Chapter 1 After the Start, Dortmund vs. Leverkusen

Not long after the match between Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen ended, the game between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen began.

This match was clearly more worthy of attention than the Bayern Munich vs. Werder Bremen game.

Bayern Munich had already secured their victory, and now it was Dortmund's turn to face the pressure.

Zhou Yi's absence from the starting lineup made many people pessimistic about Dortmund's prospects. They couldn't understand why Klopp, who previously never rotated Zhou Yi, was now doing so in such an important game.

After the game started, the TV broadcast quickly cut to the Dortmund bench.

Zhou Yi was sitting on the bench, wearing his jacket.

"This is a rare sight..." Marcel Reif didn't know if he was lamenting or complaining. "But Klopp is indeed bold enough to have Zhou Yi on the bench for this game. I wonder if it's really because of his fitness, as the media has speculated. But fitness issues are better than injuries, right?"

Zhou Yi sat on the bench, watching his teammates play on the field.

Regarding the reason why he was on the bench, the media guessed correctly this time. There were no conspiracies, just one reason: fitness.

After starting and playing full matches in several consecutive high-intensity games, Zhou Yi's stamina was nearing exhaustion. Especially the Champions League match against Atletico Madrid, which demanded a lot from Zhou Yi. He gave it his all to help the team win.

Facing two games in a week under such circumstances, if he continued at that pace, Zhou Yi's fitness would be difficult to recover, and problems might arise at the most crucial time.

After thorough discussions with the team doctor and fitness coach, Klopp believed that Zhou Yi should rest appropriately.

So he communicated with Zhou Yi, saying that he would put Zhou Yi on the bench in the Dortmund vs. Leverkusen game so he could rest.

At the same time, he would decide whether to let him play against Leverkusen depending on the specific situation.

If the entire Dortmund team performed well, firmly suppressed Leverkusen, and took the lead in the score, then Zhou Yi could rest assured on the bench for the entire game.

But if the situation wasn't good, and Dortmund and Leverkusen were evenly matched, or even at a disadvantage, then Klopp would have to consider using Zhou Yi.

He had discussed this with Zhou Yi in advance.

Zhou Yi had no objection to this.

Although he also hoped that he could play a full ninety minutes so that the team would have a better chance of winning, he also knew that the upcoming schedule would be very difficult. If he didn't rest at this time, it would be difficult to sustain the subsequent games.

Cortana had also warned him that it was best to rest appropriately to avoid increasing the risk of injury.

The World Cup was coming up soon, and Zhou Yi didn't want to get injured before the World Cup and miss the tournament.

This was a big dream of his.

Champions League title, league title, domestic cup title, Super Cup title, Club World Cup title... He had won all the team honors he could win in a club. What games hadn't he participated in?

He had also played in the Asian Cup for the national team, and the only thing missing was a World Cup.

So Zhou Yi followed the coaching staff's arrangements.

But deep down, Zhou Yi was ready to play at any time.

Because through the simulated games in the virtual space, Zhou Yi already knew what this game would be like.

Leverkusen was not easy to deal with, especially Leverkusen, who wanted to maintain their top four position in the league.

In the simulated games, Zhou Yi specifically put himself on the bench and then simulated the game, watching it as a spectator.

Without him, Dortmund and Leverkusen played very closely, and it was difficult to gain any advantage.

In the dozens of simulated games, most of them were like this, with both sides winning and losing, and many draws.

※※※

The actual game was indeed like Zhou Yi had simulated.

As soon as the game started, Leverkusen showed an aggressive offensive.

From the moment Dortmund kicked off, Leverkusen players pressed hard all the way, and facing this situation, Dortmund players could only keep passing back.

Even if the ball was passed to goalkeeper Weidenfeller, Leverkusen players had no intention of giving up at all, and continued to rush towards Weidenfeller in the penalty area. Even if Weidenfeller kicked the ball out with a long pass, making their pressing useless, they didn't hesitate for half a second.

Whether they could get the ball was one thing, but the key was to show a sense of oppressive momentum.

