Chapter 1 The Beginning

“Zhou Yi… Reus… back to Zhou Yi… a leak! Aubameyang—! Shoots! Goal!!” The commentator's shouts rang from the television. "Only three minutes into the match, and Borussia Dortmund has already breached Atletico Madrid's goal!"

Sun Pan, in front of the television, dropped his phone with a 'plop' onto the carpet between his legs…

He himself was oblivious, staring blankly at the television screen.

On the screen, Aubameyang sprinted to celebrate the goal, with other Dortmund players behind him, including, of course, Zhou Yi.

Sun Pan was surprised that Atletico Madrid was already behind after only three minutes.

Three minutes was such a short amount of time that it was difficult to tell which side had the advantage, but Dortmund had scored so unexpectedly…

Sun Pan had imagined how the match would develop, thinking that the two teams should be evenly matched, playing relatively cautiously at the start, resulting in a stalemate.

At the very least, the stalemate would last for nearly half an hour before changing.

Then it would depend on whether Dortmund could withstand Atletico Madrid's high pressing…

He wasn't very optimistic about Dortmund, feeling that they weren't in their best form.

But all his predictions were slapped in the face by reality after only three minutes of the game…

The phone on the carpet suddenly chimed with a QQ notification.

Only then did he realize that his phone had fallen.

Fortunately, there was a carpet underneath; otherwise, with the fragile nature of iPhones, the screen might have shattered.

He quickly picked it up, flipped it over, and saw Guo Nu spamming the screen: "WTF! WTF! WTF! WTF! Scored in three minutes!"

"This Dortmund is not quite what everyone imagined… Didn't everyone say that Atletico Madrid would be aggressive from the start on the road? Why does it feel like Dortmund is more aggressive now?"

"Dortmund's start is very aggressive…" Yang Muge also commented.

"I think their quick passing and movement is really interesting. Everyone is constantly passing and moving, passing and moving… They can still pass accurately at such a high speed. Before they pass some balls, I never thought they could pass like that…" He Ying also commented.

Sun Pan watched everyone excitedly discussing the game in the group chat, unsure what to say.

※※※

After the goal, the Dortmund players celebrated. In front of the away team's coaching area, Simeone looked frustrated by the goal.

In his opinion, Dortmund's attack was somewhat threatening, but it shouldn't have resulted in a goal.

The goal was entirely due to Atletico Madrid's bad luck…

If Juanfran hadn't gone up to block the shot, Courtois should have been able to save Aubameyang's shot, which wouldn't have threatened the goal.

But Juanfran couldn't be blamed. Any responsible player would try to block the opponent's shot in that situation if they had the ability.

So it could only be said that it was bad luck. With good luck, Juanfran would have blocked Aubameyang's shot directly out of bounds.

Bad luck caused the ball to graze his foot and change direction, flying into the near corner of the goal…

Bad luck caused Atletico Madrid to concede a goal only three minutes into the game. Their pre-match arrangements hadn't even had time to be implemented.

Luck, everything should be attributed to bad luck.

Not only did Simeone think so, but the Spanish commentators also thought so.

"Aubameyang's shot hit Juanfran's foot, accidentally turning into a goal… Atletico Madrid's luck is really terrible!"

Dortmund scored a goal with only their second shot in the first three minutes. Wasn't that bad luck?

This way of thinking was normal. What could be seen in three minutes?

Even if something was noticed, it would probably be attributed to one's own bad luck and the opponent's good luck…

Only the people in the Dortmund team knew what this goal meant.

After Aubameyang scored, everyone on the Dortmund coaching staff jumped up excitedly, hugging and cheering to celebrate the goal.

Everyone seemed very excited, even more excited than usual when scoring a goal. Generally, such excited scenes only occurred during game-winning goals. Like now, scoring at the start of the game, while also gratifying, still required some restraint. One couldn't be too blatant, lest it affect the emotions of the players on the field, causing them to relax. After all, the game had just started, and the opponent had plenty of time to counterattack.

So, scoring after the start usually didn't result in such excited celebrations.

Why was the Dortmund coaching team so excited this time?

The reason was actually very simple. The goal itself wasn't the most important thing. The goal was scored after hitting Juanfran's leg and changing direction, and the shot itself wasn't particularly brilliant.

But everyone was still excited because the series of wonderful performances by Dortmund before the goal fully demonstrated that the Dortmund players had fully displayed the tactical arrangements made by the coaching team, indicating that their previous hard work had results and rewards.

This was what the coaches valued most.

If it was just a lucky goal, then for the coaches, only the result had value.

But if the goal was achieved through things practiced in training, it was very valuable. It meant that such goals could be repeated.

Being able to repeat meant that the next goal would come. Dortmund wouldn't rely on just one lucky goal to lead Atletico Madrid. If Atletico Madrid really thought Dortmund was just lucky, then they would suffer an even heavier blow next!

※※※

The Dortmund players' celebrations didn't last long. Compared to the excited Dortmund coaches on the sidelines, the players on the field seemed more restrained.

After the celebration, they returned to their own half, and the Atletico Madrid players were already standing in their positions, waiting for the kickoff.

Although they conceded a goal at the start, Simeone's team had undergone a fundamental transformation compared to the previous Atletico Madrid. When they stood in their positions, waiting for the kickoff, many Atletico Madrid players didn't have much confusion or pain in their eyes, and their emotions weren't greatly affected.

This fully demonstrated that the team still had fighting spirit.

Of course, otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to firmly hold down the two giants of La Liga, Barcelona and Real Madrid, this season.

Simeone's discipline and iron blood had been injected into this team. This was not a team that could be defeated by just one goal.

※※※

"I think Dortmund shouldn't be too happy too soon. If they think that scoring in the first three minutes can stun Atletico Madrid, then it might be them who get stunned," Sun Pan said in the group chat.

"Old Sun, you can't just speak for Atletico Madrid because you played for them," Yang Muge teased.

"Precisely because I stayed with that team for two years that I know what kind of team they are. Anyway, if Dortmund underestimates Atletico Madrid's will, they will definitely be in trouble…" Sun Pan said in the group chat.

At this moment, the television broadcast showed the face of Atletico Madrid coach Simeone.

His expression was serious, staring at the field, his eyes as if he wanted to swallow the Dortmund players on the field alive.

Truly a chilling and frightening coach.

※※※

With a whistle from the referee Eriksson, the game restarted.

Atletico Madrid, who had conceded a goal, kicked off and used the opportunity to launch an attack on Dortmund's goal.

However, Dortmund was very familiar with Atletico Madrid's attacking routines and had made targeted deployments and arrangements.

So, although Atletico Madrid's attack resulted in a shot, it didn't actually threaten Dortmund's goal.

Next, possession returned to Dortmund's side.

The Atletico Madrid players were clearly more in the zone than when they had just been attacking with the ball.

The ball was still placed on Dortmund's six-yard box line when Gabi, Atletico Madrid's defensive midfielder, appeared next to Zhou Yi.

“…Atletico Madrid didn't panic because of conceding a goal. Everyone knows what they should do. This is truly a team that is admirable and scary… That's why Simeone's team can rank first in La Liga…” He Ping noticed this detail and sighed with emotion.