บท 122: The Opposing Team
After Werder Bremen took the lead, Borussia Dortmund launched a very fierce counterattack.
Robert Lewandowski, who has scored more than 15 goals this season in the league, was very active in this match.
Lewandowski isn't the type of player with great ball skills like Messi or Ronaldo, so his presence on the field isn't always strong, or to say, he doesn't appear much in the broadcast shots.
However, this doesn't mean Lewandowski's threat is any less than that of Messi or Ronaldo.
On the contrary, his off-ball abilities including running into space, dragging defenders, making runs, and attacking the ball are very strong.
Perhaps these abilities are not yet at the very top level, but a few years later, as his skills become more rounded, his experience accumulates, and he uses his physicality better, he will have the potential to be the world's number one striker.
In this game, facing the targeted defense of Werder Bremen's defenders, Lewandowski used his excellent off-ball running ability to still find several opportunities to shoot under tight defense.
With Götze being targeted and the team's offensive firepower greatly weakened, Lewandowski took on the burden of Dortmund's attack with his outstanding performance.
This caught the attention of scouts from major clubs at the match, and many thought of recommending him to their teams.
Lewandowski is still very young at 24, with at least another seven or eight years in his prime.
Buying him now would mean the team wouldn't have to worry about their front line for a long time!
On the sidelines, Klopp was both happy and worried seeing Lewandowski's performance. He was genuinely concerned that other big clubs might take notice and poach him.
With Dortmund's financial capabilities, they might really struggle to keep him if other big clubs offer a substantial contract.
And thinking about Götze, whose contract is due to expire next summer, Klopp felt even more pressure.
The club had started contacting Götze's agent at the end of January, hoping to renew his contract.
But the response from Götze's side hasn't been very enthusiastic, and the renewal has dragged on without progress.
This made Dortmund wonder if Götze was considering a transfer. Two years ago, including offers from clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Arsenal, Arsenal had even offered €40 million for him.
This winter, after Manchester City's failed attempt to acquire Lin, they desperately made offers to multiple clubs, hoping to bring in another superstar.
And Dortmund's Götze was among those targeted.
Compared to other clubs who were hesitant, Manchester City's offer was very tempting.
They not only offered a high transfer fee but also a very generous salary.
They proposed a weekly wage of £330,000, which amounts to an annual salary of over €20 million. If Götze were to go to Manchester City, he would surpass Samuel Eto'o as the footballer with the highest annual salary.
Klopp wondered if Götze was tempted by the big offers from the Middle Eastern tycoons.
If that was the case, the club might need to prepare for losing Götze.
Losing Götze would be a huge blow to Dortmund, and if Lewandowski were also taken away, then the team's offensive system would need a complete overhaul.
Thinking about this, Klopp's face was filled with worry.
What's wrong with Dortmund that they can't keep their stars?
...
On the field, the situation was still unfavorable for Dortmund.
Although Lewandowski performed excellently, with Götze being restrained, he seemed almost alone upfront.
Dortmund's attacks were fierce, but once they reached the opponent's penalty area, it was like hitting a wall; they struggled to penetrate the defense.
Werder Bremen didn't employ any special defensive tactics; they simply stacked numbers in the back, using a numerical advantage to limit the opponent's offense.
Since they were now leading, they could afford to reduce numbers upfront, leaving only Arnautović as the striker and letting Lin lie in wait to hit Dortmund on the counter.
Thus, a bizarre scene unfolded on the field: Dortmund relentlessly attacked around Werder Bremen's goal, shooting frequently, but the threatening shots were few.
In contrast, Werder Bremen's few counterattacks caused complete chaos in Dortmund's backline.
If not for Dortmund's goalkeeper Weidenfeller's excellent performance, Dortmund might have conceded more than one goal.
Weidenfeller, at 33, was still in his prime.
With his outstanding performances this season, he made his debut start for the German national team last month in a friendly against England, becoming the oldest player to start for Germany.
"Get focused! Don't give them such chances for a counterattack!"
After blocking another high-quality long shot from Lin, Weidenfeller, breaking out in a
cold sweat, couldn't help but shout at his teammates, reminding them to mark their opponents closely and not to leave anyone unguarded.
Dortmund's defenders all looked sullen and bitter:
Mark him? I would if I could keep him from shooting.
But is that possible?
With Schmelzer injured and unable to play, a significant gap appeared in Dortmund's defense on the flanks.
And Lin, a very tactically smart player, exploited this gap relentlessly, not giving Dortmund a chance to breathe.
This can't go on!
Although it seemed like Dortmund was dominating with more shots, more on-target, and higher possession, the actual offensive threat was greater from Werder Bremen!
They couldn't always rely on their goalkeeper to keep making miraculous saves to block the opponent's shots, could they?
Seeing his long shot blocked by the goalkeeper, Lin shook his head.
As he retreated, he thought about the shortcomings of his last shot.
Weidenfeller's performance was indeed exceptional today; his reaction speed was fast, and his positioning during defense was very good.
Just shooting from outside the penalty area might not be enough to threaten his goal.
So, the next attack must penetrate deeper into the penalty area to create a better scoring opportunity!
In the 43rd minute of the first half, Lewandowski managed to turn around in the penalty area under pressure from defenders, but his low drive was securely caught by the goalkeeper.
Milic did not waste time lying on the ground; he quickly got up, ran out, and shouted loudly:
"Lin, watch the ball!"
Then he threw the ball out.
Lin had seen Neuer's long throw-ins in a match against Bayern, but he didn't expect his teammate Milic to master this skill too.
He looked up, judged the trajectory of the ball, and then accelerated towards Dortmund's backline.