Even if this action could only put a little psychological pressure on the opposing players, accumulating little by little would lead to a qualitative change.

In the fifth minute, Dortmund launched an attack.

Yan Min's powerful shot from the left side of the penalty area line was saved by Leverkusen goalkeeper Leno.

The ball didn't fly out of the baseline, but fell into the penalty area and was cleared by Leverkusen's defender.

Leverkusen took the opportunity to launch a counterattack and reached Dortmund's goal.

Son Heung-min took a long shot, which was pushed over the crossbar by Weidenfeller, and Leverkusen won a corner kick.

The South Korean star went to take the corner kick.

Before this showdown, the Korean media didn't hype up the Asian Derby again, and no one compared Son Heung-min with Zhou Yi, because everyone could see that the two were not on the same level at all. Moreover... Zhou Yi didn't start in this game, and the two didn't compete on the same stage, so it was really not easy to compare.

Son Heung-min kicked the corner kick, and Hummels touched the ball when he contested for the header with the opposing center-back Toprak at the near post. The ball flew directly to the center of the penalty area!

Then Kiessling headed the ball towards the goal!

Hummels was essentially setting up Kiessling...

The ball was headed by Kiessling into a parabola, bypassed Weidenfeller's fingers, fell from the air, and hit the crossbar!

But the ball didn't fly out of the baseline because of this, but fell down and bounced back in front of the goal.

Leverkusen captain Lars Bender smartly appeared at the landing point, flicked his head, and headed the ball towards the goal that was close at hand!

Weidenfeller had just jumped up to save Kiessling's header, and he didn't have time to react a second time at this time.

The ball flew into Dortmund's goal!

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"Goal!!!"

A burst of cheers erupted in the Bayern Munich bus.

On the TV screen in the bus, the live broadcast of the Dortmund vs. Leverkusen game was being played.

This was a game that the Bayern Munich team was also paying close attention to.

It's just that everyone didn't expect that Dortmund would concede a goal before they even returned to the hotel. This goal was conceded a little too quickly...

But conceding a goal is always a good thing for Bayern Munich.

They had already won against Werder Bremen. If Dortmund lost the game, Bayern Munich would regain the top spot in the league.

After the cheers, some players enthusiastically discussed the game.

"...Where did Dortmund get the confidence that they could win this game even with Zhou Yi on the bench?"

Although they were bitter rivals, Bayern Munich players still had a high opinion of Zhou Yi. At the very least, they would think that Zhou Yi was Dortmund's most indispensable figure.

"Klopp's obviously made a bad move. What was he thinking?"

"Who cares what he's thinking? Anyway, it's beneficial to us..."

Guardiola was sitting at the front of the bus, so he naturally heard the players' discussions.

Based on his understanding of Klopp, he now felt that it wasn't surprising that Klopp made this decision. Because he was a gambling man... He must be gambling this time too, betting that Dortmund without Zhou Yi could also beat Leverkusen away from home.

But from the looks of it now, he might lose his bet...

There is no gambler in the world who always wins and never loses. Klopp can't escape this rule either.

※※※

"Lars Bender!! He scored the first goal for Leverkusen! In just seven minutes of the opening, Leverkusen took a one-goal lead! Dortmund is in trouble!"

A huge cheer rang out throughout the BayArena.

In this cheer, Lars Bender and his Leverkusen teammates hugged each other to celebrate the goal.

Zhou Yi sat on the bench, leaning his head against the back of the chair. He wasn't surprised by this start. In the many simulated games, he had seen Leverkusen score at the start...

So conceding a goal wasn't surprising. The key was what Dortmund would do after conceding the goal.

Klopp got up from his seat, walked to the sidelines, and shouted loudly to the Dortmund players on the field: "Don't panic! Stay steady!"

Without Zhou Yi on the field, he had to do more.

After the game restarted, Dortmund players didn't show any panic, which relieved both Klopp and Zhou Yi.

Although they conceded a goal, as long as they didn't lose their composure, there was still a chance to come back.

In the following game, both sides were locked in a stalemate. Everyone had opportunities, but none of the opportunities were particularly good, and no goals were scored.