Chapter 314 A Draw That Feels Like Victory

After Zhou Yi scored, the Borussia Dortmund players celebrated wildly, completely unconcerned that the game wasn't over. Perhaps they wanted to use the opportunity to delay the game.

In any case, the Dortmund players threw themselves wholeheartedly into the celebration.

Of course, the goal was worth celebrating.

It was their third equalizer of the match!

The Bayern Munich players watched Dortmund's wild celebrations. No one protested to the referee; they were all stunned—Dortmund's tenacity in this game had far exceeded their expectations.

Three times leading, three times equalized.

They hadn't given up even at the very end of the game.

This was completely different from what they had imagined before the game.

Before the game, they thought that Dortmund's defense was so weak that a simple barrage of attacks, as long as they could score a goal, would cause Dortmund to collapse completely.

But that wasn't what happened.

Instead, Zhou Yi scored a dramatic equalizer in the final moments.

Almost making Bayern Munich spit out a mouthful of blood.

Three times leading...

Yet it didn't bring Bayern Munich a victory!

Götze looked at his former teammates celebrating ecstatically, at Zhou Yi surrounded by them, and a strong sense of loss welled up in his heart—although he had scored a goal in this game, the ultimate victor seemed to be Zhou Yi.

He had transferred from Dortmund to Bayern Munich precisely to formally challenge Zhou Yi, but now it seemed that the gap between them had not narrowed, but was instead widening...

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In the end, the referee couldn't stand it anymore and took the initiative to remind the Dortmund players not to overdo it. Celebrating was fine, but they couldn't celebrate until the end of the game.

Only then did the Dortmund players walk back to their own half of the field, talking and laughing.

Although this was their home ground, and it was only a draw, the entire Dortmund team was happy and satisfied.

Under these circumstances, being able to secure a draw and not be taken advantage of by Bayern Munich was already a good result.

The Dortmund fans in the stands shared this sentiment, rising to their feet, singing, and applauding, cheering for the team's performance.

Zhou Yi waved his fist at the stands while surrounded by his teammates, and the cheers from the stands suddenly grew even louder.

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After Dortmund's third equalizer, even the Bayern Munich players lost their fighting spirit. Dortmund's tenacity had truly frightened them—what if they didn't score and Dortmund scored first this time? Could they quickly equalize?

So until the referee blew the whistle to end the game, the score didn't change again.

"The game is over! The whole game is over! Dortmund, under extremely unfavorable circumstances, drew 3:3 with Bayern Munich at home! Although they didn't win, I think anyone who knows the story before this game, and anyone who watched this game, will think that Dortmund is a well-deserved victor! A draw that feels just like a victory! Most importantly, this draw has built confidence in the Dortmund players—they can remain undefeated against Bayern Munich even under such unfavorable conditions, so what is there to worry about or fear?!"

As soon as the game ended, the television broadcast focused the camera on Zhou Yi. In the shot, Zhou Yi hugged and celebrated with his teammates one by one.

Then Klopp burst into the frame and gave Zhou Yi a strong hug as well.

This was the Dortmund coach expressing his gratitude to Zhou Yi in this way.

Klopp had just shaken hands with Guardiola and then ran onto the field to find Zhou Yi.

On the other side, Yan Min was pulled into the mixed zone by reporters to be interviewed. He came on as a substitute in this game but performed well, providing an assist and helping the team equalize for the second time.

Some Chinese reporters congratulated Yan Min on his outstanding performance as a substitute again, but Yan Min shook his head. "My performance is simply not worth mentioning!"

He was very direct.

"Actually, we were able to win entirely because of Zhou Yi. His performance was just awesome! So you should go and interview him..."

One reporter laughed, "Of course we will, but isn't he surrounded right now?"

The other reporters also laughed.

Yan Min scratched his head. "Okay, then. Anyway, I don't have much to say. Zhou Yi is our core, he can do things we can't, he's amazing!"

This player, who seemed a bit of a scoundrel, was so respectful of Zhou Yi, which proved Zhou Yi's position in the team from one aspect.

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After shaking off his teammates and the coach, Zhou Yi was also invited to the mixed zone by reporters.