This counterattack from Werder Bremen was more sudden and fierce than before, perfectly capturing the moment of transition from defense to offense.
This caught many Dortmund players off guard as they had just participated in the attack and couldn't retreat in time.
Although Dortmund players saw that Werder Bremen had started a counter and immediately chose to fall back en masse, such excellent team execution and discipline were indeed admirable.
However, most of Dortmund's players were too far from Lin to interfere with him or impede his advance immediately.
At this moment, only three Dortmund defenders were left in the back, the defensive midfielder Gündoğan, and two center-backs.
Gündoğan, closest to Lin, rushed up to intercept.
But as Lin received the ball, he flicked it away and then opted to outpace him directly. Gündoğan, who had lunged too forcefully, didn't expect this move and hastily reached out to grab Lin's jersey but still couldn't hold on and was speedily bypassed.
After getting past Gündoğan, Lin advanced a few more steps and was already within the dangerous 30-meter area of Dortmund.
Since Lin had previously taken several long shots from here, Dortmund's captain Hummels, who had fallen back into the penalty area, couldn't take any chances and immediately approached to stall Lin, buying time for his teammates to fall back.
Dortmund's players are very fast, and if he could delay for just two or three seconds, his teammates would be in place to defend, and the threat from Werder Bremen's counterattack would be minimized.
Additionally, stepping out of the penalty area had one more advantage: if necessary, he could commit a foul to disrupt Werder Bremen's attack.
Even though committing a foul in this position was likely to result in a card, trading a yellow card for stopping a highly dangerous counterattack was worth it.
Lin didn't know what Hummels was thinking, but he knew he couldn't let himself be held up.
So, he immediately shifted the ball to his right foot, simultaneously leaning forward, preparing to burst through on the right.
Hummels faced the dilemma many defenders encounter when guarding Lin:
How to tell whether the opponent's breakthrough move was real or a feint?
The move looked too real to be a feint.
If it were any other player, Hummels would undoubtedly have tackled without hesitation.
But this was not just any player; this was Lin, the forward with the highest successful one-on-one rate in the Bundesliga.
Realizing this, he held back and didn't rashly tackle.
But Lin didn't hesitate; seeing Hummels hesitate, he turned his feint into a real move and breezed past him.
The spectators were amazed, seeing from their perspective, it seemed as if Dortmund's captain was letting the water flow, not making any move as Lin bypassed him as if he were a statue.
"Heh, it's that move again!"
In the CCTV broadcast room, Focuzo saw Lin easily get past Hummels and couldn't help laughing.
His partner Shiroken also laughed:
"Lin's move looks simple, but it's incredibly hard to defend against. His feints are so convincing that defenders have a tough time figuring out which of his movements are fake and which are real!"
"Exactly, the defenders need to be very cautious because a wrong judgment could lead to conceding a goal."
Despite their explanations, insisting the fault wasn't entirely with Hummels, many fans on forums and social media still cried foul.
"It's a fix, way too fake, even a wooden mannequin would do better than Fox!"
"Yeah, right, and he's supposed to be Dortmund's captain. Does he deserve the captain's armband, does he deserve us?"
"Cough, cough, are you two so agitated because you bet on Dortmund to win?"
This comment immediately silenced the previously vociferous fans.
Other netizens then teased:
"Hehe, that comment was like Galen coming out with Light's Silence, silent but penetrating!"
"Yeah, it directly silenced the few above!"
After bypassing Hummels, Lin also took the opportunity to surge into the penalty area.
He glanced at the goalkeeper's position and, anticipating another defender Subotić trying to block him, pretended to shoot.
Subotić immediately lifted his foot to block, and the goalkeeper tensed, readying for the save.
But Lin's move was just a bluff; after drawing out their reactions, he actually took the shot.
The ball headed towards the right upper corner of the goal. It wasn't fast, but the angle was extremely tricky.
Dortmund's goalkeeper leaped high, stretching his body to its limit, reaching as far as he could.
But unfortunately, he was still a bit short, only watching as the ball bypassed his fingertips and flew into the net!
Such a pity, just a bit short!
If he hadn't been fooled earlier, given Weidenfeller's form in this match, he might have had a chance to save that shot.
But there are no "ifs" in a game!
Seeing Lin score the second goal just before the end of the first half, the fans at Weser Stadium were ecstatic.
If they were a bit nervous when their team was only one goal ahead.
Now, holding a two-goal lead, the parrot troops' fans felt the game was surely theirs.
Half-time, two goals ahead!
And it was in their home stadium; could they still be overturned by the opponent?
The coaching staff and players of Werder Bremen were also very happy, but they hadn't forgotten the previous incident when they celebrated early in the half and were almost overturned by the opponent.
So, they took no chances, maintaining the same high-intensity defense as before, giving Dortmund no opportunities.
The first half's time dwindled after they finished celebrating, and after Dortmund made one rushed attack, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half.
Both teams returned to their dressing rooms, listening intently to their coaches' tactical setups during the break.
In Dortmund's dressing room, after Klopp explained the team's strategy for the second half, he called Götze aside:
"Mario, the team needs you to step up!"
Götze nodded, aware of his poor performance in the first half, and felt very guilty.
But Werder Bremen's targeted defense against him was too strong, and he couldn't find a good way to break their containment.
Seeing Götze's reaction, Klopp sighed.
Not every player is as smart as Lin, who quickly found a way to counteract Bayern's strategy when they used it to limit him.
But Götze…
Even with his preference for Götze, Klopp had to admit there was a significant gap between Götze and Lin.
If only Reus hadn't been injured, the team wouldn't be so limited offensively.
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