Chapter 429 Substitution

During halftime, Paris Saint-Germain's coach, Blanc, made an adjustment, not targeting Zhou Yi, but Nuri Sahin.

He instructed his players to swarm and harass Sahin, preventing him from receiving the ball easily and passing it out comfortably.

By cutting off Sahin's forward passing routes, Borussia Dortmund's attacking threat would be significantly reduced.

This was far more efficient than directly defending Zhou Yi.

Because in terms of individual ability, Sahin was not as good as Zhou Yi, making him relatively easier to defend.

※※※

After the fifteen-minute halftime break, both sides switched sides and continued the game without making any substitutions.

Not long after the start of the second half, Paris Saint-Germain launched an attack, but they made a mistake in their passing in the attacking third.

The ball was intercepted directly by Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi immediately intended to launch a counterattack, and Paris Saint-Germain naturally knew the danger.

Seeing this, He Ying, who was tracking back, didn't hesitate to grab Zhou Yi from behind with both arms, like a wrestling move, and brought him down to the ground.

Boos echoed from the stands once again.

The referee's whistle also blew.

Zhou Yi, who had been brought down by He Ying, spread his hands, looking helpless.

Then he saw He Ying's hand reaching out to him, and he was pulled up by He Ying.

Despite He Ying's friendly gesture, the referee still showed him a yellow card.

After all, he had used a foul to prevent a great counterattack opportunity for Borussia Dortmund. At that time, Paris Saint-Germain was attacking, and most of their players were pushed up. If Borussia Dortmund's counterattack had succeeded, it might have directly threatened the goal defended by Sirigu, so He Ying had to foul.

This was a tactical foul, and such a foul deserved a yellow card.

He Ying had already received a yellow card, but Borussia Dortmund fans continued to "serve" him with boos, not showing any "leniency" just because He Ying and Zhou Yi were both Chinese.

"He Ying pulled down Zhou Yi and received a yellow card. Thinking back to the first half, Yan Min also received a yellow card for fouling He Ying… There have been a lot of interactions between the three Chinese players in this game…" Although He Ying and Yan Min both had yellow cards, He Ping was quite happy to talk about it.

This meant that Chinese players were no longer marginal figures on this stage, but had become protagonists, attracting much attention.

※※※

In the fifty-first minute, Borussia Dortmund almost extended their lead – Yan Min passed the ball back from the right side of the penalty area, and Zhou Yi, following up, shot directly without stopping the ball from fifteen meters away from the goal!

As a result, the ball hit the crossbar!

"Wow!!"

A burst of exclamations erupted from the stands.

The ball, after hitting the crossbar, did not fly out of the baseline but bounced back.

It landed outside the penalty area at the top of the arc, where Nuri Sahin got the ball, but he was tripped by Lucas, and the referee whistled to stop the game, while also giving Lucas a yellow card, awarding Borussia Dortmund a free kick in a very good position.

While Paris Saint-Germain began to set up the wall, the TV began to replay Zhou Yi's shot just now.

"Yan Min's breakthrough was beautiful, the pass was beautiful, and Zhou Yi's shot was also very beautiful… But unfortunately, the ball was blocked by the goalpost…" Marcel Reif was very sorry. If this ball had gone in, Borussia Dortmund would have tied the aggregate score.

When the wall was set up, Sahin took the free kick for Borussia Dortmund.

The referee blew his whistle, and he ran up and kicked the ball.

The ball successfully bypassed the wall and went straight to the upper right corner of the goal.

Goalkeeper Sirigu was obviously interfered with by the wall, and jumped a little late, with insufficient height, although his arm had been stretched as far as possible, it was still quite far from touching the ball.

He didn't even cover the goal frame…

But the falling ball hit the upper edge of the crossbar and bounced out!

"Another crossbar!!" Marcel Reif shouted. "Is this goal even the same goal from Westfalenstadion! It has stopped two certain goals for Borussia Dortmund in less than two minutes!"

When the ball hit the crossbar, he almost cursed – this was a live broadcast, but if he was watching the game privately, he would definitely swear at this time.

Two shots in a row within two minutes, both hitting the crossbar, it was impossible to vent his emotions without cursing.

The Westfalenstadion was also filled with exclamations.

