Chapter 1 After the Equalizer

After the game resumed, the situation on the field changed as the commentators had said.

Favre made an immediate adjustment, replacing forward Kruse with midfielder Marx.

This was to strengthen the defense.

Subsequently, all Borussia Mönchengladbach players returned to their own half to participate in the defense, with the vast majority concentrated in the area within thirty meters of the penalty box.

Borussia Dortmund, on the other hand, launched a full-scale counterattack.

For a time, the game almost became a "half-court offense and defense" situation—Borussia Dortmund pressed Borussia Mönchengladbach, who couldn't even cross the halfway line.

And the situation that the commentators were worried about also appeared. Faced with Borussia Mönchengladbach's dense defense, Borussia Dortmund didn't have a very good way to break through. Either it was a cross from the wing and a header in the middle, or a long shot from outside the box.

But the first approach required a very good center forward in the middle. This center forward not only had to be able to get to the ball, but also had to have excellent physical qualities, be strong enough, tall enough, and have good jumping ability. Unfortunately, neither Aubameyang nor Mark were such players. Once Borussia Mönchengladbach retreated into the penalty area, filling the goalmouth with people, it was basically difficult for Mark's small frame to gain an advantage. Aubameyang was a speed-type forward and was not suitable for being a target man. The lack of a real center forward was a problem that Borussia Dortmund had been facing since Lewandowski left. It showed Borussia Dortmund's shortcomings when they needed to attack.

The second approach was a long shot, but long shots had never been a high-success offensive method. Many times, scoring a goal depended on luck.

But apart from these two methods, Borussia Dortmund had no better way.

Even with Zhou Yi, there was no space in the penalty area, so he couldn't pass the ball in.

Yan Min also tried to break through, but the penalty area was full of people. How could it be so easy to break through?

In the seventy-fourth minute, he took the ball and broke through, falling in the penalty area, which also caused a burst of boos from the stands—Borussia Dortmund fans believed that this should have been a penalty, but the referee showed no reaction, and Borussia Mönchengladbach players even came up to angrily denounce Yan Min for diving.

Of course, from the slow-motion replay, Yan Min did have the suspicion of diving. At the very least, his falling action was too exaggerated…

There was nothing to say about this. What it was, it was. Yan Min probably wanted to create a scoring opportunity for the team too much. He was lucky that he wasn't penalized with a yellow card for this dive…

※※※

Continuous bombardment gave Borussia Dortmund a corner kick in the seventy-seventh minute.

To defend this corner kick, Borussia Mönchengladbach was naturally on high alert, with their people everywhere in the penalty area, almost impenetrable.

Reus was on the field in today's game, so Zhou Yi did not take the corner kick.

Of course, he didn't rush directly into the penalty area either. Looking at the dense crowd in the penalty area, Zhou Yi knew that he wouldn't get anything good if he went up.

So he chose to retreat outside the penalty area, waiting for the opportunity to get the second ball.

Zhou Yi always had a natural sense of keenness in judging the situation.

When the referee blew the whistle, the corner kick was taken by Reus, who kicked the ball towards the goalmouth, wanting to find Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Hummels, these two high points.

But Borussia Mönchengladbach's defenders were not fools, how could they not strictly guard these two people? Around Hummels and Papastathopoulos were Borussia Mönchengladbach players. After Reus kicked this ball, it was naturally headed out by Borussia Mönchengladbach players.

While the ball was still flying in the air, Zhou Yi found the second landing point and ran up to meet it.

When the ball was headed out, Zhou Yi just happened to arrive at the second landing point. He timed it very well. He raised his right leg to meet the ball and took a direct shot without stopping it!

"Zhou Yi—!"

*Bang!*

The ball rushed towards the dense crowd in the penalty area, as if it wanted to penetrate the thick clouds with sunlight.

In the crowd, Borussia Mönchengladbach player Herrmann raised his hands behind his back, wanting to use his body to block the ball.

He did touch the ball, but not with the front of his body, but with the side of his knee.

The ball bounced off the outside of his knee, changing direction slightly and flying straight into the lower left corner of the goal!

Faced with this deflected ball, even if "Little Lion King" Ter Stegen was more valiant, he would be powerless…

His body was stiff, and he could only watch helplessly as the ball flew into the goal he was guarding…

"Zhou Yi! Good shot! 2:2! Borussia Dortmund has pulled it back! Now the two sides are back to the same starting line!"

