Chapter 243 A Stunning Reversal!

Not long after Schieber scored, the referee blew the whistle for the end of the first half.

The Hoffenheim players looked "relieved" as they walked off the field.

The Borussia Dortmund players, on the other hand, clearly didn't want the first half to end. They were unwilling to be interrupted just when they were getting into their stride.

But what could they do?

The rules were the rules, and they had to be obeyed.

The broadcast cameras cut to the Borussia Dortmund coaching bench, where Klopp was looking equally grim, his brow furrowed.

This matched everyone's assessment of the situation – although Borussia Dortmund had pulled a goal back, the fact that the first half ended immediately after the goal, with a fifteen-minute halftime break, was not a good thing for Borussia Dortmund. This halftime break was equivalent to saving Hoffenheim's life.

"...If Borussia Dortmund could have scored ten minutes earlier, they might have equalized before halftime..." Duan Xin said regretfully. "Now..."

He also felt that the way things were developing was unfavorable for Borussia Dortmund.

In the Hoffenheim locker room, head coach Gisdol was sternly telling his players: "You should be ashamed of your performance in the second half of the first half! You were two goals ahead and you still let Borussia Dortmund pull one back, and we were almost equalized if the referee hadn't blown the halftime whistle in time!"

Just as Gisdol had expected when they conceded the goal, the Hoffenheim players were all very well-behaved, hanging their heads and taking the scolding.

He believed that after this warning from conceding a goal, his words would be firmly remembered by the players, and they wouldn't play so badly in the second half.

Truly, a loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Meanwhile, in the Borussia Dortmund locker room, Klopp was encouraging his players: "You did well, just a little unlucky, so we didn't score until the end of the first half. But so what... Does that mean we can't win the game? Who are we? We are the defending league champions! We've won the league title for the past three seasons in a row. With our strength, even if it's a bit difficult, can't we deal with Hoffenheim? Hoffenheim is not a very strong opponent, I'm confident we can beat them, don't you have confidence?"

Klopp's words made the Borussia Dortmund players puff out their chests. Yes, they were the defending champions, champions for three consecutive seasons, why should they be afraid of a mere Hoffenheim?

They had never taken opponents like Hoffenheim seriously before. In the league, they only had one opponent, and that was Bayern Munich.

This season, although they were currently third in the league, their eyes were always on Bayern Munich. They didn't even give Leverkusen a second glance.

So why should they bow their heads in front of Hoffenheim?

"In the second half, we'll continue to attack fiercely. Maybe Hoffenheim has forgotten who we are, so let's remind them, remind them of the fear of being dominated by us in the league!"

Klopp spoke passionately, successfully arousing the players' fighting spirit and confidence. The frustration and depression of the first half ending just after scoring a goal was swept away.

※※※

When the second half began, both sides looked full of fighting spirit, energetic and ready to defeat their opponents.

Klopp didn't make any substitutions, he trusted his players, even the substitutes.

This surprised many experts – during the halftime break, the experts reviewed the first half and predicted the second half, and all believed that Klopp should make substitutions, bringing on players like Marco Reus. After all, Borussia Dortmund's bench depth wasn't strong enough this season, and it wasn't realistic to expect the second team to win the game.

But Klopp didn't make any substitutions, sticking with the rotation lineup.

This led many experts to believe that Borussia Dortmund had decided to temporarily give up on the league to conserve energy for the Club World Cup.

But not long after the second half started, the experts realized something was wrong – Borussia Dortmund's attack was very fierce, just like before the end of the first half. Their momentum didn't seem to have been interrupted by the halftime break.

On the other side, although Hoffenheim also showed signs of wanting to attack, they had only exchanged a few blows with Borussia Dortmund before Borussia Dortmund almost sent the ball into their goal – when the two sides went head-to-head, the difference in strength between Borussia Dortmund and Hoffenheim became apparent.

The Hoffenheim players were so frightened that they quickly retreated to defend. The defenders didn't dare to press forward to participate in the attack, for fear of being hit by a Borussia Dortmund counterattack and conceding a goal...

Head coach Gisdol didn't ask the players to attack at this time either. He also chose to shrink back and defend, hoping to hold on to their one-goal lead.

The result was that they were pinned down by Borussia Dortmund, and the scene returned to the period before and after Borussia Dortmund scored in the first half.

People had been worried that Borussia Dortmund's good form would be interrupted by the first half ending just after scoring, giving Hoffenheim a chance to breathe, but now it seemed that they had been overthinking...

