Chapter 431 Pre-Match Gambling

The Champions League quarter-finals weren’t like the round of sixteen, with two weeks in between matches. The quarter-final first and second legs were played close together, with only one league match in between.

The time for rest and adjustment was less than in the round of sixteen.

The physical demands on the players for continuous combat were also higher.

At this time, rotation was necessary.

If Borussia Dortmund insisted on not rotating, the team would basically collapse at this point. The previous two seasons' eliminations were somewhat related to this.

This season, from the very beginning, Klopp had insisted on rotation. Even during the early stages of the league season when the team's results were unstable, he did not change his plan, all for the sake of having the strength to sprint on both fronts at the end of the season.

Back in Germany, facing Augsburg in the weekend league match, Klopp adopted a rotation policy. He let most of the players who had played in the midweek Champions League match rest, but there were a few people who couldn't rest, such as goalkeeper Weidenfeller, center-back Subotić, and Zhou Yi and Lewandowski.

The reason they couldn't rest wasn't because they were all in particularly good physical condition, but simply to ensure the team's victory.

Weidenfeller and Subotić ensured the stability of the team's defense, Zhou Yi was an important figure in connecting the front and back, and Lewandowski was the team's spearhead, relying on him to score goals.

Having adopted rotation, Borussia Dortmund ultimately defeated Augsburg 4:2 at home. During the match, Augsburg once led Borussia Dortmund 2:1 and maintained that lead until halftime.

In the second half, Borussia Dortmund launched a full-scale counterattack, scoring three consecutive goals and ultimately winning 4:2.

Maintaining the momentum of continuing to chase Bayern Munich.

As for Bayern Munich, they narrowly defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 1:0 away from home. Although the victory wasn't very convincing, they still won and took three points.

Their situation was a bit better than Borussia Dortmund's. They were in the lead in the league standings, and in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, they also defeated Juventus 2:0. Even if the second leg was an away match, Bayern Munich's chances of advancing were much greater than Juventus'.

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After the match against Augsburg, everyone turned their attention to the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals next week.

As their opponent, Atlético Madrid drew 0:0 with Getafe in the weekend's La Liga match, with Sun Pan not conceding a goal again. This match clearly showed Atlético Madrid's fatigue in coping with two-front battles. Most of the players were not in good form. Of course, it could also be said that Atlético Madrid's mind was not on this league match, but on the upcoming Champions League match. Playing away against Getafe, whose strength was obviously weaker than theirs, Atlético Madrid was unable to win, and it was only thanks to Sun Pan's excellent performance that they were able to retreat from the opponent's Alfonso Pérez Muñoz Stadium.

After finishing the league match, Atlético Madrid rested for a day at their training base and then flew directly to Germany, three days before the match.

During these three days, they would use Schalke 04's training base to conduct special training specifically targeting Borussia Dortmund.

Getting used to the German weather, field, and food in advance.

Sun Pan was also able to catch up with Yang Muge, and they ate together. Of course, Zhou Yi was not invited to this meal, mainly to avoid suspicion.

Everyone was a public figure now, and before such an important match, their every move would be the focus of media attention. So, getting together for a meal in private would definitely be photographed by the media. Although everyone was friends off the field, and the hostility on the field didn't hinder the friendship off the field, it was best not to cause unnecessary trouble at such a sensitive time.

Everyone was friends, so they didn't want to cause trouble for their friends.

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In the first leg of the quarter-finals, Borussia Dortmund was the last team to take the field, and in the second leg, they became the first team to take the field, which meant they had one less day of rest than the teams that took the field first in the first leg.

At 2:45 a.m. Beijing time on April 10, the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals kicked off, with Real Madrid challenging Galatasaray away and Borussia Dortmund hosting Atlético Madrid at home.

In China, the match between Borussia Dortmund and Atlético Madrid was naturally listed as a match broadcast live to the whole country on a free channel.

Many excited Chinese fans didn't sleep at all and stayed up until 2:30 a.m. to turn on the TV.

Some people set their alarms and got up to watch the match.

Before the match started, everyone was discussing how the match would develop, what kind of performance Zhou Yi and Sun Pan would have in their respective teams...

Fans supporting Sun Pan and fans supporting Zhou Yi fought each other online, which was very lively.

It wasn't until the non-live signal came from the TV that the Internet calmed down a little.

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Zhou Yi and Sun Pan met again in the player tunnel. This time, Sun Pan didn't sneak attack Zhou Yi. Instead, he walked directly to Zhou Yi and said to him, "This time, I still won't let you score!"

Zhou Yi smiled and said, "Hehe, Panpan, do you remember what I said before? If you don't let us score one goal, then we'll score two or three goals."

