Yan Min, having scored a goal, felt like he was in excellent form, his confidence soaring.

He dared to dribble and break through no matter the situation.

Just after Lucas Moura wasted a scoring opportunity for Paris Saint-Germain, Yan Min received a pass from Zhou Yi on the edge of the attacking area.

Although Zhou Yi was nearby to support him, he still chose to dribble the ball into the penalty area himself.

His acceleration was rapid, a hallmark of Yan Min's style. Even starting from a standstill, he could use this trait to shake off defenders.

He successfully broke into the penalty area.

Facing Verratti, who had retreated into the box, Yan Min still showed no intention of passing, even with Zhou Yi at his side. He continued to dribble.

He was confident he could dribble past Verratti.

This confidence sometimes made him seem reckless and wasteful, but other times it led to miracles that drew cheers...

This time, as he accelerated into the box and faced Verratti, he suddenly slowed down. Simultaneously, he used the outside of his right foot to flick the ball slightly to the side, intending to change direction and evade Verratti's frontal defense.

But at that moment, there was physical contact between the two players. It was unclear whether Verratti had initiated the contact or whether Yan Min had bumped into Verratti while changing direction.

In any case, there was contact, and Yan Min lost his balance and fell to the ground…

The Dortmund fans in the stands immediately voiced their verdict: "That's a foul!"

"Penalty! Give us a penalty!"

Yan Min, sprawled on the ground, also turned his head to look at the referee.

But the referee shook his head, indicating it was not a penalty.

Yan Min was initially stunned, then jumped to his feet, wanting to argue with the referee—how could it not be a penalty when the other guy knocked me down?!

But Zhou Yi, rushing over, stopped him: "What are you doing? You have a yellow card, remember?"

Yan Min paused, realizing he had indeed been booked and had forgotten in his excitement…

If he argued with the referee now and said something disrespectful, the referee might just send him off…

He didn't want to be sent off just as he was getting into his stride.

So, despite his frustration, he could only swallow his anger.

Yan Min had to concede, but the Dortmund fans in the stands didn't have such constraints. They expressed their disapproval of the referee's decision with boos and jeers.

Marcel Reif and He Ping also voiced their doubts.

"How can that not be a penalty? There was clear physical contact between the two players, wasn't there? Verratti even grabbed at him, though he quickly let go… but I think awarding a penalty would have been perfectly justified! Yan Min clearly lost his balance because of that contact from Verratti…" Marcel Reif firmly sided with Dortmund.

He Ping also felt the referee's decision was questionable: "...Just because there wasn't an obvious hand movement doesn't mean it wasn't a foul. Verratti clearly saw Yan Min about to break through and, unable to make any other defensive move, put his entire body weight on him, causing Yan Min to fall… That should have been a penalty!"

The French commentators, with a different perspective, naturally saw it differently: "Yan Min's move was very cunning. It should be a dive. The physical contact between Verratti and him wasn't serious enough to make him fall like that… Yan Min wants a penalty? The referee was being kind not to give him a yellow card! Remember, he already has one. I think the referee must have considered that, so he showed leniency… otherwise Dortmund would be down to ten men now!"

※※※

Although Yan Min's breakthrough didn't result in a penalty, it didn't affect his confidence or performance.

Three minutes later, he was pulled down by Jallet while breaking through on the wing. This time, the referee finally blew for a foul, awarding Dortmund a free kick near the edge of the box. However, he didn't give Jallet a yellow card, only a verbal warning, which once again drew the ire of the Dortmund fans in the stands, triggering another round of boos.

The free kick was in a similar position to the one from which Sahin had almost scored earlier, inevitably drawing comparisons.

And it was indeed Sahin who took the free kick, with the area in front of the goal packed with players.

Sahin's free kick was delivered, but this time it wasn't deflected on its way to the goal. It reached the penalty area cleanly, where a group of players jumped to contest it. In the ensuing scramble, the ball fell to the feet of defender Hummels, who had charged forward. Without letting the ball bounce, he unleashed a powerful shot!

Unfortunately, he perhaps tried to put too much power into it. The shot was incredibly forceful but poorly directed, the ball curving wide of the goal…

"Hummels' shot… truly a defender's finish!" He Ping couldn't help but joke. "From that close, inside the six-yard box, even a gentle push, as long as you make contact with the ball, has a good chance of going in…"

The television broadcast showed a close-up of a middle-aged female fan in the stands behind the goal. She covered her mouth with her hands, shaking her head in disbelief as she watched the ball sail wide, unable to believe that Hummels could waste such an opportunity.

Although Hummels didn't score, it at least showed that Dortmund were on top, and perhaps Paris Saint-Germain wouldn't be so lucky next time…

Dortmund's relentless attacks were putting significant pressure on Paris Saint-Germain.

Leading 3-1 at home was a relatively safe score, and with their key player Reus injured and substituted early in the game, the situation seemed even more favorable to them…

But now they had conceded a goal, and the situation had suddenly reversed.

Paris Saint-Germain might be ahead on aggregate, but they were completely on the back foot…

The players' mentality also changed, becoming somewhat anxious.

In the thirty-ninth minute, Matuidi was too eager in trying to win back the ball in the attacking third, fouling Sven Bender. Although he had won the ball, he pushed Sven Bender to the ground.

The referee blew his whistle to stop the game.

This angered Cavani, who shouted at the referee, earning himself a yellow card.

That yellow card meant that even if Paris Saint-Germain got past Dortmund and reached the semi-finals, he would miss the first leg.

"Cavani shouldn't have gotten that yellow card. Matuidi committed the foul, he went to argue, and ended up getting himself booked and suspended for the next game… Of course, even without that yellow card, Cavani might not be able to play in the next Champions League game… Given the way things are going, that's not impossible…"

After Cavani's yellow card, there were five minutes left in the first half, and neither side created any significant chances during that time.

In the end, Dortmund finished the first half leading 1-0 at home.

Despite leading by a goal, as the players walked off at halftime, Weidenfeller, as the team captain, quickly approached the coach to discuss Yan Min's fall in the penalty area in the first half.

Of course, Weidenfeller wasn't trying to cause trouble for the referee, but simply, as captain, wanted to express Dortmund's position. This was also a reminder to the referee, hinting that Dortmund weren't just an easy target to be pushed around, and that he shouldn't be too biased in his decisions. Dortmund had suffered a disadvantage by not getting that penalty, and they hoped the referee would think more carefully when making decisions in the second half…

This was a way for the home team to put pressure on the referee, but in a gentle way. It was also a normal way to communicate with the referee, much more acceptable to the refereeing team than blocking the door to the referee's休息室 resting room and preventing them from leaving, right?