The continuous bombardment paid off in the sixty-seventh minute.

In the sixty-seventh minute, two consecutive shots by Borussia Dortmund resulted in a corner kick.

The corner kick was taken, and defender Piszczek got a head on the ball in the penalty area, heading it into the goal!

"Piszczek!!!" Marcel Reif exclaimed. "He's equalized for Borussia Dortmund! Borussia Dortmund have tenaciously equalized after being two goals down! There's still time, they still have a chance to take the lead!"

"Piszczek's goal is very important! After equalizing, Hoffenheim, who are playing at home, can no longer continue to shrink back and defend. They have to press forward and attack. And at that time, the situation will obviously be more favorable for Borussia Dortmund!" Duan Xin was also very happy.

※※※

Just as the commentators said, after equalizing, the situation on the field changed dramatically. Hoffenheim couldn't continue to defend, they had to attack, but they were forced to attack, so the players' performance was naturally not as good as Borussia Dortmund's proactive and aggressive attack.

Moreover, there was a world of difference in the morale of the two sides. The Borussia Dortmund players, who had just equalized, were in high spirits, while Hoffenheim's morale was low.

In this situation, the initiative of the game had completely fallen into the hands of Borussia Dortmund.

Next, it was time for Borussia Dortmund to perform.

Zhou Yi had become the focus of everyone's attention during this period of offensive frenzy. Because his performance was directly related to whether Borussia Dortmund could win the game.

Zhou Yi continued to run tirelessly, appearing in every place where he was needed, constantly receiving the ball, passing the ball, and handling the ball, also guiding Borussia Dortmund's attack.

Under his command, Borussia Dortmund constantly threatened Hoffenheim's goal.

The Hoffenheim fans in the stands watched in alarm, constantly praying in their hearts for their team, hoping that God would bless their team not to lose – yes, now they no longer expected their team to defeat Borussia Dortmund, as long as they didn't lose, they would be satisfied with a draw.

"...At this time, Hoffenheim may have realized that they were facing the league champions and Champions League champions of last season, Borussia Dortmund. This is a lion that can't be killed. Last season, Borussia Dortmund repeatedly showed their tenacity and magic in winning games at the last moment. If Hoffenheim had realized this earlier, perhaps they wouldn't have fallen into a state of self-relaxation after taking a two-goal lead, and eventually been seized the opportunity to turn the tables by Borussia Dortmund..." Marcel Reif said. "At this time, the most regretful may not be Hoffenheim themselves, but Bayern Munich, right? If Hoffenheim could defeat Borussia Dortmund 2:0 at home, although the season is not yet halfway, it can already be said that Bayern Munich's league title is basically stable... As for now, they can only hope that Hoffenheim can force Borussia Dortmund to a draw at home, letting Borussia Dortmund take one point is better than letting Borussia Dortmund take three points, right?"

Just as Marcel Reif finished speaking, he saw Yan Min suddenly dribble the ball inside on the wing, breaking through. He was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples and triggering a chain reaction – all the other Hoffenheim defenders rushed towards him, and the few remaining Hoffenheim defenders also kept a close eye on forwards like Schieber.

At this time, Yan Min didn't choose to continue to break through, nor did he choose to cross to Schieber. He made a sudden stop, and then used his left foot to knock the ball back, making a backward pass!

The ball was passed to the outside of the penalty area. He had worked so hard to break into the penalty area, but it was only to pass the ball out of the penalty area, because his breakthrough had compressed Hoffenheim's defense into the penalty area, and a gap had formed in front of the penalty area!

Zhou Yi, who was outside the penalty area, facing the ball passed by Yan Min, swung his right leg and shot directly without stopping the ball!

He spun the ball into an arc, bypassing the dense crowd in the penalty area, and then flew straight into the upper right corner of the goal!

Hoffenheim's goalkeeper Grahl's vision was blocked by the people in the penalty area. When he saw the ball flying over, it was too late to save it. He had just taken off, and the ball had already crossed the goal line and entered the goal!

"Zhou Yi – oh oh oh oh oh! Borussia Dortmund's key man once again shows his power! From being two goals down to leading by one goal, Zhou Yi has helped Borussia Dortmund complete an amazing comeback!!"

When the ball flew into the goal, people seemed to hear the sound of Bayern Munich fans' hearts breaking...

Yes, at this time, the most sad and disappointed were not even the Hoffenheim fans, but them.