Sun Pan also smiled, "Bullshit, everyone saw your performance in the last match. Don't even talk about two or three, it'll be considered your ability if you can score one."

"Then let's make a bet, Panpan."

"Bet, then bet!" People from Northeast China were most easily provoked, and Sun Pan agreed very simply.

"If we score three goals against you, you have to post 'Woof' in one hundred and forty characters on Weibo!" Zhou Yi said with a smile.

"Damn, aren't you childish! Barking like a dog online?" Sun Pan rolled his eyes.

"Are you going to bark or not?" Zhou Yi looked at Sun Pan with a smile.

"Damn, what's there to be afraid of? But if you don't score three goals... no, if you don't score a single goal, you have to bark like a dog online!" Sun Pan said.

"I won't bully you, Panpan. As long as we don't score three goals, even if we score two goals, I'll bark in one hundred and forty characters more than you," Zhou Yi said, waving his hand.

"Okay, you said that! I didn't force you!" Sun Pan said, pointing at Zhou Yi. "Don't chicken out then!"

Zhou Yi said with a smile, "A gentleman's word is as good as a team of horses, and besides, I may not lose."

"Then we'll see!" Sun Pan clenched his fist, and his knuckles cracked. "This match is more interesting now, hey!"

After saying that, he shook his head and walked away.

As soon as he left, Reus, who had been standing next to him, leaned over and said, "Hey, Zhou Yi, what were you talking to him about?"

Zhou Yi and Sun Pan were communicating in Chinese, and Reus couldn't understand it at all.

Zhou Yi smiled and told Reus about the bet he had just made with Sun Pan, and also explained to him what "Weibo" was.

Reus opened his mouth wide. "Score three goals against him? This..."

He thought of the scene where Sun Pan had directly snatched the ball from under his feet in the last match. Was Zhou Yi a little overconfident?

It was already difficult to score a goal against this Sun Pan, let alone three goals... and even if it wasn't Sun Pan guarding the goal, it wouldn't be easy to score three goals against any team. Now that Zhou Yi said it, how did it feel so easy?

However, Reus didn't tell Zhou Yi his worries, but secretly cheered himself up in his heart—he absolutely couldn't let Zhou Yi bark like a dog in front of so many people, that would be so embarrassing! He definitely couldn't miss the opportunity in this match! Not to mention a hat-trick, he had to score at least one goal. Scoring one goal would be considered helping Zhou Yi complete one-third of his promise...

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On the other side, Sun Pan's time to greet Zhou Yi this time was slightly longer, so everyone was very curious about what he and Zhou Yi had said. Usually, everyone knew that Sun Pan and Zhou Yi were good friends. When Borussia Dortmund came to Madrid to challenge Real Madrid in the group stage, Sun Pan had specially treated him to a meal, which was photographed and uploaded to the Internet, causing a small storm.

Now that the two were enemies, what would they talk about?

"It's nothing, he made a bet with me."

"A bet?" Everyone became energetic when they heard about the bet and wanted to hear what kind of bet they had made.

"Yeah, he said they could score three goals against us in this match. If they can't, he has to bark like a dog online." Sun Pan said simply.

"Three goals?!" Turan was very surprised, thinking he had misheard.

"God, is he too crazy?" Falcao also widened his eyes.

Although the team's captain and center-back, Godín, didn't say anything, it could be seen from his expression that Zhou Yi's "wild words" made him unhappy.

Atlético Madrid's defense was also very good in La Liga, and this was not only due to the goalkeeper Sun Pan, but also to all the defensive players, including Godín.

Zhou Yi actually said he wanted to score three goals against them?

Wasn't this naked contempt?

Another center-back, Miranda, patted Sun Pan on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Sun, we will definitely help you win this bet!"

Obviously, it wasn't just Godín who was angered. All the Atlético Madrid defenders had a sense of shared hatred.

Of course, some Atlético Madrid players felt strange. For example, Gabi was very puzzled. "What good would it do them for Zhou Yi to say that? Would it benefit Borussia Dortmund to anger their opponents before the match?"

He couldn't figure out this question, and his teammates might not be able to figure it out either, but there was no need to figure it out at this time.

"No matter what his purpose is, I'm happy to let the arrogant Borussia Dortmund suffer!" The young Atlético Madrid midfielder Koke said. His words were echoed by most of the Atlético Madrid players. Everyone had this idea. No matter what Zhou Yi's purpose was in making this bet with their goalkeeper Sun Pan, since he dared to say that he wanted to score three goals against Atlético Madrid, he had to be prepared to bear the wrath of Atlético Madrid.