"Seventy-seventh minute, Borussia Dortmund finally equalized the score, but there is not much time left for them! They must score another goal in the remaining ten minutes! Is it possible?"

※※※

After Zhou Yi scored, he first wanted to rush to the goal to retrieve the ball, but someone moved faster than him. The closest to the goal was Hummels. He rushed into the goal, picked up the ball, and turned to run out.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi didn't run into the goal either, and turned around and ran back to his own half.

"Zhou Yi scored twice in this game! Almost single-handedly saved Borussia Dortmund…" The TV screen was playing Zhou Yi's goal just now, and Duan Xin was not very sure, "But does this goal count as Zhou Yi's, or Herrmann's own goal?"

Soon, the TV broadcast showed the result of this goal—under Zhou Yi's name!

"It's Zhou Yi's goal! In this way, Zhou Yi's goal count this season has reached thirteen! Surpassing his twelve league goals last season, becoming the season with the most league goals in his career!" Duan Xin was very happy. "And it's only the twenty-fifth round of the league now, Zhou Yi still has time to continue to break this record!"

After Zhou Yi scored, the Borussia Dortmund coaching staff was also jubilant, and everyone jumped up to cheer.

Kotana was among them.

After celebrating this goal for Borussia Dortmund, Kotana looked up at the big screen, which showed the latest score. Below the score were the names of the goalscorers on both sides. Zhou Yi's name was followed by two times, which were the time periods of the goals.

Zhou Yi scored twice, scoring two goals.

Kotana's heart suddenly fluttered.

She thought of her conversation with Zhou Yi.

"Use a hat-trick to propose to you! During a live broadcast of the game, in front of all the TV viewers and fans, propose to you!"

For some reason, Kotana, who had laughed and joked about Zhou Yi at the time, was now a little nervous.

Because Zhou Yi had already scored two goals in the game, and his state was very good.

What if he really completed a hat-trick and proposed to her in front of so many people…

Would she not be ready?

Looking at Zhou Yi again, Kotana's eyes were already a little complicated.

※※※

After Borussia Dortmund equalized the score, Borussia Mönchengladbach now faced a problem—how should they play the next ten minutes of the game?

Should they go all out to attack or continue to shrink back and defend?

So far this season, Borussia Mönchengladbach is ranked eighth with thirty-six points. They certainly don't need to worry about relegation, but this doesn't mean that they have no goals and can be indifferent to everything.

Now, although they are ranked eighth, they are not far from the top six in the league. Augsburg, ranked sixth, currently has thirty-eight points, while Borussia Mönchengladbach has thirty-six points, only one game apart.

And Augsburg has already finished their league game this round. They lost 1:2 to Schalke 04 at home. Although Mainz, who is ranked ahead of Borussia Mönchengladbach, also won the game and is now at forty-one points, it does not hinder Borussia Mönchengladbach's ranking.

Because Wolfsburg, who was originally ranked fifth, drew in this round of the league and has forty points, now dropping to sixth. Their original ranking was occupied by Mainz.

As long as Borussia Mönchengladbach can win this game, their points will reach thirty-nine, their ranking will rise by one, and they will only be one point away from Wolfsburg, who is sixth in the league.

For a team like Borussia Mönchengladbach, being able to obtain a European competition qualification for next season, whether it is the Champions League or the Europa League, is of great benefit. At the very least, they will have a lot more bonuses in terms of financial income.

This is what they must strive for.

Thinking about it this way, Borussia Mönchengladbach should go all out to win on the road, right?

But not necessarily.

If Borussia Mönchengladbach draws with Borussia Dortmund in this game, thirty-six points will become thirty-seven points, and their ranking will still be eighth in the league—because Hertha Berlin, who also has thirty-six points, has already lost 0:3 to Hannover 96.

At the same time, Borussia Mönchengladbach is three points away from the top six in the league, which is still not an unacceptable result. After all, there are still nine rounds of the league left.

So Borussia Mönchengladbach cannot accept a draw either.

At this time, a choice needs to be made. Should they accept the draw and continue to defend, ensuring that they hold on to the 2:2 score, or should they try to counterattack and strive to defeat Borussia Dortmund on the road, shortening the gap between themselves and the top six in the league?

Favre stood on the sidelines, frowning and pondering.