worried about Zhou Yi.

Was it truly karma at play?

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"Ah… Torres!" Marcel Reif screamed as the football flew into the goal. "Dortmund's defense has been disrupted by Hazard's breakthrough. Just when everyone thought he was going to shoot, he passed the ball to Schürrle… In defense, Dortmund's players completely forgot about Torres!"

"This is simply terrible for Dortmund. Chelsea takes the lead after only seven minutes. And the goalkeeper guarding Chelsea's goal is Sun Pan! I believe they must be very familiar with him!"

In the Champions League quarter-final two-legged matches last season, Sun Pan's performance was practically "torture" for Dortmund. If it hadn't been for luck and Zhou Yi's world-class goal, they might have been stopped in the quarter-finals…

Where would the later glorious moments be?

But they couldn't always count on Zhou Yi's world-class goals, right? Considering Zhou Yi's long-distance travel before this game, it was hard to say whether his stamina would last until the final moments to score a decisive goal against Chelsea…

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Dortmund's players quickly remembered that the person standing in front of their goal was Sun Pan, the goalkeeper who had left them with a very deep and painful impression…

Thinking of this, falling behind by one goal seemed like an insurmountable barrier. Dortmund's morale inevitably declined.

Looking at Chelsea, Sun Pan was particularly happy because he could be considered the initiator of this attack—both the terminator of Dortmund's attack and the initiator of Chelsea's goal, embodying both savior and offensive orchestrator, making him feel incredibly satisfied. Nothing could be more spotlight-grabbing than this.

Zhou Yi had been the center of attention on the podium; now it was his, Sun Pan's, turn to shine on the field!

Excited, he performed a handstand somersault in front of the goal, trying to steal the spotlight even with a solo celebration…

This wasn't just him adding drama; the commentators also mentioned Sun Pan's contribution to this goal.

For example, Chinese commentator He Ping praised Sun Pan's performance, saying: "The key figure in Chelsea's goal is Sun Pan! He first saved Reus's one-on-one opportunity, and then the football he punched out fell to Lampard's feet, directly leading to this fast break… If he had punched the football out of bounds, although it would have also been a great save, it would have given Dortmund a corner kick. How could it compare to now, leading to Chelsea launching a counterattack and scoring?"

As a Chinese commentator, He Ping naturally had to support the Chinese players.

If his words weren't credible enough, then German commentator Marcel Reif's praise for Sun Pan should be convincing enough, right?

"Look at this save. I believe those who were questioning Chelsea's decision to keep Sun Pan and make Čech a substitute should seriously reconsider. I also believe that Čech, seeing such a save, would only applaud and cheer for Sun Pan, and have no other thoughts. Football is a competitive sport, and only competition can maintain the fighting power of a team. I think Chelsea fans should be happy that their team has two excellent goalkeepers, not the opposite…"

After Sun Pan made this save, the TV broadcast should have immediately shown a shot of Čech on the bench, but Chelsea immediately launched a fast break, and there was no time to replay Reus's one-on-one opportunity.

It wasn't until Chelsea scored that the TV broadcast showed a shot of Čech on the sidelines, celebrating the victory with his teammates, and it wasn't possible to tell what he thought of Sun Pan's save.

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Chelsea's players finished celebrating, and the game resumed.

Everyone knew that if Mourinho's team took the lead, the game would be difficult to play. As time passed, the situation would become unfavorable for Dortmund, and the morale of the Dortmund players, already affected, would further decline and dissipate…

To restore the morale of Dortmund's players, something had to be done to make them believe that falling behind by one goal was not an insurmountable obstacle.

At this time, someone who could boost morale was needed.

After the kickoff, Dortmund launched an attack while maintaining possession.

Mark didn't stay in the penalty area in front of the goal but pulled out to the wing to get the ball.

After receiving the ball, he chose to pass the football directly into the penalty area with a cross.

Originally, this should have been a very casual cross that would definitely not pose a threat to Chelsea's goal.

But when Zhou Yi suddenly appeared in the penalty area and jumped up to volley the incoming football, the situation was not what everyone expected…

"Zhou Yi—!"

As Marcel Reif screamed in a drawn-out voice, the football fell from above Reus's head. The Brazilian center-back didn't head the ball, but Zhou Yi, who jumped up behind him to volley, struck the football!

Near the penalty spot, Zhou Yi powerfully struck the football, sending it flying towards the goal like a cannonball!

Although Sun Pan made a saving motion, his movement seemed a bit slow in the face of Zhou Yi's sudden volley…

"Damn…"

Sun Pan cursed in his heart, knowing that he couldn't save this ball… Would they concede a goal right after scoring? Then all the previous glory would be gone!

But Zhou Yi's shot didn't hit the frame of the goal but flew out of bounds past the far post!

"It's wide! Aaaaah—!" Marcel Reif held his head in his hands and roared to the sky.

He felt extremely sorry that Zhou Yi's shot didn't go in.

Sun Pan, who had fallen to the ground, turned his head and saw that the football hadn't flown into the goal, secretly relieved. Although he was frightened, he still had to maintain composure. He flipped over and got up, shaking his finger at Zhou Yi, who was lying on the ground: "Don't think you can score a world-class goal against me!"

Zhou Yi was feeling frustrated that his shot didn't go in when he heard Sun Pan say this and grinned: "What are you saying, Panpan? To score against you, of course, it has to be a world-class goal!"

Sun Pan was taken aback and asked, "Are you praising me?"

"Of course, I'm praising you." Zhou Yi adjusted his sock, which had been twisted when he landed, and then extended his hands to Sun Pan.

This was a signal for Sun Pan to pull him up. Sun Pan understood, and Zhou Yi had just praised him, making him feel good, so he cooperatively reached out his hand and pulled Zhou Yi up.

After getting up, Zhou Yi patted Sun Pan on the back and said to him: "There's definitely an award in world football that only belongs to you. Even Hart can't compete with you…"

Sun Pan was confused by what he was saying, and his northeastern accent came out: "What are you talking about?"

"The annual Best Background Award! Doesn't a poem say, 'If the heavens had feelings, they would also age; seeing Panpan, take a shot'!" After saying this, Zhou Yi ran back, not giving Sun Pan a chance to catch him.

"Damn!!" Sure enough, he heard Sun Pan's angry roar from behind.

Luckily, he slipped away quickly…