Panting, Zhou Yi still had a smile on his face. Facing the cameras and microphones, he listened to the reporters' questions, took a few breaths first, and then began to answer them.

"...Of course, victory is best, but when you can't get a victory, I think you must not lose no matter what." Zhou Yi expressed his view on why everyone was so happy about a draw.

"We are still four points behind Bayern Munich now, the league is very long, four points is not too big a gap... Of course, even if we accidentally lose to them, a seven-point gap is not too big. As long as you don't give up, no matter how many points behind you are, it doesn't matter." He also expressed his confidence in competing for the league title, although in the eyes of most people, this confidence was unfounded and a bit nonsensical.

"Our injury situation is indeed very serious, but I don't think this is a problem with the coach's training methods, we are just a little unlucky... Will injuries affect the team's performance? Maybe, but we will work harder..." Zhou Yi also talked about the impact of injuries, but in the reporters' opinion, he was just playing Tai Chi, and by the way, he also spoke up for Klopp.

What do you think of Yan Min?

"Yan Min is a very talented player, I believe he will achieve even greater achievements in the future... Whether he should be a starter, it's not up to me to say, it's a matter for the coach to consider..." Zhou Yi spread his hands. Having just spoken for Klopp, he kicked the question back to Klopp in one fell swoop.

The last-minute equalizer?

"...I didn't think so much about that goal, it was completely a subconscious action. Luckily, the ball went in at the end." Zhou Yi scratched his head, smiling in a harmless way, but everyone didn't quite believe what he said. If he was lucky every time, then his tone was really too good, right? Could it be that God's favor to the world was all enjoyed by him alone?

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Although Zhou Yi was very modest in the post-match interview, everyone was not deceived by his appearance. After the game, major news media were full of praise and flattery for Zhou Yi.

The flattery was mainly from Chinese media, but Chinese fans were very receptive. They didn't feel cheesy or disgusting.

Anyone who had watched this game would think that Zhou Yi's performance deserved the cheesiest flattery.

Of course, the Chinese media didn't forget to praise Yan Min. Yan Min's performance in the game was indeed very outstanding and deserved praise. His assist to Aubameyang fully demonstrated his technical characteristics—the sudden stop in high-speed running, excellent explosiveness, flexible turning and footwork, and the fearless temperament of a newborn calf.

All of these allowed Yan Min to gain a large number of fans after the game. When he was playing in China, Yan Min was just a slightly famous rising star in the Shanghai area. After going to Dortmund, he suddenly became a nationally known player after only two substitute appearances with outstanding performances.

Studying abroad, as long as you grasp it well, is really a shortcut to fame.

It's just that on this shortcut to fame, there are many difficulties and obstacles that everyone can't see...

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Bayern Munich failed to win against Dortmund away from home, only securing a draw, which meant that the current points gap between the two teams was still four points. For Dortmund, this meant that they still had a chance to compete for the league title, although the probability was not high.

And Dortmund's draw with Bayern Munich at home allowed them to maintain their undefeated record against Bayern Munich at home for the past three years. At the same time, it also gave the players a lot of confidence. This was beneficial to Dortmund's next games.

After thirteen rounds of the league, Bayern Munich ranked first in the league with ten wins, three draws, zero losses, and thirty-three points. However, Dortmund had fallen from second place in the league, because Bayer Leverkusen, who originally had the same points as them, won 1:0 against Hertha Berlin away from home in this round of the league, ranking second with thirty-one points, only two points behind Bayern Munich.

Dortmund was third with twenty-eight points.

Borussia Mönchengladbach was fourth with twenty-five points.

Wolfsburg was fifth with twenty-two points.

Yang Muge's Schalke 04 had an unstable performance with great fluctuations, currently ranking sixth with twenty-one points.

According to the Bundesliga rules, only the top five teams each season are eligible for European competitions, so if Yang Muge wants to participate in European competitions next season, Schalke 04 will have to work hard. In this round of the league, Schalke 04 drew 3:3 with Eintracht Frankfurt away from home, failing to win this game, which was the reason for their current sixth place ranking.