Chapter 15

The fifteen-minute halftime break wasn't actually that long. After showing highlights from another match, the commentators made their remarks, and then a few commercials ran, the halftime break was over.

Since both Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea were only one goal behind in the first half, this added a lot of possibilities for the second half.

Everyone was eager to see the second half of the match.

When the second half of the match began, none of the four teams made any substitutions.

As Chinese fans, they were more concerned about the Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain match.

After the second half started, Paris Saint-Germain continued to take the initiative, but Borussia Dortmund wasn't without any ability to fight back.

In the fifty-third minute, Matuidi crossed the ball from the sideline at a forty-five-degree angle. He Ying deftly inserted himself, and in the penalty area, almost unmarked, he jumped high and headed for the goal!

As a result, the football went slightly over the crossbar...

"He Ying! Wow! A very powerful header, but a little too high! What a pity! But from this shot, we can still see that He Ying's condition in the second half is very good!" He Ping said. He had previously worried that after the fifteen-minute halftime break, he didn't know if He Ying could continue to maintain his first-half form.

Now it seemed that he had worried unnecessarily.

Borussia Dortmund also organized an attack, which was ultimately finished by Marc's shot, returning the favor.

Then the two sides wrestled on the field.

In the eyes of many, Klopp must have made targeted adjustments to Borussia Dortmund during the halftime break, because the Borussia Dortmund players were performing much better than in the first half. If they could keep playing like this, Borussia Dortmund might really have a chance to tie the score...

※※※

In the fifty-seventh minute, Matuidi got the ball on the sideline again. At this time, Borussia Dortmund's center-back, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, went to the sideline to defend him. After a physical contact between the two, Matuidi fell to the ground, losing control of the ball, which was stolen by Papastathopoulos.

But just at this moment, the referee blew his whistle, indicating that Papastathopoulos had fouled while抢球, and gave Borussia Dortmund a free kick on the edge of the left side of the penalty area.

Verratti took the free kick, and the area in front of the goal was crowded with players from both sides.

Paris Saint-Germain also had center-backs and forwards in the penalty area. Alex, Thiago Silva, Ibrahimović, Cavani, and He Ying all had heading ability.

Moreover, the location of this free kick was very close to the baseline, almost like a short corner kick.

For a moment, even the air in front of Borussia Dortmund's goal seemed to tense up. All of Borussia Dortmund's players also shrank back to the front of the goal.

Then Verratti kicked the ball out. He used his right foot to kick a curved arc, and the ball went straight to the back post of the goal. In this process, it was going to pass through the dense crowd in front of the goal. If anyone touched it, there was a high chance of scoring a goal!

He Ying jumped high at the front, but didn't head the ball. Marc, the Borussia Dortmund forward who was returning to defense, also jumped high, but missed the ball as well.

The two of them interfered with the Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper who was coming out, and Weidenfeller rushed out but didn't manage to touch the ball!

Ibrahimović, at the back post, stretched out his long legs, wanting to kick the ball into the goal, but he still didn't touch the ball...

Although he didn't touch the ball, he shook Papastathopoulos, who was following closely behind him.

Papastathopoulos raised his foot, and the ball happened to fly over and hit the shin bone of his calf, and then rebounded into the goal!

The ball came too suddenly. Faced with this unexpected event at close range, Papastathopoulos didn't even have time to retract his leg to avoid it. Losing his balance, he could only fall into the goal along with the ball...

"Oh! My goodness! The ball is in again! Paris Saint-Germain leads 2-0!"

"Great goal! But how did this ball go in?"

There was chaos in front of the goal just now, and the commentators didn't see it clearly either. Fortunately, there was a slow-motion replay.

After replays from multiple angles, the commentators saw it clearly.

"Papastathopoulos touched the ball, and he kicked the ball into his own goal! Own goal! Borussia Dortmund suffers another blow!"

"It's actually an own goal, Borussia Dortmund's luck is really bad... Their performance had just started to improve a little, and they encountered an own goal..." Many people felt sorry for Borussia Dortmund's misfortune.

"The second half had just started not long ago, and Borussia Dortmund conceded another goal due to an own goal. Now they are two goals behind at home. Paris Saint-Germain is in great form in this game, completely playing their own characteristics. The devastating offensive has kept Borussia Dortmund's defense in a state of high tension, so it's not surprising to make such a mistake..."

※※※

After conceding the goal, Papastathopoulos sat in the goal, looking dazed, not understanding how the ball had found him...

And Klopp on the sidelines was stunned for a while, then shook his head repeatedly, looking very helpless.

During the halftime break, he encouraged the players and made adjustments, but now an own goal had turned all his arrangements into bubbles.

When they were one goal behind, telling the players "we still have hope" everyone believed it. But saying this when they were two goals behind, many people wouldn't argue on the surface, but who knew what they were thinking in their hearts...

At the same time, his halftime adjustments were all aimed at a one-goal deficit. Now that they were two goals behind, it was hard to say whether they could continue to use those adjustments.