Many Borussia Dortmund fans, when they saw the ball flying towards the goal, couldn't wait to raise their hands, wanting to cheer, but in the end, they could only slap their hands down on their foreheads…

Sahin also held his head in his hands, unable to believe that his excellent free kick, bypassing the wall and defeating the goalkeeper, ultimately lost to the crossbar of his home stadium…

Some sensitive people were even thinking, hitting the goalpost twice in a row, was this a hint from God, suggesting that they could not win the game today…

※※※

Although his goal had been threatened twice in a row within two minutes, Blanc did not choose a defensive tactic because of this. Paris Saint-Germain was still seeking to attack, and these two goalposts also gave them some confidence – making them feel that good luck was on their side.

Paris Saint-Germain was very clear that Borussia Dortmund was only leading by one goal, which was a very unsafe score, and the second half had just started. If they shrunk back to defend now and allowed Borussia Dortmund to besiege them in the following games, then they would most likely concede a goal in the end.

So Blanc chose to let the team play according to the previous tactics.

If Paris Saint-Germain could score a goal, they could completely defeat Borussia Dortmund.

And so far, Paris Saint-Germain still had the advantage. He believed that as time went by, when there was less and less time left for Borussia Dortmund, and the score had not changed, Borussia Dortmund would become more and more anxious.

At that time, it would be Paris Saint-Germain's counterattack opportunity.

Under such guiding ideology, although Borussia Dortmund had just hit the crossbar twice in a row, Paris Saint-Germain did not shrink back, but continued to play against Borussia Dortmund at the previous rhythm.

In the fifty-fifth minute, Matuidi caused a foul by Grosskreutz, who received a yellow card as a result.

The referee was showing cards very frequently during this period, and he seemed to feel that as the game time was passing, the competition on the field was becoming more and more intense, and he wanted to control this emotion.

Paris Saint-Germain used this free kick to pass the ball into Borussia Dortmund's penalty area. Borussia Dortmund cleared the ball continuously, and in the end, the ball still fell to Verratti's feet. Verratti took a long shot directly from outside the penalty area, but it went high.

But a minute later, Paris Saint-Germain got another corner kick. Verratti took the corner kick, and Cavani headed the ball in the penalty area, but it went wide.

"Cavani's header! Wide! What a scare…" Marcel Reif breathed a sigh of relief.

"…From the game during this period, it can be seen that Borussia Dortmund does not have the advantage. After the adjustment during halftime, Paris Saint-Germain's performance is not bad. They have recovered from the panic after conceding a goal…"

Paris Saint-Germain's attack continued. In the sixty-first minute, full-back Jallet passed the ball, and Lucas shot hard from twenty-five meters away from the goal, but it was blocked by center-back Hummels with his body.

In the sixty-seventh minute, Paris Saint-Germain once again got a free kick in the frontcourt. Verratti took the free kick. After the right-wing free kick was taken, He Ying jumped up in the middle to head the ball, but it went wide again…

"What a scare, what a scare!" He Ping exclaimed repeatedly. "Paris Saint-Germain's attack has been too fierce during this period, and they have continuously obtained opportunities in front of Borussia Dortmund's goal. Borussia Dortmund, playing at home, has not been able to suppress their opponents… Paris Saint-Germain's performance this season is indeed very good. This seems to be their best chance to reach the Champions League semi-finals, and they must not be willing to stop here in the quarter-finals!"

Klopp, who was on the sidelines, was also very anxious when he saw Paris Saint-Germain attacking continuously. He shouted on the sidelines, asking Sahin to connect the midfield and frontcourt.

Zhou Yi was playing as an attacking midfielder in this game, and he had to be at the front, so the task of transporting the ball from the back to the front naturally fell on Sahin.

If Sahin could not send the ball up, Borussia Dortmund would always be surrounded and attacked by Paris Saint-Germain…

Just like during this period, the situation was very unfavorable for Borussia Dortmund.

When Klopp was anxiously directing the game on the sidelines, Blanc was next door, with his hands in his pockets, watching the game, with everything under his control.

His halftime adjustments had worked.

He looked up at the big screen, which showed the time of the game, the sixty-eighth minute of the whole game, almost seventy minutes, and there was not much time left for Borussia Dortmund…