When they were one goal behind before, he really wanted the team to be able to tie the score away from home, and then score an away goal by the way. But two goals behind... Did the team still have the confidence and fighting spirit to attack? Klopp felt unsure.

He was very depressed.

※※※

He Ying's performance in this game was very active, and he was in very good condition.

He had just used a fancy backheel to pluck the ball from between two players on the sideline, pass it to his teammate, then run in a circle to the center to meet his teammate, and then, with his back to the direction of the attack, use the outside of his foot to pass the ball to the other side, shifting the direction of the attack.

Seeing his performance, He Ping said: "He Ying is not only showing his ability in front of the goal, he is even connecting Paris Saint-Germain's attack in the midfield, his running position is erratic, he can control the ball at his feet, and he has speed... It really makes Borussia Dortmund's defenders 防不胜防..."

Because of He Ying's performance, coupled with the team leading Borussia Dortmund by two goals, Paris Saint-Germain's prospects for this game were very good.

But at this juncture, an accident happened on the field.

After Ibrahimović got the ball, he turned around and passed the ball to He Ying before Hummels could force him from behind, and then he turned around and accelerated forward. But after only running two steps, he began to limp, then collapsed to the ground and covered his right thigh.

He Ying originally wanted to pass the ball back to Ibrahimović, but when he saw this situation, he quickly turned around and kicked the ball out of the sideline, while pointing to the direction where Ibrahimović fell, signaling to the referee the situation on the field.

The referee glanced back and also whistled to signal a temporary suspension of the throw-in, allowing the Paris Saint-Germain team doctor to enter the field.

Paris Saint-Germain coach Blanc's face instantly became serious.

Although He Ying's performance was very outstanding in this game, Ibrahimović had always been the core of this team. If anything happened to Ibrahimović, it would definitely be a heavy blow to Paris Saint-Germain's strength.

Soon the Paris Saint-Germain team doctor ran onto the field, and the other Paris Saint-Germain players also gathered around Ibrahimović, watching the team doctor examine Ibrahimović with concern.

"It should be a muscle strain..." the team doctor said something that no one wanted to hear.

Muscle strains aren't as serious as torn cruciate ligaments or fractured meniscus, but they are very annoying and will continue to affect you for a long time. And you definitely can't play in this game, people with muscle strains will have very painful muscles when doing high-intensity exercise, and they can't exert force at all.

This result meant that Ibrahimović had to be substituted early.

In a situation where Paris Saint-Germain's situation was very good, their main center Ibrahimović was forced to leave the field, which was like stepping on the brakes for the high-speed Paris Saint-Germain, which would bring a very strong sense of discomfort to everyone.

Many Paris Saint-Germain players frowned, with worried and uneasy expressions on their faces.

Zhou Yi was not far from them, and when he saw Ibrahimović fall to the ground, he felt that it was most likely a muscle strain, and it would be difficult to continue playing in this game.

Then he began to observe the expressions of the other Paris Saint-Germain players, taking in the changes on their faces one by one.

He knew the significance of Ibrahimović to Paris Saint-Germain, not just as a center forward who could score goals. Ibrahimović had become the spiritual core of Paris Saint-Germain with his domineering and confidence.

When such a spiritual core was on the field, even if he didn't score himself, he could make other players feel at ease and encouraged. The opposite was a different scene...

After observing, Zhou Yi confirmed his idea.

Ibrahimović's accidental injury would definitely affect the Paris Saint-Germain players.

Maybe it wouldn't affect the entire game, but the impact and influence on them in the short term would definitely be great.

If Borussia Dortmund wanted to do something, this was the opportunity!

Thinking of this, he quickly turned around and ran towards his teammates, gathering several teammates who were involved in the attack.

Then he told them his plans.

"...Launch a fierce offensive, taking advantage of their panic and confusion, catch them off guard and make them even more flustered. Then we can take the opportunity to do something..."

Whether it was Reus, Marc, Yan Min, or Aubameyang, they had no objection to Zhou Yi's decision. Apart from the coach, Zhou Yi was the most authoritative. Whatever he said was what, everyone just needed to do as he said.

※※※

After Ibrahimović was injured, Klopp suddenly realized something. He stood up, but when he saw Zhou Yi on the field talking to a few teammates in a circle, he sat down again.

Assistant coach Buvac was puzzled by his strange behavior and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I just think that perhaps Ibrahimović's injury and departure is our opportunity, I want to remind our players..." Klopp said.

Buvac thought for a while, and his eyes lit up: "Yes! Then why don't you go?"

As he said that, he was about to get up and perform this duty on behalf of the head coach, but he was stopped by Klopp.

Klopp pointed to Zhou Yi: "Someone has already thought of it before us!"

Buvac saw Zhou Yi and smiled: "That kid..."

If it was Zhou Yi, there was really no need for them as coaches to say anything more.